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. More social workers say caseloads not manageablepublished at 09:17 Greenwich Mean Time 10 March 2021

    Local Democracy Reporting Service

    More social workers in Wolverhampton say their caseloads are not manageable, a survey of the council's workforce has revealed.

    Following an annual health check to assess how social workers in the city are feeling, a report to the council has revealed a rise in the number saying they are "just about" managing.

    Wolverhampton Civic CentreImage source, Google

    A report to the council’s Adult and Safer City Scrutiny Panel, which is due to discuss the findings on 16 March, added the challenges presented by the Covid-19 pandemic were likely to have had an impact on the outcomes.

    The report said full-time workers were working an average of 4.2 hours over their contracted hours, compared to 2.4 hours in 2019, but part-time workers were working an average of 2.4 hours over, a decrease from 10.3 in 2019.

    Stress levels were slightly higher, with just over 50% of respondents saying they always or often felt stressed compared to 45% in 2019, it stated.

    A council spokesman said: "Covid has had an impact on the overall health of the workforce, as evidenced by stress levels reported. Senior managers are aware of the impact this has on workers and continue to support the wellbeing of the workforce in balancing their work and personal circumstances."

  2. Machete gang threatens Everton keeper and familypublished at 09:16 Greenwich Mean Time 10 March 2021

    Robin Olsen and his family were confronted in their home by an armed gang of masked burglars.

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  3. Covid: Hundreds recruited to staff vaccine hubspublished at 08:58 Greenwich Mean Time 10 March 2021

    BBC Midlands Today

    Nearly 1,000 extra people have been recruited, external to help deliver vaccinations in Shropshire.

    The drive has been led by the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital (RJAH) near Oswestry.

    Vaccine being given

    New staff will work across vaccination centres throughout the county, including Telford and Wrekin.

    The roles include vaccinators, healthcare assistants, administrators and car park marshalls.

    Bosses said it came at a key time as teams geared up for their busiest period yet with staff set to administer second doses of vaccine while continuing to give first ones to different age groups.

    The scheme has made offers to more than 800 people. In addition,125 staff who recently left the NHS have joined the vaccination programme.

    Sarah Sheppard, Director of People at RJAH, praised the "can do" attitude of everyone involved.

    "Recruiting so many people, so quickly, really is a stunning achievement," she said.

  4. Rochdale 0-2 Shrewsbury Townpublished at 21:14 Greenwich Mean Time 9 March 2021

    Josh Daniels and Josh Vela get the goals as Shrewsbury win at Rochdale for the first time in almost exactly 20 years.

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  5. Minister brands youth jail lock-up 'unacceptable'published at 20:23 Greenwich Mean Time 9 March 2021

    Children at the secure training centre are locked up for more than 23 hours a day during the pandemic.

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  6. Murder arrest after woman found deadpublished at 18:08 Greenwich Mean Time 9 March 2021

    Det Insp Dave Knight says officers are treating the matter as an "isolated incident".

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  7. Third Rotherham match off due to Covidpublished at 17:48 Greenwich Mean Time 9 March 2021

    Rotherham United are forced to postpone a third Championship fixture due to three positive Covid-19 results at the club.

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  8. Man charged over crash that killed girl, 11published at 17:36 Greenwich Mean Time 9 March 2021

    He has been bailed ahead of a court appearance following Isabelle Boshell's death in October.

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  9. Man who 'fled to Sweden' admits killing womanpublished at 17:29 Greenwich Mean Time 9 March 2021

    Kenneth Andrew McDermid is due to be sentenced in April over Wendy Morse's death.

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  10. Coronavirus: Tributes paid to retired hospital workerpublished at 16:24 Greenwich Mean Time 9 March 2021

    The family of one of the first people to have died of coronavirus in the UK have marked the anniversary of her death.

    Carol BarclayImage source, Family handout

    Carol Barclay, 73, died on 8 March last year at New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton.

    The mother of two from Wednesfield was the fourth person in the UK to die of the coronavirus, said The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust.

    A retired catering supervisor at the trust, Mrs Barclay worked for the organisation for 30 years.

    Daughter Katherine Westbury, who also works for the trust said: “She was lovely – she was caring and funny and she idolised her grandchildren and her great grandchildren, and they idolised her in return,”

    "She is greatly missed by all who knew her.”

  11. Taxi drivers 'missing out on Covid payments'published at 15:57 Greenwich Mean Time 9 March 2021

    Drivers licensed in Wolverhampton but not living there cannot get a £2,000 payment, a union says.

