Our live coverage across the daypublished at 19:00 British Summer Time 26 July 2019
We'll be back with our usual mix of news, sport, travel and weather from 07:00 on Monday.
Summary
Updates from Monday 22 July to Sunday 28 July
Click Related Stories to read updates from your part of the Midlands
Our live coverage across the daypublished at 19:00 British Summer Time 26 July 2019
Your photos: Local colourpublished at 18:55 British Summer Time 26 July 2019
It's not always about the weather for our BBC Weather Watchers and their photos, sometimes it's just great to show you some of the views across the West Midlands.
These two are from users Dammo in Edgbaston, Birmingham and Toppo in Worcester:
Image source, Dammo
Image source, ToppoHundreds of homes given go-ahead for former golf sitepublished at 18:51 British Summer Time 26 July 2019
An MP says he's "disappointed" over a government decision to allow the development of up to 800 houses on a former golf course in Birmingham.
Despite being turned down by the city council the outgoing secretary of state, James Brokenshire, has given permission for the the homes to be built on the site of the former North Worcestershire Golf Club, on Hanging Lane.
Speaking to community paper B31 Voices, Birmingham Northfield Labour MP Richard Burden said the council should assess whether there were grounds to challenge the decision in court.
The developers, Bloor Homes, were also awarded partial costs against the council, "on grounds of unreasonable behaviour".
This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on TwitterThe BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.Skip twitter postThe BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.Allow Twitter content?
This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.
End of twitter postCarbon-neutral target to cost £40bnpublished at 18:43 British Summer Time 26 July 2019
The West Midlands Combined Authority also approved plans for the region to be carbon-neutral by 2041.
A meeting today heard the plans could cost an estimated £40bn over the period, and that it would cost even more to bring the target forward.
Image source, Getty ImagesInterim targets were also set for a 36% reduction by 2022 and 69% by 2027.
Nationally, the government set a 2050 target to be carbon neutral last month.
Council pledges to be carbon neutral by 2030published at 18:39 British Summer Time 26 July 2019
BBC ShropshireTelford and Wrekin Council has declared a "climate emergency" and committed to becoming carbon neutral in all its activities by 2030.
The local authority has also promised to stop using single-use plastics before the next local election in four years' time.
Councillor Carolyn Healy spoke at the meeting last night. She represents the Ironbridge Gorge - the birthplace of the industrial revolution - and said it was important to recognise "the seriousness of this issue and the urgency of taking action now".
Quote MessageThe industrialisation of our planet is having a catastrophic effect on our climate and this threatens our very existence."
Carolyn Healy, Labour councillor for Ironbridge Gorge
Regiment marks 60th birthday with freedom of entry marchpublished at 18:28 British Summer Time 26 July 2019
The 30th Signal Regiment has been welcomed in Nuneaton, marking the regiment's 60th birthday by exercising its freedom of entry to the borough.
Image source, Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough CouncilThe 177 parading soldiers stopped in Market Place, for a welcome by the Mayor June Tandy.
Image source, Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough CouncilThe march also marked the 70th birthday of the Queen’s Gurkha Signals, also based at Bramcote Barracks and part of the 30th Signal Regiment.
Just four regiments have been given the freedom of the borough since 1907, The Junior Leaders Regiment, the 30th Signal Regiment, The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, the Queen's Gurkha Signals, said the borough council.
Video: What's the weather got in store?published at 18:19 British Summer Time 26 July 2019
Sara Thornton
BBC WeatherIt will be a cloudy night with some rain and lows of 14C (57F).
Media caption, Latest weather for the West Midlands
T20 Cricket: Birmingham and Worcestershire in actionpublished at 18:09 British Summer Time 26 July 2019
BBC SportBirmingham Bears will look to secure their position at the top of their T20 Blast group this evening.
They're in joint first position with Lancashire Lightning after three games each and the Bears head to bottom side Northamptonshire Steelbacks.
While Lancashire are also in action at the same time, hosting third-placed Worcestershire Rapids at Old Trafford.
Geese 'covered in oil' rescued from canalpublished at 17:56 British Summer Time 26 July 2019
Allen Cook
BBC NewsTwenty geese have been rescued from a canal after they were covered in oil which the RSPCA believes was dumped there deliberately.
Image source, RSPCAThe birds were spotted struggling on the Coventry Canal, near Fazeley, Tamworth, yesterday morning.
The charity says the 17 Canada geese and three greylag geese were captured and taken to a centre to be carefully washed to remove the oil.
Image source, RSPCAArchaeologists slowly near castle's medieval pastpublished at 17:45 British Summer Time 26 July 2019
Allen Cook
BBC NewsFragments of pottery and glass dating back centuries, old flower beds and a 1920s water pipe have been found this week in an archaeological dig at Shrewsbury Castle.
Image source, Shropshire CouncilWork started on Monday at the site and is due to last until 2 August , external with the aim of revealing its hidden history for the first time.
Archaeologist Dr Nigel Baker revealed, external they'd found a large road surface and were slowly stripping away the more modern discoveries to try to get to the medieval surface.
"We're now beginning to think that maybe 1,000 years of history in the castle is sandwiched into a couple of feet of vertical depth of layed earth," he added.
Attempted murder arrest after pub fight stabbingpublished at 17:33 British Summer Time 26 July 2019
BreakingA man's been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder , externalafter another man was stabbed during a fight outside a pub in Walsall.
Image source, Liam Keen/Express & StarWest Midlands Police was called to Forge Road, Darlaston on Wednesday, and said the 21-year-old man who was hurt is still in a critical condition in hospital.
