Birmingham Post

Airport Pledge to 'Stay Small'

Coventry Airport is to offer to tie its own hands and not increase in size in the future if the go ahead is given for a new pounds 7 million passenger terminal. If planning authority Warwick District Council approves the proposal - which has been on the table in various forms for a decade already - the airport will have a maximum capacity of two million passengers a year.

Bomb Girl's Distraught Family Tell of Grief

The distraught relatives of an innocent girl left on a life support machine after a petrol bomb attack on a busy Birmingham store last night spoke of their grief. Six-year-old Shae Thomas received horrific burns to her face, arms and shoulders when a home-made bomb was thrown into TK Maxx in Perry Barr's One Stop shopping centre, on Friday afternoon.

Top Award for Film of City Author's Book

A big screen adaptation of a book by Birmingham novelist and Post theatre reviewer Helen Cross has won a prestigious award at the Edinburgh Film Festival. Director Pawel Pawlikowski received the Michael Powell Award for Best New British Feature Film for My Summer of Love - a rite of passage tale about a tragic liaison between two adolescent girls.

Back to Work? We Dread It

If you are returning to work today after a summer break and feel depressed you are not alone - more than half of Britons dread going back to their job after going away on holiday. A survey today shows 59 per cent returned to the humdrum daily routine with heavy hearts and only a quarter felt refreshed by their break.

Library's Future in Doubt As Developers Buy Paradise Forum

The uncertain future of Birmingham's Central Library has been thrust back into the spotlight after the company which developed Brindleyplace announced it had bought Paradise Forum. Argent Group said its immediate plans for the pedestrian link between the city centre and the newer cultural areas in the Convention Quarter involved revamping the current facilities.

Lawyer First Person to See Cuba Detainee

A lawyer will visit a Birmingham man being held at Guantanamo Bay today and tomorrow for the first time since his imprisonment more than two years ago. Strict orders have been put in place by the US Government about what the lawyer can say on the condition and state of mind of Moazzam Begg and another British detainee following the visit, according to UK-based lawyer Louise Christian.

Teddy Bears' Picnic at Middleton Hall

Police Release First Details of Victim Killed in Holiday Coach Crash

The victim of a holiday coach crash at the weekend was a 59year- old Liverpool man, Northampton Police said last night. The coach was carrying 35 passengers and on its way back from Spain when it veered off a motorway slip road on Sunday and crashed into trees near Daventry, Northamptonshire. It left the road at the junction of the M45 and the M1 at about 1.30pm and crashed through barriers, killing one and injuring seven.

Car Plant's Future to Be Decided Later Today

Top Ford boss Mark Fields will today arrive in Solihull to decide on the future of Land Rover. It seems likely he will approve a plan for improved productivity and better quality drawn up by unions and local management.

Something for Everyone: Festival has Everything From Dog Displays to High-Tech Inventions

Visitors to this year's Town and Country Festival at Stoneleigh Park in Warwickshire were able to enjoy everything from urban sports to dog displays and high-tech new inventions. Showing the way was Captain (above left) with Andrew Marren, master of the Marren Bloodhounds and (right) Cliff Wakelin from Coventry brought back the golden age of motoring with a replica of the MG TF.

End May Be in Sight for Coventry Airport Saga ; an End to the Battle to Turn Coventry Airport From a Small Freight Airfield Into a Dedicated Regional Passenger Hub Is in Sight. Transport Reporter Campbell Docherty Spoke to Airport Managing Director Bill Savage About the Long-Running Saga

A average day at one of the Midlands' oldest - and yet still fledgling - airports. Buses full of passengers arrive from a temporary car park a few miles down the road - forced to park there by planning wrangles which will not allow an on-site facility.

Rural Matters: Council Dispels Gypsy Myths

Travellers and Romany gypsies taking up residence on areas of private land have featured prominently in the local and national news in recent months. From the arrival of travellers on land in a village owned by the Prince of Wales in Dorset, to hysterical national newspaper headlines, the issue of land rights for travellers has become a major talking point.

Rural Matters: Reducing Impact of Festival On Historic Park

Weston Park in Staffordshire, which hosted the V Festival, has unveiled plans to ensure the impact of 70,000 music lovers on the site is kept to a minimum. The Weston Park Management Team has been working with the Government to carry out conservation work to the park, which was designed in the late 18th century by Capability Brown.

Rural Matters: Road Signs a Threat to Rural Areas Says Group

The countryside is under threat from creeping urbanisation because of an increasing amount of unnecessary signs and poorly designed street furniture, a lobby group has warned. The Campaign to Protect Rural England has thrown down the gauntlet to local authorities to clean up roadsides by reducing excessive signs, deemed to be eyesores by ramblers and commuters.

Rural Matters: Couple Celebrating 200 Weddings Each Year

A Shropshire couple are looking forward to wedding celebrations - about 200 times a year - after swapping a dairy herd for a bed and breakfast enterprise. Keith and Lorraine Evans, of Park Farm, Rowton, are hoping to benefit from nearby Rowton Castle, which has become one of the country's most popular wedding venues.

Rural Matters: Britain's Birds Under Threat From Modern Farming, Warns Book

The distinctive sounds of the skylark and song thrush may soon be a thing of the past if they continue to decline at their current rate, according to a new book. Modern farming practises and changes in the weather have altered habitats and led to a dramatic reduction in some of Britain's best known birds.

Ignoring New Laws May Cost City Pounds 1bn

Birmingham firms will miss out on a share of pounds 1 billion worth of business and could face legal action if they do not comply with new legislation, a leading disability rights campaigner has warned. Bert Massie, chairman of the Disabled Rights Commission, visited the city to see how businesses were progressing with moves to make sure all shops and services are accessible to the city's 192,000 disabled residents when new laws come into effect in October.

Bowling Legend Drops in to Support Aston Event ; Community Cricket: Akram at Eight-a-Side Competition

Cricket lovers were bowled over when a special fan turned up to cheer them on in a competition yesterday - Pakistan legend Wasim Akram. The former Pakistan captain and World Cup winner signed autographs and watched the teams compete in the Aston Youth Forum and Networks event at Holford Drive Depot in Perry Barr.

Pay Row Threat to Hospital Services

Cleaners and porters are threatening to go on strike at a Birmingham hospital in a row over low pay. Operations may be cancelled and A&E treatment delayed if around 400 contract staff walk out of Heartlands Hospital next month.

Beauty Spot Body