Summary

  • Updates from Monday 18 January to Sunday 24 January

Live Reporting

  2. Lockdown: Nightclub closures 'could become permanent'

    BBC Radio Hereford and Worcester

    A nightclub owner is warning his business could shut for good later this year unless the government does more for the industry.

    TrampsGoogle

    Dean Hill owns Tramps, in Worcester, which hasn't been able to open since the first lockdown in March.

    He told BBC Radio Hereford and Worcester it urgently needed more support.

    "Tramps will not be here as an operating business in August. Unless we can access more funds from the government we are not going to be here," he said.

    The government has previously said it has offered help to the industry - in July it announced a £1.57bn package to help the arts, which included music venues but not nightclubs.

    Some working in the industry have been able to claim money as part of the government's furlough scheme.

    Play nightclubGoogle

    Billy Reynolds owns Play Nightclub in Hereford and believes venues will survive but it will take a while to recover.

    "I think they will come back. Key nights like a Saturday night or a student night will be busy but you will struggle midweek and, say, Friday nights to get it to come back."

  3. Four charged over car crush death

    Aaron Wilson died in hospital days after he was trapped between cars in a crash in Coventry.

    Read More

  4. Some critical care wards full across England

    There are very few spare beds for the most seriously ill patients in parts of the country, the NHS says.

    Read More

  5. Work on road aims to improve town's flood defences

    BBC Radio Shropshire

    Improvements are being made to a town's flood defences from today to try to prevent them being overwhelmed in the future.

    Flooding in Ironbridge in 2020PA Media

    In February, barriers along the river in Ironbridge were pushed back 2m (6ft 6in) as up to 500 tonnes of water per second flowed through the town.

    They dug up the surface of the road along The Wharfage and Telford and Wrekin councillor David Wright said they were working with the Environment Agency to improve the route for future floods.

    "The crown of the road will be moved further back and a flatter portion will be laid along the frontage and that should provide a better surface for the barrier to sit on," he said.

    Damage to the road when the barriers shiftedTelford and Wrekin Council

  6. Snowbi-Gone Kenobi among new names for group of gritters

    Usain Salt, Professor Chris Gritty and Snowbi-Gone Kenobi are three of the names of Warwickshire's new gritters.

    GritterWarwickshire County Council

    Like many local authorities, the county council asked the public in October to pick names for its new vehicles.

    As well as the pun-heavy names, the council will also name two more vehicles after "particularly poignant" suggestions.

    One will be Charlie Boy in memory of a boy who died from childhood cancer in 2017 and another, Grey13 Hero, after a former county council worker.

  7. GPs 'only given hours' to find Covid vaccine patients

    BBC Radio Stoke

    Doctors giving Covid vaccinations in part of Staffordshire said it had been "challenging" when deliveries had arrived with only a few hours' notice.

    A doctor about to give a vaccinePA Media

    A vaccination centre has been set up at the JCB factory in Rocester, near Uttoxeter, by several GP practices in Cheadle.

    They can get through about 900 jabs a day but Dr David Yates told BBC Radio Stoke they often get about 12 hours' notice of new stocks arriving.

    "Yesterday we suddenly got told we had 900 vaccines, which is a whole other batch of the Pfizer ones," he said.

    "I think by last night we had 170 people booked in ready with people frantically on the phones all day."

  8. Woman attacked by masked man in Asda car park

    A woman has been attacked in a supermarket car park by a masked man.

    West Mercia Police said the assailant and two others, also in masks, ran off when the victim screamed for help.

    She had been putting her shopping in her car at the Asda car park on Jinnah Road, Redditch, when it happened on Tuesday.

    The force is appealing for information.

  9. Man, 77, stabbed in 'random attack' while shopping

    The pensioner is left with life-threatening injuries and a man is charged with attempted murder.

    Read More

  11. Woman assaulted after 'asking cyclist to slow down'

    A woman has been pushed over and punched by a cyclist whom she asked to slow down, West Mercia Police says.

    It happened on Saturday morning on The Lloyds in Ironbridge, Shropshire.

