Summary

  • Another loan for Birmingham Airport

  • Woman critically injured in taxi crash

  • Man charged with murder after woman's body found in river

  • Fire on 14th floor of tower block

  • Updates from Friday 12 February

  1. Theme park firm fined £1m over girl's ride deathpublished at 16:27 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March 2021

    Evha Jannath's death at Drayton Manor was an "utterly tragic waste of a young life", the judge says.

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  2. Peaky Blinders creator 'plots World War Two epic'published at 15:40 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March 2021

    Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight is teaming up with Sir Ridley Scott for a 10-episode epic, external that will tell the story of World War II, Deadline said.

    It added Roads to Freedom would tell the story of the war from several international perspectives, based on Sir Antony Beevor's books.

    Steven Knight

    Deadline said it would "portray the brutal realities from multiple viewpoints, with characters not only from the U.S. and UK but also from Russia, Germany, France and other countries across the globe", including "women, and children struggling to survive".

    Sir Ridley plans to direct the launch episode of the series and Knight and Sir Antony would write all episodes, it added.

    In January Knight confirmed the BBC's Peaky Blinders would conclude with a film following the show's final TV series.

    There could be a spin-off TV series inspired by and including characters from the hit Birmingham crime drama, he said.

    Asked by BBC Midlands Today this year if we were talking about a one-off film or a series, he said: "You never know... But we're talking about, (I) don't like the word spin-offs, but TV series that are gonna [sic] be inspired by and include characters from Peaky."

  3. Tree fall student's hopes for Paralympicspublished at 15:19 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March 2021

    Disabled rower Xander Van Der Poll has been selected for the British Rowing's talent programme

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  4. New drama from West Midlands under BBC planspublished at 15:16 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March 2021

    BBC Midlands Today

    At least one new drama series and one new entertainment series will come from the West Midlands under plans by the BBC.

    BBC Birmingham site

    Changes to the corporation will include relocating Radio 1's Newsbeat team to Birmingham, which will also be the base for the Asian Network.

    The BBC is to move some of its key departments and staff outside London to make it more reflective of the UK as a whole.

    BBC Radio Wolverhampton is to continue beyond its current temporary period and learning hubs are to be opened in the city and Birmingham to train young people for careers in digital media.

    The corporation said its plans represent a "top-to-bottom change" and its biggest transformation in decades.

  5. Dad's smear test campaign after partner's deathpublished at 15:05 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March 2021

    Chris Hopkins wants to try to prevent more children losing their mothers to cervical cancer.

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  6. Children win bid to keep mum's home after deathpublished at 13:56 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March 2021

    Kyra King had rented her Cannock home for 16 years before she died of Covid-19 in February.

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  7. Newsbeat and Asian Network base to move to Birminghampublished at 13:11 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March 2021

    Radio 1's Newsbeat team will relocate to Birmingham, which will also be the base for the Asian Network, under plans by the BBC.

    The corporation is to move some of its key departments and staff outside London to make it more reflective of the UK as a whole.

    The BBC said its plans represent a "top-to-bottom change" and its biggest transformation in decades.

    Entire departments and news divisions will be moved to Birmingham, Cardiff, Leeds and Salford.

    Hollie Chapman and Wilf Scolding, who play Alice and Christopher Carter

    The BBC's activities in Birmingham include Radio 4's The Archers, BBC Midlands Today, the BBC Drama Village, including TV drama Doctors, and BBC Radio WM.

    The region's mayor, Andy Street, said he was "delighted" by the news.

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  8. Police do not take harassment claims 'lightly'published at 12:55 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March 2021

    Police say they do not take concerns "lightly" following claims of sexual harassment in a university area.

    The West Midlands force said it understood students, external at the University of Birmingham were concerned and worried following claims of "sexual harassment, sexual assault and abductions on The Vale campus in recent weeks".

    Laptop - generic imageImage source, PA Media

    In February, a student reported she was harassed by two men claiming to be delivery drivers.

