An escaped rhea which has lived at a Worcestershire golf club for the last four months is going to be recaptured so he can be looked after by a zoo instead.

The 6ft, flightless bird arrived at Evesham Golf Club, in Worcestershire, in October.

Due to its speed the bird was nicknamed Linford, after sprinter Linford Christie, and he's been looked after by staff who say they've been feeding him apples and bananas, but he now needs more care as he's getting older.

Head professional at the course, Rob Steele, said: "He'll be missed but we can't be selfish about it, we've got to do the right thing for him."

Plans for a major development to transform an industrial park will be unveiled at an international property conference.

Image source, The Wigley Group

Daimler Wharf in Coventry would include a mix of houses, apartments and employment spaces as well as cafes and outdoor leisure spaces, said developer The Wigley Group.

It will create about 200 new homes on the Sandy Lane Industrial Estate site, which borders the Coventry Canal.

The plans will be showcased at the Mipim show in Cannes later this month.

An English teacher missed out on winning the Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? jackpot after failing to answer the final question.

John Robinson from Birmingham answered all the questions leading up to the final hurdle on Monday night's show, but faced the £1million question with no lifelines left.

Image source, ITV

Robinson had to say which former UK prime minister had never served as foreign secretary.

He was unable to choose from Winston Churchill, Anthony Eden, Harold Macmillan and Alec Douglas-Home.

Deciding he was not willing to risk so much money, he opted to take the £500,000.

The correct answer would have been Churchill.

Image source, ITV

It was the first time host Jeremy Clarkson has seen a contestant get to the final round since he took over from Chris Tarrant in 2018.

Work is set to start on a £3.9m upgrade to install new lifts, ramps and a footbridge at Stechford station.

Image source, West Midlands Trains

The overhaul will ensure step-free access to all three platforms at the station.

A temporary footbridge will be put in place during the works with the upgrade set to be completed by the end of 2019.

Average council tax bills in England will increase by 4.5% a year from April, reaching more than £1,800 in some regions, research suggests.

Birmingham City Council is one of those putting up council tax by 4.99%, one of the highest rises in the country.

It is the second highest rise in a decade, the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (Cipfa) said.

In the West Midlands as a whole average Band D council tax bills will rise by £78 to £1,732.

Coventry City have been told that they must have a "more robust" plan in place ahead of today's English Football League board meeting about where they will play their home games next season.

Image source, Getty

City, yet to agree a new deal with Ricoh Arena landlords Wasps, have been threatened with expulsion if they cannot offer an acceptable resolution.

In a statement last month, the EFL gave Coventry until today to provide an update "addressing the outstanding matter".

The statement continued: "Should a satisfactory solution not be found over the next two months, an Extraordinary General Meeting of clubs will be convened to consider Coventry City's expulsion from the League."

You can read more about the story here.

BBC News Travel

Metro services have been suspended between West Bromwich and Grand Central in Birmingham due to overhead line damage.

Tickets and passes are being accepted on buses and train services.

Express and Star

Some of today's Express and Star headlines are:

• Much-loved West Brom mascot's ashes left on floor by raiders, external
• Wolverhampton Council 'short-sighted' over Civic Hall wedding plans, external
• Sweets wholesaler fined for 'dirty conditions' at premises, external

Sophie Madden
BBC News

Like many little girls, nine-year-old Autumn Norris loves dressing up and experimenting with make-up.

Image source, Fran Norris

But Autumn was born Anthony. She has identified as a girl for the past two years, after telling her mother she felt she was in the "wrong body".

Ms Norris, from Shifnal in Shropshire, believes it had been on Autumn's mind for a long time and she had engaged in "feminine role-play" to explore her identity.

You can read more about Autumn's story here.

A new leader at Sandwell Council will be elected today after the council leader stepped down from his role after being suspended from the Labour Party

Image source, Sandwell Borough Council

Councillor Steve Eling resigned in February, three weeks after his suspension..

A new leader will be formally elected at a meeting this evening and Mr Eling said he will continue to serve his ward, Abbey.

It is unclear why Mr Eling was suspended by the Labour party's National Executive Committee (NEC), but it is understood it is conducting a lengthy investigation.

