Summary

  • Updates from 29 March to 5 April

  1. Golfers at border club 'can leave or enter Wales'published at 21:01 British Summer Time 29 March 2021

    The course includes 15 holes in Wales, two in England and one that crosses the border itself.

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  2. 'Guests cut from 180 to 6 - but we're getting married'published at 19:43 British Summer Time 29 March 2021

    With weddings back on in England, couples prepare to celebrate with their closest loved ones.

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  3. Fly-tippers made to pick up own motorway rubbishpublished at 18:29 British Summer Time 29 March 2021

    The group was spotted on the M6 by "eagle-eyed" officers and escorted back to the scene to tidy up.

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  4. Our live coveragepublished at 18:05 British Summer Time 29 March 2021

    That's the end of our updates for today.

    We'll be back tomorrow at 08:00 for all the latest news, sport and weather.

  5. Moseley folk festival 'not for the people of Birmingham'published at 17:39 British Summer Time 29 March 2021

    Local Democracy Reporting Service

    The annual Moseley folk festival is "not for the people of Birmingham" and should not be granted permission to relocate this summer, local residents say.

    Their views were to be aired at a licensing meeting to decide whether the event could go ahead at Highbury Park in the city, instead of Moseley Park, mainly due to space issues prompted by Covid-19.

    Organisers say they have worked with local groups and plan an ecology impact report, traffic management plan and road marshalling for the event.

    But several residents and local groups had written to the council about their concerns.

    Jenny McCabe, of the Seaton Grove Residents Association, said the organisers had listened, but agreeing to host the event it set a precedent and made it "harder to defend the park from future applications for other commercial events".

    Highbury ParkImage source, LDRS

    "Our feeling as a group of residents – and it's a large group, I think we had about 80 signatures – was that this park has been bequeathed to the people of Birmingham, and this event isn't for the people of Birmingham, and regular park users," she said.

    The price of tickets - from £50 to £130 - were "for people that can afford" them, she said.

    "It’s not an accessible festival, lovely though it is, and a lot of the concern was that this park is something that has held deeply precious by the people that live in the area, and to have a commercial venture, regardless of how community-orientated it is – and it is community orientated – we don’t feel that that’s appropriate."

    A decision on the application is due within five working days.

  6. Outdoor cinema set to open in Digbethpublished at 17:04 British Summer Time 29 March 2021

    A new outdoor cinema is to open in Digbeth, creating 50 jobs.

    Luna Springs will open for food and drinks on 12 April with its 80-capacity cinema ready to take its first customers on 19 May.

    The site is named after The Lunar Society, an 18th Century Birmingham-based group of prominent scientists, engineers and intellectuals who pioneered the science of the Enlightenment and Industrial Revolution.

    The cinemaImage source, Adventure Bars

    Tom Kidd, managing director of Adventure Bars who is behind the project, said it "celebrated" Digbeth's creative industry and spirit.

    "As the city stirs back to life we hope it proves to be an unmissable part of Birmingham’s calendar this summer," he said.

    The first film to be shown at the cinema will be Grease.

  7. 'Absolutely amazing, I've got a wife'published at 16:45 British Summer Time 29 March 2021

    A couple, who met online during the pandemic, are married after Covid restrictions relaxed on Monday.

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  8. Man arrested after shots firedpublished at 16:29 British Summer Time 29 March 2021

    A man has been arrested after shots were fired in Wolverhampton earlier.

    Officers were called to the incident on Hall Park Street shortly after 09:00, said West Midlands Police.

    A 21-year-old man was arrested nearby on suspicion of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life.

    No one was injured, the force added.

  9. More than £1m raised for baby's cancer treatmentpublished at 16:12 British Summer Time 29 March 2021

    The million-pound target was met within 24 hours, with extra money pledged to other families.

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  10. Bike hire scheme goes live in Coventrypublished at 15:51 British Summer Time 29 March 2021

    People in Coventry can now hire bikes to get around the city.

    West Midlands Cycle Hire says it costs £1 to unlock a bike and then 5p per minute of cycling.

    Docking stations have been set up in the city and organisers said they hope to expand the service to Birmingham, Sandwell, Solihull, Stourbridge and Walsall.

