Three teens have been stabbed to death in Birmingham in 12 days - but why? And what is being done about it?

HMP Birmingham is being searched as part of a pre-planned operation, the BBC is told.

Officers were diverted to cover funeral transport for an IRA bomber, whose body was flown to Dublin.

Rebecca Wood
BBC Midlands Today

It will remain cloudy this evening and overnight with some showers and patchy rain with lows of 5C (41F).

Local Democracy Reporting Service
Tom Dare

A council leader who referred to charity shops as "endemic" and suggested they be turned into something more "meaningful" has been told to "get on board".

Image source, Google

Councillor Mike Bird, leader of Walsall Council made the comments during a recent meeting of the Housing and Land Board, where an item on the future of town centres was being discussed.

The Charity Retail Association, a trade association that represents charity shops, believes that such shops should not be seen as a "disease" to the high street, but rather as part of the cure.

“Every charity shop we represent brings huge environmental and community benefits," it said.

Carlton Donaldson will serve at least 23 years after Daniel Baird was stabbed to death in Birmingham.

A former boiler maker sees a locomotive he helped build in 1950 brought back into steam.

Police say they've been working with fans of Birmingham City and Aston Villa, as well the two clubs, ahead of the second city derby on 10 March.

A number of roads surrounding St Andrew's will be closed on match day and supporter have been told there will be a "visible police presence in and around the ground".

Image source, Getty Images

West Midlands police say their plans for the game are based on lessons learnt from previous derby matches.

People say "intense" heat from the blaze at a tyre plant in Birmingham damaged nearby homes.

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

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.

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.

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

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

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 resident living near to the site of a tyre factory fire in Tyseley, Birmingham said the heat was so intense it damaged nearby homes.

Muhammad Asif, 36, who lives across the road from the tyre centre, said: "I heard a really loud bang at about 02:50 this morning.

"At first it was a small fire at the back and roof of the building, and then within the next 10 minutes the flames had totally spread.

"We live across the road and the fire was so intense, our front windows upstairs have cracked.

"Even with the windows closed we could still feel the heat."

The early deaths of the siblings' mother and sister prompted them to be tested for a cancer gene.

A tyre dealership in Tyseley, has been "totally destroyed," said the fire service.

Fire service area commander Neil Griffiths said: "At the height of the fire the conditions were incredibly challenging and quite dangerous, which is why we needed over 100 firefighters to deal with it assertively, safely and effectively."

"The flames were incredible," he said.

"The only thing that is left is the four outside walls."

He added the fire service was investigating the cause of the blaze.

Road closures are still in place and residents have been asked to avoid the area, West Midlands Police said.

The boy is accused of murdering Hazrat Umar, 18, who was stabbed to death in Birmingham.