News Room

Latest news Sheep rustling suspects behind baa-rs after police chase 10/05/2016 Three suspected poachers have lost their sheep but West Midlands Police knows where to find them… in the back of a people carrier in Birmingham! Officers spotted three woolly back-seat passengers being driven in a Ford Galaxy along Hob Moor Road, Yardley, in the early hours of this morning (May 10). (Inspector Clive Baynton is pictured) The vehicle tried making off but moments later rammed into a parked car in Rosedale Road where three men leapt from the car and fled. West Midlands Police units – including a dog handler and the police helicopter – flocked to the scene in a bid to …

Latest news Community could hold key to finding missing Aldridge woman 09/05/2016 Police in Walsall believe the local community could hold the key to finding a woman who has been missing for almost four weeks, as officers grow desperately concerned for her welfare. Ruth Smith is well known in Aldridge but has not been seen since leaving her home on the morning of Friday 15 April at around 10.20am. A woman of routine, 42-year-old Ruth is regularly spotted in and around the village particularly at the library and The Croft. She is also a keen walker, who crosses fields near to Longwood Road, Aldridge Cricket Club, Aldridge Airport, Walsall Arboretum and Hobs Hole…

Latest news Popular PCSO is still cracking crime - at 71! 08/05/2016 At the age of 71 he could be forgiven for putting his feet up - but it is quite the opposite for PCSO Louis Martindale-Vale. As Louis - who is believed to be the oldest PCSO in the country - is continuing to be at the forefront of tackling crime in Erdington High Street. The popular officer may be advancing in years but this has not stopped him in his pursuit of preventing crime and protecting the public. The grandfather from Great Barr, who stands to reach a decade with West Midlands Police next year, has even managed to increase his crime prevention work - bringing about the downfall of man…

Latest news Investigation launched after man stabbed in Hockley 08/05/2016 Police have launched an investigation after a man was stabbed after getting off a bus in Birmingham last night (Saturday 7 May). Officers were called at 6.08pm following reports that a man had been stabbed several times as two men became involved in an altercation as they got off a bus in Vyse Street, Hockley. The man has been taken to hospital where he remains in a critical but stable condition. His injuries are not believed to be life threatening. The attacker ran off from the scene. He is described as black and was wearing a black jacket and a black woolly hat. Anyone who saw what happe…

Latest news Police are appealing for help to find a teenage girl who went missing from her home in Coventry earlier this week. 07/05/2016 Police are appealing for help to find a teenage girl who went missing from her home in Coventry earlier this week. Sandeep Kaur Samra left her home in the Foleshill area of the city at around 4.30pm on Thursday (5 May) and has not been seen since. The 16-year-old is described as Asian, 5ft 2ins tall, slim build, shoulder length wavy black hair and brown eyes. She speaks with a local midlands accent and was last seen wearing a black padded waist-length coat, a white and yellow striped t-shirt, blue jeans and black ankle length…

Latest news Two found guilty of killing Birmingham teenager Connor Smith 06/05/2016 Two men have today been found guilty of shooting dead a Birmingham teenager following a dispute over a £50 bag of cannabis. Connor Smith was shot dead in the Hawkesley area on 8 October 2015 after Leon Frye, of Rodney Close and Philip Baillie, of Forde Way Gardens clashed with Smith and his friends in an alleyway near Baillie’s home. Connor was upset after the bag of drugs, which belonged to him and a friend, was stolen by Frye (27) and Baillie (28) at gunpoint earlier on the 8th October. This initiated a series of escalating confrontations between 19-year-old Connor and his frie…

Latest news Margaret McNaughton missing from Yardley 06/05/2016 Police are growing increasingly concerned for a woman who has been missing from her home in Yardley, Birmingham since this morning (6 May). Margaret McNaughton was last seen at around 10.30am at shops in the Swan Shopping Centre in Yardley. The 73-year-old is described as white with shoulder length brown hair and was last seen wearing a long grey coat, black trousers, and tan coloured shoes. Margaret also has a Scottish accent. Insp Clive Baynton, from Birmingham Police, said: “We need help from the public to find Margaret as quickly as possible. “She is particularly vulnerable, If you’ve seen he…

