Summary

  • Live updates from Monday 28 January to Sunday 3 February

  • Click Related Stories to read news from your area

  1. Firearms seized in city centrepublished at 08:42 Greenwich Mean Time 28 January 2019

    Police seized two firearms in Birmingham city centre on Saturday night and described both as "viable".

    Recovered firearmImage source, West Midlands Police

    The first was loaded and discovered on a man on Hurst Street shortly after 03:00 GMT on Sunday. He was arrested and remains in police custody.

    The second was found in a separate incident on Berkley Street, after an 18-year-old man threw the gas-powered device into some bushes, West Midlands Police said, external.

    The teenager was arrested but later released on bail.

  2. Baby among three children hospitalised after crashpublished at 08:29 Greenwich Mean Time 28 January 2019

    A baby girl and two other children were taken to hospital after a crash in Coventry last night.

    Holbrooks Lane and Lythalls Lane junction, CoventryImage source, Google

    Emergency services were called to the Holbrooks area of the city just before 22:00 following reports of a two-vehicle crash at the junction of Holbrooks Lane and Lythalls Lane.

    Two women were also taken to hospital with the children, West Midlands Ambulance Service said.

    A spokesman added that no one was seriously injured and the patients were taken to hospital as a precaution.

  3. Bus service as Walsall-Rugeley trains cancelledpublished at 07:54 Greenwich Mean Time 28 January 2019

    BBC News Travel

    Trains between Walsall and Rugeley Trent Valley have been cancelled until at least 08:45 due to problems with overhead wires.

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    West Midlands Railway says it has requested replacement shuttles "until further notice".

    It advised that passengers heading to Birmingham New Street should travel via Lichfield or Stafford and then change services.

    Train tickets are also valid on certain Arriva bus services.

  4. Farmer 'too emotional' to slaughter lambspublished at 07:49 Greenwich Mean Time 28 January 2019

    Sheep

    A farmer from Devon who couldn't bring himself to take his lambs to slaughter has donated them to an animal sanctuary in Kidderminster.

    Sivalingam Vasanthakumar has been farming for more than 47 years but says he has felt increasingly uncomfortable with the killing of his animals, describing it as "too much".

    Sivalingam Vasanthakumar

    He said: "I used to unload sheep at the abattoir and saw first-hand how they’d huddle in terror at the back of the lorry - they knew what was going to happen.”

    Twenty of his male lambs - worth £9,000 - have been rehomed at Goodheart Animal Sanctuaries, which Mr Vasanthakumar says is a "fantastic feeling".

  5. The areas hit hardest by council cutspublished at 07:32 Greenwich Mean Time 28 January 2019

    Cities and urban areas across Britain have been "hit hardest" by cuts to local government funding, a report says.

    Centre for Cities said built-up areas lost an average of £386 per head over the past eight years.

    Graph showing council funding cuts since 2009

    Since 2009, Stoke-on-Trent along with Newcastle-under-Lyme have seen spending per person fall by 24%.

    Centre for Cities chief executive Andrew Carter said: "There is a very real risk that many of our largest councils will in the near future become little more than social care providers."

    The government says councils will share an "extra £1.3 billion" of funding from 2019 to 2020.

  6. Your 60-second weather updatepublished at 07:18 Greenwich Mean Time 28 January 2019

    Alex Hamilton
    BBC Weather

    Plenty of sunshine around this morning, but get ready for things to turn chilly and wintry over the next couple of days.

    Media caption,

    West Midlands weather update - 28 January

  7. Our live coveragepublished at 07:11 Greenwich Mean Time 28 January 2019

    Riyah Collins
    BBC News

    Good morning from the West Midlands. We'll be bringing you the latest news, sport, travel and weather from across the region until 19:00.

    If you'd like to get in touch, you can find us on Facebook, external or Twitter, external.