Beatrice Zigowe, who was seeking asylum, could not move quickly away from the fire, an inquest hears.

Allen Cook
BBC News

A baby boa constrictor has been "dumped like rubbish" on wasteland, the RSPCA says.

Image source, RSPCA

The reptile was discovered on 17 April near to Wye Close, Cheadle, Staffordshire.

The charity said the snake, now being cared for by a specialist, was left in a plastic box with an ashtray for a water dish and no heat source.

A man has admitted agreeing to a £20,000 fee to kill a businessman's wife.

Image source, Helen Tipper

Gurpreet Singh, 43, is charged with murdering his second wife Sarbjit Kaur and soliciting the murder of his first.

During his trial at Birmingham Crown Court earlier, he was accused of paying Heera Singh Uppal a £2,000 advance to kill Amandeep Kaur in 2013.

The two men allegedly met in a barbershop to discuss ways to get away with murdering her.

Mr Uppal told the court he agreed to kill her, but when asked whether he intended to carry out the murder, he replied: "No, there was no intention to carry out any murder."

Mr Singh denies the charges against him. The trial continues.

BBC Weather Watchers

Our BBC Weather Watchers are a lovely bunch who as well as updating us on local weather conditions also send in photos of the landscapes across the West Midlands.

These three, taken today, are from users Margrose in Stoke Prior, Worcestershire; Dammo in Birmingham; and Ken M in Lydbury North, Shropshire:

Image source, Margrose

Image source, Dammo

Image source, Ken M

Cricketer Alex Hepburn has been jailed for five years for raping a sleeping woman.

Image source, West Mercia Police

The ex-Worcestershire player assaulted the victim at his Worcester flat after she had consensual sex with a then-teammate in April 2017.

Prosecutors had previously said Hepburn "dehumanised" women, rating them in text messages. He was convicted at an earlier hearing following a retrial.

Jailing the 23-year-old at Hereford Crown Court, Judge Jim Tindal told the "immature" cricketer he was engaged in a "pathetic sexist game to collect as many sexual encounters as possible".

BBC News Travel

A signalling fault is delaying rail services in the West Midlands between Dorridge and Hatton, with some services diverted via Whitlocks End.

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) will build a next-generation Defender 4x4 in Slovakia rather than the UK.

Image source, Jaguar Land Rover

The current Defender model was built at the firm's Solihull factory until 2016.

JLR says the new model has been designed and engineered in the UK and its new engines built in Wolverhampton.

JLR adds it plans "significant investment" at Solihull to support the production of its next generation of Range Rover and Land Rover models.

Simon Hayes was part of a plot to abandon the man in the UK so he could be treated on the NHS.

A wandering swan that stopped traffic on the M6 in the West Midlands earlier has been moved from the motorway.

Traffic was temporarily held on the northbound carriageway from J9 to J10, with the southbound carriageway also slow due to onlookers.

Image source, Highways England

The bird has been released at a lake close to junction 12, Highways England tweeted. , external

Allen Cook
BBC News

A man who's been jailed today for his part in a plot to dump an American dementia patient in England was a "fantasist" who claimed to be an elite special forces soldier, a court's heard.

Prosecutors said Simon Hayes (pictured) was a pathological liar who in November 2017 left a pensioner - then a mystery man - with medical staff near Hereford Hospital, claiming he'd found him "face down" in a country lane.

He'd dressed up in a fake military uniform as part of the ruse, putting on a fake American accent to speak to medics and claimed he could give no contact details as he was "working with the SAS".

Image source, PA

Worcester Crown Court heard the "pack of lies" from the 53-year-old, of Ivy House Park, Taunton, Somerset, sent detectives on a "wild goose chase" to work out where the confused pensioner was from. After months, they identified him as Los Angeles citizen and dementia patient, Roger Curry, aged 78.

Hayes had known that all along. The court heard he had been contacted by Mr Curry's son, Kevin, who was his "best mate". According to the prosecution, the pair orchestrated a plan to abandon Mr Curry in the UK so he could get treatment from local health care providers.

They added Hayes' motivation was still unclear, with the judge adding there appeared to be no benefit to him.

Hayes admitted perverting the course of justice and a separate case of fraud in relation to a false character reference tied up in an unsuccessful visa application after deportation from the US.

