Summary

  • Updates for 14-20 December

  1. EA to buy Dirt Rally-maker Codemasters for £1bnpublished at 12:33 Greenwich Mean Time 14 December 2020

    Games giant Electronic Arts is set to acquire the British game-maker, beating an earlier rival offer.

    Read More
  2. Hour-long delays after M6 lorry crashpublished at 12:16 Greenwich Mean Time 14 December 2020

    BBC News Travel

    There are hour-long delays on the M6 northbound in the West Midlands following a crash involving two lorries.

    Two lanes have been closed from J6 to J7 with congestion back to J5.

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  3. GPs 'ready to deliver biggest vaccination programme'published at 11:49 Greenwich Mean Time 14 December 2020

    A GP practice in Halesowen will be one of the first to administer the Pfizer Covid vaccine as part of the next stage of the roll-out of the programme.

    Dr Mohit Mandiratta

    Dr Mohit Mandiratta from the surgery at Feldon Lane said it was a "proud moment to be a GP and a proud moment for primary care as a whole".

    "There's been so much work that has been done in the background, the NHS has been preparing for this for some time," he said.

    "It's the biggest vaccination roll-out in our history and we're fully ready to deliver it."

  4. Villa reacts to Houllier's deathpublished at 11:23 Greenwich Mean Time 14 December 2020

    Aston Villa has said the club is "deeply saddened" to learn of the death of former manager Gerard Houllier.

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    The Frenchman joined the club in 2010 in a three-year deal but left just nine months later following heart problems.

    "Our thoughts are with Gérard's loved ones at this incredibly difficult time," the club tweeted.

  5. Former Liverpool and Villa manager Gerard Houllier diespublished at 11:04 Greenwich Mean Time 14 December 2020
    Breaking

    BBC Sport

    Former Liverpool and Aston Villa manager Gerard Houllier has died at the age of 73.

    Gerard HoullierImage source, Getty Images

    The Frenchman managed the Reds from 1998-2004 and led them to five major trophies.

    His last managerial job was at Aston Villa, but he left in 2011 after nine months, following heart problems.

  6. Car mad boy fundraising for powered wheelchairpublished at 10:49 Greenwich Mean Time 14 December 2020

    The family of a car mad boy who has a muscle wasting condition is fundraising for a powered wheelchair so he can play with his friends again.

    Noah Stevenson-LeaImage source, Sally Stevenson-Lea

    Noah Stevenson-Lea, nine, from Shropshire has muscular dystrophy which has weakened the muscles in his legs.

    His parents set up an online fundraising campaign to buy him a powered chair so that he will be able to continue sports in the playground.

    He is waiting for an NHS wheelchair to use at home, his mother said.

    You can read more on this story here.

  7. Bird flu forces captive birds to move indoorspublished at 10:15 Greenwich Mean Time 14 December 2020

    BBC Radio Hereford and Worcester

    Poultry farmers and people who keep chickens and other captive birds have to keep them indoors from today as part of efforts to try and stop the spread of bird flu.

    The government made the order , externalafter a number of cases were detected among both captive and wild birds across England.

    They include confirmed cases in dead swans in Evesham and Stratford-upon-Avon in the past few days.

    ChickensImage source, PA Media

    Over the weekend, the Department for Environment Farming and Rural Affairs (Defra) confirmed cases in Droitwich Spa, Wychavon abnd Worcestershire last week were of the "highly pathogenic" H5N8 strain, which is low risk to humans, but lethal to birds.

    Rebekka Fiorani, from Clent Hills Vets, Bromsgrove, keeps chickens and said she has had to move them into a neighbour's barn.

    "On a sunny day and as time goes on, I think they are going to get quite fed up and they are very used to having a lot more space than they have got currently," she said.

    "But these are the measures we are going to have to take and they will get used to it and it is still the best thing for them."

    No end date for the measures has been given, but Defra said they would be kept under "regular review".

  8. Indian farmers' rally: Drivers given penalty noticespublished at 09:30 Greenwich Mean Time 14 December 2020

    A number of drivers were issued with fixed penalty notices after more than 1,000 people attended a rally held in support of striking Indian famers.

    RallyImage source, Jas Singh

    People from across England drove to Birmingham and Sandwell in Saturday to attend the Kisaan Car Rally.

    Hundreds of vehicles then made their way in convoy to the Indian embassy in the Jewellery Quarter in opposition to the reforms being introduced in India.

    West Midlands Police said it told more than a thousand people to leave, three were given a £100 fixed penalty notice and people who threw flares from moving vehicles would be prosecuted retrospectively.

  9. Statue transformed into Peppa Pigpublished at 08:57 Greenwich Mean Time 14 December 2020

    A statue in a Warwickshire village has been dressed as Peppa Pig.

    Peppa PigImage source, Claire Catterall

    The statue of Lord John Douglas-Montagu-Scott, in Dunchurch, near Rugby has been transformed into another character every year since the 1970s.

    Lord John, a former MP who lived near the village, has been everything from a Star Wars Stormtrooper to an Olympic athlete.

    Here's a reminder of some of his previous costumes.

    Media caption,

    A statue in Warwickshire is secretly dressed up by locals at least once a year

  10. Covid vaccine: GPs to begin offering Pfizer jabpublished at 08:35 Greenwich Mean Time 14 December 2020

    Covid vaccinations will start being given to patients from GP surgeries in the West Midlands as part of the next stage of the rollout of the programme.

    Patient receiving vaccineImage source, Getty Images

    GP practices in more than 100 locations will receive their first deliveries of the vaccine later, the NHS said.

    Some will start vaccinating on Monday afternoon, with the majority getting under way on Tuesday.

    Tens of thousands of people in the UK received the Pfizer-BioNTech jab last week in hospitals.

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  11. Video: Your 50-second weather forecastpublished at 08:14 Greenwich Mean Time 14 December 2020

    Alex Hamilton
    BBC Weather

    It will be a sunny day with a few cloudy spells and the chance of one or two showers. Highs of 11°C (52°F).

    Media caption,

    Latest weather for the West Midlands

  12. Live updates for the West Midlandspublished at 08:05 Greenwich Mean Time 14 December 2020

    Vanessa Pearce
    BBC News

    Welcome to our live service for Monday.

    We'll be bringing you all the news, sport, travel and weather for the West Midlands.

    We love to hear from you so share your news, thoughts and photos of the area with us via email, Twitter, external and Facebook., external