Summary

  • Updates from Monday 2 September to Sunday 8 September

Live Reporting

  1. Woman in critical condition 'after hit by car'

    A woman's in a critical condition in hospital after it's believed she was hit by a car this morning, the ambulance service said.

    Crews were called to the junction of Constitution Hill and Howard Street, Birmingham, at about 09:45 and found a car and two lampposts had been damaged in the collision.

    Paramedics said the woman had suffered serious injuries.

    The driver was checked over and discharged at the scene.

  2. Jury out on HS2 rail link

    BBC Business News

    Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has updated the House of Commons on high-speed rail line HS2, saying a review of the project is under way and due to report in the autumn.

    The scheme, phase one of which is expected to see Birmingham linked with London, has had a rough ride in recent weeks, with reports of it being up to five years behind schedule and over budget.

    Possible design for an HS2 trainSiemens / PA

    Mr Shapps said works were continuing while the review was ongoing, but said he shared David Lidington's concern and anxiety about missing payments to those living on the route.

    In answering other questions he also assured the house that there was separate funding available still for the Northern Powerhouse Project, and the Midlands upgrade, which is not linked to HS2 money.

  3. 'Motive unclear' after woman shot in family home

    Martynas Okmanas saw her husband leave on the school run and "calmly walked in".

    Read More

  4. Two arrested on suspicion of kidnap and murder bid

    Two men suspected of planning to kidnap and murder a female relative have been arrested.

    Darya Khan Safi, 49, was detained at his home in the Foleshill area of Coventry by officers from the National Crime Agency (NCA).

    He and Mohammed Patman, 54 from London, are due before Westminster Magistrates' Court next week to face extradition proceedings.

    The pair, both originally from Afghanistan, are wanted by the Slovakian authorities on suspicion of conspiring to murder the 25-year-old woman who had renounced Islam and left the UK to living in Austria, the NCA said.

  5. Election not the solution for Birmingham MP

    BBC Politics

    Birmingham Labour MP Jess Philips has told the BBC News Channel said she supports having a general election - but only once Parliament has decided a way forward on Brexit.

    Jess Phillips

    Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to accuse Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn of "a cowardly insult to democracy" later for blocking an election.

    Yesterday, MPs blocked Mr Johnson's initial plan for an early election, although there are other avenues for the government.

    The Birmingham Yardley MP said: “Until the issue of no-deal is completely off the table, until there is a pathway – whether that is a deal, or a second referendum, I’m not sure how a general election solves anything.”

  6. Climate change 'harming purple hillside heather'

    Acres of once-purple heather on the Long Mynd in Shropshire and Holnicote on Exmoor turns brown.

    Read More

  8. 'Glorious purple' turns to muddy brown at beauty spot

    BBC Shropshire

    Climate change is being blamed by the National Trust for heather at a Shropshire beauty spot turning from its usual purple to a muddy brown colour.

    A combination of last year's drought and a mild winter are the reasons the National Trust says up to three-quarters of the plants on the Long Mynd are in poor health.

    Long MyndNational Trust

    The organisation, which manages the area, part of the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, says last year's high temperatures followed by a lack of rain left the heather "seriously stressed and unlikely to flower".

    While the mild winter led to an increase in heather beetles, which attack the plants' leaves.

    Keith Jones, a climate change specialist at the National Trust, said the organisation was "seeing first-hand the impacts of climate change on at least two of these special landscapes within our care".

    With warming temperatures other trees and plants are increasingly more susceptible to pest and diseases. We have seen changes in the tick population with increases of over 400% in the last 10 years."

    Keith Jones, National Trust

  9. Your photos: Spectacular sunrise

    BBC Weather Watchers

    We had the right weather conditions this morning for some spectacular sunrise photos and our BBC Weather Watchers didn't disappoint.

    Here are three from users Jon in Barlaston, Staffordshire, Chris in Corley, Warwickshire and Spennells Pensioner in Kidderminster, Worcestershire:

    BarlastonJon
    CorleyChris
    KidderminsterSpennells Pensioner

  10. Scotland striker signing 'a major coup'

    BBC Shropshire

    Shrewsbury Town's signing of Scotland striker Jason Cummings is a "major coup" for the club, its chief executive's said.

