Dr Toni Luck, Chair of the African Legacy Fund was awarded the Emissary of Peace Award and spoke at The Phoenix Newspaper's 9th Anniversary Gala Dinner and Awards at the ICC in Birmingham on the 16th November 2019

Midlands Air Ambulance Charity’s Strensham airbase, located in Worcestershire, has received an extensive refurbishment and extension to include larger aircrew facilities and a dedicated education and training area.

In line with the charity’s commitment to continuously improving its pre-hospital patient care offering, the new building now includes a brand new training room.

Hanna Sebright, chief executive for Midlands Air Ambulance Charity, explains why a new training room was required. “As a progressive charity we are always looking for efficient and effective ways to develop our operations. At our Strensham airbase, due to irreparable weather damage to our stand-alone education and training centre in 2018, we made the strategic decision to combine our aircrew accommodation building with a new fit-for-purpose facility and training room for the community and education purposes.

“The training area allows the specialist clinicians to undertake theoretical and practical simulations in a larger and more suitable environment, helping them to continually develop their skills to support patient care.”

A carport was also built for the charity’s rapid response vehicle and Worcester-based cardiac car. This means the aircrew do not have to de-ice the cars in the winter, and provides cover during the daily vehicle and kit checks. Works to the hangar included a specialist gel coating painted to the walls and roof, which allows natural movement of the hangar without joint leakage.

Funding for the £200,000 renovation, which took seven weeks to complete, was partly funded by donations from the public and by a grant from the HELP Appeal – the only charity in the country dedicated to funding hospital and air ambulance base helipads.

Robert Bertram, chief executive for the HELP Appeal, states: “We are delighted to have been able to make a further donation to the Midlands Air Ambulance Charity to help fund a larger aircrew facility. Also having a new carport protecting its emergency responder vehicles from freezing weather, will mean that the vehicles will be ready to respond to an incident immediately, which will save time and save lives.”

The build was completed by Redditch-based contractors DES Build, using Wernick module buildings, following design and build consultancy from Lambert Smith Hampton.

For more information on Midlands Air Ambulance Charity and how you can support the lifesaving service, visit www.midlandsairambulance.com, find Midlands Air Ambulance Charity on social media, or call the team on 0800 8 40 20 40.

RSPCA officers spent two hours trying to corner, confine and rescue a feisty fox with a plastic bottle stuck on his head.

Animal collection officers Adam McConkey and Victoria Hurr were called to Grove School in Dawson Road, Birmingham, on Wednesday (12 February) after families spotted the frightened fox in a bit of a pickle.

Victoria said: “The large 2litre bottle was missing the narrow neck so the fox had managed to push his head inside the cavity and got it stuck. Goodness knows how long he’d been like that but if he hadn’t have been spotted he would have died from dehydration and starvation, or could have even been hit and killed by a vehicle.

“He was very distressed and confused but still gave us the run-around! It took us two hours before we were able to get him out from underneath a cabin, corner him and get him onto a grasper so we could safely remove the bottle.

“Thankfully, he wasn’t injured so we released him there and then and he scarpered happily off into the undergrowth.”

The RSPCA is called to around 5,000 incidents every year regarding animals and litter – with hundreds of incidents of animals caught up in plastic litter.

Adam said: “We’ve seen a huge rise in the number of incidents of wild animals being injured or trapped due to plastic litter.

“We see seals with plastic stuck around their necks causing deep lacerations and wounds; we see wildlife with plastic and glass jars stuck over their heads or plastic taping wrapped around their bodies; we see birds with plastic fishing wire wrapped around their legs cutting off the blood circulation.

“It’s so important to cut down on the amount of plastic waste we’re using and to ensure our litter is properly disposed of so animals don’t pay the price for our waste.”

Young eco-warriors from St Anthony's Catholic Primary School in Wolverhampton have been investigating the importance of recycling - with a little help from a friendly giraffe.

They have temporarily adopted the mesh giraffe for a challenge set by the British Ironwork Centre in Oswestry to collect recyclable bottle tops.

Tributes have been paid to long-serving City of Wolverhampton Councillor Peter Bilson, who sadly passed away at Russells Hall Hospital on Saturday following a period of illness. He was 66.

Councillor Bilson, who was a councillor for the Bushbury South and Low Hill ward, was first elected in 1982 and had served Wolverhampton for nearly four decades.

He was the Deputy Leader of the Council and the Cabinet Member for City Assets and Housing, and proud to serve as Mayor of Wolverhampton at the turn of the Millennium when city status was granted.

He was also a huge Wolverhampton Wanderers fan, being a season ticket holder for many years.

Leader of the Council, Councillor Ian Brookfield, led tributes to Councillor Bilson, saying he left behind a “great legacy of public service”.

He said: “This tragic news comes as a huge blow to everyone who was lucky enough to know and work with Councillor Bilson.

“He was devoted to the City of Wolverhampton and its residents which is shown by nearly four decades of public service.

“He played an instrumental role in the ongoing regeneration of the city and his work to improve housing in Wolverhampton, through the Decent Homes programme, the redevelopment of the Heath Town estate and with the council-owned housing company, WV Living.

“He also played a key role in our ongoing work to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping.

“As we come to terms with this sad news our thoughts are with his family and friends at this difficult time.”

Originally employed as a firefighter, then as a Trade Union Official, Councillor Bilson went on to serve as the Chair of the Regional Fire Authority (WMFCDA) for six years before becoming the Millennium Mayor of Wolverhampton for 1999-2000.

Chief Executive of the City of Wolverhampton Council Tim Johnson said: “Councillor Bilson had a wealth of experience of involvement in various roles in Local Government, the Fire Service and the Voluntary and Community Sector, over a period spanning many years.

“He was an extremely supportive councillor who cared passionately about doing his best for Wolverhampton and those who live here.

“His work over the years has been recognised nationally and he will be greatly missed by the people he served and staff alike.”

Councillor Bilson also previously chaired a number of multi-agency and other community and business organisations including the Board of Directors of the Grand Theatre, a city-wide Millennium Working Party and the Wolverhampton City Centre Company.

Councillor Bilson leaves behind a wife, Nicky, and two children, James and Emma. Funeral arrangements will be announced at a later date.

John Taylor Hospice is asking fundraisers to host their own Big Brummie Bake sale on Friday 3 April and raise money for people living with a terminal illness.

The hospice is encouraging people to get together with friends, family or colleagues and hold a bake sale or coffee morning – with every penny raised helping to provide end of life care for people across the West Midlands.