Summary

  • Updates from Monday 2 March to Sunday 8 March

  1. Dying nurse told sister 'follow in my footsteps'published at 07:31 Greenwich Mean Time 21 March 2021

    Areema Nasreen was one of the youngest NHS workers to die of Covid-19 at the start of the pandemic.

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  2. Trams and light rail get extra £33m fundpublished at 16:27 Greenwich Mean Time 20 March 2021

    Operators in northern England and the Midlands get grant as they continue with low passenger numbers.

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  3. Beauty spot sunset photos 'took years of planning'published at 09:25 Greenwich Mean Time 20 March 2021

    Photographer Andrew Fusek Peters says perfect weather was also needed for the dramatic shots.

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  4. Girls' sponsored walk after grandad's Covid deathpublished at 08:22 Greenwich Mean Time 20 March 2021

    Trevor Johnson, a porter at New Cross Hospital, died at the hospital he worked at in October.

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  5. Drunk PC who attacked woman gets night-time curfewpublished at 21:08 Greenwich Mean Time 19 March 2021

    Oliver Banfield's victim says she thought he was "fulfilling a violent cop movie fantasy".

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  6. Steelworks nearly completed at Commonwealth stadiumpublished at 17:34 Greenwich Mean Time 19 March 2021

    Steelworks have nearly been completed at the Alexander Stadium, Birmingham City Council says.

    The stadium in Perry Barr, will host the opening and closing ceremonies as well as athletics events at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

    The steelworks will be finished by next week, the council said, with work to add fixtures and fittings underway.

    Alexander StadiumImage source, Birmingham City Council

    Councillor Ian Ward, leader of Birmingham City Council, said: "This is an exciting milestone and it's testament to the hard work and efforts of all involved that we have made such progress despite the challenges of delivery during the Covid-19 pandemic.

    "We can now clearly see what the new stadium will look like when complete."

    The stadium is due to be finished by Spring next year.

  7. Limited visiting to resume at some hospital sitespublished at 16:40 Greenwich Mean Time 19 March 2021

    Some patients at a Shropshire hospital will be allowed visitors under new rules.

    The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital (RJAH) had to restrict all visiting for patients in November in line with national guidance in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

    But, from Monday, limited visiting will resume for long stay patients on the Midland Centre for Spinal Injuries (MCSI) and Sheldon Ward, the general medicine and rehabilitation ward

    The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic HospitalImage source, Google

    Patients will be allowed one named visitor who must book their visits with the ward.

    Visitors will need to wear face masks at all times and will be provided with a surgical face mask by the trust on arrival.

    Stacey Keegan, chief nurse at RJAH, said: "We have been monitoring the situation very closely and feel that now is the right time to allow some visitors back on site.

    "It's the right thing to do, especially for our most vulnerable patients who will really benefit from contact with their families."

  8. Boy's joke project inspires Comic Relief campaignpublished at 16:16 Greenwich Mean Time 19 March 2021

    Sir Lenny Henry wrote to Sonny, eight, thanking him for his "brilliant idea".

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  9. Off-duty firefighter saves boypublished at 15:49 Greenwich Mean Time 19 March 2021

    An off-duty firefighter has been praised after helping to save a child who was trapped inside a house.

    Russ Jones rushed to a blaze at a house on Farren Road in Northfield, Birmingham on Thursday.

    There, he discovered the occupant's son was missing inside.

    After spotting a curtain moving in the front room, he found the boy lying on the floor by a front room window, and smashed the glass with a rock to enable him to lean in and pull the boy to safety.

    Russ JonesImage source, West Midlands Fire and Rescue Service

    The boy was treated for minor injuries by West Midlands Ambulance colleagues and then transferred to Birmingham Children’s Hospital.

    The fire has since been found to have started accidentally

    Mr Jones, who has been a firefighter for 24 years, said: "As soon as I saw the fire and was told a young child missing in the property, I had to do something.

