Wolverhampton is gearing up to celebrate its annual Diwali gathering – the festival of lights – which will be held at the city's Phoenix Park later this month.

Plans to redevelop Stafford Fire Station have been halted.

A Black Country council has made free call blockers available to all residents to help protect them from phone scams.

The Tory Party Conference begins in Birmingham today amid a major cost of living crisis and in the wake of a mini budget that was not well received.

The life and stories of a Wolves legend will be told again by one of the people who knew him best.

Thousands of motorcyclists made an annual pilgrimage to a place of peace to remember those who no longer ride with them.

The memory of a much-loved woman was honoured with a day of fundraising and fun.

Two Black Country fire crews attended a nasty-looking collision in the early hours of this morning.

Over the course of 12 months before it was shut down by council chiefs, West Midlands Police responded to 26 serious crime incidents in and around the Seven Bar in Wednesbury.

A few years ago Chris Birse, 35, was writing a fantasy novel and needed a fictional map drawn, but rather than "paying someone to do it" he gave it a go himself.

The first official signee to a football club's record label has described it as being as good as becoming a player.

Lizzie Devine, from Tamworth, said her son Lewis has noticed she is ‘struggling’ as mortgage costs continue to rise.

A Black Country pub which has been the scene of stabbings, violent assaults, robbery and attempted murder has applied for a licence to reopen.

Thousands of people have made their voices heard ahead of the Conservative party conference in the region.

The chairman and operations leads of the Young Conservative Network has apologised for derogatory comments made on social media about Birmingham.

An appeal for information has gone out from police after a man was robbed at gunpoint outside a Sandwell pub.

These are the faces of the three men linked to multiple car thefts in the region - mugshots taken shortly after they were arrested at a McDonald's Drive-Thru.

A planned weekend of closures for works on a major section of motorway in the region has been cancelled.

A West Midlands Police force has joined an appeal for help in finding a missing teenager.

Stolen items and a nasty-looking weapon were found following an arrest of two burglary suspects.

Strike action taking place today will impact the Black Country in a major way, with operators like West Midlands Railway and Avanti West Coast affected.

Police forces from across the region have arrested five people for alleged cases of fraud and money laundering.

Nicholas Wilson is struggling to afford his mortgage payments, which have almost doubled since February.

Aldi has opened a new eco concept store with features that could be rolled out to branches across the country.

A man has admitted sending ‘graphic messages’ to a police decoy posing as a 12-year-old girl.

This is the moment a gang of car thieves who bragged about stealing eight cars in one night were caught by police at a McDonald's drive-thru.

More than 100 extra apartments will be built under new plans for Wolverhampton's historic Beatties development in the city centre, if backed.

If you like watching the skies, October will be a big month with plenty of opportunities to dust off the binoculars and telescopes - there are planets, meteor showers, a partial eclipse and a Hunter's Moon in the schedule for stargazers.

A Walsall doctor has swapped the pressure of the emergency department for a TV assault course, appearing on Ninja Warrior UK.

October 1 marks the beginning of Black History Month.

Toby Neal casts his eye on the world of politics.

West Midlands Police has revealed details of the massive security operation that is in place for the Conservative Party conference.

West Mercia's police and crime commissioner has pledged to strengthen links between the community and officers after a policewoman was found not guilty of attacking football star Dalian Atkinson before his death in Telford.

Andy Street will call on the Government to continue to back the West Midlands in a keynote speech at the Conservative Party conference.

A few years ago Nigel Brett took his cousin, war veteran Roy Garratt, to Manchester's Imperial War Museum North where they saw pictures of the D-Day landings.

The 12-year-old was one of five victims of Ian Brady and Myra Hindley.

A popular and selfless NHS worker at Walsall Manor Hospital has died, following a short illness.

Wolverhampton has almost 25,000 'fuel poor' properties, where people are struggling to heat their homes.

