Friday 11th February 2011 Chaos in Midlands town caused by surface-to-air missile.
The Black Country town of Wednesbury was thrown into chaos after a man
drove a surface-to-air missile to a police station. The missile had
come to him as part of a house clearance lot. Police and emergency
services put a 400m exclusion cordon around the police station and
Junction 9 of the M6 was closed, as were several local businesses. The
Metro service was suspended and the bus station shut down. The device
was later found to be inert. Insp Martin Santicchia from West Midlands
Police, said: "I would like to thank the public for their
understanding and apologise for any inconvenience the incident may
have caused. Thankfully the package was found to be nothing of
concern." West Midlands

Tuesday 11th January 2011 Passengers ordered off too-heavy EasyJet flight
30 passengers were forced to leave a plane after it had been loaded
with too much fuel to allow take off. Staff called for volunteers to
disembark from the EasyJet flight from Birmingham to Geneva, offering
free overnight accommodation and a goodwill payment, but only seven
came forward. EasyJet then ordered the last 30 to board the plane off,
leading to claims that some passengers were threatened with arrest for
showing reluctance to comply. EasyJet spokesman Andrew McConnell said:
"The cause of the weight restriction was due to a fuelling error,
which resulted in the aircraft taking on too much fuel, and therefore
being too heavy for take-off when fully loaded. An investigation has
been launched to understand how this happened." West Midlands

Thursday 9th December 2010 Gunshot sensors installed in Birmingham
Sensors that detect and record gunfire have been installed in areas of
Birmingham with a high number of firearms incidents. The system has
already been used in the US but it is the first time the Shotspotter
Gunshot Location System has been deployed in Great Britain. The
sensors can pick up gunshots within a 25m (82ft) radius, the £150,000
system records an audio clip and sends police a GPS location. West
Midlands Police have placed the sensors high up on buildings in
north-west areas of the city. Chief Superintendent Chris McKeogh said:
"The sound waves a bullet produces has a particular signature, if you
like, and that should be recognisable to our force control room
officers that have been trained up to listen.” West Midlands

Tuesday 30th November 2010 Soldier defrauds Help for Heroes
A soldier has been spared jail despite being told he had “disgraced”
his regiment by conning a charity for wounded soldiers. He was shown
leniency because of his service in Iraq and Afghanistan. Birmingham
Crown Court heard that L/Cpl Ashley White sold Help for Heroes
merchandise at a pub but kept the £2,459 he collected. Recorder
Benjamin Nicholls said he had "cheated" his fellow soldiers and told
him to do 300 hours community service. White, 25, now faces a
dishonourable discharge from 22 Signal Regiment. West Midlands

Wednesday 24th November 2010 BBC presenter admits benefit fraud
Lubna Qazi, known as Kanwal Qazi, a radio presenter on the BBC's Asian
Network, has admitted falsely claiming benefits totalling £18,000
while working as a DJ. Qazi, from Kings Heath in Birmingham, claimed
carer's allowance after her husband suffered a stroke in 2002. The
53-year-old failed to inform the authorities of her work where she
earned £24.47 per hour for a three-hour shift on Saturdays and Sundays
at the Asian Network. She is due to be sentenced at Birmingham Crown
Court on 21 December. A spokesman for the BBC said: "We are not going
to comment on ongoing court proceedings." West Midlands

Thursday 7th October 2010 Tanker mix up fuels drivers’ anger
Motorists calling at Morrisons filling station in the West Midlands
ended up getting the wrong fuel after a mix-up by suppliers. Petrol
ended up in a diesel supply tank at the Morrisons station in
Kingswinford causing drivers to break down after filling up. One
driver, whose van suffered as a result of the mix up, claimed he had
personally seen four AA recovery trucks at the scene. Morrisons said
they were contacting all affected customers. A spokesman for Morrisons
said: "As soon as we were made aware of the issue, the tanks were shut
down and the problem has been investigated and will be fully rectified
later today." Anyone affected should contact Morrisons' customer
services or insurance department to pursue a claim. West Midlands

Wednesday 22nd September 2010 Sirens over Coventry to mark Blitz anniversary
The 70th anniversary of the Coventry Blitz will be marked by the
sounding of an air raid siren. The city council asked residents if
they wanted a siren sounded during commemorations on 14 November - and
the people said yes. The siren won’t be heard across the city as the
council decided it should only be heard within the cathedral during
the service. On 14th November 1940 the Luftwaffe dropped thousands of
tons of bombs on the city, killing hundreds of residents and
destroying most of the city centre. Coventry's Lord Mayor Brian Kelsey
told the press that they had taken into account the views of people
who experienced the bombings first hand. He said: "They [sirens] will
mark the beginning and end of a two-minutes' silence at 7.15pm and
will only be heard around the cathedral and not across the city." West Midlands

Thursday 22nd April 2010 West Midlands bus driver suspended for reading while driving
A shocked passenger on a National Express coach filmed the driver when
he appeared to be reading a book while steering a book with his knees.
The footage was filmed on the Number 61 bus at Selly Oak on Monday
evening. The film was posted to YouTube.

National Express issued a statement in response: "Immediate action was
taken to suspend the driver who will now face disciplinary action. It
is not appropriate to predict the outcome but an incident of this type
is likely to lead to a dismissal. Passenger safety is always our
priority and it is completely unacceptable for any driver to behave in
this manner." West Midlands

Friday 4th December 2009 Brum eye to stay
A big wheel sited in Birmingham’s Centenary Square can stay after
receiving council backing at a meeting held on Thursday. Birmingham
city councillors agreed the wheel, which stands almost 200 foot high,
can stay for a for an extra six months. The wheel was due to be
removed in January but will now stay until at least June 2010.

The wheel has been nicknamed the ‘Brum Eye’ and is owned by Great City
Attractions who applied to extend the licence for the attraction. Brum
Eye, like it’s more famous London counterpart, offers panoramic views
over the city. It had previously been delayed for six months due to
bad weather. West Midlands

Thursday 3rd December 2009 High speed link plan includes two new railway stations for Birmingham
Proposals are being put forward for a high speed rail link between
London and Birmingham. The plan for trains travelling at more than
200mph would cut the journey times down to just 45 minutes.

Two new stations are also being proposed as part of the plan, with one
of them possibly to be sited in the city centre’s under-developed
Eastside area. The current station at New Street is not currently
suitable for the high speed trains West Midlands