He also starred in the Carry On films and BBC children’s TV series Jackanory.

Accountants Blackthorns are working with the Ladder for The Black Country to offer two new apprenticeship opportunities.

Millions of eyes will be on the Alexander Stadium over the 12 days as it becomes one of the main venues for the Commonwealth Games.

Sir Lenny Henry was beaming with pride as he carried the Queen’s Baton through Birmingham city centre on the eve of the Commonwealth Games.

Motorists are facing delays on the M6 northbound due to a lane closure.

Plans to save a 200-year-old wishing tree at risk of dying have been unveiled.

Shopping centres group Hammerson has swung to a first-half pre-tax profit as footfall recovered to near pre-pandemic levels and costs fell.

An MP has visited a nursery to present them with a letter sent on behalf of the Queen to thank them for their card marking the Platinum Jubilee.

Transport group National Express has reported a strong rebound in its performance after seeing both profits and revenues increase.

Commuters are facing reduced services this morning as services recover following yesterday's strikes.

Customers in a Staffordshire pub were given a surprise after an unusual visitor walked in.

Hot weather might be great for ice cream sellers, but it is little short of disastrous if you are serving up Sunday lunches.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has branded the Commonwealth Games as an opportunity to showcase the "best of Britain" as it gets under way from today.

Liz Truss will make a better Prime Minister for the West Midlands than "disloyal" Rishi Sunak, an MP has claimed.

Plans have been submitted which could see a community centre in the Black Country torn down and replaced with a new modern health facility.

A Wolverhampton Council web designer has had his peculiar creation recognised by the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition.

A "kind and caring" seven-year-old girl from the Black Country has raised more than £800 for a charity which helps homeless people.

A man will make a family trip to Australia in memory of his wife after winning the lottery at the hospice that cared for her.

Diversionary tactics, targeted patrols and crime prevention advice are among the approaches Staffordshire Police is using in a bid to tackle anti-social behaviour (ASB) this summer.

Almost £7,000 has been raised for two charities after an open day was held to celebrate the anniversary of a company.

Strict officials at the Commonwealth Games are threatening legal action to force a harmless series of bar games held in city centre pubs to change its name.

Vegemite, maple syrup, plantain and haggis are just some of the ingredients that make up a range of bizarre burgers by a popular restaurant chain celebrating the flavours of the Commonwealth.

A dazzling drag duo has held a night of fun and dancing in Wolverhampton.

Police in Brierley Hill have arrested two suspects in a string of robberies on the elderly.

A celebration has been held at a community association in the Black Country after they were awarded the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service.

A Wolverhampton teacher died in a 150ft plunge after trying to find a beauty spot pool on Snowdon days before Christmas, an inquest has heard.

The deadline for several voluntary sector contracts being offered by the City of Wolverhampton Council has been extended.

Disgusting scammers are reportedly targeting people who have lost their pets by taking their contact information from online posts and posters.

Stourbridge Junction Railway Station, home of the social media star George the Cat, has had a host of upgrades in and around the station grounds.

A retired Rugeley woman is celebrating after winning £600 on a free lottery website.

A Walsall dad who was wrongly held at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport for two weeks has described his heartbreak after missing his son's 12th birthday.

Ambulance chiefs in the West Midlands have been told that demand is "not the issue" as the service struggles with deteriorating response times.

Railway stations across the West Midlands have fallen extremely quiet as passengers faced fresh travel chaos amid thousands of workers going on strike.

The sale of illegal vapes and e-cigarettes in Staffordshire has led to an increase in seizures by trading standards officers.

A woman has been arrested after she was caught with crack cocaine and heroin in Cannock.

A hospice charity shop has mistakenly sold a unique painting of local celebrity Jasper Carrott - made with his own sweat, hair, blood, and spit - for just £20.

A man who blacked out at the wheel on the A5 and was involved in a serious crash was shocked to learn it was caused by undiscovered meningitis.

Luxury car maker Jaguar Land Rover has reported a pre-tax loss of £524 million for the first three months of its financial year.

Drivers in Staffordshire have been warned of delays when an A38 exit slip road will close for 15 months.

Sunita Banga has been appointed equality and diversity specialist lead midwife for The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust.

People driving on the M6 toll road have been put in "unnecessary danger" after a series of incidents where bricks and objects were dropped off bridges.

A new sustainable and safe route for cyclists and walkers to get to the main Commonwealth Games stadium has officially opened.

While the UK gets very little of its gas directly from Russia, the price paid here is determined by what happens across the Continent.

A Cannock mum has completed a charity trek up Mount Snowdon to help stop the trade of dog and cat meat in Asia.

Residents on a Wolverhampton estate have celebrated after a live-saving defibrillator was installed through funding from a councillor.

Developers looking to convert an empty Walsall building into apartments for vulnerable people have reassured worried neighbours that future residents won’t be drug addicts.

Members of the GMB union could go on strike at Walsall Housing Group after members overwhelmingly voted in favour of industrial action in their campaign over pay.

Hard-up truckers should get 15 pence off fuel duty according to a group of MPs, in a move that could then bring costs down for others.

A former doctors’ surgery in Burntwood could make way for a care and rehabilitation centre for people with learning disabilities and mental health conditions.

