A Codsall musician who found global acclaim in the jazz world while teaching guitar lessons has died aged 79.

Tributes have poured in for a popular pastor who "put the community at the heart" of all he did.

Crime rates have increased more in the West Midlands than in any other region in the country - with surges in stalking, violence and sexual offences.

A car was left completely gutted after catching fire on the M5 on Friday morning.

Scotland Yard said it has been in contact with Sue Gray’s team to ‘avoid any prejudice to our investigation’.

Sir David Thompson has led the force since 2016.

Boris Johnson’s wait for the findings of an official inquiry into alleged lockdown-busting parties in No 10 and Whitehall rolls into another day.

The number of shuttered shops has fallen for the first time since the start of 2018, figures show.

Churches worldwide faced an unknown crisis when lockdown hit, with congregations unable to meet and support each other as a community.

A sepsis nurse at Wolverhampton's New Cross Hospital has been recognised for her work in digital healthcare with a national award.

A desperate appeal to get nine-year-old Alfie Jennings to the Dance World Cup finals has been launched.

Care home bosses have welcomed the changes to Covid-19 restrictions in England, with unlimited visitors allowed from next week.

Many shoppers in Wolverhampton are planning to keep wearing masks despite Government rules meaning they are no longer mandatory.

A man accused of murdering Kemarni Watson Darby has denied attacking the toddler before his death and told a court he did not class his mother as a threat.

Visitors have been flocking to heritage sites during the pandemic, with a rural 17th century house celebrating its best year yet.

"We think about whether we'd know what to do if our children were suddenly ill, but what happens if a child's home alone with an ill parent?"

The ongoing fight against has been brought into sharp focus through a photographic art exhibition.

She survived wartime Britain and Covid at the age of 99 – and now Vera Carter has celebrated her 100th birthday.

Students at a school in Walsall have decided to give-up meat once a week.

The top secret underground factory at Drakelow escaped the attentions of the Luftwaffe – but that doesn't mean it was spared wartime casualties.

Jonathan Chew was jailed for eight weeks at Westminster Magistrates’ Court

Jonathan Chew approached England’s chief medical officer as he walked through St James’s Park in Westminster.

A14-year-old schoolgirl who was killed when she was hit by a car on New Year's Eve died as a result of head injuries.

The announcement of a Scotland Yard investigation into some of the alleged parties has complicated the process.

Kayley Mahood told the court in a note that she was truly sorry for the death of Oliver O’Toole.

Frontline staff will be required to have had both doses of a coronavirus vaccine by April 1 as a condition of deployment, unless they are exempt.

Bird flu cases have been confirmed at a nature reserve in West Bromwich.

Michael Gove said he was keen to sample Wolverhampton's nightlife as his Government department settles in the Black Country.

A window glazing boss from Oldbury has been convicted of breaching health and safety regulations after his own father fell 15 feet off scaffolding while working for him.

An 18-year-old has been taken into custody after a machete attack on another man outside a primary school in Walsall.

Take-up is likely to have been affected by the level of infections across the country.

Hospitality supporters at Wolves games are set to be contacted by the club about their tickets after a bar at the club was damaged by a huge fire.

The Office for National Statistics said there were 63,136 such incidents recorded in the year to September.

Opposition parties nicknamed the Foreign Secretary ‘Lavish Liz’.

Former Wolves goalkeeper Carl Ikeme is appearing in a charity event at a pub in the Black Country.

A police operation to reduce street racing was declared a success following a number of arrests.

The Prime Minister was pictured leaving Downing Street as the wait continued for the official inquiry into alleged No 10 parties to report.

Asian individuals applying to the Sandwell Conservatives have had their party memberships deliberately declined in an attempt to consolidate power for a small section of the party, a former Tory councillor has claimed.

A Second World War veteran has donated the book about Anne Frank he was presented in the Netherlands to his local library after seeing how interested schoolchildren were in the story.

A new system to combine health and care records for Black Country patients is to be launched in a bid to improve services.

Most appeals challenged teachers’ judgment or the selection of pupils’ work used to determine the result.

A busy bus route that runs between Wolverhampton and Dudley will now be provided by two different providers and operating on a revised timetable.

Plans to build 11 homes on a small area of green space have been withdrawn after objections from the community.

Preparations are well underway for one of the region's biggest and most spectacular charity events – featuring thousands of bikers.

Gambling company Rank has swung to a pre-tax profit after performances at its venues improved.

Fears have been raised that Covid anti-vaxxers could be causing the number of children being jabbed against other diseases to fall.

Female workers at Walsall Council going through the menopause are to be given support to help them through the “taboo” stage in life.

The Spanish-owned lender posted annual pre-tax profits of £157.5m against losses of £204.6m in 2020.

Superstar DJ Fatboy Slim and Brit Award winner Rag'n'Bone Man will be headlining a new four-day music festival being held at Weston Park.

A fire that caused severe damage to a Black Country wood factory is believed to have been started accidentally.

Organisers of a charity football game to fund the funeral of a West Bromwich man are calling for players to come forward.

