A Black Country school academy trust which lavished hundreds of thousands of pounds on consultancy fees and leasing payments on a non-existent car has been found to have misused public money.

A man who attacked a litter warden will not have his sentence extended after a hearing at the Court of Appeal, it has been revealed.

Nearly 15,000 people in the Black Country and Staffordshire were contacted by the NHS Covid-19 app and told to isolate in the latest week, figures reveal.

Government messaging on social media during the Covid-19 pandemic lacked clarity, was ambiguous and was difficult to understand by people, according to new research.

An MP and veteran has called on the Government to make the armed forces more inclusive – and tackle all forms of bullying, harassment and discrimination.

Maximising the impact of the Commonwealth Games could lead to more than £650 million of investment in the UK and 1,000 new jobs, tourism chiefs say.

A prominent social justice campaigner has launched a petition demanding the prison sentence of Dalian Atkinson's killer be increased to 15 years.

Hospitals in the region are seeing more Covid patients being admitted daily – as the number of coronavirus cases in the Black Country and Staffordshire increased by nearly 650 in the space of 24 hours.

Data expert Tim White believes the Government may announce the change next week.

Leisure centre staff have been praised for their quick thinking actions which saved a man's life at a badminton court.

A councillor in the Black Country has been suspended by the Labour Party for several months despite not knowing the reason why.

Tributes have been paid to a "brave and passionate" Black Country police officer who has died after a two-year battle with cancer.

Motorists are being warned of 60-minute delays and more than six miles mile of tailbacks after a lorry overturned on the M5.

A "large number" of allegedly starving animals have been rescued and three men have been arrested after dogs, horses, cats and chickens were found in the Black Country.

Experts also said jab rollouts will likely be needed ‘for many years to come’ as immunity wanes.

The move will enable dividends to be paid to creditors.

The group has secured 200 million US dollars (£143.3 million) in new loans and amended covenants on existing debt facilities.

Figures compiled by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency provide a broader picture of the virus’s impact than health department stats.

Waste bosses say they remain hopeful of preventing a bin strike in Sandwell.

Police have been criticised for their inaction after a woman was mauled and bitten in a dog attack.

A prisoner went on the run after being allowed out on day release to attend his mother's funeral.

Two more coronavirus deaths have been confirmed in the region's hospitals, official figures from NHS England show.

A 44-year-old man has appeared in court charged with the murder of a Black Country father who was fatally stabbed.

The ONS analysed responses from 3,784 people aged 16 and over who were surveyed between July 21 and 25.

Worried residents fear they will lose the “tranquillity” of their area if plans to create a tap room on the site of an historic Walsall brewery are approved.

Caravan owners have been urged to be vigilant after a series of thefts and attempted thefts across Staffordshire.

Urology services in Wolverhampton and Walsall are set to be merged in a bid to cut huge waiting lists.

The boss of a children's trust has said she does not recognise a "toxic" culture described in a new whistleblowing book.

A man was arrested as he attempted to flee bare footed when police raided a Wolverhampton cannabis farm.

A centre has become part of a national network of venues where visitors can make friends and meet people.

A Kashmir sapphire ring has become one of the most expensive rings to ever sell at a Birmingham auction after it fetched £175,980.

CCTV images have been released as part of a police appeal following a car key burglary in Wolverhampton.

Alton Towers Resort has announced new events for Christmas – including an interactive light experience and a traditional Christmas market.

A university chief has been appointed to a Government role as one of a dozen disability and access ambassadors recruited to improve support for people.

The Transport Secretary said some companies will require staff to be double-jabbed, but it will not be made law by the Government.

Black Country boxer Ben Whittaker is eyeing up a gold medal - and becoming the Mayor of Wolverhampton - after a narrow quarter-final win at the Olympics.

An appeal has been launched for information after two police officers were attacked while patrolling a shopping centre in the Black Country.

Scientists said more than 99% of pregnant women admitted to hospital with the virus have not been vaccinated.

Members and patients of the Wolverhampton & District MS Therapy Centre have been enjoying Welcome Back celebrations after 42 weeks of the doors being closed because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

A casualty was cut free after a three-car smash between Shifnal and Bridgnorth.

More than three million Covid vaccine doses have been administered across the Black Country, Staffordshire and Birmingham, official figures show.

Lidl GB has confirmed its new supermarket in Mere Green will open for the first time next week – and it has pledged to support local charities.

A colourful monument paying tribute to key workers and remembering those lost to Covid will be installed at Dudley’s Russells Hall Hospital.

The latest winner of the Express & Star's Grab A Grand competition said he hadn't expected to win so quickly.