The court heard Kevin Curry - who had flown to the UK with his father - was under investigation in America.

A man has been jailed for two-and-a-half years for his part in a long-running mystery in which a vulnerable pensioner was found in Hereford with no clue as to his identity, save for the puzzle of his American accent.

The man was discovered in a confused state in 2015 and it took months until police were able to name him as dementia patient Roger Curry - a Los Angeles resident in his 70s.

Simon Hayes, 53, from Ivy House Park, Taunton, Somerset, originally told West Mercia Police that he discovered Mr Curry at Hereford's bus station but later pleaded guilty to offences in connection with his appearance in the UK.

He's guilty of intending to pervert the course of justice, fraud, and two counts of possession or control of an article for use in fraud.

Image source, PA

Mr Curry was cared for in a residential home for eight months before being flown back to the US in July 2016.

But just how did Hayes fit into the mystery? We'll bring you more as we have it.

Remal Hunt, 28, was shot in a residential street in Birmingham in April.

BBC Hereford and Worcester

Rare aerial photos of Herefordshire between the 1950s and 1970s have gone on public display today. , external

Herefordshire Council says they were taken by Donovan C Wilson who used a special ex-RAF camera to get the shots of the county.

Image source, Herefordshire Council

Volunteers with the county's archive service have digitized nearly 3,5000 of his negatives, with a selection chosen for the new exhibition.

The pictures are on show at the Herefordshire Archive and Records Centre from today until 28 June.

Image source, Herefordshire Council

A 24-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murdering Remal Hunt who was shot dead on 18 April in Erdington, Birmingham.

Mr Hunt, who was shot in the street, was 28.

Police said the suspect was arrested at Manchester airport on Monday night and brought to the West Midlands for questioning.

Image source, Other

BBC Shropshire

Patients who need to be taken to hospital by ambulance may end up being driven to hospitals further away in order to be seen more quickly.

It's part of changes that West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) has introduced to try to free up vehicles.

The NHS says acute hospital trusts should admit patients within 15 minutes of an ambulance, external arriving at A&E. That can take longer if the hospital is busy.

WMAS says patients may now not be taken to their nearest site if their condition allows them to be taken to a less busy one.

One of Britain's largest care home groups, which runs 12 West Midlands sites, has gone into administration.

Two of the holding companies behind Four Seasons Health Care appointed administrators on Tuesday after struggling to repay their debts.

The group serves about 17,000 residents and patients, and employs some 20,000 staff.

Four Seasons said the move would not affect care arrangements or lead to the closure of homes.

Viewers of a documentary series following the pioneering work of surgeons in Birmingham will tonight see an operation to transplant a kidney from a father to his two-year-old son.

Surgeons: On The Edge of Life was filmed at Birmingham Children's Hospital and features two-year-old Isaac Willocks whose kidneys were damaged while in the womb.

Surgeon Liam McCarthy who carried out the transplant said it was an "incredibly tricky" operation.

The series continues on BBC 2 at 21:00 and will available afterwards on the BBC iPlayer.

BBC News Travel

A swan on the M6 is causing travel disruption in the West Midlands.

Traffic is being held on the northbound carriageway from J9 to J10, with the southbound carriageway also slow due to onlookers.

London Marathon runner Hayley Carruthers is already back at work despite crawling over the finish line on Sunday.

Image source, PA

TV viewers and spectators on The Mall watched as Hayley approached the finish line at 26.2 miles before her legs gave way - she fell just metres before the finish, but still managed to beat her personal best time.

Based at the Cancer Centre at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, Hayley is part of the research radiography team.

Victoria Harrop, senior research radiographer, said: “We were all so pleased to see Hayley get another personal best on Sunday.

“Hayley is continuing to combine two of her passions – running and being a research radiographer – with the support of her colleagues.

“We’re all looking forward to seeing where her running takes her next.”

Part of the A46 in Warwickshire is likely to remain closed for the majority of Tuesday, police say.

It follows a crash in which a man died when his car hit a tree near Bishopton in Stratford-upon-Avon at about 05:40.

Officers investigating the crash, involving a Ford Fiesta, are appealing for witnesses and dashboard camera footage.

The road remains closed from the junction of the A439 Warwick Road to A3400 Birmingham Road.