Ateeq Rafiq died a week after he became trapped under a cinema seat in Birmingham's Star City.

Three teenagers have been charged after a man was shot in the foot.

Image source, Google

The victim, in his 30s, was taken to hospital after he was injured during the attack in Joan Street, Wolverhampton on Tuesday.

The three are all due to appear at Walsall Magistrates Court charged with possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life.

A 13-year-old boy from Bilston, also arrested in connection with the incident, has been released on police bail with conditions banning him from the area, said West Midlands Police.

MP Jess Phillips has tweeted her anger after learning Anderton Park Primary School is to close early tomorrow, because of a planned protest.

She wrote: "School forced to shut because of bullies and bigots. The DFE must stamp on this".

Image source, PA

The Labour MP for Birmingham Yardley also said she would "stand and fight" and that children are being let down if society bows to the protesters.

Demonstrations have been held outside the primary school for seven weeks and protesters said Friday's protest will go ahead as planned regardless of the early closure.

They argue pupils are "too young" to understand LGBT relationships through storybooks.

Coventry Live

Some of the headlining stories on the Coventry Live website today are:

• Knifepoint robbery suspect arrested nearly 200 miles away, external
• Disabled man who needed changes to his home was , external
• Woman stands trial over alleged pub attack on Coventry mum, external

Local Democracy Reporting Service
Tom Davis

A council has been rapped by a government watchdog for failing a disabled man who was left struggling to maintain his hygiene for 16 months due to delays to home adaptations.

The man, who struggles to walk upstairs, can only walk short distances, and uses a wheelchair outside, first requested adaptations to his home to the council in March 2016.

By law, the authority should have ensured works were carried out within 12 months of confirming the application, but the work was not signed off until November 2017 – a 16-month wait.

As a result of the findings, the council has agreed to pay £500 to the complainant “to acknowledge the distress and inconvenience caused to him”.

A spokesman for the council said: “We are aware of this case and the judgement. “As a result our systems for recording correspondence and information have already been improved.”

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman found Coventry City Council had “failed in its primary duty under social care legislation” to meet the man’s eligible needs.

A Sumatran tiger, born at Dudley Zoo, has died, it's been announced.

Image source, RZSS

Staff at Edinburgh Zoo said 16-year-old Jambi had been suffering from age-related health issues and a decision was taken to "put him to sleep" so he did not suffer.

Jambi was born in 2002 before moving to Berlin, arriving at Edinburgh Zoo in 2015.

Sumatran tigers are currently listed as critically endangered, with fewer than 400 thought to remain in the wild.

In a statement posted on its website, Edinburgh Zoo said "everyone was saddened" by Jambi's loss.

Local Democracy Reporting Service
Gurdip Thandi

Party leaders in Walsall have agreed to leave personal attacks out of debates in the council chamber as they entered into the new political year.

Image source, Walsall Council

Conservative chief Mike Bird was confirmed as the new leader of Walsall Council at a meeting on Wednesday, following his party’s successful election campaign which saw them secure outright control of the authority.

Councillor Bird said the campaign in the run-up to the ballot saw personal attacks and called for an end to such abuse.

His Labour counterpart Councillor Aftab Nawaz, who was selected of leader of his party earlier this month, said they would be a “responsible and robust’ opposition and won’t resort to personal abuse.

A man who died when his car was involved in a collision with a taxi has been described as a "happy, care-free lad, who was the life and soul of any party."

Image source, West Midlands Police

Kieron Masonm 23, was driving a Volkswagen Polo which at about 01:00 on Frankley Lane, Northfield at about 01:00 on Wednesday, police said.

Two passengers from the Polo were taken to hospital with injuries which are not believed to be serious.

The taxi driver and his passenger were also taken to hospital with injuries not thought to be life-threatening, said West Midlands Police.

Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service has shared a "flames aren't games" message after leaves and twigs were "deliberately set alight" and the blaze spread to property.

Two garden sheds and a fence were on fire in Cheadle at about 19:00 last night before crews put out the flames.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

An extra hourly train between Shrewsbury and Birmingham will open up Shropshire to new business and tourists, a council has claimed in the wake of a major shake-up of rail services across the West Midlands.

Image source, West Midlands Railway

The addition sees West Midlands Railway services calling at Wellington, Telford, Shifnal, Cosford and Wolverhampton hourly and operating during off-peak hours Monday to Saturday

Meanwhile, a new hourly Sunday service between Birmingham and Shrewsbury has been introduced, calling at all stations between Wolverhampton and Shrewsbury.

And at night, trains to Shrewsbury are set to continue to depart Birmingham until about 22:30 on weekdays and 23:00 on Saturdays.

