Five homes have been left flooded after a water main burst in the Tividale area this morning, Sandwell Council said.

"Prompt action with the use of food sacks saved several other properties from flooding," it said.

Image source, @SnapperSK

Image source, @SnapperSK

Image source, @SnapperSK

Traffic diversions have been put in place around the area, with the repairs likely to continue over the weekend.

A teenage boy has been seriously injured in a crash on the M6 in Staffordshire, which involved two lorries and a car.

It happened on the southbound side between junction 15 for Stoke on Trent and 14 for Stafford North, just after 04:30.

Two other children and two adults were also injured, but their injuries are reported to be not as serious.

Local Democracy Reporting Service
Tom Dare

Two new transport routes are currently forecast to be tens of millions of pounds over budget, officials have been warned.

Image source, WMCA

The West Midlands Combined Authority's Director of Finance Sean Pearce updated his board on Thursday on the Brierley Hill metro extension and the planned route between Birmingham and Solihull.

He said both currently had "cost pressures".

The proposed line from Birmingham to Solihull has a total budget of £675m, but is currently forecast to reach £735m, while the Brierley Hill extension’s budget is £310m with a forecast of £343m.

But Mr Pearce says work is already under way to bring them back within the budget.

Three men have been arrested on suspicion of wounding after a man was found with severe facial injuries in Coventry last night.

Officers were called to Stretton Avenue, in the Willenhall area of Coventry to reports of a stabbing but found the man had been assaulted not stabbed.

The 44-year-old remains in hospital in a serious but not life-threatening condition, said West Midlands Police.

The three, aged 44, 37 and 36, remain in police custody.

Station Road in Bishops Itchington remains closed by a police cordon, as officers resume their search of a nearby lake for a missing 17-year-old.

Specialist search teams have returned to Bishops Bowl Lakes, near Leamington Spa, this morning after reports last night of a teenager in trouble while swimming.

Water company engineers are now at the site of a burst water main in Tividale, Sandwell.

The leak involved a clean water pipe, not sewage as police had earlier reported, said South Staffordshire Water.

It apologised to customers affected by no or low pressure in the area.

BBC Midlands Today

The principal of an academy in Herefordshire said he and the staff "tried valiantly" to try and keep it from closure.

Robert Owen Academy, which catered for teenagers who struggle in mainstream education, has closed just five years after opening.

Following an Ofsted inspection the academy was put into special measures, and then ordered to shut in March.

Paul Cordey said "we only had so long" to prove a case for the school, "but we have failed".

A man has been taken to hospital with serious head injuries after emergency services were called to reports of an assault in Coventry.

Ambulance crews were called to Stretton Avenue, in the Willenhall area of the city, shortly before 21:00.

The man was treated at the scene before being taken to hospital in a serious condition, said the ambulance service.

Express and Star

Some of the main stories on the Express and Star website this morning include:

• Man found guilty of killing ex-partner after row over loud music, external
• Merry Hill owner intu plunges into red after fall in the value of its shopping centres, external
• Funds raised to complete West Brom's Three Degrees statue, external

Local Democracy Reporting Service
Herbert Soden

Concerns have been raised that a town's been left "exposed to crime".

Councillors in Biddulph say they're concerned too many Staffordshire Police officers are being dragged away to fight crime in Stoke-on-Trent.

The force made changes to where and how officers are deployed earlier this year,, external creating new response and neighbourhood teams, which means PCs and PCSOs in Biddulph start their shifts in Hanley.

At this month's town council meetings, councillors said the changes could lead to an increase in crime.

But police say there's been a 10% fall in anti-social behaviour in Biddulph and their changes have led to an extra 14 officers across the Staffordshire Moorlands.

An unmarked police car suffered "extensive damage" after another vehicle was driven directly into it, police say., external

Image source, Google

West Mercia Police said its vehicle was near the shops in Kingsland, Wellington, Telford, when it happened Wednesday morning.

Officers say two men, aged 23 and 33, were arrested over the crash.

Hundreds of acres of crops have been destroyed by fires started while farmers were trying to harvest them, firefighters say.

Image source, Staffordshire Fire Service

Staffordshire Fire Service says there have been three fires in the county in the last few weeks which started in farm machinery as it was being used to harvest. , external

In the most recent case, yesterday in Whittington, near Lichfield,, external the blaze covered 500m by 500m and needed tractors to help create breaks in the fire by ploughing trenches.

The service is urging farmers to make sure their machinery is well maintained and serviced and to dig fire breaks around the edge of their fields.

Police officers are back at a former Warwickshire quarry after reports a teenager got into difficulty while swimming.

A major operation began at Bishops Bowl Lakes at Bishops Itchington, near Leamington Spa at about 18:30 on Thursday.

Specialist teams, fire and ambulance services have been called in to help search for the 17-year-old boy.

BBC News Travel

There's now four miles of queuing traffic on the M6 southbound in Staffordshire after an earlier accident.

Two lanes are closed between J15, A500 and J14, A5013, said Highways England.

The crash happened at about 05:00.

A burst sewage pipe has left a Sandwell road under a "foot of waste water," police said.

The A4123 in Tividale is closed in both directions between Regent Road and Burnt Tree Island.

Engineers are on route to carry out repairs, said South Staffs Water.

Alex Hamilton
BBC Weather

Another hot and sunny day with the risk of some thundery showers developing later on and highs of 28C (82F).

Vanessa Pearce
BBC News

Welcome to our live service for Friday.

We'll be bringing you all the news, sport, travel and weather for the West Midlands.

We love to hear from you so share your news, thoughts and photos of the area with us via email, Twitter , externaland Facebook, external.

It dramatises the inquiry into an alleged plot by Muslim hardliners to control some Birmingham schools.

Blaine Hudson's late winner gives The New Saints a narrow lead in their Europa League second qualifying round tie with Gibraltar's Lincoln Red Imps.

West Midlands Police said it stepped in to invoke powers to force a group to leave after the disorder.