Summary

  • Updates from Monday 4 January to Sunday 10 January

  1. Hamer earns Coventry point at Birminghampublished at 17:57 Greenwich Mean Time 30 January 2021

    Birmingham's wait for a home win goes on as they are pegged back by Coventry City at St Andrew's Trillion Trophy Stadium.

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  2. Couple marry on hospital Covid wardpublished at 12:17 Greenwich Mean Time 30 January 2021

    The wedding came after an urgent appeal on Twitter to find a registrar to carry out the ceremony.

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  3. Birmingham sign Spurs keeper Whitehousepublished at 11:37 Greenwich Mean Time 30 January 2021

    Birmingham City sign goalkeeper Sophie Whitehouse from Tottenham Hotspur on a deal until the end of the season.

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  4. Unwanted Christmas gifts donated to rough sleeperspublished at 07:32 Greenwich Mean Time 30 January 2021

    Giuseppe Sicilia says after spending two years sofa-surfing he knows the packs can offer a little hope.

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  5. Could the pandemic kill off HS2?published at 06:29 Greenwich Mean Time 30 January 2021

    Covid-19 has intensified the debate among environmental groups about the benefits of the project.

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  6. Robins sign Lansbury after Villa exitpublished at 22:52 Greenwich Mean Time 29 January 2021

    Bristol City sign midfielder Henri Lansbury on a deal until the end of the season, after he leaves Aston Villa by mutual consent.

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  7. 'Most' Covid transmission 'between workplace and household'published at 17:54 Greenwich Mean Time 29 January 2021

    Most of the coronavirus transmission in the West Midlands is happening between workplaces and households, health officials say.

    Generic image of office workersImage source, Getty Images

    "It is people going out to work, catching it at work and bringing it home," Clive Wright, the regional convenor for the Department of Health and Social Care in the West Midlands, told a regional press briefing, highlighting small and medium-sized businesses.

    "There may also be instances where people are letting their guard down, but most of it is workplace to household and household back into the workplace," he said.

    This could in part, he added, be why Sandwell and other areas of the Black Country were particularly affected at the moment, as the area had a high concentration of small businesses.

    More than 60 suspected Covid outbreaks in offices were recorded in the first two weeks of the current lockdown in England, a BBC investigation has found. Current restrictions state people should only travel to work if they cannot reasonably do their job from home.

  8. NHS staff 'running on adrenaline'published at 17:44 Greenwich Mean Time 29 January 2021

    A hospital boss has warned the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the mental health of front-line workers "will suffer for a long time to come".

    Generic image of nurse leaning head against wallImage source, Getty Images

    Speaking at a West Midlands Combined Authority briefing, Prof David Loughton, CEO of the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, said the psychological impact on staff was "the greatest pressure".

    "No one went into medicine, nursing or the health service to watch people die on the scale we have seen," he said. "NHS staff are running on adrenaline.

    "The mental health impact will be seen for a decade to come in my opinion, but I don’t think NHS staff are alone in that."

    He said the trust had employed three psychologists to support staff since March 2020, but added more will need to be done to boost mental health provision "to deal with the aftermath of this".

  9. Further teen arrested over Keon Lincoln deathpublished at 17:39 Greenwich Mean Time 29 January 2021

    The 15-year-old is suspected of murdering Keon in a street attack in Handsworth, Birmingham.

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  10. Passengers arrive from Dubai ahead of travel banpublished at 17:24 Greenwich Mean Time 29 January 2021

    One of the last flights back to the UK from Dubai has landed at Birmingham Airport.

    The government said it was adding the UAE, Burundi and Rwanda to a travel ban list because of worries of the spread of a more contagious coronavirus variant.

    Emma RhodesImage source, PA Media

    The delayed flight landed at 11:25 ahead of the ban coming into effect at 13:00.

    Student Emma Rhodes, 21, was among passengers who landed after a holiday in Dubai.

    She said she agreed with the government's actions but added "I understand why people have chosen to go [abroad] as well."

    Tony HarrisImage source, PA Media

    Businessman Tony Harris had been in Dubai on business

    He said the Birmingham-bound plane had been "full", including business class.

    The 52-year-old said said his hotel in Dubai had arranged for him to have a Covid-19 test three days before his flight back to Birmingham.

