Summary

  • Report says Warwickshire is retail fraud hotspot

  • Lorry driver cleared over cyclist death

  • Home of the Bears breaks attendance record

  • The pooch that answers only to Polish

  • Updates on Friday 16 June 2017

  1. Councils review high-rises' fire safetypublished at 19:12 BST 16 June 2017

    Local authority staff are also working with tenants on fire safety after the Grenfell Tower blaze.

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  2. Our coverage across the daypublished at 18:00 BST 16 June 2017

    We will back from 08:00 on Monday with more news, sport, travel and weather.

    Enjoy the weekend.

  3. The pooch that answers only to Polishpublished at 17:54 BST 16 June 2017

    German Shepherd Caleb ignores commands in English but responds to those in his 'native tongue'.

    Read More
  4. The charity worker providing aid to Grenfell Tower victimspublished at 17:48 BST 16 June 2017

    Vanessa Pearce
    BBC Local Live

    A Coventry man who's been volunteering at the site of the Grenfell Tower tragedy described the scenes when he first arrived as being like "something out of war-torn Syria".

    Haroon Mota, who's a fundraising manager for Penny Appeal, a UK-based international humanitarian aid provider, said he and his team of volunteers have been offering food, drink and emotional support to the hundreds of people affected.

    Penny Appeal workersImage source, Haroon Mota

    "These people have lost their homes and their livelihoods, their homes and their belongings but they're just so thankful and grateful," he said. "We're just trying to do whatever we can."

    The observation of Ramadan, he said, was making it difficult for some Muslim residents who were "having to go 19 hours through the day without eating or drinking".

    He said: "But we provided a hot meal for over 500 people yesterday alone."

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  5. Weather: Scorchiopublished at 17:30 BST 16 June 2017

    Rebecca Wood
    BBC Midlands Today

    We're forecast a hot weekend and a muggy night tonight.

    Temperatures could reach as high as 27C (81F).

    Media caption,

    Rebecca Wood has your forecast

  6. Motorcyclist dies in Coleshill collisionpublished at 17:25 BST 16 June 2017

    A motorcyclist has died after a collision involving a van on Coleshill Industrial Estate, says the ambulance service.

    Paramedic officers performed CPR on the injured man at the scene, but he was confirmed dead a short time after 12:30 today.

    Station RoadImage source, Google

    The driver of the van, a man in his 20s, didn't require hospital treatment.

    Station road and Gorsey Lane remain closed by police.

  7. Yoga and Tai Chi can change our bodies at 'molecular level' says researcherpublished at 17:04 BST 16 June 2017

    Mind-body interventions (MBIs) such as yoga and mindfulness don't simply relax us, they can "reverse" the effect of stress at a molecular level, says a Coventry University academic.

    Ivana BuricImage source, Coventry University

    Lead investigator Ivana Buric from university's Centre for Psychology, Behaviour and Achievement said millions around the world enjoyed the benefits of MBIs, but perhaps didn't realise they can change the way our "genetic code goes about its business".

    She said: “More needs to be done to understand these effects in greater depth, for example how they compare with other healthy interventions like exercise or nutrition."

  8. Student blocks to be reviewed after Grenfell Tower firepublished at 16:21 BST 16 June 2017

    Vanessa Pearce
    BBC Local Live

    One of Coventry's largest student accommodation providers Study Inn says it'll be reviewing designs of its blocks to check whether they can make improvements in light of the Grenfell Tower fire.

    The company says it will work with architects, installers and external fire consultants to check whether there is anything to be done to the buildings.

    Looking to reassure residents in its tallest block in the city, the ex-Axa building, it confirms that the structure has no cladding and is, instead, made up of glass panels, aluminium windows and concrete.

    Study InnImage source, Google
    Quote Message

    All of our buildings have been through the building regulation approval process which includes consultation with the fire authority and production of a fire risk assessment. All of this is completed before the building comes into occupation and is then reviewed annually."

    Study Inn, Spokesperson

  9. People urged to 'think before they act' on night out following tragic deathpublished at 15:41 BST 16 June 2017

    Leamington Observer

    Police have urged people on a night out to think before they act in the wake of Robert Bavington’s tragic death. , external

  10. Coventry to host Blackburn Rovers in Carabao Cuppublished at 15:10 BST 16 June 2017

    The Sky Blues will face Tony Mowbray's Blackburn Rovers at The Ricoh Arena in the first round of the Carabao Cup - otherwise known as the League Cup.

