Updates on Friday 16 December 2016
Rebecca Wood
BBC Midlands Today
It will stay cloudy overnight with some patchy rain or drizzle at times and feeling mild, with lows of 9C (48F).
The BBC weather forecast for the West Midlands
The West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner says he's disappointed with next year's funding settlement for the force, which has just been awarded by central government.
The force will get £44.1m - a reduction of £6m on this year's figures.
David Jamieson says the cuts are twice as big as they were last year and the funding settlement "fails to recognise that crime is changing and not falling".
A former senior manager at Coventry’s Belgrade Theatre stole £5,000, external by selling tickets and giving out his own bank account detail because he was struggling with gambling debts.
Image source, Coventry Telegraph
Vanessa Pearce
BBC Local Live
Warwickshire Police says it is following a number of leads to trace a rapist from Rugby who went on the run before his trial started.
Ransford Buabeng was convicted along with another Rugby man of the rape of a 15-year-old girl four years ago and was sentenced to 10 years in jail at Warwick Crown Court yesterday.
Image source, Warwickshire PoliceThe Chief Officer of Coventry Rape and Sexual Abuse centre said his disappearance would be "incredibly hard" for the victim to come to terms with.
Dianne Whitfield said the perpetrator was "not being held to justice" and to have justice "pulled away from them at this stage" will have implications for the victim.
Vanessa Pearce
BBC Local Live
The councillor in charge of education in Coventry has accused the government of "stealing" from schools budgets and "giving it primarily to schools in the South East".
Most schools in Coventry will have reduced budgets under a new national funding formula announced by the government.
Image source, Coventry City CouncilKevin Maton said the council had written to the government to express their concerns at the funding shake-up.
The budget cut will impact on the number of teachers and teaching assistants in the city, he said, "which can only be detrimental to the children of Coventry".
Eagle-eyed EastEnders fans spotted a blunder in a recent episode – that characters were looking at renting Anne Hathaway’s Cottage. , external
Image source, Stratford ObserverA paedophile police chief who escaped justice for 30 years has died behind bars less than two months into his jail term for sex crimes against two boys.
Former Superintendent Gordon Anglesea, 79, died in Rye Hill prison, near Rugby, while serving 12 years after being convicted of four counts of indecent assault.
A spokesman added: "As with all deaths in custody, the independent Prisons and Probation Ombudsman will investigate."
Anglesea was arrested in 2013 as part of the National Crime Agency's Operation Pallial investigation into historical abuse across north Wales.
Vanessa Pearce
BBC Local Live
Here's a recap of some of our main stories today:
BBC Coventry & Warwickshire Sport
Coventry City aim to end a run of five straight league defeats when they take on Sheffield United tonight.
Image source, Getty ImagesInterim boss Mark Venus has confirmed he has a relatively fit squad ahead of the League One fixture against Sheffield United.
Chris McCann and Andy Rose have both returned to action in recent weeks and remain fit, while Dion Kelly-Evans is also available but doubts remain over the fitness of goalkeeper Lee Burge.
A charitable housing firm pursuing potentially multimillion-pound damages against Coventry City Council for conducting a ‘witch-hunt’ against it alleges the council is now withholding information sought for court proceedings. , external
Image source, Coventry Observer
BBC Sport
Jim Troughton will work under the new Bears director of cricket, still expected to be Ashley Giles, when he joins as first-team coach.
Image source, Getty ImagesAfter retiring as a player with a long-term back condition in 2014, Troughton, 37, became assistant coach to previous director of cricket Dougie Brown.
"Having grown up as a Bear and spent all of my cricketing life at Edgbaston, Warwickshire obviously means a huge amount to me," he said.
The Guardian
A Conservative MP will receive a payout of nearly £1.5m, external if the sale completes of the Kurdistan-based oil company for which he has worked since July 2015 alongside representing his constituents in Stratford-upon-Avon.
Image source, Richard Gardner/REX/ShutterstockVanessa Pearce
BBC Local Live
Two men have been sentenced for raping a 15-year-old girl, external after she was "targeted because of her age" and "plied with alcohol", said police.
Christian Acheampong (pictured left), 40 from Duke Street in Rugby was also found guilty of raping a 16-year-old girl in a separate incident and sentenced to a total of 20 years in prison at Warwick Crown Court yesterday.
Image source, Warwickshire PoliceRansford Buabeng, 31 of Waveback Court Long Lawford, was sentenced to 10 years for the rape in his absence after failing to answer court bail.
A former Warwick University student is braving the elements and sleeping rough on the streets of London this Christmas to raise awareness and funds for the country’s homeless population. , external
Sky Blues’ parent company Sisu were this week tightlipped on whether they will continue with legal action , externalagainst Coventry City Council’s sale of the Ricoh Arena to then London Wasps in 2014, as many expect.
Drivers are putting binmen in danger by mounting pavements to get round rubbish lorries.
Binmen put in danger by shortcut drivers
Waste firm Biffa, which operates in Stratford-upon-Avon, recorded more than 4,000 incidents in the UK in a month.
Now it has begun a campaign to raise awareness of the danger and sending footage to police for possible prosecution.
Handwritten posters warning students not to go down a footpath because of recent robberies have appeared close to the campus of the University of Warwick.
Reported incidents include a 24-year-old woman who was robbed at knifepoint on Friday, say police.
Patrols in the area are being increased with additional officers, they say, and they are urging students to stick to busier, well-lit areas after dark.
Charlie Slater
BBC Weather presenter
A cloudy afternoon with some outbreaks of rain or drizzle and highs of 9C (48F).
Latest weather for the West Midlands
Vanessa Pearce
BBC Local Live
Here's a recap of some of our main stories today:
Network Rail staff have posted their version of Away In A Manger on social media.
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The carol includes the verse: "Just shovelling and grafting, no turkey for us. We're working through Christmas, no moaning, no fuss."
One of the Rugby-based singers, track operative Ryan Buckley, said: "What we lack in vocal flair we more than make up for in festive cheer and good looks."
