West Midlands

Related Category: British and Irish Political Geography

former metropolitan county, central England. Created in the 1974 local government reorganization, the county embraced the Birmingham conurbation and comprised seven metropolitan districts: Walsall, Wolverhampton, Dudley, Sandwell, Birmingham, Solihull, and Coventy. The county was abolished in 1986, and the districts became responsible for all services except police, fire, and civil defense, which are supervised jointly.