    The tie will be played in the week commencing 7 August.

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  11. CCTV images released after Stratford robberypublished at 14:48 BST 16 June 2017

    Cigarettes and a wallet were stolen during a burglary in Stratford-upon-Avon on Saturday 1 April, police say.

    They've issued CCTV of a man with a tattooed hand they wish to identify in connection with their investigation into the incident at the Co-op store on Wordsworth Avenue.

    CCTVImage source, Warwickshire Police
  12. Launchbury and Hughes start for England against Argentinapublished at 13:59 BST 16 June 2017

    BBC Coventry & Warwickshire Sport

    Wasps skipper Joe Launchbury and the club's Nathan Hughes both start for England in the final test against Argentina tomorrow.

    Front row Matt Mullan is one of the replacements for the match in Santa Fe.

    Joe Launchbury being tackledImage source, Getty Images
  13. Warwickshire revealed as retail fraud hotspot by Which?published at 13:33 BST 16 June 2017

    Research by consumer watchdog Which? shows Warwickshire is a hotspot for retail fraud, with 30,944 cases reported between 2014 and 2016.

    KeyboardImage source, PA

    The analysis of data from UK cyber-crime centre Action Fraud found there were 15.7 reports per 10,000 people, compared with the average of 3.4.

    The group is calling on the government to do more to tackle the problem.

    You can use this interactive map, external to find out the most commonly occurring fraud where you live.

  14. Anniversary of Reconciliation Statuepublished at 13:07 BST 16 June 2017

    Events are taking place to mark the 40th anniversary of Bradford's Reconciliation Statue, copies of which spread a message of peace across the world including Coventry.

    The one in the city has been in the cathedral ruins since 1995 when Sir Richard Branson donated it to mark the 50th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.

    Reconciliation Statue

    Copies can also be found in the Hiroshima Peace Park in Japan, Stormont Castle in Belfast and another in Germany as part of the Berlin Wall memorial.

    International visitors will visit Coventry today for a service dedicated to the 40-year-old piece.

  15. Meet the pooch that answers only to Polishpublished at 12:43 BST 16 June 2017

    Sit, stay, heel, fetch, walkies - what do you do when the dog in your care just doesn't want to listen?

    That was the problem staff at Kenilworth's Dogs Trust thought they were facing when it seemed they'd been landed with a disobedient dog that could not adjust to kennel life.

    But German Shepherd Caleb was not a little worse for wear so much as a little Warsaw - he had once had Polish owners and it gave staff a theory to test.

    CalebImage source, Dogs Trust

    The trust said a Polish speaker who was adopting another dog was asked to speak to Caleb who "within seconds" began to relax at the sound of the language, then "perform a repertoire of tricks with ease".

    The Trust now hopes a Polish-speaker will adopt the four year old.

  16. BBC Question Time: Coventry audience grills minister over May's tower visitpublished at 12:22 BST 16 June 2017

    The prime minister should have met residents of Grenfell Tower despite the likelihood of being shouted at, a former Tory cabinet minister has said.

    Michael Portillo, a former MP for Kensington where the fire happened, told the BBC Mrs May "didn't use her humanity" when she visited the scene.

    When asked by a member of the BBC Question Time audience at Coventry University last night, defence minister Tobias Ellwood suggested she had not met residents for "security concerns".

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  17. Carabao Cup drawpublished at 12:10 BST 16 June 2017

    BBC Coventry & Warwickshire Sport

    The Sky Blues are unseeded when they go into the draw for the first round of the Carabao Cup, external this afternoon.

    They could end up facing the likes of Sunderland , Leeds, Derby or Nottingham Forest in the competiton, formerly known as the EFL Cup.

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  18. Midlands housing group reassures residentspublished at 11:45 BST 16 June 2017

    BBC Midlands Today

    One of the region's largest social housing providers is reassuring its tenants that fire safety checks are carried out annually in its tower blocks.

    The WM Housing Group, external owns 38 high rises in Coventry and Birmingham.

    It says it's double-checked records and none of its buildings have cladding like the type used in Grenfell Tower in West London, where at least seventeen people were killed in a fire.