The week in pictures

A pensioner died on Thursday after a devastating fire ripped through his Wolverhampton home. Shocked neighbours told how the window of the man's home exploded with the force of the flames, which sent smoke billowing next door. The victim, in his eighties, would be seen most days cycling into Wednesfied to get a newspaper.nextpage

Last week Wolves boss Mick McCarthy caused a stir amongst fans after it was announced that he was in line to become the next manager of South Korea. McCarthy was soon to put down the rumours, however, stating: "My position is as has been declared in the statements from the club – I was very flattered to be considered, I don't deny that, but my commitment is to Wolves."nextpage

Demi Brookes, aged thre, gets the Tipton tour underway with Father Christmas. Organisers of the annual charity sleigh ride vowed not to let yobs ruin the event as they took to the Tipton streets.nextpage

Curator Matt Lewis with a rare Humboldt's penguin at Dudley Zoo, which has bagged a national award for its longstanding conservation programme. The trophy was presented by the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA) in honour of the 17-year breeding project at the Castle Hill site. Led by Mr. Lewis, the work involved hand rearing rare Humboldt's penguin chicks around the clock to ensure their survival.nextpage

Father Christmas and Oscar Fradgley, aged four, at the Stourbridge lights. Towns across the West Midlands were filled with festive colour over the weekend as Christmas lights were switched on for the first time. nextpage

Paranormal enthusiast Craig Lowe, a 32-year-old car dealer on the Forge trading estate, who claims to have spotted a 'Dorito shape' flying over the Black Country has told of the moment he spotted the unexplained object, which he claims was about three times the size of a football pitch. "It was absolutely enormous. At first I noticed a plane on the horizon and then I could see some faint red lights. I knew they were not the strobe lights of an aircraft and they seem to be travelling towards me quite slowly. I rushed inside to get my video camera. It was huge because it blacked out the stars and it must have been about 35,000ft high."nextpage

A possible image of the 'Dorito' UFO sighting. "The footage is inconclusive," explains Craig Lowe. "The problem is I was filming a black object against a black sky and my video camera is not great quality."