Summary

  • Updates from 15 March - 21 March

  1. Jota scores Liverpool winner on Wolves returnpublished at 23:38 Greenwich Mean Time 15 March 2021

    Diogo Jota rekindles Liverpool's Premier League top-four hopes with the winning goal on his return to Molineux in a game that ends with a worrying head injury to Wolves goalkeeper Rui Patricio.

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  2. Hundreds disappointed by Mother's Day bouquetspublished at 21:13 Greenwich Mean Time 15 March 2021

    Angry customers have taken to social media to complain about delayed deliveries and dead blooms.

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  3. Murder accused says woman died at flatpublished at 20:40 Greenwich Mean Time 15 March 2021

    Azam Mangori says Lorraine Cox took drugs at his flat before she died, a court hears.

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  4. Our coverage across the daypublished at 19:05 Greenwich Mean Time 15 March 2021

    That's all for now. We'll have any breaking news here this evening and more updates on news, sport, travel and weather for the West Midlands from 08:00 on Tuesday.

  5. Biggest Birmingham St Patrick's festival 'in years' planned for 2022published at 17:36 Greenwich Mean Time 15 March 2021

    BBC Midlands Today

    The biggest St Patrick's festival in Birmingham "in years" is to take place in 2022, after this year's event was cancelled.

    The parade was also not held in 2020 because of coronavirus restrictions.

    This year there will be a week of live streamed performances by cultural groups and a special video memorial service.

    St Patrick's festival chair Peter Connolly said he thought the 70th anniversary would be "fantastic" in 2022.

    Peter Connolly
    Quote Message

    In the meantime we've just got to sit tight, do what we're told and social distance and wait until things (are) lifted. But when they are, no doubt I think 2022 will be the biggest St Patrick's festival that we've seen in years."

    Peter Connolly, St Patrick's festival chair

  6. Troubled Walsall pub loses licencepublished at 17:25 Greenwich Mean Time 15 March 2021

    Local Democracy Reporting Service

    A Walsall pub with a history of disorder has lost its licence despite a former boss leaving.

    King George V pub in Wallows Lane, WalsallImage source, Google

    Between October 2019 and December last year, King George V, in Wallows Lane, was the scene of a raft of incidents, including a car ramming the front of the property, "horrific" brawls in the street and drinking after hours.

    A meeting of Walsall Council’s licensing committee also heard how a series of breaches of Covid regulations were committed.

    Neil Barnes, of pub owner Admiral Taverns, said it had chosen not to renew tenancy agreements with former designated premises supervisor Raman Singh and had taken sole possession of the pub with a view to sell it.

    West Midlands Police, which originally called for the licence to be revoked, said it was happy for it to continue now Mr Singh was no longer in the picture, but committee members chose to revoke the licence.

  7. Convicted killer admits murdering scout leaderpublished at 17:16 Greenwich Mean Time 15 March 2021

    Mark Masefield was jailed in 2012 after admitting the manslaughter of his friend Anthony Pryke.

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  8. 'Playing it safe is the watchword' from folk festivalpublished at 17:11 Greenwich Mean Time 15 March 2021

    The Warwick Folk Festival is to keep "a lot of the safety measures" from the last year in place, organisers say.

    Following its cancellation in 2020, bosses of the 40-year-old event are "determined to go ahead" this time at a new site in the shadow of Warwick Castle.

    All legal limits on social contact will be removed no earlier than 21 June, three weeks before the festival is set to welcome folk fans for the return of live music in the open air from 15 to 18 July.

    Festival director Dick DixonImage source, Warwick Folk Festival

    Festival director Dick Dixon said it felt even if restrictions had all been "wiped away, many people will still want to feel safe and take things carefully until we're all certain the situation has improved".

    He added: "With that in mind we’re going to keep a lot of the safety measures we’ve got used to over the last year or so in place."

    There will be reduced numbers on each day, "plenty of space" in and around all the gigs and hand sanitisers and the festival will be working to ensure "those who want to keep socially-distanced are able to do so".

  9. Investigation following alleged kidnapping in Sutton Coldfieldpublished at 16:58 Greenwich Mean Time 15 March 2021

    Police are investigating an alleged kidnapping, after witnesses "saw a man being bundled" into a car.

    CarImage source, West Midlands Police

    A group of men were seen to be involved in a scuffle in Far Highfield, Sutton Coldfield, at 15:20 GMT on Sunday and made off in a grey Skoda displaying the registration DX18 VLE, the West Midlands force said.

    Police added they had now spoken to "a number of witnesses" who saw a man being bundled into the vehicle and "driven off against his will".

    There are no reports of any missing people to verify who this person might be and the force's priority "is to find the car and make sure that all of the people involved are OK".

    Det Sgt Simon Hanlon, from the complex investigation team, said: "We remain very concerned that someone may have been taken against their will and we are doing all we can to verify this and to find that person."

  10. Tributes to boy, 9, after 'unexplained' deathpublished at 16:37 Greenwich Mean Time 15 March 2021

    Alfie Steele was found in a critical condition at an address in Droitwich and flown to hospital.

