A girl who has been holding solo protests in Birmingham, prompted by the death of George Floyd in America, has been praised for "trying to unite" her community.

Charlie Linford, 13, has been out daily holding signs in support of the African-American who died in police custody.

Image source, Desrene Glasford

Dad Simon said she had made the laminated signs herself, and has been standing in her Birmingham neighbourhood every lunchtime.

"The first Saturday she was out there for six hours, and only came home for lunch," he said.

"People have been stopping, talking to her and thanking her, we've just been overwhelmed by the response," he added.

"The first person to speak to her was Desrene Glasford, a local hairdresser, who's now offered her a free haircut when she reopens," he added.

Ms Glasford added: "With everything that's been going on she's really raised spirits, it's just been so lovely to meet her."

Mark Lerigo faces eight counts including the making, distribution and possession of images.

BBC Weather

It will be a mostly dry day with some cloud and some bright spells and highs of 18°C (64°F).

Image source, BBC Weather Watchers/Dave A

A motorcyclist has suffered serious injuries after his bike crashed with a car in Rugby earlier.

Image source, Warwickshire Police

Murray Road was closed for a time after the crash, said the ambulance service.

The biker, a man, received trauma care at the scene before being taken to hospital.

The driver of the car was uninjured.

Local Democracy Reporting Service
George Makin

Plans to build a concrete sleeper factory in Wednesbury have finally been sidelined after Network Rail decided not to appeal Sandwell Council’s decision to reject the scheme.

Image source, LDRS

The company has confirmed that it will not go to the independent planning inspector after councillors threw out the development in December last year.

In a statement to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, a spokesman for Network Rail said: “After careful consideration, Network Rail won’t be appealing Sandwell Council’s decision to refuse planning permission for a concrete sleeper facility at Bescot.

“Our priority now is to identify an alternative site to produce sleepers so we can continue to maintain and keep the national rail network safe.”

Campaigners fought a two-year battle against the factory which would have produced 600,000 sleepers a year.

Vanessa Pearce
BBC News

Welcome to the start of our live service for Tuesday.

We will be bringing you developing stories, analysis, weather and travel for the West Midlands.

You can let us know about stories in your area via email, Twitter , externaland Facebook, external

Carl Moorhouse's partner said he had recently become a father for the first time.

Young people from Wolverhampton gather to protest over the death of George Floyd in US police custody.

The majority of staff at the firm, which supplies Toyota, Nissan and JLR, are currently furloughed, the Unite union says.

Vanessa Pearce
BBC News

Live updates have now ended for today.

We'll be back with you from 08:00 tomorrow with all the latest news for the West Midlands.

From 19:00 here and on the BBC Midlands Facebook page, external, we'll be reflecting on some of the Black Lives Matter protests in the Midlands in recent weeks and what can be done to tackle racism.

You can join the discussion as well - Send us your questions and comments, external.

BBC Weather Watchers

We thought we'd bring you a few more of the colourful photos taken by our local BBC Weather Watchers.

These are from Suttonwalker in Great Barr, Sandwell, Freckles in Rudyard, Staffordshire and Shropshire Lass in Ludlow, Shropshire:

Image source, Suttonwalker

Image source, Freckles

Image source, Shropshire Lass

Local Democracy Reporting Service
Mark Cardwell

A pub that was caught open during lockdown by police has had its licence suspended for a further three months.

Image source, Google

West Midlands Police found the Bricklayers Arms in Icknield Port Road, North Edgbaston, to be “open and trading” on 2 May, with about three people inside.

Officers also said alcohol had been poured into glasses, there was a smell of cigarette smoke, the till was on and drip trays and mats were out.

A Birmingham City Council licensing sub-committee had previously suspended the premises licence following an urgent hearing on 7 May pending a full hearing on 1 June.

Now, the sub-committee has ruled the licence must be suspended for a further three months.

Rugby Observer

Some of the Rugby Observer headlines today:

• Big turn out for Black Lives Matter rally in Rugby, external
• Work set to start on New Bilton open space pathway network, external
• Green plan for economic recovery from Covid-19 agreed by region’s leaders, external

A West Midlands zoo says it is facing "crisis point" due to the coronavirus lockdown.

Image source, Dudley Zoo

Dudley Zoo and Castle (DZC), along with other zoos across the country, has been closed since 23 March, with no reopening date in sight from the government.

The Castle Hill attraction is urging its supporters to contact their local MPs to attend a Parliamentary debate highlighting the plight of zoos on Thursday.

DZC director Derek Grove said: “It’s an incredibly frustrating situation for the entire zoological industry.

“Here at DZC we’re losing around £100,000 a week and are now having to dip into our redevelopment reserves.

“We’ve got all the correct social distancing procedures in place so we’re ready to reopen once we get the green light.”

BBC Sport

West Bromwich Albion will resume their Championship promotion push with a home game against local rivals Birmingham City later this month.

No Championship fixtures have been played since 8 March because of the coronavirus pandemic, and the EFL's restart date is provisional, subject to safety requirements being met.

If it is confirmed, fixtures will resume on 20 June and will also see Stoke City travel to Reading as they will look to pull further clear of relegation trouble.

Stoke-on-Trent Live

The Stoke-on-Trent Live website's headlines today include:

• Senior Staffordshire Police officer cleared of gross misconduct, external
• Police demanded £260 from Stoke-on-Trent couple to give them their stolen car back, external
• Routine repairs are back for Stoke-on-Trent's 18,000 council houses, external

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Our Local Democracy Reporting Service has been covering these stories in Staffordshire in the past week:

• Staffordshire County Council is "managing OK" despite facing a £50m cost from Covid-19 due to lost money from areas like rents and car parking, a senior councillor has said. But Mike Sutherland told a scrutiny meeting there were concerns about the local authority's long-term financial future despite grant funding from the government to cover the extra costs from the pandemic.

• A phone base station in Staffordshire is going to be upgraded to provide 5G coverage despite residents' concerns about its impact on their health and views. One councillor said "all they are doing is replacing aerials" as Stafford Borough Council's planning committee approved the plans for Common Lane, Meir Heath.
• Trees on a housing development are going to be given council protection. Residents had raised fears the 23 trees on Yoxall Way to Buddleia Avenue could block out light and were close to garden walls, but Lichfield District Council approved a Tree Preservation Order for them.

A decision about the future of the League One season is likely to be made on Tuesday - how might clubs vote?

Forget-me-not wreaths have been placed at a park in Staffordshire in tribute to people who have died from Covid-19.

Image source, Friends of Cannock Stadium Park

The crocheted memorials have been put up by the Friends of Cannock Stadium Park group on the main gates of the park.

The group has said friends and relatives can privately message them on Facebook, external and nominate a person to be added to a wreath.

Image source, Friends of Cannock Stadium Park

Birmingham Live

Some of Birmingham Live's headlines today include:

• Birmingham City announce Pep Clotet will leave St Andrew's, external
• Birmingham Hippodrome redundancy heartbreak as 62 jobs 'at risk', external
• Young dad died leaving behind eight-month-old baby, external