News Room

Latest news Coventry man jailed for gun offences 11/04/2017 A Coventry man has been jailed for six years for possession of a prohibited firearm and ammunition after a jury took less than two hours to find him guilty of both offences. Sean Walsh, from Binton Road, Wood End, was spotted on a motorcycle dumping two bags on private waste ground belonging to a local business premises back in October 2015. On investigation the bag was found to contain a sawn-off shot gun, cartridges and live rounds of expanding ammunition. Fortunately the witness had the presence of mind to take a note of the registration number of the bike and this led police to 27-year-old Walsh. He …

Latest news Police appeal for witnesses after man loses life in Bloxwich collision 10/04/2017 Police are appealing for witnesses to come forward after a man lost his life in a Bloxwich collision on Sunday (9 April). Officers were called to the junction of Fryers Road and Leamore Lane just after 11pm following reports of a car in collision with a van. A 21-year-old man was treated by the ambulance service at the scene but despite their best efforts there was nothing that could be done to save him and he died at the scene. A 20-year-old passenger was also taken to hospital for serious injuries where he remains in a critical condition. The 28-year-old driver of th…

Latest news Knife attacker jailed after WMP traced him to Scotland 10/04/2017 A masked attacker who stabbed another man in the stomach during an unprovoked attack has been jailed for eight years − after West Midlands Police tracked him down in Scotland. Warren Wiggan − whose face was covered by a Halloween mask − left his victim with a three-inch wound after attacking him in Barnes Hill, Weoley Castle, last September. The victim, aged in his mid-20s, had just left a supermarket with his partner and young child when their car was forced to stop by another vehicle which pulled in front of them. Wiggan slashed a tyre on the family’s car before turning the knife on …

Latest news Birmingham drug gang jailed for 26 years 10/04/2017 Three Birmingham men have been jailed for over 26 years for their part in a sophisticated and long running conspiracy to supply heroin and crack cocaine into the towns of Kettering and Corby in Northamptonshire. A painstaking police investigation revealed that the trio travelled daily from Birmingham to the Northampton towns to supply a large and well-established client base and were key players in buying and selling Class A drugs on a commercial scale. O’Neil Gittens, aged 29 from Forest Road, Moseley, and Junior Morris, aged 34 from Hall Road, Handsworth, were arrested on 1 March as they sat in Mor…

Latest news Distraction burglaries by bogus police officers 10/04/2017 Police have released CCTV footage of a man they want to speak to following a spate of distraction burglaries where the offender has claimed to be a police officer. The man has been described as white, around 6ft tall and of a heavy build, a number of victims have stated that he had a large ‘pot belly’. He is believed to have been travelling across the West Midlands duping the elderly into letting him in their homes. Detectives are linking 13 burglaries that have happened since March, five in Coventry four in Sandwell and four in Birmingham. [embedded content] The thief has been knocking on …

Latest news Cybercops: Meet the team that’s tackling web crooks 10/04/2017 Last year saw a milestone in UK criminal history: for the first time there were just as many victims of crime online as there were in the ‘real world’. More than two million people in the UK are estimated to have suffered at the fingertips of keyboard criminals in 2015-16 – and cybercrime is now recognised as one of the biggest challenges facing law enforcement agencies across the globe. In the West Midlands, a team of specialist officers play their part in tackling web crooks who target residents, businesses and organisations in the region. In 2016, the cybercrime unit investigated 24 com…

Latest news Police dog is named after brave, fundraising schoolboy 09/04/2017 A new West Midlands Police dog has been named in memory of a wannabe young cop who lost his brave battle against brain cancer. The German Shepherd has been called after 11-year-old Finlay Church who raised more than £150,000 for Brain Tumour Research and Birmingham Children’s Hospital before his passing in November 2015. The police-mad schoolboy from Birmingham helped organise a series of fundraisers after his diagnosis - including a world record for the Longest Line of Teddies! He made an unforgettable impression on staff at West Midlands Police after fulfilling an ambition to spend …

Latest news Man dies after taking Black Mamba 09/04/2017 Police are warning drug users in Birmingham against the use of Black Mamba after a man has died and two people became ill overnight. The homeless man, believed to be in his 30s, was pronounced dead just before 6am this morning (Sunday 9 April) after paramedics were called to Fletchers Walk in the city centre. Mamba has recently been reclassified as a Class B controlled drug, meaning that possession of the substance is now a crime and anyone using it can be prosecuted. The drug is believed to be commonly used, particularly among young people and those who are vulnerable, and many people could unwittingly be …

