Sutton Coldfield's cinema has yet to reopen after the easing of restrictions - but Empire insist the delay is temporary.

All West Midlands Metro trams have been halted and removed from service until further notice after a fault was identified.

Wolves, West Bromwich Albion and other professional or semi-professional football clubs in the region are being invited by the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) to help young people kick off their careers.

Work to demolish a dilapidated brick road bridge spanning the Metro track has been completed.

Controversial plans to redraw the country's political map "run against" the Government's levelling up agenda, a Black Country MP has said.

New owners of a village pub near Stafford have described themselves as "flabbergasted" after being told by a council to remove two temporary signs or face a £5,000 fine.

Construction specialist Peter McHugh reflects on the power station's history, and looks forward to its future

Businessman Myles Holder has had his long ponytail cut off for charity and hopes to continue raising mental health awareness by holding a 'Ladies Night' and a trek to Snowdonia.

A popular city centre venue that has hosted bands including Arctic Monkeys and Coldplay is set to go under the hammer next month.

The owner of Vinyl & Vintage in Wolverhampton is hoping that collectors will be turning out for Record Store Day on Saturday for pressings they might otherwise have difficulty buying.

A town council has thrown its support behind a movement to stop a controversial proposal to build a nursing home at a town centre car park.

A packaging group with a major site in the Black Country has committed to reach net zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050.

A Black Country florist has spoken of his joy having been chosen to take part in a national competition.

A healthcare assistant working on a Covid ward has been convicted of using a dead patient’s bank card to buy crisps, sweets and fizzy drinks from a hospital machine.

Residents in Dudley have been enjoying hundreds of cycle rides per week since a new cycle hire scheme launched in the borough.

Officers from Staffordshire Police tasked with monitoring the activities of Khan were not not sufficiently trained to manage this level of risk, an investigation found.

Planned strikes to be held at electric wheelchair maker Sunrise Medical in Brierley Hill have been postponed to allow for fresh pay talks to take place.

Police discovered 30 cannabis plants inside a house where firefighters rescued 15 dogs and 11 cats from a severe fire.

Nearly 200 people at the barracks in Folkestone, Kent, contracted Covid-19 during a major outbreak earlier this year.

North-west England saw the largest rise, with 149.6 cases per 100,000 people in the seven days to June 6, up week-on-week from 89.4.

Matt Hancock said this was according to an assessment he had seen on Wednesday evening.

A motorcycle was deliberately set on fire in Stafford.

A woman has been left seriously injured after a car overturned in Birmingham.

The Health Secretary said he told the NHS in January 2020 to ‘plan on the basis of a reasonable worst-case scenario’ of 820,000 deaths.

The former prime minister hit out at the regulations on international travel and called on the Government to be ‘upfront’ about the future.

Since the vaccine programme began on December 8 2020 up to June 6 83.7% of eligible staff had been given a first jab, the figures show.

Stratford-on-Avon and Warwick are the areas with the highest proportion of people likely to have received both jabs.

About a third of people aged 40 to 49 have also received both doses.

Stafford terrorist Usman Khan was lawfully killed on London Bridge by armed police after stabbing two Cambridge university graduates while wearing a fake suicide belt, an inquest jury has concluded.

A man has been charged with murder after an insurance company worker was fatally stabbed on Tuesday.

Jack Merritt and Saskia Jones were killed in the incident in November 2019.

Usman Khan was described as “having a chip on his shoulder” by a former teacher.

The number of coronavirus patients at a Dudley's Russells Hall Hospital remains in low single figures despite concerns over a possible third wave of cases.

Volunteers in Albrighton have been working hard to keep a green space tidy for people and the resident wildlife over the past year, ready for an open event later this summer.

Aston Villa, Wolves, West Bromwich Albion, Birmingham City and other professional or semi-professional football clubs are being invited by the West Midlands Combined Authority to help young people kick off their careers.

Two men were shot dead in a vehicle in Dudley by a man who allegedly owed them £200,000, a murder trial jury has been told.

A spooky sight was visible across the West Midlands as the moon passed between our Earth and the sun.

Pc Benjamin Monk is alleged to have murdered the ex-Aston Villa striker in 2016.

A Cookley woman who has worked tirelessly for many years for a village charity in Uganda has won a prestigious Rotary award.

No further coronavirus deaths have been confirmed at hospital trusts in the Black Country, Staffordshire and Birmingham in the latest figures.

Gin making lessons and Georgian dinners are on the agenda at an historic mansion in rural Staffordshire now owned by TV star Charles Hanson.

An outgoing NHS trust boss who fought to save the region's new super hospital has said the £660 million facility "will be brilliant".

Three tonnes of rubbish caught fire at an industrial unit in Wednesbury.

West Midlands Police has launched a survey to better understand how people feel about women's safety.

The UK is currently holding around 12.6 billion items of PPE, such as masks, gloves and aprons, a top civil servant said.

Figures show 5.12 million people were waiting to start hospital treatment at the end of April – the highest number since records began in August 2007.

Since April 9, everyone in England has been eligible for rapid Covid-19 tests twice a week.

The vaccination rate for people identifying as white British is 93%.

The Health Secretary made the comments as he was grilled by MPs investigating the handling of the pandemic.

Two teenagers who were arrested after a family was racially abused and threatened in a park have been released pending further investigations.

