St George's Day is being celebrated across the region, with the flag of England's patron saint being flown from civic buildings.

A new £2.2m chemotherapy unit is opening at Solihull Hospital next month.

A spokesperson for the hospital said it would help improve cancer treatment services in the area as the NHS has seen an increase in demand nationally.

Image source, Heart of England

The empty unit, which is currently undergoing a refurbishment, will be able to treat 24 people at a time, with the expectation of that growing to 31 in the next three years.

Chemotherapy patients have previously been treated at Heartlands Hospital or at Good Hope.

BBC Sport

Worcestershire’s cricketers were beaten by 83 runs by Somerset in their County Championship match at Taunton.

Image source, Getty Images

Ed Barnard finished the game with 11 wickets for 89 runs, as well as innings of 50 and 45 not out.

Worcestershire captain Joe Leach said poor fielding had cost them the game.

"I don't know how many catches we dropped, but it was too many," he said.

Community transport operators are warning proposed licence changes could threaten the future of services.

The Department for Transport is looking into whether all bus operators need to be reclassified as commercial drivers.

It means volunteers driving community minibuses could need to gain a commercial licence, which costs thousands of pounds.

Shropshire councillor Andy Boddington said community bus schemes in the county made more than 100,000 passenger journeys a year, external.

Despite that, he said many of the services ran rural routes that were not profitable for commercial operators and local authorities could not afford to subsidise them.

Concerns over these proposals are being looked at by Shropshire Council today., external

Worcester News

Here are some of the stories featuring on the Worcester News website this morning:

• Social care system needs national solution - and soon, says Worcestershire County Council boss, external
• Worcestershire man drives efforts to raise funds for prostate cancer research, external
• Litter heroes clean up in Malvern, external

John Bray
BBC News

An artist who painted one of her husband's favourite footballers has won thousands of new fans - after the image was posted on social media.

Louise Cobbold created a watercolour of Wolves midfield star Ruben Neves for her husband Chris and has now created a whole series of Molineux masterpieces.

Chaz Davies remains in second place in the World Superbike Championship after the Dutch round of the series.

Image source, Getty Images

The Herefordshire rider finished third and fifth in the two races in Assen across the weekend.

Tom Sykes secured a comfortable win in race two as his teammate Jonathan Rea finished second to extend his overall lead in the championship standings.

BBC Radio Stoke

Channel 4 should seriously consider Stoke-on-Trent as the location for its new headquarters, according to business leaders in the city.

Several cities across the country are bidding to become a regional hub for the broadcaster, including a further two in the Midlands - Birmingham and Coventry.

The broadcaster has announced plans to relocate 300 staff and create three hubs outside London.

Peter Rudge, who helps bring creative industries to the area says Stoke-on-Trent would be an ideal place for the broadcaster.

BBC News

Hull's status as the UK City of Culture attracted more than five million people, £220m of investment and 800 new jobs to the area.

But as it passes the baton to Coventry, do UK Cities of Culture create lasting legacies?

Image source, PA

In December, Coventry found out it would become the UK's third City of Culture, in 2021.

Laura McMillan, manager of the Coventry City of Culture Trust, described the accolade as a "game changer" for England's ninth largest city, saying it had been "for too long overlooked and undervalued".

"Hull did an incredible job," says Laura.

"We can learn from what they achieved, but Coventry will do this its own way and we will use UK City of Culture to tell our story."

A Highways England vehicle was hit by a car while officers were dealing with a broken-down truck on the hard shoulder of the M6.

Image source, @CMPG

The car overturned and rolled four times due to the impact, said the fire service.

Image source, West Midlands Fire Service

The Highways England crew suffered only minor injuries in the collision, which happened shortly before 01:00 close to junction seven.

The driver, a man in his 20s, was taken to hospital suffering chest pains, and has been reported for driving without due care and attention.

BBC Sport

Warwickshire are top of the county championship second division after an innings victory over Northamptonshire at Northampton.

