Shefali Oza
BBC Midlands Today

Plenty of sunshine but there will be a few cloudy spells and the chance of the odd shower with highs of 10°C (50°F).

Four children were killed in a house fire in Stafford in 2019 caused by a discarded cigarette.

Areas in tier three in the West Midlands are among the first to start community coronavirus testing programmes, according to the Department of Health., external

More than 1.6 million of the rapid lateral flow tests will be delivered for community testing this month, the government said.

It is hoped, along with existing measures, it could help lead to an easing of restrictions in tier three areas.

The community testing is in addition to schemes run by local directors of public health. They have been able to request a set number of lateral flow tests to be used in their area, regardless of tier, since early November.

These are the areas in the West Midlands the tests will be introduced:

Birmingham; Dudley; Sandwell; Cannock Chase; East Staffordshire; Lichfield; Newcastle-under-Lyme; South Staffordshire; Stafford; Staffordshire Moorlands; Tamworth; Stoke-on-Trent; North Warwickshire; Nuneaton and Bedworth; Rugby; Stratford-on-Avon; Warwick; Wolverhampton and Solihull.

Matthew Mason, 19, told his ex-partner he killed 15-year-old Alex Rodda, a court hears.

Alex Hamilton
BBC Weather

It will be a sunny day with a few cloudy spells and the chance of one or two showers. Highs of 11°C (52°F).

The latest news, sport, travel and weather across the West Midlands and south Cheshire.

The first editions of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone initially sold for £10.99 in 1997.

BBC Weather

Cloudy with one or two showers around mixed with the odd bright or sunny spell. Feeling quite mild with a high of 10C/50F.

Staying mainly cloudy tonight with a few more showers before turning misty in places with some patches of hill fog around. Low: 6C/43F.

You can stay up-to-date on the latest forecast for your area by going to the BBC Weather website.

Alex Rodda's mother tells a court the man accused of murdering her son had 'soulless eyes'.

Warrington Wolves sign Hull KR prop Robbie Mulhern on a two-year deal, with second-row Luis Johnson going the other way on a one-year contract.

BBC Midlands Today

The Staffordshire oatcake is beloved in its home county and now it has been made into tea.

The unique delicacy is made from a recipe typically including oatmeal and yeast and turns out looking rather like a dirty flannel - and people in the Potteries love them.

Stoke-on-Trent-based firm Moorlands Pottery has branched out to make the tea and director Jon Plant said it was natural to blend in the oatcake.

"Wanted it to have that magic ingredient, the whole thing about Stoke, the DNA of Stoke, the oatcake, what is better to use than that? So that is where we started and eventually we arrived at the oatcake tea," he said.

BBC Weather

It's cloudy, dry and dull today with just the chance of a few showers around. High: 7C/45F.

Image source, BBC Weather Watcher Banjo Calling

Things will remain cloudy tonight with a band of rain moving in from the west which could be heavy in places before turning patchy and easing by dawn. Low: 6C/43F.

You can stay up-to-date on your local weather forecast by going to the BBC Weather website.

The Royal Stoke University Hospital will vaccinate almost 1,000 people over five days.

A man has been conned out of thousands of pounds by people posing as police officers, Staffordshire Police has warned.

The 38-year-old from Stoke-on-Trent received a call at 10:00 on Tuesday, during which a man posing as working in the police pensions department informed him that his account had been involved in fraud.

He was told another officer would call back to arrange the transfer of money to a "police account for safekeeping".

He received a further call from a woman claiming to be a PC Michelle Green, using a "spoofed" phone number, asking him to transfer the money.

They told him he could collect a cheque for the amount by attending a police station the next day.

Det Insp Steve Ward, from the force, said: “Neither police nor bank officials will ever ask you to transfer or withdraw money from your account, purchase anything or hand over your personal details or passwords."

Gary Fordham blacked out at the wheel while driving home after visiting family for Christmas.

BBC Weather

It's going to be another chilly day, with temperatures rising to not much higher than 5C (41F).

This afternoon we could see some thick cloud and possibly some light rain.

Image source, Lisa Lacking

A knife was held to the stomach of a shop worker during an attempted armed robbery, police say.

Two members of staff at Carats, on Station Street in Burton-upon-Trent, were closing on Friday when two men entered and held the knife to one of them, Staffordshire Police said.

The two men then smashed the Covid-19 protective screens at the store and demanded the workers open the safe, the force said.

But when the staff could not access it they fled on foot towards High Street, it added.

Image source, Google

Officers are examining CCTV footage but are also appealing for witnesses to help identify the two men.

Jack Donoghue was the victim of an "appalling and senseless" attack during a night out in Solihull.

A boy blackmailing a man over their "relationship" was killed in "violence" he started, a court is told.

A fall in rates of coronavirus has been recorded across the West Midlands apart from in Staffordshire Moorlands.

In the seven days to 3 December Public Health England figures show the rate there has crept up slightly from 198 per 100,000 population to 202.

Image source, PA Media

The biggest week-on-week drop is in North Warwickshire, down from 251 to 118.

Herefordshire, Shropshire and Worcestershire are currently in tier two with the rest of the West Midlands in tier three.

The highest rate in the region is for Stoke-on-Trent at 348 and the lowest is for Stratford-on-Avon - 47 per 100,000 people.