People planning to travel over the next two days are being advised to plan ahead and allow extra time for journeys, as a weather warning for snow and ice , externalis in place for the West Midlands.

Staffordshire and Shropshire are expected to see the worst of the weather.

Image source, Met Office

Increasingly frequent snow showers are expected across the north and west of the region, says the Met Office.

The warning is in place between 00:05 on Friday to 18:00 Saturday.

Hull will find out today which place will take over the baton as UK City of Culture.

Image source, Getty Images / Council handouts

One of Sunderland (pictured top left), Paisley (middle), Swansea (top right), Coventry (bottom right), Stoke (bottom left) will take over Hull's title from 2021.

In Hull, more than a million people have visited museums and attractions since celebrations began in January.

The announcement will be made live on the One Show tonight on BBC One.

Express and Star

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

• Masked raiders terrify staff with unknown liquid before stealing aftershaves and perfumes from three pharmacies , external
• Wardens clock £290k from fines in just three months - but are councils too strict on parking?, external
• Wolverhampton Marathon to be renamed after main run was axed, external

Plans for two new apartment blocks on the Smithfield site in Hanley have been approved by Stoke-on-Trent councillors.

Image source, Stoke-on-Trent City Council

The plan is for two 11-storey blocks in the city centre which will hold 277 flats, a gym and shops.

There will be a mixture of one and two bedroom apartments, which will sit next to a new Hilton hotel.

The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2019.

What's thought to be the most expensive diamond to be sold outside of London is up for auction in Birmingham today.

The 44 carat Fancy Intense Yellow ring is reckoned to be worth somewhere between £900,000 and £1.4m.

The diamond is set between two white tapered diamond shoulders.

It'll go under the hammer in the city's Jewellery Quarter.

A senior police officer is due to appear in court charged over allegations he failed to safeguard sensitive documents which were stolen from his car.

Assistant Chief Constable Marcus Beale, who was the counter terrorism lead for West Midlands Police, is accused of the offence under the Official Secrets Act.

The officer, who has been suspended by West Midlands Police, has been summonsed and is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court today.

A burst water pipe in Coventry may be causing supply issues to customers, Severn Trent says.

The company has engineers working on the main supply on Conrad Road in the Coundon area of the city.

Five of the 10 A&Es with the longest waiting times in the country are in the West Midlands, according to new research from the BBC.

Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust is the second worst in the country when it comes to waiting times.

Last month, just 73.3% of A&E patients visiting Shrewsbury and Telford were seen within the four-hour target, compared with an NHS guideline of 95%.

The study was carried out from November 2016 through to October this year.

Charlie Slater
BBC Weather presenter

Cloudy and wet at first, but rain will soon clear allowing drier, brighter and colder conditions to develop.

Strong northwesterly winds will bring snow showers across the region by the evening. Maximum Temperature: 12C (54F).

A £2m initiative to tackle gangs and violence is being introduced by the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner.

It follows a report highlighting a recent increase in violent crime.

Image source, Getty Images

The money will be spread across two years and will help young people on the brink of criminality find training and work - and fund special programmes for ex-prisoners.

Welcome to our live updates for the day.

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

We love to hear from you so share your news, thoughts and photos of the area with us via email, Twitter, external and Facebook., external

Hundreds of customers are trying to arrange refunds for pre-booked tickets for the club nights.

Hugh Callaghan and Billy Power recall spending 16 years in prison for a crime they did not commit.

The car blaze happened close to a spot where a gas pipe was being dug up.

Riyah Collins
BBC News

We'll be back with our usual mix of news, sport, travel and weather from 07:00 on Thursday, but until then keep an eye out here for more updates.

Andrew Hewkin
Newsreader, BBC Shropshire

A pub with a history dating back more than 250 years was under final orders after a potential buyer fell through, but the community has a plan to save it.

Image source, SAVE THE WHITE LION ASH

Residents of Ash in Shropshire have launched a campaign to raise £370,000, external for the White Lion to purchase the pub, and they're asking the community to buy shares.

The current owners want to retire by the end of the year but residents are determined not to lose the pub which it describes as the "central hub for the village".

Shares in the pub cost a minimum of £250, and organisers hope The White Lion will become "a community pub... run for the benefit of the community it serves".

Express and Star

Here are some of the stories making the news on the Express and Star website today:

• Mother orders Nintendo Switch – but receives box of Daz washing powder, external
• 'Reckless' Wolverhampton firm dumped cyanide into water courses, external
• Private security to guard Midlands crime scenes under pilot, external

Ian Perry
BBC Radio Shropshire

A Christmas livestock auction has been taking place in Market Drayton today, with some of the proceeds going to a children's cancer charity.

It's because the son of auctioneer Mark Jones has leukaemia and is receiving chemotherapy treatment in Birmingham and Telford.

BBC News Travel

Earlier obstructions on lines between Birmingham Moor Street and Small Heath and another obstruction at Duddeston have now been removed.

Train providers London Midland and Chiltern Railways said the lines are now open, but delays are still expected.

Bob Hockenhull
BBC Midlands Today

Sifa Fireside, a Birmingham based homelessness charity, is celebrating its 10th year of providing meals and advice.

When it started in 2007, 80 people came each day for help. In 2017, that number has doubled to 160.

The charity, in Digbeth, says addiction problems are increasing and it's also now helping dozens of victims of trafficking as well. Despite the increased demand, it says it will cope and ease the plight of the desperate.

Join me at 18:30 on BBC One for my Midlands Today Report, where I'll be speaking to Natalie who says without the charity she thinks she would have ended up dead.