Birmingham headlines 29 January: How DNA helped police snare £10,000 Smethwick burglar at Luton Airport

A burglar has been jailed after evidence linked him to the crime scene in Smethwick last year. Ionut Dobre broke into the home in broad daylight. After attempting to evade police, he was arrested at Luton Airport last December after arriving back in the country.

A woman has been jailed after luring an ex-partner into a street attack before stealing his car. Melissa Parkes and two other men attacked the victim with a hammer in Stechford last September. The 34 year old was sentenced to four years and seven months.

Two buildings at University station in Birmingham opened their doors on Sunday following a three year construction project. The original building was set to accommodate 500,000 journeys per year. The station now sees 3 and a half million annually.