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. Gavin Williamson on coping with 'lonely' leadershippublished at 16:17 Greenwich Mean Time 12 March 2021

    Under-fire Education Secretary Gavin Williamson tells heads how he has dealt with personal pressure.

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  2. Covid-hit mum holds baby for first timepublished at 16:07 Greenwich Mean Time 12 March 2021

    Ellie Wright contracted coronavirus when she was 30 weeks pregnant but could not have treatment.

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  3. Man found guilty of shopping centre stab murderpublished at 15:13 Greenwich Mean Time 12 March 2021

    Tyrell Harris is due to be sentenced next month over his attack on Karl Gallagher in Smethwick.

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  4. Cars could be banned from schoolspublished at 15:08 Greenwich Mean Time 12 March 2021

    Local Democracy Reporting Service

    Cars could be banned from the roads outside two Coventry schools at drop-off and pick-up times.

    The city council is considering running it as a pilot scheme and hasn't yet decided which schools would be involved.

    Double yellowImage source, Google

    The local authority hopes the scheme will make the roads safer for children and encourage more of them to walk to school.

    A similar car ban was introduced outside six Birmingham schools , externalin 2019.

  5. Deliveries suspended at 'smelly' landfillpublished at 13:16 Greenwich Mean Time 12 March 2021

    Hundreds have complained about the "rotten egg" odour coming from the site at Silverdale.

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  6. Crafty vending machine aims to spread community cheerpublished at 12:57 Greenwich Mean Time 12 March 2021

    BBC Midlands Today

    An artist has filled a vending machine with free arts and crafts materials in a bid to help her local community during lockdown.

    Inside the machine

    The equipment for Clara Stomeyer's project has come from donations from people in and around Quinton, Birmingham.

    She said the idea was to bring a little cheer - anyone is invited to come along and choose a gift.

    "I had a spare vending machine from my other business in the garage and we saw a real need in the community to bring some positivity and some happiness and through craft I always think that is the best medium."

  7. Plants removed from huge area of park to combat pestpublished at 12:00 Greenwich Mean Time 12 March 2021

    Some plants are to be removed from a Birmingham park in a bid to stop the spread of a harmful pest.

    A Statutory Plant Health Notice has been issued by the Forestry Commission for the Lickey Hills Country Park after the discovery of phytophthora ramorum - a pathogen harmful to trees and woodland.

    It means Larch and rhododendron will be removed from a 12-hectare (29.6 acre) area of the park in the Beacon Hill area.

    Beacon Hill, Lickey HillsImage source, Getty Images

    Phytophthora ramorum is transmitted through airborne spores, but felling or killing infected plants has been found to be effective in reducing the spread.

    Councillor John O’Shea, responsible for parks, said: “It is clearly unfortunate that we have to carry out work on such a significant scale, but this is essential, and we will ensure that all activity is done in the most environmentally conscious way possible.”

  8. Your photos: Weather viewspublished at 11:30 Greenwich Mean Time 12 March 2021

    BBC Weather Watchers

    Here are some of the great photos our local BBC Weather Watchers have been sending in from across the West Midlands.

    These are from users SA Guest in Coventry, Nutty in Pattingham, Staffordshire and Joanna Hughes in Ellesmere, Shropshire:

    CoventryImage source, SA Guest
    PattinghamImage source, Nutty
    EllesmereImage source, Joanna Hughes
  9. Plaque unveiled in memory of studentpublished at 11:03 Greenwich Mean Time 12 March 2021

    BBC Hereford and Worcester

    A plaque has been unveiled on a Worcester bridge in memory of student Thomas Jones.

    The 18-year-old's body was recovered from the River Severn in Worcester in September 2018.

    An inquest heard the primary teaching student was "more than likely" responding to a cry for help before he apparently slipped and fell down an embankment.

    The plaque

    The plaque has been placed on the Sabrina Bridge in the city.

    His parents, Ian and Vicki, said "This is such a fitting tribute and we honestly can’t put into words what this means to us as a family."

