Kathryn Stanczyszyn
Political Reporter, BBC WM

The families of five men, killed when a scrapyard wall fell on them, said they are "very disappointed" an inquest has found they died "accidentally".

Almamo Jammeh, 45, Ousmane Diaby, 39, Bangally Dukureh, 55, Saibo Sillah, 42, and Mahamadou Jagana, 49, were clearing out a scrap metal storage bay when they were killed at the plant in the Nechells area of Birmingham.

Speaking outside Birmingham Coroner's Court the families said "what is clear to us is that their deaths were avoidable".

House of Commons speaker John Bercow joked about "quiet, uneventful times in Westminster" during a trip to Stratford-upon-Avon today for a charity tennis event.

Image source, PA

Mr Bercow travelled to Warwickshire to play against his friend Chris Onslow, a local businessman who is playing for 24 hours non-stop to raise money for Children in Need and Welcombe Hills School.

Kathryn Stanczyszyn
Political Reporter, BBC WM

Inquests for five men killed when a scrapyard wall fell on them has found their deaths were accidental.

However, jurors at Birmingham Coroner’s Court also said the risk of collapse should have been identified and "caused or contributed to their deaths".

Almamo Jammeh, 45, Ousmane Diaby, 39, Bangally Dukureh, 55, Saibo Sillah, 42, and Mahamadou Jagana, 49, were clearing out a scrap metal storage bay when they were killed at the plant in the Nechells area of Birmingham.

The men had all been working at Hawkeswood Metal Recycling in Nechells, now Shredmet Ltd, when the 12ft concrete wall collapsed on 7 July 2016.

A teenager has been arrested after a man was threatened in his own home with a hammer.

A car was stolen during the "nasty rush robbery" at a property in Cheylesmore on 6 November after a forced entry to the property, police said.

The arrest was made after officers executed a warrant at an address in the Wood End area of the city yesterday, said West Midlands Police.

The 18-year-old has been released on bail pending further investigations.

Police weren't convinced.

The driver of this black, high-performance Lamborghini in Birmingham was fined for illegally parking in a taxi bay, although officers were also critical of it being driven through a no-entry zone , externalon Waterloo Street.

Image source, West Midlands Police

Image source, West Midlands Police

Poor parking in Birmingham has been in the spotlight for some time, with traffic officers last year commenting that some examples were so bad people could be excused for thinking there was a crash.

Image source, West Midlands Police

The Lamborghini driver was issued with a parking fine, but seemed "more concerned with it being lifted", the officer said.

Image source, Chandlings School

Pupils at Chandlings School in Oxford are celebrating after finding a new home for an escaped ram.

The animal, who the children have named Reg, was on a farmer's lorry headed for slaughter when he made his bid for freedom and ended up at the gates of the school where he was discovered by grounds manager Rob Maskrey.

Emma Finneron, one of the pupil's mothers, said she was asked by the school to help find a permanent home for Reg.

She said: "I started to ring around but farming sanctuaries are quite full. Eventually we managed to find one in Kidderminster - the Goodheart Animal Sanctuary - they still had room, thank goodness!"

Image source, Chandlings School

Stoke-on-Trent Live

Here are three headlines from Stoke-on-Trent Live today:

• Council seizes hundreds of wheelie bins after they were left outside too long, external
• Police cordon off part of park after sex attack, external
• Residents fight plans to open KFC, external

All of the people in Bewdley who had to leave their homes because of a gas leak overnight have now been allowed to return.

About 30 were moved to alternative accommodation after a Land Rover went into a house on Kidderminster Road.

West Mercia Police says there will be temporary traffic lights on the road for the rest of the day.

Are you doing anything to raise money for Children in Need?

We'd love to hear what you're up to and see your photos from events across the West Midlands.

Image source, bbc

The crew at Wolverhampton Grand are busy rigging for the big show tonight (pictured).

Richie Anderson and Midlands Today's Becky Wood will be at the theatre as part of the appeal show on BBC One tonight.

The West Midlands mayor Andy Street says the government is providing £2.3m to help train people to build houses and roads.

He said trainees would get the chance to work on the M6 for a year, before moving to work on projects linked to HS2.

