Solihull Theatre Company boss dies in freak cycling accident

A popular theatre boss has died in a freak accident after falling from his bicycle while cycling with his wife and friends – Chris Macrow, 54, passed away eight days after suffering a serious head injury in the fall. The Solihull Theatre Company chairman had been cycling with wife Sarah and friends on 6th September…

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Solihull hero pilot Robert Mansell feared for plane before death crash

A Solihull pilot had voiced concerns over flying overweight planes days before he died when his aircraft ditched in the Caribbean ocean. Robert Mansell, 32, managed to safely land his twin-engined aircraft near land after sending out a mayday message when an engine failed. His expert flying enabled his nine Dutch passengers to escape the…

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Green light for lottery community garden

Plans to create a community garden for children and adults to enjoy has been given the green light thanks to lottery funding. Grace Academy pupils will help to develop the garden in partnership with Gro-Organic, an organisation which helps community groups to make greener spaces in their communities, thanks to £9,967 from The Big Lottery…

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Solihull couple to sue over Christmas cruise ordeal

A Christmas cruise turned into a nautical nightmare for a Solihull couple. Now Susan Hodges and Jonathan Owen are taking legal action over their experiences aboard the Thomson Spirit liner last December. Susan, 46, ended up in a Tenerife hospital and confined to her cabin for two days as she suffered diarrhoea, sickness and stomach…

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Solihull mum was ‘awake’ during £80,000 brain surgery to extend her life

A Solihull mum is recovering from £80,000 brain surgery which could give her precious extra time with her family. Brave Laura Fischer-Beards flew to the US for the radical procedure after being given just months to live by doctors in Britain. But the 39-year-old, from Berkswell, had to remain conscious during the five-hour operation so…

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Solihull woman scoops one-carat diamond thanks to a shopping trip at the Bullring

Susan Evans from Solihull is certainly sparkling with happiness having scooped a huge one-carat diamond worth £1,500 thanks to a shopping trip at the Bullring. For 11 days during August, shoppers queued up in their hundreds to try and find the one real gem hidden amongst hundreds of ‘faux’ diamonds in the centre’s Great Diamond…

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ExtraCare proposes retirement village on former Powergen site

The ExtraCare Charitable Trust has announced proposals to develop a retirement village for older people in Shirley as part of the new redevelopment proposals on the former Powergen site at the junction of Haslucks Green Road and Stratford Road. The overall scheme for this important 10 acre site is now being promoted by Shirley Advance…

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Solihull man arrested over Home Office cyber-attack

The West Midlands Regional Organised Crime Unit arrested a man yesterday (12th) in connection with a significant cyber-attack against the Home Office. The attack was in the form of a DDOS – distributed denial of service – attack and took the Home Office’s main website offline for around an hour and 23 minutes in January…

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Travellers removed from Chadwick End playing field

Police and Council officials have removed Travellers from Chadwick End playing field this afternoon – but look at the damage and mess they have left behind! Seventeen caravans arrived on Sunday (7th) and a further ten last night, they set up camp near to the children’s playground and also gained entry to the football pavilion….

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Community Fund concerns prompts letter to Prime Minister

A letter urging the Government to ensure an adequate Community Fund to compensate local people and businesses for the unavoidable impacts they will experience from HS2 has been sent to Prime Minister David Cameron. Solihull Council said they recognise HS2 has the potential to bring enormous benefit to the borough – however, it recently commissioned…

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