Latest news Concerns grow for missing Coventry teenager 06/05/2016 We are growing increasingly concerned for the welfare of a teenager who has gone missing in Coventry. Ellie May Shaylor, aged 15, was last on the afternoon of Saturday 23 April at McDonald’s in Stratford-upon-Avon. She is described as white, 5ft 3ins tall, with long blonde hair, blue eyes and of slim build. She was last seen wearing a black leather jacket with cream fur, dark denim leggings, Adidas trainers and carrying a cream handbag. Ellie May has been missing before and we need to make sure she is safe and well. If you’ve seen Ellie May or have any information about where she might be, cont…

Latest news E-fit released of Walsall rape suspect 05/05/2016 An e-fit image has been released of a man police want to trace following a rape. A teenage girl was walking along Sutton Road in Aldridge towards the Beacon Road junction traffic lights at approximately 10.30pm on 18 April, when she was approached by a man in a silver car. He stopped to ask her for directions, offered her a cigarette and she got into the car. He then drove her to a flat - which officers believe is in the Birmingham area - and sexually assaulted her. The next day he dropped her off outside the shops on Little Aston Road. Since the attack, the 16-year-old girl has been supported by s…

Latest news Man charged with murder of Kenichi Phillips remanded in custody 05/05/2016 A man has been remanded in custody after appearing in court charged with the murder of Birmingham teenager Kenichi Phillips. Dean Silvera appeared at Birmingham Magistrates Court this morning and will next appear at Birmingham Crown Court on Monday 9 May. The 37-year-old was arrested on Tuesday morning and in court gave his address as Dial Close in Druids Heath. Kenichi , aged 18, was shot dead as he sat in a black Seat Leon on St Marks Crescent in the Ladywood area of the city just before 7pm on Thursday 17 March. It follows the arrest and charge of a 17-year-old youth, who ca…

Latest news Second person charged with murder of Kenichi Phillips 04/05/2016 Detectives investigating the death of Birmingham teenager Kenichi Phillips in March have today (Wednesday 4 May) charged a second person with his murder. Dean Silvera, aged 37, of Stanford Grove, Perry Barr was arrested yesterday morning. He has been remanded into custody to appear at Birmingham Magistrates Court tomorrow morning (Thursday 5 May). Kenichi, aged 18, was shot dead as he sat in a black Seat Leon on St Marks Crescent in the Ladywood area of the city just before 7pm on Thursday 17 March. It follows the arrest and charge of a 17-year-old youth, who cannot be named due to his ag…

Latest news Hit-and-run driver jailed after killing pedestrian 04/05/2016 A hit-and-run driver who killed a pedestrian after ploughing into him on the pavement has been jailed for more than four years. Jordan Edwards was speeding at 73mph in a 30mph zone just moments before hitting the 53-year-old pedestrian in Cradley Road, Netherton, on 6 November last year. Edwards, aged 22, careered into Gary Wroblewski, who was walking down the street, after failing to stop at a give-way junction. He abandoned the Seat Ibiza after the collision and fled the scene - offering no assistance to Mr Wroblewski who died from his injuries. Edwards - who had not passed his driving …

Latest news Witness appeal following Coventry robbery 04/05/2016 A man was bound with a laptop cable during a robbery which took place at his Coventry home. The 32-year-old answered the door to two men between 10:30pm and 11:05pm on Wednesday 20 April. They pushed past him and threatened him with a hammer before demanding money. The man was struck with the hammer and his wrists bound with a cable from a laptop charger while they carried out a search of his house, repeatedly asking where the money was. They took £200 sterling and $300 dollars in cash from the man’s wallet before he managed to get free from the tied cable. He chased the two men who fled from his ho…

Latest news Public urged to report car cruisers as crackdown continues 04/05/2016 People who spot incidents of street racing in the Black Country are being urged to report them to the police as a region-wide crackdown on "car cruising" continues. An injunction is in force banning people from taking part in a car cruise anywhere within the four Black Country boroughs − Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton − or from promoting, organising or publicising such an event. And the authorities say they won’t hesitate to take action against anyone who breaches it. The injunction defines car cruising as the act of drivers meeting on the public highway on an organis…

Latest news Woman found guilty of baby murder 03/05/2016 A woman who violently abused an 18-month-old baby girl in her care has today been found guilty of her murder. Kandyce Narielle Downer, aged 34 from Beckbury Road, Selly Oak, inflicted months of physical abuse on defenceless Keegan Shi-Anne Downer, who had been placed with Downer following a special guardianship order. Downer, an extended family member of Keegan, was convicted following a trial at Birmingham Crown Court today. At the time of her death, Keegan was found to have suffered over 200 external and internal injuries to her tiny body. The horrific injuries inflicted over several months, included b…