Updates from Monday 2 November to Sunday 8 November
Coventry Live
Some of the Coventry Live headlines today include:
BBC Midlands Today
Coventry City Council will receive £2.3m to build new long-term accommodation for rough sleepers.
The cash is part of £150m being distributed from the UK government to councils across the country.
It's hoped it will be used to create new homes for vulnerable people by the end of March next year.
Birmingham Live
Today's Birmingham Live headlines include:
BBC Radio Stoke
About 200 workers are currently off work with coronavirus-related issues, Staffordshire Police has revealed.
Image source, Staffordshire PoliceIt means about 10% of staff are not at work when added to other sickness absentees.
Ch Const Gareth Morgan says it means an "added stretch and strain on the organisation".
He said during the spring calls on policing "went down dramatically," but "much of that normal policing is back, and all of the Covid work is on top".
Shefali Oza
BBC Midlands Today
After some early mist and fog it should be a clear day with some sunshine and highs of 10°C (50°F).
Latest weather for the West Midlands
Vanessa Pearce
BBC News
Welcome to our live service for Friday.
We’ll be bringing you all the latest updates for the West Midlands.
You can let us know about stories in your area via email,Twitter, external and Facebook, external.
Allen Cook
BBC News
We will return from 08:00 on Friday with the latest news, sport, travel, weather and more for the West Midlands.
BBC Radio Hereford and Worcester
Pubs have "begun to get the fighting spirit back" during lockdown, one landlord has said.
Image source, GoogleThe tighter controls mean pubs have been ordered to close, other than for takeaway services, as part of efforts to bring down Covid infection rates.
Nick Fellows runs the Old Cock Inn, Droitwich, Worcestershire, and said he plans to offer takeaway pizzas as a new revenue stream.
It also plans to offer a "library" with people able to come and exchange a book and pick one up in a sealed bag.
"We just can't lie down and say we have had it, you have got to get on with it and face the facts," he said.
"It is not going to change, it is not going to get any better unless we make it better between us and it is happening."
BBC Midlands Today
A paramedic who become ill with Covid-19 and was taken to hospital by his colleagues, has said he was "a bit apprehensive" about returning to work.
Mark Anders who works with the West Midlands Ambulance Service said he contracted the virus after dealing with a "volume" of patients with Covid-like symptoms.
"I've never been so ill in my life," he said, "it's only the second time I've been into hospital and I don't really want to go back."
On returning to work he said: "We thought we were careful to start with, but now we're even more careful."
You can see more on this story on BBC Midlands Today on BBC One at 18:30.
BBC Radio Shropshire
A restaurant owner said she learnt from the first lockdown and the business is prepared for survival this time around.
Karen Lee owns The Walnut Restaurant in Wellington, Shropshire, which was open less than a year before March's lockdown came into force.
She told BBC Shropshire staff had to change what they did last time, started delivering grocery boxes and takeaways and will do the same this time.
"You've just got to get on with it, diversify and do as much as you can to survive," she said.
A motorcyclist is still in a critical condition in hospital more than a week after a crash.
Image source, GoogleThe collision happened on 29 October between a white panel van and a black Suzuki bike on the B4510 Offenham Road, Evesham, West Mercia Police said., external
Staff working at a hospital in Coventry are experiencing "significant" pressures, according to the trust's interim chief executive.
Professor Kiran Patel from University Hospital in Coventry said the second wave of coronavirus could "surpass" the peak of wave one and "really exhaust our staff".
But he said he was optimistic the latest lockdown measures could help bring the rate of infection down in order to "re-enter a tiered system".
"We certainly won't go back to an un-tiered system, that's very clear," he added.
Local Democracy Reporting Service
Tom Dare
A Birmingham charity that has been providing an "absolutely vital" service for hte last 50 years is set to close its doors before Christmas.
Image source, Norman Laud AssociationNearly 2,500 people have signed a petition to save The Norman Laud Association in 48 hours, with the charity’s future threatened by a lack of funding.
The association runs two homes in Wylde Green, Sutton Coldfield, which provide overnight and day-care services to both young people and adults with profound learning or physical disabilities.
Service user Samantha Boswell, 31, who has cerebral palsy and has been using the centre since she was 10, has pleaded with the council to step in and save the charity.
“It’s an absolute asset to not just me but every family that’s involved in it, and I absolutely love it,” she said.
A few of the headlines from the Worcester News:
Giant poppy designs have been placed on a number of roads and pavements in Coventry ahead of Remembrance Day.
The city council said, external the move was a "thank you to all those who lost their lives due to wars or armed conflict".
Image source, Coventry City Council
Image source, Coventry City CouncilBBC Radio Stoke
Residents in Staffordshire are being warned by the county's police force they will be tougher this lockdown on people who break the rules.
Image source, Staffordshire PolicePeople have been told to stay at home and non-essential shops, pubs and gyms ordered to close.
Households are also banned from mixing indoors or in private gardens, unless in a support bubble.
Staffordshire Police's Chief Constable Gareth Morgan said about a tenth of calls to the force were now about Covid rules being broken.
"I think you will see more enforcement from Staffordshire Police for those who I think do know what the rules and regulations are and, if they flout them, we won't be engaging and as supportive as we were before," he said.
An increase in fly-tipping is being blamed on rogue traders dumping household rubbish.
Image source, Lichfield District CouncilLichfield District Council said, external it had seen a steady increase in illegal waste being left on roads around its area.
Councillor Richard Cox said: "Judging by the waste that we’re finding, we suspect rogue traders are going door-to-door and offering to remove household rubbish and then dumping it on local roads."
In one case on Tuesday, waste dumped on Thornyhurst Lane, Stonnall, forced the council to close the road until the rubbish had been cleared.
Coventry Live
Some of the Coventry Live headlines today include:
BBC Midlands Today
A couple due to get married in December have rearranged their big day to avoid the chance of it becoming a casualty of the lockdown.
Abigail and Rhys Knight married at a hotel in Norton, near Bridgnorth on Wednesday.
"He just got a phone call from me on Monday saying we're getting married on Wednesday,'" Mrs Knight said.
No weddings are allowed, other than in exceptional circumstances, until lockdown ends on 2 December.
The pair were set to get married on 3 December, but did not want to take the risk of lockdown being extended.
"I didn't want to spend the next four weeks thinking 'will we, won't we' so we had the opportunity to bring it forward and we did," she said.
Having the wedding was a "weight-off", Mrs Knight said.
"The year has been awful for so many people, we just wanted to end it with our little family complete."
BBC News Travel
Drivers are being warned a road in Herefordshire is shut this afternoon due to a crash.
The county council said, external it happened on the A438 Staunton on Wye to Oakchurch route.
It said the route would be shut for recovery and it's unclear if anyone has been injured.
Image source, Herefordshire Council