A couple walking along a rural canal path had a shock when they came across a five-foot snake.

The owners of a Black Country takeaway have been ordered to pay more than £5,000 due to a string of hygiene failings.

A princely penthouse near Bridgnorth with a pedigree to make one feel like royalty is on the market for £400,000.

Part of a busy Black Country road will soon close as work to install a purpose-built bridge for the Wednesbury to Brierley Hill Metro route gets under way.

A West Midlands Police Federation officer has spoken of being "truly humbled" that a poem she wrote to honour a murdered six-year-old has been chosen by the boy's family to feature on a memorial plaque.

Jeremy Hunt criticised the ‘mistakes’ of the Liz Truss administration in his first interview since taking the job.

A Wolverhampton property described as a ‘magnet for sex workers and unlawful drug use’ has been closed down by police and housing chiefs.

It remains unclear whether she can remain in office, with the markets still jittery and reports of Tory MPs plotting intensely to replace her.

Union bosses have accused West Midland Metro bosses of paying staff 'pittance' as the first of 53 days of walkouts gets under way.

A great deal of money will be wasted due to councils having to re-work housing plans, authority bosses have warned.

Trussonomics in practice. New Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng announces energy price cap and a piddling tax cut, putting a small amount of money back into our pockets.

A princely penthouse near Bridgnorth with a pedigree to make one feel like royalty is on the market for £400,000.

Three teenagers have been jailed for life after shooting and paralysing a 13-year-old boy.

A project which honours servicemen and women, both past and present, has been launched by Shropshire's police and crime commissioner.

A popular Christmas toy appeal which helped 7000 children last year has been relaunched for 2022.

Dear, oh dear. After just a few weeks the new era of Truss has been diminished and endangered.

A fashion show hopes to bring Jamaican culture to the forefront – showcasing authentic and iconic Caribbean fashion throughout the decades.

Next month will see a theatre troupe wow audiences with rock-and-roll hits after six months of preparation.

An Oldbury firm, which is the UK’s largest specialist cold roll forming company, took home one of the top prizes from last night's Black Country Chamber of Commerce Business Awards.

Police have appealed for information over a missing 16-year-old.

Former Black Country MP and Labour deputy leader Tom Watson has been confirmed as receiving a peerage in the latest Government list.

Lollipop lady Wendy Duncan is lending her hand to a new campaign to recruit more school crossing patrol officers.

“The truth is, we do not have the money”. That's what the leader of Birmingham City Council and chair of West Midlands Combined Authority Transport sub committee said when asked about the the Wednesbury to Brierley Hill Metro extension in a Q&A s...

The organisers of an Aldridge dog festival have promised another one next year after handing over £4,000 to charity.

A teenager who was stabbed in Dudley is due to be discharged from hospital, police say.

An urgent appeal for information over a missing teenager from Walsall has been issued.

Football clubs and police officers are stepping up moves to crack down on hate speech ahead of the football World Cup in Qatar.

Wolverhampton Chamber Choir is celebrating Vaughan Williams 150 year anniversary year with a concert next month.

The Midlands Air Ambulance is calling on local businesses, schools, and communities to learn how to help people having a heart attack.

Admitting she had to change course, she reversed a key policy to scrap the planned rise in corporation tax from 19% to 25%.

Regulars and staff at a Chapel Ash pub are preparing for a charity challenge which will see them on the beaches of Normandy.

More than 30 arrests have been made by police during a clamp down on vehicle crime in Staffordshire.

New aerial images have revealed the progress of a project transforming Wolverhampton's historic Royal Hospital into nearly 200 homes.

The move will be seen as an attempt to restore stability after weeks of turmoil in the wake of Mr Kwarteng’s mini-budget.

Fundraisers will be getting fired up for Black Country Women’s Aid by walking over hot embers for the charity.

Wasn’t getting rid of Boris Johnson supposed to bring some stability back to the political landscape?

A 51-year-old man has been attacked with a 'bladed weapon' in Kidderminster.

A controversial Black Country-wide housing masterplan has been ripped up after a row over which green belt to include.

A Tipton woman who was unable to eat for months after surgery for tonsil cancer has opened a new Cancer Research superstore.

Guest of honour at the Wolverhampton Young Citizen of Year Awards Lisa Potts had an emotional surprise of her own when a child she saved came to say hello.

Kwasi Kwarteng has been sacked after 38 days as Chancellor as the fall-out from last month's mini-budget continues.

The search is on to find a high-profile business leader to champion and support the region’s night-time economy.

Judges are now sifting through a record number of entries for this year’s Community Awards in Stafford Borough.

New trains will be introduced on a line connecting the West Midlands and Shropshire "very shortly" as part of an almost £700 million investment in the network.

A former church official from the Black Country said to have clocked up more flights than globetrotting broadcaster Alan Whicker has pleaded guilty to defrauding a charity of more than £5 million.

A new book A History of Boningale: The Story of a Village is being launched at St Chad's Church on Saturday.

A dispersal order is due to come into force on Sunday as part of a clamp down on anti-social behaviour along areas of the M54 and surrounding roads.

Police want to speak to this man after a woman was assaulted and cash was stolen from her at a bank in Kingswinford.

