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Families met with the 91�ȱ� Secretary as part of their campaign for a full account into the blasts.

A watchdog looking into Anthony Grainger's death says forces must not use out-of-date intelligence.

All pupils at Henley-in-Arden School will return to home learning until 29 March.

A rapids ride at Drayton Manor had a history of failings before a child's death, a court is told.

Six-year-old conservationist Aneeshwar Kunchala is hoping his videos will help make a difference.

Phoebe Dynevor will play Clarice Cliff, "a female pioneer who quite literally broke the mould".

The number of Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent residents receiving the Covid-19 vaccine is set to pass 500,000 this week, and a target to offer all adults their first dose by the end of July could be met several weeks early.

Image source, PA Media

The area has topped a national "league table" for vaccine administration, health bosses told a Staffordshire County Council meeting on Tuesday.

And there is capacity to give more than 150,000 jabs a week locally, through a combination of larger vaccination centres, hospital hubs, GP-led sites and venues run by pharmacies.

"What we’ve done literally is set up a medium-sized supermarket chain within a matter of four or five weeks to jab people," said Marcus Warnes, from Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Clinical Commissioning Groups.

"We have got the lowest stock levels of pretty much any system in the country – when we get it, we jab people with it."

Mr Warnes said he was "absolutely confident" the 15 April deadline to do priority groups one to nine would be delivered and it would "probably" be done by the end of March.

"We’re expecting around 80,000 doses of the vaccine this week – the highest week to date is 53,000."

Thirty more bleed kits will be installed across the West Midlands after funding was granted to The Daniel Baird Foundation.

Lynne Baird, whose son Daniel, 26, was killed in a dispute outside a pub in the city in 2017, set up for the foundation to provide kits to people involved in stabbings.

The bleed control cabinet is designed to prevent a catastrophic bleed while paramedics travel to the scene of a stabbing.

It contains a tourniquet, bandages, scissors and gloves which can be used by members of the public, accessed through a code provided by the ambulance service.

Handforth Parish Council, which saw a rowdy meeting go viral, votes against a merger with Wilmslow.

The digger manufacturer says it will employ an extra 450 agency staff at its three UK factories.

The number of empty homes in Coventry has doubled to more than 3,000 in 18 months, figures reveal.

The city council, which has been taking action to address the problem, said the pandemic was partly to blame as many student properties had been “unoccupied since July last year”.

Councillor David Welsh said it was a problem in cities “across the country”.

Image source, Getty Images

In February, Coventry had 3,212 homes which had been empty for six months or longer, compared to 1,451 in October 2019, a Freedom of Information request to the council found.

“We are working hard to bring unused and empty properties into use as it’s such a key priority for the council – and a home where families can move into is absolutely vital,” Me Welsh said.

Police will be able to cross-reference data with crime reports to see if offenders were in the area.

Vinnie, aged four, has had three open heart surgeries but is now in heart failure, his family says.

Bea Jones has been left "distressed" by the similarities with the murder of her daughter Moira in 2008.

It is impossible to find out how she died, a pathologist tells the trial of her alleged murderer.

People over the age of 16 are being asked to get tested even if they have no symptoms.

Rural bus services in the West Midlands are being given £2m by the government, to help them become more "innovative".

The money is being split between Staffordshire County Council, which will receive £1,038,090 and Warwickshire County Council, which will get £1,020,000.

Image source, Getty Images

Staffordshire plans to use the money to pay for on-demand minibus services for Leek, Ashbourne and Buxton.

Warwickshire County Council plans to buy four vehicles to serve Kenilworth and in rural Warwick.

The chief constable of West Mercia Police has announced he will retire in September.

Image source, West Mercia Police

Anthony Bangham, who joined the force as a constable 30 years ago, said he had enjoyed an "amazing career with every day bringing new challenges".

"I have served as a police officer across West Mercia in many roles and different ranks and have always done so with great pride," he said.

Mr Bangham, who was assistant chief constable for the Avon and Somerset force, said he had been "delighted" to finish his career with West Mercia, serving the area where he had spent most of his life.

The force's Police and Crime Commissioner John Campion praised Mr Bangham as "a determined leader in challenging times" and said he had always put the public at the heart of his work.

Bob Allison had a stroke while abroad and his family set up a fundraising page to help get him home.

In total, eight people face modern slavery and theft charges following an investigation, police say.