Severn Trent will be paying compensation to any customers who were without water for more than 12 continuous hours, or for more than 15 hours of intermittent supply, after the freezing temperatures and sudden thaw caused supply issues across the Midlands over recent days.

A payment of £30, which is roughly the same as having a month free on the average combined water and waste bill, will be offered to all homes affected so customers don’t need to do anything.

Sarah Bentley, Chief Customer Officer at Severn Trent, said: “We’re incredibly sorry for the disruption which was caused by a huge number of bursts that put intense pressure on our water network.

“Our teams have faced an unprecedented number of leaks since the cold weather began. While we had extra teams in place working round the clock, and have hundreds of people out and about fixing bursts, we know that some customers were without water, and I really can’t apologise enough for that.

“While some customers are seeing water coming and going, the situation is much improved so we wanted to let people know about compensation.

“So, we’ll be compensating the people and families who were without water for 12 continuous hours or for more than 15 hours of intermittent supply with a deduction from their bill, and, once again, we’re just so sorry for the inconvenience this week.”

Customers across the Midlands were affected by the huge increase in bursts caused by the sudden thaw after the Beast from the East. We’ve been working round the clock, and have brought in additional teams from outside the organisation to help fix leaks, ramped up production at our treatment works, and used our tanker fleet to keep on vital services such as hospitals. In addition, a number of bottle drops were organised in key locations and the company hand-delivered water to vulnerable customers.

Domestic customers who will be receiving compensation do not need to do anything and will be contacted in the coming weeks. We’re always happy to discuss compensation claims from anyone who’s been affected on a case by case basis.

We’ll also be working with business customers and their retailers who were also affected.

A £9.6 million supported housing scheme in West Bromwich is helping local young people to kick-start their careers in construction.

The opportunities including  work placements, apprenticeships and traineeships have been created at the site in Oxford Road, where Sandwell Council is working in partnership with ENGIE’s regeneration division to build 93 much-needed affordable homes.

So far around a dozen students have taken up work placements with another ten in the pipeline during the coming months with the site offering valuable work experience and industry recognised qualifications in a variety of construction trades, from bricklaying and carpentry to plastering and quantity surveying.

Apprentice quantity surveyor Govind Mann (18) and apprentice ground worker Ryan Taylor (24) are learning their trades on the new supported-housing scheme. And Ryan Lawrence  (20) is working on the site as a trainee quantity surveyor.

Govind said: “After completing a week of work experience which was mandatory at my sixth form, I returned to ENGIE during the summer holidays to complete another two weeks. I was then offered an apprenticeship and haven’t looked back since. I am constantly learning new skills and meeting new people every day.”

Trainee quantity surveyor Ryan Lawrence, said: “When I was doing my A levels, I liked maths but wasn’t really sure what job I wanted to do. A careers rep from ENGIE gave a talk at my school and explained about the different jobs in construction. I applied for an unpaid internship with them and after that ended I got the traineeship I’m doing now.”

Councillor Ann Shackleton, Sandwell’s cabinet member for social care, who was visiting the site, said: “It was good to hear these young people speak so enthusiastically about their personal journeys into a career in the construction sector and how they are working towards achieving industry-recognised qualifications.”

Councillor Kerrie Carmichael, Sandwell’s cabinet member for housing, added: “It’s great that this new supported housing scheme provides another opportunity for Think Sandwell to work with partners such as ENGIE  to provide training and employment opportunities in Sandwell, creating better prospects for local people and  at the same time helping to plug skills shortages in the construction industry.”

Neil Baxter, new business director at ENGIE, said: “Part of building better communities is investing in the future prospects of local people. By providing apprenticeships and traineeships, we are giving them hands-on experience of what it’s like to work on a live construction site and teaching them the essential skills that they need to work in the construction industry.”

The Oxford Road development includes 93 homes for affordable rent, a mix of 58 apartments and 35 bungalows.

The scheme is expected to be completed in the summer.

Community housing projects and charities are being urged to put their case forward as Nationwide - the UK’s biggest building society - makes £250,000 available to help make a difference across communities in the West Midlands.

The Society is inviting applications for grants of up to £50,000 that have the potential to strengthen communities and help make a difference in local areas. Projects could range from innovative new housing, improving rented accommodation conditions, to supporting the most vulnerable.

Applications will be accepted from across west and central areas of the UK, including the following areas: Shropshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Gloucestershire and West Midlands areas of Birmingham.

John Worthy, Nationwide’s Area Director for the West Midlands, said: “As a building society, ensuring that everyone has a place fit to call home is at the heart of what we do. Nationwide was founded to help people save and borrow money for land and materials to build their own homes. One hundred and thirty years on, we still have the same core purpose - helping people into homes of their own.

“We recognise there is a housing crisis, resulting in many people living in unsuitable, insecure or unaffordable accommodation. So, we are delighted to award £250,000 to communities within the West Midlands to support housing projects and make a real difference.”