The home side were bowled out for 218 in their second innings allowing the Bears to complete the win with a day to spare.

Image source, Getty

Australian pace bowler Ryan Sidebottom took 4-61 for match figures of 10-96 as the home side were bowled out for 218.

It is the first time the 28-year-old has taken 10 wickets in a game in his relatively short first-class career.

The British Asparagus Festival gets under way in Worcestershire today.

The event in the Vale of Evesham recognises the area's importance in growing the crop.

Vale of Evesham asparagus is protected under European law, much like Champage, Parmesan or Cornish pasties.

The growing season in the UK typically lasts only six weeks, starting from 23 April and event organisers have called for today to be recognised as "National Asparagus Day".

Last year, a blessing at Worcester Cathedral attracted criticism when a man dressed as a giant asparagus prompted some Christians to describe the service as a "pantomime".

Image source, STUART PURFIELD

Express and Star

Here are some of the stories appearing on the Express & Star website this morning:

• Three Degrees statue falls flat as £38k funding bid raises less than £1,800, external
• Wolverhampton schoolboy completes 100-mile walk to fund life changing treatment for schoolboy , external
• Major celebration in Wolverhampton planned after Wolves clinch the Championship title, external

Wolverhampton is to host a big celebration next month to mark Wolves' return to the Premier League, external.

Full details are yet to be revealed, but the club and city council said the event on 7 May would be an opportunity for players and staff to "thank supporters, and the city, for its tremendous support throughout the season".

Image source, Getty Images

The Championship trophy will also be on display.

"This is great news not only for the club and their incredible fans, but for the city of Wolverhampton as a whole," Keith Ireland, the City of Wolverhampton Council's Managing Director, said.

The team sealed the 2017-18 Championship title in style as they beat Bolton Wanderers 4-0.

BBC Entertainment and Arts

Lovers of Shakespeare have long made pilgrimages to Stratford-upon-Avon and the Globe theatre in London.

Now, Prescot in Merseyside is building a replica Elizabethan theatre in the hope of becoming the third point in a "Bard triangle".

Image source, Shakespeare North Trust

The 350-seat Shakespeare North Playhouse will feature a faithful timber candlelit theatre inside a modern shell, which will also include classrooms and an exhibition area.

It is being built on an old car park at a cost of more than £20m and is due to open in 2020.

Unlike the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford and the Globe, it will not create its own productions, instead hosting visiting companies.

Passengers from Birmingham and Wolverhampton were on a coach that crashed in Saudi Arabia, killing four people and injuring 12 others.

The coach was travelling from Mecca on an Umrah pilgrimage, when it was hit by a fuel tanker which caught fire and set the bus alight, the travel company said.

Trip organisers Hashim Travel said the incident on Saturday was "horrendous".

A man from Blackburn and three people from Preston were among the fatalities.

Eighteen people were aboard the coach when it crashed - all were taken to hospital, where six remain.

Coventry paralympian Kare Adengan has won the London mini wheelchair marathon in an under-17s course record time.

It's the fifth time the Bablake schoolgirl has won the race and the last time she was able to compete in the junior event.

Steve Hermon
BBC News

Kevin Bouchal is an avid Aston Villa fan, who lives in Gambia, West Africa.

He was introduced to the club by two holiday-makers and Villa fans Dave and Jeanette White last year.

He's now named a street in his village "Villa Street" and runs a football academy, in which the youngsters are kitted out in claret and blue.

BBC News Travel

A crash is partially blocking the B4624 in Evesham between Briar Close and the A44.

Traffic and fire officers are at the scene.

A man caught speeding at 99mph, on the day his disqualification had expired, is one of 270 driving-related offences recorded after a week-long crack-down by traffic police. , external

Image source, West Midlands Police

West Midlands Police says during one week this month 63 vehicles were seized after drivers had no licence or insurance.

Two were caught driving at speeds of 115mph and 103mph on the M6, a further 30 were caught using their phone at the wheel, while there were 87 cases of speeding.