Vicky Norton
BBC Radio Stoke

Stoke City legend Gordon Banks will be given the Freedom of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme later today.

The World Cup winner will be presented with the honour at a private ceremony at Keele Hall.

Image source, Getty Images

The council cited his international footballing career and support of local charities as the reasons for honouring him.

Tim Page
News Editor, BBC Shropshire

A man has appeared in court charged with murdering a woman whose body was found at a flat in Telford.

Police were called to the property on Mullinder Drive in Ketley on Wednesday when she was discovered.

Paul Beddoes, 44, also of Mullinder Drive, was remanded in custody and is due to appear at Shrewsbury Crown Court on Monday.

BBC News Travel

The M6 Toll is likely to remain closed northbound at junction T7, in Staffordshire, "for some time", police have tweeted., external

They've urged motorists to remain patient.

Staffordshire Police said earlier a man died after being hit by a lorry.

One lane of the M5 is now being reopened at junction three for Quinton after an earlier lorry fire, the Highways Agency said.

Image source, Highways England

Two lanes remain closed for recovery and clean-up works which will include gritting the carriageway.

Image source, Highways England

The grandfather of two boys killed in a suspected hit-and-run said they were "just lovely children...happy, jolly, lovely boys".

Image source, PA

Kim May said Casper Platt-May, six, was "very energetic, and played a lot of football," whilst two-year-old Corey was "just a little live wire".

He also thanked the community and emergency services staff who attended the scene to help.

"Everything [the community] has done is brilliant.

"I'm just grateful and I just want to them them for everything they've done.

"Two lives were lost but police, paramedics everybody - they've done their utmost and I just want to thank them very much."

Police release CCTV footage of robbers entering pensioner's home.

Councillor Elias Mattu has been described as one of Wolverhampton's "favourite sons".

A man has died on the M6 Toll after being hit by a lorry, police say.

Emergency services received a 999 call at 08:30 this morning after the collision on the northbound carriageway between junctions T7 and T8, near Cannock.

The man died at the scene.

The road has been closed while emergency services remain at the scene. Highways England West Midlands says traffic being held at the toll booth will soon be released.

Raiders held a quilt over the 96-year-old's head, stuffed it into his mouth and stole jewellery.

Two people arrested after two brothers died in a suspected hit-and-run crash yesterday will be questioned today, police said., external

Image source, PA

The 53-year-old man and a 41-year-old woman were arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and drink driving.

Officers said the boys were with their mother on MacDonald Road in the Stoke area of the city when they were struck by a black Ford Focus.

The road remained closed for several hours while emergency services were at the scene and investigations were carried out into the circumstances of the crash.

BBC Midlands Today

A new emergency treatment centre has opened at Russells Hall Hospital in Dudley.

The £2.6m unit houses urgent GP-led services. It's hoped to relieve the demand on the neighbouring accident and emergency.

Nurses will assess which level of urgent care patients require before admitting them to either department.

Drivers are being warned to expect severe delays on the M6 Toll northbound between junctions T7 and T8 in Staffordshire.

Police are advising people to avoid the area.

BBC News Travel

The M6 Toll has been closed northbound between T7, A5 Walsall Road and T8, A460 (Cannock) due to a serious incident, said Highways England.

All traffic is being temporarily held.

Snow showers could affect the eastern part of the region from next Monday afternoon, causing travel disruption, the Met Office is warning., external

The serving Mayor of Wolverhampton has died, the city council has announced.

Image source, City of Wolverhampton Council

Cllr Elias Mattu passed away at the age of 59 after a lenghty illness, the council tweeted, external.

Council leader Roger Lawrence, said: “Elias was my friend and a loyal, dedicated and loving family man. On behalf of the City of Wolverhampton, I extend my very deepest condolences to his widow Asha and his children Anthony, Ishmael and Jessica."

Cllr Mattu was the 159th Mayor of Wolverhampton, elected on 17 May 2017 for the 2017-18 municipal year.

Image source, City of Wolverhampton Council

Flags are flying at half mast at the Civic Centre in his memory.

One lane has now been reopened on the M5 southbound between junctions three, for Quinton, and four for Bromsgrove, to release trapped traffic after an earlier lorry fire.

Image source, West Midlands Fire Service

A gritter will have to be used to treat lanes one and two which have been affected by water used to extinguish the fire, Highways England said.

Image source, West Midlands Fire Service

The carriageway remains closed to all other traffic, it added.

Image source, West Midlands Fire Service

There are long delays and some trapped traffic on the M5 southbound after a lorry fire between junctions three and four.

The fire started at around 06:30, a mile south of Frankley Services.

Image source, Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service

The fire has been extinguished, police say, however the traffic is tailed-back on both sides of the carriageway.

Teddies, flowers and tributes have been left at the scene of a crash in which two brothers, aged two and six died in Coventry.

One card reads: "Rest in peace guys, Grandad misses you so much.

"He will always love you. XXX"

Residents living near the scene of a Coventry crash, in which two children died, have been speaking about how people tried to help in the aftermath of the incident.

One man, Matthew, said after hearing the commotion he'd "rushed out with some blankets and a first aid box.. and helped until the ambulance came".

"There's a real sense of sadness in the road," he said. "This morning there's an eerie peace."

Another neighbour, who preferred not to be named, described the incident as "heartbreaking".

"I don't know how a family could get over something like this," he said.

A 96-year-old former prisoner of war was attacked during a burglary in his home in the Yardley area of Birmingham, police say., external

He was pinned to the flood and smothered with a quilt as the raiders searched through his home stealing jewellery, watches and cash.

Image source, West Midlands Police

He was forced to shout for help after the ordeal as the raiders disconnected the phone line and removed his emergency pendant.

Speaking to officers after the ordeal he said: "I was a prisoner of war in 1943 and believed I was going to be shot, but I was not as afraid then as I now feel in my own home."

Officers have released CCTV images of the two suspects.