Summary

  • Updates from Monday 25 June to Sunday 1 July

  • Click on related stories for updates from your area

Live Reporting

  1. Hospital services 'improve'

    BBC WM

    Services provided by the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust have received an improved rating following an inspection earlier this year.

    The Care Quality Commission has upgraded the trust's rating from "requires improvement" to "good" following a visit to the six sites it runs between February and March.

    Hopsital in Wolverhampton

    The Chief Inspector says while some areas - like patient safety - still require attention, the standard of care has widely improved since the health watchdog's last visit in 2015.

  2. More vets and water for horses at race meeting today

    BBC Hereford and Worcester

    Extra vets and lots of water are being brought in to Worcester Racecourse today as the weather continues to be hot.

    The racecourse was forced to call off racing in July 2009 due to horses collapsing in temperatures of 29C, before new measures were introduced.

    Temperatures today are expected to peak at 27C.

    Horses this week at Worcester RacecourseWorcester Racecourse

    Officials say they have contingency plans in place with more staff to cope with the heat.

    Five vets will be monitoring the horses and the animals will be taken to special cooling areas after each race.

    They say that the welfare of the horses "is absolutely paramount".

    When you put water over horses, and one of the quickest ways for horses to absorb water when they have run a race is through the skin so you put the water over the horses in buckets and then scrape down with rubber scrapers, it's much more effective for the water to be absorbed."

    Jenny Cheshire, Executive Director, Worcester Racecourse

  3. Taxi crash leaves three people in hospital

    Andre Rhoden-Paul
    BBC News

    Three people have been taken to hospital after a crash involving a car and a taxi.

    The collision happened on Wolverhampton Road in Oldbury about 09:00 this morning.

    The car driver and the two people in the taxi were taken to hospital - their injuries are not thought to be serious, West Midlands Police said.

  4. Hundreds promised return of water supply
    Breaking

    Allen Cook
    BBC News

    Hundreds of homes and businesses who lost their water supply are being told it should now be "returning to normal".

    Bottles of water

    Having already said it's been restored in Stafford, Much Wenlock and Whitchurch, Severn Trent Water now says engineers have fixed the issue in Telford too.

    The firm's blamed a spike in demand for water in the hot weather leading to pockets of air getting into their network, affecting supply.

    It was the second consecutive night the problem struck in Telford and some supermarkets faced high demand for bottled water.

  6. Prime minister praises 70 years of Land Rover

    Workers at the Jaguar Land Rover plant in Solihull have been praised by the prime minister as part of 70 years of production under the Land Rover brand.

    A Land Rover Discovery on the production line

    Local Conservative MP Julian Knight raised the issue during Prime Minister's Questions and asked Theresa May to recognise the role that new, cleaner diesel engines could play in the future in reducing emissions.

    The government plans to stop all sales of petrol and diesel cars by 2040 so almost every car and van on UK roads is zero emission by 2050.

    The prime minister said cleaner diesel engines could "play an important part" in cutting CO2 emissions.

  7. Worcs face batting struggles while Warks want wickets

    Worcestershire will be aiming to avoid the follow-on target on day three of their County Championship Division One match with Nottinghamshire.

    Having seen the hosts declare on 499-9, the Pears slumped to 215-7 at the close of day two, having to still reach 349 to avoid potentially following on.

    While in Division Two, Warwickshire will be hunting for wickets today, having made 424 in their first innings and taken two Durham wickets so far.

    You can keep up-to-date with both those games via BBC local radio commentary or the BBC Cricket website.

  9. Winning start in minor counties

    Ged Scott
    BBC Sport

    Shropshire began their 2018 Minor Counties Championship campaign with a 166-run home-win over Cheshire at Shifnal.

    Steve Leach leads the Shropshire players off the field after beating CheshireStuart Dunn Sport and PR

    Oswestry all-rounder Warrick Fynn and former Middlesex seamer Gurjit Sandhu shared seven wickets between them before lunch as Cheshire were bowled out for just 89 on the final day at Priorslee Road.

    Bridgnorth leg spinner Sam Whitney claimed the final three wickets.

    Shropshire had trailed by 70 on first innings' scores but captain Steve Leach’s second-day century helped them recover to 325 all out, giving them what proved to be a match-winning 255-run lead.

