Allen Cook
BBC News

Fifty litres of glue, 250 litres of paint, 100 rolls of sticky tape and 5,000 cable ties have gone into a tribute to Tamworth's past.

The borough council says Mercian Mosaic, its largest-ever community art project, will be unveiled later this month on 14 July., external

Image source, Tamworth Borough Council

There are 1,400 tiles in the piece and the authority says it'll cover 70 x 20 yds (64 x 18m) when it's revealed in the castle grounds.

The council says about 10,000 people have contributed to the work and the mosaic will have Aethelflaed, Lady of the Mercians, at its centre to mark 1,100 years since her death.

Rebecca Wood
BBC Midlands Today

It should stay dry through tonight with some patchy cloud and remaining mild with lows of 12C (54F).

Internal auditors at Shropshire Council have found "no evidence of fraud" regarding an £80,000 grant the authority gave to The New Saints football club.

The Conservative-run authority handed over the money in 2012 to help TNS improve its stadium.

Concerns have been raised by opposition councillors over the length of time it's taken to repay the debt and the authority said it had invoiced the club for the outstanding £70,000.

But the Oswestry football club says it has "fulfilled all their obligations".

Shropshire Council has refused requests to release the auditors report.

Local Democracy Reporting Service
George Makin

The NHS in Wolverhampton faces one of its most "challenging years" yet as it attempts to save £25m while protecting patient care.

Image source, Google

The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust runs New Cross, West Park and Cannock Chase hospitals.

It has a Cost Improvement Programme target this year of £25m, but a report to the board members, finance officers admitted the trust is falling short of its financial marks.

In the first two months of this financial year the trust was only able to save £800,000 against a target of £1.77m.

The trust has been approached for a comment.

A chief constable accused of bullying upset staff by sending negative emails, a hearing was told.

Two fires in Stoke-on-Trent today are being treated as arson.

Four tonnes of hay were well alight at Blurton Grange Farm after midday, and firefighters also had to tackle a fire in a field off Chell Heath Road in Bradeley.

Have you noticed the silhouettes of World War One soldiers appearing all around the region?

It's part of a campaign run by the Royal British Legion this year to remember the soldiers who didn't return home and those whose lives were never the same afterwards.

Image source, J&PR

The latest pair have appeared in the grounds of Ellesmere College and there are 54 in Shropshire alone.

They're being distributed to anyone willing to sponsor one of the statues.

F, externalirefighters have just finished dealing with a fire on the railway embankment next to Severn Valley Railway in Bridgnorth.

They were called to Cankhorn at 16:57 to reports that a section of grass and undergrowth 100m by 20m was on fire.

The number of babies born at regular, midwife-led, maternity units (MLUs) in Shropshire has been in steady decline over the past 10 years, with the majority being born on the county's consultant-led unit.

Some critics of plans to cut services at Ludlow, Bridgnorth and Oswestry have said the number of births at those maternity units is low because of recent unplanned closures, but the numbers in Ludlow and Oswestry have been falling since at least 2008-9.

Ludlow's maternity unit recorded 100 births in 2008-9, but that fell to 36 in 2016-17.

Last December, the CCG said MLUs needed about 250 births a year to be financially viable.

Oswestry's numbers fell from 90 to 52 in the same time period and there have been falls at the Shrewsbury and Telford MLUs too.

The numbers at Bridnorth are the only ones to remain roughly the same - consistently staying around the 80 mark.

In 2016-17 more than 4,000 babies were born at Telford's specialist women and children's unit, NHS figures show.

Local Democracy Reporting Service
David Lawrence

A major scheme to help reduce tailbacks, external at a busy junction on the A46 between Coventry and Warwick have been given the go-ahead by Warwickshire county councillors.

Image source, Warwickshire County Council

The plan will see a roundabout built above the road’s Stoneleigh junction which experts hope will reduce traffic congestion in the area.

No timescale has been put in place, but councillors at this week’s Regulatory Committee were told that construction work should be complete prior to work starting on the HS2 railway line, which will pass within 1km of the site.

League One side Burton Albion sign Scottish duo Scott Fraser and David Templeton on two-year contracts.

A Shropshire councillor has said it is "totally incorrect" for the NHS to suggest almost all women in Shropshire want to give birth at the main hospitals in Shrewsbury and Telford.

Simon Wright, chief executive of the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, said women were "voting with their feet" with few choosing rural midwife-led units.

Lib Dem Tracey Huffer, who represents the Ludlow East ward, however said it was "disgusting" to suggest this.

Image source, Google

Ms Huffer, said mothers in the town had marched, petitioned and lobbied to keep a full maternity unit in the town and questioned whether Telford would have the capacity to deal with all the extra births.

The maternity units in Ludlow, Oswestry and Bridgnorth have all been experiencing a series of temporary closures and could close permanently under a review.

She suggested this had been the hospital trust's "trump card", claiming temporary closures had caused a fall in the number of women wanting to use the units.

A man has denied the manslaughter of a fellow inmate at HMP Hewell, in Worcestershire.

James Johnson was appearing at Worcester Crown Court and is now due to stand trial on 6 November.

Luke Derriman, 39, died at the Alexander Hospital in Redditch in January.

The new £7m Legoland Discovery Centre has opened in Birmingham.

The city centre attraction has created more than 50 jobs.

Visitors will be able to see a miniature creation of the city, which took nine months to build using a total of five million Lego bricks.

A cash machine has been stolen from a supermarket in Stafford.

Staffordshire Police said people had reported hearing loud bangs and power tools at around 02:25 today at the Co-op in the Wildwood Shopping Centre.

Image source, Staffordshire Police

The force said it was unclear at the moment how much money had been taken.

BBC Sport

AFC Telford United have signed the former Bristol Rovers, Tranmere and Southport winger Adam Dawson.

The club said the 25-year-old trained with them on Wednesday and will go into the squad for tonight's behind-closed-doors friendly against Oxford United at Lilleshall.

Image source, Getty Images

Manager Gavin Cowan told the club's website, external Dawson could become a "fans' favourite" but "he needs to be loved".

Port Vale sign striker Scott Quigley from League One side Blackpool on a season-long loan.

Two former teachers at a Christ's Hospital School in West Sussex had denied sexually abusing pupils.

A new security entrance area and boarding card gates have been unveiled at Birmingham Airport as part of £14.5m upgrades aimed at reducing congestion.

Aviation Minister Baroness Sugg officially opened the new facilities at the airport, which is used by 13 million passengers every year.

Dedicated channels for passengers with reduced mobility were also opened.

The changes would speed up the processing time for customers, the airport said.

Two women, whose bodies were discovered in a house in Leamington Spa, have been named by police as Lydia Gifford, 38, and 55-year-old Nina Busch.

The cause of death is yet to be established and more tests are being carried out.

However, officers say they believe the incident was contained to the property and are not looking for anyone else in connection with the deaths.

The pair were found in the house on Binswood Street on 25 June.

Warwickshire Police is asking anyone who communicated with the couple in the days leading up to their deaths to get in touch.