"I can’t emphasise enough what fantastic news this is for Shrewsbury and the whole of Shropshire," said Shropshire Council's director of place, Mark Barrow.

A school in Birmingham will close early on Friday after protests over the teaching of LGBT material "escalated significantly," over the past week.

Image source, PA

Protests have been held outside Anderton Park Primary school for seven weeks.

Lessons incorporating same-sex relationships and transgender issues have resulted in protests with children being removed from classes and head teachers being threatened.

Council leader Ian Ward said: “This decision was not taken lightly but protests outside the school have escalated significantly over the past week and our first priority must always be the safety of pupils, families and staff."

He said the council would continue to work with the police to ensure the school community was supported when it reopens on 3 June.

“The staff and pupils of Anderton Park have shown remarkable resilience in the face of increasingly unpleasant protests over recent weeks," he added.

Martyn Rees raped a 14-year-old and "abused his position" to prey upon some pupils, police say.

The barrister representing one of three men charged with sexually abusing a 15-year-old Telford girl said he believed she was 16.

Ayad Abdulla Hizam, 21 from Bridgecroft, Birmingham, denies four counts of child abduction and four counts of sexual activity with a child.

In her closing remarks at Shrewsbury Crown Court, Debra White, said with all eight charges, age was the issue.

Ms White said he had given his name, age and address to a hotel they'd stayed at and had gone to visit her at her grandparents house, and asked the jury if they thought he would do that if he thought she was 15.

She also said the girl could not be relied upon as a "reliable, consistent, honest witness" and said she had sex with Mr Hizam of her own, free will.

The defence for the other two men, 22-year-old Ghamer Sulayman and 19-year-old Saleh Qasem, both also from Birmingham, is due to conclude tomorrow.

Topshop and Topman are to close in Nuneaton, as part of a rescue plan at the Arcadia Group.

Image source, Getty Images

Topshop tycoon Sir Philip Green plans to close 23 stores, putting 520 jobs under threat, including the stores at the town's Ropewalk centre..

Under the proposal, Burton, Dorothy Perkins and Topshop stores will close and rents will be cut at another 194 stores at the Arcadia group.

It isn't yet known when they will close.

Ian Grabiner, chief executive of Arcadia Group, called the steps "tough but necessary" to mend the business.

You can read more here.

Birmingham is proposing a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) to stop begging and street drinking.

A 72-year-old man who claimed he designed the Wolverhampton Wanderers club badge now has to pay the football club's legal costs after he lost his High Court bid for compensation.

Image source, Peter Davies

Peter Davies from Stourport-on-Severn in Worcestershire claims he drew the wolf's head logo at school in the early 1960s and entered it in a competition.

He says he now regrets not taking £50,000 offered by the club before the case started, having been left with a legal bill of around £250,000 but no means of paying it.

“I’ve got £600-£700 in the bank, we own that little car which I need to take [my wife] to the hospital," he said.

“It’s been a twist in the tale with the bankruptcy because I really expected to win my case."

Officers are trying to trace a vehicle after a teenager was shot in the head in Wolverhampton.

A 16-year-old boy was found with a gunshot wound in Gaiseley Street, Pennfields on 6 May.

He remains in hospital in a serious condition.

Anyone who may have seen a white BMW X1 in the area is urged to get in touch with police.

Two boys, aged 15 and 17 and a 20-year-old man who were arrested in connection with the incident, have since been released without charge.

Retail chain Halfords is urging other businesses to help women prisoners train for jobs, citing the success of a scheme it's been running for two years at HMP Drake Hall in Staffordshire.

The Halfords Academy at the prison offers inmates the chance to train as cycle mechanics, with the prospect of employment at the end of their term.

Halfords said those on the programme were subject to the same standards as other trainees, and worked on bikes that needed to be reconditioned.

"The training programme is thorough and is designed to challenge participants and raise their aspirations," said a spokesperson, adding Halfords believed the scheme could reduce re-offending.

Among participants was former drug addict Leigh Bolton, who's been working at Halfords for more than nine months. "It changed my life, my future and how other people see me," she said of the programme.

A woman has been arrested in connection with the discovery of a body in Stoke-on-Trent this morning.

Police said a woman, 30, was pronounced dead at Watkin Street in Fenton to which officers were called at 06:20.

The arrested woman, also 30, is suspected of administering a noxious substance, according to the Staffordshire force.

Police say the death is being treated as unexplained. Officers have put in place a cordon at the scene where detectives are investigating.

A man is also suspected of causing death by dangerous driving over the crash in Dudley.