New modelling suggests a fast rate of vaccination decreases the probability of a vaccine-resistant coronavirus strain.

Watch out our kid – the bostin’ dialect is under attack from southerners.

The youngster was taken to hospital with injuries to his face, back, chest and legs following the incident in Bentilee.

Scientists say more research is needed to see how these biomarkers impact cognition in individuals who had Covid-19 in the long term.

Figures from Public Health England also suggest jabs are estimated to have directly averted more than 52,600 hospital admissions.

The British Retail Consortium and Local Data Company found that fashion retailers had been hardest hit.

More pandemic developments and tensions across the Channel are splashed across the nation’s front pages.

Researchers at Oxford University described their findings as ‘concerning’.

First Minister Mark Drakeford has confirmed the date when double-jabbed adults in Wales can avoid isolation after Covid contacts.

Life coach Laura Brunton read extensively and spoke with her doctors after being hesitant about the vaccine due to reading misinformation online.

Plans have been put forward for a number of new NHS centres across Staffordshire which could carry out the majority of non-emergency tests and scans.

It's a case of men and their machines as two owners of Ford Cortinas gear up to take on a fundraising challenge which will see them driving more than 1,500 miles in a return trip from the Black Country to Inverness.

Armed police officers in the West Midlands and Staffordshire responded to almost 3,000 incidents last year, official figures show.

Work on the Wednesbury to Brierley Hill Metro extension will progress further next month when installation of another major structure along the route gets underway.

In a year's time some of the greatest sporting stars on the planet will arrive in the West Midlands for the Commonwealth Games.

A chartered accountants has announced plans to create up to 25 new jobs over the next six months, just few weeks after its Worcestershire office completed a £100,000 relocation.

Dr Alix Dietzel said her sister, who lives in Switzerland, has only met her young daughter once.

A council is to overhaul its vehicle fleet and expand its use of sustainable energy as part of a multi-million investment to achieve carbon neutral status over the next seven years.

This week the Government said it was expanding its daily contact testing for front line sectors as an alternative to isolation.

One in seven people testing positive are not being asked to share details of their contacts.

A man accused of murdering a three year-old girl had been “smacking her for many weeks” before she died, his trial has heard.

Images have been released of two men police want to speak to about a car key burglary.

An inquest has opened into the death of an 18-year-old man who was shot dead in a taxi in the Black Country.

Car dealership group Lookers has upgraded its profit forecast after what its boss hailed as an "outstanding" start to the year.

An ambitious plan to create hundreds of new homes and businesses at a Wolverhampton city centre site described as “the pits”, has moved a step closer.

A struggling Darlaston pub which has suffered a drop in trade looks set to be converted into a business centre.

A further four coronavirus deaths have been confirmed in the region's hospitals, official figures from NHS England show.

With one year until Birmingham’s Commonwealth Games begin, a number of projects are still underway.

France is the only EU country from which people vaccinated under the UK programme must self-isolate for 10 days when they return.

Much of the UK is to allow people visiting from the US and EU who are fully vaccinated to enter without the need to quarantine.

More than three-quarters of unpaid carers in Wolverhampton have been vaccinated against Covid-19, as health chiefs continue to urge people to get jabbed.

More than two dozen much-needed new units will be added to a Great Barr YMCA after plans were given the green light.

The vast majority of absent staff are self-isolating after being identified as close contacts of someone else who has contracted the virus.

Confirmation that rules will be relaxed for fully vaccinated travellers from the US arriving in Britain led to a spike in bookings.

The Assembly’s Health Committee was told of ‘enormous concern’ at the slow uptake of vaccines among the 18 to 29 age group.

A man has died following a collision between a car and a van in the West Midlands.

Brickmaking group Forterra has reported a return to pre-tax profit during the first half of its financial year.

A man was hit by a car and dragged along a Black Country street in what police believe was a targeted hit-and-run.

Tickets for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games are available now, but only to those in the West Midlands. However, a Main Ballot will open later in the year.

A Staffordshire man has denied racially abusing football commentator Rio Ferdinand when fans returned to Molineux for the first time in over a year.

Royal Sutton Coldfield’s MP Andrew visited The Royal Town’s British Heart Foundation (BHF) shop at the Red Rose Centre to mark the 60th anniversary of the charity.

A Black Country child killer who was serving a life sentence for murdering his eight-year-old daughter died in prison of natural causes, an inquest hearing was told.

Newly retired nurse Judith Fox was making plans for the future after finishing employment at a care home.

Police are investigating after gun shots were fired at a house in the Black Country.

Transport operator National Express said that cost reductions had helped it return to the black in the first half of 2021 despite continuing Covid restrictions.