A body found at the scene of a house fire in Shropshire is believed to be that of a man who lived there, police say.

West Mercia Police says next of kin has been informed, although formal identification is due to take place.

The fire service was called to the blaze in the Cramer Gutter Lane area of Oreton, Cleobury Mortimer, on Monday night and a search for a missing man was launched at the site. It announced the discovery of a body on Wednesday.

The West Mercia force says the fire is not being treated as suspicious, but enquiries are under way as to the cause.

Rob Mayor
Political reporter, BBC WM

Halesowen MP James Morris is to raise concerns later in the House of Commons about the way Sandwell Council is run.

Image source, Google

On Wednesday, a second councillor was found to have breached the authority's code of conduct. Coun Ian Jones walked out of a hearing before a panel of his colleagues decided his involvement in the sale of council land six years ago amounted to a breach.

Earlier this month, former deputy council leader Mahboob Hussain was found to have breached the code of conduct by trying to cancel parking tickets for family members.

Birmingham Bears re-sign New Zealand all-rounder Colin de Grandhomme for their 2018 T20 Blast campaign.

Express and Star

Some of the main stories on the Express and Star website today are:

• Callous killer drivers jailed for less than eight years each, external
• 108 dumped fridges collected in a single day, external
• Top cop vows to tackle Walsall knife crime, external

BBC Sport

Alsager snowboarder Rowan Cheshire has been called up to the GB squad for the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.

She had been seen as a medal prospect for Sochi, but missed out after suffering a head injury in training.

It was the first of three head injuries which almost forced her to quit the sport.

Image source, Getty Images

There's also a place in the GB squad for Shropshire's Ben Simons, who won silver in the four-man event at the Bobsleigh World Cup in Canada last month.

Three masked men smashed their way into a clothes shop in Nantwich earlier.

It happened at about 01:15 at menswear store Pockets on Hospital Street in the town centre.

Image source, Google

Police say the men stole clothing before escaping in a silver Renault Megane.

A petition, external to help a former SAS soldier - started by fellow SAS veteran and author Andy McNab - has attracted nearly 380,000 signatures.

Bob Curry, who is 64, has been living in a bed and breakfast because he says Herefordshire Council hasn't offered him somewhere suitable to live.

Image source, Change.org

The council says he has turned down two different forms of accommodation and it is working to find him a home, but there are none empty and the waiting list has to be judged on "merit and need".

Kade Scrivens drove away from the scene and removed his number plate before handing himself in to police.

A sculpture to celebrate 70 years of the NHS will be made in Shropshire using out-of-use medical equipment, including beds, microscopes and blood pressure monitors.

It will be constructed at the British Ironworks Centre, which is home to a giant gorilla made out spoons and an 8m (27ft) angel made out of knives surrendered to the police (pictured below).

Artist Luke Kite is behind the project which is due to go on display at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital on 7 July.

He is asking the public to decide, external what form the sculpture should take, with a deadline of 16 February for sharing ideas.

BBC WM Sport

Manchester City are still thought to be interested in Albion captain Jonny Evans despite turning their attention to Athletic Bilbao defender Aymeric Laporte.

Image source, Getty Images

Arsenal could also make a move for Evans but the Baggies are yet to receive any bids.

Flood alerts remain in place , externalacross the West Midlands.

Heavy rainfall has led to a rise in river levels and the weather is expected to remain unsettled over the next 48 hours.

The River Severn is running particularly high and other areas affected include Shropshire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire and Herefordshire.

The Environment Agency says it's closely monitoring all rivers in the region.

Children and families minister Nadhim Zahawi attended the Presidents Club men-only party "because it was a charity fundraiser", said Culture minister Matt Hancock.

The gala is at the centre of allegations of sexual harassment and groping.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Mr Hancock said: "I understand that [Mr Zahawi] was invited because it was a charity fundraiser and that he left early because he felt uncomfortable with it - that's what I'm told.

"I also understand that he's spoken to the chief whip and had a conversation with the chief whip about it."

He added: "There's a broader point, which is that we need to make sure that we don't have events like this, that are... frankly, sexist."

The Presidents Club said it was closing and would no longer hold events.

Peter Wilson
BBC Midlands Today Special Correspondent

Crews using sonar equipment are preparing to carry out further searches of water and land near Coombe Country Park for teenager Nicola Payne who went missing in 1991.

Nicola's family is working with a private forensic search team in a bid to locate her body.

The mother of one disappeared aged 18 while walking across wasteland near her parents' house in Coventry.

The team of ex-military specialists has been using sonar and ground radar equipment at the country park site near the city.

Chief gentlewoman Blanche Parry was closer to Queen Elizabeth I than almost anyone, but who was she?

The trust running George Eliot Hospital in Nuneaton says a new improvement board will be monitoring the changes that need to be made after inspectors found senior nurses in urgent and emergency care "were not visible".

Other staff in the department were found to be not fully trained.

The hospital has been rated as requiring improvement overall.

Image source, Google

The hospital is part of George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust which serves about 300,000 people across Nuneaton and Bedworth, north Warwickshire, south west Leicestershire and north Coventry.

Nadhim Zahawi, MP for Stratford-on-Avon, has said he left a controversial men-only gala as he "felt uncomfortable", but did not see any activity linked to allegations of sexual harassment.

He also said he would never attend a men-only function again.

The minister for digital and the creative industries, Margot James, told Newsnight the Presidents Club event represented "the very worst form of sexism with a smile on its face".

But she stood by Mr Zahawi and his claim of an early exit.

"That indicates to me that he was shocked by the events, didn't like the culture, the atmosphere, and left."

But Labour's Sarah Jones said Mr Zahawi should resign if he did not report his concerns and had attended on previous occasions.

Charlie Slater
BBC Weather presenter

Sunny spells on and off throughout the morning with a couple of showers before a cloudier afternoon and more rain - highs of 8C (46F).

Vanessa Pearce
BBC News

Welcome to our live service for Thursday.

We'll be bringing you all the news, sport, travel and weather for the West Midlands.

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

Sandeep Samra admits attempting to travel to Syria but denies intending to carry out acts of violence.

Andy Giddings
BBC News

We'll be back with the latest news, sport, travel and weather from 07:00 tomorrow, but keep an eye out here for more updates this evening and into the morning.