Summary

  • Live updates from Monday 8 October to Sunday 14 October

  • Click Related Stories to read news from your area

  1. Ex-JLS star Oritse Williams in court over rape chargepublished at 08:13 British Summer Time 11 October 2018

    Former JLS member Oritse Williams is due in court today charged with rape over an alleged attack on a fan in a hotel room in Wolverhampton after a concert.

    Oritse WilliamsImage source, PA

    The 31-year-old singer from Croydon, London, was arrested on 2 December 2016, the morning after performing at the Gorgeous club in Wolverhampton.

    A second man, Jamien Nagadhana, 31, of Hounslow, London, faces a serious sexual assault charge.

    Both men are due to appear before magistrates in Walsall.

  2. Teacher banned for claiming trip cashpublished at 08:03 British Summer Time 11 October 2018

    A misconduct panel found David Malengela asked parents to pay extra deposits but kept the money.

    Read More
  3. Patisserie Valerie 'shock' at accounting 'irregularities'published at 07:56 British Summer Time 11 October 2018

    BBC Business News

    The owner of Patisserie Valerie has uncovered "significant, and potentially fraudulent, accounting irregularities" and discovered HMRC has filed a winding-up petition against one of its subsidiaries.

    HMRC is seeking £1.14m in taxes, the Birmingham-headquartered cafe chain said.

    Patisserie ValerieImage source, Getty Images

    It said earlier that finance director Chris Marsh had been suspended.

    Shares in the company, 37% owned by entrepreneur Luke Johnson, have also been suspended.

    Speaking on Radio 4's Today, Laura Foll of Janus Henderson Investors described the revelations as "extraordinary" and said she had never seen anything like it in nine years in her job.

  4. Rail services delayed by overhead line damagepublished at 07:46 British Summer Time 11 October 2018

    BBC News Travel

    Damaged overhead lines at Leighton Buzzard are causing delays and cancellations to Virgin Trains services between Birmingham and London Euston.

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  5. Delays on M6 due to broken-down vehiclepublished at 07:44 British Summer Time 11 October 2018

    BBC News Travel

    A broken down vehicle is causing delays of about 25 minutes on the M6 southbound between J6 and J5 in the West Midlands.

    Recovery vehicles are en route, said Highways England.

  6. The 23-year-old busting myths about Down's syndromepublished at 07:33 British Summer Time 11 October 2018

    BBC Radio 5 live

    A 23-year-old with Down's syndrome has been speaking about how people's misconceptions about the condition make her feel sad.

    Media caption,

    Heidi Crowter wants to address people's misconceptions about Down's syndrome.

    Heidi Crowter, from Coventry, works in a children's hair salon, has a boyfriend and lives independently in her own flat.

    She said she wanted to make this video to challenge some of the misconceptions surrounding people with Down's syndrome.

  7. Fruit-picking robots 'could replace migrant workers'published at 07:23 British Summer Time 11 October 2018

    Local Democracy Reporting Service
    Carmelo Garcia

    Fruit-picking robots could replace agricultural migrant workers after Brexit, it's been claimed.

    Strawberries in a fieldImage source, PA

    Regional business leaders from Marches Local Enterprise Partnership told Herefordshire Council that big local food producers were facing recruitment challenges.

    They presented a draft economic plan for the region to the authority this week, saying developments of new agricultural technology could benefit the local economy post-Brexit.

  8. Truck operators to challenge clean air zonepublished at 07:16 British Summer Time 11 October 2018

    Hundreds of truck operators from across the West Midlands will raise their fears about Birmingham’s proposed clean air zone today.

    ExhaustImage source, Getty Images

    The city council said it was considering a levy of between £6 and £10 per day on car drivers travelling into its planned Clean Air Zone which will include parts of the city centre.

    Owners of high-polluting lorries could have to pay £100 a day if the proposal goes ahead.

    The council is meeting the operators at Villa Park to explain how they'll be affected.

