Updates from Monday 10 August to Sunday 16 August
Our local BBC Weather Watchers keep us updated on the forecast in their area and they also snap some great photos of the West Midlands.
Here are three we've had sent in today from users Videoman in Leek, Staffordshire; Mrs Baggins in Bromyard, Herefordshire; and Liam Ball in Horsehay, Shropshire:
Image source, Videoman
Image source, Mrs Baggins
Image source, Liam BallCollege students have had a second day waiting for their BTec results after delays in getting them from the exam board.
Heart of Worcestershire College said the issue was affecting its students expecting Pearson BTec results.
Image source, GoogleIt said earlier , externalsome students had received results but others were still waiting.
Rachel Gidney, 18, from Bromsgrove, is one of those in results limbo and says the experience has been frustrating.
"We're all quite annoyed, very anxious, lots of sleepless nights just having to wait really, not knowing or being able to do anything about it."
Exam body Pearson said it was working closely with the college to get the remaining results to students as soon as possible.
A male suspect aged 21 is in custody following the discovery of the body of a man in his 70s.
Read MoreSoldiers from Hereford who were taken prisoner by Japanese forces during World War Two have finally been honoured on the city's war memorial.
Tomorrow marks the 75th anniversary of VJ Day - when World War Two ended with Japan's surrender.
Before then, tens of thousands of British servicemen had been captured, enduring camps where disease was rife.
Families in Hereford have been campaigning to have their POW relatives' names added to the war memorial in St Peter's Square, and this week an inscription has been included.
Fiona Macklin's one of the campaigners and said: "My father was at the fall of Singapore in 1942 and subsequently was in jail and working on the Burma railway so I think it's vitally important VJ Day is commemorated and this monument is a tribute to all those who suffered."
Some students at Heart of Worcestershire College in Redditch are still waiting for their results.
Read MoreWarwickshire chief executive Stuart Cain tells BBC CWR he hopes Edgbaston could be allowed as many as 8,000 fans for T20 Finals Day on 3 October.
Read More
BBC Shropshire
Thousands of pounds have been donated to help a church after it was struck by lightning this week and suffered electrical damage.
Image source, GoogleThe Reverend Zoe Heming said St Andrew's in Church Aston, near Newport, was hit on Wednesday night. , external
She said she didn't know how much repairs would cost but more than £2,000 had already been raised on a crowdfunding website.
Mrs Heming told BBC Shropshire the response had been "utterly humbling" and residents have also been coming forward to make sure a wedding took place this weekend.
Reopening a soft play centre in just 24 hours is "not feasible", an owner's told the BBC.
Image source, Getty ImagesLockdown rules are being further eased with the government announcing today businesses including soft play centres, bowling alleys and casinos can reopen in England from Saturday.
Sam Greby runs the Kidz Barn centre in Kidderminster and said while it was "fantastic news" she had expected two weeks' notice and wouldn't be able to reopen tomorrow.
"I don't think the message will get to our customers that we will reopen with pre-bookable sessions etc, and I think 24 hours to get that message to our customers that we're reopened, to come down, is a bit quick."
From Saturday, beauty salons can resume facial treatments as lockdown restrictions ease.
Read MoreThe Worcester News has these headlines today:
A Birmingham entertainment hotspot will be partly pedestrianised under a Covid-19 bounce-back plan.
Read More
Allen Cook
BBC News
Outdoor play areas in Wolverhampton will reopen from Monday, the city council's said.
Image source, Wolverhampton City CouncilPlaygrounds in England were closed in March to contain Covid-19 but the government gave the green light to reopen them last month.
Wolverhampton City Council said, external it had taken until now to be ready to reopen the sites, and people would have to follow advice on social distancing and cleaning their hands regularly.
If rates of infection started to rise, the authority added, it would "be left with no alternative but to close them again”.
A woman has been arrested after another woman in her 40s was found dead in Stoke-on-Trent.
Read MoreOperators face a mammoth task to put in new safety guidelines ahead of welcoming back children.
Read More
Rob Mayor
Political reporter, BBC WM
Extra help's being drafted in by a local authority to cope with the volume of complaints about the councillors' behaviour.
Sandwell Council is currently dealing with nine live complaints, some of which date back to 2019.
They include allegations of councillors breaking Covid-19 rules and of confidential information being shared. , external
The council's decided to have a member of staff move from part-time to full-time to support their monitoring officer.
With the extra resource, the authority's aiming to conclude all investigations by the end of the year.
From the Shropshire Star today:
BBC Radio Stoke
A utility worker has died while he was working at a housing estate.
The 32-year-old man, from Runcorn, died at the Bishops Wood estate on Bridle Hey, Nantwich, yesterday afternoon, Cheshire Police said.
The Health and Safety Executive said the death had been referred to it and was investigating.
Allen Cook
BBC News
The latest building at a former power station is set to be demolished with explosives next week.
Image source, ENGIE UKThe coal-fired plant in Rugeley, Staffordshire, closed in 2016 and five demolitions have already taken place at the site.
Owner ENGIE UK says it plans to bring down the site's boiler house at about 10:00 on Thursday 20 August. , external
It adds there will be an exclusion zone around the area before, during and just after the collapse - with no viewing area for people to watch.
The firm says the other remaining structures such as the cooling towers and chimney are set to be demolished at a later date with the work due to finish next year.
Plans to build more than 2,000 new homes and a school on the site were approved by councillors earlier this year., external
Cornelius Van Der Ploeg smothered his ex-wife 'believing it was in her interest', say police.
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Birmingham Live
The Birmingham Live website's covering these stories today:
