Summary

  • Updates on Friday 15 October

  1. Grant hits winner as Albion beat Bluespublished at 22:52 British Summer Time 15 October 2021

    Karlan Grant powers home a late winner as West Bromwich Albion scrape to a derby victory over Birmingham City.

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  2. Stalker harassed women online for 10 yearspublished at 21:15 British Summer Time 15 October 2021

    Matthew Hardy, from Northwich, set up bogus social media accounts to pose as his victims, a court hears.

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  3. Our coverage across the daypublished at 18:10 British Summer Time 15 October 2021

    That's all from our live page today.

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

  4. Opposition to development planpublished at 18:09 British Summer Time 15 October 2021

    Local Democracy Reporting Service

    A local development plan that sets out where 7,000 new homes could be built around the Black Country, has been criticised by politicians.

    Qadar Zada, the leader of the opposition Labour group on Dudley Council said the party did not support any development of green belt land and there were other options he felt the local authority wasn't exploring.

    Dudley town centreImage source, Google

    Suzanne Webb, the Conservative MP for Stourbridge, said people she had spoken to were almost all unhappy with the plans.

    She said there needed to be a policy of developing brownfield land first and that not enough had been done to identify suitable sites.

    Ms Webb also said the two green belt areas identified in the plan were much-loved areas and described one as a "green oasis in an otherwise built-up area."

    Dudley Council, run by the Conservatives, said the plan had sought to prioritise brownfield sites and protect green belt land as much as possible.

    Consultation to the plan ended on Monday.

  5. West Midlands derbypublished at 17:54 British Summer Time 15 October 2021

    BBC Radio WM Sport

    West Bromwich Albion host neighbours Birmingham City tonight in the Championship.

    It's safe to say the Baggies are feeling confident!

    Kick off is at 20:00 BST.

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  6. Covid-19 rates continue to climbpublished at 17:47 British Summer Time 15 October 2021

    Covid-19 rates have continued to rise in most parts of the West Midlands, according to the latest official figures.

    Twenty four out of 30 local authority areas in the region recorded rises in the seven days up to 11 October.

    Nuneaton and Bedworth, Lichfield and Cannock Chase remain among England's hotspots, although several other parts of the country have seen their number of new cases rise by even more.

    Testing

    Worcester saw the biggest percentage rise in the week up to 11 October, with the number of cases rising from 182 to 317 week-on-week (74% increase). However, rates remain very low there, compared with other parts of the region.

    Birmingham, which has the largest population of any local authority in England and has seen more deaths than any other, continues to have one of the lowest rates of infection in the country.

    Only the Malvern Hills, with 254 new cases per 100,000 people, has a lower rate in the West Midlands.

    Rugby, Stafford and Stratford-upon-Avon, which until recently have been among the worst affected parts of England, all saw falls in their rates over the same period.

    Hospital admissions remain fairly stable, with 1,099 Covid-19 patients in the wider Midlands in the week up to 15 October, up from 1,008.

  7. Fundraisers buy defibrillatorspublished at 17:44 British Summer Time 15 October 2021

    BBC Radio WM

    Fundraisers in Streetly have collected enough money to buy two defibrillators.

    A charity football match between staff from Blackwood Butchers and the Brewhouse Microbrewery last month took the total past £6,700 and the defibrillators were officially unveiled yesterday.

    Defibrillator unveilingImage source, Scott Murcott

    Scott Murcott from Blackwood Butchers said there had been no defibrillators in the area until now and they were "becoming more and more important".

    He said the defibrillators cost about £3,000, so the remainder had been given to the air ambulance.

  8. Investigation ordered into Covid lab test failingspublished at 17:29 British Summer Time 15 October 2021

    A lab in Wolverhampton is suspended as 43,000 people in England and Wales are potentially affected.

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  9. Plans to fence off playing fields criticised by MPpublished at 17:26 British Summer Time 15 October 2021

    Telford and Wrekin Council says there have been safeguarding issues over pupils using the pitches.

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  10. Puppy snatched by four menpublished at 17:12 British Summer Time 15 October 2021

    A three-month-old puppy has been stolen by a group of men in Birmingham.

    FrenchImage source, West Midlands Police

    The young American Bulldog, named French, was stolen from his owner after he was assaulted by the four men on The Radleys, near the city airport, on 9 October.

    He was then bundled into a grey VW Golf after the attack, which happened just before 16:00.

    West Midlands Police has appealed for anyone with information, or anyone who has seen French, to come forwards.

  11. About 4,000 in Wales affected by Covid lab errorspublished at 16:54 British Summer Time 15 October 2021

    Errors at a lab see up to 4,000 people in Wales wrongly told they did not have Covid.

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  12. MPs react to Sir David Amess stabbingpublished at 16:31 British Summer Time 15 October 2021

    MPs from the West Midlands have reacted to the news that Tory MP Sir David Amess has died after being stabbed at his constituency surgery in Essex.

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    Sir David, 69, had been an MP since 1983 and was married with five children.

    Follow the BBC's coverage of the breaking news here.

  13. Villa boss backs Buendia to find formpublished at 16:17 British Summer Time 15 October 2021

    Aston Villa manager Dean Smith puts faith in £38m signing Emiliano Buendia to shine again.

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  14. CBSO to treat rail commuters to a free performancepublished at 15:54 British Summer Time 15 October 2021

    Commuters will be able to enjoy the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) performing for free at New Street Station soon.

    The orchestra is also allowing a few lucky people to be "maestro for a moment" by conducting them.

    The concourse performance gets under way at 16:00 BST.

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  15. London mayor visits electric taxi companypublished at 15:51 British Summer Time 15 October 2021

    The mayor pledges to work with regions across the country to aid the post-pandemic recovery.

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  16. Community hospital to close due to lack of staffpublished at 15:46 British Summer Time 15 October 2021

    Recruitment has been hard for years but has been made worse by the pandemic, bosses say.

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  17. False negative Covid results at Wolverhampton labpublished at 15:42 British Summer Time 15 October 2021

    BBC News

    As we've been reporting this morning, an estimated 43,000 people may have been given incorrect PCR test results due to an isolated issue at a private laboratory in Wolverhampton.

    test and traceImage source, PA Media

    Here's what we know so far:

    • Where is the lab? The issue was identified at Immensa Health Clinic Ltd's laboratory in Wolverhampton.
    • Which areas are affected? The majority of those affected are in south-west England but some people in south-east England and Wales may also be impacted.
    • When did this happen? The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) says those affected were given results between 8 September and 12 October.
    • What caused the problem? The UKHSA says it is working to determine the technical issues at the lab that resulted in inaccurate PCR results. It has suspended testing there while an investigation continues.