Lee Blakeman
BBC Radio Stoke

Stoke City's assistant manager Mark Bowen says Peter Crouch can go on to play in his 40s.

The 36-year-old has scored twice in five appearances off the bench in the Premier League so far this season.

Image source, Getty Images

Bowen says Crouch is physically strong enough to carry on for several more years.

During the debate in Parliament, MP Mike Wood said the actions of the Scandinavian travellers were in stark contrast to others who set up illegal pitches in Netherton, Woodside, Wordsley and Kingswinford over the last three years.

He said there had been "defecation and urination on playing pitches and children’s playing areas" and had cost the borough more than £150,000 to clear up.

Despite that, he argued against giving police more powers.

Speaking in the same debate, Steve McCabe, MP for Selly Oak, said clearing up after travellers had cost Birmingham City Council £700,000 in the last year alone.

A group of Scandinavian travellers who set up an illegal camp in Dudley mowed the grass and tied up the site before leaving, a Black Country MP has said.

Speaking at a Parliamentary debate earlier this week, external, Mike Wood, MP for Dudley South said the group, who moved on to the land had "probably left the pitch in a better condition than that in which they had found it".

Image source, Getty Images

Mr Wood told the Express & Star, external: "I think we can say that this particular group of travellers were fairly unusual in that they called the council and asked for Portakabin toilets when they first arrived.

"They tidied up the entire site before they left and one of them mowed the grass. If every group of travellers was like them then I don't think we would have any problems."

Aldridge-Brownhills MP Wendy Morton will lead an MPs debate on the issue later today.

James Pearson
Political reporter, BBC Hereford & Worcester

The deaths of two children in Worcestershire are the subject of serious case reviews, to see whether social services or other agencies, such as the NHS or the police, missed opportunities to help.

The independent chair of Worcestershire's Safeguarding Children's Board, Derek Benson, said they both died last in the last few months and one case involves a baby and the other a suicide.

Mr Benson said it was too early to say whether there was any connection with Worcestershire County Council's children's services, which were rated inadequate by Ofsted earlier this year.

These child deaths are the first in Worcestershire to have prompted this action in nearly five years.

A new "seventh form" is being launched by Telford College of Arts and Technology to address the gap between education and business.

It will allow students the chance to take traditional A-levels while allowing them to work with local firms and explore alternatives to university.

About a third of the students, roughly 700, are expected to join the seventh form next September as TCAT merges with New College.

A response to the government consultation on HS2 is being put forward by officials from Staffordshire and Cheshire today.

Image source, HS2 Ltd

The business and council leaders involved are supporting proposals for more high-speed trains stopping at the hub station in Crewe - as long as connecting services to other stations are thoroughly considered in the plans.

Pete Waterman, Chair of the Cheshire and Warrington Local Transport Board, says it's important the whole region is well served.

Express and Star

Here are some of the stories making the front page of the Expers & Star website this morning:

• It has been a year in the making but finally Wolverhampton's mammoth new Debenhams is opening its doors, external
• An MP has called for cannabis to be legalised after a mother received police warnings for using it to treat her debilitating condition, external
• A convicted thief who left the scene of a crash that claimed the life of a pensioner in "sheer panic" has said he was not behind the wheel , external

A Stoke-on-Trent remembrance parade will now go ahead this year after it was feared reduced police support might mean it would be called off.

Image source, Getty Images

Each November the Meir and Longton branch of the Royal British Legion marches a mile to Longton Cenotaph in memory of past servicemen and women.

Parade organiser Eddie Titterton says he's pleased it will now go ahead and thanked the police for agreeing to support the event.

One woman has died after a crash outside Coventry Golf Club in the Finham area of Coventry, said the ambulance service.

Image source, Google

The B4113 St Martin's Road remains closed in both directions at the B4115 Howes Lane.

The crash, involving one vehicle, happened at about 02:45.

A disturbance at a maximum security prison should be "ringing alarm bells at the most senior level", the Prison Governors Association says.

Image source, Getty Images

A total of 81 inmates were involved in the incident at Long Larton prison in Worcestershire.

John Attard, national officer for the group, said trouble at the Category A prison was symptomatic of cutbacks and changes in the Prison Service management structure.

"I think we've dodged a bullet on this. They brought this under control very quickly and it's fantastic that they've dealt with it," he said.

"But I think there needs to be a review. The changes to the management structure and staffing structure are a key part of this."

A whistleblower within Worcestershire's troubled children's services department says social workers aren't getting the support they need from bosses, leaving children at risk of being neglected or abused.

After being rated inadequate by Ofsted in January, Worcestershire County Council was told last month that its child social care must be run externally.

A social worker from the department, told the BBC that staff are being overwhelmed with work.

Birmingham's 100 big bears are available to buy at auction today. , external

The Big Sleuth statues were displayed across the city during the summer and will go under the hammer.

With offers expected to start at £6,000 it's hoped the collection could raise more than £500,000 for Birmingham Children's Hospital.

Queues on the M5 are now backing up to junction six on the northbound carriageway.

It's due to a crash involving two lorries near Droitwich, which left one of them on its side blocking the motorway.

Councils in the West Midlands have issued more than £30,000 in fines to fly-tippers in the last year, according to figures given to the Press Association.

Local authorities were given new powers in 2016 to issue fixed penalty notices of up to £400 a time to people caught dumping waste illegally.

In some cases offenders can be jailed for the crime, which is estimated to cost councils in England £50m a year to clean up.

BBC News Travel

A serious crash has closed the B4113, St Martin's Road in the Finham area of Coventry.

The B4115 Howes Lane is also closed at the A45 Stonebridge Highway.

Steve Cotterill will be full of respect for opposing manager Neil Warnock in his first game in charge of Birmingham on Friday.

BBC News Travel

Fire crews are at the scene of a two-lorry crash on the M5 near Droitwich in Worcestershire, helping to free at least one casualty.

The northbound carriageway remains closed from J5 and M42 at J4a after one of the lorries overturned at around 05:20

Cancer patients in Sandwell and West Birmingham will have to travel in future to undergo chemotherapy and outpatients appointments.

Image source, Google

Cancer treatment will transfer to either University Hospital Birmingham or Wolverhampton because of the unsustainability of staffing at the Sandwell and Birmingham City sites.

NHS Improvement says a cancer review is also taking place to look at long-term solutions across the Black Country.

A disturbance at a high-security prison in Worcestershire overnight has been "successfully resolved" said the Prison Service.

Up to 80 inmates at HMP Long Lartin became violent, forcing staff to retreat, a source said.

No staff or inmates were injured, it said.

"We do not tolerate violence in our prisons, and are clear that those responsible will be referred to the police and could spend longer behind bars," it added.

Charlie Slater
BBC Weather presenter

A bright and sunny start to the day with plenty of blue sky around.

Cloud building this afternoon but staying dry with highs of 16C (61F).