Housebuilder Countryside has launched two new show homes at its Millfields development in West Bromwich.

A financial accountant has raised more than £2,800 for Compton Care after completing the London Marathon.

M&S Cafe’s kids eat free deal is returning for a half term special this month.

A temporary theatre building is set to be installed in a hospital car park to help meet demand for orthopaedic procedures.

Black Country homes to suit all pockets are set to go under the hammer.

A support package for staff who experience baby loss will be introduced at NHS trusts in the Black Country, it has been announced.

The union GMB said strikes could take place before Christmas.

Union bosses have accused Royal Mail of using 'scare tactics' after the company announced it will consult on up to 6,000 redundancies.

There was elation and emotion at this year's Wolverhampton Young Citizen of the Year awards which recognised nine special young people.

The West Midlands based wellbeing charity "The Kaleidoscope Plus Group" has welcomed it's latest mental health ambassador.

Three brothers-in-law have taken on the Cotswold Way to help find a cure for the devastating disease which took their loved ones' life.

A man has been jailed for more than three years following a stop and search involving £5,000 of Class A drugs.

Travellers are being warned to plan ahead as the M42 near Birmingham Airport is set to close this upcoming weekend.

It said it is a response to the ‘impact of industrial action, delays in delivering agreed productivity improvements and lower parcel volumes’.

Plans for a new seven-storey teaching block with classrooms, studios and a cafe have been unveiled by Halesowen College.

A West Midlands Police force has seized cannabis worth approximately £500,000 while executing emergency warrants.

Kwasi Kwarteng is due to land in London ahead of schedule for urgent talks with Liz Truss.

More than 100,000 meals have now been saved from going to waste as a result of a partnership between retailer Central England Co-op and the world’s largest food saving app, Too Good To Go.

A video montage of his work across the years was played during the ceremony at the OVO Arena Wembley in London.

Wolves legend Steve Bull has paid a surprise visit to a pub during its reopening.

It follows the Child Q scandal, where a teenage schoolgirl was strip-searched by police officers while on her period without another adult present.

Yet more strikes misery looms for commuters with train and tram staff poised for further walkouts.

Postal workers in the region have launched a fresh strike in a long-running dispute over pay and conditions, with more walkouts planned in the build-up to the busy Christmas period.

The Levelling Up Secretary has backed the West Midlands to host at least one of the Government's new 'investment zones' when they are announced next month.

It's an all too common plight – a mother orangutan trying to reach her baby in the wake of devastating deforestation which has left them without a home.

A recruitment company is giving back to the community by running an online competition that benefits foodbanks.

More than 5kg in drugs have been seized after officers in Staffordshire completed a national week of action to tackle county lines crimes.

Hospitals, police stations, leisure centres and other municipal buildings in the Black Country and Staffordshire will be made more energy efficient to help the UK reduce its carbon footprint.

What next? It's a question that few feel able to answer in Westminster.

Two teenage girls have been arrested over a number of distraction burglaries in Lichfield.

Energy bills are capped per unit but bills are still twice what they were a year ago.

Birmingham's Biomedical Research Centre has been given £31 million diagnosis and treatment of illness across a variety of high-priority disease areas including cancer, mental health and dementia.  

A book-signing by Black Country press photographer Graham Gough has been cancelled.

Inconsiderate parking by motorists caused traffic chaos and buses to be diverted in Cradley Heath today (Thursday).

A raft of new digital hubs aimed at taking council services out to people in Walsall will be officially launched next week.

An apartment conversion in Stourbridge has erupted in a string of concerns over traffic collisions.

Tens of thousands of potentially lethal illicit cigarettes have been seized following a crackdown in Wolverhampton.

A grieving mum is calling for lessons to be learned after an investigation found that medics missed opportunities to recognise the distress her baby was in before she died in the womb.

Passengers and a bus driver in Dudley have called for routes to be safeguarded and more buses to be introduced amid plans to cut them back.

The rate of MMR vaccinations for children in Staffordshire and the Black Country is behind the target needed for herd immunity, figures show.

A Lidl store in Staffordshire is becoming one of the first to include a new feature aimed to help customers save money and reduce the amount of plastic they use.

A missing Telford man's family have shared a new picture of him with facial hair in the hope that it shows what he looks like now.

West Midlands Metro will be running a reduced timetable this Saturday due to industrial action.

Wednesbury North Councillor Elaine Costigan will not seek re-election next May.

Trolley waits in A&E have also risen as beds need to be found.

Motorists are being reminded to be respectful to highways workers carrying out maintenance on the roads after a rise in incidents where drivers' actions have put safety at risk.

RMT members working as train managers at the company will walk out on October 22 and November 6 in a dispute over rosters.

An appeal has been put out for family and friends of a recently deceased man to get in touch.

A 23-year-old man has died and four others have been injured after a Mercedes crashed into a wall in Rowley Regis early this morning.

A crash involving two cars and a bus is causing delays in Stourbridge, with bus routes diverted.

Police are hunting three men after a spate of attempted break-ins and a burglary in West Bromwich.

Cathy Dobbs’ weekly look at life.