The biggest stories of 2021 in the Midlands

It's impossible to sum up 2021. The year which followed a year like no other, and was far from a return to normal, starting with another national lockdown, the third of the Coronavirus pandemic.

Police forces and local authorities appeared to struggle to understand and enforce new guidance on staying local, and Derbyshire Police hit the headlines after fining two women who met to go for a socially distanced walk in a park.

Their fine was subsequently cancelled following further clarification from police chiefs.

Covid-19 was the backdrop for the year's events.

We filmed a moving report on the frontline in ICU at Chesterfield Royal Infirmary. Dr Tim Meekings, an intensive care consultant for 12 years, told us he had never experienced anything like it.

He told us people who believe that some hospitals are empty "should come in...get dressed in PPE and help with patients," so they can see what the everyday reality of dealing with the coronavirus pandemic is like.

And the NHS has remained under pressure all year. Staff dealt with the mental trauma and exhaustion of the pandemic, like a mortuary worker we spoke to, who became so overwhelmed, she had to stop working in that role.

We reported on a grandmother, left out in the rain waiting for an ambulance for almost nine hours, due to the "intense pressure" the hospital was experiencing.

But on a more positive note, the Midlands, or rather Coventry, was in the global spotlight when the very first Covid-19 vaccination was administered to Margaret Keenan just before Christmas last year.

The vaccines began to be rolled out to NHS staff and the most vulnerable at the start of the year and then through the age groups. In the last few weeks, NHS staff have pulled out all the stops again to administer the booster.

Thanks to NHS care, people like Ellie Wright were able to return home safely from hospital. She contracted Covid-19 while she was pregnant, and was put into a coma, but gave birth early to baby Leo.

The death of six-year-old Arthur Labinjo-Hughes in Solihull was a story that shocked the nation. His father and his father's partner were jailed for killing him after months of abuse.

A campaign, 'Arthur's Law', has now begun, calling for anyone who is found guilty of murdering a child to be jailed for life.

The parents of Louis Watkiss, who died after a collision at the Snowdome in Tamworth, are campaigning in his memory - they want all children to wear helmets when taking part in indoor snow activities.

There was a rise in dog thefts during lockdown as demand rose. A woman from Nottingham had nine french bulldogs stolen from her family home in the space of 15 minutes.

The double murderer Colin Pitchfork was released from jail after raping and strangling 15-year-olds Lynda Mann and Dawn Ashworth in Leicestershire in 1983 and 1986.

But, two months later he was recalled over a breach of his licence.

The government's long awaited Integrated Rail Plan was finally published. The biggest news for the Midlands was the scrapping of the eastern leg of the HS2 route - which would have connected Leeds with London via Birmingham and the East Midlands.

There will be a new Birmingham to East Midlands Parkway line, while high speed trains will still reach Leeds but on slower lines.

For people living in Long Eaton, that meant that they had given up their homes and businesses along the route of the proposed line via compulsory purchase - for nothing.

We met some amazing people in 2021.

Hayley Smith from Kettering showed incredible acceptance of her terminal cancer diagnosis. Her strength showed through in the article she wrote for us, making it one of our most read all year. She died a short time later.

Women who were pressured to give up their children for adoption shared their stories with ITV Central.

"Tears flowing, yelling, but I was just told to shut up. My dad was there, quite firmly making sure I didn't make too much fuss. It's one of those things you never forget, just like it was yesterday."

Their courage in speaking out won our reporter Jane Hesketh the Royal Television Society Journalist of the Year Award.

In the Autumn is was announced that an inquiry will be held into what happened in the 50s, 60s and 70s.

Some people managed to make the most of the year - we met a man down to last £300 at the start of the pandemic as his shifts were cut. Mohammed Haroon decided to invest it in a dessert shop. The father's gamble paid off and it became a successful business.

And finally, two remarkable animals.

Hel the husky helped find an abandoned baby in a park in Kings Norton. She spotted the pile of blankets, laid down alongside it, and nudged it gently with her nose. The baby boy is now safe and doing well.

And Bella the German Shepherd dog, who had been tied to a rock and thrown into a river, lived out her final days in 2021 with her new owners in Derbyshire.

An RSPCA spokesperson said, "we will remember Bella as happy in her new home surrounded by love, kindness and respect."