Summary

  • Updates from Monday 7 September to Sunday 13 September

  1. Coffee cup recycling bins to be installedpublished at 09:42 British Summer Time 23 September 2020

    Coffee cup recycling bins are being installed at Birmingham's New Street station.

    Network Rail is putting the orange bins in its 20 busiest stations and plans to have them all in place by the end of October.

    Coffee cupsImage source, Getty Images

    A ban on retailers supplying plastic cutlery and cups will also be introduced by the end of the year.

    The recycled cups will be turned into reusable cups and packaging.

  2. Theatre performances suspendedpublished at 09:18 British Summer Time 23 September 2020

    BBC Radio Stoke

    Performances at the Regent Theatre and the Victoria Hall in Hanley have been suspended until 27 November.

    The Ambassador Theatre Group, which runs the venues, said the decision was made due to the ongoing social distancing restrictions.

    Victoria HallImage source, Google

    The group said it's also having to look at staff contracts, because of the government's decision not to continue with its Job Retention Scheme.

  3. Emergency services at gas leakpublished at 08:32 British Summer Time 23 September 2020

    Police, firefighters, and highways officers are at the scene of a gas leak in Stoke-on-Trent.

    Diversions are in place and there is a warning of congestion around the area in Church Street.

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  4. Weather: A rainy day is forecastpublished at 08:19 British Summer Time 23 September 2020

    BBC Weather

    We've got used to sunny September but it's all change with most of us forecast a rainy day.

    Temperatures will take a drop too, with the maximum around 13C (55F).

    The wet weather is expected to continue tomorrow.

    Ashton under HillImage source, Morning Amble
  5. Lockdown seen from abovepublished at 00:52 British Summer Time 23 September 2020

    Chris Gorman captured unique images of empty shopping malls and theme parks.

    Read More
  6. The ballet school helping dancers with body imagepublished at 23:19 British Summer Time 22 September 2020

    The ballet world is competitive and the pressure on young dancers to achieve the "perfect physique" is high.

    Read More
  7. Plans for 90 more homes on land set aside for schoolpublished at 18:50 British Summer Time 22 September 2020

    Local Democracy Reporting Service

    Plans for 90 more homes on the former Massey Ferguson factory site in Coventry are being recommended for approval.

    Persimmon Homes has applied to create 34 houses and 56 apartments on the site.

    Planning officers said the development would provide "much-needed affordable homes".

    Former Massey siteImage source, LDRS

    This land had been set aside for a primary school but the city council said there wasn't a need for one.

    A decision will be made later this week.

  8. Birmingham Covid cases continue to risepublished at 18:40 British Summer Time 22 September 2020

    Cases of coronavirus are continuing to rise in Birmingham with the rate now at about 100 cases for every 100,000 people.

    Birmingham

    However, the city is no longer near the top of a list of the worst affected places.

    Cases have continued to rise in Sandwell with 75 cases for every 100,000 but they have fallen in Solihull and Wolverhampton (62 per 100,000 and 53 respectively).

    Cases in Rugby have risen with 54 cases per 100,000 people.

  9. Signalling fault causes two days of reduced servicespublished at 17:56 British Summer Time 22 September 2020

    A signalling fault has caused a second day of reduced services on train lines through Birmingham's Snow Hill station.

    West Midlands Railway said it has been running an "emergency timetable", involving some bus services, to Worcester and Stratford since the fault occurred yesterday morning.

    Train

    The company said it expected repairs to be completed tonight and normal timetables will resume tomorrow.

  10. Police patrols after men seen approaching childrenpublished at 17:32 British Summer Time 22 September 2020

    Police patrols in the Arboretum area of Worcester have been stepped up, after reports of a group of men in a car approaching children as they walk home from school.

    The force said it doesn't believe all the reports are linked and is looking into each one separately.

  11. Latest figures show rise in cases across Birminghampublished at 16:52 British Summer Time 22 September 2020

    Kathryn Stanczyszyn
    Political Reporter, BBC WM

    The latest coronavirus figures for Birmingham show the highest rate of new cases are found among the 30-39 age group and in the Asian community.

    Birmingham City Council also reported a "worrying increase" in cases affecting the over-75s.

    TestingImage source, Getty Images

    At the same time more than three quarters of Birmingham council wards reported six or more cases last week.

    Despite the number of infections rising though, the numbers of positive cases per amount of people tested is relatively stable.

    The council also said a seventh walk-in testing site will open this weekend in Sparkbrook and it is looking for other locations.

  12. Letters to farmers over pollution concernspublished at 16:26 British Summer Time 22 September 2020

    Letters have gone out to 1,200 farmers warning they could face heavy fines if they pollute Herefordshire rivers.

    The Environment Agency has written to landowners in the River Lugg catchment to remind them of laws which were put in place in 2018.

    River LuggImage source, Peter Manson

    Campaigners have complained rivers are facing 'environmental disaster' due to the phosphate from poultry units.

  13. Off-duty police officer had 'lust for life'published at 16:21 British Summer Time 22 September 2020

    Police officer Elaine McIver "embraced life" and was "a joy to be around", her sister says.

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  14. Man dies in fire believed to have begun in cookerpublished at 16:16 British Summer Time 22 September 2020

    He is rescued from an upstairs bedroom in Sutton Coldfield but his death was confirmed at the scene.

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  15. Youngest bombing victim 'melted people's hearts'published at 16:11 British Summer Time 22 September 2020

    "Pure and innocent" Saffie-Rose Roussos was eight years old when she died in the 2017 terror attack.

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  16. Further lockdown measures 'a big change'published at 16:09 British Summer Time 22 September 2020

    Ben Godfrey
    BBC Midlands Today

    New coronavirus measures introduced in Wolverhampton are going to be "a big change," according to one family.

    Neil Rutter

    Neil Rutter (pictured at the rear) said residents in the city were now "moving backwards to keep safe."

    "It's just a case of following the guidance," he added.

    "We need to get rid of Covid so we've got to follow what's been given to us by the government - end of story."

  17. Villa forward Davis signs new dealpublished at 16:01 British Summer Time 22 September 2020

    Aston Villa forward Keinan Davis signs a contract extension, keeping him at the club until 2024.

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  18. Paterson was 'dedicated, loving wife'published at 15:57 British Summer Time 22 September 2020

    The husband of Aintree Racecourse chairman Rose Paterson pays tribute to his "dedicated, loving" wife after a coroner records a verdict of suicide at an inquest into her death.

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  19. 'Why can I meet my mum in a pub but not her home?'published at 15:48 British Summer Time 22 September 2020

    We look at the extra restrictions imposed in parts of the West Midlands - and the reasons for them.

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