Nationwide members will get a final say on which projects are supported in their local communities and a Community Board, which is comprised of members, employees, housing charities and experts, has been appointed.  The Board will review all grant applications and put forward a number of local projects to a member vote. Nationwide members will then be able to vote, in branch or online, for a shortlist of charities to be awarded up to a maximum of £50,000. The Board and Nationwide branches within the region will also be providing time, contacts and expertise to these charities.

As part of the Society’s new social investment strategy programme, to provide everyone a place fit to call home, Nationwide plans to roll this initiative out across the UK during 2018, providing a £4million annual fund for community housing initiatives and charities – helping make a difference to communities up and down the country.  There has been £270,000 already awarded to nine different housing charities and organisations in the north of England this year.

Nationwide is now inviting applications for housing community projects in the West Midlands.

One of Hawaii’s favorite food festivals is just around the corner! The annual Waikiki SPAM JAM Festival presented by Outrigger Resorts will hit the streets of Waikiki for its 16th year as visitors and locals alike gather to celebrate one of the state’s most beloved foods. The event will bring thousands of visitors and Waikiki residents to the bustling Kalakaua Ave. in the heart of Waikiki for delicious culinary creations that feature SPAM brand products, live music and entertainment.

Attendees will sample a selection of creative SPAM dishes from 20 participating local restaurants including Hula Grill, Buho Cantina and Mahaloha Burger, and see first-hand the variety of ways SPAM products can be prepared and enjoyed. From SPAM® Corn Dogs to SPAM® Brand-inspired cocktails, festival goers can expect to be well-fed and entertained as they feed their SPAM® Brand curiosity while getting serenaded by some of the island’s best musical acts from three stages. Additionally, guests can take advantage of street shopping during the festival as they peruse SPAM®-themed merchandise and a variety of unique retail products and crafts made only in Hawaii.

Admission to the family-friendly event is free. Attendees are encouraged to support the event by bringing a non-perishable food item such as a can of SPAM product for donation. Monetary donations collected will benefit the Hawaii Foodbank and other local charities, including the Waikiki Community Center and the Visitor Aloha Society.

Edgbaston Stadium has made another industry awards shortlist with the Stadium Business Awards naming NatWest T20 Blast Finals Day 2017 - hosted there - as one of six candidates for Event of the Year.

To be held at Emirates Old Trafford in June, it recognises the best sports or non-sports event, guest event, concert or one-off spectacle held at a major sports venue in the last 12 months.

Finals Day at Edgbaston is named on the shortlist alongside WWE Wrestlemania at the Camping World Stadium in Orlando, World Boxing Organisation’s Battle of Brisbane, #Game4Grenfell at Loftus Road in London, the first Day/Night Ashes Test at the Adelaide Oval and the Arsenal FC in Sydney Tour.

Gareth Roberts, Commercial Director at Warwickshire County Cricket Club, said: “NatWest T20 Blast Finals Day at Edgbaston has already been shortlisted for the BT Sport Industry’s Entertainment Experience of the Year, arguably the biggest industry awards event in the UK. However, being shortlisted for the Stadium Business Awards puts us onto the international stage against some of the most recognised sporting events in the world.

Being shortlisted shows how far Finals Day has come, whilst it also demonstrates the strength of the partnership between the England and Wales Cricket Board, Sky Sports and Warwickshire County Cricket Club in delivering such a great event for the record crowd in attendance.”

Edgbaston hosted Finals Day for the eighth time in 2017 and it was widely recognised as being the best in the 15-year history of the tournament by breaking records on and off the field.

Finals Day returns to Edgbaston on September 15 this year, with ticket sales currently 170 per cent up compared to the same period in 2017.

In response the venue announced that it is boosting capacity by 850 seats as part of a commercial partnership with Arena Seating, which will see a temporary stand erected above the Stanley Barnes Stand at the Birmingham End of the ground.

Last night, Birmingham’s Bullring & Grand Central was taken over by World Champion dancers from the Scanlon School of Irish Dancers, as Grand Central was turned green ahead of St Patrick’s Day.

Tomorrow will see one of the city’s calendar highlights, the annual St Patrick’s Day parade, arrive in Birmingham and tens of thousands of people are expected to hit the streets to celebrate.

To kick-off the weekend of festivities, seven dancers aged 13 to 16 - including 14-year-old four-time World Champion - Alliyah O’Hare, jigged their way through the centre as the Grand Central atrium was turned green to pay homage to St Patrick. They danced their treble reel steps to ‘The Scoddy Reel’.

Bullring also marked the occasion with Birmingham’s iconic bull donning his St Patrick’s Day hat.

The Scanlon dancers will be returning to the centre next Saturday on St Patrick’s Day itself to perform for shoppers by the bull outside Bullring.

Michaela Moore, General Manager of Bullring & Grand Central, said: "It was a pleasure to have such a talented group of young dancers perform in centre to celebrate St Patrick’s Day ahead of tomorrow’s parade. It is such an important day in the calendar for Birmingham and we wanted to mark the occasion with our own celebration at Bullring & Grand Central. We are excited for the group to return next weekend to perform for our visitors.”