11 people have been arrested after delivery trucks were damaged at a milk distribution centre in Willenhall.
In the early hours of Tuesday morning, 6 September, protestors from the animal rights group Animal Rebellion entered the premises of Muller Wiseman Dairies, on Ashmore Lake Way.
They then filmed themselves drilling holes into tyres of a number of lorries owned by Muller.
In a statement by West Midlands Police: “Officers on patrol responded to reports of trespassers at Muller Wiseman Dairies, Ashmore Lake Way, Willenhall, at 5.30am today and found several people on site damaging vehicles.
“It’s understood the group forced entry through perimeter fencing before drilling holes in around 200 tyres. It’s estimated they’ve caused damage totalling £80,000.”
This week, the protest group has also disrupted the supply of dairy at the Muller dairy in Droitwich and the Freshmans dairy in Acton.
On social media, Animal Rebellion explained their actions by posting: The Government are letting us sleepwalk towards absolute global climate devastation, whilst endorsing the suffering and murder of billions of farmed animals every year in the UK.”
A spokesperson for Muller UK & Ireland stated that supplies of fresh milk are not affected.
Seven women and four men were arrested in Willenhall on Tuesday morning.
The theft of drain covers in Walsall is escalating with West Midlands Police now reporting 342 thefts already this year.
The cost of these thefts to the public purse is reported to be £110,800, which could have been used for other vital services.
Missing drain covers in Walsall
Consequently, Walsall Council is urging residents to be on the lookout for drain thefts and report them, or come forward with any images or videos that may help catch the perpetrators.
It’s believed that the missing drain covers are being sold to scrap dealers and Walsall Council says it will come down hard on anyone involved in purchasing the metal.
Walsall Residents Asked To Be Vigilant
Councillor Mike Bird, Leader of Walsall Council said:
“That’s a significant amount of public money that we’d rather spend on our looked after children and caring for our most vulnerable residents, rather than fixing things after criminals have left our highways in a dangerous condition.
“If residents see this criminal activity in progress, I would ask them to consider their own safety and not attempt to intervene, but report any information they have to West Midlands police via https://west-midlands.police.uk/incident-report and also to Walsall Council via roadworksmanagement@walsall.gov.uk. Any footage from doorbell cameras is particularly welcomed. If we can find them and recover costs from them, we will. We will also come down heavily on scrap dealers who allow these to be ‘weighed in’, as a drain cover’s purpose is patently obvious.
Drain covers come in all shapes and sizes
Councillor Bird also explains that the exercise of replacing the drain covers is more complicated and costly than people might expect.
Replacing Drain Covers Isn’t That Simple
“We have around 37,825 gully covers across the borough, of varying ages, designs and sizes. This means there isn’t a handy stockpile of covers in the yard which can be quickly fitted, so our contractor Tarmac has to ‘plate’ the missing covers while replacements are organised to ensure the safety of highway users.
“We’re not just replacing like for like though. Our approach is to do a more thorough job and install covers in such a way that it will make it very much more difficult for these criminals to get their hands on their ill-gotten gains. It does cost more, but it’s investment for the future.
“I can understand people may think it’s just a 10 minute job, but it isn’t and certainly not if we want to future-proof. When we walk, drive or cycle, we only see the surface, but there’s a lot of engineering underground.
“I’d like to place on the record my thanks to our highways teams for their vigilance and also to Tarmac for their responsiveness; they work closely together to keep us all safe.”
A five-year-old boy from Walsall has died after being hit by a bin lorry on West Bromwich Road on Sunday 17 July.
Scene of incident on West Bromwich Road – Google images
The boy was reported to be riding his Spider-Man bike near the West Bromwich Road junction with The Broadway when the incident happened.
He was pronounced dead shortly after and The Broadway was closed for investigations.
West Midlands police are appealing for witnesses or anyone with dashcam footage to come forward.
Walsall Council issued the following statement:
“Our deepest condolences to the family of the young boy that sadly died in the road traffic accident that took place on West Bromwich Road yesterday, July 17.
“The council can confirm the vehicle involved was a private vehicle and not engaged in any council work.
“As with all serious road traffic accidents our Highways and Transport team will work with WM Police and follow up on any reports and concerns as part of our future road safety programme planning.”
Police are searching for a couple accused of conning a 75-year-old man from Walsall with a lottery scam.
