City of Wolverhampton Council inspected its first residential property today after receiving reports of illegal sales of counterfeit tobacco.

The city council’s Trading Standards team carried out ‘operation gauntlet’ this morning (Thursday 22 February) after successfully obtaining a warrant to search a property based in Low Hill, Wolverhampton.

A shocking variety of fake and genuine cigarettes - which have avoided UK duty were found to being sold ­illegally at the property.

Along with West Midlands Police, a trademark expert and specialist search dogs, the team inspected the entire property to search for hidden tobacco.

An estimated £40,000 worth of fake goods were being stored in garden sheds, and bedrooms and the living room of the property.

Over 70,000 counterfeit cigarette and tobacco packets and were seized and taken for further examination.

Councillor Steve Evans, Cabinet Member for City Environment at City of Wolverhampton Council said: “"This is part of our ongoing operation to tackle the sale of illicit and counterfeit tobacco.

“Selling and supplying counterfeit tobacco is a serious crime that not only robs the public purse of much needed revenue, but also poses a real threat to public health.

“Today is a perfect example of the hard work that is being undertaken by our trading standards team and the fantastic work we do with sniffer dogs who play a vital role in our success.”

Council officers also contacted West Midlands Fire Service after finding a large quantity of fireworks stored in garden shed. Due to the resident not having a license to sell these products, the fireworks were also seized.

Birmingham-based multi-disciplinary construction consultancy, Edmond Shipway, is pleased to announce it has been awarded three star ‘extraordinary’ accreditation, the highest standard for workplace engagement, from employee engagement specialists Best Companies.

The exclusive endorsement is based on the results of an extensive staff survey which collates honest feedback from employees relating to their wellbeing, pay and benefits, opportunities for personal growth and the standard of leadership, as well as a host of other indicators. It recognises firms that truly excel, fostering an environment in which its staff are personally and professionally enabled to operate at the highest possible standard for their clients.

Edmond Shipway was further praised for demonstrating a commitment to meaningful employee engagement through its continued investment in its staff via the National Training and Development Plan, the implementation of a strong charity programme and improvements to its induction processes.

As a result of its accreditation the business has, for the first time, earnt a place on the Sunday Times 100 Best Small Companies to Work For list. It was announced at the annual awards ceremony last night that the company placed at number 41 in the prestigious nationwide tables.

Jamie Crouch, Director of Edmond Shipway in Birmingham, said; “Having achieved “outstanding” status in 2016, I am thrilled that our efforts to improve our engagement processes have been rewarded with this extraordinary accreditation and a place on the Sunday Times Best Companies lists. We are very proud of our staff retention rates and I believe that a key factor in our success has been listening to and working with them to develop a rewarding package of positive engagement policies and great staff benefits.”

Young readers are being encouraged to celebrate their favourite literary characters as Wolverhampton's libraries mark World Book Day on Thursday (1 March, 2018).

The City of Wolverhampton Council’s libraries are holding competitions for children aged five to seven and eight to 12, with £10 book vouchers up for grabs – all children have to do is pick their favourite book, and say why they like it so much. There is also a word search challenge to complete.

Entry forms are available from local libraries now, and the closing date for entries is Monday 5 March.

Councillor John Reynolds, the City of Wolverhampton Council's Cabinet Member for City Economy, said: "Getting into the reading at an early age can instil a life-long love of books.

“We're looking forward to hearing from young readers about the books they love – and why they love them – as we mark World Book Day."

For more information about Wolverhampton's libraries, please visit www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/libraries.

To find out more about World Book Day, please visit www.worldbookday.com.

Meanwhile, pupils from Bushbury Hill Primary School will be attending Low Hill Library on Wednesday (28 February) for storytelling sessions on the theme of emotional health and wellbeing.

The visit is part of a World Book Day event organised by the library service in in partnership with HeadStart Wolverhampton, the ground-breaking programme designed to improve the mental health and well-being of children by giving them the skills they need to cope with the challenges of modern life.

Nursery pupils from Lanesfield Primary School will also be visiting Spring Vale Library for a World Book Day story time session tomorrow (Tuesday).

Councillor Reynolds added: “Our libraries welcome class visits by prior arrangement and it is great to see schools taking advantage of their local branches.”

Starting out in Harringay in 1949 and later moving to Wembley in 1959, the show grew in popularity as ‘the’ special event to mark the end of the equestrian season. Today, the Show is held at Birmingham’s Genting Arena and NEC, its home for the last 16 years, where it takes up over 50 acres of the NEC campus.  With 60,000 visitors and 1,500 competitors across the five days, the show produces an array of equestrian entertainment as well as hosting National Showing and Showjumping Championships.

To mark the special occasion, HOYS will be incorporating more entertainment displays into the timetable than ever before with four varied displays offering something for everyone.  There will also be a Sunday all-day ticket package to enable more people to stay and celebrate the Gala Evening Finale with us in style; this will be called the Platinum Jubilee Package and there will be just 1,000 packages available to buy on a first come first serve basis.

