A man found with stab wounds is in a critical condition, police say.

Image source, Google

The 18-year-old suffered injuries to the arm, shoulder and back in the attack in Burslem Park, Moorland Road in Stoke-on-Trent shortly after 17:30 on Tuesday.

Officers are investigating reports he was attacked by a number of males, who then fled the park.

He remains in hospital in a stable but critical condition, Staffordshire Police said.

GB's silver medallist boxer Ben Whittaker says he is disappointed with his silver medal.

"You don't win silver, you lose gold. I'm very disappointed with myself, I didn't perform well. Of course, he's a class operator - two-time Olympic gold medallist now but I'm very disappointed. I feel like a failure.

"You're in this game to win gold, not win silver. I'm very upset, but this feeling will stick with me now. I don't want to feel like this again," the 24-year-old Black Country boxer said.

Image source, Reuters

He added: "I just want to thank God for putting me in this position, I want to thank everyone in Great Britain for getting behind me. I'm sorry for making you wake up and see me let you down. I will come back, trust me.

"I can't celebrate silver just yet," he told the BBC.

"Wolverhampton's mayor, bless him, did a little video for me wishing me luck, external, he said that if I get the gold, I get the chain - I didn't get the gold so he can keep it for a bit."

However, the council earlier tweeted he had done Wolverhampton and the Black Country proud , external- and we agree!

An emotional Alice Dearing hopes becoming the first black woman to represent Great Britain in an Olympic swimming event makes a difference and shows the sport is "available to anyone".

The swimmer from Birmingham finished 19th in the 10km marathon event overnight.

Team GB boxer Frazer Clarke has taken bronze in the super heavyweight semi-final.

Image source, Getty Images

"It's not the fairytale that I wanted but I'm proud of myself. I'm gutted I didn't do a little bit more but I'm an Olympic bronze medallist," says Britain's Frazer Clarke, from Burton upon Trent.

He lost to favourite Bakhodir Jalolov.

"I'm healthy and I've been to the Olympic Games. I can't ask for anything more," he added.

Black Country boxer Ben Whittaker has taken silver in the light-heavyweight final at the Tokyo Olympics.

The 24-year-old was beaten by Cuba's Arlen Lopex.

He had joked he wanted to swap his gold medal for the gold chains of the Mayor of Wolverhampton.

Wolverhampton Council has tweeted he can be honorary mayor for the day anyway.

BBC Weather

It will be a dry and sunny day with the possibility of scattered showers later with highs of 22C (72F).

This was the scene in Baschurch, Shropshire earlier as captured by BBC Weather Watcher Lou.

Image source, Lou

Welcome to our live service for Wednesday.

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

Essex, Middlesex, Yorkshire and Glamorgan all win as Lancashire and Surrey both suffer a first One-Day Cup defeat.

That's it for our live coverage today.

We'll be back from 08:00 tomorrow with the latest news, sport, weather and travel for the region.

South Staffordshire's coroner has written to the county's police force over his concerns of a lack of intervention from officers before a woman's suicide.

In a Prevention of Future Deaths Report, external, Andrew Haigh raised worries that Staffordshire Police brushed complaints from Amanda Dunn "under the carpet".

Ms Dunn died at her home in Penkridge in March. Mr Haigh said she had suffered with mental health problems but also cited issues with neighbours as "a major reason for her fatal actions".

He said that Ms Dunn had made several reports to police about her concerns but no action had been taken, even though, in his opinion, the situation "amounted to harassment".

The coroner wrote: "There is a real concern that police are seeking to brush such incidents under the carpet and not taking them sufficiently seriously. Clearly, I do not want another death reported to me of a similar nature."

Staffordshire Police declined to comment.

Jewellery worth an estimated £11,000 has been stolen in a burglary at a house in Burton-upon-Trent.

Staffordshire Police said theives also made off with a safe.

Officers were called to the property on Weston Park Avenue on Monday morning and believe the offence may have taken place overnight on Sunday.

The force is appealing for witnesses and carrying out CCTV and forensic inquiries.

John Gimson has not seen his parents since October due to requirements of training in a bubble.