    "Without my firefighting kit there it was too dangerous for me to enter the property, so I had to find a way of trying to locate the boy and rescue him. I’m just so grateful I did and that he is OK."

  10. Celebrating 60 years of the E-Type Jaguarpublished at 15:25 Greenwich Mean Time 19 March 2021

    The British car is now considered a classic, sought after across the world.

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  11. Health screening call over 'horrendous' smellpublished at 14:58 Greenwich Mean Time 19 March 2021

    Residents say an odour from a landfill site in Staffordshire is causing them to feel ill.

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  12. Girl, 15, sentenced after car flip crash deathpublished at 13:59 Greenwich Mean Time 19 March 2021

    William Kingham, 15, died at the scene in Solihull on 23 November 2020.

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  13. Designs released for Covid-19 memorial gardenpublished at 13:48 Greenwich Mean Time 19 March 2021

    Designs for a coronavirus memorial garden have been released by Birmingham City Council.

    The council is developing a proposal to work with local communities on a series of gardens across the city, in recognition of how the virus has affected all parts of Birmingham.

    The central feature is a pebble bed that would give communities the opportunity to write the name of someone lost in the pandemic on one of the stones.

    Designs for the gardenImage source, Birmingham City Council

    Council leader Ian Ward said: "The last year has been a time of grief and heartbreak for too many people in Birmingham as communities and neighbourhoods right across the city have experienced loss and tragedy and it's important to remember and pay tribute.

    "Our initial designs are an excellent starting point and will help us develop ideas in partnership with the people of Birmingham."

  14. Teenager cleared of knife chargepublished at 13:30 Greenwich Mean Time 19 March 2021

    Joshua Molnar is cleared of having a knife in public after a review of the case by prosecutors.

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  15. Boy, 17, found guilty of teenager's manslaughterpublished at 13:26 Greenwich Mean Time 19 March 2021

    The convicted youth claimed he acted in self-defence when he killed Nasir Patrice in January last year.

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  16. Hundreds of weapons recovered from surrender binspublished at 11:15 Greenwich Mean Time 19 March 2021

    More than 800 weapons have been recovered from surrender bins distributed across the West Midlands.

    Knives, knuckle dusters, bullets and even a bayonet have been recovered from the 19 post box-sized containers, which have been placed around the region in an initiative by the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner.

    An extra knife bin is due to open in Coventry in the next few weeks.

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  17. Public urged to be vigilant when selling goods onlinepublished at 10:43 Greenwich Mean Time 19 March 2021

    Police are urging people selling goods online to remain vigilant, after con artists scammed West Midlands residents out of more than £125,000.

    WatchesImage source, West Midlands Police

    People who advertise goods on sites such as Facebook, Gumtree and eBay are being urged to take extra care before handing over items.

    It's amid ongoing fraud reports in the last six months, mainly involving high-value goods such as watches and mobiles, West Midlands Police said.

    At a meeting someone will inspect an item and agree to pay for it via bank transfer, although a fraudulent cheque will be paid into the victim's account with the funds showing as pending.

    The victim will hand over goods thinking a payment has been completed, but the cheque will later bounce back unpaid. Det Con Edward Spokes said: "Anyone selling goods online should check with their banks that any payments have cleared their accounts before handing over goods.

    "Funds shown as pending in the account do not necessarily mean that the payment has been completed."

  18. First areas to get fast broadband upgrade revealedpublished at 10:39 Greenwich Mean Time 19 March 2021

    The government announces first stages of plans to get superfast broadband to the majority of UK homes.

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  19. Investigations underway into Market Drayton Firepublished at 09:20 Greenwich Mean Time 19 March 2021

    Investigations are underway into the cause of a fire in a commercial building in Shropshire.

    Picture from the sceneImage source, Market Drayton fire station

    Crews from Shropshire, Staffordshire and Cheshire fire services were called to assist with the fire in the building in Market Drayton from 23:33 GMT.

    The fire was contained to the single story building.