There was one question on everybody’s lips back in the day – just who was the Phantom Flan Flinger in cult kids’ TV show Tiswas? Each week he would pounce on an unsuspecting celebrity guest. Now 78, Benjamin ‘Benny’ Mills, from Solihull, a former TV extra and retired taxi driver who worked for TOA (the…

The move, which ends months of speculation about his future, will see commercial director Mike Coupe takeover at the helm of the group. Locally, the major supermarket chain has been at the centre of controversy with residents of Dorridge up in arms over plans to build a Sainsbury’s in the village centre. As well as…

The crumpled note was found stuffed inside one of many bags and boxes that cluttered penniless spinster Edna Hales’ front room by carers who faced the task of clearing the squalid property following her death. Mrs Phil White, who had tended to Edna for 14 years, fished out the lined notepaper as she was about…

Vikram Thakur, 16, spent a week in a rural village near Raipur assisting his mother, Uma Thakur, an ophthalmologist at Kidderminster Hospital, with the diagnosis and treatment of cataracts. The sixth form pupil from King Edward’s School, Birmingham, helped his mother with 40 diagnoses and 20 cataract surgeries during their visit. Vikram said: “My mum…

Plans have been submitted to locate a Muslim burial ground at Catherine-de-Barnes. Solihull Council said it had received more than 160 objections and 180 submissions of support. Funeral director Mohammad Khalil said Muslim communities in the West Midlands were in “dire need” of burial spaces. He said: “The population is growing very rapidly and the…

West Midlands Ambulance Service was called to the A45 Coventry Road at 7.40pm last night (Thursday 6th February). Two rapid response vehicles, one staffed by a paramedic area support officer, attended along with three ambulances. A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman said: “The first collision at the junction with Catherine de Barnes Lane, involved a…

Melissa Gill, 21, who works at the Co-op in Earlswood, serenaded the audience and panel at the weekend with her rendition of Amy Winehouse’s Love is a Losing Game. Three red chairs turned around – Kylie Minogue, Tom Jones and Ricky Wilson battled it out to become her mentor on the show. The Coventry University…

A new trial of fixed digital cameras is set to launch in October 2014 across selected sites in Birmingham and Solihull after 305 speed and traffic cameras were switched off across the region in March last year. Since then speed enforcement operations have been carried out by four mobile police camera units, fixed motorway cameras…

Jon Eley, 29, will be taking part in his third Winter Olympics and is the most experienced member of the British short track speed skating team. The Olympic gold medallist said he was delighted to be given the honour of carrying the flag for the 56-strong British team. He said: “Carrying the flag I hope…

Their Shirley store is set to open in April as part of the £80 million Parkgate development. Job roles available cover everything from shopfloor staff to bakers and security guards. Councillor Ken Hawkins, of Solihull Council, said: “The amount of people who have applied for a job at the Parkgate Asda is astonishing. What is…