BBC News England

A statue of Stafford-born , externalSuffragette Alice Hawkins, which will be unveiled in Leicester next month, has been praised by her family.

Image source, Leicester City Council

Ms Hawkins, a shoe machinist, was jailed five times for her role leading the Suffragette campaign in Leicester in the early 20th Century.

She had left school in Stafford in 1876 to start work as a shoe machinist, later joining Equity Shoes, which encouraged workers to take part in political activism.

The £80,000 statue has been funded by a local businessman and will be revealed in the Market Square on 4 February.

Peter Barrett, Ms Hawkins' great-grandson said it was a fitting tribute.

BBC Sport

The Shrewsbury Town groundsman says this has been the wettest winter in recent years and it's made looking after the pitch "challenging".

Dave Saltman told the club's website, external: "We are losing grass and there’s no recovery, so everything is about damage limitation."

The rain and snow has also caused problems at the club's training ground, he said.

But he went on to say the stadium pitch is still playing well compared with many others in League One.

Joanne Writtle
BBC Midlands Today

Olympic gold medallist Denise Lewis says she's hopeful the Commonwealth Games later this year and then in Birmingham in 2022 will help get more youngsters involved in sport.

Lewis is now president of Commonwealth Games England and visited a primary school in Perry Barr today to give some of the children athletics training.

This year's Commonwealth Games are on the Gold Coast, Australia, and, last month, Birmingham was confirmed as host for the 2022 event.

You can see more from Denise Lewis on BBC MIdlands Today this evening from 18:30.

Graham McGarry
Crewe Alexandra commentator, BBC Radio Stoke

Crewe Alexandra manager David Artell says his team's form needs to improve quickly, before it's too late.

Image source, Getty Images

The Alex sit three points above the relegation zone in League Two ahead of a trip to play-off chasing Swindon Town this weekend.

Allen Cook
BBC News

A teenager's in hospital in a critical condition after being punched in the head outside a McDonald's, external

Image source, Google

The attack happened on Monday night, police say, on Ventura Park, Tamworth.

They say the assault happened after a brief argument and the 18-year-old suffered a serious head injury.

Officers have arrested a 24-year-old man from Tamworth over the attack and he's been released under investigation.

A £400 fixed penalty notice has been handed out to the person who dumped this rubbish in the Brookside area of Telford.

Image source, Telford and Wrekin Council

On Tuesday a couple from Priorslee were issued a £300 fine by Telford and Wrekin Council for dumping this rubbish in the Red Lake area of the town.

Image source, Telford and Wrekin Council

Lee Thomas
Newsreader, BBC Radio Stoke

A family says it's "soul destroying" that burglars took their mother's ashes during a break-in this week.

The thieves got into the house in the Catchems Corner area of Meir, Stoke-on-Trent, on Tuesday afternoon by smashing through a glass panel in a rear door. , external

Staffordshire Police says they stole £13,000 in cash, jewellery, electrical items, men's designer clothes as well as the ashes of a deceased family member, which were in a velvet bag.

Mark Regan
BBC WM Sport

Birmingham City say they haven't received any firm offers for their Senegalese international midfielder Cheikh Ndoye.

Image source, Getty Images

Reports from France, external suggest Ndoye's former club Angers would like to take him back on loan, but they would struggle to meet his full wages.

Ndoye was back in the Blues' starting line-up at Preston on Saturday and has featured in 25 of the club's 31 games this season.

Allen Cook
BBC News

A machete and £4,000 in cash have been found in a car in Staffordshire, external after it was stopped by police.

Image source, Google

They say it happened on the A460 Cannock Road, Featherstone, last night.

Officers arrested a 22-year-old man from Bradford and a 16-year-old boy from Wolverhampton on suspicion of supplying a controlled drug and of possessing an offensive weapon.

A third man, 22, from Smethwick, was arrested on suspicion of supplying a controlled drug.

Debbie Leonard's son Alexander died after being stabbed by a drunk 16-year-old boy.

Coventry Telegraph

Here's a look at three of the headlines from the Coventry Telegraph today:

• Coventry woman admits planning to travel to Syria to support Islamic State, external
• 'Men only' event at centre of FT investigation attended by local MP, external
• Former city centre bank to be transformed into student accommodation, external

Plans to raise council tax in Staffordshire by 5.95% from April have been drawn up.

Staffordshire County Council says that would mean an extra £1.30 a week for the average Band D property.

Before Christmas it was proposing a lower increase of just under 5%.

Image source, Getty Images

The authority says half of the extra money will be used to meet the growing costs of social care.

Councillors will be asked to vote on the plans on 15 February.

Parents of children at a Shropshire primary school say they're worried about the safety of a nearby road.

Pupils at Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Primary School, in Newport, have to cross Chetwynd Road to get to an outdoor learning centre, which they say has become busier since two new housing estates have been built.

The parents say traffic coming around the bend might not see children crossing until it is too late and want warning signs and traffic calming measures.

Telford and Wrekin Council says it has worked with the school to put safety measures in place, including giving children yellow fluorescent jackets and road safety education, but it will look again at road signs, to see if they can be improved.

The school said it was satisfied with the safety measures in place, but said "we fully support plans for improvement at the location".

Burton Mail

These stories are on the Burton Mail's website today:

• Jobs boost as next phase of business park gets green light, external
• £8.5K damage caused by prisoners during wrecking spree, external
• Fallen trees and flooding causes problems after heavy winds, external

Leona Smart
Broadcast Journalist, BBC WM

Members of a credit union in West Bromwich have told BBC WM they've been hit hard by problems getting their money.

A new debit card for customers of 6 Towns hasn't worked properly since the start of January.

Image source, 6 Towns

The organisation says it's had significant IT problems which have now been sorted. , external

But the credit union claims that at "no time" has any member been unable to access their funds.

Thieves have stolen money from a cash machine at a store in Droitwich.

West Mercia Police says they broke into the Spar, on Blake Avenue, at about 04:00 and then got away in a black Ford Ranger and a silver Audi A6 estate.

Image source, Google

Most of the paintings stolen from the Bulmer's Somerset home in 2009 have been recovered.

Bernadette Finnegan is sent a text message telling her she is banned from the school grounds.

Steve Hermon
Journalist, BBC WM

Walsall left-back Luke Leahy says he hopes the club can keep striker Tyler Roberts on loan from West Bromwich Albion for the rest of the season.

Image source, Getty Images

Roberts' existing loan deal expires this week but he's already tweeted a thank you and good luck message to the Saddlers., external

Two men have been arrested after being seen driving erratically in Coventry this afternoon.

Police officers say they spotted the car driving the wrong way around a roundabout near Foleshill Road at about 15:00 and used a stinger device to burst the tyres.

One man jumped into Coventry canal and another man in the car was tracked down to a supermarket car park - both have been detained by officers.