A total of 150,000 condoms are to be given out to athletes at Birmingham’s Commonwealth Games this summer.

Artist Daniella Turbin is inviting residents to join her on walks around their city to create a new public map.

The top priority for the newly-appointed head of a Wyre Forest village primary school is to move on from Covid restrictions.

Midlands motorists are being urged to think twice before hitting the road as two storms are due to bring dangerous winds and blizzards.

A charity has warned Sandwell Council it must apply for 'levelling up' funds before it is too late, as the cost of living crisis is set to  entrench social inequality further in the borough.

A market-style shop opened by a teenage entrepreneur during lockdown is set to celebrate its first birthday.

The ONS said the cost of clothes and footwear pushed inflation higher, with the lowest January discounts in shops since 1990.

Nine people were led to safety from a smoke-filled factory in West Bromwich after an industrial printer caught fire.

A woman was killed and another seriously injured after their car crashed on Tuesday night.

Sandwell’s much-maligned services for protecting vulnerable children are said to be making ‘tangible’ improvements.

The West Midlands' self-styled "King of Clubs", who infamously sent the Kray twins packing when they tried to muscle in on his empire, has died at the age of 90.

An angling club has landed more fishing time at the River Trent at Stone after town councillors agreed to extend its lease.

Three Stone community groups are in line for a cash windfall from the town council.

Many 'side effects' from drugs are imagined, research shows.

A shop’s bid to serve alcohol 24 hours a day has been rejected after police said the venue “could become a flashpoint for crime”.

A teenage boy is fighting for his life after falling ill at Merry Hill shopping centre on Tuesday afternoon.

Civic leaders in Wolverhampton will soon find out whether their bid to be granted Lord Mayor status has been successful.

Building work on the Midlands Air Ambulance Charity’s new airbase and headquarters facility in Cosford is now under way.

People in the Ukraine have been urged to continue to stock up on food and medical supplies by people in Wolverhampton, as diplomatic talks continue in an attempt to try to avoid a war with Russia.

A West Midlands charity set up in memory of victims of the Tunisia terrorist attack has been handed a £15,000 boost after it was chosen by Sandwell Council.

The West Midlands Combined Authority has secured more than £500,000 from a new £4 million Government fund to further boost connectivity in the region including the Black Country.

An investor has scooped a £75,000 profit in just two months by selling a former NHS health centre in Burntwood.

Street wardens in Birmingham are – quite literally – getting on their bikes to help improve pavements along the city's new Metro route up Broad Street.

Keen runners are being encouraged to challenge themselves as a popular set of running events return.

Care home residents have had a blast taking part in their own Winter Olympic Games which included armchair ice dancing and snowball bowling.

A sight loss charity has launched its annual Fiver Fortnight campaign and is calling on people to offer their support.

For a child, it was a movie so frightening that it could put you off the cinema forever.

Friends of a Sandwell man who died suddenly in his sleep have staged a fundraising football match to raise money for his funeral and a plaque in his memory.

Two graphics students have created artwork to be displayed at Rowley Regis Railway Station.

A kind-hearted knitter travelled an hour each way on her mobility scooter to donate her latest creations to Walsall Manor Hospital.

A woman managed to escape after she was sexually assaulted by a man as she walked home in Smethwick.

People battling to stop dozens of mature trees being lost on a main Walsall road as part of the Sprint Bus scheme have vowed to keep on protesting.

Film footage of a man with a distinctive gait suspected of stabbing a man to death in Birmingham has been released in a bid to identify the killer.

A trainee hairdresser at City of Wolverhampton College has qualified for the finals of a national competition after being inspired by the colour of a sunset.

Willenhall Market will be closed on Wednesday on safety grounds due to expected high winds from two approaching storms.

The Government is under pressure to confirm continued Covid test funding for devolved nations following reports free LFTs and PCRs will be axed.

Health chiefs across the Black Country and West Birmingham are raising awareness of the symptoms of long Covid and sharing advice on how to manage symptoms at home.

A quick-thinking lorry driver has been hailed a hero after saving the life of a stricken motorist on the M6 Toll by positioning his truck to shield the man from oncoming traffic.

Wolverhampton's economy was boosted by £350,000 by last week’s Cazoo Snooker Players Championship at Aldersley Leisure Village.

The Prime Minister also said Douglas Ross could still be Scottish Conservative leader the next time voters make their choices for Westminster.

The football fan who filmed a police officer tripping up a Wolves fan said he was "in the right place at the right time" after it went viral.

New storms are brewing as people across the region have been warned to expect disruption and damage.

A teenage boy has been taken to hospital after he was stabbed in a street outside a school.

The alternative meat market seems to be booming. A global crisis and two national lockdowns mean there is a refocusing of priorities, with health and wellbeing becoming the core drivers.

Britain’s jobs market continued its recovery with the number of workers jumping last month – but wages have continued to lag behind soaring inflation, according to official figures.

Police are growing concerned for a man from Wolverhampton who has been missing for just over a fortnight.

A total of 1,242 deaths registered in the week ending February 4 mentioned Covid-19 on the death certificate, the Office for National Statistics said.

Judges have criticised Matt Hancock over the appointment of Conservative peer Baroness Dido Harding in 2020.

The tennis ace has spoken out for the first time since he was denied the chance to compete in the Australian Open because of his jab decision.

