Express and Star

Some of the headlining stories in the Express and Star today are:

• New swimming pools and sports hall as part of leisure centres revamp, external
• Man jailed after walking down street armed with gun, external
• Pensioner 'hit while using pelican crossing', external

Crewe's MP is calling on Crewe Alexandra to reconsider a decision not to hold its own investigation into former youth coach and convicted paedophile Barry Bennell.

Labour's Laura Smith says victims of his abuse in the 1980s and 90s deserve a thorough investigation into what happened at the time.

Image source, Julia Quenzler

The football club says it doesn't want to duplicate the "thorough" inquiries already undertaken by police.

And Crewe has always denied claims it knew of Bennell's serial abuse while he was employed by the club.

Jessica Labhart
BBC News

The loss of a major festival will have a "knock-on effect" on the local economy and charity work, it has emerged.

The cancellation of this year's V Festival at Weston Park will impact on businesses in nearby areas including Shifnal and Telford, say owners.

But some are relieved crowds will no longer descend on areas like "locusts".

Weston Park said the festival had made a "significant contribution" to the economy and charities over the years.

A teenager has been charged with the murder of a 24-year-old man who was found fatally stabbed at a flat, police say., external

Image source, Police handout

The body of Jaskaran Kang, from Handsworth, Birmingham, was discovered at a property in Stourbridge Road, Dudley, on 6 January.

The 17-year-old boy from Dudley, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was arrested at an address in Dudley on Thursday morning and later charged.

Four other males aged between 17 and 20 have been charged with Mr Kang's murder and a 21-year-old man with conspiracy to commit robbery.

BBC Music

Stereophics have just been added to the line-up for the BBC's Biggest Weekend in Coventry.

They'll play at the War Memorial Park on Sunday 27 May along with Liam Gallagher and Paloma Faith.

Tickets for the concert have sold out, but are still available for Monday 28 May featuring Nigel Kennedy and artists from Strictly Come Dancing.

The campaign to bring Channel 4 to the West Midlands is being stepped up after the broadcaster confirmed it will establish a national headquarters outside London.

Image source, Channel 4

Three creative hubs outside the capital will be created, it said, moving 300 jobs outside the capital.

West Midlands Mayor Andy Street said the discussions were "ongoing between the Channel 4 board and the government".

"I do believe that shortly there will be some white smoke as to what the intentions are, but that might not be specifically about the West Midlands, so we do have to wait," he said.

BBC News Travel

A freight train delayed at Birmingham International is causing disruption to services between Coventry and Birmingham., external

Some trains are being diverted via Solihull and will not stop at Coventry and Birmingham International, said National Rail.

Delays are expected until at least 09:00.

Simon Gilbert
Political Reporter, BBC Coventry & Warwickshire

Investment worth £90m for Coventry is expected to be agreed by the West Midlands Combined Authority today., external

Image source, Friargate

The funding should clear the way for a new hotel in the city and four new office blocks to be built at the Friargate development by 2021.

There will also be a new bus interchange and platform at Coventry railway station, that could mean increased local services.

There's also the possibility of a direct link to London's Heathrow airport.

An Army officer from Staffordshire will attempt to win five medals at the Winter Paralympics which begin in South Korea today.

Jennifer Kehoe, from Stoke-on-Trent, acts as a guide for visually impaired skier Menna Fitzpatrick, in everything from downhill racing to the giant slalom.

They were bronze medallists at the World Championships last year.

The ceremony starts at 11:00 today.

BBC WM

Parliament’s committee on knife crime has agreed to meet families of victims in the West Midlands.

This follows a week-long investigation by BBC WM which found knife offences have gone up by 82% in the region in six years.

The Home Office minister and the chair of the all-party knife crime group have agreed to come to the West Midlands to meet bereaved families.

BBC News Travel

A bus replacement service is running between Nuneaton and Stafford due to signalling problems in the area, said West Midlands Railway.

Services through Hednesford, Stafford and Rugeley Trent Valley are also affected.

Stoke City and Birmingham City football clubs are among 179 employers fined an undisclosed amount for failing to pay staff the National Minimum Wage.

Image source, Getty Images

Wagamama was said to have failed to pay £133,212 to 2,630 workers, the most of any of the companies named.

A Stoke City spokesman said: "Once this matter was brought to our attention we moved swiftly to repay the money to the members of staff concerned."

Employers can be fined up to twice the total wage shortfall, subject to a maximum of £20,000 per worker.

Two venues in the West Midlands will find out if they have won a competition to host the spacecraft which took British astronaut Tim Peake into orbit.

Image source, Millennium Point

The Russian Soyuz TMA-19M craft is currently on a tour around Britain.

Worcester Cathedral and Millennium Point, in Birmingham, are on a shortlist of five public spaces that could host the spaceship later this year.

Hundreds of new jobs are being created at the Staffordshire construction equipment company JCB over the next three months.

The company said it needed to fill 200 posts straight away to meet orders generated by a global boom in the building industry.

A further 400 jobs will be needed within 12 weeks.

The jobs initially will go to agency staff, but the company says it expects many of them to become permanent employees in future.

Rich Davis
BBC Weather presenter

After a chilly start, any fog patches should lift leaving a dry and often sunny day with highs of 7C (45F).

Vanessa Pearce
BBC News

Welcome to our live service for Friday.

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

A victim of Callum Blake-O'Brien recalls how she received up to 100 messages, some about rape and torture.

Joe Rowlands resuscitated Paul, 50, after he passed out in cold waters off the Anglesey coast.

Concerns over Birmingham's finances form part of the decision to continue the scrutiny.

Theodore Johnson's minimum 26 year prison term was "unduly lenient", the Court of Appeal rules.