A care service based in West Bromwich has been heavily criticised by a watchdog in a damning report disputed by the company, it has been revealed.

The party said a new levy on the richest 1% could help fund a nationwide insulation and renewable energy programme.

Half the public now believe Sir Keir will lead Labour into government, according to the latest Ipsos poll.

A family are sick of the 'vile smell' left by sewage flooding into their garden every time it rains.

A man has admitted to breaching a court order preventing him from approaching a neighbouring property.

A pop-up vaccination clinic in a Wolverhampton shopping centre is seeing an "amazing" response to the autumn booster campaign.

Louis McKechnie, 21, denied aggravated trespass and going onto the playing area at the game at Everton’s Goodison Park stadium but was found guilty.

A Black Country borough has become the first in the region to secure funding for an innovative carbon busting project.

A union representative has warned that if senior managers don't get back to the table then the dispute could rumble on throughout Christmas.

The oldest church in Wolverhampton is set to show off its pipes after almost two extra years of remaining silent.

More than 1,000 children have taken part in a day full of workshops, demonstrations and activities at RAF Cosford.

Wolverhampton residents have been calling their councillors late at night because they are unable to contact West Midlands Police to report crimes, a meeting heard.

Ninety-one per cent of people polled by the Office for National Statistics said their costs had increased in the last year.

A city theatre has benefitted from the generosity of people attending a gala evening for the world premiere of a Peaky Blinders-themed dance.

Billionaire Phones 4u founder John Caudwell's autobiography is released on October 7.

An appeal has been launched to help find a man wanted on recall to prison.

The inquest heard apologies from Meta and Pinterest about the content Molly viewed online.

Union leader warns that further walkouts are ‘inevitable’ unless the deadlocked dispute over jobs, pay and conditions is resolved soon.

Network Rail said only around 11% of services will operate on Saturday, and there will be no trains in many areas.

The unusual meeting between Liz Truss, Kwasi Kwarteng and the OBR came amid market turmoil following last week’s mini-budget.

The meeting with OBR chair Richard Hughes will be seen as the latest effort by the Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng to reassure markets and voters.

Another set of 24 food hygiene ratings have been handed out to businesses selling food in the Black Country and Staffordshire.

There were cheers from West Midlands politicians as the University of Wolverhampton opened its state-of-the-art National Brownfield Institute.

Wolverhampton’s historic Central Library will undergo a series of alterations in order to accommodate the new City Learning Quarter (CLQ), currently under development.

Shocked parents have leapt to the defence of a Walsall special school after it was awarded the lowest possible ranking by inspectors.

A Victorian church that has stood in Hednesford for more than a century is set to be pulled down to make way for new housing.

The leader of Wolverhampton Council today pledged the Civic halls’ refurbishment will not cost residents “a penny” – and hopes it will open by the end of the year.

Refurbishment of the Civic Halls will cost almost five times its original estimate after the cost rose to £48 million.

A Black Country culinary institution will be serving its last curry on Sunday after delighting Tipton taste buds for the last 38 years.

Walsall Police have put out an urgent appeal for a man from Brownhills, who is still missing after leaving his house seven days ago.

A new coffee shop which has replaced the popular Dukes in Wolverhampton is hoping to stir up the same support in the community.

Members of the CWU will take another 19 days of strike action in the coming weeks in the worsening dispute.

A derelict town hall garden area has undergone a major revamp after people's unwanted goods were recycled as part of a volunteer project.

Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi has been presented with a new picture of his band's "heavy metal bench" in Birmingham.

A family of Ukrainian refugees from north Shropshire have explored the countryside in style, travelling through Staffordshire on a narrowboat.

Partnership working has been identified as key to breaking the cycle of crime for youngsters as young as 10 who have been terrorising Walsall estates.

A chainmaker who has helped keep tradition alive at the Black Country Living Museum for 30 years is finally hanging up his hammer to take an early retirement.

A brand new food bank is being launched at Smethwick Library this week.