Summary

  • Updates from Friday 22 October

  1. Tram services suspended again after cracks foundpublished at 18:27 Greenwich Mean Time 12 November 2021

    West Midlands Metro estimate the repairs will take at least four weeks to complete.

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  2. Substance sprayed at taxi driverpublished at 17:57 Greenwich Mean Time 12 November 2021

    A taxi driver was sprayed in the face with a substance outside Wolverhampton railway station, police said.

    On 22 October at 11:50, a man was seen attempting to steal a scooter from the station car park by a driver parked in the taxi rank. He sounded his horn in an attempt to stop him, British Transport Police said.

    The man then ran towards the taxi, banging on the window and threatening the driver before returning to the scooter as a second taxi driver got out of his car and shouted at him to stop, the force said.

    The man walked towards him, pulled out a cannister from his pocket and sprayed a liquid directly in the taxi driver’s face before fleeing the scene towards the town centre.

    The CCTV imageImage source, British Transport Police

    The victim was treated at the scene by paramedics before being taken to hospital, but did not suffer any lasting injuries.

    British Transport Police has released a CCTV image of a man who may have information which could help the investigation.

    It asked anyone who recognised him, or who may know something which could assist officers, to come forward.

  3. Ambulance windscreen smashed while on 999 callpublished at 17:54 Greenwich Mean Time 12 November 2021

    The damaged ambulance is out of service as it awaits repairs, the service says.

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  4. Molineux sleep-out to raise funds for the homelesspublished at 17:37 Greenwich Mean Time 12 November 2021

    Wolves fans are being invited to spend a night sleeping rough at Molineux to raise funds to support homeless and vulnerable people.

    Rough sleeping has increased by 94% in the past ten years according to the club.

    Last year's sleep-out, which was held virtually due to the pandemic, raised £13,000.

    Molineux sleepoutImage source, Wolverhampton Wanderers

    Money raised this month will help charities like Feed Our Pack and and the Good Shepherd.

    And it is back to being held at the stadium in Wolverhampton on 12 November from 19:00 GMT to 07:00 the following day.

    Molineux sleepoutImage source, Wolverhampton Wanderers
  5. Man denies murder over flat deathpublished at 17:20 Greenwich Mean Time 12 November 2021

    Jay Lee Gallier is accused of killing Barry Johnson, who was found at a property in Brierley Hill.

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  6. Roads to close under traffic reduction schemepublished at 17:13 Greenwich Mean Time 12 November 2021

    A second trial to reduce traffic in parts of Shrewsbury town centre at weekends is to begin on 20 November.

    Under the plans Wyle Cop uphill, High Street, Milk Street and Shoplatch will be closed to all traffic on Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00 to 16:00 while The Square will be closed to traffic every day during the same hours.

    It follows a previous trial that ran from July to September this year.

    High Street, ShrewsburyImage source, Shropshire Council

    Once the trial begins, people will be able to provide feedback online.

    Meanwhile, feasibility work has also begun into a Low Traffic scheme for Town Walls, ahead of councils being given new legal powers to enforce moving traffic orders from next year.

  7. Tributes laid at girl's hit-and-run death scenepublished at 16:28 Greenwich Mean Time 12 November 2021

    The three-year-old died after being hit while on a zebra crossing in Tyseley, Birmingham.

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  8. Children in Need helps performing arts schoolpublished at 16:15 Greenwich Mean Time 12 November 2021

    BBC Midlands Today

    A performing arts school said money from Children in Need has meant it has been able to introduce more activities to help children suffering as a result the Covid pandemic.

    OCAP in Nuneaton works with children and young people of all abilities offering dance and acting classes.

    Steph

    As well as extra support to improve mental health, it offers a mentoring scheme to help young people develop their confidence.

    Steph's seven-year-old daughter Lily attends classes every week and she said it had changed her life.

    "We have got that trust with them here, we can leave Lily, we know she is safe, we know she is getting what she needs to get, she is happy...it is amazing really," Steph said.

    BBC Children in Need will air on 19 November.

  9. Man, 92, on floor for 14 hours awaiting ambulancepublished at 16:08 Greenwich Mean Time 12 November 2021

    Cyril Pepper says he damaged his arm and was on his back in pain.