  12. Fifth of mask fines handed out by West Mercia force

    Local Democracy Reporting Service

    The Local Democracy Reporting Service in Worcestershire has been covering these stories:

    • More than a fifth of fines handed out by police in England and Wales for people not wearing face masks have been issued by the West Mercia force. Figures from the National Police Chiefs Council show force officers issued 196 fines between 27 March and 20 December out of a total of 952 across the two nations.
    A man wearing a protective face mask walking past signage advising the use of face coveringsPA Media
    • Dozens of homes could be built on farmland in a Worcestershire village under new plans. A developer wants to demolish a cottage and outbuildings on the site on Woodhall Lane, Ombersley, and has submitted an application to Wychavon District Council.
    • A plan to build affordable housing on a former golf course looks set to be approved. Worcester City Council's planning committee will consider the proposals for part of the old Tolladine course on Thursday.

  13. Eight fined after Birmingham anti-lockdown protest

    The £200 levies follow arrests in the city centre during a demonstration by about 150 people.

    Read More

  14. Capt Sir Tom inspires man to 'climb mountains' in his garden

    BBC Midlands Today

    A 90-year-old man is aiming to raise £100,000 for charity by "climbing mountains" across the UK without leaving his garden.

    Alan BlakeAlan Blake

    Alan Blake, from Hereford, intends to climb the bank of his steep garden to complete the same number of steps it would take to go up Ben Nevis, Snowdon and Scarfell Pike.

    He said he would raise money for a Parkinson's cause, the Rotary Club and his local parish church, having been inspired by the efforts of Capt Sir Tom Moore.

    "Captain Tom is walking on the flat but I am 10 years younger and that is my aim to raise some money for various charities," he said.

    "He has given me a great inspiration because of the way that he has gone about what he has done."

    Capt Sir Tom raised £33m for the NHS by walking 100 laps of his Bedfordshire garden before his birthday in April.

  15. Stunning sunrise captured by photographers

    BBC Weather Watchers capture an incredibly colourful start to Monday.

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  16. Sports centre idea pushed for old Ikea store

    BBC CWR

    A council is being called on to buy and convert a former Ikea store into a sports and leisure centre.

    The Ikea storeGoogle

    The Swedish brand announced the closure of the city centre branch in Coventry last year and said it aimed to sell the building.

    Councillor Mattie Heaven said, with the Fairfax Street sport centre now shut, the city council should consider the old Ikea store as a leisure venue.

    The authority said it welcomed the idea but it was unlikely the site's use would be changed from retail.

  17. Shrewsbury Town boss in hospital with Covid-19

    BBC Sport

    Shrewsbury Town boss Steve Cotterill spent the weekend in hospital after being taken ill with Covid-19.

    Steve CotterillPA Media

    The 56-year-old was admitted on Friday after his symptoms worsened following last week's positive test.

    He is now recovering at the hospital near his family home in Bristol, but at one point over the weekend was admitted to intensive care.

    He will have to watch Tuesday's delayed FA Cup third-round tie at Southampton on TV from his hospital bed.

  19. Unknown substance thrown at boy in stab attack

    A teenage boy has been stabbed in an attack during which an unknown substance was thrown in his face.

    The 15-year-old was near recreational ground and a Chinese restaurant on Aylesford Street, Leamington Spa, on Saturday evening when it happened, police said.

    A woman came up to him, demanded his mobile phone and, when he refused to hand it over, was assaulted.

    He suffered injuries to his face, leg and back which officers said were not thought to be life-threatening.

  20. Covid-19: Train services cut due to fewer passengers

    BBC Radio Hereford and Worcester

    Some train services have been cut in the West Midlands due to fewer passengers using them and more staff being off work for Covid-related reasons.

    TrainWest Midlands Railway

    Operator West Midlands Railway said the changes, from today, would include fewer trains on Birmingham Snow Hill lines on weekday afternoons and none between Leamington Spa and Nuneaton via Coventry.

    The firm said the new lockdown meant fewer people were travelling to work, while there were more of its own staff self-isolating or shielding.