More than 1,000 knitted keepsake hearts have been sent to Wolverhampton’s New Cross Hospital to help support families and their loved ones through bereavement.

A woman from Wolverhampton wants an airline to reimburse her after claiming sentimental items went missing from her luggage during a birthday holiday.

Birmingham’s famous King Kong sculpture is coming home this summer to celebrate the city being the host of the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

The leader of a Black Country council says his authority's hands are tied when it comes to providing extra homes on green belt land.

The controversial Black Country Plan has been expanded to include more than 800 extra homes on green belt land.

Opportunities for improving international trade will be discussed in Birmingham when it staged the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

EE customers across the Black Country and Shropshire have been reporting problems getting online and making phone calls.

Mobile phone and internet giant EE says its services are now back to normal after customers struggled for hours to make calls or get online.

A community fun day has been saved thanks to the generosity of a Halesowen businessman.

Only one Black Country council has bid for cash from the Levelling Up Fund since its launch last year.

Black Country councils have been warned they risk missing out on millions of pounds in regeneration cash after failing to submit bids for Government funding.

A 25-year-old accused of attempting to murder a man he overheard arguing with his "baby mother" told a jury he thought the woman was in danger.

Racially and religiously aggravated offences recorded by police hit a fresh high in 2021, sparked by reaction to England’s defeat in the Euros.

A police officer whose investigation led to a West Bromwich Albion fan being jailed for racially abusing his own team’s player, says it is crucial people stand up and report racism.

Union members were today due to stand together once again as the second day of the nationwide rail strike got under way.

West End star Aimée Fisher is going to be fulfilling a dream by performing in hit musical comedy Waitress the Musical at Wolverhampton Grand Theatre - where she first performed as a child.

A Black Country man has released a cover of a song for charity and raised almost £3,000 as part of a promise to his late mother.

The Ladder for the Black Country apprenticeships programme is attending the Inspiring the Black Country Career and Skills Event.

“Knowing how to safely get out of your home in the case of a fire can be the difference between life and death” is the stark message from Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service’s Phil Mulligan.

Don't put Shaun the Sheep in the wrong bin is the light-hearted messages from charity volunteers as part of a campaign to reduce household waste.

The rise in hate crime is alarming. The West Midlands has shown the biggest rise in cases, with Staffordshire and West Mercia not far behind. The fact it is being linked to a football match is shocking.

The UK Health Security Agency is investigating the extent of community transmission.

Plans to open an upmarket cocktail bar in Walsall have been scuppered amid fears it would add to the booze-fuelled violence in the town centre.

Stourbridge MP Suzanne Webb visited Halesowen's Yemeni Community Centre and praised the community work being done there.

Plumes of smoke could be seen rising into the sky after a blaze at an industrial estate in Cradley Heath where gas cannisters exploded.

A medical emergency on a tram has caused West Midlands Metro to withdraw a unit from its service.

The average price is of diesel is reaching the unwanted milestone of £2 a litre.

Climate change "is back on the agenda" in Dudley borough after a protest outside the council house was backed by councillors.

A drug-dealing Tipton rapper has been found guilty of murdering a teenager who was shot in a taxi in Tividale.

Stand-up superstar Jon Richardson has described a Stourbridge comedy club as “a special place” after performing two intimate sold-out shows there over the weekend.

Ten years ago, the Express & Star embarked on a Black Country Census.

More than 200 people braved torrential rain to watch a Tipton civil engineering company create a pedestrian crossing in an afternoon.

The new policy will initially apply to more than a thousand unaccompanied minors who have already applied under the scheme.

BBC sports presenters have spoken of their excitement ahead of the Commonwealth Games as the corporation prepares to take over the host city.

A 50-year-old West Bromwich man has been jailed for two-and-a-half years for indecently touching a girl aged under 13.

Admiral Sir Tony Radakin said it would also take ‘five to 10 years’ before the UK could deploy the division it wanted to.

A magical last-minute change in the weather turned the St Giles Hospice Enchanted Solstice Walk into a special night to remember for hundreds of fairies, elves and wizards.

Updated designs for the HS2 high speed rail project at Streethay, near Lichfield, will result in 80 per cent less concrete, cutting carbon emissions on the project, it has been announced.

Services started later than normal today as trains were delayed leaving depots due to the industrial action.

A Wolverhampton student has won a prestigious national competition for her report on surrogate births inspired by her aunt's journey.

The British Horse Society is urging drivers to humanise horse riders after it released new statistics revealing that a total of 201 incidents and one horse fatality in the West Midlands were reported to the charity last year.

The National Education Union (NEU) said it will consult its members in the autumn.

Property values were 12.4% higher in April than a year earlier, although experts have pointed to a more recent softening in the market.

The hastily organised exercise in Estonia, a Nato ally, was executed as an act of “strategic solidarity” amid Russia’s war in Ukraine.

A former West Mercia Police officer has pleaded not guilty to sexually assaulting two women while on duty.

The boss of Resorts World Arena says he would be honoured to host the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest – and has cleared the schedule to make sure it is ready.

A new Taco Bell restaurant will open in Stafford later this month with free tacos for the first 100 customers.

Thunderstorms and torrential downpours are forecast to hit the West Midlands on Thursday after the Met Office issued a 14-hour weather warning.

Energy prices were already high going into May, while food prices rocketed during the month, pushing up inflation.

