Phil McCann
Cheshire Political Reporter, BBC News

Police say no criminal action will be taken against Cheshire East Council after it was revealed the authority had paid some of its care staff below the minimum wage.

Last month, it was announced staff who sleep at the homes of vulnerable people will get a backdated pay rise.

Image source, Google

The council is still being investigated by police over alleged misconduct in public office relating to the way contracts were awarded and over the alleged manipulation of pollution data.

The Severn Valley Railway is celebrating hitting its target of raising £2.5m to refurbish its station at Bridgnorth.

It collected the money by selling £1 shares, starting on 1 November last year and looked to be a long way off towards the end of last month, with nearly £1m still needed.

The railway started building a new refreshment and toilet block at the Bridgnorth site late last year and aims to have it finished by mid-January.

It says it will then start work on the listed station house.

The Mercian Regiment is opening a base in Worcester today, with the aim of creating a new rifle platoon for reservists.

The offices at Dancox House in the city centre will be the first in the city and will be a home for the regiment's fourth battalion, which already has nine bases across the Midlands and North West.

The Mercian Regiment has been celebrating 10 years since its creation.

A month after a fire at a flat in Stoke-on-Trent, a six-month-old girl is still in a critical condition in hospital.

The fire claimed the life of Tamunni Fadoul's six-year-old sister, Tafaoul, and her mother, 35-year-old, Zainab Adam.

Staffordshire Police says officers are still investigating the fire, which is believed to have started with a wall-mounted storage heater.

It damaged six flats at the block on Ringland Close in Northwood.

The cost of parking at the hospitals in Shrewsbury and Telford goes up from today.

Long stays of between five and 24 hours will more than double from £3.50 to £8 and there are increases for shorter stays too.

Image source, Google

Critics, including patients groups and local politicians, have criticised the move, but the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust said it should free up more parking spaces.

The Sentinel

Here are some of the top stories to feature on The Sentinel's website:

• Woman, 22, taken to court after rubbish dumped in alley, external
• Potteries band manager’s love letter, external to The Sugarmill ahead of Bloody Knees gig
• Stoke City and Watford charged over Vicarage Road bust up, external

Ben Sidwell
BBC Midlands Today

A baker from Wolverhampton's fast becoming a cake maker to the stars.

Paz Heer's already baked for world champion boxers Anthony Joshua and Floyd Mayweather.

"The biggest one was Arnold Schwarzenegger, a few weeks ago, and that was amazing to actually meet him and for him to say I've outdone Hollywood," Paz said.

It's a long way from his job 10 years ago as a team leader for BT.

A new 600-space multi-storey car park is set to built in Coventry city centre.

Plans for a six-floor car park would be built on the current site on Salt Lane.

The plans have now been submitted, with a decision due later this year.

Image source, Google

The council said earlier this year that the parking would help cater for people visiting Broadgate, Friargate, Waterpark and City Centre South, after recent upgrades.

Stephanie Barnard
BBC News

Soho Road in Handsworth, Birmingham remains closed between Stafford Road and Thornhill Road because of a police incident.

Bus services in the area are being diverted.

A spokesman for West Midlands Ambulance Service tells me crews were called to reports of an assault outside Spices kebab shop on Soho Road at 22:50 but when paramedics arrived "there was nothing there".

We are awaiting more information for police about the on-going incident.

BBC Hereford and Worcester

A Worcestershire businessman says he’s been left £15,000 out of pocket because of traffic jams in Pershore.

Developer Persimmon Homes is building 260 new houses off Station Road and four-way traffic lights have been in place for the last 19 months.

Image source, Google

Persimmon says it's been in talks with the council for two years and would be willing to put in a roundabout.

Developers say they're frustrated technical approval for a permanent junction remains outstanding.

Birmingham Mail

Here are the top stories featuring on the Birmingham Mail website this morning:

• A41 Soho Road in Handsworth closed over police incident, external
• Delivery van full of parcels targeted in Solihull carjacking, external
• Ram raiders reverse car into Tesco Express leaving trail of destruction before fleeing with alcohol, external

BBC Coventry & Warwickshire

Plans to build more than 40,000 homes in the Coventry area have been approved by the government., external

Some 25,000 new homes could be built inside the city boundary and a further 18,000 are set to be built outside it, if the final plans are approved by the council.

Image source, PA

Campaigners say it'll mean building houses on green belt land including the Meriden Gap.

The plans are now due to be discussed by the council later this month.

Ben Godfrey
BBC Midlands Today

The number of burglars stealing high-performance cars is on the rise, says West Midlands Police.

The thieves who are often armed and masked are breaking into homes to steal keys before driving off with the vehicles.

There's been an almost 50% rise in this kind of crime since 2014 with 550 cases reported so far this year.

So how do drivers help stop thieves taking their prized possessions? Steering locks which were used in the 80s and 90s are coming back into fashion.

Places including Hednesford and Lichfield have most recently been targeted as gangs focus on specific types of cars.

Michele Paduano
Health correspondent, BBC Midlands Today

A breast cancer surgeon has denied allegations that he harmed patients in his care.

It’s been suggested that 11 patients at the Royal Stoke University Hospital came to potential harm.

A further investigation looking at earlier cases is now being undertaken by the Royal College of Surgeons.

Raafat Gendy says it's only his breast reconstruction work that's been assessed and he has a 26-year unblemished record in surgery.

BBC Midlands Today

A new £37.5m rare diseases centre at Birmingham Children’s Hospital that is due to open next year has already been shortlisted for an award.

Image source, Birmingham Children's Hospital

The centre will house a clinical block, external, a cancer centre and surgical theatres.

The hospital says it will provide a single place within the hospital "for all assessment, diagnosis, treatment, information, research and also valuable peer-to-peer support".

It'll be the first of its type in the UK, something which the Health Service Journal has recognised, external in naming the hospital on its shortlist for best Compassionate Patient Care.

Image source, Birmingham Children's Hospital

Charlie Slater
BBC Weather presenter

The region will stay dry, bright and mild throughout.

Temperatures will be a couple of degrees higher than average for early November.

High cloud in the morning will make sunshine rather hazy, but by afternoon, sunlight will be more direct - highs of 14C (57F).

Stephanie Barnard
BBC News

Good morning.

We'll bring you all the latest news, sport, weather and travel updates between now and 19:00.

If you'd like to get in touch, comment or share your photos, get in touch on our BBC Midlands Facebook page, external, email us, or tweet @BBCMTD, external.

Barnsley eventually overcome a stubborn Burton side in an entertaining game of six goals at Pirelli Stadium.

Wolves return to the top of the Championship, beating Norwich City with goals from Willy Boly and Leo Bonatini.

A late flurry of interest in the fundraising bid sees more than 200,000 £1 shares sell in three days.