HERE'S what's been happening across the Black Country and North Worcestershire today (Monday).

Plans to build an outdoor stage as part of a £1.1million makeover of Dudley’s Coronation Gardens have been slammed amid fears people will climb on the war memorial to get a good view.

The gardens, opposite Dudley Council House in Priory Road, are to be given a new lease of life after Dudley Council secured cash from the European Regional Development Fund.

But Sedgley councillor Bill Etheridge has grave reservations that the war memorial could be used as a vantage point for anyone viewing the new stage.

To read more click here.

Police have today (Monday) named the motorcyclist who died following a crash in Brierley Hill as Christian Davies.

The 50-year-old, known by his family and friends as Hugh, suffered fatal injuries when his Honda motorbike collided with a white Ford Fiesta van, in Pedmore Road at the Gateway, just before 7pm on Tuesday (June 30).

To read more click here.

The jury has been sworn in for the trial of a Rowley Regis man accused of murdering popular Birmingham father.

Stuart Millership, aged 32, of Beeches Road, has denied murdering Baljit Singh, whose body was found in the basement of a house in Rowley Regis on New Year's Day, and his trial is set to start tomorrow (Tuesday) at Wolverhampton Crown Court - and is expected to last for two weeks.

To read today's court report click here.

In Oldbury, six people were injured in an accident in Oldbury which happened at midday today.

The crash occurred on the Wolverhampton Road when a car carrying two pensioners smashed into a taxi.

For pictures and more details click here.

The distraught mother of a Bromsgrove squaddie facing 50 years in a notorious Thai jail for possessing ecstasy tablets has been dealt a fresh blow - after hearing the family must also raise cash to pay a £25,000 fine.

As 27-year-old Lance Whitmore's parents prepare to mount an appeal against the sentence that could see him in prison until he is 77, his mother, Debbie Casewell, has resorted to knocking on doors in Bromsgrove in a desperate plea for cash.

To read the full story click here.

The new headmaster of a top boarding school in Bromsgrove has been cleared of domestic violence against his ex-wife by a judge in New Zealand.

A lawyer acting for the independent Bromsgrove School's head, Peter Clague, had accused the ex-partner of "embellishing" events.

According to the New Zealand Herald, lawyer Michael Lloyd said Mr Clague had been "persecuted for three years" and the judge's decision to drop the case was a "deserved result".

To read more click here.

In Kidderminster, council chiefs are set to extend a fast-track planning scheme which has helped bring in millions of pounds of investment into the town.

To read more click here.