UK health officials said that vaccinated people were about half as likely to have symptoms after a month.

West Midlands Police has launched an investigation into one of its officers after footage emerged of him tripping up a Wolves fan.

A man had to be rushed to hospital after he collapsed near a pub on Monday evening.

Wolverhampton residents are being reminded of the importance of taking a rapid Covid-19 test before visiting busy places after 1,000 tested positive in the city last week.

Logistics network Pallet-Track says a culture of “going over and above” among its members helped it post an impressive 19.7 per cent year-on-year growth in 2021.

Duncan Edwards was just 21 when the plane carrying the Manchester United team crashed on February 6 1958.

Scotland Yard is also expected to explain its reasoning for handing out any fixed penalty notices.

Shoppers in Walsall have welcomed plans for a £36 million revamp aimed at encouraging people to live, work and shop in the town centre.

More than 160,000 patients are waiting for routine treatment at Black Country hospitals – a rise of 46 per cent in a year.

Two men were taken to hospital with suspected broken noses after being attacked in Wolverhampton city centre.

Part of a Black Country vaccination hub has been transformed into a mini “toy town” as eligible five to 11 year olds have their Covid jabs.

The future of a Staffordshire bus service which had seemed under threat of being taken off the road has been secured for the next five years.

The Prime Minister will lead a meeting of the Cobra emergency committee as Liz Truss warned a Russian invasion of Ukraine could still be imminent.

It's the noise that haunts her.

The demolition of a house that was built without planning permission should act as a warning to people who "think they can build what they want".

The owner of a new music shop in Wolverhampton is hoping his store will be in the city for years to come after two long-standing establishments shut down.

A drink-driver has been banned from the road for 18 months after a crash put a woman and child in hospital over Christmas.

Minister for Employment Mims Davies MP visited Merry Hill's Dudley Youth Hub and praised it for helping 16 to 29 year olds getting into work.

Claims of a fist fight and illegal parking have been raised by residents opposing a burger restaurant's application for a late-night licence.

Two axe-wielding robbers are on the run after attempting an armed raid on a village post office.

An experienced technology entrepreneur is expecting 2022 to be the breakthrough year for his latest venture that is transforming the way the legal sector operates.

Snooker chiefs are already looking ahead to more events in the heart of the Black Country after a successful week of action in Wolverhampton.

A charity-minded couple from Willenhall are planning a 1,736-mile drive to Land's End and then on to John O'Groats and back again in only two days - for their wedding anniversary

Volunteers and young people have planted the first trees in what is set to become the world's longest community orchard.

Activity sessions have taken on a new meaning for clients of a disability learning hub with the help of some canine companions.

Military action by Russia would have consequences for us all.

Two NHS workers from Sandwell have been shortlisted in the prestigious MyPorter Awards.

Sandwell Council has marked five years since the first Made In Sandwell story was shared on its business website Think Sandwell.

Voting has opened to select the new name of a steam locomotive which is being painted purple to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

Train services that were temporarily dropped to help a rail company cope with Covid staff shortages since Christmas are being re-introduced.

Unions have raised fears that thousands of jobs are under threat after a winding up order was filed against Liberty Steel.

One of the first fire engineering apprenticeship students in the country has been promoting the course to a Government minister.

Council bosses in Wolverhampton will receive a presentation on tackling the city’s high levels of unemployment – particularly around young people.

British and Commonwealth champion Wayne Elcock has spoken of his devastation after thieves stole cherished memorabilia from his boxing career after targeting his store in Boldmere.

New managers are seeking a licence for a Newtown restaurant which previously had its licence revoked after holding a 40-person gathering during lockdown.

Midlands livestock farmer Rosemary Allen stands up for meat.

The duchess, 73, has become the latest member of the royal family to catch coronavirus.

A derelict site which was once part of Willenhall’s proud lock industry heritage will have a storage business built on it.

A baby anteater is clinging onto its mother and soaking up the sights of the Black Country having become the first such animal born at Dudley Zoo.

The trial into the murder of three-year-old Kemarni Watson-Darby has been put on hold until March.

A new anti-drugs operation has been launched in Staffordshire after more than 200 cannabis farms were found in the past year.

The site that one housed an historic Black Country pub has sold at an online property auction for more than three times its guide price.

Tenants left in the cold for weeks at a Wolverhampton apartment block have been promised heating and hot water will be returned ‘imminently’.

A futuristic robotic vacuum cleaner is helping clean up after hotel guests who have visited the Black Country Living Museum.

Cardiologists in Wolverhampton will be the first in the Midlands to use digital diagnostic technology for heart disease.

Boris Johnson said there was still time for Russian President Vladimir Putin to step back from the brink.

Business leaders should show staff they are valued this Valentine’s Day to boost business performance.

Garden waste bin collections will begin again in Sandwell during the two-week period between February 28 and March 11.

Labour leader says the Prime Minister’s controversial comments ‘fed into’ a ‘right-wing conspiracy theory’, and this caused ‘difficulty’.

But Boris Johnson insisted he will have ‘a lot more’ to say on the row about parties in Downing Street once the police investigation is concluded.

A County Lines drug dealer from the Black Country has been jailed after being caught when a missing person report led police to a stash of cocaine and heroin.