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  12. Man denies murdering pair in double shootingpublished at 14:52 Greenwich Mean Time 9 March 2021

    Richard Avery appears in court over the deaths of Will Henry and Brian McIntosh.

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  13. Nurse has catalytic converter stolen at hospitalpublished at 13:19 Greenwich Mean Time 9 March 2021

    A nurse at Queen's Hospital in Burton was one of a number of motorists to have their catalytic converters stolen in a spate of thefts last Thursday.

    She told police she was briefly visiting the site at 18:00 when she saw three men she thought were acting suspiciously in the car park.

    Queen's HospitalImage source, Google

    There were also thefts and attempted thefts in Stoke-on-Trent, Tamworth, Newcastle-under-Lyme and Uttoxeter on the same evening.

    Staffordshire Police warned people not to approach the thieves because they usually carried tools which could be used as weapons.

  14. Watch: Crackle hits a crackerpublished at 12:59 Greenwich Mean Time 9 March 2021

    Coventry United's Hayley Crackle scores a stunning strike to help her side beat London City Lionesses 1-0 in the FA Women's Championship.

    Media caption,

    'It's a cracker' - Coventry's Crackle hits stunner in Women's Championship

  15. Man caught driving at speeds of 100mphpublished at 12:13 Greenwich Mean Time 9 March 2021

    A man has been arrested for drug and driving offences after police saw the vehicle being driven in excess of 100mph.

    West Mercia Police said officers, external were on patrol on Saturday at the A49 in Ludlow when they saw the car speeding towards the direction of Clee Hill.

    The car being stoppedImage source, West Mercia Police

    They followed the driver and stopped him where he was issued with a warning for careless driving.

    A search of the car reealed cannabis, cocaine, further drug paraphernalia and cash.

    The man, aged 20 and from Herefordshire, was arrested on suspicion of possession of Class B drugs with intent to supply and possession of Class A drugs.

    He has since been released under investigation.

  16. Wife holds husband's hand for first time in a yearpublished at 10:48 Greenwich Mean Time 9 March 2021

    A picture showing Basil and Thelma Barnett holding hands is described as a "proper look of love".

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  17. Malala Yousafzai signs production deal with Apple TV+published at 10:38 Greenwich Mean Time 9 March 2021

    Activist Malala Yousafzai has signed a multi-year deal with Apple TV+, to produce programming including documentaries, dramas, comedies and films.

    The Nobel Prize laureate, who says Birmingham has become her second home, said she wanted to inspire women and girls to "make the change that they want to see happen".

    Media caption,

    Malala Yousafzai signs production deal with Apple TV+

    The 23-year-old arrived at the Queen Elizabeth hospital in Birmingham more than eight years ago, after being shot by Taliban gunmen while on the bus to school in Pakistan's Swat valley, for saying that girls should be educated.

  18. Covid: Third of deaths in Herefordshire among care home residentspublished at 10:08 Greenwich Mean Time 9 March 2021

    Local Democracy Reporting Service

    More than a third of coronavirus related deaths in Herefordshire have been among residents of care homes, according to official figures.

    Most county care homes had at least one outbreak of Covid-19 and a disproportionate number of deaths have been among their residents, according to a report by the county's acting director of public health Rebecca Howell-Jones.

    The report says 36% of all coronavirus related deaths in the county have been among care home residents, all aged 69 or above.

    A lady with a mask onImage source, Getty Images

    Nine out of ten died in care homes. Of all care home residents who have died of Covid-19 to date, two-thirds did so in April and May.

    Ms Howell-Jones said most deaths in the first wave happened in care homes while there has been a shift towards more hospital deaths in the most recent wave.

    The report says that while data on cases are distorted by testing policies throughout the pandemic, 70% of people with Covid-19 in Herefordshire hospitals have been aged over 65.

  19. Nightingale hospitals to close from Aprilpublished at 09:30 Greenwich Mean Time 9 March 2021

    BBC News Health

    The network of emergency Nightingale hospitals set up to cope with a surge of Covid-19 cases is to close from April, the NHS has said.

    Map of hospitals

    Established last spring amid fears that the NHS might be overwhelmed, the temporary hospitals in England were largely not needed.

    Birmingham's NEC centre was opened by the Duke of Cambridge last April, but has been mostly unused.

    Some were used as rehab centres and the sites in London and Sunderland will stay open for vaccinations.