Deer friends descend on Smith's Wood

REAL-life reindeer have swapped the slopes of Lapland for Smith's Wood.
The animals will be at the Christmas Fair, taking place at Auckland Hall today (Sunday).
A Santa's Grotto, craft stalls and face painting will be among the other highlights. The event is free and runs from 10am-1.30pm.

Vehicle crime increases three fold in parts of North Solihull

VEHICLE crimes have more than tripled in some parts of North Solihull, the latest crime stats show.
Figures for the year to date reveal that there have been 128 offences in Castle Bromwich (compared with 42 over the same time-frame in 2016). In Smith's Wood, there have been 95 incidents so far this year, up from 29 over the equivalent period last year.
The most common type of crime in this category involves items being stolen from cars and other vehicles.
Total recorded crime has increased across the borough, with the latest figures revealing almost 1,500  more offences in the year to date.
While increases in vehicle crime have been most notable in the two wards identified above,  the rise in robberies has in fact been most dramatic in neighbourhoods south of the Coventry Road (including the highly rural ward of Meriden). Burglaries too have tended to be concentrated in more affluent areas.
Types of crime where the number of offences has fallen include domestic violence (down from 912 to 859) and Class A drug matters (just 19 have been recorded in the year to date, although this may be in part because of reduced use of stop and search powers).
You can read the full report by the Safer Solihull Partnership here.

Our Say: November

Raffle prizes requested for school dinner with a difference

THE CTC Kingshurst Academy will be hosting its annual senior citizens' Christmas dinner next week.
The Cooks Lane school is holding a raffle as part of the evening and has asked anyone who has suitable prizes to send them to the school.
The annual dinner, set to take place on Friday, December 1, is now in its 14th year. Last year more than 170 local pensioners attended the meal.

Castle Brom school chef to take on the best in the region

A COOK from Castle Bromwich Infants School will be battling it out for the chance to compete for the coveted title of National School Chef of the Year.
Christopher Townshend is one of eight competitors from around the West Midlands who will be strapping on their aprons for the regional heats of the competition on December 5.
The winner of this will then have the opportunity to progress to the national finals.
School Chef of the Year takes place every 12 months, with the competitors given 90 minutes to rustle up a main course and a dessert which would win the approval of the most difficult to please 11-year-old.
To make the competition even harder, the ingredients must cost no more than £1.30 per head.
Solihull has a proud history in the competition. Back in 2014, Christopher was highly commended for the ‘superhero meatball’ (meatball encased in dough served with sweet potato gnocchi, salad and roasted red pepper relish) he served up to judges.
And last year, Jose Davies Kochakkadan - from Marston Green Infants Academy - made it all the way to the national finals.

Inquest into Chelmsley Wood grandfather's death concludes

A CHELMSLEY Wood man took his own life just hours after a mental health team deemed he was "not at serious risk", the Birmingham Mail reports.

Safe and Sound in Smith's Wood

SMITH'S Wood's next "Safe and Sound" event will be taking place at Auckland Hall this week.
The meeting - offering residents the opportunity to discuss crime, the environment and safety on the estate - is to be held on Thursday (November 23).
All welcome between 7-9pm.