HMP Birmingham's Independent Monitoring Board has released a report saying that there is "much work to be done" to ensure the prison is safe, clean and efficient.

Roger Swindells carried out the report and said cells were "completely unsanitary".

"Currently we ask two men to live in a cell that's less than two metres wide, less than three metres long and less than three metres high," he said.

Prisoners eat "their meals sitting on their beds, beside toilets that frequently don't have lids", he added.

G4S says it will look carefully at the recommendations made and will continue to work with partners in the community and the Ministry of Justice to make further progress at Birmingham in the year ahead.

BBC Sport

Stoke City boss Mark Hughes has told his players "it's time to show our mettle" after the weekend's 2-1 defeat to Bournemouth.

Two goals in 133 seconds stunned City as Andrew Surman's 16th-minute opener was quickly followed by Junior Stanislas' penalty, awarded after Ryan Shawcross tripped Benik Afobe in the box.

Express and Star

Here are some of the stories headlining on the Express & Star website this morning:

• Stafford Road works: More misery on the way for motorists , external
• Speed limits cut on Wednesbury estate after 64 injured and one killed in five years, external
• £1m bill for Sandwell Council Living Wage pay rise , external

BBC Hereford and Worcester

Almost half of all call-outs attended by fire crews in Herefordshire & Worcestershire turn out to be false alarms.

Firefighters in the two counties are called out to over 3,000 false alarms every year - that's nearly 60 each week - and they are making a significant dent in the service's £31m annual budget.

Image source, Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service

Graham McGarry
Crewe Alexandra commentator, BBC Radio Stoke

Crewe Alexandra's club captain Chris Dagnall fell foul of the fourth official during Saturday's game at home to Accrington Stanley.

Dagnall was ready to be brought on as a substitute in the second half but was then stopped from entering the field of play.

It was confirmed afterwards by the Alex manager David Artell that the player wasn't allowed to come on to the pitch because he had his wedding ring taped up.

Image source, Crewe Alexandra

Law four states that all jewellery must be removed before the game starts for safety reasons, external.

Dagnall watched the rest of the game from his seat in the stand because he wasn't able to remove the ring from his finger.

Richard Williams
BBC Coventry & Warwickshire

A parent whose nine-year-old son was attending a birthday party when a 53-year-old gunman took two hostages at a Nuneaton bowling alley has spoken about his panic.

Image source, PA

"We noticed the male involved was a bit agitated," he said, "and all of a sudden he just went to the bar, pulled out a gun, a shot gun, out of a carrier bag.

"We just panicked and got all of the kids out."

Nobody was injured during the incident and police remain at the scene

Police have confirmed the gunman arrested after a four-hour siege at Bermuda Park on Sunday was a 53-year-old from Nuneaton.

He was arrested on suspicion of making threats to kill after police stormed the building at about 18:30.

He had taken two hostages at the MFA bowl, at a time when there had been about 40 to 50 people inside.

About 200 bales of hay have gone up in flames overnight near Bridgnorth.

Four fire crews were called to the Chelmarsh area just before 22:00 last night.

It took firefighters several hours to bring the fire under control.

The Sentinel

Here are some of the main stories on The Sentinel website this morning:

• First Potteries is cutting another 64 journeys - and here's the list, external
• City care home banned from admitting new residents after being ordered to improve, external
• Boy born with 'half a face' called 'Halloween monster' by cruel bullies, external

The teenager went missing in Covent Garden while on a family trip to London.

Richard Williams
BBC Coventry & Warwickshire

Bermuda Park in Nuneaton is slowly returning to normal this morning as businesses start to reopen.

Yesterday, police officers were called to MFA Bowl after reports of a man holding two hostages inside a bowling alley.

Today, the MFA Bowl remains sealed off and Warwickshire Police remain at the scene.

The suspect was eventually arrested after police stormed the building amid a series of flash bangs shortly after 18:30.

The man was treated at the scene and taken to hospital, while two other men were released unhurt.

Wasps got their European Champions' Cup campaign back on track, beating Harlequins at the Ricoh Arena 41-10.

The team ended their miserable run of five defeats on the trot.

Image source, Getty Images

The club posted on Instagram, external: "It's a bonus-point win for the men in black and gold as they put five tries past Harlequins!"

A vulnerable 15-year-old boy from Shrewsbury who went missing on a family trip to London at the weekend has been found, police say.

Benjamin Moorcroft had become separated from his family on Saturday evening in the Covent Garden area.

Metropolitan Police said a member of the public spoke to Ben and alerted police this morning.

Birmingham Mail

Here are some of the stories making the headlines in the Birmingham Mail this morning:

• Knife crime almost doubles in five years, external
• 30,000 fly-tipping incidents - but only four people jailed, external
• Flagship youth jobs project misses out on £15m, external

Ayo Akinwolere
Presenter, BBC Inside Out

The family of a man from Staffordshire who went missing and took his own life say more needs to be done to help young men with mental health problems.

Image source, Smith family

Joshua Smith disappeared a year ago. His body was found by the side of a canal near Stone after a four-week public appeal to help find him.

In the lead up to his death, his family became increasingly worried about his mental health and they wanted help.

His family said they had told mental health professionals they were concerned about his well-being.

The NHS trust says it now has more specialist clinicians to cope with demand.

See more on BBC One's edition of Inside Out at 19:30 tonight.

BBC News Travel

Traffic's been stopped on the M42 southbound J11-J10 near Tamworth to allow emergency services clear an earlier crash.

BBC Midlands Today

Bosses at a Birmingham prison were warned of potential disorder immediately prior to a 15-hour riot, a report has found., external

The disturbance last December spread to four wings and cost G4S, which runs the category B jail, about £6m.

An Independent Monitoring Board report , externalpraised staff on duty at the time, but said a lack of CCTV on wings limited their ability to assess the disorder early on.

Stephanie Barnard
BBC News

More than 30 firefighters have been tackling a blaze at an industrial unit in Birmingham overnight.

The fire service says it was called to Edward Road in Balsall Heath at about 01:15 this morning.

It's not thought that anyone was injured. Crews remain at the scene while investigations begin into what started the fire.

A man continues to be questioned by police after armed officers stormed a bowling alley in Nuneaton to end a four-hour siege.

Officers were called to MFA Bowl, in Bermuda Park, at about 14:30 on Sunday after reports that a man with a shotgun had taken two hostages.

A man was arrested after police stormed the building amid a series of flash bangs at about 18:30 last night.

Image source, PA

Rich Davis
BBC Weather presenter

Rather cloudy skies this morning, with outbreaks of rain.

However, the rain will gradually clear eastwards through the morning with drier and brighter conditions following, allowing sunny spells to develop later in the afternoon. Milder than Sunday with highs of 16C (61F).