Birmingham's Galal Yafai has made it through to the semi-finals of the men's flyweight boxing.

He beat Cuba's Yosvany Veitia 4-1.

Firefighters have been at the scene of a severe blaze in Kings Norton, Birmingham.

West Midlands Fire Service said a fire in the garden of a property on Ratcliffe Avenue had spread to the house.

All residents have been accounted for and crews remain on scene to extinguish the blaze, the fire service said.

Local Democracy Reporting Service
Tom Davis

Coventry City Council spent £411,872 dealing with a record-number of fly-tipping incidents over the past year.

A Freedom of Information request revealed the cost to the council had more than doubled since the previous year.

The number of recorded incidents was 10,765 compared to 6,692 in 2019/20.

Image source, LDR Tom Davis

The council has put the increase down to the coronavirus pandemic.

"It was at a time where most of the nation was at home and in many cases decided to have a spring clean but because of Covid restrictions the tip was closed, waste disposal wasn’t happening, bulky waste wasn’t happening, so there’s all this waste accumulating and nowhere for it to go," Craig Hickin, councillor, said.

Image source, Simon Atkinson

A project to restore the River Stour in Dudley and Wolverhampton has been awarded nearly £250,000.

The Love your River Stour project will transform the river and its banks "into a beautiful and wildlife-rich source of pride for the communities of the Black Country", the area's Wildlife Trust says.

The trust's Simon Atkinson said the £249,700 from the government's Green Recovery Challenge Fund would enable it to make the area "even better for a range of wildlife including otter, salmon and kingfisher".

The project, which starts in September, includes training 24 young people in nature conservation; offering "river ranger" sessions to pupils as well as engagement sessions where vulnerable adults can enjoy and learn about the river .

Thirty bleed control kits, which contain potentially life-saving equipment in the event of catastrophic bleeding, are to be installed across the West Midlands region.

Image source, West Midlands Police

The kits are the work of the Daniel Baird Foundation, set up by Lynne Baird following the death of her son after a stabbing in Birmingham in 2017.

Some have already been installed in Wolverhampton city centre, Bilston and Low Hill, and West Midlands Police is arranging other suitable locations including Broad Street in Birmingham and Far Gosford Street in Coventry.

"Those first few minutes following a stabbing are crucial, and having these kits available can save lives," Supt Gareth Morris, from the West Midlands force, said.

"These can provide immediate first aid and reduce the chance of serious injury or a fatality."

BBC Sport

Image source, .

Aston Villa have made a second bid for Southampton's 26-year-old England midfielder James Ward-Prowse after their initial £25m offer was rejected. (Mail), external

Tottenham are in preliminary talks with Wolves about signing Conor Coady, with Spurs boss Nuno Espirito Santo keen to be reunited with the 28-year-old England defender in north London. (Football Insider), external

Manchester City will end their pursuit of Tottenhams triker Harry Kane, 27, if they sign England team-mate Jack Grealish, 25, from Aston Villa. (Manchester Evening News), external

An adoptee's discovery that her mother was raped at 13 leads to 11 years in jail for Carvel Bennett.

There are concerns two rare-breed lambs, stolen from a West Bromwich farm, will be slaughtered.

Sandwell Council said the two Shropshire ewe lambs were stolen from Forge Mill Farm at about 22:30 BST on 25 July.

Image source, Sandwell Council

A spokesperson said the lambs, born in February, were "particularly important to the farm" as part of its work protecting rare breeds, and were due to join the breeding stock next year.

The lambs are not fit for human consumption, the council says, amid fears they are most likely to be slaughtered.

CCTV footage has been shared with West Midlands Police in a bid to trace those responsible.

Image source, Sandwell Council

“This theft is a huge loss for the team that works so hard to care for the animals throughout the year and for the people of Sandwell that visit our farm," Maria Crompton, from the local authority, said.

“The farm staff are devastated by this callous act. These lambs are irreplaceable as it takes a huge amount of time and energy to produce rare-breed sheep of such high genetic quality as these and for them to be stolen, and most likely slaughtered, is disgusting."