A man hurled a petrol bomb at a house in Winsford before fleeing the scene, police said.

Local Democracy Reporting Service
Tom Davis

Areas of improvement have been found in Coventry City Council’s children’s services, but “more needs to be done”, Ofsted has said.

Image source, Coventry City Council

Coventry children’s services have been in the spotlight since four-year-old Daniel Pelka died after being starved and abused by his mother and her partner in 2012.

The service was graded “inadequate” in 2014 and “requires improvement to be good” in 2017.

At a focused visit in February, Ofsted found children are benefiting from increasing workforce stability, early permanence for children is improving, and the vast majority of children are appropriately placed with their carers.

But inspector John Roughton said the quality of social work practice remains inconsistent, he said, with too many children not having an updated assessment to inform their care plan.

The council welcomed the inspection saying there was "still lots to work on" in the service.

Unarmed Sharif Cousins was shot in the chest by West Midlands Police officers in Birmingham.

Mike O'Sullivan
Reporter, East Midlands Today

The jury at Birmingham Crown Court has found Hanzalah Patel, 22, of Frederick Road, Leicester, guilty of preparing terrorist acts between May and June 2017.

His co-defendant 22-year-old Safwaan Mansur of Hampton Road, Birmingham has also been found guilty of the same charge

Image source, PA

The men were arrested at a hotel in Istanbul, Turkey, after they tried to join and fight for the Islamic State group in Syria.

The 43-year-old man was knifed in Birmingham when he refused to hand over cash to two passengers.

Dr Rajeshkumar Mehta committed the offence while working as a locum in Birmingham.

George Birchall Service ceased trading at the end of March, administrators said.

Hereford Times

Some of the Hereford Times headlines today are:

• Investigation opened into fatal A40 crash, external
• Rotary president to officiate from rediscovered chair, external
• Westfields complete comeback for league win, external

Four-year-old Parker Lawrie is determined to protect wildlife in his local park.

Officers "run ragged" due to police cuts haven't got time to engage with youths in danger of getting mixed up in knife crime, says the Police Federation.

Image source, PA

Ministers are considering whether public bodies in England, including the police, schools and hospitals, should be legally obliged to report concerns that children are becoming involved in knife crime.

The idea is being discussed at a meeting in Downing Street this morning.

Chairman of West Midlands Police Federation, Richard Cooke, says it's the right way to go.

But he says that cuts in funding and police numbers mean that officers can't do much more than respond to 999 calls.

The online payments system is currently not working, Walsall Council tweets.

A woman has died after the car she was travelling in left the road, hitting a tree and a crash barrier.

The crash happened at about 17:30 on Saturday on the A40 close to Symonds Yat, Herefordshire.

The driver, a man in his 60s escaped unhurt, but the woman, in her 70s, died at the scene.

Officers are calling for any witnesses to the crash to come forward.

Birmingham Live

Some of the Birmingham Live headlines today are:

• Velo cycling event criticised over 'unforgivable' route changes, external
• Tributes paid to Smith's Wood murder victim, external
• Nudist plan for city reservoir during heatwaves, external

Telling our children stories about wildlife helps to engage them with conservation efforts.

The mother of a five-year-old battling leukaemia said finding three possible stem cell donors was "a million times" better than winning the lottery.

Thousands of people have joined the stem cell register after an urgent appeal to find a match for Oscar Saxelby-Lee from Worcester.

Speaking to BBC Radio Hereford & Worcester, his mother Olivia said the news "will mean he is potentially cured".

They are now waiting for final checks to decide the donor, before the transplant potentially goes ahead at the end of April.

A police officer was hit by a car after stopping a van suspected of being involved in a robbery in Coventry.

The officer was taken to hospital with leg injuries after stopping the Ford Transit on Copperfield Road, Coventry at about 16:15 on Saturday.

The occupants of the silver car fled the scene, said West Midlands Police.

A police car was also damaged during the incident.

A Stoke-on-Trent contractor has been put in the hands of administrators, with the loss of about 400 jobs.

Image source, Google

George Birchall Service, based in Newcastle-under-Lyme, specialises in facilities management and building maintenance.

The company has been experiencing "severe cashflow pressures" in recent months, said administrators FRP Advisory.

The majority of the 400 employees have been made redundant or transferred to replacement contractors, it said.

BBC WM Sport

West Bromwich Albion spent £59.2m to improve their squad, but were still relegated from the Premier League last season.

Image source, Reuters

The figures are contained in the team's annual accounts to 30 June last year.

Overall, Albion made a pre-tax loss of £7.5m compared to a profit of £39.7m the previous year.

Burton Dassett Country Park will host the finish during stage four of the race, starting in Warwick in June.

The first ever hilltop finish is to be introduced to the Women's Tour during a stage to be held in Warwickshire.

Riders will tackle three laps of the country park circuit after climbing Edge Hill.

It's the fourth time the county has hosted a stage of the race.

Police in the West Midlands are being given greater stop and search powers to tackle rising knife crime.

It makes it easier to use so-called "section 60" checks, where for a limited period of time officers can search anyone in a certain area to prevent violent crime.

Under the new rules, inspectors will be able to authorise the use of section 60. Currently, more senior officers have to give approval.

There will also be a lower threshold. Police will only need to reasonably believe serious violence "may" occur, not that it "will".