Sales of new cars fell by 39.5 per cent last month compared with January 2020, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.

A call has been made by Stafford's council leader for clarity on whether local elections will take place in May.

One of Wolverhampton’s most recognisable office buildings is to be turned into 95 new luxury apartments under plans put to the city council.

Water company Severn Trent says that new proposals to improve the environment including tackling flooding will create new jobs in the West Midlands.

A virtual bereavement information service in the Black Country to help men deal with loss and grief will be launched later this month.

An imitation firearm was seized from the scene of a house fire where a man died, police say.

Staffordshire Police is the latest force to sign off on plans to raise council tax this year.

A man who allegedly drove an associate from Birmingham to Shropshire using cloned registration plates has denied knowing that his passenger would go on to viciously beat his heavily pregnant ex-partner with a hammer.

The collapse of a five-month-old girl was not caused as a result of pneumonia according to an expert, a trial heard.

City Rotarians have donated £5,000 to local charities to help people in need during the pandemic.

Midland health leaders say they are pleased to have contributed to the development of a new coronavirus vaccine which has been shown to be 89 per cent effective.

An IT worker living in Walsall tested positive for the South African strain of Covid after taking part in a vaccine trial.

Building work has completed on the £46.5 million School of Engineering at the University of Birmingham.

A council chief has hit out at “mindless” vandals who damaged trees in a Halesowen park.

A caring member of staff at a Black Country care home is helping residents to keep boredom at bay during lockdown.

Residents are being encouraged to explore the wonders of the universe from their own gardens during the lockdown.

A sponsored silence by two school friends aims to help people suffering with rare chromosome or genetic disorders.

A chocolate-mad youngster ditched the sweet stuff to raise cash for charity.

A salon is aiming to be a cut above the rest after being shortlisted for four awards in a national competition.

A man who launched his own football channel on YouTube during the first Covid lockdown says it has helped him maintain good mental health.

A shooting victim feared he would die after being blasted by a shotgun at a barber shop, a trial heard.

A man accused of murder after shooting two men with a crossbow outside a cannabis factory in Brierley Hill tried to pull a bolt from his wounded uncle’s abdomen, the trial has heard.

A biker has been jailed after a reckless rampage through residential streets which was captured on camera.

The new South African variant of Covid has been discovered in parts of south Birmingham, the city council said today.

Smiles and laughter are not what you would normally expect at a medical clinic – but that is what volunteers at a Covid-19 vaccination centre in Stafford are seeing as they help residents get protected against the virus.

A new haulage yard could be created on vacant Darlaston land, creating new jobs in the process.

An initiative to transport NHS staff to Walsall Manor Hospital free of charge has seen almost 10,000 trips completed since it began.

A burnt out car discovered on a canal towpath in the Black Country has caused environmental damage to the waterway.

A Black country hotel where legends of the entertainment world, including Laurel and Hardy, Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, George Formby and Tommy Cooper have stayed, has ceased trading after being sold.

Police chiefs have vowed to continue to crackdown on lockdown breakers after crime fell across the region.

Controversial plans for 600 new homes on greenbelt land in Wolverhampton have provoked opposition from thousands of residents.

News that a floor of a once- thriving Walsall shopping centre is to close provoked sadness and fond recollections of its glory days.

Fears have been raised that a council may have left it too late to protect a Willenhall park from more illegal traveller incursions.

Covid case rates in Walsall have fallen in the last week as testing of thousands of residents is stepped up following the detection of a South African variant.

Military personnel and medical students could be stepping in to work on hospital wards after staff sickness jumped fourfold in three weeks, it has been revealed.

A moving commemoration was held to honour the lives and memories of all those have died as the result of genocide.

A further 50 coronavirus patients have died in hospitals in the Black Country, Birmingham and Staffordshire.

The relief of getting a Covid-19 vaccination has moved some residents to tears according to a volunteer helping with the mass roll-out.

Hundreds of people have backed calls for a halt to construction projects near Stafford’s major waterways following the latest bout of flooding.

Community leaders are demanding police action as their town continues to be plagued by "alarming" levels of crime and anti-social behaviour.

Two women had to be rescued from flooded marshes in Stafford by firefighters after they became stranded when out walking.

There is still concern that new variants of coronavirus – which reduce the effectiveness of vaccines – could slow things down.

Two teenage boys charged with murder after 15-year-old Keon Lincoln was killed in a daylight street attack in Birmingham have been remanded in custody until next month.