  9. Video: Your 50-second weather forecastpublished at 07:12 British Summer Time 11 October 2018

    Alex Hamilton
    BBC Weather

    It will be a cloudy day with showers or light rain with highs of 20C (68F).

    Media caption,

    Latest weather for the West Midlands

  10. Live updates for the West Midlandspublished at 07:01 British Summer Time 11 October 2018

    Vanessa Pearce
    BBC News

    Welcome to our live service for Thursday.

    We'll be bringing you all the news, sport, travel and weather for the West Midlands.

    We love to hear from you so share your news, thoughts and photos of the area with us via email, Twitter , externaland Facebook, external.

  11. Light aircraft crash caused by cramppublished at 04:51 British Summer Time 11 October 2018

    The pilot extended his leg in an attempt to relieve the "excruciating pain".

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  12. Smith gets Villa job with Terry assistantpublished at 23:06 British Summer Time 10 October 2018

    Aston Villa appoint Dean Smith as their new head coach, with former Chelsea defender John Terry as his assistant.

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  13. Sex abuse trial hears from ex-footballerpublished at 20:07 British Summer Time 10 October 2018

    Paul McCann is alleged to have groomed his teenage victim and abused him at his home in Crewe.

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  14. Our live coverage across the daypublished at 19:00 British Summer Time 10 October 2018

    We'll be back with our usual mix of news, sport, travel and weather from 07:00 tomorrow, but keep an eye out here for more updates this evening and into the morning.

  15. Farm gets approval for 16,000-bird poultry unitpublished at 18:58 British Summer Time 10 October 2018

    Local Democracy Reporting Service
    Carmelo Garcia

    A farm's going to be allowed to build a 16,000-bird free range poultry unit.

    Willey Cottage FarmImage source, Google

    Tim Hodnet had applied to Herefordshire Council to install the egg production building, external, with feed bins and a packing unit, at Willey Cottage Farm, in Willey, near Presteigne, on the Welsh border.

    Despite objections over the plan's impact on the local roads and wider countryside, councillors approved them saying there were "no strong grounds to refuse".

  16. Council plans to cut children's homespublished at 18:55 British Summer Time 10 October 2018

    The council wants to spend money on preventing children from entering the care system.

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  17. Second man dies after two-car crashpublished at 18:54 British Summer Time 10 October 2018

    Phil Bowers
    Journalist, BBC Radio Stoke

    A driver's died from injuries he suffered in a two-car crash earlier this week, police say., external

    Congleton Road, ArclidImage source, Google

    It comes after a passenger in the same vehicle, a 29-year-old man, died at the scene of the crash on Monday morning on Congleton Road, Arclid, near Sandbach, Cheshire.

    Officers say both of the men were from Romania.

  18. Teen archer targets Youth Olympic Games medalpublished at 18:50 British Summer Time 10 October 2018

    Nick Clitheroe
    BBC Midlands Today

    A teenage archer says she’s setting her sights on a medal at the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires this weekend.

    Alyssia Tromans-Ansell

    Alyssia Tromans-Ansell, 17, from Cannock, only took up the sport with Lichfield Archers after serious leg problems ended her gymnastics career.

    Last year she took gold at the World Youth Championships, external, which were also held in Argentina.

    Quote Message

    I needed a sport that's not weight-bearing on my legs because I've got really bad joints, so I figured archery's the best bet for me and it seems I'm quite good at it."

    Alyssia Tromans-Ansell, Archer

  19. Family pay tribute to cyclistpublished at 18:37 British Summer Time 10 October 2018

    The family of a 30-year-old cyclist, who died after being knocked off his bike in Shrewsbury last week, have described him as "unique and irreplaceable".

    Michael Jarnot, who lived in the town, died after being hit on Wenlock Road, near the Peacock Inn, at 21:20 on 3 October.

    Michael JarnotImage source, West Mercia Police

    In a statement his family added "he touched the lives of the many people who knew him" and "his sudden death will leave a huge hole in all our lives".