Coventry Telegraph

Some of the stories making the headlines on the Coventry Telegraph website this morning:

• Undercover operation launched in Nuneaton , external
• M42 in Warwickshire reopens nine hours after body discovered, external

• OAP is dragged behind car after his coat gets trapped inside, external

The purse was taken from an 87-year-old's handbag as she shopped at a store in Shropshire.

A man's been seriously hurt in Worcestershire after a wooden stake went through the front of his car and into his leg.

It happened when the vehicle left the road and ended up in a hedge near Stanford Bridge late last night.

Fire crews had to help free the man before he could be taken by ambulance to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham.

Martin Winch
BBC News

A Stratford-upon-Avon hospice has been running a bereavement service for children, thanks to funding from the Children in Need charity.

Jack and Amelia have been getting support as they come to terms with mum Tracey's terminal cancer.

Plans to develop a garden city at Bilston Urban Village have been given a boost after the council secured £681,000 from the European Regional Development Fund.

Image source, City of Wolverhampton Council

The project, which could deliver 450 homes on former brownfield land, ties in with the larger Black Country Garden City plans.

Image source, City of Wolverhampton Council

The remainder of the £1.5m needed for the development will be funded from money already secured from developers and council investment, Wolverhampton City Council said.

A new meadow will also be created and extra trees planted in the area, the local authority said, as part of a conservation project.

Image source, City of Wolverhampton Council

A man's been charged after a poppy appeal charity box was stolen from a butcher's shop in Wombourne, Staffordshire, police say., external

The 35-year-old is also charged with attempting to steal another from the local Co-op store.

An agreement has been reached to allow Staffordshire County Council to keep £20m it gets from NHS England.

The health body had threatened to withdraw the money after the council failed to meet targets to help get patients out of hospital.

Image source, Getty Images

But, the council says that after "tough negotiations" those so-called bed-blocking targets have now been changed.

Birmingham drama Peaky Blinders made and explosive return to BBC Two last night opening with the threat of a multiple hanging and finished with more action.

Viewers who tuned in to see Cillian Murphy reprise his role as ruthless head honcho Tommy Shelby, said the bloody beginning was shocking, but well worth the wait.

One fan tweeted: "What a start!!! £PeakyBlinders the best thing on TV by miles," and another added hopefully: "Can we have episode 2 tomorrow?" "What a start to this series! Love it," posted another.

The camp provides a fun, recreational space for children with severe allergies and life-limiting illnesses.

David Gregory-Kumar
Science correspondent, BBC Midlands Today

Cutting-edge robots are the stars of an event in Birmingham.

At the Humanoids 2017, external conference there's a rare chance to see the best robots in the world outside of a laboratory - in some cases robots that wouldn't look out of place in Star Trek or Doctor Who.

"We are making slow progress," Prof Jeremy Wyatt of the University of Birmingham said.

"Robot walking has come on enormously in the last 20 years, manipulation is improving. They're looking better, they're moving more smoothly. So gradually they're taking little steps forward."

"Humanoid robots, another way to think about it, is we're at the developmental stage - the same stage as babies are at where they're still trying to learn the really basic stuff," Prof Wyatt added.

But they don't come cheap. PAL Robotics, based in Europe, brought along a machine (pictured above) with a starting price of 900,000 Euros (£805,000).

A rare Jaguar E-Type, owned by music producer Pete Waterman for some 30 years, has been sold at auction for £72,000.

Image source, H&H Classics

Auctioneer H&H Classics said the car, sold at the at the Imperial War Museum Duxford yesterday, had been referred to as a "ghost of an E-Type" because it was presumed lost.

The Jaguar E-Type was designed by Malcolm Sayer who died in 1970, aged 53.

BBC Sport

The BBC Price of Football study has found that the majority of ticket prices have been frozen or have fallen for a third year - yet a poll of young adult football fans suggests the cost is still putting them off.

Meet Stoke City fan Olivia, as she tries to persuade friend Sam that the cost of going to live matches is actually worth it.

Birmingham's World champion boxer Kal Yafai hasn't ruled out another home town contest soon, but said his next fight is likely to be overseas.

Image source, PA

The 28-year-old is likely to defend his WBA super-flyweight title in the United States in February.

"If you want to fight the big names," he said, "you have to travel".

Express and Star

Here are some of the stories making the headlines on the Express and Star website this morning:

• Wolverhampton Sunday League top scorer avoids jail after £14,000 disability scam , external
• Futuristic vision for Bilston unveiled, external
• Former Baggies captain's medals sell for more than £30k , external

The mother of a Worcester teenager who took his own life has been recruited by Prince William to work on a new cyber-bullying task force.

Earlier this year Lucy Alexander launched the Campaign for Kindness in memory of 17-year-old Felix who died in 2016.

A video released by Kensington Palace shows the Prince meeting Lucy, and Chloe Hine - who herself was bullied online as a teenager.

Shropshire Council is calling on the government to reimburse money it has spent to look after children seeking asylum.

The local authority revealed it had spent about £1m to care for 10 youngsters who arrived in the county without their family.

Image source, Google

Councillor Nick Bardlsey said the authority does get money back from central government "but nothing like enough to cover the cost".

"I shall be pressing our MPs and ministers to adequately cover the additional cost," he said.

The BBC has released its annual Price of Football survey which has found Aston Villa have the most expensive shirts in the Championship.

Image source, Getty

It costs £55 for a claret and blue shirt, while Birmingham City has both the cheapest and dearest season tickets in the West Midlands - from £320 to a top price of £690.

Birmingham's Frankfurt Christmas Market opens later, with an increased armed police presence.

Image source, Getty Images

Now in its 18th year the market attracts millions of visitors to the city.

Redevelopment work around Paradise Circus means it will be smaller than previous years, with just 93 stalls.

The ice rink and big wheel are also moving to a new location in the city's Eastside district.

The Woodland Trust says any illicit behaviour at the site will be reported to the police.

More than £1m worth of funding to update facilities for Gypsies and travellers in Coventry was returned to the government unspent, a BBC investigation has found.

In all, fewer than a third of the required number of Gypsy and traveller pitches in England have been built.

Coventry City Council was successful in its bid for funding in 2013, with £1,072,793 agreed, but said due to "insufficient time to complete the works" the authority had to return the cash to the Homes and Communities Agency.

A council spokesman said at the time three traveller families were living on the site it hoped to expand.

For health and safety reasons contractors could not work around them and "sites to which the families could move were explored but to no avail".