A total of 92,000 new green jobs could be created in the region as part of efforts to become carbon neutral by 2041.

The number of pupils being taught on-site in England has risen, according to government data.

Council chiefs believe the number of homeless families forced to live in B&Bs in Sandwell will be zero by April.

The latest coronavirus testing centre in Wolverhampton will open next week following a trial run being held today.

A jealous man savagely beat his pregnant ex-partner with a hammer after invading her home, a court heard.

An accountant pointed a crossbow at a large group of “raiders” to protect his family, a murder trial heard.

A frontline intensive care consultant has spoken out to dispel the fake news about Covid.

Theresa May's quip about the 'magic money tree' was one of the very few memorable quotes from the former prime minister's ill-fated 2017 General Election campaign.

Tributes have been paid across the Black Country and Staffordshire after Captain Sir Tom Moore had died in hospital at the age of 100 after contracting coronavirus.

Police were called to a pub in Stafford after several bones were found inside.

Amateur photographers are being urged to put a national nature reserve in the frame for next year’s calendars.

A new Covid vaccination centre is being set up in the former TJ Hughes store in Walsall's Saddlers shopping centre.

A dead patient was left on a ward for hours and another died after a fall at a hospital which has suffered staffing issues during the Covid-19 pandemic.

A shooting victim has told a jury of the moment he was fired at while visiting a barber's in Walsall.

Fears have been raised about the effectiveness of vaccines against the South African variant of coronavirus which has been revealed to have been in the Black Country for more than six weeks.

Covid infection rates are falling sharply across the West Midlands – but dangers remain, experts warn today.

See the latest figures for coronavirus cases and deaths in your area.

Explaining what city status would mean to the people of Wolverhampton, a council spokesman put it quite succinctly.

But scheme has been criticised as 'helping out the virus'.

A campaign is being waged to halt speeding motorists through the installation of cameras along a road plagued by rogue drivers.

Disruption pupils have faced must be taken into account, says vice chancellor.

A charity is encouraging people to share the love in the run up to Valentine’s Day as part of a new campaign.

A war veteran who survived the bloody Battle of Monte Cassino will be celebrating his 100th birthday tomorrow.

Online shoppers are being asked to support a palliative care charity through its online shop.

The company leading the delivery of HS2 has launched a new jobs website to promote an estimated 20,000 roles it says phase one will create in the years ahead.

Old photographs of landmarks in Shropshire have been revealed from a pre-war album.

Tributes have been paid to a father-of-four who was shot outside his Dudley home and died in hospital on his birthday.

A second Covid community vaccination site has opened in Staffordshire.

Villa Park is set to become the latest coronavirus vaccination centre, it has been announced.

A further 69 coronavirus patients have died in hospitals in the Black Country, Birmingham and Staffordshire.

Black Country marathon runner Blind Dave Heeley OBE is urging people to take Covid-19 seriously and get vaccinated – after revealing his own battle with the virus.

Two men have been arrested on suspicion of theft in Ludlow.

Urgent testing is now underway for the 10,300 residents in the WS2 area of Walsall after a case of the more contagious Covid-19 variant first discovered in South Africa was confirmed.

A man has been convicted of killing a new father in a West Midlands attack more than four years ago – after police tracked down the killer to a flat in Norway.

A man has been charged over two burglaries at a business in Stone.

For years, he's devoted his life to saving others. But now a stalwart volunteer with West Mercia Search and Rescue is fighting for his own life after being struck with coronavirus.

An appeal has been launched to give a golf-mad teenager "a space of his own” after he spent most of the past year isolating due to a serious illness.

A man accused of a double murder has admitted firing a crossbow twice during a brawl at a cannabis farm but said he did not intend to kill anyone.

The £30 million revamp of Birchley Island will see the roundabout to becoming a "gateway to the Black Country rather than an obstacle", it has been claimed.

A new report warning of the devastating impact of missed schooling due to lockdown must serve as "a wake up call" to ministers, a Black Country MP has said.

Community leaders have been urged to help curb the inevitable spread of the new strain of Covid-19 to other parts of the West Midlands.

This is the moment a police officer ran into a burning building to rescue families, captured on dramatic body-worn video.

A parcel delivery business, which has its UK headquarters in Cannock, is continuing West Midlands recruitment in 2021 with 70 jobs immediately available.

A man was shot in the stomach in a Walsall barber shop after a dispute relating to money owed over a car, a trial heard.