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Nottingham is one of just three cities in the UK where more than three in 10 households have no one in work. The city was second in the overall table, after seeing its figure rise from 31.3 per cent to 31.6 per cent.

The Peel Centre retail park in Wolverhampton has been hit by a fire which has damaged three stores and has been attributed to arson. Just before 12.30am on Monday morning, an intruder alarm was activated at The Peel Centre store on Stafford Street.

West Midlands Police Chief Constable Chris Sims said he wanted to commemorate the compassion displayed by some people during the disorder recently witnessed in the Second City. He said the force wants to acknowledge the efforts of those who stood up to the rioters.

A review by the University of Northampton could see as many as 78 staff lose their jobs in a proposal to merge some departments. The review suggests halving the number of departments from 10 to five.

Birmingham magistrates were literally doing overtime during extended opening hours on Thursday while the city cleaned up the aftermath and mess of widespread disorder.

Derby County players will publicly show their backing of the beleaguered Bombardier company when they kick-off the new football season tomorrow (Saturday, August 6). The squad will wear T-shirts in support of the train maker during their first match.

Vandalised Northampton toilets have been transformed by their enterprising owner into a thriving cafe. Colin Ingle discovered the disused toilets in Hunsbury Hill Country Park three years ago. He spent £25,000 redeveloping the building, and has now opened it as an upmarket cafe.

One hundred more jobs will be created at Perkins Engines in Stafford to the delight of the local Member of Parliament. The company will take on the permanent and temporary positions at its Tixall Road facility.

Teams of council workers in Northamptonshire have begun switching off street lights which will save the county council £2 million a year. The measure will eventually see about 33,000 lamps turned off countywide.

Giant of the website world Amazon will create 900 jobs in Rugeley after it announced plans to open a new processing centre. Mike Dell, president of the Black Country Chamber of Commerce, said of the Staffordshire depot: "It’s excellent news.

More than 1,400 jobs will go in Derby, it was announced on Tuesday (July 5). The train maker Bombardier will shed the posts after losing out in a bid for a new contract. Bombardier said it would cut 446 permanent jobs and 983 temporary jobs from its 3,000-strong Derby workforce.

A world-renowned chocolate maker which has its headquarters in Alfreton in Derbyshire is to close up to 180 stores over the next three years. Thorntons has made a strategic review of its business and said the outlets that will be closed are among the 364 stores directly owned and run by the company.