Allen Cook
BBC Local Live

Unemployment in the West Midlands fell by 25,000 to 151,000 in the three months to October, according to the Office for National Statistics, external (ONS). 

Image source, DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images

The unemployment rate was 5.3% for the same period. 

Compared with the same three months in 2015, the ONS says unemployment in the region is down by 4,000. 

Across the UK as a whole, unemployment stands at 1.62 million for the period, with a drop of 16,000 for the country.

Monica Rimmer
Journalist, BBC Online

Mysterious and eerie things are afoot in a Kings Heath street.

Passers-by have been captivated by some creative, if creepy, Christmas lights.

Giles Wallwork has had a lot of love shown on social media for his festive display.

Image source, Netflix

The flashing lights scroll through the letters to spell out Merry Christmas in a homage to Netflix show Stranger Things, starring Winona Ryder.

He said he had the idea in November and looked up blueprints on how to get the lights to work.

It then took him five days to iron out the glitches.

Severn Trent say they are aware of problems with discoloured water, external in the following areas, B12, B13, B18, B20 and B21.

They say the water won't harm customers. 

Allen Cook
BBC Local Live

A fox has been rescued after getting tangled up in a football net. 

The RSPCA says the young animal got his entire body tangled up on Sunday night at a school in Hednesford Road, Cannock, Staffordshire.

Image source, RSPCA

They say when they were called out, they found the fox was weak after struggling for hours to get free but say he's now been safely released from the net. 

The RSPCA's now urging people to put sports netting away saying that it poses "a real hazard to our wildlife".

BBC Sport

Non-league Stourbridge are through to the third round of the FA Cup for the first time in their 140 year history. 

A late winner saw the seventh-tier team overcome Northampton Town 1-0 at the War Memorial Ground. 

They'll now face Wycombe Wanderers in January.

Image source, PA

BBC Weather

It’ll be fairly cloudy throughout this morning but drier air is feeding in from the south. 

Expect the cloud to thin and break over the course of the day leading to some bright and potentially sunny intervals. Highs of 11C (52F). 

Monica Rimmer
Journalist, BBC Online

I'll be bringing you the latest news, sport, travel and weather updates for Birmingham and the Black Country between now and 18:00.  

If you'd like to get in touch you can email, tweet @bbcwm, external or visit the BBC WM Facebook page, external.  

Manager Gary Hackett lauds his Stourbridge team as the seventh-tier side reach the FA Cup third round for the first time.

Birmingham get their promotion bid back on course after two straight defeats as they hang on to beat lowly Ipswich.

Nelson Oliveira scores for the third successive game as Norwich beat Aston Villa to earn just a second win in eight.

Cardiff City climb out of the Championship's bottom three after fighting back to beat relegation rivals Wolves.

We're back from 08:00 tomorrow to bring you our usual mix of news, sport, travel and weather.

Have a great evening.

Rebecca Wood
BBC Midlands Today

It's been a fairly mild start to winter so far, but 70 years ago it was a very different picture. 

The winter of 1946 was one of the most severe in living memory and one Midlands schoolboy recorded it in meticulous detail. 

Now his former school is trying to track him down. 

The search is on to find Ron Hadley who attended Earls High School in Halesowen between 1943 and 1950.

A student with bone cancer whose friends raised more than £56,000 for him to complete his bucket list dies.

A man who died in a hit and run collision in Birmingham on Saturday has been named by police as Paul Foster., external

The 61-year-old father of three was struck by a vehicle at around 06:25 near Perry Barr dog track.

Image source, West Midlands Police

A statement issued on behalf of his family describes him as a "true gentleman, with a heart of pure gold who would do absolutely anything for anybody".

A 58-year-old man has been arrested and bailed in connection with the incident. 

Kay Crewdson
BBC weather presenter

A cloudy, mild night for all parts with a little light rain or drizzle this evening. 

Becoming mainly dry later, but there will be large amounts of low cloud with lows of 8C (46F).

BBC WM Sport

Five matches across three competitions make up the coverage on BBC WM Sport tonight.

There are games for Wolves, Blues and Villa in the Championship, while Walsall host Oldham in the Check a Trade Trophy and non-league Stourbridge play a re-arranged FA Cup second round tie against League One Northampton. 

Villa's trip to Norwich is our live game on BBC WM 95.6. 

We also have Wolves at Cardiff on DAB in the Black Country. Hear full match build-up on BBC WM from 17:30 on the football phone-in.

West Midlands Police says it receives on average 238 abandoned 999 calls every day.

The opening of Birmingham University's new £55m sports centre is put back for a fourth time, officials say.

Lichfield Mercury

A diligent dog proved four legs are better than two when she snared two teenagers in Cannock following the theft of a van., external