When the NHS was formed in 1948, ambulances in the West Midlands only carried a basic first aid kit and staff were responsible for painting their own vehicles.

Eric Carnall, from Worcester (below, middle), was a driver for Worcester City Ambulance Service when it had just six ambulances.

Image source, WMAS

Mr Carnall said: "The vehicles and equipment we had to use were very poor quality really. We had nothing but a first aid kit to start with.

"Eventually the service did buy an oxygen kit, but we only had one to share between the six ambulances."

Image source, WMAS

West Midlands Ambulance Service, which now covers the city and the wider region, has a fleet of 465 ambulances and 5,000 staff, taking thousands of calls every day.

The company says its office restructure is necessary because of "considerable cost pressures".

Three people have been charged after a man was seriously injured in Nuneaton.

A 22-year-old from Birmingham was charged with attempted murder.

Two others - a 26-year-old from Nuneaton and a 37-year-old from Bedworth have been charged with aiding and abetting attempted murder.

Firefighters spent three and a half hours putting out a grass fire on Hednesford Hills this morning.

Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service were called at 03:35 to deal with an area 50m by 80m.

It says it believes the fire was started accidentally and described it as "challenging".

Lancashire Lightning host the Worcestershire Rapids in the T20 Blast – listen to BBC local radio commentary.

Stoke City are believed to be lining up a £15m deal for Newcastle winger Matt Ritchie and talks between the two clubs are thought to have taken place.

Newcastle are understood to be happy for the Scotland international to leave, but want to line up a replacement.

Image source, Getty Images

The 28-year-old was signed from Bournemouth for £12m in 2016 and has scored 19 goals since joining the Magpies.

Local Democracy Reporting Service
George Makin

A Black Country MP has called on the government to step in and spend taxpayers money to kick-start the stalled Midland Metropolitan Hospital, in Smethwick, which has stood half-built for the past six months.

The hospital is already facing long delays and expected to cost an extra £125m following the collapse of construction giant Carillion.

Adrian Bailey, MP for West Bromwich West, has made the call as the chief executive of the Sandwell and West Birmingham Health Trust admitted there was a danger that the urgently need facility may not open by the revised 2022 date.

Health bosses have been trying to negotiate a new contract following the demise of Carillion, which would see work resume on the building.

Leading expert in robotic surgery, Peter Cooke, explains how surgeons and machines work together.

The job of replacing thousands of recycling bins, which have split open as a result of a manufacturing fault is "unprecedented", said Solihull Council.

Image source, Chris Arnold

Councillor Bob Sleigh said the local authority had replaced about 13,000 bins since March of this year, "and we're continually replacing them".

The council has pledged to replace the bins, external within 20 working days, and are accepting recycling in alternative containers or bags.

While the exact cause of the defect is unknown, the bins which are being rolled out as replacements are made from a different type of plastic.

Phil McCann
Cheshire Political Reporter, BBC News

A hearing looking into bullying allegations against the ex-chief constable of Cheshire Police, Simon Byrne, has been told the force was “lucky to have him”.

Guy Hindle, who was an Assistant Chief Constable at Cheshire Police until he retired two years ago, said Mr Byrne was the most talented person he had ever encountered in policing, and said he never heard him raising his voice or being aggressive.

Yesterday the hearing was told Mr Byrne had "ranted and raved" at officers.

Mr Hindle did say Mr Byrne was “happy to consign people to the idiot box” and that people had life-changing experiences at his hand.

He also said people in his office often found his moods difficult to deal with.

Mr Byrne was suspended last August and denies bullying.

Birmingham Archives is showcasing some of the health-related pictures it holds at Birmingham Library , externalon the 70th birthday of the NHS.

Image source, Birmingham City Council

This is from its collection on Birmingham Children's Hospital.

Facebook

You had plenty to say about work to extend the tram network in Birmingham and Wolverhampton which is continuing.

Track-laying for the Midland Metro Network has started on the £33m extension to Wolverhampton railway station.

On the BBC Midlands Facebook page, John Eaglesfield wrote, external: "Dont stop bring it all the way up the Hagley Road like they promised 20 years ago!"

Shaun Jenks added, external: "Still won’t be a patch on Manchester’s Metrolink, it’s more than doubled in size over the last few years."

While Rob Ellis posted, external: "When I was a nipper growing up in Erdington I watched the council dig up the street to remove the old tram lines, how times have changed. "Sniggers" - kind of knew they would be back."

And Don Mclellan agreed, external: "Isn’t it funny how it’s gone full circle with trams - we should learn from history."

Express and Star

Some of the headlining stories on the Express and Star website this morning are:

• JLR issues warning on jobs and investment over Brexit, external
• Wolves supporters in Russia get new flag – but can't get it in stadium, external
• Driver facing jail for crash that killed four-month-old baby, external

Worcestershire sign former Northants, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire bowler Andy Carter on a six-week contract.

Leicestershire will sign fast bowler Chris Wright from Warwickshire on a two-year contract from the end of the season.

The ambulance service is at the scene of a crash in Worcester and one woman is being treated for her injuries.

Crews were called to the junction of Bilford Road and Wordsworth Avenue just before 09:00 and the Midland Air Ambulance is at the scene.

The body of a woman has been found in a park in Newcastle-under-Lyme.

Emergency services were called to Croft Road at 07:20 after she was discovered by a passer-by.

Image source, Google

The woman has not yet been identified, but the police are not treating her death as suspicious.

A Ludlow councillor says Shropshire's rural maternity units are under threat, because of staffing issues.

It's currently not possible to give birth at the units in Ludlow, Oswestry and Bridgnorth, because the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust has chosen to concentrate its available staff in Shrewsbury and Telford.

Discussions about extending the temporary suspension of services are taking place, with the possibility it could eventually become permanent.

The chief excecutive of the hospital trust, Simon Wright, said they were making the move because more women are choosing to go to the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and the Princess Royal Hospital.

Lib Dem Tracey Huffer said it was likely the services would be lost permanently, but says they could remain open if they were given the appropriate staff.

Some people living in the Trentham area of Stoke-on-Trent say they want action to be taken against lorry drivers who leave rubbish and even human waste there.

A petition to the city council calls on drivers caught littering to be banned from parking.

Image source, Getty Images

People living on Stone Road are also complaining that the lorries are noisy, and blocking driveways.

Birmingham Bears' first team coach Jim Troughton said Ian Bell was "in fantastic nick," as he finished 82 not out in last night's victory over defending champions Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge.

Notts Outlaws began their T20 Blast title defence with an eight-wicket loss to Bears in a repeat of the 2017 final.

"He [Bell] manoeuvred the ball about beautifully and Sam came in and continued his good form on the back of some good innings for England Lions," he said.