Dozens were killed and buildings were destroyed as bombs rained down on the Black Country during the First World War 100 years ago. And this weekend, civic leaders, historians and the local community will hold a series of events to commemorate all those who lost their lives in the Zeppelin bomb raids on Tipton, Wednesbury, Bilston and Walsall.

Work has started on the on-road improvements being delivered as part of the Birmingham Cycle Revolution scheme with the aim of making cycling an everyday way to travel in the city. When complete, the current package of work on the Lichfield Road ‘main corridor’ will comprise mainly of cycling facilities within existing bus lanes, following the A5127 from the City Centre to Erdington via Lancaster Circus, Corporation Street, Dartmouth Circus, Aston Road, Lichfield Road and Salford Circus.

Ethical pet retailer Pets Corner is to provide the first ever pet and human first aid training course to their team of 600 shop floor staff. The family run pet shop, which has over 100 stores across the UK, has teamed up with First Aid Support Training and The Canine First Aid Company to develop the specially tailored course, which will be rolled out across the company from January.

Green-fingered citizens are being reminded it is still not too late to sign up for Birmingham’s garden waste recycling service – and earn a £2 discount in the process. Anyone who subscribes online for the 2016 season will have to pay just £33 for the service, which offers 20 fortnightly collections between February and November, rather than the £35 for anyone booking via the council contact centre.

WATCH (Working Actively To Change Hillfields) a Coventry-based charity that provides support and resources to some of the most disadvantaged individual’s in today’s society has received funding of £33,328 from People’s Health Trust, using money raised through The Health Lottery. This funding will enable WATCH to deliver a Community Action Project in Hillfields until July 2017.

MedicAnimal, the UK’s largest online pet healthcare retailer, is warning pet owners to take action against pet obesity this January. Pet obesity is on the rise. A Pet Food Manufacturer’s Association’s (PFMA) 2015 report found that 73% of vets believe the problem of obesity is getting worse and pet owners are seemingly unaware of the life-limiting effects of obesity. The main cause of obesity in pets is generally too much food and too little exercise.