A woman had to be rescued from the bottom of a cliff in the Black Country.

Halesowen's Cornbow Hall has been put up for sale by council bosses who revealed the town centre venue is losing £100,000 a year.

A decision about a new Aldi in Cannock Chase has been delayed after the retailer raised concerns about a proposed restriction on product sales.

A van driver was injured when he suffered a suspected medical episode at the wheel and crashed into a wall and parked cars.

Drivers faced delays on the M6 on Thursday when four different crashes happened during the morning.

A charity that started life by making scrubs for National Health Service staff has been named as one of six in the region to receive a £1,000 donation.

West Midlands Police have confirmed the 49-year-old woman is not the victim’s mother.

Ambulance bosses have again warned about the "truly dreadful" impact of lengthy hospital handover delays in the region - but praised Walsall Manor Hospital for tackling the issue so well.

ONS data shows that 24% of sites surveyed had either low or no stocks of paracetamol.

BT will take on nearly 70 graduate and apprentice roles in the region this year, bosses say.

The London and Cambridge Properties Group, the national commercial property and investment company that is based in Kingswinford, has kicked off 2022 with its biggest retail acquisition to date, signing a £138 million deal for two UK shopping centre...

A district councillor who recently quit the Conservative party has questioned plans to raise council tax in Lichfield.

An 11-month-old baby and a woman had to be taken to hospital after a car crashed into them on the pavement.

West Midlands Mayor Andy Street has set up a new advisory group of some of the most senior business leaders from across the West Midlands to help aid the region’s economic recovery from the pandemic.

Some shops, including Sainsbury’s, John Lewis, Waitrose and Morrisons, have said they will continue to ask customers to wear face masks.

Rectory Park in Sutton Coldfield has been chosen as a location for one of ten Covid-19 memorial community gardens across the city.

Some West Midlands ambulance staff have raised concerns about unvaccinated colleagues being redeployed to work with them, it has been revealed.

Shoppers will still be asked to wear face coverings in some stores and the requirement will remain in place on London’s public transport network.

Carmakers suffered an ‘incredibly tough’ year, although there are grounds for optimism, says trade body.

The former leading trade unionist died from natural causes earlier in January.

The low-cost airline said Omicron saw its load factor, a measure of how well it fills its planes, slump to 67% in December.

Boris Johnson has repeatedly said he was not involved in the Nowzad rescue.

Complimentary breakfast food and hot drinks from Greggs are among the perks in a new rewards scheme for people who travel to work by train.

She's been described as a true hospice hero, but 11-year-old Emma Macklin isn't stopping there.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has said the UK is not ruling out support for personal sanctions against Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

A Staffordshire police officer who saved the life of a man suffering a heart attack has received a prestigious award.

A teenager who has given up her time to help an NHS hospital trust during the pandemic is urging others to volunteer.

A man who was born in Wolverhampton has been granted the Freedom of the City of London and joins many celebrated holders of the rank, including Stephen Fry and Sir Tim Berners Lee.

A staff champion based at Wolverhampton’s New Cross Hospital has been honoured with a prestigious national award recognising equality and diversity.

A nurse has been described as ‘having a heart of gold’ for raising more than £1,600 for a hospice in Walsall.

A process to clean up contaminated soil from brownfield land could help safeguard greenfield sites in the West Midlands from development, an MP has said.

A Black Country woman is urging people to get their routine smear test done after losing a friend and experiencing her own health scare.

Grants are now available to West Midlands community groups and regional organisations to help them connect people to nature.

A workforce training initiative for technical skills has been launched by five Black Country colleges, with support from local industry bodies.

Kind-hearted supermarket staff and customers are helping to feed needy families across Wolverhampton.

Flags from around the world are flying high in the hall at a primary school.

The children are younger than she expected.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss says the UK and its allies need to show they are united to help deter a Russian incursion.

Little Kemarni Watson Darby was regularly beaten by his mother as she attempted to potty train him, her boyfriend told a court.

Labour's Wolverhampton South East MP Pat McFadden has said Prime Minister Boris Johnson is becoming incapable of running the county because of the 'partygate' scandal.

Plans have been submitted which could see a £1.9m education centre built at Good Hope Hospital.

The figures are the most reliable snapshot of how prevalent coronavirus is across the country.

A six-year-old child drowned after being left unattended in a bath and a three-day-old baby died in the care of its mother in the same year in a Black Country borough.

The number of children dying in the Black Country fell by more than a dozen last year, latest data has revealed.

A family whose belongings were damaged when an “incompatible battery” in a vape exploded and sparked a fire are appealing for help to find temporary accommodation.

A new ambulance station could be built in the Black Country as part of plans to replace ageing buildings.

If Covid tests stay positive, then isolation continues for a full 10 days.

Five staff at a secondary school have raised almost £5,000 for charity after taking on the challenge of running an ultra-marathon.

A further 10 coronavirus deaths from Covid-19 have been confirmed in the region's hospitals, official NHS figures show.