Summary

  • Updates from Monday 24 February to Sunday 1 March

Live Reporting

  1. Pressure on hospital beds easing

    Pressure on hospital beds in the Birmingham area is reducing, the chief executive of the Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust has said.

    Toby Lewis said the number of beds in use had fallen from a peak of around 3,000 to around 2,000, but warned it would take a long time to restore demand on the NHS to normal levels.

    Covid-19 bedGetty Images

    Mr Lewis said about 1,500 tests a day are now being carried out in his NHS Trust area and that people could be given kits to test themselves in the coming days.

    And he said the trust now has enough ventilators and while it might need more to cope with a "super surge" in cases, he wasn't expecting that now.

  2. Police pup named in tribute to nurse's father

    A police puppy's been named after a former NHS and police call operator who died from Covid-19.

    Doyle

    Doyle was named after John Doyle, who also was a call operator for New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton, where his daughter Amy works and who put forward the naming suggestion.

    John DoyleFamily handout/West Midlands Police

    John Doyle

    The other puppies, belonging to West Midlands Police, are Royal, Prayer, Angel, Florence, Hope and Rainbow.

  3. Gangs 'trying to reassert themselves' during lockdown

    There has been a resurgence of gang violence during lockdown, a police boss has said.

    West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson, said: "Because the drugs market has been totally disrupted some of the drugs gangs are trying to reassert themselves."

    He added there have been "a few outbursts of really quite nasty violence".

    David Jamieson

    The police had been taking advantage of falls in other crime to "make a real push on drugs gangs and domestic abusers," he said.

    And he warned the violence "could get worse if we don’t direct those young people into proper activity".

  4. Your photos: Clouds over the West Midlands

    BBC Weather Watchers

    The sunny weather we saw last month has gone and been replaced by dark grey cloud.

    These photos were taken at Doddenham in Worcestershire and Telford in Shropshire by BBC Weather Watchers.

    DoddenhamTreeTops
    WrekinWrekin Rambler

  5. Road art thanks key workers

    We're seeing more and more roads around the West Midlands painted with messages of thanks to NHS staff and other key workers.

    This artwork was painted on Ansty Road in Coventry.

    Road markingsCoventry City Council

  6. Lockdown lock-in warning for pubs

    Local Democracy Reporting Service
    Joe Burn

    A pub's been given an anti-social behaviour notice after people were found drinking cans of beer inside during the lockdown.

    Stoke-on-Trent City Council refused to name the pub but said it was in the Tunstall area and had residential accommodation above it.

    People from the flats were found by council officers drinking beer in the publs communal area.

    "We suspect there are potentially a couple of other pubs in the city which are operating lock-ins. We haven’t caught them yet – but we will," the council's leader Abi Brown said.

  7. Government approves £16m in loans to 'protect sport'

    BBC Sport

    Rugby league in England will receive £16m in government loans to help it recover from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

    Jonny Lomax of St Helens looks to break past the tackle from Danny Richardson of CastlefordGetty Images

    Rugby Football League (RFL) chief executive Ralph Rimmer asked for assistance after the suspension of the game on 16 March.

    Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said the government had intervened "to protect an entire sport".

    England is set to host the World Cup in 2021.

  8. Rubbish fly-tipped at cemeteries

    Allen Cook
    BBC News

    Rubbish including rubble, plasterboard and paint cans, has been fly-tipped at two separate cemeteries in Stoke-on-Trent.

    Fly-tipping at Tunstall cemeteryStoke-on-Trent City Council

    What appeared to be builders waste was dumped during the past couple of days in Hanley and Tunstall, the city council said.

    Doors, window frames and a tree was also among the waste.

  9. Landmark store could be divided into several new shops

    Plans have been drawn up to convert one of Malvern's oldest shops into a number of new stores.

    The four-story Victorian building which housed Brays before it closed earlier this year would be split into four new units comprising shops and a cafe or restaurant.

    BraysGoogle

    The upper floors would remain as flats.

    Consultation on the proposals runs until 30 May and the plans can be viewed on the district council's website.

  10. Covid-19 threat is extra strain for police

    BBC WM

    Being deliberately coughed or spat at by people who then say they have Covid-19 is a new risk for police officers, its federation says.

