Birmingham Live

Here are some of the top stories to feature online today:

• Ex-beauty queen Kirsty Bertarelli sees almost £2bn wiped from personal fortune, external
• MPs to debate introducing charges for patients using NHS services, external
• Knife-wielding raider wears child's mask in terrifying violent robbery, external - "traumatising" victim

Warwickshire host Northamptonshire in the County Championship - listen to BBC local radio commentary.

Worcestershire host Essex in the County Championship - listen to BBC local radio commentary.

Gavin Cowan is set to be named as the new manager of AFC Telford United.

He'll take over from Rob Edwards, who guided the Bucks to safety this season.

Image source, Tim Roberts

Cowan was on the coaching staff at the club, which is financially supported by Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Spectators planning train trips to Windsor for the royal wedding are advised to begin journeys early.

Rail operator Great Western Railway (GWR) urged passengers to "travel early and travel light" to reach the Berkshire town in time for the procession.

Image source, Getty Images

GWR published a series of train times under the heading "What time can I leave?" to aid people travelling to Windsor, including journeys from Stafford at 5.25am, Solihull at 6.24am, Tamworth at 6.31am and Leamington Spa at 6.38am.

All of these trips are due to arrive at Slough at around 8am or 9am for a connection to Windsor.

Specialist police officers remain at a house in Stoke-on-Trent after a man threatened health workers with a crossbow.

Staffordshire Police have, external been at Catharine Road, Chell Heath since 14:00 on Thursday after reports of a man in his 30s threatening health agency staff.

Armed police and specially trained negotiators remain at the scene.

A benefit claimant was filmed climbing flights of stairs at work, after claiming he was virtually unable to walk , a court heard.

Image source, PA

Forklift driver, Neil Sheppard of Severn Drive, Burntwood in Staffordshire, falsley claimed £51,867 Disability Living Allowance, a hearing at Stafford Crown Court heard.

The 55-year-old was handed a nine-month sentence, suspended for 12 months after previously pleading guilty to falsely claiming benefits.

Following sentencing, Sheppard accompanied by his wife Jo, told waiting reporters he was "sorry" and "embarrassed" and said the money would be repaid, but bemoaned the "complexity" of the system.

Sophie Calvert
Political Reporter, BBC Radio Stoke

Stoke-on-Trent's bid to become one of the homes of Channel 4 is "too good to miss", the council says.

Image source, Stoke-on-Trent City Council

It wants Stoke to be a "creative hub" where programmes would be commissioned from.

A number of cities across England are bidding to be one of the channel's regional hubs including Sheffield, Manchester and Bristol - and more closer to home, Coventry and Birmingham.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

A ten-storey block of flats will be built next to the Mailbox in Birmingham despite concerns it will not provide a single car parking space.

Image source, Prosperity Developments

The development will see the existing warehouse on Severn Street, next door to the Grade II Masonic Hall, demolished.

The new building will vary between seven and ten storeys in height, providing 30 homes while the ground floor will be used for commercial units.

Birmingham City Council’s planning committee approved the application, external, from Stourbridge-based Prosperity Developments, on Thursday.

NHS staff across Dudley are among the first in the country to benefit from more flexible working through new app-based technology.

Image source, PA

The phone app will allow them to book shifts up to eight weeks in advance on an extended roster.

Mainly aimed at registered nurses it's hoped it will offer staff more choice over their shifts as well as reducing NHS spend on agency staff.

The new trial will run through banks at 15 trusts, with many enabling staff to use apps on their phones to receive notifications when shifts become available and sign up to work instantly.

Formal bids to become the new headquarters of Channel 4 have been submitted today.

Image source, Channel 4

The West Midlands bid focuses on a number of sites in Coventry and Birmingham.

The bid "emphasises our strengths in connectedness and diversity", Andy Street, West Midlands Metro Mayor said.

Stoke-on-Trent has also submitted a bid to become a creative hub for the broadcaster.

BBC Sport

England coach Eddie Jones has warned Wasps' Danny Cipriani that he would not hesitate to send him home if he misbehaves on tour to South Africa.

Image source, Getty Images

Jones has included 30-year-old Cipriani, who has won 14 caps and last started for England in 2008, in his 34-man squad for the three-Test trip.

"If he is disruptive he won't be there, it's as simple as that," Jones told BBC Radio 5 live.

"There is a plane coming back from Johannesburg as well."

Warwickshire start their latest County Championship match against Northamptonshire at Edgbaston this morning.

Image source, Warwickshire Cricket Club

Play gets underway at 11:00 and there will be ball-by-ball commentary on the BBC Sport website.

BBC News

It is 50 years since the first wave of black head teachers took up their roles in English schools, yet ethnic minorities remain under-represented in senior roles.

Image source, Maggie Shuter

The man who was believed to have been Britain's first black head,Tony O'Connor, was appointed as head teacher at Bearwood Primary School in Smethwick, in September 1967. He would spend 16 years in the job.

Read more about his story here.

A swimming pool is set to close this weekend after a long campaign to keep it open.

Council cuts mean Tiverton Pool and Fitness centre in Selly Oak, Birmingham, will shut on Sunday.

It's planned to reopen as a gym-only facility after being bought by the University of Birmingham.

Residents objected to the closure and fought to keep it open.

A rise in drug deaths in Worcestershire is "partly due to a rise in the availability and purity of heroin and an ageing population of heroin users," the council has said.

Cuts to publicly funded drug and alcohol treatment have contributed to a 26% rise in drug-related deaths, nationally, an addiction service has said.

Spending on treatment services in Worcestershire has halved in the past four years while the number of drug-related deaths increased by 43%.

The county council said the reduction in spending was due largely to the provision of treatment services for prisoners being transferred to the NHS.

Lisa Wright
BBC News

It's now 20 years since the UK last hosted the Eurovision Song Contest.

Two decades of mostly underwhelming results since Katrina and the Waves landed the crown in 1997 mean that the buzz of welcoming the cream of European pop - as Lisbon is set to do this weekend - is something the nation has almost forgotten.

It wasn't always this way: Seven of the first 27 were held in the UK, but 1998 is the only time in the past 36 contests that Eurovision has been staged here.

As it turned out, the event at Birmingham's National Indoor Arena proved to be one of the great nights of Eurovision. BBC News takes a trip down memory lane.

BBC Sport

Jon Nolan's stunning 20-yard half-volley gave Shrewsbury Town a one-goal advantage in their League One play-off semi-final with Charlton Athletic.

Image source, PA

Midfielder Nolan struck into the top corner 10 minutes before the end of the first leg, converting from substitute Stefan Payne's deft knockdown.

Nicky Ajose almost levelled within a couple of minutes, but his acrobatic effort flew just over the crossbar.

The second leg is at Town's Montgomery Waters Meadow on Sunday.

He's the third member of a famous footballing family to play for England...

Armed police are continuing to negotiate with a man at a property in Stoke-on-Trent.

Emergency services and healthcare staff were first called to the flat in Chell Heath at around 14:00 yesterday.

A cordon's remains at the property on Catharine Road while negotiators speak to the occupant, said to be in his thirties.

Officers said there is no risk to the public.