    Despite being "understandably shaken by the incident, she was not physically harmed", the force said.

    It added this was the only incident it was aware of and it did not want people to worry unnecessarily, but police "don’t take the concerns lightly and promise to do everything we can" to ensure students "feel safe".

    Police have stepped up patrols, in partnership with security services at the university, to offer reassurance.

  9. Blues 'always on the front foot' in first game under Bowyerpublished at 12:08 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March 2021

    BBC Radio WM Sport

    New Birmingham City head coach Lee Bowyer has paid tribute to his team's "outstanding" efforts, after they beat Reading 2-1 in his first game in charge to move six points clear of the Championship's relegation zone.

    Lee BowyerImage source, PA Media

    He said it was a "real team effort" and "pleasing to see them with smiles on faces".

    In a match of three headed goals, Lukas Jutkiewicz's early strike gave Blues the lead and skipper Harlee Dean scored the winner on 71 minutes.

    Quote Message

    If I'm being really picky (we) could have got a clean sheet, but yeah from start to finish I think we looked hungrier... I think our shape, work-rate just limited them, like we (were) always on the front foot and pressing and we set little traps and they (were) working."

    Lee Bowyer, Birmingham City head coach

  10. Police stepping up efforts to prevent knife crimepublished at 11:02 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March 2021

    BBC Midlands Today

    West Midlands Police says it is stepping up efforts to prevent knife crime ahead of the easing of lockdown.

    There will be extra patrols on the streets in problem areas as restrictions change, the force said.

    Police officers

    This week officers have used knife arches to scan members of the public and searched parks and green spaces.

    It is the work of Project Guardian, the force's youth violence prevention team.

    Quote Message

    We conduct these things on a daily basis across the West Midlands where we've got identified areas. So we work on intelligence where we have information that will suggest there might be items being stored or park spaces."

    PC Dan Thomas, West Midlands Police

  11. Firefighters give thousands of Covid-19 jabspublished at 10:35 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March 2021

    BBC Midlands Today

    Firefighters in Shropshire have given almost 10,000 Covid-19 vaccinations to residents in just over a month.

    Fire engine

    It is to help support the government's target with the rollout of the vaccine.

    Sixty staff at Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service have been trained and redeployed at three centres across the county.

  12. Teacher who hid camera in school bathroom jailedpublished at 10:19 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March 2021

    Thomas Ball is jailed after pleading guilty to six "carefully planned" child sexual offences.

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  13. Free school meal grants to return at Easterpublished at 10:06 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March 2021

    BBC Hereford and Worcester

    Herefordshire families will be getting help to feed their children during the Easter holidays.

    The local authority said it will use money from the government's winter Covid grant to pay for the scheme, which helped more than 3,600 children during the Christmas holidays and following half term.

    FoodImage source, Getty Images

    Primary and secondary age children who are eligible for free school meals will get £80 each directly through their school.

  14. My Money: 'I'm a 33-weeks' pregnant doctor'published at 09:59 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March 2021

    Helen Edwards, an NHS doctor from the West Midlands in the UK takes us through her week's spending.

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  15. Crews called to two fires overnightpublished at 09:13 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March 2021

    A fire at a high rise block of flats was dealt with overnight in West Bromwich, the fire service said.

    It was a small kitchen fire at the block on Beacon View Road, it said.

    Fire sceneImage source, West Midlands Fire Service

    In another incident, 11 residents were evacuated from a property on Compton Road, Wolverhampton after a small fire broke out on a stairwell.

    Crews were sent to the house shortly after 04:00 but all residents were allowed to go back into the property by 06:00.

  16. Plea to collect brine bath memoriespublished at 06:17 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March 2021

    The Brine Memories campaign hopes to collect stories relating to the Droitwich's spa heritage.

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  17. Bowyer's Blues beat high-riding Readingpublished at 22:46 Greenwich Mean Time 17 March 2021

    Lee Bowyer wins his first game as Birmingham City's new boss as Blues complete a Championship double over Reading.

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