It is not yet clear what started the blaze at Tornado Tyres in the Tyseley area of Birmingham.

Some inmates about to be released are being pressured into smuggling drugs back into prisons, a report has found.

Image source, Google

The report Crime in prisons: Where now and where next?, external was commissioned by Police and Crime Commissioners from the West Midlands, Staffordshire, Warwickshire and West Mercia.

An information-sharing pilot, trialled at HMP Dovegate in Staffordshire, exposed prison staff who had links with organised crime groups and visitors who were trafficking drugs into the prison, the report highlights.

The six-month study, at a dozen facilities, recommends protecting inmates from coercion and better information-sharing with the police.

Kathryn Stanczyszyn
Political Reporter, BBC WM

Jurors at the Birmingham pub bombing inquests have heard how there were only 15 operational officers available at two city centre police stations on the night of the explosions in November 1974.

Image source, PA

More than 130 other officers from units at Digbeth and Steelhouse Lane had been deployed to cover the operation surrounding the funeral procession of IRA member James McDade in Coventry.

Families’ counsels have been questioning professional witness former police officer Anthony Mole about a report from West Mids Police Superintendent Brannigan on manpower in the city centre that night.

They also heard how a warning call was made to a newspaper office at 20:11 and the first officers didn’t arrive back in the city centre from the McDade operation until 21:10.

The court also heard the call wasn’t made to bring officers back to the city until after the explosions - the first of which was at 20:17.

Abdi Ali was found next to the weapons used to kill him several months after the murder, a jury hears.

A driver has been stopped by police on the A500 in Staffordshire, for trying to eat a Twix McFlurry while doing 60mph.

The Central Motorway Police Group said he was spotted weaving in his lane and reported, tweeting there was "very nearly a snack-cident".

Image source, Staffordshire Police

Other Twitter, users have responded to ask if he had been given his "just desserts" and if officers had "given him the two fingers".

A man convicted of murdering a nightclub reveller amid a row over the venue's electronic punchbag, has been jailed for at least 23 years.

Image source, Family handout

Daniel Baird (pictured) died after a dispute between two groups of men spilled on to the street outside the Forge Tavern in Digbeth, Birmingham, in July 2017.

Carlton Donaldson, 24, of Minstead Road, Erdington, was sentenced to life with a minimum of 23 years at Birmingham Crown Court today.

Sashon Brown, 25, of Woodington Road, Sutton Coldfield, was found guilty of violent disorder, and possessing an offensive weapon and jailed for two-and-a-half years.

Stoke-on-Trent Live

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

• Machete and nunchuks seized in traffic stops, external
• Motorist seen weaving while eating Twix McFlurry, external
• Dozens of teaching assistants set to go on strike, external

Phil Mackie
Midlands correspondent, BBC News

Birmingham city centre is undergoing its biggest transformation since the 1960s, as businesses relocate from London bringing with them jobs and investment.

According to the annual Deloitte Crane Survey, external, which measures new projects in the city centre, residential development in Birmingham is at an "all-time high".

It says 16 new schemes have been completed in the past year and - at the same time - more than 20 have begun construction including offices, apartments and hotels.

But will the boom help the inner city areas or a rising homeless population?

You can read more here.

Plans have been unveiled, external for new railway stations on the Walsall to Wolverhampton line in the West Midlands.

Image source, WMRE

The stations at Darlaston and Willenhall were originally closed in 1965.

Willenhall Station will be sited next to the Bilston Street railway bridge, close to the town centre, while Darlaston Station will be built on derelict land next to the Kendricks Road bridge.

Image source, WMRE

The plans have been drawn up by the West Midlands Rail Executive and Transport for West Midlands, with the majority of the costs covered from the region's HS2 Connectivity Fund.

An hourly service between Wolverhampton and Walsall stations and an hourly service between Birmingham New Street and Wolverhampton should be ready to run by 2022, said West Midlands Railway.

Two masked men who broke into a Carphone Warehouse store in Shrewsbury, using hammers and crowbars, have each been jailed for 30 months after each admitting a charge of burglary.

Jordan Wheeldon, who is 30 and 33-year-old Christopher Taylor, both from the Swinton area of Manchester, were caught after a police chase from Shropshire to Manchester on 12 January, which involved a police helicopter.

Image source, Google

West Mercia Police says officers had been able to recover thousands of pounds worth of stolen property after the arrests, but two other suspects who are thought to have taken part in the raid on the Meole Brace retail park are yet to be found.

BBC Weather Watchers

All that beautiful blue sky has vanished and been replaced by grey cloud and rain today.

These photos were taken by BBC Weather Watchers in Kidderminster, Cosford and Sutton Coldfield.

Image source, Paul Mason

Image source, Lynden

Image source, Suttonwalker

BBC Radio Stoke Sport

Crewe striker Chris Porter thinks his recent success in front of goal has been down to playing in a different role.

He's scored eight times in his last 12 games since being made a lone striker.

Image source, Getty Images

He said the new focus on staying in the box and losing his marker was helping him.

Birmingham Live

Some of the Birmingham Live headlines today are:

• Firefighters at huge blaze which leaves scene gutted, external
• Masked thugs tell kids - 'Get on the floor' in horrifying heist, external
• Hospitals warn 'no-deal' Brexit will mean they run out of supplies, external

Alice Robinson was found dead the day after partner Jason Francis was hit by a car in Perth in December.

Two teenagers continue to be questioned by officers investigating a series of knifepoint robberies on a stretch of canal in Birmingham.

People were robbed of phones, cash and pushbikes on the towpath in Hockley during the four robberies in the space of three days.

During one incident on 21 February a man in his 50s suffered a minor stab wound, said West Midlands Police.

The two aged 14 and 16 were arrested on suspicion of robbery from a city school on Wednesday.

A 16-year-old, also arrested on suspicion of robbery, has been released on police bail.

The owner of a Birmingham tyre depot, destroyed in a major fire overnight, said he was "devastated" and suspected the blaze was arson.

Image source, West Midlands Police

More than 100 firefighters tackled the blaze at Tornado Tyres in Tyseley, which broke out in the early hours of this morning, destroying the building and damaging nearby houses.

Image source, West Midlands Police

Abid Mahmood who has owned the tyre centre and workshop for 10 years, said his dog died in the fire.

"There were plenty of tyres inside and now everything is gone - it is devastating," he said.

"I don't know what happened. Someone may have done it deliberately because tyres don't burn easily.

"I'm in shock and my dog was inside. He was like my own kid."

West Midlands Fire Service is investigating the cause of the fire.

A man from Stoke-on-Trent has been arrested after police found a machete and knives when they stopped a vehicle on Clough Street in Hanley last night.

The 46-year-old remains in custody while investigations continue.

Image source, Staffordshire Police

More knives have also been seized during a separate car stop in Stafford this morning.

Kathryn Stanczyszyn
Political Reporter, BBC WM

The jury at the Birmingham pub bombing inquests are visiting the former pub sites where the bombs exploded in 1974.

Two bombs ripped through the Mulberry Bush and Tavern in the Town pubs, killing 21 and injuring 182 on 21 November 1974.

Jurors and their legal representatives are visiting the basement floor of King Edward House, where the Tavern in the Town once operated, and is now a Chinese restaurant.

The hearings are expected to last six weeks.

Shropshire Star

Here are three stories from the Shropshire Star today:

• Jail for raiders caught after Shrewsbury to Manchester police chase, external
• Inquest into Shropshire couple who died in Australia, external
• Ex-Shrewsbury mayor leaves Labour Party, external

Carers say he responds well to massage, hopefully countering the stress that led to his baldness.