A Worcester cricket coach who has been fighting deportation to Sri Lanka is flying home today, after losing his appeal to the Home Office.

Hemaka Pathiranage came to the UK from Sri Lanka to study in 2011, but his student visa has expired and he can't get a job with sufficient salary to enable him to stay.

Almost three-and-a-half thousand people signed a petition to try and keep him in the UK, but he lost an appeal to stay on human rights grounds.

Shropshire are closing in on victory over Herefordshire in their minor counties match at Eastnor.

They were set an unlikely victory target of 507 to win the game and are now 251-8.

Alex Wyatt has taken four wickets for Shropshire.

League One side Shrewsbury Town sign former Newcastle United winger Alex Gilliead on a free transfer.

The England team have left their hotel and set off to Moscow for their World Cup semi-final against Croatia.

West Brom fan Pat Frost is on one of the coaches.

He is one of the kit-men for the national team and has been telling his followers on Twitter that England will wear all white.

Image source, Getty Images

He said: "Both our kits clash with croatia home kit....it was a no-brainer really....their away kit is a dark one".

He also described the mood in the camp as "calm, relaxed and very excited".

Aldi is appealing against a decision to block plans for a store at Whitchurch in Shropshire.

Shropshire Council rejected its application in January, with councillors saying it would have an impact on the town centre.

Image source, PA

Solicitors representing the supermarket pointed to a series of measures designed to reduce the impact of the store on Wrexham Road, including a bus for shoppers and £10,000 for the town centre.

There were a number of objections to the original application, when it was made in March 2017 , including one from rival Lidl, which said it would be “catastrophic” and could lead to the closure of its Bridgewater Street store.

A final decision will be made by the government’s planning inspectorate and an inquiry, which is expected to last a week, could take place in September.

A murder investigation is launched after a 31-year-old man dies following an attack outside a pub.

Prison inspectors said HMP Oakwood was "not easy to run" but an "impressive institution".

About 40 teachers have left North Bromsgrove High School in the past year.

Birmingham's Paradise Circus is to close for almost a year for work to be carried out on the next stage of the Westside Metro extension.

It will shut in both directions from September until the summer of 2019.

Paradise, as it is now called, is the area between Chamberlain Square, next to the town hall, and Centenary Square, where the library is.

The closure is so the Metro can be extended from Victoria Square to Centenary Square, Midland Metro Alliance said.

Image source, Midland Metro Alliance

The A38 Queensway underpass, which runs beneath Paradise, will remain open in both directions for the works, which start on 3 September.

Traffic marshals will be in place 24/7 to assist drivers wishing to access Holliday Street from Suffolk Street Queensway.

Bus services using the route by Centenary Square will be diverted via Sheepcote Street and Bath Row.

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There are plans to turn Oswestry's former magistrates court into appartments.

The building on Holbache Road was one of a number of court buildings closed by the Ministry of Justice in 2011, with hearings moving to Shrewsbury.

Image source, Google

Developer Primoris Homes Ltd has applied to create eight two-bedroom homes and two one-bedroom homes on the site, along with 17 parking spaces.

It has also applied to build eight townhouses and one pair of semi-detached homes on land adjacent to the court, with another 14 car parking spaces.

The family of a man found stabbed in Coventry on Sunday say they've been left "devastated and unbearably lost."

Image source, West Midlands Police

Daniel Kennell, 27, died after being stabbed on St Austell Road, Coventry on Sunday.

In a tribute his family said he was "the centre of our universe, funny man, life and soul of the party and always there to help anyone out".

Ryan Preston, 27, is due before magistrates today charged with his murder.

A serious viral disease of fish has been found at a fishery in Warwickshire.

Image source, Cefas

The government's Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) said Koi herpesvirus (KHV) had been found at Parkers Fishery Pools, in Wolvey,, external along with three other places in the country.

Sites with KHV disease, which affects all varieties of common and ornamental carp, must be monitored for a year, following an outbreak, it said, although some sites choose to cull and disinfect their stocks.

The fishery has been approached for a comment.

A bakery is appealing for the return of a giant teddy bear which was taken after the England game on Saturday.

The 6ft bear, called Barnaby, has sat outside the Bakehouse on Market Street, Stafford, for the last two and a half years.

Image source, Google

The owners say it was spotted being taken by a young man who passed the shop with three other men.

Stoke-on-Trent Live

Here are the headlines from the Sentinel:

• Man attacked his own mum because he wanted his benefits money, external
• Thousands sign World Cup bank holiday petition, external
• Fan gets World Cup Winners tattoo, external

Wolves manager Nuno Espirito Santo signs a one-year extension to his deal and is now tied to the club until 2021.

People are ignoring warnings not to swim in the pool at Silverdale Country Park in Newcastle-under-Lyme.

The ranger at Silverdale, Andrew Hunt, says he's had to ask visitors to get out of the water four times.

Image source, Getty Images

He says there are sharp pieces of metal in the former coal mine, along with fishing line and weeds.

Efforts have been made to warn of the dangers of open water swimming after the death of 13-year-old Ryan Evans in Westport Lake.

Aston Villa boss Steve Bruce believes the club will have to sell Jack Grealish to comply with Financial Fair Play rules.

BBC Sport

Stoke City coach Callum Davidson says they need to start the new season well, to restore the feel-good factor to the dressing room.

The club won just seven games last season as they were relegated to the Championship.

Image source, Getty Images

Davidson is one of five former Derby County coaches to come to Stoke with new manager Gary Rowett.

There might be a Fifa World Cup semi-final in Russia later this evening but for some people the big match is elsewhere.

The New Saints are in Macedonia for their Champions League qualifier against Shkendija tonight.

The game will be played at the country's national stadium, the 33,000 capacity Philip II Arena. which hosted last season's UEFA Super Cup.

Image source, Getty Images

The winner of the tie will face Torpedo Kutaisi from Georgia or FC Sheriff of Moldova in the second qualifying round, with ties to be played on 24-25 July and 31 July-1 August, while the losers will drop into the Europa League.

A man has been charged with murder after a stabbing incident in Coventry on Sunday.

Image source, West Midlands Police

Daniel Kennell, 27, was found on Sunday on St Austell Road in the Walsgrave area.

He died in hospital a few hours later.

Ryan Preston, also 27, has been charged with his murder, and set to appear before magistrates today.

A 53-year-old woman arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender, has been released pending further investigation.