A company director from near Bridgnorth and two engineering firms which did not manage asbestos risks to employees have been ordered to pay more than £100,000 for the failings.

The next Chief Constable of West Midlands Police has been named after a rigorous selection process.

A low-cost gym is set to soon open at a Black Country retail park.

A bhangra star who recovered from a coma has died days after leaving hospital.

A West Midlands Ambulance Service control room worker is getting set for her work to be seen by millions of people on Thursday night after helping to make the costumes for the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games.

Automatic payments taken out of people’s benefits should be halted as claimants battle soaring costs, the Work and Pensions Committee said.

MPs have accused the Department of Health and Social Care of failing in its duties to be “transparent” about meetings its ministers had with Randox.

Brick group Ibstock, which has sites in Cannock and Aldridge, saw pre-tax profits grow by 32 per cent in the first half of 2022.

Police are appealing for help to find a 14-year-old boy missing from Walsall.

The cheapest petrol station in Wolverhampton has slashed its prices again as the cost of fuel continues to drop.

Latest official police records have shown that vehicle theft has increased by a third in the last year, as West Midlands Police has urged people to support their Car Crime Campaign.

An actress from the Black Country has been cast in new children’s television programme Phoenix Rise.

A charity caring for a French Bulldog who was used as a 'breeding machine' before being rescued is looking to find her forever home.

It was the straw which broke the camel's back.

A trainee firefighter with West Midlands Fire Service is set to swap her fire helmet for an American Football one, as she prepares to represent Great Britain in the IFAF Women's World Championships.

People are hanging up their tool belts after months of home improvements during the pandemic, according to retailer Wickes.

A man allegedly attacked a conductor and several passengers while on board a tram in West Bromwich on Tuesday afternoon (July 26).

A traumatised holidaymaker to Walsall has vowed never to return after falling into the town centre canal basin.

Midlands Air Ambulance bosses are anticipating a rise in demand with more than one million people expected to descend on the region for a summer of sport.

The Foreign Secretary looked visibly worried and could be heard saying ‘oh my god’, as she walked off the stage.

Sandwell Council will give "a lot of support" to a plan to list The Hawthorns as an asset of community value to prevent a quick sale.

Tamworth Castle Grounds will be the venue for a special event to mark the start of the Commonwealth Games on Thursday.

A man is set to appear in court charged with causing death by careless or inconsiderate driving in Bridgnorth.

Two men have appeared in court charged in connection with a street that left three men seriously injured in Wolverhampton.

The cast of iconic TV series Fame are set to reunite for three special charity concerts in Birmingham.

Automotive metal components group Gestamp saw sales increase by 19.5 per cent in the first half of its financial year to £4.09 billion.

A much-loved teacher has called it a day after teaching at the same school for more than 40 years.

Taxi drivers are threatening to blockade the Aquatics Centre during the Commonwealth Games as part of their year-long dispute with Sandwell Council.

Train strikes could cause chaos for the Commonwealth Games this weekend as West Midlands Railway has announced that no services will run on Saturday.

After being made redundant from a Black Country steelworks, Bill Wood decided to try his luck abroad, working in the oil-rich state of Saudi Arabia.

Black Country Metro passengers can finally travel back in time after a delayed art exhibit on local trams has gone live.

Police are investigating after a man allegedly posed as an Amazon delivery driver to break into a home in Walsall.

A bhangra star who recovered from a coma has died days after leaving hospital.

Commercial property group Bond Wolfe’s first in-room auction in two-and-a half years raised more than £26 million in sales.

Planning permission has been granted to develop an enterprise hub in a historic Tamworth building.

Concerned mums and residents have taken to Facebook to express their “horror” at exposed bones and skulls left in a public right of way by badgers.

Dudley Zoo has welcomed a second baby orangutan within just four weeks – another glimmer of hope for the critically endangered species.

An access solutions manufacturer is recruiting more than 40 employees as part of the opening of its new UK headquarters on the i54 Business Park in Wolverhampton.

A student police officer who allegedly sent "abhorrent" sexual messages to female colleagues and is accused of following a fellow student home would have been dismissed if he had not resigned, a misconduct hearing found today.

A 30-year-old man has been arrested and charged in connection with a mass brawl in Wolverhampton.

An improvement plan is under way for special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) services in Wolverhampton which were heavily criticised by watchdogs.

A councillor will ask chiefs whether they would be open to fans pursuing a move to list The Hawthorns as a community asset of value to prevent a quick sale.

Two more banks in the Black Country will close by the end of the year as the exodus from the high street continue in the region.

West Mercia Police has been awarded an additional £3.76 million to tackle neighbourhood crime, anti-social behaviour and violence against women and girls across the area.

The outgoing Chief Constable of West Midlands Police has blamed youth violence in the region on deprivation, gangs and drugs.

Petrol prices at a Black Country filling station have been slashed by 16p per litre as the cost of fuel continues to go down.

Youngsters from a city athletics club are preparing to play an active part in the Commonwealth Games.

A pensioner's disability-adapted car has been petrol bombed in Walsall.

The Commonwealth Games are set to bring the eyes of the world to the region when they start tomorrow.

Detailed work is underway to give the West Midlands more powers and money from central government.

More chaotic scenes descended upon West Midlands football after trouble broke out at an under 18s match.