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  10. Union 'not ruling out strike action' in equal pay rowpublished at 15:03 Greenwich Mean Time 12 November 2021

    BBC Radio WM

    The GMB union said it is not ruling out strike action as part of a row with Birmingham City Council over equal pay.

    In 2012 the local authority said it would have to pay at least £757m to settle equal pay claims brought by mainly women who missed out on bonuses.

    The union warned there could be a wave of fresh equal pay claims from staff after significant new information" emerged about how the council evaluated roles.

    The trade union has urged members not to agree to settlements and said it was reviewing unresolved cases with immediate effect.

    Council houseImage source, PA Media

    Michelle McCrossan, from the union, said: "The first step in solving any problem is to recognise that there is one and we had hoped this was recognised all those years ago.

    "As you can see, it is increasingly clear, that Birmingham City have had their head in the sand.

    "Strike action is always a last resort, however, I think that Birmingham City Council would be very surprised to see how strong its women colleagues, my female workers, how strong they are when we club together.

    Birmingham City Council said: "The council is committed to treating all members of staff fairly and committed to resolving any outstanding matters around equal pay once and for all."

  11. Half of town's swan population dies of bird flupublished at 14:58 Greenwich Mean Time 12 November 2021

    Rescuers say it has been an "unbelievable last two weeks" as an estimated 40 swans die.

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  12. Driver jailed for causing death of motorcyclistpublished at 14:28 Greenwich Mean Time 12 November 2021

    Usman Mohammed Farooq is jailed for causing the death of avid motorcyclist, Martin Barker.

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  13. MP highlights racist and Islamophobic emailspublished at 13:53 Greenwich Mean Time 12 November 2021

    The Coventry MP receives thousands of messages of support after racist emails.

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  14. Three fraud arrests over Rugby bank scampublished at 12:37 Greenwich Mean Time 12 November 2021

    Three people have been arrested on suspicion of fraud after a man lost nearly £9,000.

    Warwickshire Police said the victim had been contacted back in December 2020 by someone purporting to be from his bank, who convinced him that the funds in his account were at risk and he needed to transfer them to a number of ‘safe’ accounts.

    The victim then made three separate transfers of funds totalling nearly £9,000 to the offenders.

    On Wednesday, officers made three arrests in the Crawley and Croydon area in connection with an offence of fraud against a victim living in Warwickshire.

    The recipient accounts were identified and it was discovered that the funds "had been quickly dissipated", the force said.

    A 24-year-old woman from Crawley, a 27-year-old woman from Croydon and a 37-year-old man from Thornton Heath were interviewed and have been released under investigation while inquiries continue, it added.

  15. Bid for funding for road improvements in Bromsgrovepublished at 11:43 Greenwich Mean Time 12 November 2021

    BBC Radio Hereford and Worcester

    An application for £49m of funding to tackle congestion in Bromsgrove has been submitted to the Department for Transport.

    Worcestershire County Council wants the money to help it deliver the next phase of the A38 Bromsgrove Route Enhancement Programme., external

    It said the already-heavy congestion which causes chaos for drivers at peak times will only get worse unless improvements are made.

  16. Clarke doubles up with League Two awardpublished at 11:14 Greenwich Mean Time 12 November 2021

    Port Vale boss Darrell Clarke says consistency of approach is key after winning the League Two Manager of the Month award.

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  17. Couple look for 'happy memories' after lottery winpublished at 11:11 Greenwich Mean Time 12 November 2021

    Andrea and Mike Law from Bromsgrove won £2m in the draw.

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  18. Commonwealth Games: Dates for first team sports announcedpublished at 10:44 Greenwich Mean Time 12 November 2021

    BBC Sport

    The first fixtures, external have been released for team sports at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games next year.

    The netball and women's T20 competitions will both get under way on 29 July, the day after the opening ceremony.

    And the defending netball champions, England, will be first on court.

    England netball team celebratesImage source, Getty Images

    Birmingham 2022 will be the first time that T20 cricket has been included in the Commonwealth Games.

    It is also the first time that women’s cricket has been on the sports programme.

    The finals of both competitions will be played on Sunday 7 August.