Summary

  • Updates from Monday 17 May to Sunday 23 May

  1. Husband's murder charge after septic tank findpublished at 16:57 British Summer Time 8 June 2021

    Brenda Venables disappeared in 1982 and her remains found in Kempsey nearly 30 years later.

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  2. Worcester v Gloucester off due to Covidpublished at 16:56 British Summer Time 8 June 2021

    Saturday's Premiership game between Worcester and Gloucester is cancelled due to a new Covid-19 case at the Kingsholm club.

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  3. Appeal after dog found 'scalped' in parkpublished at 16:40 British Summer Time 8 June 2021

    Vets suspect the injuries to the Jack Russell terrier were caused by a significantly larger dog.

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  4. Proposed splitting of city constituency condemnedpublished at 16:34 British Summer Time 8 June 2021

    A Labour MP and a Conservative chairman object to plans to carve up the City of Chester constituency.

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  5. 'Five-day office week will become the norm again'published at 16:30 British Summer Time 8 June 2021

    The five-day office week could become the norm again within two years, the Centre for Cities think tank has told the BBC.

    A blend of home and office work is expected to be popular while the UK recovers from the pandemic.

    James and Naomi Morris

    In Birmingham, cafe owners and siblings James and Naomi Morris are looking forward to the arrival of more commuters to the city centre. They set up their business, Morridge, in 2019 specifically to target city workers.

    James told the BBC he'd started to see more commuters coming into the cafe again.

    "Over the past few weeks, office workers have slowly been returning. People are starting to work in the cafe - a lady came in for breakfast the other day and took a couple of work calls."

    You can read more on the story here.

  6. Police domestic violence scheme 'dangerous'published at 16:28 British Summer Time 8 June 2021

    A woman criticises a new police scheme which allows domestic abusers to meet their victims.

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  7. Will T20 Blast still provide the thrills?published at 16:26 British Summer Time 8 June 2021

    With the launch of The Hundred on the horizon, the T20 Blast begins on Wednesday with the aim of providing fireworks of its own.

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  8. New support grants for city businessespublished at 16:19 British Summer Time 8 June 2021

    A new set of business support grants will launch on Wednesday.

    The grants from Wolverhampton City Council will aim to assist businesses and organisations not eligible for the government’s mandatory Restart Grant and help them undertake Covid compliance measures.

    Eligibility criteria, and how to access the online application process for the new grants, will be available from 13:00 BST on Wednesday.

    People in Wolverhampton city centreImage source, Getty Images

    Funds are limited and grants will be allocated on a first come, first served basis, the authority said.

  9. Party in the park to celebrate front-line heroespublished at 16:02 British Summer Time 8 June 2021

    Front-line workers who risked their lives to save others during the pandemic will be honoured during a party in the park.

    Black Country Musicom Festival will take part in Himley, Dudley, on 11 July.

    It will also see local staff presented with the freedom of the borough for their work during the Covid-19 pandemic.

    Himley HallImage source, Google

    Councillor Anne Millward, mayor of Dudley, said: "[The festival] has a special meaning this year, giving us the chance to say thank you to all those people who worked so tirelessly risking their lives on the front line to protect us all during the pandemic."

  10. Elderly man in serious condition after stabbingpublished at 15:44 British Summer Time 8 June 2021

    An elderly man is in a serious condition after being stabbed at his home, police said.

    It happened at about 12:00 BST on Monday in Three Spires Avenue, Coventry, West Midlands Police said.

    The victim, aged 84, was taken to hospital with serious injuries to his abdomen and remains in a serious but stable condition.

    A 38-year-old woman arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and assaulting a police officer remains in custody, the force said.

    Three Spires Avenue, CoventryImage source, Google

    Officers are examining the scene, the police force said, as well as speaking to potential witnesses and viewing CCTV to try to establish what happened.

    Anyone with information has been urged to come forward.

  11. Teenagers in court accused of murdering boy, 14published at 15:22 British Summer Time 8 June 2021

    Two men and three youths are charged with murdering Dea-John Reid who died from a stab wound.

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  12. Fourth school has suspected India variant casespublished at 15:20 British Summer Time 8 June 2021

    A Leek school has five cases of Covid-19, two of which are thought to be a "variant of concern".

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  13. Covid-19: Long queues at mobile vaccination vans for over-25spublished at 15:14 British Summer Time 8 June 2021

    High demand for Covid-19 vaccinations at a mobile site in Nechells, Birmingham, means the queue is now full and has closed for the day.

    The jabs are being offered to people from the immediate area aged over 25 as well as over-18s in the Cohort 6 group, such as carers.

    The two mobile vans will return tomorrow, as health chiefs say they want to "reduce the transmission of the virus, which is particularly important as the new variant is 40% more transmissible".

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  14. 'No excuse' for failings on Covid-outbreak wardpublished at 15:01 British Summer Time 8 June 2021

    Hand hygiene and PPE use was not always acceptable on the New Cross Hospital ward, a probe finds.

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  15. Average house price in region nears £221kpublished at 14:31 British Summer Time 8 June 2021

    The average price of a house in the West Midlands has risen to almost £221,000 following an annual rise of 9% in the region.

    Harbourne, BirminghamImage source, Getty Images

    Figures from the Halifax suggest UK house prices jumped by 9.5% in the year to May, boosted by the government's stamp duty holiday, which ends this month.

    The average house price in the West Midlands now stands at £220,998, compared with £261,743 nationally.

    Russell Galley, Halifax's managing director, said buyer preferences were shifting "in anticipation of new, post-pandemic lifestyles".

    "Greater demand for larger properties with more space might warrant an increased willingness to spend a higher proportion of income on housing," he said.

  16. Westpublished at 14:21 British Summer Time 8 June 2021

    Professor Alice Roberts explores some of this year's most exciting archaeological finds from the west of Britain. Each discovery comes straight from the trenches/site, filmed by the archaeologists themselves. We discover the camp from which Vikings invaded Britain, and find groundbreaking new evidence that the world-famous Avebury stone circle isn't just a sacred site but a place where our ancestors lived and worked - a discovery that's also changing our understanding of neighbouring Stonehenge. In Staffordshire, the oldest Iron Age gold in Britain is unearthed - a set of beautiful gold torcs, mysteriously abandoned 2,500 years ago.

  17. Van driver, 66, killed in collisionpublished at 13:25 British Summer Time 8 June 2021

    A van driver died when his vehicle was collision with a car in Worcester.

    The crash, which involved a Peugeot 2008, happened on the B4203 last Wednesday.

    Scene where crash happenedImage source, Google
    Image caption,

    Police have appealed for witnesses to contact them

    "Unfortunately a 66-year-old man from Bromyard who was driving the van was pronounced deceased at the scene," West Mercia Police said.

    Officers want to hear from anyone with information about the crash, which happened at the junction with the B4204.

  18. Anger at damage caused during charity shop theftpublished at 13:17 British Summer Time 8 June 2021

    Thieves damaged tills, computers and three doors and took £100 during the break-in in Kings Heath.

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  19. Parts of Worcester set for £20m transformationpublished at 13:02 British Summer Time 8 June 2021

    Local Democracy Reporting Service
    Christian Barnett

    Parts of Worcester are going to be regenerated with nearly £20m from the government.

    The depot on Padmore StreetImage source, Google

    The money has been awarded by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

    The plans include redeveloping the First Bus depot site, in Padmore Street, into 350 new homes along with commercial space.

    A new enterprise centre and up to 100 homes will be built on the Isaac Maddox House site on Shrub Hill Road and new walking and cycling routes are proposed.