More than 100,000 residents in Wolverhampton now have maximum protection against Covid-19 after receiving both doses of the vaccine.

A new pop-up coronavirus rapid testing site is now available at New Cross Hospital, joining the mobile testing unit that is also currently there.

During lockdown, the town of Eccleshall lost much of the spirit and atmosphere it had been known for, as Covid-19 guidelines forced many of its establishments to temporarily close their doors.

A motorcyclist was seriously injured in a crash with a car in Dudley.

Sandwell Council has performed a U-turn on plans to develop a Wednesbury park for housing after a backlash from residents.

A Black Country apprentice engineer has received a regional award for his work.

It was love at first sight when Margaret and Trevor Clinton first met in a bar bar in Wolverhampton city centre and today they are celebrating their diamond wedding anniversary with a meal out with close family members.

Police are investigating reports of a drive-by shooting in the Black Country.

Hospital chiefs in Sandwell and West Birmingham who fear the area could be “one of the hardest hit” by a third wave of Covid-19 have developed a “surge plan” to protect services.

A 15-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of car theft after a stolen car crashed in the Black Country.

An initiative that provides potential victims of sexual violence with a secret phrase to ask for help in public places has been renewed in Wolverhampton.

Birmingham is hosting the UK's next phase of 'driverless' vehicle trials on public roads.

A girl was taken to hospital after she was hit by a car in Wolverhampton.

West Midlands Mayor Andy Street claimed more than £31,000 in expenses for his first term in office – with taxi and train costs coming top.

Councillors are fighting to prevent a ‘monster mast’ being built in Sutton.

A man has died after being stabbed in the neck in a Black Country town centre.

A respected educator who first taught in Sutton more than 20 years ago is set to leave to take up an exciting new role – but he says he’ll miss working in a place that’s ‘lucky to have an incredible choice of secondary schools’.

Two students who coordinated their own food donation scheme and promoted it to support the Smethwick Foodbank have been recognised with the West Midlands Lieutenancy Young Active Citizen Award.

Two brothers are facing eviction from their childhood home following the death of their father – with a petition calling for them to stay hitting 15,000 signatures.

A Staffordshire wildlife centre has welcomed a new feathered arrival to its growing family.

Greeting cards chain Card Factory made a pre-tax loss for the year to the end of January as it was hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.

Youngsters have discovered beetles, ladybirds, butterflies and slugs as part of a study of a churchyard.

A free eye test saved a Kingswinford man’s life after doctors repeatedly failed to diagnose his brain tumour.

Wolves fans have thrown their support behind new boss Bruno Lage and told of their hopes of seeing more attacking football when they return to Molineux.

Gavin Williamson MP has joined opposition to a scheme to build a holiday complex on green belt land on the Black Country-South Staffordshire border.

Hospital bosses insist improvements have been made after an investigation revealed a series of failings on a ward where patients died after contracting Covid.

The Ladder for the Black Country is getting behind the casting and foundry industry.

A vaccination bus has been rolled out in city areas with low vaccination uptakes.

An impromptu auction raised thousands for charity after a community rallied round to show support for a young farmer with cancer.

Two brothers are facing being evicted from their childhood home following the death of their father - with a petition calling for them to stay gaining 15,000 signatures.

Three young men have been found guilty of killing a 21-year-old who was stabbed with a sword outside a Black Country bar.

This is the moment a 21-year-old man was fatally stabbed outside a Black Country bar.

The prosecution has started its opening speech in the trial of Benjamin Monk, who denies murdering Dalian Atkinson.

Police are appealing for information after a mini digger was stolen from a construction site in Staffordshire.

Decision on easing lockdown restrictions is finely balanced.

Many of the bullet wounds were superficial, with just three critical organs being hit, the jury was told.

The boss of an NHS trust has quit his role after spending nearly a year on leave due to ill health.

The heartbroken parents of a young man stabbed to death in the Black Country have questioned why their son's killer was allowed out on bail after twice being caught with a knife.

Workers at an insurance company have been left "shocked and traumatised" after a colleague was stabbed in the neck in the Black Country.

A £3 million plan by Sutton Coldfield Sea Cadets to build a new Land Ship facility have been labelled ‘truly inspirational’ by councillors.

A Staffordshire teenager who drove at more than 150mph on the M6 and went through a red light in a residential area at over 100mph in a bid to evade police has been jailed.

Twenty firefighters were helped by a drone as they battled a major blaze at a recycling centre in the Black Country.

Budding cooks at Hill West Primary School are preparing for a Junior Bake Off-style fundraising competition.

A further coronavirus death has been confirmed at a hospital trust in the region.

Police are appealing for help in tracing three women who helped a teenage girl on a canal towpath in Kidderminster.

Police are appealing for help in tracing a Kidderminster man wanted on suspicion of aggravated assault.

The Richard Salt Unit (RSU) entrance at Sutton Coldfield's Good Hope Hospital has a brand new look inside and out following extensive refurbishment works, including a £430,000 boost from an anonymous donor.

The Labour leader claimed Boris Johnson’s education policy is ‘all over the place’.

Some 94% of adults in Britain reported positive sentiment, while 6% reported hesitancy, the Office for National Statistics found.

A free event for the family to mark national Armed Forces Day celebrations will take place in Wolverhampton at the end of the month.