A former West Midlands Police officer has been barred from returning to the force.

Oliver Banfield had previously been sentenced by magistrates after he admitted assaulting Emma Homer in Warwickshire last July while drunk.

At an accelerated misconduct hearing yesterday, Banfield, 35, who had subsequently resigned, was told he will be will be added to a College of Policing record to ensure he is unable to rejoin the police service.

Image source, Sally Homer

Following the hearing, the force's Deputy Chief Constable Vanessa Jardine said: “I recognise the distress Emma Homer – who was assaulted and verbally abused by Banfield – has suffered during this time; the actions of this former officer were completely unacceptable.

“I was as disgusted by the behaviour of Banfield as anyone. He is clearly not the kind of person who should ever have a role in policing.”

A fallen tree on the railway near Rowley Regis is causing delays.

Services are delayed between Stourbridge Junction and Birmingham stations.

In a post on Twitter, Birmingham New Street station said a team was on site and preparing to move the fallen tree.

Shefali Oza
BBC Midlands Today

Today might be a little drier than the past few days, with top temperatures of 17C.

A trust is given a warning notice over concerns around staffing and governance.

A hearing finds "immature" Oliver Banfield committed gross misconduct when he assaulted Emma Homer.

A hit-and-run driver who admitted causing the death of a grandmother by dangerous driving has had his jail term increased.

Krishna Devi Droch, 62, was struck by a Vauxhall Zafira travelling on the wrong side of the road in Handsworth, Birmingham, on 9 November 2017.

In March, Mohammed Ishfaq, 34, from Leonard Road, Lozells, was jailed for six years and three months and disqualified from driving for 10 years.

But Court of Appeal judges have ruled Ishfaq had been given an unduly lenient sentence.

Image source, West Midlands Police

His jail sentence was increased to eight years.

Image source, Family handout

The festival garden site will host comedy and music gigs as well as food outlets and a box office.

A man has died after being hit by a car in Birmingham.

The pedestrian, believed to be 41, was struck by a white Range Rover in Spring Hill just before 19:00 on Monday, West Midlands Police said.

He was pronounced dead in hospital a short time later.

Image source, Google

The driver of the car stopped at the scene and is helping with police inquiries.

No-one has been arrested, the force added.

It has appealed for anyone with information to come forward.

BBC Weather

The forecast for today is for more of the same, with bright sunshine in-between rain showers.

Temperatures will reach 14C (57F) in parts of the West Midlands and tonight they will drop to about 7C (45F).

It's a similar forecast for the rest of the week, but for more informationgo to the BBC Weather page.

The photos donated at a photographic show are believed to have been found in an attic clear-out.

Sandra hasn't hugged her daughter Sam for more than a year due to coronavirus restrictions.

David Gregory-Kumar
Science correspondent, BBC Midlands Today

As ever with coronavirus, today is all about risk.

The government has decided that despite an incomplete vaccination campaign and the arrival and spread of the Indian variant (B.1.617.2) it is still opening things up today.

Image source, PA Media

There are scientists who are very worried the new variant could be much more infectious meaning there's a real chance we will see another peak in deaths as big as any that have gone before.

But the government has decided to go ahead with relaxing lockdown. That's a risk on their part.

And now each of us have to make a decision about what sort of personal risk we are prepared to take with our health and the health of those around us.

Asking people if they've been vaccinated before deciding whether or not to hug them? Sitting inside a badly ventilated pub where people are shouting and singing? It's all about risk.

Whatever any of us decide today, we'll be watching the numbers as all those little decisions we all take add up to the big picture the government has to deal with in a few weeks' time.

The latest news, sport, travel and weather from across the West Midlands and south Cheshire.

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The Black Country Living Museum in Dudley became a hit on the platform with more than 870K followers.

The track, featuring the words of novelist George Eliot, will mark the launch of the City of Culture festival.

PC Benjamin Monk is charged with murdering former Villa star Dalian Atkinson in Shropshire in 2016.

The inquest heard Lance Shingler witnessed "harrowing, traumatic incidents" in Iraq.