Student Abby Stapleton is due to move into halls of residence in Birmingham this weekend and said the rise in cases had left her nervous.

Image source, Abby Stapleton

The 19-year-old from Coventry is studying psychology at Birmingham City University.

"For the minute it is not too strict, I'm still able to move around for things that are necessities, but I'm nervous over catching it, it is a lot higher than Coventry."

West Midland Safari Park, which has been going for 47 years, announces the milestone.

The rise in the number of coronavirus cases in Solihull in recent days has been "exceptional", the leader of its council has said.

Ian Courts also said it appeared the whole borough and all age groups had been affected and he believed people had relaxed with the easing of restrictions.

Solihull recorded 146 cases in the seven days to 8 September.

The increase in coronavirus cases in Birmingham recently appears to have been driven by private interactions and workplaces, the leader of the city council has said.

Speaking at a West Midlands Combined Authority meeting, Labour's Ian Ward also said there had been a rise in the percentage of coronavirus cases among white people.

Mr Ward added the city was also seeing an increase in hospital admissions and care homes.

Birmingham is home to six of the top 10 neighbourhoods with the highest number of positive cases in England, according to government’s more local data.

Image source, Reuters

Many of these areas saw spikes in the latest week of available data, compared to the week previously – reflecting the overall trend for the city.

Springfield and Hall Green West, in the south-east of the city, had the most cases with 39.

This was a sharp rise on the previous week, where only 11 were recorded.

Wake Green East and Moseley Bog, just south of Springfield, went from recording between 0-2 cases for the past four weeks, to 29 most recently.

The West Midlands Mayor Andy Street said while the decision to impose extra restrictions was ultimately made by the government, there had been "lots of local consultations".

And he said he had been been speaking to the Department of Health throughout the week.

Image source, Getty Images

Conservative Mr Street also said it was very important the message was clearly understood.

He said it was different to and more focused than the measures introduced in the national lockdown earlier this year.

There will be a ban on households mixing in Birmingham, Sandwell and Solihull from Tuesday, the West Midlands Mayor has said.

Andy Street says people are also being advised against meeting up before then as this has been identified as one of the key drivers of the coronavirus spread.

And he says the decision has been make in collaboration with local leaders.

Updates and reaction to increased lockdown measures in Birmingham, Sandwell and Solihull.

The dean of Hereford Cathedral has announced he is going to retire at the end of January, after almost two decades in the role.

He had intended to retire this October, at the at the end of the St Thomas Cantilupe celebrations, but is staying longer because of the repercussions of Covid-19.

Image source, Hereford Cathedral

He is 67 now and said: "It will be hard to leave Hereford after all these years, but the time now seems right."

And he said he wanted to give good notice, to allow plenty of time for his successor to be found.

Stronger lockdown measures are expected to be announced for Birmingham because of a steep rise in the number of coronavirus cases in the past week.

There were 975 cases recorded in the seven days up until 7 September, taking the city into second place, behind Bolton, in the list of worst-affected English local authority areas.

This map shows the different areas of Birmingham, and the places with the highest rates of cases are in darker colours..

The most recent figures showed the city has 85.4 cases per 100,000 people, up from 32 the previous week.

Police actions did not contribute to the death of Ian Dyche in 2018, an investigation finds.

A 44-year-old man has been arrested after reports he was waving an axe about in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter.

West Midlands Police said it received several calls and believes he was also damaging cars in the area.

The man is being held in custody while an investigation is carried out.

Local Democracy Reporting Service
David Irwin

More than 100 complaints have been made in Solihull in a month about businesses not following coronavirus guidelines.

The council started recording the cases on 27 July and has been contacted 124 times by members of the public since then, including 51 via an online whistleblower form.

Checks are also being stepped up by the authority on pubs, bars and restaurants to make sure they are complying with safety measures.

Solihull’s infection rate increased to 67.5 cases per 100,000 people in the seven days to 7 September, compared to 9.7 for the previous week.

Care homes in the Telford area are being warned they might want to restrict visits.

The warning has come from the borough's director of public health, Liz Noakes, after the number of cases per 100,000 people rose to 15.6 for the seven days to 7 September.

Image source, Getty Images

Her letter to care homes said a “number of care homes” in the borough were being affected by infections in staff and residents.

Birmingham Live

The Birmingham Live website has these updates today:

• Birmingham coronavirus announcement expected - with ban on home visitors 'highly likely', external
• Armed police surround Walsall flat before storming 'gunman' suspect, external
• Army cadet beauty queen reaches finals of Miss England in Birmingham, external

Former Carlisle United forward Harry McKirdy signs for Port Vale, and Vale say that will conclude their summer business.

It's expected tougher lockdown restrictions will be announced for Birmingham shortly, because of a jump in coronavirus cases.

The latest weekly figures show the city currently has the second highest infection rate in England, behind Bolton, with 85 cases for every 100,000 people.

Image source, Getty Images

Other parts of the West Midlands including Solihull and Sandwell may also be included in the measures.

But the region's Conservative mayor, Andy Street, believes they won't be as prohibitive as the restrictions seen earlier in the year.

Another school in Worcestershire has confirmed a case of Covid-19.

The head teacher at Burlish Park Primary, in Stourport, said one person had tested positive and all pupils and staff in their reception year group had been sent home for 14 days.

Image source, Google

Earlier this week a year seven class at Woodrush High School, in Wythall, near Bromsgrove, sent pupils home for 14 days after a confirmed case.

People in Lawley, Telford, who have complained their homes are being damaged by work on a new housing estate have been told it is all being done in accordance with planning consent.

The Shropshire residents believe the problem is being caused by underground work to make the common safe for 600 new homes, but The Lawley Village Developer Group said it was being closely monitored and measures were in place to "keep inconvenience to a minimum".

Image source, Google

Telford and Wrekin Council has said it has carried out enforcement action where necessary, to keep roads clean and to stop material being brought into the site without permission.

It said it was also monitoring the work.

Worcester's Sabrina foot bridge is going to be taken away to be refurbished this autumn.

It will be the first time this has happened since it was installed in 1992 and the first stage will be to put up scaffolding around the bridge.

Image source, Worcestershire County Council

Worcestershire County Council said the bridge was "incredibly well used" and its main span would be put back into place later this year.