Jay Blades says he is "completely over the moon" to receive the honour.

Martin Blondel worked with pubs, rugby clubs and Johnny Vegas to provide essentials during pandemic.

England all-rounder Sam Curran smashes an unbeaten 72 as Surrey's batsmen fire again to beat Somerset.

Additional testing is now being rolled out in Northwich and Winsford after Delta cases detected.

More than 60 people have tested positive for the variant with testing also being held in Cheddleton.

Three protesters are arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and aggravated trespass at the factory.

The number of people who have been vaccinated in the Midlands has nearly reached 11 million, West Midlands mayor Andy Street says.

But he is urging anyone who has not yet received their jab to have it to protect against variant strains.

In England, people aged 25 and over can now have a jab of either Pfizer-BioNtech, Oxford-AstraZeneca, and Moderna.

The Pfizer and AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccines are highly effective against the variant first identified in India after two doses, a study from Public Health England has found.

The two men and two boys were convicted of offences in Burton dating back to 2018 and 2019.

Read Easy UK says some clients have hidden their struggles to read and write from their own family.

The police officer, on trial with a murder-accused colleague, lacked experience, a court hears.

People in Dudley are being urged to get their vaccine when called, as Covid-19 cases rise in the area

There are currently 33.9 cases per 100,000 residents in Dudley borough - a 67.8% increase compared to figures recorded four weeks ago.

Dudley Council said there were particularly high rates in Halesowen, Brierley Hill and Kingswinford South areas.

The largest number of cases is in the 10 to 19 age group with the second largest number of cases being in the 30 to 39 age group, it said.

Image source, Getty Images

Councillor Nicolas Barlow said: "We are at a pivotal point in our fight against the pandemic and, despite the amazing progress we are making with the vaccine rollout, Covid-19 continues to present us with huge challenges.

"Vaccination is going well in Dudley borough but we need to do more and the most important action we can take is to get our vaccine when offered."

No trams will run on the West Midlands Metro network until further notice.

A worker needed hospital treatment for eight days after getting trapped in it, investigators say.

The items were discovered in the county in May 2018 by a local metal detectorist.

Jonathan Houseman allegedly shot two men dead in a Dudley car park over a £200,000 debt.

E-scooters in three cities will be modified, but there are claims it will not protect blind people.

Noel Conway's wife says her husband had a "painless and dignified death" at home.

Parents of children at nine schools across the West Midlands have been told they will need to buy students an iPad for their studies, sparking a backlash.

The iPads can be paid for with a £510 one-off payment or £16 a month over three years for pupils at the Windsor Academy Trust, which runs schools in Halesowen, Walsall, Kingswinford and parts of Staffordshire.

Image source, Getty Images

The scheme is designed to boost pupils' digital skills and improve their access to education at home.

Mandy Moore, whose son is in year 8 at one of the schools, branded the decision "absolutely ridiculous".

"There's a lot of families that can't afford it," she said. "Why can't they have something cheaper?"

She also raised concerns students would become "obvious targets" for thieves.

Matt Meckin, director of primary at Windsor Academy Trust, said so far more than 1,000 pupils had benefited from the scheme which he said had been "hugely successful".

He said the trust had not come across any safety incidents, or reports of stolen iPads, and financial support was available for families who were struggling.

BBC Weather

It'll be fairly cloudy for the most part of today but it will be staying pretty warm and quite humid.

As we make our way through to the afternoon, that cloud will start to break up and we should start to see some sunny spells.

Expect highs of 21C (70F) this afternoon.

Image source, Suttonwalker/ BBC Weather Watchers

Services across the West Midlands Metro network have been suspended until further notice after a fault was discovered with some of the trams.

Operators said the decision to remove all trams from its network between Birmingham and Wolverhampton "had not been taken lightly".

All of its 21 trams will be inspected as "a precautionary measure" and a spokesperson said "at no point has staff or customer safety been compromised".

Tickets and passes will be accepted on certain bus and train routes - more information is available here, external.