    West Midlands Federation chairman Jon Nott told BBC WM officers are used to threats, but the addition of Covid-19 to the risk is an extra strain for them and can affect their mental health.

    Generic police officerPA Media

    "With Covid-19, it's the unknown and it's having to deal with the waiting and the not knowing as to whether you've been infected and then whether you're infecting your family," Mr Nott added.

    Earlier this week, a man was jailed for deliberately coughing on three police officers as they broke up a party of 20 people in Birmingham.

  12. Kingfisher Trail to shut due to leak

    Allen Cook
    BBC News

    Walkers and cyclists aren't going to be allowed to use part of a canal towpath from Monday as a water leak is investigated.

    Leaking manholeSouth Staffordshire Water

    South Staffordshire Water said they'd need to shut the Kingfisher Trail in Burton-upon-Trent from Horninglow Road to Eton Park School for up to two weeks.

    The trail is a 2km (1.2mile) footpath which runs along the Trent and Mersey Canal between Princess Way, Stretton and the Shobnall Leisure Complex.

  13. Guns, knives and drugs seized in raids

    Three guns, 28 knives and drugs with a street value of more than £100,000 were seized during a series of raids in Coventry.

    Twelve properties were visited and 26 people arrested. Police also took £26,000 in cash and seized 26 vehicles.

    Drugs and weaponsWest Midlands Police

    West Midlands Police said the raids were part of a crackdown on drugs and gangs in the city and the raids would continue for several months.

    ShotgunWest Midlands Police

  14. Shredmet recycling blaze 'set to burn all day'

    A scrapyard fire involving 200 tonnes of waste metal's expected to burn for much of the day.

    Smoke from the blazeWest Midlands Fire Service

    Dozens of firefighters have spent the morning at Shredmet Ltd on Aston Church Road, Nechells, Birmingham.

    No injuries had been reported, the ambulance service said.

    Firefighters fighting the blazeWest Midlands Fire Service

    The fire service added diggers were being used to create fire breaks in the pile of metal.

  16. School to move ahead with sixth form closure

    The Dyson Perrins Academy in Malvern is shutting its sixth form and won't take any new A-Level students from September.

    It consulted parents and the local community earlier this year, following a fall in pupil numbers.

    schoolGoogle

    The governors are now applying to the Regional Schools Commissioner, who will make the final decision.

  17. Reprieve for couple's coronavirus takeaway firm

    Jeremy and Tina Stone were told they could not cook and deliver meals from their Birmingham kitchen.

    Read More

  19. Staffordshire Day celebrations moved online

    Allen Cook
    BBC News

    Oatcake making and a sing-a-long to Robbie Williams' song Angels are among events to mark Staffordshire Day - this year being held online.

    A hand holding a Staffordshire Day flagStaffordshire County Council

    The county council, which is behind the 1 May celebration, said it's moved events to social media and the Enjoy Staffordshire website.

    They include live music and a big quiz this evening to end the activities.

  20. Volunteers provide colourful scrubs for hospital staff

    Neil Heath
    BBC News Online

    About 1,000 volunteers across Derbyshire and Staffordshire have been using their sewing machines to provide medical staff with new surgical scrubs.

    The group, called Derby For The Love of Scrubs, is led by Verity Ruane from Allestree, Derby, and has already provided the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust with 400 sets of scrubs in all sizes, colours and patterns.

    Verity RuaneUniversity Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust

    Ms Ruane said she has been blown away by the support from hundreds of volunteers.

    She said: "When I set out, I thought that we might be lucky to get 20 sets of scrubs made, but now we have almost 1,000 members in our Facebook group with around 800 of those sewing."

    Winnie the Pooh scrubsUniversity Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust

    The group has also been donating scrubs to GP practices in the region as well as Chesterfield Royal Hospital.

    Deputy chief nurse Gill Ogden said: "The response from the Love of Scrubs group and others who have kindly made scrubs for UHDB has been amazing.

    "Our staff have loved the variety and quality of scrubs provided."

    The scrubs donated range from Winnie the Pooh to Peppa Pig, which Ms Ruane hopes can bring a smile to staff's faces in difficult times.

    Medical staff in new scrubsUniversity Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust