New research has been published into one of Britain's rarest fish as part of a project to unlock the river Severn , externalthrough Shropshire and Worcestershire.

The shad used to be very common but numbers plummeted as their journey along the Severn was blocked by weirs.

A new study has shown around 15,000 can make it past Tewkesbury before being stopped by Diglis Weir in Worcester.

Now the hope is to improve access and boost numbers.

The victim of a fatal stabbing in a Birmingham bookmakers has been named by police as 28-year-old Khalid Yousef, from Handsworth.

Image source, West Midlands Police

He was found with severe head injuries and declared dead at the scene in Paddy Power, Rookery Road, on 4 January.

A 35-year-old man arrested on suspicion of murder has been detained under the Mental Health Act.

Police are urging any witnesses to the incident to come forward.

A £2.1m deficit was revealed at Perry Beeches Academy Trust in Birmingham in 2016.

BBC News Travel

Rail services have been suspended on the line between Birmingham International and Coventry to allow emergency services to deal with an incident at Tile Hill.

Work to improve Sutton Coldfield Library means it will shut it's doors tomorrow for three months.

Once complete the library will provide users with a new cafe and play area for pre-school children.

The library had been earmarked for closure but a public consultation and potentially up to £150,000 in a one-off funding pledge from Sutton Coldfield town council helped Birmingham City Council change its plans.

A development plan, setting out how 12,000 more homes could be built across Telford and Wrekin over the next 13 years, has been agreed by councillors.

The plan also sets out sites suitable to create new jobs, and those protected as green spaces.

Image source, PA

The authority says adoption of the plan will make it easier to turn down poorly-sited or designed developments as it can demonstrate it has a viable supply of land for housing already.

Worcestershire appoint Kevin Sharp as their new head coach, while Alan Richardson returns to New Road as bowling coach.

Birmingham Mail

Some of the main stories on the Birmingham Mail website today are:

• Girl held captive and forced into sex hailed by police for her bravery, external
• Family forced out of Walsall home as youths smash windows, external
• Teen knife victim Harun Jama was, external an 'angel now in a better place'

The rider of a motorbike, aged 17, suffered fatal injuries when his bike collided with a car.

St Augustine's Catholic school, on Heathcote Street in Coventry has had to close for the day due to not having a water supply.

Severn Trent are working on a burst water main in nearby Barker's Butts Lane, in the Radford area of the city.

Express and Star

Here are some of today's main stories on the Express & Star website:

• Roadwork misery as major disruption set to hit Wolverhampton again, external
• Ex-council deputy leader seeks legal help, external over 'farcical' hearing
• Axe falls on 120 jobs with hundreds more still at risk, external

Three hamsters were left inside a shoebox which was dumped on a Birmingham street.

Image source, RSPCA

The box was found on a footbridge over a ford in Hall Green and was marked "free hamsters".

The lid had been left open so RSPCA officers say there could have been more than three, others may have escaped.

The hamsters have been rehomed and the RSPCA is asking people to make sure they can fully care for pets before agreeing to take them on.

A man has been charged following a day-long stand-off with armed police in Stoke-on-Trent in which a woman had to be taken to hospital.

Officers were called to a property in Ruxley Road in the city on Wednesday morning.

Mark Heath, 44 of Ruxley Road has been charged with assault by beating, false imprisonment, and wounding or inflicting grievous bodily harm without intent.

He's due to appear in court later.

BBC Business News

The government will meet Carillion and the Pensions Regulator today to discuss the giant services and construction company's deficit.

The Wolverhampton firm, which is one of the government's biggest contractors, is struggling under £1.5bn of debt, including a pension shortfall of £587m.

The company held talks with its lenders and advisers in London on Wednesday.

However, no announcement has been made on a business plan to secure its future.

BBC News Travel

The area around Great Western Way bridge in Hereford is closed due to an incident, West Mercia Police said.

It will be closed until further notice.

Time trialled races will take place in Coventry as part of this year's Motofest.

The events, drawn from the British Automobile Racing Club's championship series, will take place on a sprint circuit on the city's ring road.

It will be the first time competitive motorsport has been hosted on a city centre circuit since the Birmingham Superprix in 1990.

The two-day festival takes place on 2 and 3 June.

BBC News Travel

A serious fire at Nottingham train station is causing disruption across the rail network.

At present, the station has been evacuated and emergency services are on on site, the National Rail website reports., external

Whilst the station remains closed, no trains will be able to run to or from it.

Trains from Birmingham New Street will terminate at Derby.

The disruption is expected to last until 12:00.

A Tipton school will be ending a scheme that stopped children playing on sports equipment unless their parents had donated money towards it.

Wednesbury Oak Academy, in Tipton, asked parents for £6 towards equipment, then separated pupils into those who paid and those who had not.

Some parents started a petition against the move, which they said was "social and financial discrimination".

In a brief statement, the school's chair of governors said they had "listened to the concerns raised and will be ending the scheme with immediate effect".

A remembrance service to mark the centenary of one of the worst mining disasters in North Staffordshire takes place this weekend.

An explosion ripped through the Minnie Pit in Halmerend on 12 January 1918, with 44 of those killed aged under 16.

An inquiry into the disaster found the explosion had been caused by a build-up of methane gas in two of the pit's main seams.

Tomorrow there will be a commemoration walk which will pass Halmerend Methodist Church on the way to the Minnie Pit Memorial.

Patchy fog may cause difficult driving conditions this morning, the Met Office is warning., external

A yellow warning for fog is in place for parts of the West Midlands until 10:00.