Birmingham Post

Enthusiasts Pick Over the Bones

They've hardly had time to decently mourn the passing of one of Britain's greatest automotive names, but MG Rover enthusiasts are already clamouring to offload memorabilia from Longbridge. Almost 250 items, ranging from the ridiculous to the rare, have been posted for sale on the internet auction site ebay since the demise of the company was announced last Friday.

Blair - I Did My Best to Save Mg Rover

The Prime Minister yesterday denied taking a leading role in the MG Rover crisis because he feared an electoral backlash in a string of marginal seats in the Midlands. Tony Blair insisted the Government could not have intervened directly to save MG Rover but had done its 'level best' to persuade the Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation to tie up a deal with the Longbridge carmaker.

Cctv Pilot Reducing Attacks On West Midlands' Firefighters

West Midlands Fire Service's pioneering CCTV initiative has been hailed a national success after the number of attacks on firefighters was halved. The pilot scheme, costing about pounds 37,500 and involving the installation of CCTV cameras on the outside of fire engines, has seen a 47 per cent drop in dangerous incidents in its first year.

Fertility Treatment Campaign Couples Are Chosen

Three Midland couples were selected yesterday for fertility treatment funded by The Birmingham Post. Experts at Midland Fertility Services, in Aldridge, Walsall, were so overwhelmed with entries they are funding an extra cycle of IVF, costing nearly pounds 3,000.

Child's Play Tv

A schoolgirl from Birmingham is set to become a household name when she stars in a children's reality TV show. Local girl Rikta Begum was one of ten children aged between 11 and 12 handpicked to take part in the first ever reality TV show for kids, starring kids.

Gun Victim Dies

A 24-year-old man has died more than two weeks after being shot outside a pub. Clinton Bailey had been in a critical condition in Coventry's Walsgrave Hospital since the shooting near the Three Horseshoes pub in the city on April 4.

Grenade Shock

A block of flats had to be evacuated after a man discovered a hand grenade in his garden and then took it indoors. The block of flats at Ashwood Court, Rugby, Warwickshire, was sealed off until bomb disposal experts arrived on Sunday afternoon.

Farmer Terrorised by Armed Raiders

A Warwickshire farmer was tied up for six hours in the back of a lorry by an armed gang who threatened him with shotguns, a cattle prod and an electric Taser-style gun. About six masked gunmen broke into his barn on the farm in Wishaw, near Coleshill, just after midnight on Sunday.

Election Attacks 'May Target Brum

Birmingham remains at risk of terrorist attack during the General Election according to a report from a leading insurance firm. The annual international terrorist risk map from Insurance company Aon has identified Birmingham as being a target for terrorist attacks in the run-up to the General Election on May 5.

Union Leaders Back Plans to Privatise City Highway Network

Trade union leaders are backing the pounds 2 billion privatisation of Birmingham's entire highways network. Unions representing about 800 city council workers who would be affected by the transfer of responsibility for roads, pavements and street lighting to a private sector consortium withdrew outright opposition after months of negotiations.

Two Ferrari Man Must Pay Back Legal Aid

A man who owned a helicopter, two Ferraris, a Bentley and three BMWs then claimed legal aid for his trial on violent disorder was ordered by a judge at Stafford Crown Court to pay back pounds 135,900 defence and prosecution costs. The claim against Clive Saunders (43) of Wood Lane, Uttoxeter, was made by the Legal Services Commission - which grants legal aid - and the Crown Prosecution Service.

Parking Gridlock Protest

Angry traders gridlocked a major Birmingham road yesterday by driving at just 10mph in protest at 'zero tolerance' parking zones. Police were called when up to 70 businessmen and women based on the A34 Stratford Road brought the route to a standstill during the morning peak hour.

999 Targets Are Met

A Midland ambulance service has met the Government's emergency response targets - despite seeing 999 calls rise by more than ten per cent. Hereford and Worcester Ambulance Service NHS Trust has achieved its key national performance targets for the year to the end of March 2005.

Bullring Restaurants in Health Warning

Environmental health teams uncovered mouse droppings, poor hygiene, dirty food preparation areas, wash basins without soap or towels at premises in Birmingham's Bullring shopping centre. City council consumer services inspectors reported cause for concern just days after the pounds 530 million flagship centre opened in September 2003.

Wolverhampton Witches Inspired Novel

A Midlands writer has told how going to a witches coven meeting in a Wolverhampton suburb was the inspiration for her new book. Mother-of-four Lynsay Ashford has just released her second crime novel called Strange Blood, starring a forensic pyschologist called Megan Rhys.

Marathon Is a Runaway Success for Region's Athletic Fundraisers

West Midlanders braved downpours and cold conditions to raise thousands for charity at the London Marathon. The region's competitors returned home on 'runner's high', wrapped in foil blankets and sipping tea after Sunday's 26.2-mile race.

Pony Paradise in Sutton Park

Rail Guide Highlights Uk's Green Corridors

The country's rail network is providing 'green corridors' for wildlife and creating havens for hundreds of species of birds and mammals, experts said today. Now National Rail, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and Mammals Trust UK, are jointly launching a free guide to watching wildlife from the train window.

Agency Doubles Helpline Operators

The Rural Payments Agency has doubled the staff manning its single farm payment helpline in response to farmers' complaints that the system is a shambles. Farmers said they were struggling to get through and were also worried about the quality of the advice.

The Great Dairy Farmer Exodus

A quarter of Britain's dairy farmers could be out of business by the end of the decade, industry leaders fear. So many loss-making farmers are quitting that less than 15,000 may be left by 2010, compared with 200,000 registered in 1950.