    Shropshire now face Cheshire again this Sunday in the semi-final of the 50-over MCCA Knockout Trophy.

  10. Water supply 'returning to normal' for some

    Allen Cook
    BBC News

    There's good news for some people in Shropshire and Staffordshire, Severn Trent Water says, after more than 2,000 homes were left without water during the hot weather.

    Water coming from tapPA

    The firm says residents and firms in Stafford, as well as Much Wenlock, Whitchurch should now be getting their supplies back to normal.

    However, it hasn't confirmed if people affected in Telford have also got their water back.

    The company says the recent high demand for water's created "air locks" in their network and have had engineers working to clear them.

    In parts of Telford, where about 1,000 people have been affected, it's the second time the problem has struck in as many nights.

  11. Jury deliberates in New Year's Eve murder trial

    BBC Hereford and Worcester

    A jury is continuing to deliberate its verdict in the trial of a Worcestershire property worker accused of murdering his wife after a New Year's Eve drinking game.

    Birmingham Crown Court has been told David Clark stabbed Melanie Clark in the chest after an argument when she ordered him to leave the marital home.

    Melanie ClarkFacebook

    Mr Clark, 49, from Stoke Prior, near Bromsgrove, denies murder, claiming a "loss of control" due to "extremely grave" things said or done by his wife.

  13. Sonar equipment brought in to search for missing teen

    Specialist sonar equipment's been brought from Wales to help in the search for missing teenager Ryan Evans at a lake in Stoke-on-Trent.

    Raft on Westport Lake

    Emergency services worked late on Tuesday at Westport Lake, before having to stop because of fading light.

    They're back out this morning with the inflatable raft on the water and search teams now also scouring the undergrowth around the edge of the lake.

    Staffordshire Police says last night, dogs searching the area gave them "a renewed area of interest to focus the search on".

    The sonar equipment's come with a unit from South Wales Police and police officers from Nottinghamshire have also joined efforts at the lake.

    Police at Westport Lake

  14. Water supplies 'back on' in Stafford
    Breaking

    Chris King
    Reporter, BBC Radio Stoke

    The water supply's been restored to parts of Stafford after problems overnight.

    Severn Trent Water says people living in the ST17 postcode were affected by an air pocket in the water main.

    Some people say they're still experiencing low pressure, but the firm says they should see their supplies return to normal soon.

  15. Do Midlanders still need our airport?

    Why a third Heathrow third runway casts a shadow over the future of Birmingham Airport

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  16. Moorland grass fire 'deliberately started'
    Breaking

    A grass fire's raging in part of Staffordshire and the fire service think it's a case of arson.

    The fireStaffordshire Fire Service

    They say crews from Hanley are currently fighting the blaze covering 100 sq m (1076 sq ft) in Brown Edge, near Endon.

  17. Communication criticised during water problems

    Allen Cook
    BBC News

    Severn Trent Water has been criticised for how it's kept residents informed after thousands were left without water.

    Water dripping from a tap

    Since Monday, people in area around Telford, Much Wenlock, Stafford and Whitchurch have seen water supplies dwindle, disappear or drop in pressure.

    The leader of Telford and Wrekin Council, Shaun Davies, says the company could have been better in keeping residents informed.

    I think communication has been poor, certainly on social media. Up until a few minutes ago, their main update was late last night and there's lots and lots of questions of course that people have and, like me, many residents have a very young child and not having water is quite a significant issue."

    Shaun Davies, Leader of Telford and Wrekin Council

  18. Motorcyclist injured in 4x4 crash

    A motorcyclist has been taken to hospital after a collision with a 4x4 vehicle, West Midlands Ambulance Service said.

    It happened at about 17:20 yesterday on Rye Street in the Birtsmorton area of south Worcestershire.

    The rider who is in his 40s, "suffered multiple injuries", the ambulance service said.

    The motorcycle was badly damaged and the fuel tank had split, ambulance staff said.

  20. Waitrose to close stores

    BBC Business News

    A Birmingham Waitrose store is one of five across the country set to close, the retailer has revealed this morning.

    It comes as Waitrose owner John Lewis announces a warning that profits will be "close to zero".

    It is not yet clear when the Colmore Row little Waitrose will shut.

    A Waitrose shopGetty Images