Live updates from Monday 6 August to Sunday 12 August
Click on related stories for updates from your area
A car fire on the M6 northbound in Staffordshire has been extinguished, said Highways England.
Image source, Highways England
Image source, Highways EnglandTraffic is still being held after emergency services were called to the scene between J15 and J16 at about 14:15.
Three vehicles were involved, said the ambulance service, with only minor injuries reported.
A man who admitted the murder of his wife, who was found stabbed to death, has been jailed for life.
Image source, West Midlands PoliceTracy Stonehouse, 51, died at an address in Coralin Close, Chelmsley Wood, Solihull, on 6 April.
A post-mortem examination revealed she had suffered multiple stab wounds and other injuries to her head and neck.
Arthur Stonehouse, 73, of Coralin Close, pleaded guilty to her murder and at Birmingham Crown Court today was told he would serve a minimum of 13 years and four months in jail.
Farmers are harvesting in Staffordshire and Shropshire, looking at the photos taken by our BBC Weather Watchers.
These two are from users Monomark in Edgmond and Sue Snaps in Codsall:
Image source, Monomark
Image source, Sue SnapsAston Villa sign Manchester United defender Axel Tuanzebe on a season-long loan deal.
Read More
Alec Blackman
BBC Coventry & Warwickshire
Demand for diesel-fuelled cars fell by 24%, while demand for hybrids and plug-ins rose by 20%, new figures show.
Image source, Getty ImagesCar sales figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders show a steady month for the major manufacturers in the West Midlands.
Coventry-based Jaguar sold 2,960 cars last month - exactly the same as they did in June last year.
Just over 6,000 Land Rovers were registered in June this year - down on 6,200 for the same month in 2017.
Gaydon-based Aston Martin sold 118 cars - up slightly on the same time last year.
Worcestershire secure the return of record-breaking Australia batsman Callum Ferguson as their overseas player for the 2019 season.
Read More
Local Democracy Reporting Service
George Makin
Plans to reinstate cancer treatments at Sandwell and City hospitals have been welcomed by the local council.
Image source, GoogleAn announcement by NHS England, external that it is to commission solid tumour and chemotherapy at the two sites will see a return to locally delivered treatment for nearly 2,000 patients next year.
In October 2017, a temporary change to services meant patients would receive care from oncologists at the Queen Elizabeth or New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton.
More than 1,900 patients had to travel miles for their potentially life-saving procedures and the NHS paid out £50,000 to transport cancer sufferers to their new treatment centres.
Tipton councillor Bob Lloyd, welcoming the decision, said: “It appears that the options looking forward will roughly mirror what we had before on the two sites."
BBC News Travel
Traffic is being held on the M6 northbound in Staffordshire for emergency services to deal with a vehicle on fire.
The incident happened between junctions 15 and 16.
Drivers are also being warned of smoke billowing across the road to the southbound carriageway, where one lane has been closed.
Birmingham Live
These are some of the headlining stories on the Birmingham Live website today:
Nick Southall
Journalist, BBC Shropshire
Fans of Shrewsbury Town have given the thumbs-up to the club's new safe-standing zone, which made its debut on Saturday.
It became the first club in England to introduce the rail seats which were installed in the south stand over the summer.
Supporters told BBC Shropshire after the match that they feel the safe-standing added to a "great atmosphere" and that others will follow the trail blazed by the club., external
Local Democracy Reporting Service
David Irwin
Moving Solihull Railway Station to a new location would be “problematic and expensive”, likely to cost at least twice the amount of revamping the current site, a report concludes.
The report, due to be considered by borough councillors, external later this week, recommends ruling out the option of building a new station at Monkspath Hall Road.
The document predicts that developing the brand new stop would cost more than £40m, double the £20m that is thought to be needed to upgrade the ageing facilities at the existing site.
The challenges of acquiring land, question marks about flooding risk and concerns that the new location would be less accessible for the majority of commuters also weigh against the more radical proposal, according to officers.
Sarah Robertson
Journalist, BBC Radio Stoke
Floral tributes are continuing to be left outside the Royal Stoke University Hospital this morning, following the death of 28-year-old midwife Samantha Eastwood.
One message thanks her for her "service to the NHS" and that people are thinking of her family at "this heartbreaking time".
Her body was found near Caverswall, Staffordshire, on Saturday, eight days after she was reported missing.
Michael Stirling, 32, of Gratton Road, Bucknall, appeared in court this morning charged with her murder.
These are some of the stories making the headlines on the Hereford Times website today:
Major gas works starting today in Wolverhampton will mean almost seven months of disruption in the city.
Image source, CadentGas company Cadent is set to replace 1.5km of pipes in Worcester Street, as part of the wider £65m project across the West Midlands.
The seven phases of work will mean road closures, temporary traffic lights and diversions for about 30 weeks, said the company.
Quote MessageWe appreciate that this is a busy route. We've planned the project so that the work starts during the summer school holidays when there is less traffic on the roads. However, we would still advise motorists to leave extra time for their journeys, particularly at morning and evening peak times."
Steve Murray, Cadent
The 60-year-old victim was airlifted to hospital but could not be saved.
Read MoreA football club's sponsorship deal has created the "absolute belter" of a mascot.
Read MoreSixteen-year-old Blake Ward was a "wonderful young man" his head teacher said.
Read MoreA multi-storey car park's been closed due to safety concerns , externalover how "structurally sound" it is.
Image source, GoogleCannock Chase Council says developer St. Modwen, which runs the town centre site, is shutting it so engineers can carry out more investigations.
It says the car park needs extensive repairs before it can be reopened.
Allen Cook
BBC News
The last contracts provided by collapsed construction giant Carillion have now been signed over to new organisations, the Official Receiver says., external
Image source, PAThe Wolverhampton-based company was liquidated with debts of £1.5bn in January and, at that time, the firm had about 420 UK public sector contracts.
Today, the Official Receiver says with the contracts transferred, they'll now be working on providing services for some Carillion suppliers and trying to make sure payments are made to suppliers who provided goods and services during the liquidation.
Their figures show 13,945 jobs have been saved since the bankruptcy, 76% of the workforce before the collapse, with 2,787 redundancies while 1,272 have left the business.
James Bond
Sports Producer, BBC Shropshire
Shrewsbury Town's Jon Nolan (pictured) and Toto Nsiala are at Ipswich, discussing personal terms with the Championship club and having medicals.
Image source, Getty ImagesThey're expected to sign within the next 24 hours for a fee thought to be around £2m for both of them.
The pair handed in transfer requests to Shrewsbury last week after the League One club rejected a joint-bid for the pair.