A 19-year-old man handed himself into police today and is still in custody.
Officers said a 21-year-old man arrested on suspicion of affray has been released while investigations continue.
Boris Johnson in Birmingham to announce new police panelpublished at 17:17 British Summer Time 26 July 2019
BBC PoliticsThe new prime minister is in Birmingham this evening to announce the creation of a national policing board chaired by the home secretary and made up of "key police leaders".
Image source, ReutersIts role will be to hold police to account in meeting Boris Johnson's pledge of 20,000 extra police officers within three years and to "drive the national response to the most pressing issues that affect communities".
There is also going to be an urgent government review of a pilot running in seven forces which has relaxed conditions for police use of stop-and-search powers, with a view to rolling it out across all forces.
Image source, ReutersThe new prime minister arrived in the city with Home Secretary Priti Patel and met with the Chief Constable Dave Thompson ahead his announcement.
Hundreds of budgies saved from firepublished at 17:10 British Summer Time 26 July 2019
Allen Cook
BBC NewsHundreds of budgies have been saved from a fire today.
Image source, Staffordshire Fire ServiceThey were in an aviary in Chell, Stoke-on-Trent when the blaze broke out, Staffordshire Fire Service said, filling the area with smoke., external
But the service said firefighters managed to quickly put the fire out and saved all 200 budgies.
The fire was caused by an electrical fault in a battery which set fire to a charger.
Skatepark rejection turns attention to external fundingpublished at 17:03 British Summer Time 26 July 2019
Local Democracy Reporting Service
Tom DavisCalls to renovate an “unsafe” skatepark in Coventry have been turned down, but campaigners are optimistic of securing external funding.
Children led a campaign to revamp the War Memorial skatepark due to its age and poor surface, complaining it was causing injury.
At a meeting on Thursday, parent Susie Cowley-Haselden said it was “dated and dangerous” and led to “more risk of breaking bones”.
Her daughter, eight-year-old Briony, added: “I love the War Memorial park but I do not like skating there.”
But the call, backed by a 1,425-name petition, was turned down by the cabinet member in charge, councillor Abdul Khan, citing lack of funds.
Speaking after the meeting, Mrs Cowley-Haselden said she was optimistic the funding to renovate the skatepark could be found another way.
Man jailed for dumping 65 tonnes of rubbish in gardenpublished at 16:50 British Summer Time 26 July 2019
A man who dumped an "astonishing" amount waste in the garden of an empty home has been jailed for five months.
Image source, Birmingham City CouncilLocal residents contacted the council after witnessing Sean Martin depositing the waste from a "roll-on-roll-off" skip lorry at an address in Church Lane, Handsworth in 2017.
Contractors eventually removed 65 tonnes of waste from the property.
Image source, Birmingham City Council
Image source, Birmingham City CouncilThe 53-year-old was found guilty of one charge of depositing controlled waste following a trial at Birmingham Crown Court on Thursday, and sentenced to five months in prison.
Councillor John O-Shea said: "The scale of this criminal fly-tipping is astonishing.
"This offender had no regard for the people of Handsworth, their neighbourhood or their quality of life."
Micah Richards: Ex-Villa defender retires from footballpublished at 16:42 British Summer Time 26 July 2019
BBC SportFormer England defender Micah Richards has announced his retirement from professional football.
Image source, Getty ImagesThe 31-year-old has been hampered by a persistent knee injury and last played for Aston Villa in October 2016.
Villa released him this summer and he is set to combine punditry work with a promotional role at Manchester City, the club where he made his name.
Richards played 295 games for City, Fiorentina and Villa and won 13 England caps between 2006 and 2012.
Sixth arrest over street violencepublished at 16:31 British Summer Time 26 July 2019
Allen Cook
BBC NewsA sixth man's been arrested after violence, external spilled out across two streets in Stoke-on-Trent and saw one man stabbed.
It took place yesterday afternoon on Milton Street and Sun Street and Staffordshire Police said they seized weapons after arriving on the scene.
The force had said five men were hurt, one of them critically but now say his condition's improved to serious but stable.
The six men were arrested on suspicion of affray.
In the papers: Three hurt as motorbikes crashpublished at 16:22 British Summer Time 26 July 2019
A few of the headlines on the Ledbury Reporter website today:
Extra officers welcomed by police chiefpublished at 16:15 British Summer Time 26 July 2019
A pledge by Boris Johnson to increase investment in police forces has been welcomed by the the head of West Midlands Police.
Chief Constable Dave Thompson said a quarter of the force's budget had been cut and the number of officers left at levels "less than 1974" - the year it was founded.
"We have been very clear, we don't have the number of officers and I think the service sometimes feels that," he said.
Forces in England and Wales lost more than 20,000 officers between September 2009 and September 2017.
Mr Johnson said he wanted the recruitment - which will be overseen by a new national policing board - to be completed over the next three years.
Woman reunited with 'stolen puppy' after five monthspublished at 16:05 British Summer Time 26 July 2019
John Acres
Presenter, BBC Radio StokeA woman's been reunited with her pet dog five months after she was stolen from a car.
Image source, Chloe MeighIn March, King Shepherd cross-breed Sapphire disappeared during a market in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent.
The puppy was then found on the streets of Blackburn and traced back to owner Chloe Meigh through her microchip.
Staffordshire Police said their investigation into the theft is still ongoing.
Quote MessageOver the moon. When they rang, I couldn't believe it, I was 'don't even joke' and they were like 'no, seriously, we've got her'."
Chloe Meigh, Sapphire's owner
