BBC Radio Hereford and Worcester

A man who started a mobile coffee company after losing his job during the pandemic said more people should consider starting a business from home.

Alex Turton, from Worcester, was made redundant by Vodafone in October and applied for about 20 new jobs without success.

He decided to spend £16,000 of his redundancy money on an electric mobile catering van and said, after a quiet December, demand has picked up.

"I figured if I start a business in the hardest possible time of year then I think I have prepared myself well for the summer when hopefully there will be more business and it will take off," he said.

Ian Youngs
Entertainment and Arts Reporter, BBC News

Rapper Pa Salieu has won BBC Music's Sound of 2021 - identifying him as Britain's most exciting musical talent thanks to his adventurous, infectious tracks with hard-hitting lyrics about life and death on the "frontline" in Coventry.

In topping the Sound of 2021 list, Pa Salieu follows in the footsteps of previous winners including Adele, Ellie Goulding and Michael Kiwanuka.

Just when the hospitality sector thought things couldn't get any worse, it has been hit by another lockdown.

Image source, Marston's

Ralph Findlay, the boss of Wolverhampton-based Marston's, which has 1,700 pubs across the country and employs 14,000 people, said some pubs that had been forced to close their doors because of the latest restrictions would never reopen.

Half of Marston's employees are under 25, he said. "I really worry about the impact of this on their employment prospects in places where it's very difficult to find employment."

He has called for pubs to be given more time before they are required to pay business rates again, which will leave premises facing an £800m bill as soon as the current rates holiday expires in March, according to the British Beer & Pub Association.

Shefali Oza
BBC Midlands Today

It will be a cold, bright day with some bright spells and the odd snow flurry is possible towards evening.

Temperatures will get up to about 1°C (34°F).

Welcome to our live service for Thursday.

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

Songs about life on the "frontline" help him be named the most exciting talent for the coming year.

Marathon runner known as Usingh Bolt backs lockdown running to help mental health.

The affected churches faced a combined repair bill of more than £2m, a court hears.

The Nightingale in Birmingham has "ample room for NHS staff", entrepreneur Lawrence Barton says.

Rescue centres and sanctuaries say they are relying on public support to get them through lockdown.

The sites, including football stadiums and racecourses, will begin operations next week.

We will be back from 08:00 on Thursday with the latest for the West Midlands.

BBC Midlands Today

A zoo is facing a "really difficult time" to continue through a third lockdown, its manager said.

Image source, Peak Wildlife Park

Peak Wildlife Park, near Leek, Staffordshire, is home to animals including penguins, lemurs and wallabies.

Under tier four restrictions, zoos were allowed to open but due to lockdown they've been forced to close.

General manager James Butler said staff were asking people to support the animals through adoption and food parcels.

"It is really, really difficult as your income goes overnight but your overheads stay exactly the same so we still have our animal keepers in every day, still got to heat the animal houses, still got to feed them."

Wolves manager Nuno Espirito Santo is fined £25,000 by the Football Association for criticising referee Lee Mason in December.

BBC CWR

Coventry's main hospital is getting "close to capacity" after the number of patients with Covid-19 doubled in the last fortnight, a health boss said.

Image source, Google

Of the 158 people with coronavirus at University Hospital Coventry, 25 are in a critical condition.

Chief Executive Andy Hardy told BBC CWR staff expect admissions to keep rising.

"We are getting close to capacity but we are still as we speak helping places such as Birmingham who are under a lot of pressure," he said.

Coventry Live

The Coventry Live website is covering these stories today:

• Coronavirus deaths rising in Coventry, external
• Man headbutted after confronting neighbour over Covid rule-breaking party, external
• Teenager seriously injured after moped collides with car in Coventry, external

Coventry sign midfielder Matty James on loan from Leicester until the end of the Championship campaign.

Dozens of tyres have been dumped by fly-tippers on a country road.

Image source, South Staffordshire Council

South Staffordshire Council said, external they were left on Thimble Mill Lane, Smestow, near Wolverhampton, on Tuesday evening.

It is appealing for anyone who saw a large lorry or tipper vehicle or has CCTV footage to come forward.

BBC News UK

Clap for Carers is to return under a new name of Clap for Heroes, the initiative's founder has said.

The weekly applause for front-line NHS staff and other key workers ran for 10 weeks during the UK's first coronavirus lockdown last spring.

Founder Annemarie Plas tweeted that it would return at 20:00 GMT on Thursday.

She said she hoped the initiative would "lift the spirit of all of us" including "all who are pushing through this difficult time".

One hospital boss said a two-week "lag" meant things could get worse before they get better.