Mr Street said another training initiative would help young people learn on the job at some "major housing developments".

In recent years, construction firms have said a lack of skills in the region has held back the sector.

Police are at a park in Stoke-on-Trent, investigating reports a woman was sexually assaulted.

Officers say they were told it happened at Hanley's Central Forest Park at 19:00 on Thursday.

The Stafford MP says his constituents want Theresa May to stay as prime minister and get on with the process of taking Britain out of the European Union.

Some Conservative MPs are saying they have reached the 48 letters needed to trigger a vote of no confidence in Theresa May, but Jeremy Lefroy says he's not seeing much support for that.

The prime minister has had the backing of a number of other West Midlands MPs, including South Cheshire MP Antoinette Sandbach, who said "people that think a leadership election at this time is a good idea need their head examining".

Tom Edwards
Reporter, BBC Hereford & Worcester

A murder trial has been played a 999 call from a Worcestershire man who is accused of killing his partner during "rough sex".

Jurors at Birmingham Crown Court heard 40-year-old John Broadhurst saying "oh my God, she’s dead", several times, while the call operator instructed him to give chest compressions.

Mr Broadhurst who lives in Wolverley near Kidderminster, denies murdering 26-year-old Natalie Connolly at a house in Kinver in December 2016.

The trial continues.

Shrewsbury Town chief executive Brian Caldwell says former boss Paul Hurst will not be returning to the club as manager.

Shropshire Star

Here are three of the top stories from the Shropshire Star today:

• Balloon Fiesta and two other popular Telford50 events to return, external
• Telford police say violence will not be tolerated, external
• Bridgnorth wants to ban sale of plastic bags, external

Football fans have raised £2,400 in a crowdfunding campaign to buy tickets for fans who could not normally afford them.

Image source, Karl fuller

Ipswich Town supporters contributed the sum to allow scores of people to watch a home game against West Bromwich Albion for free.

Town fan Karl Fuller, 47, started the initiative after seeing his children fill shoe boxes for charity.

He said: "I felt I wanted to do something, and it's been overwhelming."

The decision to place the Shrewsbury and Telford hospitals into special measures is harming their attempts to recruit extra staff, the leader of Telford and Wrekin Council has claimed.

The hospital trust has been short staffed for some time and plans to close Telford's accident and emergency overnight from next month unless more doctors can be found.

NHS Improvement took the decision to place the trust in special measures last week, with health secretary Matt Hancock saying it was "to ensure safe services for patients".

Conservative MPs in Telford had lobbied for the trust to be put in special measures as a way of addressing long-standing recruitment problems, but Labour council leader Shaun Davies said he believed the move had had the opposite effect.

A fire at a Rugby house, in which a five-year-old boy was critically injured, is being treated as arson, police say.

Det Insp Paul Thompson, from Warwickshire Police said the force had reached the conclusion following a joint enquiry with the fire service.

"A 21-year-old man from Rugby arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life remains in police custody and will be interviewed by officers today," he said.

The five-year-old boy injured in the fire remains in a critical but stable condition in hospital.

A woman and two other children continue to be treated in hospital for burns and smoke inhalation.

Local Democracy Reporting Service
Tom Davis

An £11m plan to transform Upper Precinct and "change perceptions" of Coventry’s city centre has been approved by the council’s planning committee.

Image source, Coventry City Council

The proposals, which were rubber-stamped on Thursday, can help attract new stores and bring the area into the 21st Century, applicant Shearer Property Group said.

Work will include opening up the pedestrian area by removing the existing green escalator and footbridges connecting to West Orchards Shopping Centre.

Alterations will also be made to the shopfronts – including the former BHS building and removal of the outside canopy – while walkways will also be revamped.

BBC Coventry & Warwickshire Sport

Coventry City travel to Burton Albion in League One tomorrow backed by a sell-out away following of more than 1,600 fans.

Image source, Getty Images

Manager Mark Robins says his team can now concentrate on their league campaign, even though he's disappointed to have gone out of two cup competitions this week.

They were knocked out of the FA Cup first round, losing 3-2 to Walsall.