HERE’S your evening news round-up for the Black Country and north Worcestershire.

Concern has been growing for the safety of a Brierley Hill man who has been missing for a week.

Simon Smith, aged 50, was last seen on Sunday December 3.

Police say he spent the day visiting family in the area but never returned home.

To read more click here.

Mary Stevens Hospice has rescheduled its Santa Jog for this coming weekend after heavy snow on Sunday meant the popular charity fun run had to be cancelled.

Around 700 charity fun runners have signed up to take part in this year’s event - which will now go ahead in Mary Stevens Park, Norton, on the morning of Sunday December 17.

To read more click here.

As the wintry weather continues to bite - a host of Dudley borough schools have confirmed they will be closed tomorrow (Tuesday December 12).

Click here to see which schools in the Black Country will be having another snow day.

A host of schools in north Worcestershire have also confirmed they will be closed for the day…click here to see which will be staying shut in the Redditch, Bromsgrove and Wyre Forest areas.

The weekend’s heavy snowfall brought with it love-hate moments for Dudley Zoo’s 1,600-strong exotic animal species.

While the likes of the red pandas, reindeer, Humboldt penguins, Patagonian sealions and snowy owls were in their element, the majority of the animals preferred to spend their snow days enjoying enrichment activities inside their heated and insulated dens.

To see pictures of the zoo inmates in the white stuff click here.

Legendary Black Country developer and philanthropist Dr Roy Richardson has driven sheep through Sandwell after being made an honorary freeman.

As one of his ceremonial rights as a freeman, the Oldbury businessman immediately took the opportunity to carry out the historic tradition.

To read more click here.

Organisers behind Bromsgrove's first Christmas Festival have defended their decision to cancel the event 'in the interest of public safety'.

More than 30 stalls were organised for the Christmas market on Sunday (December 10), including arts and craft stalls, but CJ’s Events Warwickshire cancelled the event on Friday due to forecasted adverse weather conditions.

Dozens of residents who had planned to attend the festival then took to social media to complain.

To read the full story click here.

Three kittens were found dumped in a plastic box in the snow this morning (December 11) by a member of the public in Kidderminster.

The kittens were discovered in a thin plastic box with a lid and a urine soaked cushion, in a field near to Snowdon Close, in Franche, on Monday morning.

To read more on this shocking story click here.

Visitors are being warned to stay away from Redditch's Alexandra Hospital due to an outbreak of the dreaded winter sickness bug norovirus.

As the weather has got colder NHS bosses have started to see cases of the highly contagious bug.

To read more click here.

Four organisations from across Redditch have been handed a slice of £5.1 million funding.

Community projects in the West Midlands were given the early Christmas present as part of the National Lottery’s Big Lottery Fund, with four in Redditch receiving a combined £38,416.

To read more click here.