Two wanted in connection with Walsall lottery scam.
A woman approached the elderly gentlemen in St Paul’s Street in Walsall on May 4, claiming she had won the lottery.
She was joined by a man who backed her story and convinced the victim that she would sell it to him for cash.
The couple drove the man to his home where he picked up his bank book and withdrew an undisclosed amount of cash (said to be thousands) before handing it over to them.
The woman then said she felt unwell and asked the man to collect some medication for her, but had vanished when he returned.
If you have information about the suspects, pictured above, or have been approached with a similar lottery scam, contact West Midlands Police via Live Chat or website, quoting reference: 20/418374/22.
West Midlands Police were alerted to the discovery and immediately sealed off the area shortly after 4pm. Currently, the incident is being treated as “unexplained”.
A referral has also been made to a coroner as the police search for more clues and have stated that the area may still be sealed off for several days. Forensic analysis of the area is also being conducted.
West Midlands Police have detained a 38-year-old man from Wolverhampton following a high-speed chase around the area of Blakenall in Bloxwich on Tuesday morning (29 March).
Officers were alerted to the scene at approximately 10.10am after a stolen van linked to a burglary was spotted. The van sped off around the Beresford Road and Well Lane area smashing through a lamppost until it was stopped in Guild Avenue.
Guild Avenue, Bloxwich where the van was eventually stopped. Image: Google
Local residents said that approximately six police cars were involved in the chase around the streets of Blakenall, including Walker Road and Harden Road.
Christopher Talbot from Wolverhampton fled the scene but was caught and detained on suspicion of dangerous driving. He appears in court today charged with criminal damage to three police cars and two cars belonging to members of the public, alongside dangerous driving, aggravated vehicle taking and driving while disqualified.
Talbot also faces four burglary charges from Next in Telford that took place this month.
During the chase, five police officers were hurt, though no serious injuries were reported.
A shocking video circulating on the Blakenall and Surrounding Areas Facebook page shows the van reversing at speed into a police car with the driver stumbling out of the car and collapsing.
Talbot has been in trouble with the police before when he was charged with burglary following a ram raid at Boots in Wolverhampton in 2020. The car involved in that raid later hit a 19-year-old cyclist from Darlaston who died at the scene.
A 50-year-old man found critically injured on a Tesco car park in Brownhills on Monday has died.
At 5.04pm on Monday, emergency services were notified after receiving reports of a stabbing and paramedics rushed to the scene in Silver Street, Brownhills.
A spokesperson from the West Midlands Ambulance service said: “They administered advanced trauma care to the patient but sadly, despite the best efforts, nothing could be done to save the man and he was confirmed deceased on scene.”
The death is currently being treated as unexplained and witnesses or anyone who knows anything about the incident are being asked to come forward.
West Midlands police can be contacted via live chat quoting the reference number 3322, or calling 101.
Wednesbury Road in Pleck was closed off today (20 January 2022) following reports of a police incident.
Diversions were put in place after a gunman opened fire with a shotgun on the Walsall road around 3pm, before escaping in a Volkswagen Tiguan.
Two shots were reported to be fired at a man aged 32, who was hit but has not been seriously hurt, said West Midlands Police.
Please be advised that there is currently a Police incident on Wednesbury Road, Walsall at The Brown Lion Junction. The road is closed in both directions at its junction with Old Pleck Road causing some traffic congestion. Please avoid the area where possible.
The shooter is still on the run, though police are investigating. Local residents who have any information have been asked to contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111, quoting log number 2522 of January 20.
Firefighters have tackled a blaze at the Sneyd pub on Vernon Way in Bloxwich in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Four fire crews from around the region were sent to tackle a “severe” blaze at the derelict pub at 1.27am on Sunday.
“It was a fire in a two-storey detached, derelict public house. We used three main jets and one hose reel jet to tackle the fire using one hydraulic platform,” confirmed a spokesperson for the brigade.
We currently have four crews from Bloxwich, Willenhall, Fallings Park and Aldridge and an aerial appliance from Walsall dealing with a severe fire at a derelict pub in the Bloxwich area. pic.twitter.com/CW8bCFCS1V
The pub has been derelict for some time and has been the subject of multiple housing applications, the most recent of which was turned down by Walsall Council in 2019.