The rate of inflation has soared in recent months,.

Residents in Wolverhampton were awoken by a loud fire alarm ringing around the city originating from the Molineux stadium - a few months after a fire broke out at Wolves's home ground.

More information is to be made available to residents and businesses in Wolverhampton about how a major sporting event will affect them.

A man has died after suffering a medical emergency in a street in Bilston.

A singer-songwriter, beauty queen, mother and former cancer sufferer has written a charity song to help raise funds for a cancer charity.

A former alcoholic and drug addict has completed an epic challenge of running 70 triathlons for charity - adding up to a staggering 4,921 miles.

A motorist has been given a six-month prison sentence after lying about not being the driver of a car caught speeding.

Reporters Without Borders carried out an investigation into the deaths of photojournalist Maks Levin and a serviceman who accompanied him.

The last remaining plot of land in a prime Jewellery Square location in Birmingham has been sold to one of the country's leading small and medium-sized property developers.

The PA news agency answers 10 key questions about what passengers should expect.

The family of a teenager who died after being stabbed have launched a foundation in his memory aimed to fund emergency bleed control kits to help tackle knife injuries.

Private landlords across the West Midlands are facing up to dramatic changes in the way they operate.

Wolverhampton will get its share of glitter and sequins on Sunday when Strictly Come Dancing's new theatre show arrives in town.

The 'fascinating' history behind a stately home on the border of Shropshire and Staffordshire has been captured in a new book.

An exhibition which documents the journey of migrants to the UK will be launched at the University of Wolverhampton.

A new ‘Visit Royal Sutton Coldfield’ brand has been launched by local business leaders, with the ambition to encourage more people to choose the Royal town’s centre as a destination to work, study, shop and enjoy.

A cricket team has been kitted out ready to hit the opposition for six at a tournament thanks to donations.

The acclaimed Birmingham Indian Film Festival is returning this week and has announced its festival programme - and all films will be shown with English subtitles.

The demolition of an historic former primary school in Wolverhampton has begun, with a modern technology academy due to be built in its place.

Eerie photographs show how a historic building which was once crucial to Walsall’s night-life scene has fallen into a poor state.

Firefighters tackled a blaze at a residential property in Burntwood.

A Kidderminster motorist has been given a six month prison sentence after being found guilty of Perverting the Course of Justice.

A man has been arrested in connection with a series of drain cover thefts in Staffordshire.

The home of pies in Sandwell has been taking to social media to entice world champion boxer Tyson Fury to partake of the pie named after him.

The Prime Minister told Cabinet any concessions to Russian president Vladimir Putin would be a ‘disaster’.

Shropshire born and bred Alex Freudmann will be joining retail giant M&S as managing director of food.

A Cannock man has been jailed for six months for begging and carrying an offensive weapon.

The family of a former company director who died from an overdose of prescribed painkillers is suing the hospital where she was treated.

Neglected wasteland which has become a magnet for drugs and fly-tipping in Walsall will be transformed into a new housing development after plans were approved.

Former Wolves defender Roger Johnson has lost a High Court damages claim against an experienced knee specialist over an alleged “surgical error”.

A ‘disgraceful’ proposal to transform a disused old Walsall library into new homes has been thrown out by planners.

The Prime Minister stressed the need for ‘fiscal discipline’ to avoid further stoking rising costs.

One of the packaging sector’s fastest growing companies is targeting further expansion after making two high-profile appointments.

A man has been arrested on suspicion of drugs offences after his vehicle was stopped in Lichfield.

A small quantity of cannabis plants have been found at a property in Walsall.

Train services in the Black Country and Staffordshire have been decimated as the first day of the biggest rail strike in 30 years gets under way.

A former West Mercia Police officer is to appear in court charged with sexual assault by touching.

The man leading the inquiry into the jailed postmasters scandal says gagging agreements with the Post Office will not be enforced.

The roads are expected to be a lot busier this week as a result of the biggest rail strike in 30 years, and motorists are set to be faced with fresh roadworks too.

The cost of living crisis is coming at all of us "like a speeding train from which we have no obvious means of escape" a supermarket boss has warned.

A shop in Wolverhampton caught repeatedly selling alcohol to under 18s is to have its licence reviewed by council bosses.

A stage used for outdoor concerts in a park near Wolverhampton has been torched by vandals – just days after it was refurbished especially for a large community fun day planned for this weekend.

A fire at a previously used care home in Walsall was started deliberately, West Midlands Fire Service has announced.

A bar in Wednesbury continued to serve drinks over the same bar where a bleeding man was slumped having just been seriously stabbed, it was claimed at a licensing hearing.

There were cancellations, delays and disruption for passengers on one of the busiest railway lines in the country as rail staff began a strike.

More than 30 firefighters successfully extinguished a "severe blaze" at an old residential care home in Pleck, Walsall.

People can have a say on refurbishment plans for a mental health hospital for older adults in West Bromwich.

A bitter blame game continued today as Britain’s rail network was thrown into chaos by strike action.

An MP is calling on the Government to get to grips with backlogs after it emerged that barely half of constituencies have an active court in operation.

Swimming pools in Staffordshire and the surrounding areas could struggle amid a reported shortage of chlorine.

Two men were injured in a crash on the M54 this morning which closed both lanes of the carriageway.