A senior police officer has criticised Theresa May's claim that there's no direct correlation between officer numbers and violent knife crime.

Richard Cooke, the chairman of the West Midlands Police Federation, says the government is "responsibility dodging".

Writing in The Telegraph newspaper, he said that increased stop and search checks in Birmingham following recent stabbings is paying dividends, and should be adopted nationwide.

Nazir Afzal, the former chief prosecutor in Greater Manchester, whose 17-year-old relative Hazrat Umar was recently stabbed to death in Birmingham, also criticised Mrs May.

He told BBC2's Newsnight: "I am aghast at what the Prime Minister had to say about police numbers - that there is no correlation between the number of police and the amount of crime.

"Of course there is, otherwise why would we have police at all?"

Rich Davis
BBC Weather presenter

After a mainly dry and fine morning, there will be some spells of rain this afternoon and highs of 11C (52F).

Vanessa Pearce
BBC News

Welcome to our live service for Tuesday.

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, external and Facebook, external.

Thanks for following us today in large part for our coverage of the funeral of Gordon Banks.

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.

A district councillor in Stratford-on-Avon has been suspended from the Conservative Party amid allegations of anti-semitism.

Image source, Brandon Lewis/Twitter

The suspension of councillor for Harbury ward Jacqui Harris was confirmed by party chairman, Brandon Lewis on Twitter.

Confirming the move, a South Warwickshire Conservatives spokesperson said the party had "zero tolerance" for anti-semitism, after the councillor allegedly made remarks questioning the the legitimacy of anti-semitism claims against Labour party members.

The councillor will go through "due process" which will happen very soon, the local party said, but added it "wholeheartedly supports" the suspension.

Councillor Tony Jefferson, Leader of Stratford-on-Avon District Council, said in light of the suspension Ms Harris had resigned from the cabinet, but remained a district councillor.

Ms Harris has been approached by the BBC, but yet to respond to the allegations.

An investigation into the death of an 11-year-old girl who died after falling from a water ride at a theme park has been handed to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), police say.

Image source, Family handout

Evha Jannath, from Leicester ,fell from the Splash Canyon on a school trip to Drayton Manor in 2017.

Detectives have carried out a "thorough and lengthy" investigation, said Staffordshire Police, but said the circumstances do not meet the threshold for gross negligence or corporate manslaughter.

A forensic pathologist concluded Evha died as a result of drowning, said the force, and an inquest will take place later this year.

“Evha’s family have been made aware of the findings and our thoughts remain with her family and friends,” officers said.

Michael Buchanan
Social Affairs Correspondent, BBC News

The health regulator NHS Improvement (NHSI) says it has decided to abandon a panel it had set up to oversee a review into maternity failures at an NHS trust.

Image source, Richard Stanton

Some of the families who had instigated the review into problems at the Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust had threatened to withdraw their support for the inquiry over the existence and composition of the panel.

Among those who NHSI had invited to participate were the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists who some families believe were complicit in recent problems at the trust.

More than 200 families have come forward to allege maternity problems at the Shrewsbury and Telford Trust, over a period of almost two decades, from 1998 to 2017.

NHSI said it had decided to abandon the panel "following feedback from the families".

A 16-year-old boy has been remanded in custody after appearing in court accused of murdering a teenager who was stabbed to death.

Image source, Google

The boy is accused of stabbing Hazrat Umar, 18, who died in Norwood Road, Bordesley Green, Birmingham on 25 February.

The youth, who cannot be named for legal reasons, sat with his head bowed during much of the 10-minute hearing at Birmingham Crown Court today.

He is next due to appear at a plea hearing on 1 April.

Local Democracy Reporting Service
Tom Dare

An extension to the Midland Metro network is to cost an extra £50m.

However, the West Midlands Combined Authority said the increase would be funded thanks to profits from the existing tram network.

Image source, WMCA

The Wednesbury to Brierley Hill extension will connect with the existing line and feature 17 stops including Dudley town centre and the Black Country Living Museum.

If the budget is approved, work is expected to start on the link later this year, and be completed by 2023.

Worcester News

The Worcesters News is covering these stories today:

• Restaurant founder 'sad' at closure, external
• Two drug dealers jailed, external
• Seven-year-old cut off hair to donate for wigs, external