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  11. Leading dancer has given almost 2,000 Covid-19 jabspublished at 16:20 Greenwich Mean Time 15 March 2021

    BBC Midlands Today

    One of the world's leading Irish dancers has delivered nearly 2,000 Covid-19 vaccines.

    Alasdair Spencer, from Rugby, has entertained packed audiences as the Dark Lord in Michael Flatley's Lord of the Dance show.

    Alasdair Spencer

    The volunteer said he was "a little nervous" about giving the jab to someone for the first time, but "after doing them a few times you get used to it".

    Vaccination programme clinical director Dr Norman Byrd said: "We've almost vaccinated 30,000 people in Rugby and the vast, vast majority of those have been done by people who aren't medically trained."

    Quote Message

    All the patients are so appreciative and so excited to be there and get their vaccination and the mood among the volunteers... is just so positive. Everyone can see the light of the end of the tunnel."

    Alasdair Spencer, Dancer

  12. Derelict building in Oswestry could be transformedpublished at 16:04 Greenwich Mean Time 15 March 2021

    Local Democracy Reporting Service

    A derelict building could be transformed into a business hub as part of a major project to regenerate Oswestry town centre.

    Regal building - archive imageImage source, Google

    The B-Wise and Regal (archive image above) buildings have been put forward as two potential locations for a new 'business incubation space', as well as the top floor of the Guildhall.

    Consultancy firms are now being invited to tender for a £25,000 contract to look at the sites in more detail, recommend which should be chosen and produce a business plan.

    They will also be asked to evaluate whether any of the suggested buildings could house a relocated indoor market.

    The town was awarded £653,000 last year under the High Streets Heritage Action Zone scheme administered by Historic England.

    A key element of Oswestry’s successful funding bid was an ambitious 'flagship project' to support and nurture existing and new local businesses in a dedicated space.

  13. Two masked men punched member of staff at shoppublished at 15:39 Greenwich Mean Time 15 March 2021

    Two masked men punched a staff member and threatened them with a knife, when a shop robbery took place in Stoke-on-Trent.

    Prime Express on Chaplin RoadImage source, Google

    The men took a "large amount of cash" from the Prime Express store in Chaplin Road, police said.

    They ran along Buccleuch Road and down an alleyway that leads to Hamilton Road, following the raid on Thursday.

    The Staffordshire force said it was particularly keen to speak to two members of the public who tried to enter the store, as the robbery unfolded at 17:35 GMT.

  14. PM: 'Women must feel properly heard'published at 14:55 Greenwich Mean Time 15 March 2021

    Earlier we told you the prime minister had spoken of the country's shock and grief at what happened to Sarah Everard.

    Here's a video of Boris Johnson talking to the BBC during his visit to a bus depot in Coventry. He says: "Women in particular must feel that when they make serious complaints about violence, about assault, that they are properly heard, and properly addressed and we are going to make sure that that happens."

    Media caption,

    Sarah Everard case: 'We'll make sure women's voices are heard'

  15. Appeal after shotgun discoverypublished at 14:38 Greenwich Mean Time 15 March 2021

    Police are appealing for witnesses or information after a shotgun was discovered in a wooded area in Worcester.

    ShotgunImage source, West Mercia Police

    It was unclear where the firearm, which was found in Holt Heath, had come from and officers were making inquiries to "try and establish who the owner is", the West Mercia force said.

    The discovery was made on 6 January at about 10:30 in the area of Holt Castle Drive.

    Det Insp Tony Garner, from Worcester CID, said: "The recovery of this shotgun is an isolated incident and local residents should not be concerned regarding the discovery."

  16. Would you scrap your car for public transport credits?published at 14:15 Greenwich Mean Time 15 March 2021

    A scheme in the Midlands is encouraging people to scrap their cars to get public transport credits.

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  17. Knives can be put in two new bins and destroyed safelypublished at 14:03 Greenwich Mean Time 15 March 2021

    BBC Radio WM

    From today people can leave knives in two new bins in a knife surrender scheme that BBC Radio WM is launching with West Midlands Police.

    Bin

    One is at McDonald’s on Belchers Lane in Bordesley Green, Birmingham, and the other at the Cornbow Shopping Centre, Great Cornbow, Halesowen, in an initiative that is part of the radio station's Knives Cost Lives campaign.

    Knives can be put in those bins and destroyed safely. Since the beginning of last March when we all started staying at home to keep each other safe from the pandemic, the radio station has reported on 16 fatal stabbings in the West Midlands.

    Michael Miles, who was sent to prison for a knife attack and released in 2018, now works as an anti-knife campaigner and works with young people at risk of criminality.

    Quote Message

    There's a lot of kids what carry these knives nowadays and they don't carry the knives with the intention to stab somebody and then out of fear they'll pull this knife out when they get in a situation and before you know it they're pushing it into someone and by then it's too late."

    Michael Miles, Anti-knife campaigner

  18. 'Women don't matter as much as statues'published at 13:43 Greenwich Mean Time 15 March 2021

    Jess Phillips MP tells Andrew Marr that laws need to change to better protect women.

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