Summary

  • Updates from Monday 17 February to Sunday 23 February

  1. Malan to miss start of Bears' seasonpublished at 18:01 British Summer Time 6 April 2021

    Warwickshire's South Africa Test batsman Pieter Malan is to miss Thursday's start of the season as he is on the Covid 'red list'.

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  2. Officer 'mocked detainee' and 'pushed him around'published at 17:27 British Summer Time 6 April 2021

    Insp Matthew Downs admits using unnecessary force on a youth in a custody block.

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  3. Trust to work with safety team over maternity servicespublished at 17:25 British Summer Time 6 April 2021

    A Shropshire hospital trust is to work with the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) around how it deals with women and families after criticism of its maternity services.

    Last year a report into the maternity care of more than 1,800 families by Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) found that poor care over nearly two decades had harmed dozens of women and their babies.

    The agreement to work the HSIB represented a "key milestone" for the trust as it implemented changes from the report, led by Donna Ockenden, a former senior midwife.

    Diane Ockenden

    The trust said it will be working to "communicate openly and receive feedback from women and families".

    It has also held its first monthly public meeting to "drive forward actions in maternity services arising from the first Ockenden Report".

  4. Vaccine passports ridiculous, pub owners saypublished at 16:11 British Summer Time 6 April 2021

    Publicans say the use of vaccine passports for the hospitality industry will be a "nightmare".

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  5. More mental health help for new mothers unveiledpublished at 15:50 British Summer Time 6 April 2021

    The 26 clinics, providing treatment for 6,000 new parents, will open by April 2022, NHS England says.

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  6. It’s Not Always Black and White podcastpublished at 15:49 British Summer Time 6 April 2021

    BBC Radio Stoke

    A new podcast of intimate and hilarious conversations about race, love and the grey spaces in between has launched on Tuesday on BBC Radio Stoke and BBC Sounds.

    Bongi Msimanga and Matt Hodson

    Each episode features married couple Matt Hodson, 39, born and bred in Solihull and a commercial manager for a railway company, and Bongi Msimanga, 34, born in southern Africa, now living in Shropshire and a journalist with the BBC for seven years.

    The questions are demanding, sometimes brutal, and the answers always raw and often comical.

    Like many interracial couples during the growth of the Black Lives Matter movement, they found themselves talking about race in a different way.

    They'd never really talked about racism as an institution or what it meant for their marriage. They'd fallen in love with each other's differences. But those differences were now creating fault lines through their relationship and between friends and family.

    New episodes of It's Not Always Black and White will be updated weekly on all podcast platforms.

  7. Man appears in court after baby killed in crashpublished at 15:30 British Summer Time 6 April 2021

    Two-week-old Ciaran Morris died after a car hit his pram in the West Midlands on Sunday.

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  8. Warwick team triumph in University Challenge finalpublished at 14:54 British Summer Time 6 April 2021

    Warwick University defeated opponents from Cambridge's Magdalene College in the BBC Two quiz show.

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  9. More mental health help for new mothers unveiledpublished at 13:01 British Summer Time 6 April 2021

    Mental health "hubs" for new, expectant or bereaved mothers are to be set up around England, including in the West Midlands.

    Mother holding newborn's handImage source, Science Photo Library

    The 26 sites, due to be opened by next April, will offer physical health checks and psychological therapy in one building.

    NHS England said these centres would provide treatment for about 6,000 new parents in the first year.

    The first 10 sites will open around England "within months", including Birmingham & Solihull and Shropshire Telford & Wrekin.

    Five years ago, 40% of areas in England had no dedicated maternal mental health services.

  10. Bricks thrown at police in fake calloutpublished at 10:23 British Summer Time 6 April 2021

    Officers from West Midlands Police say they were assaulted with bricks and stones after a fake callout on Monday night.

    A sword found during the "fake" calloutImage source, West Midlands Police

    The force's firearms unit posted on Twitter that they responded to reports of a stabbing in Nechells, Birmingham, but the 999 call turned out to be "false and malicious".

    They said the projectiles caused "minor damage" to police vehicles before the offenders ran off.

    However "every cloud", the officers tweeted, as concealed weapons including a sword were found hidden behind bins.

  11. Thousands raised after baby killed in crashpublished at 09:53 British Summer Time 6 April 2021

    A fundraising appeal to support the family of a two-week old baby killed in a car crash on Sunday has so far raised more than £13,000.

    Ciaran Leigh MorrisImage source, Family handout

    Ciaran Leigh Morris was being pushed along the pavement by family members on High Street, Brownhills, when he was hit by a car.

    A 34-year-old man was charged in connection with the fatal crash and is due to appear before magistrates later.

    The JustGiving appeal set a target of £2,000 to support the baby's family but has been flooded with donations.

  12. Victorian town to open late after 'lifeline' cashpublished at 08:27 British Summer Time 6 April 2021

    Museum will use part of its £1.1m emergency funding for new lighting at the site.

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  13. Midlands Live: Breaking news and local storiespublished at 07:46 British Summer Time 6 April 2021

    The latest news and updates from across the West Midlands and south Cheshire.

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  14. Music marathon helps DJ after amputationpublished at 07:15 British Summer Time 6 April 2021

    Ian Thompsett had a leg amputated above the knee after contracting sepsis.

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  15. Man, 34, charged after baby hit by carpublished at 21:28 British Summer Time 5 April 2021

    Two-week-old Ciaran Leigh Morris died after a car hit his pram in the West Midlands.

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  16. Officers break up 'illegal rave' in villagepublished at 10:38 British Summer Time 5 April 2021

    Arrests are made after hundreds of people travelled to the event in Dorstone at the weekend.

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  17. Road blocks set up over 'illegal rave' in villagepublished at 15:21 British Summer Time 4 April 2021

    The community is increasingly concerned about a "large gathering" in Dorstone, police say.

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  18. Woman, 18, found with gunshot injuries in streetpublished at 13:01 British Summer Time 4 April 2021

    The woman is in a critical but stable condition after being found injured in Wolverhampton.

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  19. Woman killed by dogs that got through fence holepublished at 17:12 British Summer Time 3 April 2021

    Lucille Downer, a great-gran originally from Jamaica, suffered a "sustained" attack, police say.

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  20. Investigation after girl, 11, sexually assaultedpublished at 18:39 British Summer Time 2 April 2021

    Police are continuing their inquiries to identify the attacker, following the incident in Tipton.

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