Following 2017’s Horse of the Year Show, where the event faced a challenging project to make changes to the layout of the Show due to alterations in the NEC’s infrastructure, we have listened to our customers’ feedback and made changes to the show. The changes include a redesign of the Retail Village to make even more space for the trade stands that you want to see there.  Every single ticket variation provides full day access to the immense HOYS Retail Village too, so you can shop ‘til you drop and be surrounded by likeminded equestrian enthusiasts.  The HOYS Live Zone will return to the Retail Village with a brand new line up of speakers and demonstrations, and the ever-popular Meet the Horses Area will also retain its standing in the Retail Village vicinity.

Emma Wardell, Event Director for Horse of the Year Show comments: “We are delighted to be celebrating our 70^th Show this year; it is a tribute to our competitors, our visitors and all of our generous supporters that we have got to where we have today. Whilst the Show continues to evolve, the changes enable us to grow and to continue to provide the high standard of event which everyone expects to come and celebrate. The Show has a lot of gratifying history which we are extremely proud of and our aim is to continue to put on an unbeatable line up of equestrian entertainment but also to focus on what HOYS is all about – the horse and the competitors who strive to achieve a Horse of the Year Show accolade.”

Calling all cyclists! Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity has partnered with popular cycling event, Mad Summer Hare, and is looking for your support in what is now the West Midland’s flagship cycling event.

The Mad Summer Hare sportive is a flagship ride in the West Midlands that attracts a lot of local riders from across the region. Riders will ride 72 miles to the Cotswolds and back with four big hill climbs, or as many as you can handle, all in support of Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity.

Due to its popularity and the success of its sister event, the Mad March Hare, Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity has become a key partner aiming to raise vital funds for the 90,000 sick children the hospital treats every day.

Dan Fox, Event Organiser for Mad Summer Hare, comments:

“We’re thrilled to have Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity as our principle charity and above all, we’re super excited to see over 1200 riders raising money for the incredible work they do.”

Miranda Williams, Public Fundraising Manager at Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Hospital Charity, adds:

“We are absolutely delighted to be the key charity partner for this year’s Mad Summer Hare. As the major cycling event for the West Midlands, it is certain to be a key fundraising event for Birmingham Children’s Hospital, so it’s fantastic to have their support.

“We’re grateful to all the riders taking part as they are helping raise the vital funds needed to continue helping our 90,000 sick kids.”

The event has raised over £30,000 for charities so far to date.

The Mad Summer Hare sportive takes place on Sunday 2^nd September from Umberslade Farm Park.

Legendary rock band KISS is supporting Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital by donating an incredible, money-can’t-buy prize to help raise valuable funds for the hospital’s Paediatric Intensive Care Unit.

Following the tragic event at the Manchester Arena last year, the Children’s Hospital has received an out-pouring of support from across the North West and beyond with individuals, schools and businesses wanting to help in any way possible to support the patients and staff at the hospital. This tremendous support has now stretched across the Atlantic with rock stars KISS getting in touch to pledge their support after the awful attack.

The band has donated a phenomenal prize of three of their personal guitars signed by Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons and Tommy Thayer respectively, plus a signed personal snare drum with signed drum sticks from Eric Singer. The guitar donated by Paul Stanley is his signature Ibanez PS120 guitar which he was intending to play at their Manchester Arena gig on Tuesday 30th May. The band sadly had to cancel the gig following the attack at the Manchester Arena. The guitar has never been played and will be up for auction along with VIP tickets to any sold out KISS show in the world, plus tickets for the sold out Kiss Kruise 2018 with a meet and greet with the band.

Paul Stanley said: “We were devastated by the heinous attack in Manchester Arena and had to do something to support the city. Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital's incredible work with children was never more evident than after this horrific event. We are humbled to be able to give something to support them in their ongoing efforts. Knowing that the money raised will go towards purchasing life-support ventilators, our prayers and wishes will continue to help both those affected directly by the attack, and beyond. This night will give everyone an opportunity to do their part in raising as much money as possible for an incredibly worthy cause.”

This incredible prize will be auctioned off at the Red Sea Pedestrians (RSP) 10th Anniversary Charity ball in aid of Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital, which will be held next month on 17th March 2018 at the Lowry Hotel. The RSP Charitable committee have supported Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital for a number of years with funds raised for the charity totalling to £827,381 since 2011.

The Charity Ball will be raising funds to support the hospital’s Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) which cared for many of the young victims who were seriously injured in the Arena attack. Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital is a regional major trauma centre with all paediatric major trauma cases from across the region directed to the hospital, with most of these cases cared for in the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit. A total of £740k is required to ensure the unit is able provide 26 cutting edge life support machines. The new state-of-the-art life support machines are the most advanced mechanical ventilators and the very real impact they will have on the quality of patient care, and the benefits it will mean for medical staff is considerable.

Maurice Watkins CBE, Chairman of Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital Charity’s fundraising board added: “We’re delighted that KISS has donated this incredible prize to be auctioned at the RSP Charity Ball and want to thank them for their tremendous generosity. In recent testing times staff at the hospital – just like the city of Manchester – pulled together to make sure the young victims from the attack got the best possible care, as quickly as possible. The new ventilators we are fundraising for will ensure that the medical teams in our Paediatric Intensive Care Unit can assess a patient’s condition faster and more accurately, resulting in more effective treatment and care at a time when rapid reaction to a patient’s condition is crucial.” The charity is accepting closed bids for this auction prize. To find out more information or to place a bid please contact the charity team on 0161 701 1124. Bids will close at midnight on Saturday 17th March 2018.