She remains in hospital with a ‘serious injury’

A ring of steel is being erected in Birmingham today ahead of the Europa League match between Aston Villa and Maccabi Tel Aviv.

More than 700 West Midlands police officers have been drafted in for the football game, with horses and dogs teams on hand.

Drones will be deployed in the sky amid warnings that the event could be targeted by extremist groups, while the airspace has been closed for any non-official aircraft.

A Section 60 – allowing officers to stop and search people without a need for ‘reasonable grounds’ – has been announced from midday today until 3am on Friday.

Birmingham police commander Chief Superintendent Tom Joyce said: ‘Our message to those from all communities in Birmingham is that we have listened and will continue to engage with you.

‘We remain committed to maintaining the city’s reputation as a safe and welcoming place for everyone.

‘Anyone who breaks the law will be dealt with directly, as will those who incite hate.’

He warned people to expect a large number of uniformed officers, as well as police horses and dogs, and a drone unit.

‘Those not attending the event should expect significant disruption to the roads in the area on the evening, and we would urge people to avoid the area where possible,’ Joyce stressed.

‘We know protests by different groups will take place on the day, and we have plans in place which balance the right to protest with our duty to protect all communities in Birmingham.’

The heightened measures come after Maccabi Tel Aviv fans wreaked havoc in Amsterdam in November 2024 and then again caused skirmishes in Paris that same month, as reported by Metro.

Protests force school closures

A number of protests – from pro-Palestine, pro-Israel and some nationalist British supporter groups – have been announced, pushing some schools in Birmingham to close early.

BOA Creative, Digital and Performing Arts Academy said it would shut at 1.15pm ahead of the politically-contentious fixture.

Meanwhile, the Academy principal confirmed in an email to parents that a number of schools in the local area are following suit, it was reported.

Campaign group Palestine Solidarity Campaign announced that it will hold a demonstration at the match to demand that Israel is excluded from international football.

They will assemble at 6pm at Aston Park Pavilion, just a short distance from Villa Park.

Publicising the demonstration, the group said: ‘Israeli football is deeply involved in Israel’s oppression of Palestinians.

‘The Israel Football Association, of which Maccabi Tel Aviv is a member, contains at least six clubs based in illegal Israeli settlements on stolen Palestinian land.

‘Maccabi Tel Aviv has itself supported Israel’s genocide in Gaza by sending care packages to serving Israeli soldiers.’

This came after Tommy Robinson urged his followers to rally against the ‘Islamist activists’ at the much-debated match and posted a photograph of himself in a Maccabi Tel Aviv football top.

Ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans

Birmingham’s Safety Advisory Group announced last month that visiting fans will be barred from attending the match at Villa Park on public safety concerns.

Maccabi later said it would decline any away tickets for the clash after the UK government said it was ‘working around the clock’ to ensure fans from both sides could attend.

Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer called for the ban to be overturned, saying it was ‘the wrong decision’.

Middle East Eye reported that Dutch police had told their UK counterparts that some Maccabi Tel Aviv fans are ‘linked to the Israel Defence Forces (IDF)’.

Hundreds more were ‘experienced fighters’, ‘highly organised’ and ‘intent on causing serious violence’.

The Guardian also reported that the police assessment ‘concluded the biggest risk of violence came from extremist fans of the Israeli club’.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

A ring of steel is being erected in Birmingham today ahead of the Europa League match between Aston Villa and Maccabi Tel Aviv.

More than 700 West Midlands police officers have been drafted in for the football game, with horses and dogs teams on hand.

Drones will be deployed in the sky amid warnings that the event could be targeted by extremist groups, while the airspace has been closed for any non-official aircraft.

A Section 60 – allowing officers to stop and search people without a need for ‘reasonable grounds’ – has been announced from midday today until 3am on Friday.

Birmingham police commander Chief Superintendent Tom Joyce said: ‘Our message to those from all communities in Birmingham is that we have listened and will continue to engage with you.

‘We remain committed to maintaining the city’s reputation as a safe and welcoming place for everyone.

‘Anyone who breaks the law will be dealt with directly, as will those who incite hate.’

He warned people to expect a large number of uniformed officers, as well as police horses and dogs, and a drone unit.

‘Those not attending the event should expect significant disruption to the roads in the area on the evening, and we would urge people to avoid the area where possible,’ Joyce stressed.

‘We know protests by different groups will take place on the day, and we have plans in place which balance the right to protest with our duty to protect all communities in Birmingham.’

The heightened measures come after Maccabi Tel Aviv fans wreaked havoc in Amsterdam in November 2024 and then again caused skirmishes in Paris that same month, as reported by Metro.

Protests force school closures

A number of protests – from pro-Palestine, pro-Israel and some nationalist British supporter groups – have been announced, pushing some schools in Birmingham to close early.

BOA Creative, Digital and Performing Arts Academy said it would shut at 1.15pm ahead of the politically-contentious fixture.

Meanwhile, the Academy principal confirmed in an email to parents that a number of schools in the local area are following suit, it was reported.

Campaign group Palestine Solidarity Campaign announced that it will hold a demonstration at the match to demand that Israel is excluded from international football.

They will assemble at 6pm at Aston Park Pavilion, just a short distance from Villa Park.

Publicising the demonstration, the group said: ‘Israeli football is deeply involved in Israel’s oppression of Palestinians.

‘The Israel Football Association, of which Maccabi Tel Aviv is a member, contains at least six clubs based in illegal Israeli settlements on stolen Palestinian land.

‘Maccabi Tel Aviv has itself supported Israel’s genocide in Gaza by sending care packages to serving Israeli soldiers.’

This came after Tommy Robinson urged his followers to rally against the ‘Islamist activists’ at the much-debated match and posted a photograph of himself in a Maccabi Tel Aviv football top.

Ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans

Birmingham’s Safety Advisory Group announced last month that visiting fans will be barred from attending the match at Villa Park on public safety concerns.

Maccabi later said it would decline any away tickets for the clash after the UK government said it was ‘working around the clock’ to ensure fans from both sides could attend.

Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer called for the ban to be overturned, saying it was ‘the wrong decision’.

Middle East Eye reported that Dutch police had told their UK counterparts that some Maccabi Tel Aviv fans are ‘linked to the Israel Defence Forces (IDF)’.

Hundreds more were ‘experienced fighters’, ‘highly organised’ and ‘intent on causing serious violence’.

The Guardian also reported that the police assessment ‘concluded the biggest risk of violence came from extremist fans of the Israeli club’.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

Macacabi Tel-Aviv’s supporters will not be at Villa Park (Picture: Getty)

Aston Villa host Maccabi Tel Aviv on Thursday night after a contentious and political build-up to the Europa League fixture.

After weeks of controversy, the I…

Macacabi Tel-Aviv’s supporters will not be at Villa Park (Picture: Getty)

Aston Villa host Maccabi Tel Aviv on Thursday night after a contentious and political build-up to the Europa League fixture.

After weeks of controversy, the I…

‘We spent the entire evening a community under siege.’

Migrants are working 14-hour shifts in mini-marts selling illegal cigarettes and vapes

‘I need answers, and justice for me and my dad,’ his daughter, Fiona Nicholls, said.

‘How can you get away with walking the streets with what is effectively a firework rocket launcher?

The Eternal Wall of Answered Prayer will be more than double the height of the Angel of the North.

These hotspots offer the same amenities at their posh neighbours for a cheaper price.

The stores were found to be putting customers’ health at risk.

It was pipped to the post by London’s Camberwell.

His
family are waiting for a knock on the door.

‘Does the Brum council calendar have a misprint where the months are listed as January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, December, December and December?’

‘My finger started swelling, so I thought I needed to take the ring off – but it wasn’t coming off.’

‘It was made out to be a prank, but the man said he was goaded on by the wife to ask a school kid.’

Maz Saleem said the death of her dad’s killer does not give her family justice.

Pavlo Lapshyn is confirmed to have died in a Category A jail.

A family in Birmingham say criminals have crashed into their businesses three times after they refused to pay them £30,000.

The family own the Middle Eastern-inspired Bab Al Hara Cafe on Grafton Road, Sparkbook, as well as a wedding venue on the same road.

But at around 10pm on August 30, a Range Rover smashed into the front of the café while a wedding was happening opposite.

CCTV footage showed the back of the car driving through the front window, damaging the window and metal shutters, only to reverse and crash through it again.

The group escaped in a Hyundai car, with an occupant who was wielding a machete, leaving the Range Rover behind.

Following the incident, the family said the culprits phoned them demanding the six-figure sum of money or else ‘your business will close within six months’.

The family attempted to negotiate a deal with the gang in a bid to ‘collect evidence’ for the police.

But when they went to the local authorities, the café was rammed again at around 12.50am on Saturday.

A second vehicle smashed into the Bab Al Hara Banqueting Suite – the gang fled in two getaway vehicles, one a 4×4 and the other a pick-up truck.

The family say they still don’t understand why they have been targeted and asked to pay £300,000.

But they believe they have somehow been caught up in a seven-year feud between gang members who frequent the cafe and rivals from Smethwick.

A member of the family, who does not wish to be named, said he has not experienced this treatment before.

He said: ‘We have worked 15 years in this country. We assist with the traffic on Fridays and during the month of Ramadan. We are a household name here.

‘These people have said you won’t have a business. How can a group of people come start an issue outside our workplace and then set up an extortion?’

The family member also claimed that a ‘man with a mask’ came to his mother’s house.

He added: ‘This is a family business. It’s sad to see. My father is a bit emotional. It’s extortion.

‘Whatever they are doing, we are in a country that doesn’t do this; if you have a problem, you go to the police.’

A police investigation into blackmail is now underway.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

The youngster was heading from the city centre to the airport when the attacked happened on June 5.

A man is fighting for his life after four people were shot at a ‘sold out’ club night in Birmingham in the early hours of this morning.

A ‘Celebration to Life’ night at Mango nightclub in Bristol Street ended in violence after four people were shot at around 3am.

One man is in a critical condition while three others, two men and a woman, are being treated for less serious injuries.

Three suspects aged in their 20s and 30s were arrested from a car on the M6 in Warwickshire soon after the shooting.

They are in custody on suspicion of violent disorder as the investigation continues.

The shooting happened an hour before the end of a ‘Celebration to life’ event at the club.

Mango said on their social media on Friday that the event was sold out, telling guests to ‘dress to impress’.

A video from their social media shows large queues outside the venue on Friday night.

Different social media footage later showed dozens of ambulances and police cars in Bristol Street as emergency services responded to the shooting.

Acting Chief Inspector Michael Clarke said: ‘This happened in a busy nightclub, on one of the main roads out of Birmingham city centre, so it’s vital that we hear from anybody who saw what happened or who may have captured it on dashcam as they went past.

‘Our investigation is moving rapidly, and urgent enquiries has led to the arrests of three people, but we continue to investigate as we identify everyone involved.

‘If you were in the club at the time and saw what happened, or recorded any footage from inside the venue, we need to hear from you urgently.’

Bristol Street southbound has been cordoned off and motorists have been advised to avoid the area.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

Surjit Singh, 39 inflicted injuries to his mother Mohinder Kaur’s head, neck and limbs after chasing her around their home and kicking and stamping on her.

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‘When I looked at it, it had the whole of the school on it.’