    Jason Cummings playing for Nottingham ForestGetty Images

    The 24-year-old joined from Championship side Nottingham Forest on a two-year contract.

    He's won two caps for his country, the most recent of which came against Hungary in March 2018.

    It's a major coup for us to get him to Shrewsbury because he's had a prolific scoring rate in the past and I'm hopeful that he can settle in here with us."

    Brian Caldwell, Shrewsbury Town chief executive

  11. Off-duty paramedic comes to the rescue as boy hit by car

    A boy has been taken to hospital after being hit by a car this morning.

    He was walking with his mother on Duck Lane, close to the junction of Wolverhampton Road in Codsall shortly before 08:00, said the ambulance service.

    An off-duty paramedic started to help the boy before ambulance crews arrived.

    He was taken to New Cross Hospital for further assessment, it said.

  12. Man jailed after woman shot in 'cold-blooded' attack

    A man who carried out a "cold-blooded shooting" of a mother-of-two in her Solihull home has been jailed for almost 30 years after what police believe was a "targeted attack".

    Police said Lithuanian national Martynas Okmanas, 29, walked through the front door of the family home in Dovehouse Lane in December before opening-fire on the 51-year-old victim.

    Martynas OkmanasWest Midlands Police

    One bullet went through her shoulder and another damaged her hand as she tried defending herself, officers said.

    The woman managed to flee to a neighbour's house after it is believed Okmanas's gun jammed.

    At Birmingham Crown Court on Wednesday he was jailed for 28 years with an extended licence of five years after being found guilty of attempted murder.

    We have some hypothesis for what was behind the attack but nothing concrete – and there are no links between Okmanas and the victim as far as we know. Nothing was stolen from the address, despite a Rolex watch being thrown at his feet, so our belief is this was a targeted attack on the woman."

    Det Insp Kat Sibley, West Midlands Police

  14. Serious crash closes Birmingham road

    BBC News Travel

    A serious crash has closed Constitution Hill in Birmingham city centre.

    It's closed from Water Street to Livery Street.

    The closure is causing delays to traffic heading between Hockley and the city centre.

    Some buses are being diverted.

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  15. Lanes shut on M6 as potholes repaired

    BBC News Travel

    Two lanes are shut on the M6 in Cheshire this morning as potholes are being repaired.

    The closure's on the southbound side between J17 and J16, for Crewe, Highways England's said.

  16. Deaths of man and woman in house 'unexplained'

    Allen Cook
    BBC News

    A house remains sealed off this morning after the bodies of a man and a woman were found last night.

    Police at the scene

    A two-year-old child was also found unharmed by Staffordshire Police at the house on Henhurst Hill, Burton-upon-Trent.

    The force says the deaths of the 32-year-old man and 23-year-old woman are being treated as unexplained and post-mortem examinations will be carried out.

    Police at the scene

    The area outside the house has been cordoned off and officers are speaking to neighbours on the street.

  17. Rail lines reopen

    BBC News Travel

    Rail lines between Coventry and Rugby have reopened following earlier disruption.

    Some services are still being delayed by up to an hour, with disruption expected to last until 12:00.

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  18. 'Parliament will continue to be dominated by Brexit'

    Announcing her intention to retire as MP for Meriden, Dame Caroline Spelman said it was time for a new person to represent the constituency in a parliament "which will continue to be dominated by the consequences of Brexit".

    She has represented Meriden since 1997, and has been vocal in her opposition to a no-deal Brexit.

    Dame Caroline SpelmanConservative Party

    The Meriden constituency includes a number of big manufacturers, including Jaguar Land Rover.

    Alongside MP Jack Dromey, Dame Caroline was behind a letter signed by more than 200 colleagues in January, saying "crashing out" of the EU without a deal would cause job losses.

    Brexit is only partly about a date; it is more of a process of withdrawal, negotiation and then reconciliation of the social divisions it has caused which may take years to heal. Withdrawal is not a destination but one step on the journey. Now is the time to stand back and let a new Conservative candidate take this process forward."

    Dame Caroline Spelman, Conservative MP for Meriden

  20. M6 reopens after gin spill traffic chaos

    An HGV carrying 32,000 litres of gin leaked its load over the carriageway following a crash.

    Read More