Jasbir Singh Hayer was in hospital with the virus before dying on Tuesday, his family confirms.

That's all for our live coverage on Thursday.

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

Image source, Mary Courtney

A project's produced a digital map and an exhibition of the top 100 grotesque gargoyles and statues in Coventry.

Artist Mary Courtney has worked with historian Dr Daniel Reed to pinpoint the hundreds of grimacing faces that look down upon the city.

Image source, mary courtney

• Read the full story.

Birmingham is spending £1.2m on free meals next week to help low-income families.

The arrangements are made after Ann Ruddock is given a week to live.

Coventry City striker Matt Godden signs a new deal with the Championship side until the summer of 2024.

The West Midlands is seeing the highest hospital admission rates for Covid-19 in the country, the most recent official figures show.

Image source, Getty Images

In the West Midlands there were 10.1 hospital admissionspe 100,000 people in the seven days up to 17 October, compared with an England average of 7.2.

The UK Health Security Agency data showed rates of new coronavirus cases among schoolchildren in England have climbed to a new record high with a total of 1,366 cases per 100,000 among 10 to 19-year-olds.

Case rates are continuing to rise in all age groups with the lowest rate among people aged 80 and over.

Health leaders in England have called for Covid restrictions to be reintroduced ahead of winter, as cases rise.

Stoke-on-Trent Live

Here are some of the stories on the Stoke-on-Trent Live website today:

• 22,253 patients flood Royal Stoke A&E in one month as waits worst in six years, external
• Furious families fight plan for children's home in Stoke-on-Trent street, external
• Stoke-on-Trent children's nursery shuts without warning, external

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Health bosses have warned the amount of unvaccinated school children and young people in Walsall could be causing a spread of Covid-19 across the borough.

Members of Walsall’s Health and Wellbeing Board were told take up rates of the vaccine amongst 12-16-year-olds was “slow” with some schools reporting only one in three taking their jabs.

One of the issues cited is parents’ reluctance to let their children be vaccinated and even threatening to pull them out of school.

Latest figures show that, in the seven day period up to October 15, Walsall recorded overall rates of 408.1 cases per 100,000 population.

But statistics show the 10-14 year-old age group is the most affected in Walsall with rates reaching 1,625 per 100,000 during this month.

Image source, Getty Images

West Midlands Police Ch Supt Phil Dolby told Tuesday’s meeting he had met with head teachers from schools and said in one case, only 500 pupils out of 1,500 eligible were going to take their jabs while other schools had similar numbers.

Mr Dolby said: “I do think it’s a real health issue for young people.

"It is appropriate for us to consider what kind of surveillance we might have around the reasons for that and what we might be able to do to address it.

Stephen Gunther, Walsall’s director of public health said: “It is really important to say vaccinations are our best and safest approach to reduce the virus and its spread but, more importantly, it’s impact."

Organisers of Camp Bestival will hold a second festival on the Shropshire and Staffordshire border next year.

Co-curator Rob da Bank explains why he chose Weston Park:

"I'm not exaggerating, it's one of the best festival sites we've ever seen, beautiful trees, beautiful woodlands... it's absolutely stunning.

He said the location was not far from Wales, the north and is "smack in the middle of the Midlands."

"So for us it was just a very obvious choice."

Image source, CAMP BESTIVAL

Camp Bestival Shropshire is planned to take place at Weston Park on 18 - 21 August 2022, three weeks after Camp Bestival Dorset.

• Read the full story.

An Amazon manager in Staffordshire says his site has not been affected by worker shortages, but the situation is being monitored.

Image source, Marco Quintarelli/EyeEm/Getty Images

Following staff shortages elsewhere in the economy, general manager of Amazon Rugeley Gary Norton was asked if he was finding those difficulties as the company tries to hire extra people this Christmas.

He replied: "It's definitely something that we're keeping an eye on. At this particular fulfilment centre it's not an issue that concerns us at the moment, but it is definitely something as a UK network we are keeping an eye on."

Mr Norton was speaking from a building he described as the size of 10 football pitches and about 800,000 sq ft.

He said: "In our run-up to the Christmas season we can have anything, well, well over 20 million units in stock, which is pretty vast.

"We're looking at chicken and mushroom Pot Noodles, but they could be dotted around in many many places across the fulfilment centre and that's exactly the same for every product that we store... Our clever computer systems and algorithms when we're looking to pick customer orders will work out the most efficient pick path for our pickers to walk."

Andrew Carvel built the ghost ship, which measures 30ft long, from scrap wood and pallets.

An arts project is documenting the hundreds of "demons and fantastic creatures" across the city.

An ice rink will be returning to Coventry Cathedral's ruins this winter.

The Coventry Glides rink, will be in place from 26 November, until 9 January.

It will open for one hour time slots, with prices starting from £5, and tickets can be booked from the Coventry 2021 website from next week.

Image source, Dylan Parrin Photography

Chenine Bhathena, creative director of the Coventry City of Culture Trust, said: "We can’t wait to welcome the people of Coventry, and hopefully lots of new visitors, to take to the ice and enjoy themselves this festive season."

Councillor Abdul Salam Khan, deputy leader and cabinet member for events at Coventry City Council, added: "The ice rink proved really popular last year, and it is great to see it back to add some festive cheer."

Warwick has been the county town of Warwickshire for 1,100 years but seeks an upgrade from the Queen.

BBC Midlands Today

An appeal is being launched today for thousands of new blood donors in the West Midlands to reverse the decline in numbers that happened during the pandemic.

The NHS Blood and Transplant service said there was a massive drop in the number of donors in the region last year.

It has made thousands of new blood appointments available at its Birmingham centre and stated it was particularly looking for more black donors to help treat sickle cell patients.

Stoke City midfielder Nick Powell will be out for up to eight weeks with a cracked fibula bone in his right leg.

A housing boss calls on the government to reform supported housing in the UK.

Nearly 1,500 suspected drug traffickers have been arrested, while weapons including zombie knives and samurai swords were seized, in a week-long county lines crackdown by police across England and Wales.

From 11-17 October, West Midlands Police raided the homes, external of people suspected of running cannabis, crack cocaine and heroin supply networks.

The force said it arrested 143 people, seized 630 wraps of Class A drugs and 3,400 cannabis plants, plus recovered weapons, including firearms and more than 30 knives and machetes.

The force worked alongside police in Warwickshire, West Mercia and Staffordshire and recovered nearly £30,000 in cash and dozens of suspected burner phones suspected of being used as drugs hotlines.

Supt Wendy Bailey said: "Last week was really successful, we executed 43 warrants as we went after offenders and ran operations at transport hubs, and on the road and rail network, looking for people moving drugs."

A man has suffered life-threatening injuries after he was involved in a crash in Worcester.

West Mercia Police said at about 16:40 on Wednesday a red Range Rover collided with a cyclist on Grange Avenue near to the junction with Ombersley Road.

The cyclist was taken by Air Ambulance to Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham.

No other injuries were reported.

Officers would like to hear from anyone who may have seen the incident.