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  11. Covid-19 'burger van' testing vehicle launched after case spikepublished at 14:50 British Summer Time 29 March 2021

    Local Democracy Reporting Service

    A burger van-style vehicle offering rapid Covid testing is to be deployed on the streets of Solihull.

    It will start in Smith’s Wood, in the north Solihull neighbourhood, after the area saw a spike in cases earlier this month, the council said.

    Latest fortnightly data – released on Friday – shows the area had the highest number of positive tests of all 17 borough wards from 10 to 23 March, with 93 cases.

    "This service is for local people who do not have Covid symptoms and for those who also may be working in the general area where the unit is stationed," a council spokesperson said.

    The vanImage source, LDRS

    "No appointment is needed simply turn up at the specified location during the operating hours."

    Community testing is still available at North Solihull Sports Centre and Tudor Grange Leisure Centre which also use lateral flow tests for people who are not showing the signs of the virus.

    Anyone who does have Covid symptoms must not visit the van or sports centres, and instead book a traditional test at Monkspath Hall Road or Birmingham Airport, the local authority said.

  12. More at-home Covid tests availablepublished at 14:19 British Summer Time 29 March 2021

    BBC Radio Stoke

    More people in Staffordshire can now collect Covid-19 tests to do at home.

    Lateral flow test - genericImage source, PA Media

    The tests are for people who live with children or staff at schools, nurseries or colleges.

    If you're eligible and don't have Covid-19 symptoms, you can book a test at one of the centres and collect two packs to do at home.

    The rapid lateral flow tests take about half an hour to show a result.

    The county council says with restrictions easing on Monday it needs to do as much as possible to stop the virus spreading.

  13. Around the web: Police dashcam plea in hunt for dog-napperspublished at 13:44 British Summer Time 29 March 2021

    Stoke-on-Trent Live

    Here are some of the stories on the Stoke-on-Trent Live website:

  14. Keeper does post-match presser in his pantspublished at 13:12 British Summer Time 29 March 2021

    Hereford keeper Brandon Hall celebrates reaching Wembley in the FA Trophy on his birthday by talking to the media - in his underwear.

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  15. Former police station could become drive-thru McDonald'spublished at 12:59 British Summer Time 29 March 2021

    A former police station in Walsall could become a McDonald's restaurant under plans being considered by councillors.

    The fast-food giant has submitted plans to Walsall Council to open a new drive-thru outlet in Chester Road North, Brownhills, which closed in 2014 as part of cost-cutting measures.

    The plans include installing acoustic fencing around the building to appease residents' concerns about noise.

    The police stationImage source, Google

    Agents Planware Ltd said the proposed development will create about 65 jobs for the community.

    The police station was put up for sale in January 2020, with an asking price of £650,000 having been empty for almost six years.

  16. Five receive organs after art student's deathpublished at 12:55 British Summer Time 29 March 2021

    A man on a waiting list for eight years receives a kidney following the death of Shane Dineen.

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  17. Poultry flocks checked after bird flu casepublished at 12:11 British Summer Time 29 March 2021

    BBC Radio Stoke

    Flocks of poultry are going to be checked near a farm in Staffordshire after a case of avian influenza was found.

    ChicksImage source, Getty Images

    The disease was confirmed in broiler chickens at a commercial premises near Uttoxeter.

    A temporary control zone has been put in place around the site and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said all poultry at the site would "be humanely culled".

    Stephanie Young, from Staffordshire County Council, said there is no risk to the general public at the moment.

    "If we can make sure we get the biosecurity right and that people do everything that they can do to stop the spread of disease then hopefully this is an isolated incident," she said.

  18. Long Covid sufferer's body 'won't let her live'published at 11:49 British Summer Time 29 March 2021

    Michelle Palser says she contracted the virus four months ago and has since got "progressively worse".

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  19. Water training 'paid off'published at 11:34 British Summer Time 29 March 2021

    Water training "paid off", West Midlands Police dog section said, after a driver was chased to a canal tunnel.

    They were found hiding under tarpaulin.

    One person was in custody for drink driving, the force said.

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  20. Action urged at 'solitary confinement' youth jailpublished at 11:05 British Summer Time 29 March 2021

    One MP says promises made by the private jail are "worth less than the paper they are written on".

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