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

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

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

Image 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.

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".

Image 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".

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

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.

Image 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."

Image 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.

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.

Image 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.

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

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.

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.

Image 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".

Local Democracy Reporting Service
Mark Cardwell

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

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.

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

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.

Birmingham Live

Some of the Birmingham Live stories today include:

• Intensive care doctor speaks of 'sheer horror' of so many sick and dying, external
• Nurse hit with £100 fine after parking in designated space to get Covid jab, external
• Police apology after man bundled into patrol car for refusing to give his name, external

Snow is expected to cause travel disruption on Saturday across the West Midlands, the Met Office is warning.

A yellow warning has been issued, external for the whole of the region from 03:00 until 18:00.

BBC Weather

It is set to be a blustery day with spells of sunshine and the chance of a few scattered showers with highs of 10°C (50°F).

Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo donates £250,000 to help tackle poverty in Wolverhampton.

Family and friends of Keon Lincoln turned out to offer prayers and lay flowers.

A fundraiser set up to help the school by the school's PTA raises almost £10,000.

Tristan Copeland thinks cousin Gary Matthews would be alive if he had not listened to conspiracies.