Jeremiah Regis-Ngaujah, two, was murdered by his stepfather who inflicted more than 100 injuries.

Council tax in Herefordshire is set to rise by almost 5% from April, an increase of about £70 a year for the average Band D property, under proposals published this morning.

The Conservative-led Herefordshire Council said the extra money would help fund social care for vulnerable adults and children.

Image source, Google

The authority, which has already had to deliver savings of £70m since 2010, is looking to cut another £19m from its budget, or find extra income.

Consider yourself a great five-a-side footballer or willing to give it a go?

Fancy something fun to get 2018 off to a great start?

Want a chance to play at St George's Park and go to the FA Cup final?

Sign up, external is now available for the FA People's Cup - the free five-a-side competition that's back and even bigger than before. Don't take our word for it, listen to these three......

Find out all the details about the competition here - and you'll be able to see Jesse Lingard, Jack Butland and Harry Maguire try our five-a-side challenge on the BBC Sport website on Saturday.

A passenger suffered a broken leg and had to be cut free from a vehicle after it was involved in a crash with another car, ending up in a wood.

Image source, West Midlands Ambulance Service

The crash happened at the junction of Table Oak Lane and Holly Lane in Balsall, Warwickshire, at about 15:30 yesterday.

The 21-year-old driver escaped with only minor injuries, as did the driver of the other vehicle.

Image source, West Midlands Ambulance Service

Shropshire Star

The headlines on the Shropshire Star website include:

• Jail for Telford street attack gang that targeted pensioner, external
• Swimming pool looks set to remain in Quarry, external
• Health boss praises hospital staff as wards remain full, external

Scaffolding is going up at a Shropshire secondary school which lost part of its roof in a gust of wind yesterday afternoon.

Cars parked near the Mary Webb school at Pontesbury were damaged by the flying roofing felt and insulation panels.

The school was open as usual this morning and Shropshire Council says the roof, which will be fixed on Monday, is safe.

There's a lot of work that goes into training a football referee - for instance did you know they study the tactics of the teams they'll be officiating, as part of their preparation?

We've been behind the scenes at the FA's St George’s Park centre in Staffordshire, where Premier League and Championship referees prepare for games.

A man in his 90s who was knocked down by a car as he was crossing the road at Ombersley in Worcestershire on Wednesday has died in hospital, West Mercia Police has said.

The collision happened at the junction of the A449 and Sinton Lane at 18:35.

Image source, Google

Worcester Wolves have signed the 6ft 5in British-American guard Michael Ojo, ahead of their first BBL cup final, later in the month.

The 28-year-old, who has played for Plymouth Raiders, Lehigh University in Pennsylvania and a number of European sides.

Image source, BBL

The Wolves are looking to continue a nine-game winning streak and play the BBL Cup Final on Sunday 28 January, against Cheshire Phoenix.

A man has been charged with 12 counts of arson after a series of fires across Telford in June and July last year and another on 3 January.

The fires happened in Hadley and Leegomery. The 26-year-old is due to appear before magistrates on 12 February.

A woman in her 60s and another in her 50s died in the collision on the M42.

A former entertainment executive who used to live in Shropshire has been given a suspended sentence after admitting filming up women's skirts using a hidden camera.

Andrew Macrae, 43, who was vice-president of ticketing company Live Nation before the company sacked him in July, collected almost 50,000 images of strangers for his sexual gratification.

He was caught when an off-duty police officer spotted a small camera sticking out of a laptop bag as he placed it between a woman's legs on a platform at Clapham Junction station last July.

Macrae was given a 20-month prison sentence, suspended for two years.

A man has been arrested in connection with the crash on the M42 this morning in which two women died.

A woman in her 50s and another in her 60s died after the car they were travelling in was involved in a collision with a Mercedes van near Curdworth, in Warwickshire.

The driver of the car and a front-seat passenger suffered minor injuries. The van driver suffered back pain.

The motorway has since reopened and Highways England said delays had cleared.

The Sentinel

These are three of the top stories from The Sentinel newspaper today:

• Traffic-choked junction will be upgraded, external
• Woman taken to hospital after border collie causes house fire, external
• Families slam council's rubbish collection service, external

BBC News Travel

The M42 has now fully reopened after the deaths of two women earlier in a crash between junctions 9 and 10.

Traffic has returned to normal after accident investigation work.

Plans to merge four doctor's surgeries into one purpose-built health centre, external are completely inappropriate according to a councillor in Walsall.

Image source, Google

The proposal from Walsall Care Commissioning Group means that Lichfield Street, Sycamore House, The Limes and Saddlers Medical Centre would all have to relocate to the former Jabez Cliff leather works site on Lower Forster Street.

No decision has yet been made for the site, but concerns have been raised about access for those without cars.

Health bosses say they will be consulting with the public before making a decision.

Bournemouth midfielder Ben Whitfield will remain on loan at League Two club Port Vale for the rest of the season.

Peter Plisner
BBC Midlands Today

A new precept on the council tax could be introduced to pay for the running of the West Midlands Mayor office and boost congestion schemes in the region.

Raising £7.5m, if approved it would mean £12 extra next year on a Band D rated property.

The bulk of the additional money raised would be used on investment to encourage cycling, park and ride facilities and developing "Sprint" bus schemes.

The Mayor's precept is subject to approval by the West Midlands Combined Authority next week.

Aston Martin seems be bucking the national car sales trend, announcing sales are up by 58% - selling more than 5,000 vehicles in 2017.

Image source, Getty Images

The luxury car maker, based in Gaydon, Warwickshire, said sales had hit their highest level in nine years.

BBC Sport

Is this England's next towering striker?

Stoke City's Peter Crouch has tweeted this photo of his baby son Johnny this morning.

We don't yet know if he is a giant, like his father.