THE Birmingham Mail has launched 34 new community sections on its website, bringing you news and pictures from your area.

Your Communities is the latest initiative to be launched on Birminghammail.net and covers Birmingham, Solihull and parts of Staffordshire.

Each community website features the latest news, community events and a gallery of nostalgic pictures.

Visitors also have access to travel information for their area, information about local attractions and opening times and contact details for local MPs and councillors.

The Mail is also seeking to work with existing hyperlocal websites in the city. More than 25 have already agreed to join the initiative. Content from the Your Communities section will appear in print every week in the Mail’s Yours supplement.

Readers are also being asked to send in their stories and pictures through the website and can sign up to the Mail’s Flickr group.

Aston and Nechells

The chairman of Lozells Neighbourhood Forum posted a message of support online for the grieving families of the men who died in the Birmingham riots.

Sister Helen wrote: “I would like to offer my sympathy and prayers to the families that lost their sons in such a tragic way.

“I am so pleased and proud that the good relationships we have worked hard to build and develop in Lozells did help at this awful time.”

* For more updates from the area, go to www.lozells.info

Birmingham city centre

The installation of metal cladding to the new Library of Birmingham has begun, the Birmingham Central blog has reported.

Preparations are also under way for steel cladding to be installed as part of the redevelopment of New Street station.

* To see pictures charting the progress of both projects, visit www.birminghamcentral.blogspot.com

Bournville

Trevor Workman, the man behind the familiar sound of Bournville’s Carillon, has been showing off his skills on the other side of the Atlantic this summer.

Trevor has been Bournville’s Carillonneur since 1965 and has represented Great Britain in European and world events.

More recently, through June and July, he played Carillons in Minneapolis, Michigan and Chicago.

* To see a video of him in action in the States, go to www.bournvillevillage.com

Cannock

Residents in Cannock are being supplied with free bottles of SmartWater in an interactive bid to deter burglars.

Police routinely scan stolen goods under a UV light in the hope it will reveal a chemical identification which allows the items to be traced back to their owner.

By encouraging more people to mark their belongings with SmartWater, Staffordshire Police and the county council hope it will lead to more victims being reunited with their property.

Digbeth

Mark Hill, aged 32, a blogger from Bearwood, was on his way home from a meeting in Birmingham city centre on the first night of last week’s disorder.

As gangs smashed and looted shops he documented the evidence via Twitter and found hundreds of people started following him online. This is an extract from his blogpost:

‘‘Almost as soon as I started walking, about 7.15pm, I was passed by a group of young men hurrying away from town, talking animatedly. Then three police vans screamed past nose-to-tail, followed a minute later by three more, from Hill Street past the Town Hall.

‘‘Several groups of three or four young men, some hooded, some masked, passed heading both towards and away from St Philips.

‘‘Twitter was awash with rumours. The only thing that was clear was the Bullring had closed early as a precaution.

‘‘I thought it best to avoid that area, but that presents a problem if you’re walking to Digbeth.

‘‘At 7.30pm I crossed St Philips churchyard and saw a line of police officers across Temple Street. Two motorcycles lay on their side, and the window of Austin Reed had a spider web of cracks emanating from a hole not big enough to allow anyone into the shop, but big enough that someone could reach in and disrobe the window display dummies.

‘‘A few coat hangers lay on the floor.

‘‘I heard that McDonald’s on Cherry Street had been targeted so I headed in that direction, passing through another thin line of police officers.

‘‘The T-mobile phone store had been looted, obviously targeted, all other shops untouched. A small crowd was gathered on the threshold, most pointing the ubiquitous camera phones at the damage. I joined them, taking a photo and immediately posting it to Twitter.

‘‘I hurried on towards Moor Street. The only other damage was to another mobile phone store, window put-in and evidence of some looting.

‘‘Two young men approached the shop, then retreated. They looked around, seemingly amazed at the absence of police. One egged the other on. His companion sheepishly entered the shop, at which point I walked on.

‘‘Checking my phone I saw lots of people were following my progress based on my 4 Twitpics, photos I had put on Twitter.

‘‘I posted that I was out of the city, that contrary to the online rumour mill the city centre was not a war-zone and no buildings were burning.’’

* Mark Hill goes by the name of @cybrum on Twitter. To read the rest of his blogpost go to www.birminghammail.net/your-communities and click on ‘city centre’.

* A powerful short film by Adam Yosef, chair of Saltley Gate Peace Group, explores reaction to the riots and the community-led clean-ups. It can be viewed at www.digbeth.org

Edgbaston

Deirdre Alden was joined by other city councillors, MPs and senior police officers at a meeting yesterday to discuss the Birmingham riots. The discussion at the Council House in Birmingham was originally meant to be held behind closed doors but was opened up to the public following widespread interest from people wanting to attend.

* For more news from the Edgbaston area, go to www.deirdrealden.wordpress.com

Lichfield

Campaigners have started a series of balloon launches aimed at spreading the word about their objections to the planned HS2 railway.

More than 100 balloons were released by Stop HS2 campaigners from The Royal Oak pub in Kings Bromley, Staffordshire.

Kings Bromley is close to where the rail track is proposed to run en route to Manchester.

* For more on this story, go to www.lichfieldlive.co.uk

Northfield

A social media-savvy woman from Northfield has posted a detailed reaction piece to the disorder in Birmingham on the B31 blog.

Emma-Louise Harries, aged 33, was travelling to Norwich when the violence erupted on Monday last week.

In her story, she reveals how she kept abreast of events through Twitter and how she used the site to discuss the riots with friends as far afield as New Zealand and Germany.

* To read her interesting account in its entirety, go to www.karmadillo.co.uk

Solihull south

Sainsbury’s has dedicated a page on its website to dispelling what it says are myths about the supermarket chain’s plans for a new store in Dorridge.

It claims a number of rumours have emerged after the company submitted a second application for a smaller project at Forest Court when the first scheme was rejected by Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council in March last year.

The website says: “Sainsbury’s understands that the broad range of scheme changes, mixed with unfortunate rumours and misleading claims can get very confusing.”

* To read this story in full, visit www.thesilhillian.blogspot.com

Sutton Coldfield

Details about the Flower Festival, which runs from September 30 to October 2, have been uploaded onto the Sutton Coldfield Local blog.

As well as floral exhibitions there will be classic car displays, children’s activities, live music and poetry and religious services.

* Browse the full schedule at www.suttoncoldfieldlocal.co.uk