Summary

  • Updates from Monday 18 January to Sunday 24 January

  1. Main roads closed as storm brings floodingpublished at 21:01 Greenwich Mean Time 21 January 2021

    People are rescued as Shropshire faces floods in the wake of Storm Christoph.

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  2. Mosque becomes UK's first to offer Covid vaccinepublished at 19:07 Greenwich Mean Time 21 January 2021

    The imam, Sheikh Nuru Mohammed, hopes the centre will dispel false information about the vaccination.

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  3. Rail staff birthday party probed amid Covid fearspublished at 18:31 Greenwich Mean Time 21 January 2021

    A union has called into question how seriously managers take the safety of employees and the public.

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  4. End of live updates for Thursdaypublished at 18:00 Greenwich Mean Time 21 January 2021

    Allen Cook
    BBC News

    Thanks for your time today, we will be back tomorrow from 08:00 with the latest news, sport, travel, weather and more for the West Midlands.

  5. Aston Villa boss Smith charged by FApublished at 17:54 Greenwich Mean Time 21 January 2021

    Aston Villa manager Dean Smith is charged by the Football Association after his sending off during Wednesday's defeat by Manchester City.

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  6. Gardens 'like a river' after Storm Christophpublished at 17:51 Greenwich Mean Time 21 January 2021

    Local Democracy Reporting Service
    Mark Cardwell

    Gardens in part of Birmingham have been flooded "like a river" in the wake of Storm Christoph, according to residents.

    Flooded gardenImage source, Gurcharn Kaur

    They claim the issue in Hall Green has worsened since work began on a development of new homes on the site of the former Hall Green greyhound stadium.

    Gurcharn Kaur lives on Brooklands Road and said she and her neighbours have seen flooding get worse in the past couple of years.

    The 64-year-old said: "It is like a river.

    “It was not like this before the development work started. We would have complained about it years ago. We have been here 20-odd years and it was fine."

    Developers Vistry Partnerships has denied flooding has been caused by construction work and Birmingham City Council is currently investigating the problem.

  7. Burglary spate: Police probing whether 13 break-ins linkedpublished at 17:40 Greenwich Mean Time 21 January 2021

    Five cars have been stolen amid 13 burglaries in Wolverhampton, with police trying to establish whether they are linked.

    The break-ins happened around the Bushbury and Wednesfield areas between 3 and 18 January.

    West Midlands Police said, external the five cars, including an Audi and a Land Rover Discovery, were taken after car keys were stolen from homes.

  8. Roads are closed and more flood warnings issuedpublished at 17:23 Greenwich Mean Time 21 January 2021

    Dozens of roads remain closed across the West Midlands due to flooding.

    Sixty-nine flood warnings have been issued by the Environment Agency , externalwhich has said some rivers may not peak in the region until the weekend.

    In Breinton, Herefordshire, only one road into the village is open. The county council said flooding had cut off other routes., external

    Flooding at BreintonImage source, Herefordshire Council

    Meanwhile, Worcestershire County Council tweeted, external a photo of flooding along Market Street, Tenbury Wells:

    Tenbury floodingImage source, Worcestershire County Council

    In Lichfield, Staffordshire, bin crews have not been able to get to some households today due to flooding.

    The district council said, external crews would try again on Friday if water levels had subsided.

  9. Man held on suspicion of terrorism offencespublished at 17:13 Greenwich Mean Time 21 January 2021

    The 21-year-old was arrested at an address in Birmingham, West Midlands Police says.

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  10. Trains between Manchester and Birmingham resumepublished at 16:59 Greenwich Mean Time 21 January 2021

    Travel on trains can now resume between Birmingham and Manchester via Stoke-on-Trent and Macclesfield after flood water subsided.The advice is to check your journey before you travel as delays are expected.

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  11. Man fined for 100-mile 'day out' in Wolverhamptonpublished at 16:42 Greenwich Mean Time 21 January 2021

    A man who drove nearly 100 miles from Bristol to Wolverhampton for "a day out" has been fined, police say.

    The motorist was issued with a fixed penalty notice after officers approached him in the city.

  12. Cars stolen in knifepoint robberiespublished at 15:46 Greenwich Mean Time 21 January 2021

    Two men have had their cars stolen at knifepoint after being lured to a street by a fake offer to trade mobile phones, police said.

    A false Facebook account had been used to contact them and get them to Lawrence Avenue, Heath Town, Wolverhampton, the West Midlands Police force reported., external

    A 31-year-old man had his Toyota Aygo taken on Monday and a 20-year-old man was assaulted and had his Fiesta stolen on Tuesday.

    A 17-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of robbery offences and is in custody, officers say.

  13. Covid rules allow flood evacuationspublished at 15:00 Greenwich Mean Time 21 January 2021

    BBC Midlands Today

    People in Shropshire are being told Covid rules will let them leave their homes in an emergency such as flooding.

    Firefighter last night in ShropshireImage source, Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service

    Firefighters in the county were called to more than 70 incidents on Wednesday night, with most of them flooding-related.

    Some people have questioned whether they are allowed to leave their home during lockdown.

    But Russ Hales, from Shropshire Fire and Rescue service, said the guidelines allowed it.

    "If it is a threat to life then that out weighs the self-isolation as per government guidance," he said.

  14. Covid-19 outbreak at prisonpublished at 14:45 Greenwich Mean Time 21 January 2021

    BBC Midlands Today

    An outbreak of Covid-19 at a prison could take several weeks to get under control, its operator says.

    Dovegate Prison

    More than 140 inmates and staff at Dovegate Prison, near Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, are currently infected.

    Private firm Serco, which runs the site, says a range of measures have been put in place to try to limit the virus's spread.

  15. Some river peaks 'may not come until Saturday'published at 14:33 Greenwich Mean Time 21 January 2021

    There looks to be a changing picture this afternoon.

    Earlier we reported the Environment Agency (EA) was expecting river levels to peak later on Thursday.

    But as water from this week's heavy rain makes its way slowly through the rivers of the West Midlands, that forecast is changing.

    The EA said that while in some cases it expected river levels to start falling on Thursday afternoon, in others, peaks could come on Friday or even Saturday.

    Flooding in Severn Stoke, WorcestershireImage source, J at Severn Ridge
    Image caption,

    Flooding in Severn Stoke, Worcestershire

    The EA has more than 40 flood warnings across the region, external. Worcestershire is subject to most, with 12 in place so far.

    There are also 10 in Staffordshire, nine in Herefordshire, eight in Shropshire and, with a new county to be implicated, three in Warwickshire.

  16. West Brom's Harper agrees Blues loanpublished at 14:01 Greenwich Mean Time 21 January 2021

    Birmingham City agree a loan deal until the end of the season for West Brom midfielder Rekeem Harper.

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  17. Mosque becomes vaccination centrepublished at 13:48 Greenwich Mean Time 21 January 2021

    There have been concerns about scepticism towards the vaccine in some Muslim communities.

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  18. Alert over Covid jabs due to flooded hospital roadpublished at 12:37 Greenwich Mean Time 21 January 2021

    People heading to get their Covid vaccination at a hospital are being warned one of its entry roads has flooded.

    Flooded roadImage source, The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital

    It's the route by the entrance to the vaccination hub at The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital, in Gobowen, Shropshire, that's underwater.

    The NHS trust said, external people coming for their jab should try to access the hospital from the Whittington direction instead.