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  1. Family to take on blindfold walk in honour of son

    The family of a boy with a life-limiting illness are set to walk 100 miles blindfolded to better understand his condition.

    Oscar Jealous, nine, from Kingstanding in Birmingham, was diagnosed with life-limiting Batten disease in February 2020.

    His parents, Alex and Dani Jealous, will take on the challenge from 26 to 28 August, raising money for Acorns Children’s Hospice, which has supported them since Oscar’s diagnosis.

    Oscar and his family at Acorns

    “The idea is to walk 100 miles in Oscar’s shoes and try to emulate what he goes through on a day-to-day basis," they said

    Oscar’s condition means he has epilepsy, cognitive disfunction, due to the fact that it’s a neurogenerative disease and his brain isn’t working how it’s supposed to, which also affects his muscles, and he’s fed through a gastric tube,

    “But all of this is amplified and made 10 times harder because his disease has caused him to go blind and he’s a nine-year-old child who has no visual representation to help him calm down or focus.

    “So, doing the challenge continuously with the sleep deprivation will represent the mental aspect and the fatigue as things stop functioning, and the blindfold will mirror his blindness.”

    Oscar does music therapy at Acorns
  2. Covid-19 rates continue to climb

    Covid-19 rates have continued to rise in almost every part of the West Midlands region, according to the latest government figures.

    In Birmingham, there were 1,425 new cases in the seven days up to and including 17 June, up from 985 the previous week.

    At the beginning of May there were just 178 new cases in the city.

    Vaccinations in Leek

    The rate of new infections in Birmingham - 125 per 100,000 people - remains low compared with parts of the North West of England, but the case numbers have climbed steadily.

    Five local authorities in the West Midlands saw their Covid-19 rates at least double in the week up to 17 June.

    In Malvern, they increased 440%, although the overall case numbers remain very low.

    In the Staffordshire Moorlands, where surge testing and other measures have been introduced in Leek to combat an outbreak of the Delta variant, the rate of new infections fell for the second week running.

    Redditch and Walsall also saw modest drops.

  3. Grealish 'very rarely lets you down'

    BBC Midlands Today

    The former Aston Villa striker Dion Dublin (pictured) says he hopes Jack Grealish gets a start for England in their Euro 2020 match against the Czech Republic on Tuesday evening.

    Dion Dublin

    England are guaranteed a place in the last 16, but will go through as Group D winners with victory at Wembley.

    The Villa captain has only made one substitute appearance so far in the tournament.

    Quote Message: He holds on to the ball for a little bit longer..... He normally gets doubled up as well, so there's always one player spare. So yeah Jack's got something different, and yeah... I'd love to see him get a start. I'd love to see him get many, many starts. If he's not doing it, take him out, but (he) very rarely lets you down Jack." from Dion Dublin Former Aston Villa and Coventry City striker
    Dion DublinFormer Aston Villa and Coventry City striker
  4. About 1,000 laptops and other digital devices handed to children

    BBC Midlands Today

    Birmingham City Council says about 1,000 laptops and other digital devices have been handed over to children who need them to cope with the educational challenges of the pandemic.

    Laptop

    The council has been working with the Digital Education Partnership to provide the funding and the devices.

    Another 2,200 have been earmarked to pass on in the next few months.

  5. Envelope update

    Severe disruption: M6 West Midlands southbound

    BBC News Travel

    M6 West Midlands southbound severe disruption, from J5 for A452 to J4A for .

    M6 West Midlands - One lane closed on M6 southbound from J5, A452 (Castle Bromwich) to J4a, M42 interchange, because of a lorry that's broken down. Traffic is coping well.

    To report traffic and travel incidents dial 0330 123 0184 at any time

  6. Around the web: Uber driver charged £12 to go from Broad Street to New Street Station

    Birmingham Live

    Here are some the headlines on the Birmingham Live website today:

  7. Covid-survivor officer made Walsall commander

    A police officer who spent spent weeks in hospital with coronavirus has been made Walsall's policing commander.

    West Midlands Police said Ch Supt Phil Dolby, who has been with the force for 25 years, has hit the ground running "quite literally" after he was involved in a foot chase in the town centre last week while getting to know the patch.

    Phil Dolby

    “I’ve received a really warm welcome and I’m incredibly excited to be joining such a great team," Mr Dolby said.

    The officer was admitted to Worcester Royal Hospital on 29 March 2020 and later placed on a ventilator.

    Although his wife said there were times she feared he would not come home, he recovered and returned to work last June.

    Phil Dolby in hospital
  8. New flexible tickets start for part-time commuters

    New flexible tickets go on sale from Monday aimed at commuters in England who only travel to work two or three days a week.

    The new tickets can be used for eight days in any month-long period.

    The National Rail website will allow passengers to calculate savings and book the new tickets.

    New Street station in Birmingham - generic archive image

    It is part of the government's planned shake-up of rail services, but is being introduced immediately to cater to the trend for more home-working.

    Two-days-a-week commuters using flexible season tickets could save more than £260 travelling from Woking to London, £230 from Liverpool to Manchester, and £170 from Stafford to Birmingham, according to Department for Transport analysis.

  9. Envelope update

    Severe accident: A4092 West Midlands both ways

    BBC News Travel

    A4092 West Midlands both ways severe accident, between Cape Primary School and Raglan Road.

    A4092 West Midlands - A4092 Cape Hill in Winson Green closed and it's very slow in both directions between the Cape Primary School junction and the Raglan Road junction, because of an accident. Diversion in operation - for National Express Bus Services 82, 87 and 89.

    To report traffic and travel incidents dial 0330 123 0184 at any time

  10. Birmingham-born swimmer first black woman to compete for Britain at Olympics

    BBC Midlands Today

    Marathon swimmer Alice Dearing believes achieving a historic place at the Tokyo Olympics can inspire "thousands" of black people to take up the sport.

    The Birmingham-born athlete sealed her Team GB spot by finishing fourth at the final 10km qualification event in Portugal on Saturday.

    She is now set to become the first black woman to compete for Britain in an Olympic swimming event.

    View more on twitter
  11. Envelope update

    Severe accident: M42 Warwickshire northbound

    BBC News Travel

    M42 Warwickshire northbound severe accident, after J3A for .

    M42 Warwickshire - One lane closed and it's slow on M42 northbound after J3a, M40 Interchange, because of an accident involving a car.

    To report traffic and travel incidents dial 0330 123 0184 at any time

  12. Health boss 'supports decision' not to lift restrictions

    BBC Radio WM

    Today should have been the day England saw its final Covid-19 restrictions lifted.

    However, last week, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced it had been put back until 19 July, amid rising cases, driven by the more transmissible Delta variant, which was first identified in India.

    The director of public health for Dudley, Karen Wright, said she fully supports that decision, based on the data.

    Dudley has 47.3 cases per 100,000, she said.

    Covid test stock image

    She said it was important people continue to take up the opportunity to have their Covid-19 vaccination, and do regular tests to identify cases and "disrupt that chain of transmission".

    "That helps us to move steadily to when we can have more freedoms," she said.