Patients from Birmingham Children’s Hospital were amongst the first to enter House of Fraser’s magical Christmas grotto last night, when it opened its doors for the festive season. The youngsters, which included seven-year-old Matilda Hatton from Walsall and nine-year-old Skye Gardner from Wolverhampton, were invited to officially open the grotto in celebration that £1.20 from every ticket purchased will support the fantastic work of Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity.

Putting up the Christmas tree each year is a job for all the family. While many will debate whether to place a star or a fairy on the top, MedicAnimal, the UK’s leading pet healthcare retailer, has put together some considerations on what else you need to think about if you have pets at home.

Children across the West Midlands will enjoy a happier Christmas thanks to the amazing generosity of strangers. Kleeneze agents invited their customers to add a children’s toy to their catalogue orders, to be presented to families supported by Barnardo’s. Hundreds of customers responded to the appeal and donated around a thousand gifts worth a total of more than £3,000.

People across the city have thrown their weight behind a campaign to Orange Wolverhampton and end violence against Women and Girls. The city is taking part in the United Nations' annual 16-day Orange the World crusade to end violence against women and girls. Individuals, groups and organisations have been encouraged to Go Orange and both raise awareness of the problem of violence against others, but also highlight the help and support that is available to victims in Wolverhampton.

With temperatures predicted to drop to as low as -10C in some areas, older people’s charity, Independent Age, is urging older people, their families and carers to take extra care during this week’s cold snap. It’s also revised its free advice leaflet on how to stay well in winter, called Being Winter Wise, for 2016. Figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) last week found that an estimated 24,300 excess winter deaths occurred in England and Wales in 2015/16.

A shocking new report today reveals that 16,100 people are homeless in the West Midlands. For the very first time, housing charity Shelter has revealed the true scale of homelessness in the area by analysing a combination of the most up-to-date government statistics, freedom of information requests, and other published homelessness data.