  11. Dozens of ambulances unable to unload at hospitalpublished at 17:10 Greenwich Mean Time 29 January 2021

    The mounting pressure on hospitals due to the coronavirus pandemic led to 66 ambulances waiting more than an hour at the Royal Wolverhampton Hospital this week before they were able to hand over their patients.

    Latest figures reveal Wolverhampton has the fourth highest number of cases in the country, with 697.2 positive cases per 100,000 people.

    AmbulancesImage source, Reuters

    Although he accepted it was unacceptable, Prof David Loughton, the hospital trust's CEO, said normally during winter pressures ambulances would unload patients who would wait to be seen by medical staff in corridors.

    However, due to the risk of infection, this was no longer an option, he told a regional press briefing, and was contributing to the delays getting patients into hospitals.

    West Midlands Ambulance Service has previously reported "horrendous" delays at hospitals -including one instance where a patient was not handed over for seven hours.

    "The whole health service, community services... everything is under strain due to volume of patients," Prof Loughton said.

  12. Ex-priest subjected boy to 'depraved' sex offencespublished at 17:04 Greenwich Mean Time 29 January 2021

    Joseph Quigley has been jailed for more than 11 years for abuse carried out between 2006 and 2009.

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  13. World's first air hub plannedpublished at 15:53 Greenwich Mean Time 29 January 2021

    What's believed to be the world's first air hub for flying electric cars and delivery drones is to be built in Coventry.

    Urban Air PortImage source, Urban Air Port Ltd/PA Media

    The Air One facility, built through a partnership involving car-maker Hyundai, will host Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTL) aircraft including electric air taxis and autonomous deliver drones, it has been announced.

    Urban Air PortImage source, Urban Air Port Ltd/PA Media

    The site, which is being developed by the company Urban Air Port, is set to be unveiled later this year during the Coventry City of Culture celebrations after being awarded a £1.2m government grant.

    Hyundai is planning to develop its own eVTOL and hopes to have commercialised a flying car by 2028. Urban Air Port said it had picked Coventry because of its central location, meaning travellers could access most parts of the UK mainland within four hours, and because it was a "historic hub" for the automotive and aerospace sectors.

  14. Penalty notices handed out in Covid-19 crackdownpublished at 15:20 Greenwich Mean Time 29 January 2021

    BBC Radio WM

    Police in Wolverhampton handed out eight fixed penalty notices during a day-long crackdown on Covid-19 violations.

    They included fines to five occupants of one car, all from different households, who were out socialising.

    Officers also issued 83 directions to leave affecting 161 people who didn't have a valid reason to be out.

  15. Jobs saved at aircraft tyres factorypublished at 14:54 Greenwich Mean Time 29 January 2021

    The GMB union has said 50 jobs have been saved at the Dunlop Aircraft Tyres factory at Erdington in Birmingham.

    The company cut 149 jobs last year, blaming a collapse in orders from airlines due to the coronavirus shut down.

    Dunlop factoryImage source, Google

    These 50 jobs were due to go in December, but the union said the company was able to secure new orders, including work for the Ministry of Defence, with the help of the Erdington MP Jack Dromey.

    Mr Dromey said the move meant the the future of the plant was "now secure".

  16. Hospitals suffer more than 100 Covid outbreakspublished at 13:39 Greenwich Mean Time 29 January 2021

    Local Democracy Reporting Service
    Mark Cardwell

    More than 100 outbreaks of Covid-19 have infected patients and staff in Birmingham hospitals since September.

    Queen Elizabeth Hospital

    Documents presented at the University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Trust board meeting on Thursday showed there had been 113 outbreaks – but numbers of people affected were not revealed.

    Queen Elizabeth Hospital saw the most outbreaks at 46, followed by Heartlands Hospital at 29.

    There were 18 outbreaks at Good Hope Hospital while there were 20 outbreaks designated as among staff.

  17. Pub chain Marston's shares jump on takeover newspublished at 13:03 Greenwich Mean Time 29 January 2021

    A US private equity firm has made an "unsolicited" offer to buy the British pub giant.

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  18. Weather warnings for snow revisedpublished at 12:55 Greenwich Mean Time 29 January 2021

    A weather warning for snow on Saturday, external has been updated, and now only affects parts of Shropshire, Warwickshire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire.

    However new warnings have been issued , externalthat will affect the whole of the region from 21:00 on Monday through to Wednesday evening.

    About 5 to 10cm of snow is expected on higher areas, said the Met Office.

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