Neighbouring properties were evacuated after a fire at a house in Birmingham on Monday night.

Six fire crews were sent to the blaze in Sladefield Road, Ward End.

West Midlands Fire Service said the fire had been in the loft space and upper floors of the property.

Image source, West Midlands Fire Service

Sandra hasn't hugged her daughter Sam for more than a year due to coronavirus restrictions.

The festival garden site will host comedy and music gigs as well as food outlets and a box office.

A man has died after being hit by a car in Birmingham.

The pedestrian, believed to be 41, was struck by a white Range Rover in Spring Hill just before 19:00 on Monday, West Midlands Police said.

He was pronounced dead in hospital a short time later.

Image source, Google

The driver of the car stopped at the scene and is helping with police inquiries.

No-one has been arrested, the force added.

It has appealed for anyone with information to come forward.

Shropshire Council has voted in its first female leader since becoming a unitary authority.

Conservative Lezley Picton replaces Peter Nutting, who lost his seat in the recent council elections.

Image source, Shropshire Council

Ms Picton, who represents the Tern ward, was previously the member responsible for leisure and culture.

She was elected by her party ahead of the former deputy leader Steve Charmley and said she was "thrilled humbled and excited".

A drive-in coronavirus testing centre serving people in the Dudley area is moving to a new location.

The mobile testing unit, which can be used by people who are showing symptoms of coronavirus, is currently based at Saltwells Education Centre.

It is now moving to Engine Lane, in Brierley Hill.

The education centre will continue to offer rapid symptom-free testing, inside the main building.

Image source, Getty Images

Councillor Nicolas Barlow, Dudley Council cabinet member for health and adult social care, said: "Anyone who is symptomatic must book a PCR test at one of the sites, even if they have been vaccinated.

"People who have no symptoms can play their part by following government guidance and continuing to have twice weekly symptom-free tests."

BBC Weather

The forecast for today is for more of the same, with bright sunshine in-between rain showers.

Temperatures will reach 14C (57F) in parts of the West Midlands and tonight they will drop to about 7C (45F).

It's a similar forecast for the rest of the week, but for more informationgo to the BBC Weather page.

Andy Giddings
BBC News, West Midlands

Welcome to our live service for Tuesday.

We'll be bringing you all the news, sport, travel and weather for the West Midlands.

We love to hear from you, so share your news, thoughts and photos of the area with us via email, Twitter, external and Facebook., external

The photos donated at a photographic show are believed to have been found in an attic clear-out.

Dan Pallett
BBC Midlands Today Sport

Spectators have returned to Wolverhampton speedway today - one of the first places to host fans again.

Peter Adams, manager of the Wolverhampton Wolves, said it was "delightful" to see them and was now keen to "get cracking".

"It's 575 days since the bikes last saw any action," he said.

"Hopefully we can get cracking now and things will be uninterrupted."

He thanked the fans for their loyalty during the lockdown, as many had continued to buy season tickets and donate cash.

"Speedway fans are always loyal and we've kept in touch with them," he added.

"Although we're restricted now on how many we can admit, we hope come 21 June we can let more in."

Riders will compete for the Thank You NHS Trophy tonight before the league begins next week.

A restaurant owner who saw the opening of a new premises delayed by five months by the lockdown is delighted people can now enjoy it.

Oliver Ngo, who had wanted to open Vietnamese Street Kitchen in Birmingham's Bullring in November, opened the site for takeaways last month.

Mr Ngo, who also had to furlough staff at the family-owned business in Resorts World, said: "We are happy to have customers indoors. It is not just about the food, it is about the decor and the ambiance."

Image source, Vietnamese Street Kitchen

He added it had been a difficult few months.

"We just about scraped by with help from family and friends and we ran a skeleton team."

Nearly all staff are now back at work and the business has taken on 18 workers for the Bullring restaurant, he said.

Coventry's Belgrade Theatre is poised to reopen tonight for the first time in more than a year.

Actor Joe Pasquale who is performing in April in Paris said returning to the stage represents near normal life.

"Without this outlet for my personality, my ego, whatever you want to call it, this is what I do, this defines who I am and without it, I'm just a bloke in a pair of pants doing nothing," he said.

The venue is among the first to open but will only be a third full as social-distancing rules are followed.

But Hamish Glenn, artistic director, said they were determined to open.