Latest news Criminals’ cash helping police train for home raids on crooks! 08/04/2017 West Midlands Police has unveiled new training facilities designed to help officers prepare for raids on the homes of crime suspects − all paid for by convicted criminals! The Park Lane base in Aston, Birmingham, is now equipped with a mock building that allows the force’s rapid entry taskforce to fine-tune tactics ahead of warrants. And it’s been funded largely through a £30,000 donation from the force’s Proceeds of Crime Act (PoCA) Fund − that’s money West Midlands Police has stripped from crooks. The facilities can be prepared to replicate the kind of property officers can exp…

Latest news Man sentenced for sexually assaulting four teenagers 06/04/2017 A fork lift truck driver who sexually assaulted four teenage girls has been handed an 11 year prison sentence. Roy Dempster aged 47, was found guilty at Birmingham Crown Court on 21 February of three counts of sexual activity with a child, two counts of sexual assault and three counts of supplying drugs, all committed between 2005 and 2015. Police arrested Dempster on 26 June 2016 after a teenage girl disclosed she had been sexually assaulted by him at a New Year’s Eve Party on 31 December 2014 when she was just 13-years-old. Following his arrest another three women in their 20s were ident…

Latest news Pair charged with terrorism offences 05/04/2017 A man and a woman arrested in Birmingham last week on suspicion of terrorism offences have been charged. Ummariyat Mirza (male), aged 21 from St Agathas Road, Birmingham, and Zainub Mirza (female), aged 23 from Eastfield Road, Bordesley Green, have been charged as follows: Ummariyat Mirza 1. On or before the 29 day of March 2017, with the intention of committing acts of terrorism engaged in conduct in preparation for giving effect to his intention, namely by conducting research and purchasing a knife and other items which would assist him carry out an attack in the UK. Contrary to section 5(1) of the …

Latest news New Assistant Chief Constable chosen at West Midlands Police 05/04/2017 West Midlands Police has appointed Temporary ACC Sarah Boycott as Assistant Chief Constable. T/ACC Boycott is currently serving with the Cheshire Constabulary where she oversees local policing including neighbourhood policing, firearms, public order, contact and emergency planning. She was area commander for Warrington and Halton, worked as a Deputy Programme Director at Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and spent two years working for the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations, based in New York, travelling extensively to Sudan and Darfur. She said: “The West Midlands…

Latest news Online ticket sales warning as Birmingham gig goers fall for spoof advert 05/04/2017 Gig goers have been urged by West Midlands Police to be wary of unauthorised ticket sales sites after a social experiment saw more than 1,500 people fall for a spoof advert. Targeted Facebook users received a series of flash sales from a secondary ticket provider called ‘Surfed Arts’ offering entry to sold-out performances across the UK, including an Iron Maiden gig in Birmingham. However, ‘Surfed Arts’ was a fictitious supplier created by City of London Police and Action Fraud as part of a web test to raise awareness of sales scams. More than 1,500 people clicked thro…

Latest news Birmingham tram stop murder victim’s family pay tribute to man “loved by many" 05/04/2017 The family of a Birmingham granddad, who was killed in a vicious attack at a tram stop last Friday, have paid tribute to him. Anthony Banting, 57, was stabbed multiple times after getting off a tram at Soho Benson Road, at around 4.40pm on 31 March. The dad of four, known as Tony, was murdered as he made his way to meet one of his sons in a nearby pub. Today, his sons have paid tribute to the granddad of two and are urging anyone with information about his death to come forward: “Dad was a simple man with simple pleasures, and loved nothing more than spending tim…

Latest news MISSING: Ann Dowling, 92 04/04/2017 We’re appealing for the public’s help to find missing Ann Dowling. The 92-year-old was last seen at around 2pm this afternoon (Tuesday 4 April) boarding the 59 bus on Bembridge Road, in the Lea Hall area of Birmingham. She was reported missing shortly before 7pm when our investigation into her disappearance was immediately launched. Ann is described as white, 5ft tall and slim. She has straight, mousy-brown, shoulder-length hair. It is not known what clothes she was wearing at the time but it is believed that she was pulling her dark coloured shopping trolley. Ann’s family are very worried. Local hospitals have …