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Oliver Banfield's victim says she thought he was "fulfilling a violent cop movie fantasy".

Steelworks have nearly been completed at the Alexander Stadium, Birmingham City Council says.

The stadium in Perry Barr, will host the opening and closing ceremonies as well as athletics events at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

The steelworks will be finished by next week, the council said, with work to add fixtures and fittings underway.

Image source, Birmingham City Council

Councillor Ian Ward, leader of Birmingham City Council, said: "This is an exciting milestone and it's testament to the hard work and efforts of all involved that we have made such progress despite the challenges of delivery during the Covid-19 pandemic.

"We can now clearly see what the new stadium will look like when complete."

The stadium is due to be finished by Spring next year.

Some patients at a Shropshire hospital will be allowed visitors under new rules.

The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital (RJAH) had to restrict all visiting for patients in November in line with national guidance in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

But, from Monday, limited visiting will resume for long stay patients on the Midland Centre for Spinal Injuries (MCSI) and Sheldon Ward, the general medicine and rehabilitation ward

Image source, Google

Patients will be allowed one named visitor who must book their visits with the ward.

Visitors will need to wear face masks at all times and will be provided with a surgical face mask by the trust on arrival.

Stacey Keegan, chief nurse at RJAH, said: "We have been monitoring the situation very closely and feel that now is the right time to allow some visitors back on site.

"It's the right thing to do, especially for our most vulnerable patients who will really benefit from contact with their families."

Sir Lenny Henry wrote to Sonny, eight, thanking him for his "brilliant idea".

Here are some of the stories on the Shropshire Star website:

An off-duty firefighter has been praised after helping to save a child who was trapped inside a house.

Russ Jones rushed to a blaze at a house on Farren Road in Northfield, Birmingham on Thursday.

There, he discovered the occupant's son was missing inside.

After spotting a curtain moving in the front room, he found the boy lying on the floor by a front room window, and smashed the glass with a rock to enable him to lean in and pull the boy to safety.

Image source, West Midlands Fire and Rescue Service

The boy was treated for minor injuries by West Midlands Ambulance colleagues and then transferred to Birmingham Children’s Hospital.

The fire has since been found to have started accidentally

Mr Jones, who has been a firefighter for 24 years, said: "As soon as I saw the fire and was told a young child missing in the property, I had to do something.

"Without my firefighting kit there it was too dangerous for me to enter the property, so I had to find a way of trying to locate the boy and rescue him. I’m just so grateful I did and that he is OK."

The British car is now considered a classic, sought after across the world.

Residents say an odour from a landfill site in Staffordshire is causing them to feel ill.

William Kingham, 15, died at the scene in Solihull on 23 November 2020.

Designs for a coronavirus memorial garden have been released by Birmingham City Council.

The council is developing a proposal to work with local communities on a series of gardens across the city, in recognition of how the virus has affected all parts of Birmingham.

The central feature is a pebble bed that would give communities the opportunity to write the name of someone lost in the pandemic on one of the stones.

Image source, Birmingham City Council

Council leader Ian Ward said: "The last year has been a time of grief and heartbreak for too many people in Birmingham as communities and neighbourhoods right across the city have experienced loss and tragedy and it's important to remember and pay tribute.

"Our initial designs are an excellent starting point and will help us develop ideas in partnership with the people of Birmingham."

The convicted youth claimed he acted in self-defence when he killed Nasir Patrice in January last year.

More than 800 weapons have been recovered from surrender bins distributed across the West Midlands.

Knives, knuckle dusters, bullets and even a bayonet have been recovered from the 19 post box-sized containers, which have been placed around the region in an initiative by the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner.

An extra knife bin is due to open in Coventry in the next few weeks.

Police are urging people selling goods online to remain vigilant, after con artists scammed West Midlands residents out of more than £125,000.

Image source, West Midlands Police

People who advertise goods on sites such as Facebook, Gumtree and eBay are being urged to take extra care before handing over items.

It's amid ongoing fraud reports in the last six months, mainly involving high-value goods such as watches and mobiles, West Midlands Police said.

At a meeting someone will inspect an item and agree to pay for it via bank transfer, although a fraudulent cheque will be paid into the victim's account with the funds showing as pending.

The victim will hand over goods thinking a payment has been completed, but the cheque will later bounce back unpaid. Det Con Edward Spokes said: "Anyone selling goods online should check with their banks that any payments have cleared their accounts before handing over goods.

"Funds shown as pending in the account do not necessarily mean that the payment has been completed."

The government announces first stages of plans to get superfast broadband to the majority of UK homes.

Investigations are underway into the cause of a fire in a commercial building in Shropshire.

Image source, Market Drayton fire station

Crews from Shropshire, Staffordshire and Cheshire fire services were called to assist with the fire in the building in Market Drayton from 23:33 GMT.

The fire was contained to the single story building.

Talented saxophonist Colton Bryan had been stabbed several times and died at the scene, police say.

Ameen Thabet is told he will serve a minimum of 18 years in prison for the murder of Najeeba Al-Alriqy.

The corporation is to relocate some news services and make more primetime shows in the region.

Evha Jannath's death at Drayton Manor was an "utterly tragic waste of a young life", the judge says.

Disabled rower Xander Van Der Poll has been selected for the British Rowing's talent programme