Solihull’s tastiest fun run, the Chocolate 5k, has raised over £10,000 for Birmingham St Mary’s Hospice – its biggest chocolate run in the area to date.

Over 320 sweet-toothed runners took to Elmdon Park Nature Reserve last week to help raise vital funds for the local charity.

The unique event blended exercise with indulgence, allowing participants to snack on sweet treats as they tackled the 5k challenge.

Runners were handed bars from a number of chocolate stations and received support on the sidelines from Willy Wonka and his Oompa Loompas, to give them that extra boost to reach the finish line.

This is the third time the local hospice has hosted its Chocolate 5k in Solihull and this year was its most successful yet – with more participants raising more money than ever before. The previous two runs took place at Dorridge Village Hall in 2015 and 2016.

All funds raised from the run will go towards Birmingham St Mary’s Hospice, which provides vital care to individuals and families living with terminal illness across Birmingham and Sandwell.

Lucy Watkins, events manager at Birmingham St Mary’s, said: “This year’s Chocolate 5k in Solihull was our sweetest yet and it was fantastic to see even more runners join us to help raise crucial funds for our Hospice.

“£10k is an incredible amount of money and will allow us to continue to provide expert care and support to over 1,200 local families. All of our services – whether they are provided at the Hospice, in people’s homes or in the local community – are completely free of charge and so we rely on the generosity of others to keep our Hospice running.

“I would like to thank everyone who joined us on the day – your brilliant support really will make a big difference.”

As Meghan Markle opens up for the first time on her romance with Prince Harry one bookmaker are making it 6/4 that the couple will get engaged this year

And it’s 3/1 that they will tie the knot next year.

“We have had a lot of interest in odds on whether the couple would get engaged this year,” declared bookies, Betfred. “The article in Vanity Fair where she reveals how in love and happy they are together is sure to add to that interest and speculation that we can’t be far off another royal engagement and we have odds of 6/4 of that happening this year.

We also make it 3/1 that the couple will actually marry next year, which would make 2018 a huge year for the Royals following on from the news yesterday that the Duchess of Cambridge is pregnant and due around March or April next year.”

Poetry by a lecturer at Newman  University, Birmingham, has been published in an annual anthology showcasing the best contemporary poetry published in the British Isles over the last year.

Swims – a long poem documenting a series of wild swims across the UK – by Dr Elizabeth-Jayne Burnett, senior lecturer in Creative Writing at Newman University was selected for inclusion after being highly commended in the Forward Prize for Poetry.

This year’s judging panel was chaired by journalist and television presenter Andrew Marr, and included poets Ian Duhiq, Sandeep Parmer and Mona Arshi, as well as artist Chris Riddell.

Well-known poets whose work has previously been included in the anthology include the likes of Ted Hughes and Carol Ann Duffy.

Dr Burnett, said: “I’m thrilled to have my work recognised in this prestigious prize and highly commended by the judges. It is wonderful to see the exciting and diverse work being rewarded by the Forward Prizes.”

The publication marks the continuation of a successful year for Dr Burnett, who was also announced as one of 12 winners of Penguin Random House’s WriteNow programme, earlier this year. As a result, she is also now working alongside a mentoring editor at Penguin Random House to develop a further manuscript, making it ready for publication.

The Forward Book of Poetry 2018 includes the 15 shortlisted and 50 highly commended poets from this year’s Forward Prizes for Poetry. Selected by the prize’s judging panel, the final recommendations give a strong sense of the variety, vitality and wit of poetry today, making the anthology valuable to both first-time poetry readers and those keen to find more poetry to enjoy. The anthologies are published annually by Bookmark, with the new issue available for pre-order

The RSPCA is appealing for information after a man drove up to an RSPCA animal centre, got out of his car and abandoned a dog at the gates before driving away.

CCTV footage captured the man driving into a disabled parking bay in a black Mercedes, taking the dog out of his boot and walking towards the gates of Birmingham Animal Centre, in Frankley Green, at around 8.05am on Saturday 26 August.

The Staffordshire bull terrier-type dog, who has since been named Roxy by RSPCA staff, wasn’t found for 40 minutes until a member of staff arrived for work.

The footage shows that moments after being dumped, the dog runs behind a parked car to hide. She is now being cared for at the centre.

The RSPCA’s chief inspector for Birmingham, Rebecca Cooper, said: “It is so sad to think that someone thought it was okay to do this. Being abandoned must have been extremely stressful and poor Roxy wasn’t found straightaway.

“A vet has checked over Roxy and found that she seems to have a problem with her legs - this could be arthritis, but we are not sure yet until further tests are carried out. She is a lovely dog though and she is getting a lot of fuss.

“We are urging anyone who recognises the dog, or the person in the footage, to contact us in complete confidence on 0300 123 8018 so we can look into this further.”

Shocking research reveals 200,000 school kids* could lose access to breakfast at school due to slashed budgets and cuts.

Worrying findings released today revealed 43 per cent of teachers say their school breakfast club will have to close in the next three years – including those that operate in the most deprived parts of the UK.

In the report by Kellogg’s titled ‘The future of school breakfast clubs: a funding crisis in the UK’ teachers were asked to list the reasons they fear their clubs will close: 86 per cent said school funding was the main reason.

Troubled teachers also told how the new requirement for extra staffing in clubs (44 per cent) will make them more difficult to run.

In a bid to keep the clubs open, a quarter (26 per cent) of schools have redirected funds from other parts of the school budget such as school trips, making staff cuts and buying fewer classroom resources.

Now some schools have also had to rely on donations from private companies, charities and parents.

Worried teachers warned the closure of their breakfast club will lead to a rise in naughty behaviour in the classroom (34 per cent) and worsen attendance (33 per cent).

More than a third (36 per cent) of teachers surveyed from schools with breakfast clubs that have already closed down said they have since noticed a decline in exam results following the closure.

John Coe from the National Association of Primary Education comments: “Breakfast clubs are at a critical point in their work and the overriding reason is that cuts to school funding over the next three years threaten the closing down of clubs which serve children and young people. The impact upon disadvantaged communities will be particularly severe.

“Teachers testify to the educational gains which stem from a healthy breakfast and the positive effect on school and family life has been confirmed by the Department for Education. Policy makers should listen and then take decisive action to provide financial support.”

Not only will schoolchildren be affected by these closures but working families will feel the impact also. More than a quarter (27 per cent) of parents say the absence of a breakfast club would mean at least one parent would be forced out of work.

David Lawlor, Kellogg’s managing director said: “Great progress has been made since the 1990s to increase the number of schools offering pupils a safe and fun environment that provides a nutritious breakfast. That’s why each year the Kellogg’s Breakfast Club Awards celebrate the fantastic people who make these clubs happen every day in schools up and down the country.

“But the future for these vital breakfast clubs is at risk. The challenge for schools, government and partners in private and third sectors is to ensure that we help to sustain as many pre-school clubs as possible. We will continue to offer grants to schools breakfast clubs because we believe that every child deserves the best start to the day.”