    Thomas Jones' parents Ian and Vicki
  10. Fire service equality under the spotlightpublished at 10:36 Greenwich Mean Time 12 March 2021

    Local Democracy Reporting Service

    Shropshire's fire brigade is disproportionately white, male and heterosexual compared to the general population, a report says.

    Fire engine - generic image

    Equality monitoring statistics gathered by Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service show the number of non-white employees has stayed the same since last year.

    The document, jointly authored by Chief Fire Officer Rod Hammerton and Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Officer Natalie Parkinson and due to be discussed by fire authority members next week, also says women are "disproportionately under-represented in the operational workforce".

    Mr Hammerton and Ms Parkinson note that the 2011 census found ethnic minorities made up 7% of the Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin population, but make up 1.9% of the brigade workforce.

    The report authors said generally accepted estimates put the percentage of lesbian, gay and bisexual people in the general population at about 7% to 10% and current workforce monitoring responses showed a figure of 0.7%, a decrease from 0.8% last year.

  11. Cat missing for decades spent last days with ownerpublished at 10:33 Greenwich Mean Time 12 March 2021

    Phoebe is found seriously ill in a field at the age of 22 but has a special reunion in her final hours.

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  12. Animal sanctuary fears surge in abandoned petspublished at 10:00 Greenwich Mean Time 12 March 2021

    Local Democracy Reporting Service

    A Walsall animal sanctuary said it had rescued nearly 100 unwanted guinea pigs and rabbits since the first lockdown.

    Hannah Carpenter, who runs the Hannah’s Guinea Pig Sanctuary, said she feared another surge when this lockdown ends and people are no longer at home to look after their pets.

    RabbitImage source, Hannah Carpenter

    Ms Carpenter said: "People probably thought, ‘we’ll get our kids a pet and it will give them something to focus on’.

    “But then after having them for a couple of weeks, the children get bored of them – but that’s not fair on the animals."

    New research suggests 3.2 million households in the UK have acquired a pet since the start of the pandemic, many of them thought to be in response to social isolation.

    however, there have been concerns about animal welfare.

  13. Almost 88,000 vaccines given in Wolverhamptonpublished at 09:28 Greenwich Mean Time 12 March 2021

    Almost 88,000 people have now been vaccinated against the coronavirus in Wolverhampton.

    The city council said a total of 87,657 vaccinations had been delivered so far, with 83,370 people having received the first of their two doses and 4,287 patients having had both.

    It means over 10,000 jabs were given in the last week.

    Stock image of someone receiving the vaccinationImage source, Getty Images

    Councillor Jasbir Jaspal, said: “Thousands more people have received a life-saving Covid-19 vaccination in the last week and the pace is only set to increase further in the weeks ahead as more individuals become eligible for their first jab and others go back for their second dose."

  14. Weather: Showers and sunny spellspublished at 08:16 Greenwich Mean Time 12 March 2021

    BBC Weather

    Early showers, with hail in places, should clear away to leave a mix of sunny spells and scattered showers. High: 9C (48F).

    Weather today

    Turning cloudier tonight with wet and windy weather forecast which could see some heavy outbreaks of rain. Low: 4C (39F).

    You can keep up-to-date at the BBC Weather website.

  15. RSC set to perform again to live audiencespublished at 06:28 Greenwich Mean Time 12 March 2021

    Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors is due to be staged in an outdoor performance area this summer.

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  16. Hundreds join bid to 'save' heritage cinemapublished at 06:19 Greenwich Mean Time 12 March 2021

    Campaigners fear Shrewsbury's former Granada Theatre could be turned into flats.

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  17. Scott scores as Everton beat Birminghampublished at 21:17 Greenwich Mean Time 11 March 2021

    England midfielder Jill Scott is among the scorers as Everton overcome a first-half scare to win at Birmingham.

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  18. Care home employee with Covid told to keep workingpublished at 18:55 Greenwich Mean Time 11 March 2021

    The site has been found "inadequate" by inspectors and placed in special measures.

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