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Live Reporting

Andy Giddings

All times stated are UK

  1. Driver jailed for killing two men in head-on crash

    A driver who killed two men when he crashed a stolen car head-on into another vehicle has been jailed for 12 years.

    Marvin Griffiths

    Marvin Griffiths was in a Jeep chasing another vehicle near Wednesbury on 6 December 2019 when the collision happened, West Midlands Police said.

    The 26-year-old turned from Bull Lane onto the wrong side of the A41 Black Country New Road and hit a black VW Golf head-on.

    The Golf's driver, Palminder Singh Kalkat, and a passenger in the Jeep, William Kai Bristow, 21, died at the scene.

    Griffiths, from Mill Street, Willenhall, pleaded guilty to two counts of causing death by dangerous driving and two of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

    As well as his prison sentence, he was banned from driving for nearly nine years.

    Mr Kalkat's family, in a statement issued through the force, said "his loss has left our family broken".

  2. Around the web: Scale of fraud during pandemic revealed

    Express and Star

    A few of the early headlines from the Express and Star:

  3. Around the web: Hospital 'worked miracles' for grandfather

    Express and Star

    The Express and Star has these headlines this morning:

  4. Human remains discovery investigated

    BBC Midlands Today

    Police are investigating after human remains were discovered near the M6 in the Black Country.

    They were discovered yesterday evening in woodland on Axeltree Way in Wednesbury.

    Police say the remains appear to have been there for some time and are carrying out tests to identify the victim and establish the cause of death.

  5. Brexit: 'Horrendous' paperwork causing export headaches

    BBC Midlands Today

    "Horrendous" paperwork is delaying exports from the West Midlands to Europe, a business owner has said.

    Work at Strut Direct

    New UK-EU trade rules came into operation on 1 January which have seen manufacturers facing more checks and increased costs.

    Some firms have even said they were considering opening satellite offices in the EU to try to ease the flow of goods.

    Steve Richards, from Strut Direct, Wednesbury, Sandwell, said its future supplying the water, gas and rail industries was at stake.

    "We would pick a pallet up and be there in two days - it is three or four weeks now," he said.

    "Same pallet, paperwork is horrendous. You have 10-15 lines on an invoice now you have to fill in just to get something over the water."

  6. Pub and church on 2020 protected list

    BBC News England

    A 19th Century pub and a "tin tabernacle" church are among the sites to have been given extra protection in 2020.

    Historic England has added or upgraded 423 National Heritage List sites.

    The ceramic bar at the Horse and Jockey

    In the West Midlands they include the Grade II listed Horse and Jockey in Wednesbury which was built in 1899.

    It has many original features including a ceramic-fronted bar counter which is one of only 12 known examples in England.

    Church of St Mary and Sunday School, Lyonshall, Herefordshire

    Also added to the list is the Church of St Mary and Sunday School, Lyonshall, Herefordshire.

    The Grade II listed tabernacle church was built in 1860 using a corrugated iron prefabricated design known as a "tin tabernacle" that has become increasingly rare as such churches were only meant to be temporary structures.

    There are only 86 remaining corrugated iron churches - of all denominations - surviving in England, and fewer than 20 of these have been listed.

  7. Your photos: First frost?

    BBC Weather Watchers

    One of our BBC Weather Watchers asked this morning if this was the first frost of the autumn, and for some it possibly was.

    There was certainly a lot of it about, as you can see from these photos taken in Wednesbury, Rushbury and Ashow.

    Wednesbury
    Rushbury
    Ashow
  8. Railway track donation saves Severn Valley Railway £200k

    BBC Radio Shropshire

    Railway tracks from a disused line are going to save a heritage railway £200,000.

    The track being loaded up

    The tracks have been removed as part of the ongoing Midland Metro tram-line extension works from Wednesbury to Brierley Hill.

    Instead of being scrapped, Transport for West Midlands has donated them to the Severn Valley Railway which said they'll be stockpiled for future replacement track work.

    General Manager Helen Smith said: "Every year we try and replace about half a mile worth of track. That costs us in the region of £100,000.

    "This is a mile worth of track so it will save us a lot of money and it just makes such a difference."

  9. Work on new medical centre to start next year

    Local Democracy Reporting Service

    Work on a new medical centre in Wednesbury is expected to start next year and will take around 42 weeks, a report has said.

    It is due to be build on King Street, along with five new council houses, on derelict land owned by Sandwell Council.

    Medical centre

    The new centre will replace the clinic at Woods Mesty Croft and a temporary building at Albert Street.

    The Kingsbury House And Resource Centre, which used to be on the land, was pulled down in 2008.