Summary

  • Updates from Monday 13 September to Sunday 19 September

  1. Festival of witches aims to dispel mythspublished at 15:09 British Summer Time 18 September 2021

    About 2,000 people are expected to attend the two-day Festival for Pagans and Witches.

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  2. Memorial service for town's Covid victimspublished at 12:52 British Summer Time 18 September 2021

    The organisers of the service in Bridgnorth say they hope it will bring people closure.

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  3. Expat's anger at Australian travel restrictionspublished at 07:42 British Summer Time 18 September 2021

    Leanne Stokes has not been able to introduce her twin sons to family in Australia.

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  4. End of live coveragepublished at 18:02 British Summer Time 17 September 2021

    That's all from our live coverage today.

    We'll be back with more news, sport, travel and weather updates from 08:00 on Monday.

    • Family plea to take long Covid seriouslypublished at 18:02 British Summer Time 17 September 2021

      The family of a man with autism who is suffering from long Covid have urged people to take the virus seriously.

      Dom Zabawa, 39, from Walsall, who has autism and severe learning difficulties, contracted Covid-19 last year and is still suffering from the effects.

      Long Covid is described as symptoms continuing for more than 12 weeks after an infection - severe or mild - which can't be explained by another cause.

      His mother Pam Zabawa said her son had caught coronavirus in March 2020 and been admitted to hospital for 17 days.

      "He now has oxygen overnight to help with his breathing and to ease the pressure on his chest, which he never had to have before.

      "He’s always tired, has low energy and his appetite hasn’t been the same.

      “It’s been such a long journey and it’s had a massive impact on us as a family. It feels like we’ve spent the last 18 months living on a knife edge, constantly worrying about Dom and his health."

      Only in the past six weeks she said had he begun to improve.

      Dom and Pam ZabawaImage source, Black Country and West Birmingham Clinical Commissioning Group

      Sally Roberts, chief nursing officer for Black Country and West Birmingham Clinical Commissioning Group, said: “Many people who have had Covid-19 will have lasting symptoms and for some these may have a big impact on their quality of life.

      “Long Covid can affect anyone regardless of age or lifestyle and so the best way to protect yourself and your loved ones from serious illness is to come forward for your jabs as quickly as possible."

    • Rail company advises against travel due to workspublished at 18:01 British Summer Time 17 September 2021

      Chiltern Railways issues "reluctant" advice due to "severe disruption" this weekend.

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    • Care worker angry at job loss over vaccine refusalpublished at 18:01 British Summer Time 17 September 2021

      Chelsea says it is "heartbreaking" to lose her job after seven years in the industry.

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    • Funding bid for transport network revamppublished at 17:49 British Summer Time 17 September 2021

      BBC Midlands Today

      Plans for a £2bn investment in the region's transport network, have been set out in a government funding bid.

      Under the plans, Metro lines would be extended with more tram routes in Wolverhampton, Walsall, Birmingham and the Black Country.

      Snow Hill station

      There would also be new rapid bus services, lower fares and safe cycling routes.

      Rail projects include the expansion of Snow Hill and Moor Street Stations, and new train stations across the region.

    • Four ambulance hubs set to closepublished at 17:27 British Summer Time 17 September 2021

      The community ambulance stations in Oswestry, Craven Arms, Bridgnorth and Market Drayton will shut.

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    • Shopping centres could face demolitionpublished at 17:05 British Summer Time 17 September 2021

      Joanne Gallacher
      Political reporter, BBC Radio Shropshire

      The three shopping centres bought by Shropshire Council more than three years ago continue to cause problems for the Conservative-run authority.

      Major plans to regenerate Shrewsbury town centre were due to be unveiled to the public on Tuesday, but at short notice those in charge decided to discuss them behind closed doors.

      The local authority is considering demolishing Pride Hill - one of the precincts which it paid £51m in total for.

      Pride Hill shopping centreImage source, Google

      Originally the site had been earmarked as the new civic centre - where Shropshire Council staff would be housed following the sale of the Shirehall.

      The new plan would stop that, after surveys showed it wouldn't provide value for money. Instead the Pride Hill centre is likely to be demolished and a multi-storey car park and hotel could be built in its place.

      Under this model the Riverside shopping centre would also be replaced by the civic HQ where other organisations as well as the council would be based.

      Riverside shopping centre, Shrewsbury

      I believe about £1.2m will now need to be spent on another feasibility study.

      This has led to questions from opposition councillors about where the money is coming from; whether the land will be sold to developers; will the council keep the assets and own the leisure facilities; will it have an impact on the proposed £80m ring road; would the plan spell the end of re-introducing pedestrianisation in the town?

      These are questions which will be put to the ruling group at a full council meeting next week.

      The press and public won't be privy to the conversations though - unless the Liberal Democrats get their way. They've tabled a motion to move the item back on to the main agenda.

      One of the council's directors Mark Barrow said the decision to discuss the matter in private was down to "commercial sensitivity" which he said was "not unusual".

      He's right, it's not unusual to protect business assets and finance deals, but the sudden u-turn and exclusion of press and taxpayers is.

