Summary

  • Updates from 14-20 June

  1. Carer secretly filmed sexually assaulting patientpublished at 17:17 British Summer Time 12 August 2021

    Benjamin Poole, 21, is jailed for six years after admitting seven offences.

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  2. 'Smelly pants wee' boy's cancer fight legacypublished at 17:03 British Summer Time 12 August 2021

    The parents of Kip Freshwater say they are uplifted by those remembering their son's shouted words.

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  3. Fans turn out to honour former Sky Blues bosspublished at 16:04 British Summer Time 12 August 2021

    The funeral is held for the ex-Coventry City captain and manager who led the club to FA Cup glory.

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  4. Council plans YouTube series shaming fly-tipperspublished at 15:24 British Summer Time 12 August 2021

    Birmingham City Council has opened a consultation on plans to produce a YouTube series sharing footage of fly-tippers caught in the act.

    Fly-tipped rubbishImage source, Birmingham City Council

    The local authority said the proposals would help identify suspects "where investigatory lines of enquiry have been exhausted".

    The council recently said it regularly received more than 800 reports of dumped rubbish a week and had seen a spike during the pandemic.

    Birmingham City Council's consultation is open until 7 September and it is inviting feedback from residents and businesses.

  5. Cathedral applause in memory of Sky Blues bosspublished at 14:59 British Summer Time 12 August 2021

    The public gives thanks as the coffin of former Coventry City boss George Curtis makes its journey.

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  6. Elderly woman remains in critical condition after bus shelter crashpublished at 14:45 British Summer Time 12 August 2021

    A woman in her 80s who was seriously injured when a bus hit a bus shelter in Walsall on Tuesday remains in a critical condition in hospital.

    West Midlands Police said it had spoken to the bus driver, and officers were still trying to find out why the crash happened.

    The force had previously said the hurt woman was in her 90s.

    Bradford StreetImage source, Google

    She had been sitting at the shelter on Bradford Street with a woman also in her 80s when the crash happened, said police, adding the second person only suffered minor injuries and was allowed to go home.

  7. People invited to join tree planting campaignpublished at 13:59 British Summer Time 12 August 2021

    People in Shropshire are being invited to join a tree planting campaign to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022.

    The Queen’s Green Canopy scheme will see individuals, communities, charities, schools, youth groups, councils, businesses and landowners planting trees from October 2021.

    Shropshire Council has already made a pledge to plant a tree for every resident in the county by 2030.

    Stock tree planting imageImage source, Getty Images

    Anna Turner, Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Shropshire, said: “The trees that are planted will create a lasting legacy in honour of The Queen’s leadership of the nation over the last 70 years.

    “But, to make this happen, we need your help.

    "As well as encouraging individuals to plant trees, we are calling upon local organisations to get involved by not only planting trees for QGC themselves, but also providing sponsorship to support schools and communities with the cost of trees, stakes and guards as well as an official commemorative plaque."

  8. Kane, Southgate and Sterling mural nets £10,000published at 13:22 British Summer Time 12 August 2021

    The three lions on the wall painting in Nuneaton helps to fund seven defibrillators.

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  9. In pictures: Relief as GCSE pupils collect resultspublished at 13:01 British Summer Time 12 August 2021

    Pupils at Birmingham's City Academy have been among the thousands picking up their GCSE results today after what has been a turbulent year.

    Teachers submitted grades for the more than half a million pupils across England, Wales and Northern Ireland on GCSE courses this year, using evidence such as mock exams, course work and tests.

    Pupils at City AcademyImage source, PA Media
    Pupils at City AcademyImage source, PA Media

    Twins Jessica and Jennifer Gadirova, originally from Coventry, said they were "thrilled" with their results.

    The pair won a bronze medal in the women's team gymnastics event at the Tokyo Olympics.

    Both girls received passes across the board, with Jessica getting a BTEC level two distinction star in business, while both got a distinction star in the NCFE Health and Fitness award as well as their GCSEs.

    Jessica and Jennifer GadirovaImage source, PA Media
  10. Crashed lorry causes three-hour M6 delayspublished at 12:34 British Summer Time 12 August 2021

    Miles of queuing traffic have been reported amid lane closures resulting from a wrecked barrier.

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  11. GCSEs: 'I was fearing the worst'published at 12:14 British Summer Time 12 August 2021

    Brianna Prince, a student at Birmingham's City Academy, got three grade nines and four grade eights among her nine results earlier.

    She said she had done "better than expected" after uncertainty caused by the pandemic.

    City Academy, BirminghamImage source, Google

    The 16-year-old, who hopes to eventually study medicine at university and become a surgeon, said she was really happy with her results.

    "I think leading up to it, because of how stressful it was and because this is a new situation that no-one has been through, we didn't know what it was going to be like, so I kind of expected the worst."

    She said her mother was "going to be happier than I am, probably screaming and jumping everywhere".

