West Midlands
Parts of England lashed by heavy rain and flooding overnight
A yellow rain warning persists for large parts of England and Wales before the wet weather finally eases into the afternoon
More flooding expected in parts of England before heavy rain starts to ease
An amber warning has been issued for areas of the Midlands and the south of the country, which came into force at 6pm and will last for 12 hours.
Failure to find alternative to axed HS2 route would be ‘anti-growth’, mayor says
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham claimed it will be ‘harder to get a seat’ on trains heading north once HS2 opens.
‘Precious’ boy fell underneath lorry as he rode bike to school, inquest hears
Hussein Quig-Diop, 13, suffered traumatic head injuries and died at the scene in Burton-on-Trent last September.
Environment Agency launches probe after ‘serious chemical spill’ into canal
In a statement on Wednesday, the EA said it was investigating a local company, Anochrome Ltd, and that the spill had been stopped.
Major incident declared after toxic chemical spill in West Midlands canal
Walsall Council said the Environment Agency had developed a testing regime to test for sodium cyanide and other chemicals in the affected area.
Thousands of GP practices in England affected by global IT outage
Practices across England took to social media to report they cannot access the EMIS Web system.
Murder investigation launched after man dies and four other people hurt in fire
One man died and a 16-year-old boy is in a life-threatening condition after the fire in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
Tories and Labour battle for host of marginal seats in West Midlands
The Tories’ most vulnerable seat in the region is the newly-created constituency of Wolverhampton West.
Affluent areas in England have ‘highest levels’ of childcare access – analysis
Neighbourhoods with lower levels of childcare access were more likely to have a higher proportion of children living in poverty, figures suggest.