    • Loaded gun found dumped at industrial unitpublished at 16:45 British Summer Time 17 September 2021

      Two men have been arrested in connection with the discovery of a fully loaded gun dumped at an industrial unit in Birmingham.

      Stargate industrial parkImage source, Google

      Officers were alerted to the weapon, which was discovered at Stargate Business Park in Nechells, on Thursday afternoon.

      It followed an incident where police on routine patrol spotted a suspicious BMW on false plates shortly before 14:00 BST which then sped through the Nechells area at 80mph before the occupants made off on foot.

      However, the officers were able to catch up with two men, aged 20 and 18. They were arrested on suspicion of vehicle theft, dangerous driving and possession of a firearm.

      Detectives later discovered that the BMW had been stolen from an address in Shirley in July 2020.

      West Midlands Police said the suspects remained in custody for questioning.

    • Yellow weather warnings for weekend rainpublished at 16:20 British Summer Time 17 September 2021

      The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for parts of the West Midlands this weekend.

      Heavy rain on Sunday is likely to cause disruption in parts of Birmingham and the Black Country as well as Warwickshire, Staffordshire and Worcestershire.

      Yellow weather warning affecting parts of the West MidlandsImage source, Met Office

      The Met Office said there was a small chance of flooding, power cuts and disruption to transport services.

      For more information and to stay up to date, visit the Met Office webpage, external.

    • Funeral takes place for one-time Covid scepticpublished at 15:59 British Summer Time 17 September 2021

      Tributes are paid to Covid patient Marcus Birks whose illness led him to urge people to get vaccinated.

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    • Family can stay in home after landfill gas winpublished at 15:00 British Summer Time 17 September 2021

      The High Court has ruled that stricter controls must be imposed on Walleys Quarry in Staffordshire.

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    • Care worker 'angry' to lose job over vaccine hesitancypublished at 14:14 British Summer Time 17 September 2021

      A woman who works in a care home in Walsall says she is "very angry" after being told she will lose her job after deciding not to have the coronavirus vaccination.

      The government announced , externalthat anyone working or volunteering in a care home in England must be fully vaccinated by 11 November, unless exempt.

      The government described the move in June as a "sensible and reasonable step".

      However, 24-year-old Chelsea told BBC Radio WM it made "no sense at all".

      Carer and resident - genericImage source, PA Media

      She said: "We’ve worked through the pandemic for nearly two years now and we’ve kept all of our residents safe without being vaccinated.

      "Now I’m going to be losing my job because I don’t want a vaccination that we’ve been told doesn’t stop you from passing on the virus, it doesn’t stop you from carrying it, yet I’m putting residents at risk by not having it."

      She said she decided not to get the vaccine based on anxieties about needles and the speed of the rollout, and said she didn't think it was fair to be forced to have it.

      "I don’t think the government realises what it’s doing to people’s mental health – I’ve worked in care for seven years and now to be told I can’t work in care, which is something I love doing, it’s heart breaking."

      Generic image of carer and residentImage source, Getty Images

      Joyce Pinfield, the vice chair of the National Care Association, said the industry's number one priority had to be keeping residents safe.

      However she raised concerns that the policy could lead to a "tremendous impact on staffing", with about 3,000 care workers leaving their roles in the West Midlands, compared with up to 70,000 nationally.

    • Your pictures: On Autumn's cusppublished at 14:00 British Summer Time 17 September 2021

      BBC Weather Watchers

      It looks like the sunshine isn't quite ready to leave us just yet but the signs of Autumn are making themselves known too.

      Sunshine breaks through a yellow flowerImage source, BBC Weather Watchers/ Hannah Hunts
      Blue skies over a canal in LichfieldImage source, BBC Weather Watchers/ David S
      A pink dahlia in a Hereford gardenImage source, BBC Weather Watchers/ Sunchaser
      A yellowing fern in BromsgroveImage source, BBC Weather Watchers/ Boardwalk

      Thanks to our Weather Watchers, whose photos today come from Pattingham, Lichfield, Hereford and Bromsgrove.

      To see more photos, or to get involved yourself, visit the BBC Weather Watchers webpage.

    • Street cleaning disrupted by driver shortagepublished at 13:32 British Summer Time 17 September 2021

      Road sweeping will only be in emergencies as bin collections are prioritised, an authority says.

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    • Raids target 'major illegal streaming network'published at 12:35 British Summer Time 17 September 2021

      Police make three arrests over a platform thought to have served hundreds of thousands of customers.

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    • Motorcyclist airlifted to hospital after collisionpublished at 12:17 British Summer Time 17 September 2021

      A motorcyclist has been airlifted to hospital after a collision with a car.

      West Midlands Ambulance Service said it was called to the island of the A460 and A519 in Cannock, Staffordshire, at about 09:45.

      On arrival, it said, crews found the female patient with serious injuries.

      She received specialist trauma care at the scene before being taken to Royal Stoke University Hospital by the Midlands Air Ambulance.

    • German Christmas markets will return to citypublished at 12:02 British Summer Time 17 September 2021

      Birmingham's traditional market was called off in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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