    Find out how the GCSE grading system works here.

  12. GCSE pupils receive their gradespublished at 12:01 British Summer Time 12 August 2021

    Hundreds of thousands of pupils across England, Wales and Northern Ireland are finding out their GCSE grades today after exams were cancelled for the second year in a row because of the pandemic.

    Instead, grades are being based on teachers’ judgements, with pupils assessed using mock exams, homework or coursework.

    Pupils at City Academy in Birmingham receiving their grades this morningImage source, PA Media
    Image caption,

    Pupils at City Academy in Birmingham receiving their grades this morning

    Rekha Shell-Macleod, head of school at City Academy in Birmingham, says the process of teachers deciding grades for pupils has been "challenging", but she is confident the school's results are robust.

    "Our results haven't been inflated - they are broadly in line with what they were and have been in previous years as well, which is reassuring," she says.

    "It just goes to show that everything we have done has been completely robust and, most importantly, it's about the students - making sure that they get the results they deserve and are able to move on to the next place in their learning."

  13. Stabbed paramedic welcomes body armour trialpublished at 11:42 British Summer Time 12 August 2021

    Deena Evans says she hopes the stab vests will protect other workers from harm.

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  14. Teams 'working hard' to fight Greece firespublished at 10:21 British Summer Time 12 August 2021

    A West Midlands firefighter has said teams are working hard to assist in battling wildfires in Greece.

    A team of 21 firefighters, which includes officers from Merseyside, West Midlands, London, Lancashire and South Wales, arrived in Greece on Sunday.

    West Midlands Fire Service shared a video update from Watch Commander Shyam Rana.

    He said: "We intend to stop here and assist the Greek authorities until they feel we have done everything we can do.

    "But until that time, me and my team are going to work as hard as we possibly can to assist with the international effort to bring these wildfires under control."

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  15. Severe M6 delays after lorry crashpublished at 08:57 British Summer Time 12 August 2021

    There are severe delays on the M6 southbound near Birmingham after a lorry crashed into the central barrier.

    Lorry crashImage source, Highways England
    Lorry crashImage source, Highways England

    Two lanes of the carriageway have been closed between junction 7 and junction 6 after the crash which happened at about 05:30.

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    Recovery work is continuing, says Highways England.

    There is currently 10 miles of queuing traffic, according to traffic monitoring service Inrix.

    One lane also closed on the northbound carriageway causing delays.

  16. Weather: A sunny start to the daypublished at 08:22 British Summer Time 12 August 2021

    BBC Weather

    We're forecast clear skies this morning, but it should become more cloudy by the afternoon. Temperatures could reach about 20C (68F).

    For a more detailed forecast for your area, visit the BBC Weather web page.

    Sun rise in BarstreeImage source, Andy JPR
  17. Cobblers knock Coventry out of EFL Cuppublished at 22:38 British Summer Time 11 August 2021

    Kion Etete scores twice on his first senior start as Northampton Town come from behind to knock Coventry City out of the Carabao Cup.

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  18. Shrewsbury sign Blues striker Cosgrovepublished at 21:00 British Summer Time 11 August 2021

    Shrewsbury sign striker Sam Cosgrove on a season-long loan from Championship side Birmingham City.

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  19. Blues 'frustrated' by closure of standspublished at 17:41 British Summer Time 11 August 2021

    Birmingham City director Edward Zheng says the club are "hugely frustrated" by the continued closure of two stands at St Andrew's.

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  20. Sentence of PC who killed footballer will not be reviewedpublished at 17:37 British Summer Time 11 August 2021

    The sentence of a police officer found guilty of killing a former premier league footballer will not be reviewed.

    His trial at Stafford Crown Court heard PC Benjamin Monk discharged his Taser three times at Aston Villa star Dalian Atkinson and kicked him twice in the head, leaving bootlace prints on his forehead during an altercation outside Mr Atkinson's father's house in Telford.

    Monk, 43, was jailed for eight years after a jury convicted him of manslaughter.

    Campaigner Bishop Dr Desmond Jaddoo had referred the case to the Attorney General for review under the unduly lenient sentence scheme.

    But it has now been decided the case will not go to the Court of Appeal.

    PC Benjamin MonkImage source, West Mercia Police

    A Spokesperson for the Attorney General’s Office said: “The Solicitor General was shocked and saddened by this case and wishes to express her sympathies to the family of Dalian Atkinson.”

    “After careful consideration the Solicitor General has concluded that she could not refer this case to the Court of Appeal.

    "A referral under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme to the Court of Appeal can only be made if a sentence is not just lenient but unduly so, such that the sentencing judge made a gross error or imposed a sentence outside the range of sentences reasonably available in the circumstances of the offence.

    "The threshold is a high one, and the test was not met in this case.”

    Dalian AtkinsonImage source, Getty Images