A woman from Stoke-on-Trent who admitted causing unnecessary suffering to a horse has been fined and banned from keeping horses for three years.

Staffordshire County Council said 27-year-old Kyla Martin from Goldenhill kept a chestnut mare in a waterlogged field near Talke and that the horse died after being left unsupervised.

The authority said that when its officers were called to investigate, the field was so waterlogged it was eight days before they could to remove the dead animal.

Martin was fined £200 by Newcastle-under-Lyme magistrates and ordered to pay costs of £1,339.

Giant painted ducks will be popping up in Ironbridge next year, the council has announced.

Image source, Telford and Wrekin Council

The ducks will be designed and decorated by local artists, community groups and schools, to form a trail before being auctioned in the summer to raise money for charity.

Julie Ward, who came up with the idea after seeing other successful trails, said: "The most important thing to me is that they bring fun to our community, visitors to Ironbridge and smiles to everyone’s faces.”

Shefali Oza
BBC Midlands Today

The weather will be getting cooler tomorrow and we could see some showers in the morning.

And that could be followed by some snow showers in parts of the region, later in the day.

Water company Severn Trent is using modern methods in its battle against leaky pipes.

More money is being earmarked for England's first "garden villages", Communities Secretary Sajid Javid has announced.

Image source, Places for People

About £3m will be spent on 14 sites, where tens of thousands of homes are due to be built.

The locations chosen are said to be distinct, and not part of existing developments.

The sites are at:

• Long Marston in Stratford-upon-Avon
• Oxfordshire Cotswolds, West Oxfordshire
• Deenethorpe in Northamptonshire
• Culm in Devon
• Welborne in Hampshire
• West Carclaze in Cornwall
• Dunton Hills in Essex
• Spitalgate Heath in Lincolnshire
• Halsnead in Merseyside
• Longcross in Surrey
• Bailrigg in Lancaster
• Infinity Garden Village in Derbyshire
• St Cuthberts in Cumbria
• Handforth in Cheshire

Kenilworth Weekly News

Here are some of the stories making the news on the Kenilworth Weekly News website today:

• More new speed limit signs to be put up in Warwick this week, external
• Rare white squirrel spotted in Leamington , external
• Home Secretary Amber Rudd responds to Kenilworth Town Council's concerns over police funding, external

The council says "challenging financial times" mean it has to raise tax and cut services.

A West Midlands Police officer has opened up about her experience of being stalked by an ex-partner as the force launches a campaign to tackle stalking and harassment.

The 28-year-old PC said she received numerous unwanted letters and gifts from her former partner, with promises to "never give up" on her. "I felt on edge all the time," she said.

Image source, West Midlands Police

After reporting him to the police, the officer's ex-boyfriend was given a restraining order and suspended jail sentence.

"I feel as though I can move on with my life now," the PC said, adding, "I would say to trust your gut instincts; if someone’s behaviour feels wrong, it feels like you’re being violated, then contact a support group or the police.”

In 2016, there were 290 reports of stalking made to the force, but police believe stalking to be under-reported, and are encouraging anyone suffering to seek support.

BBC News Travel

An obstruction on the line at Duddeston means all trains passing through this station are facing delays.

London Midland said all lines were blocked due to the obstruction and the cross city north line through Birmingham New Street has also been affected as a result.

Signalling problems at Wolverhampton means that services are also running trains at reduced speeds, causing delays.

Six-month-old Kayden Walker was found unresponsive at his Bilston home last June.

BBC News Travel

Trespassers on the line between Birmingham Moor Street station and Small Heath are causing delays on the route.

Chiltern Railways says "all lines are blocked" and trains face delays. The train operator said it expected delays until 18:00.

Updates on the service can be seen here., external

The "large and sophisticated" cannabis farm inside poultry sheds at Wheaton Aston were discovered after a tip-off from environmental health officers, Staffordshire Police has said.

Officers entered the property on Ivetsey Road with police dogs and the support of a police helicopter.

Image source, Staffordshire Police

The six men arrested are from the UK and Albania.

Kyla Martin admitted causing unnecessary suffering to her mare, Delta.

Two men and a woman arrested yesterday in connection with the murder of Surjit Takhar have been released under investigation.

Image source, Family handout

Mr Takhar, 37, went missing from Oldbury in 2008. His remains were discovered seven years later by the M54 near Telford, Shropshire.

Two men aged, 50 and 47, and a 48-year-old woman, all from Handsworth, were arrested on Tuesday in what police called a "significant development".

Police said enquiries were ongoing.

The Darwin, Pride Hill and Riverside centres are being looked at by Shropshire Council.

Stourbridge News

Here are some of the stories making the headlines on the Stourbridge News website today:

• Black Country parents to spread festive cheer with return of Christmas appeal, external
• Two women taken to hospital with "life changing" injuries after serious crash on A450, Worcester Road, in Shenstone, near Kidderminster, external
• A Studley businessman was invited to Downing Street after his company was named as one of the UK’s leading 100 small businesses, external

The 68-year-old was found at a house in Tile Hill with multiple stab wounds on Friday.

Riyah Collins
BBC News

A "hit squad" made up of ex-police and military personnel is to be deployed on the streets of Dudley to tackle a problem plaguing the borough - dog mess.

Image source, Getty Images

The "zero-tolerance squad", provided by Kingdom Enforcement Services, will be "armed with body cameras", dishing out fixed penalty notices during a 12-month trial period.

Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council says the move is a "no brainer" with Kingdom issuing more than 9,000 fines since 2015 in a similar scheme in Wolverhampton.

The council says the move "won't cost a penny" and expects to retain a percentage of the income from the fines.

Three people have been taken to hospital after a two-car crash on the A450 in Worcestershire, just outside Kidderminster.

West Mercia Police said the collision happened just before 11:30 between The Granary and Stone Manor and the road remains closed there in both directions.

West Midlands Ambulance service said two women, one in her 50s and the other in her 40s, were taken to a trauma unit at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham with a number of injuries.

A third woman, who is in her 40s, was taken to hospital in Worcester with rib and back pain.

Worcester News

Here are some of the headlines from the Worcester News:

• More than 50 ticket dodgers caught at Foregate Street, external
• Lottery windfall for city community projects, external
• Malvern house lights up for guide dogs charity, external