"We're a theatre, that's the bottom line," he said.

"We want to welcome people in to have a great night in the theatre.

"We've put a lot of time effort and money in ensuring the Belgrade Theatre is a safe place to come and enjoy an evening."

We've caught up with Joanne and Graham, who were among the passengers on the first plane from Birmingham Airport to Faro, in Portugal, earlier.

They have arrived safely, saying the flight was great and all the extra Covid checks had been fine to get through in Portugal.

The pair, from Streetly, Sutton Coldfield, said getting through the whole process had been a "big relief".

The trip is to mark Graham's birthday so, having got to their hotel, "we are off to the bar now to celebrate my 60th".

Allen Cook
BBC News, West Midlands

A soft play centre has been "inundated" with inquiries since reopening earlier as lockdown eased.

Parents told us how much they valued "getting back to normal" at Come Into Play, in Stone, Staffordshire.

Owner Caron Lim said it had had such a great start after several months of being closed.

"We have just been inundated with inquires and bookings, all really encouraging, seeing all the smiling faces, really good," she said.

Tom Edwards
Reporter, BBC Hereford & Worcester

A cafe owner "has not stopped smiling" at being able to open indoors to customers.

Naomi Wardlow runs The Shack, in Upton upon Severn, Worcestershire, and said it had been "touch and go" with the business over the past two lockdowns.

But fully open and with the sun shining, she said trade had been up 50% today.

"I have not stopped smiling. The custom we have had has been fantastic. It has been a real good day for us," she said.

BBC Midlands Today

As lockdown restrictions ease further today, people have flocked to enjoy indoor activities.

The Tamworth Snowdome is open but with a reduced capacity but dozens of thrill-seekers were glad to be back on the slopes

Director Tim Carter said: "We're a seasonal business so Covid fell right across the winter which was very, very, painful, very difficult for us.

"We are absolutely confident that customers are coming back and they're wanting to book.

"What we have to be careful of and what we have to be mindful of is our capacities."

The venue is running at 60% capacity, but is hoping for a successful summer season.

Holidaymakers John and Victoria Perfect, from Cannock, say they're in heaven by managing to get away for a break in Madeira.

The couple flew from Birmingham Airport this morning after the ban on foreign holidays was lifted for people in Britain.

They paid £80 each at the airport to complete a pre-departure test to visit the island.

Image source, PA Media

Mrs Perfect, said it felt "absolutely amazing" to be by a swimming pool after being "sat at home doing nothing" because of the pandemic.

"This is just heaven to me. It's the social contact with people as well. This morning I've just had a smile on my face," she said.

The 60-year-old has undergone two operations recently and has been affected by having to isolate and not see her family, but hoped the holiday would help her relax and feel happier.

"It's been a bit grim for me really, especially not having the granddaughters," she added, but she planned to "do nothing really, just relax and enjoy this holiday feeling again and the sun and the sea".

On Monday evening The Underground music venue, in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, is putting on its first indoor gig since October.

It's a Britpop night called Oh Sit Down as people will be sitting around tables of four and six.

Owner and DJ Mark Askew said he felt emotional.

"It's a big day... it's nice to be back," he said.

"I've been sat around for so long.

Image source, Mark Askew

"It's actually a bit emotional really. It's been a tough year for so many, you know sat around not doing your job."

He said working in the music and events industry was a passion as well as a career and the past year had been difficult.

"I've struggled at parts with no sense of purpose, but now... it's exciting. We can't wait to get the doors back open.

"Hopefully some people will turn up and they can sit down and enjoy themselves."

BBC Radio Shropshire

A pub landlord is hoping for a bumper summer of sporting events combined with local support to bounce back from the double financial hit of flooding and Covid.

The Salopian Bar, in Shrewsbury, has been closed since January 2020 after the River Severn flooded and then the pandemic struck.

One of the owners, Kev Rippard, said they'd spent the time expanding their outdoor seating and putting up big screens to get custom from sports lovers.

"We are hoping people will come down, watch the football, sporting, boxing events. [There is] plenty of space to pack people in," he said.

"We are massively excited to be back and it is great to see our regular faces again."

The hugs are starting to spread and our colleagues at BBC Newsbeat recorded this of Sam and her mum hugging after more than a year in Kingswinford, Dudley: