BBC Midlands Today's Political Editor Elizabeth Glinka explains the role of the West Midlands mayor.

Two West Mercia Police officers charged over the death of ex-footballer Dalian Atkinson will stand trial from 4 May, a court heard.

Image source, PA Media

PC Benjamin Monk, 42, was charged in 2019 with murder and an alternative charge of manslaughter after an inquiry into Mr Atkinson's death in 2016 in Telford, Shropshire.

PC Mary Ellen Bettley-Smith, 31, is charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm prior to his death.

The former Aston Villa player went into cardiac arrest as he was taken to hospital after being restrained and Tasered by police officers at his father's house.

Neither attended the preliminary hearing at Birmingham Crown Court.

An inquest has been opened into the death of a retired cook who died after she was attacked by dogs in the Black Country.

Image source, Family handout

Lucille Downer, 85, died from a traumatic injury caused by a dog bite after two dogs got into her garden in Rowley Regis through a hole in the fence.

The dogs have since been humanely destroyed, although their breed has not been confirmed.

At Black Country Coroner's Court, area coroner Joanne Lees adjourned proceedings until a pre-inquest hearing on 17 June.

"There is a police investigation continuing at present and I am aware that a person has been arrested and bailed in connection with the death," she said.

The owner of the two dogs, a 43-year-old man, was arrested on suspicion of being the person in charge of a dog dangerously out of control, causing death, but has been bailed pending further inquiries.

The University of Worcester has been announced as one of four hubs for a new women’s premier league for British wheelchair basketball.

It will be joined by Cardiff Metropolitan University, Loughborough University and the University of East London as homes to teams, with the league being the first of its kind for women’s wheelchair basketball in the world, and the first professional para-sport league in the UK.

Vice Chancellor Prof David Green said the university was "thrilled to be able to continue to play an active role in the development of British wheelchair basketball".

Image source, Getty Images

"This is something that is so exciting for our sport, putting women’s wheelchair basketball on the map and hopefully showing more people what an amazing sport it is," British wheelchair basketball player Sophie Carrigill said.

"[Worcester] is such a great city and a great community that I know will get behind wheelchair basketball."

Peggy Wright, 83, sustained serious injuries jumping from a window to escape the fire at her home.

Detectives have released images of boys they wish to speak to in connection with a robbery on a bus.

Image source, West Midlands Police

West Midlands Police said a 17-year-old boy was set-upon on the number 6 bus in Birmingham and had his iPhone, AirPods and credit card taken.

The force said the suspects are believed to have boarded the bus outside an Aldi supermarket on the Stratford Road in Sparkhill at about 16:50 on 21 March.

Anyone with information is asked to get in touch.

Birmingham Speedway is fundraising after it suffered three vandalism attacks in as many weeks.

Image source, Birmingham Speedway

The Perry Barr stadium was broken into in the early hours of Monday morning, speedway bosses said, where equipment, including vehicles, were torched.

"When we received the call it was a big shock and it’s an infuriatingly, massive shame as well," co-owner Peter Mason said.

"I just don’t understand what people get out of doing things like this – one thing I do know is that they don’t think about the after effects it has on other people, especially so close to the beginning of a brand new season, it can throw a lot of things in the air."

The club is aiming to raise £15,000 to replace what has been damaged in the attacks ahead of the start of the new season in June.

More than 150 cannabis plants were found in a raid at a property in Telford on Monday.

West Mercia Police said officers carried out a warrant at an address at Blakemore, Brookside, at about 07:40.

Image source, Google

Three men, aged between 25-29 from Wolverhampton, Leicestershire and London, were arrested and later charged with cannabis cultivation.

"Tackling drug crime is a main priority for the force and we are dedicated to putting a stop to drug dealing and the harm associated with the cultivation and distribution of drugs," Insp Dan Taylor, from the West Mercia force, said.

Two men have been charged with dangerous driving after one suffered a serious head injury in a crash between an electronic scooter and a van.

The men, aged 43 and 22, were both driving e-scooters at the time of the crash on Glascote Road in Kettlebrook, Tamworth, on 12 April.

Image source, PA Media

As well as dangerous driving, the men were also charged with driving without insurance, driving without a licence and driving whilst disqualified, Staffordshire Police said.

“There is clearly still some misinformation around these e-scooters and their use," PC Sam Small said. “To make it clear, it is illegal to drive e-scooters on British roads and in public areas – except for three trial areas in the country."

The owners of Birmingham's Bullring shopping centre has reported it has collected less than half the rent due in the second quarter.

Image source, Getty Images

Hammerson collected 47% of payments and said market conditions remained "challenging".

Last week, bosses announced plans to cut rent for its retail tenants by 30% as it aims to recover from a year of lockdowns.

Despite the fall in revenue, the firm said a rise in shopper numbers across England was encouraging since the reopening of non-essential shops and retail parks on 12 April, with around 90% of operators able to trade and footfall at its sites "competitive with pre-pandemic levels".

Deena Evans and Michael Hipgrave were attacked by Martyn Smith, 52, while they attended a call-out.

The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust has announced plans to reopen its properties over the summer after being closed for more than a year.

The trust, which operates historical properties in Stratford-upon-Avon said it had lost £17m in income due to the pandemic.

"Although we’ve taken a measured approach to phasing our operations, we were determined to focus on reopening these sites as soon as it was safe and possible to do so," director of visitor experience, Rachael Boyd, said.

• Read more: Stratford-upon-Avon's tourism trade hit hard by lockdown

Shakespeare's Birthplace on Henley Street will reopen on 17 May while Anne Hathaway's Cottage and Shakespeare’s New Place will be open to visitors from 14 June.

From 26 April, the Trust will open Mary Arden's Farm which has been repurposed as a dedicated outdoor learning space for school children.

Local Democracy Reporting Service
Joe Burn

Residents living near an old hospital in Stoke-on-Trent say demolition works are so noisy it's causing their homes to shake.

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Demolition works at the old North Staffordshire Royal Infirmary started in January, and the sits is expected to be developed into a housing estate.

Roger Evans has lived on nearby Queens Road, in Hartshill, for more than 30 years and said locals were "suffering".

"It’s been frightening, when they started with the impacter to break up the concrete, it shakes the houses," he said. "We had to go out of the house on Friday as it was shaking so much."

University Hospitals of North Midlands said the work was "necessary" but it was "seeking to keep demolition disruption to a minimum".

Sandwell Council has opened more drop-off points for people living in Smethwick and Cape Hill as surge testing is carried out in the area.

Residents aged over 16 are all being urged to get tested after a positive case of the South Africa coronavirus variant was discovered recently.

Image source, Getty Images

Dr Lisa McNally, the authority's director of public health, said council workers were going door-to-door to deliver testing kits.

"We are doing absolutely everything we can to make it as easy as possible to get tested," she said.

"If you’ve received a testing kit from our drop and collect team, please return it when our team calls back to collect it or take it to one of the collection points now available."

The trust which runs Shropshire's two main hospitals will no longer be able to admit any new patients under 18, who have acute mental health needs and no other condition.

It comes after an inspection of Children and Young People's services in February by the Care Quality Commission found a child was twice given double the "safe" dose of a rapid tranquilizer at Telford's Princess Royal Hospital.

The watchdog has now downgraded the trust from 'requires improvement' to 'inadequate'.

A spokesperson for the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, said they are "accelerating the actions needed to improve the care they provide to children and young people".

Mark Ansell, the former finance director at Aston Villa, has condemned proposals for six of the biggest clubs in the English Premier League to break away and become part of the new European Super League.

The 14 league clubs not involved in the plans are meeting today to discuss what to do next.

Image source, Rex Features

"What is unforgivable is that they're trying to take all the money themselves instead of bringing it back to their national associations, their national leagues and feeding it down through all of the clubs and all of the grassroots football," Mr Ansell said.

"What we don't want is kids living in Birmingham who only know how to support Manchester City, Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool or Tottenham," he added.

"The West Midlands is not well served in any case, this is the best we've been served in the Premier League."

Primark has said it made "record sales" in the week since lockdown restrictions eased, reporting footfall at its shops in England and Wales had reached pre-pandemic levels.

Hundreds of people queued outside the flagship store in Birmingham when its doors reopened at 07:00 on 12 April.

It was the first time the retailer, which does not have an online offering, had been able to open in three months.

That's led the chain to estimate a loss of more than £1bn but with a spokesperson calling reopening of stores "very cash-generative", it said it could be "very optimistic" about the future.

Police are appealing for help in tracing a dark blue Citroen C3 that was seen leaving the scene of a shooting in Birmingham last week.

It's thought the car was driving on the wrong side of the road after Gavin Parry was shot dead at about 17:30 on Western Road, near City Hospital, on 13 April.

It comes as West Midlands Police arrested two men on suspicion of Mr Parry's murder.

The force has also released an image of a man on a scooter they wish to speak to after he was seen near the scene at the time.

Image source, West Midlands Police

A man has died after a house fire in Smethwick last night.

Paramedics were called to the address on Park Road, near Warley Woods, at about 20:48.

Image source, Google

"Crews arrived at the scene to find a serious fire at the property, with one patient involved," a spokesperson from West Midlands Ambulance Service said.

"Unfortunately, nothing could be done to save the man and he was confirmed deceased on scene."

The family of William Burns, who died on Sunday, say they have "lost our legend".