Surge testing is being deployed and those over the age of 18 are advised to take part.

"Confidence" as the leasehold for Coventry's West Orchards is sold amid "challenging times".

Handforth Parish Council's Zoom meeting had insults, laughter and members being kicked out.

A farmer who spent more than £27,000 on a new dog says he is looking forward to working with her.

Tracy Mellor has shared the highs and lows of being a sister at a Royal Stoke respiratory ward.

The men are suspects in connection with the killing of father-of-four Mohammed Haroon Zeb.

The Birmingham Airport site had closed in September after a fall in the number of Covid-related deaths.

Live updates have now ended for the West Midlands.

We'll be back from 08:00 on Monday with the latest news, sport, travel and weather.

Local Democracy Reporting Service
Tom Davis

West Orchards Shopping Centre in Coventry will be run under new owners after the leasehold sold at auction for £4.85m.

Image source, Google

An unnamed London-based investor acquired the city centre attraction below the guide price of £5.5m when it went to auction this week.

The 219,503 sq ft site on Smithford Way was reportedly valued at £37m just eight years ago.

West Orchards is said to have brought in a footfall of 7.1 million in 2019 but trading in retail nationally has proved difficult in the past year due the coronavirus pandemic.

It lost one of its two flagship stores when Debenhams went into administration in November.

Stoke City defender Harry Souttar signs a new "long-term" contract with the Championship club.

The head teacher of a Coventry school, set to benefit from the government's 10-year school rebuilding programme, said the money would be "transformational" for the school.

Image source, West Coventry Academy

Anna Neofitou from West Coventry Academy said the grant would be used to create "first rate facilities" with the aim of making the building carbon neutral.

Twelve schools in the West Midlands will be awarded money, the government has announced. , external

"We're going to be having outstanding sporting facilities that will include a brand new swimming pool and obviously that will not only benefit our students but also the wider community," said Ms Neofitou.

"We're very excited about the news."

17-year-old Shaan Ali told Radio 1 Newsbeat about his hobby of watching local council meetings

Freezing conditions are expected across parts of the West Midlands this weekend, with warnings of snow and ice issued starting at 15:00 on Saturday., external

Heavy snow is expected to cause travel delays from Saturday through to the end of Monday in Staffordshire, Warwickshire and the West Midlands conurbation.

Parts of the region face lows of -2C (28F) by Tuesday morning, while a strong easterly wind will make it feel many degrees below freezing, according to Met Office forecaster Steven Keates.

He said it will be "really unpleasant" to be outdoors, adding: "If you do have to go outside there are lots of layers required I think."

A coronavirus vaccination hub set up in Aston Villa's Holte End, in Birmingham, welcomed its first patients on Thursday.

Image source, PA Media

The football club's staff are volunteering to help NHS workers at the site.

Image source, PA Media

The centre is expected to administer 1,500 doses a day with capacity to scale up subject to demand and vaccine availability.

Image source, PA Media

Villa's chief executive Christian Purslow said he was "very proud and privileged".

"Providing a convenient venue to provide vaccinations is the best possible use of our football club."

Local Democracy Reporting Service

A woman who first tweeted a clip of a virtual parish council meeting, now viewed more than four million times, has said the response has been "all a bit insane".

Janine Mason from Stoke-on-Trent published the clip of the Handforth Parish Council meeting, creating a social media storm.

"Jack Whitehall has tweeted me, and so have drag queens like Baga Chipz and Blu Hydrangea,” she said.

While the clip has been used as a launching pad for a variety of parodies, memes, and tributes, Janine believes there is a serious point in the 30-second snippet.

She told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “I hope it makes people realise it is quite difficult being in local politics."

"As far as I am aware, Jackie Weaver was just doing her job."

Twelve schools in the West Midlands are set to benefit from new government money as part of a 10-year school rebuilding programme., external

The initial rebuilds and refurbishments will create "modern education environments, providing new facilities from classrooms and science labs, to sports halls and dining rooms", said the Department for Education.

Image source, Google

These are the schools set to benefit:

• King Edward VI Handsworth Wood Girls' Academy, Birmingham
• Cardinal Newman Catholic School, Coventry
• West Coventry Academy, Coventry
• Coundon Court, Coventry
• Belvidere School, Shropshire
• Wombourne High School, Staffordshire
• Hartshill School, Warwickshire
• Southam College, Warwickshire
• Kineton High School, Warwickshire
• St Peter's Collegiate Church of England School, Wolverhampton
• Pershore High School, Worcestershire
• Waseley Hills High School, Worcestershire

In addition, three free schools have been approved for the area including:

• Rugeley John Taylor School in Staffordshire
• Star Academy in Wolverhampton
• Austin Park Primary Academy in Worcestershire

One among them faces a murder charge following the death of Craig Robins 13 years after an attack.

Almost half of all stem cell transplant patients at a Birmingham hospital test positive for Covid.

Corey Sharpling, 21, was "engulfed in earth and trees" in Carmarthenshire in 2018, an inquest hears.

Thousands of hotel rooms are being block-booked by the government hours after it confirmed quarantine rules related to Covid variant hotspots will begin on 15 February.

Hotels near airports including Birmingham are expected to be booked up for quarantine.

Ministers plan for more than 1,000 UK residents a day to return from places where new variants are prevalent.

Those arrivals must pay to stay in a hotel for 10 nights, with security accompanying them if they go outside.