Rebecca Wood
BBC Midlands Today

It should be a dry start to the night, with clear spells, but cloud thickening to bring rain during the early hours and lows of 8C (46F).

BBC News Travel

Commuters are being warned of disruption to trains on all routes via Birmingham Snow Hill this evening, due to a "number of issues", said West Midlands Railway.

A lorry crashed into the level crossing barrier at Cradley Heath (pictured) and there has also been an issue with the level crossing at Hartlebury, the train operator said.

Image source, @Gurpal628

A track circuit failure at Langley Green earlier today has been fixed, but still causing delays.

A reduced train service will operate between Snow Hill and Stourbridge, Kidderminster and Worcester.

Rail replacement buses will be supplementing trains for all stations between Stourbridge and Worcester Shrub Hill.

Tickets are also being accepted on National Express West Midlands Buses.

Allen Cook
BBC News

Pregnant women won't be able to give birth at The Royal Shrewsbury Hospital this weekend due to staff being sick., external

Image source, Google

The Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust says it's temporarily suspending services at the Midwife Led Unit (MLU) from 20:00 tonight until Monday morning.

It says outpatient services will continue but women who go into labour this weekend will be offered to give birth at Wrekin's MLU or at the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford.

National Rail says the disruption is expected to continue until the end of the day.

Justyn Surrall
BBC Hereford and Worcester

A campaign group says it's very worried that a rare bird will stop returning to a beauty spot due to how the grass is being grazed.

Image source, AFP/Getty Images

The Save our Malvern Skylarks, external group says numbers of the birds are dropping on the Malvern Hills, from 54 pairs in 1988 to just eight at the moment.

Across the country, skylarks have declined by more than 50% over the last quarter of a century, as a result of increased intensive farming methods.

Campaigners are blaming the group maintaining the area, the Malvern Hills Trust, for allowing "intensive grazing" by cattle and depriving skylarks of their habitat.

The trust says the current grazing contracts are aimed at achieving a number of objectives for the area, "rather than to benefit one particular species".

Residents said they wanted their homes to be refurbished rather than bulldozed.

A "prolific" burglar, who admitted three burglaries and two attempted burglaries, carried out in the space of a month, has been jailed.

Image source, West Midlands Police

Lewis Tracey, of no fixed address, was seen forcing entry into a property in Sutton Coldfield in December last year, as well as being caught on CCTV the following day attempting to break into a Birmingham house, police said.

At Birmingham Crown Court on Monday the 24-year-old was jailed for four years and 11 months.

Det Con Jon Rankin, from West Midlands Police CID said he was "pleased to have secured this sentence in getting a repeat burglar off the streets”.

The military base blaze in 1983 sent dangerous ashes into the sky which residents cleaned up.

BBC Business News

Waterstones is buying the 115-year-old family-owned chain Foyles, saying the deal will help to "champion" real bookshops in the face of online rivals.

As well as the firm's stores in London, the company also has a branch in Birmingham,, external on top of the revamped New Street station.

Image source, Getty Images

Waterstones said the deal would help booksellers fight back against Amazon's "siren call".

Foyles has struggled to remain profitable as online booksellers have battered traditional stores. While sales rose last financial year, the company still reported a loss of £88,791.

Phil Bowers
Journalist, BBC Radio Stoke

More than 65,000 people have visited the Weeping Window display , externalof poppies in Stoke-on-Trent since it opened last month, the city council says.

Image source, Midlandhippy

The sculpture was first seen at the Tower of London and created to commemorate those who lost their lives in World War One.

It's been travelling around the country and opened at Middleport Pottery in the city on 2 August.

With days left until it finishes on 16 September, the city council says the 65,000 includes visitors from as far afield as Dubai, Istanbul and Zurich.

Residents within a planned clean air zone could be given £2,000 towards a "compliant" car.

Rob Mayor
Political reporter, BBC WM

We’ve been told about the human cost of not cleaning up Birmingham’s air, but the financial cost of taking action is huge as well.

Image source, Birmingham City Council

Birmingham City Council wants the government to hand over a total of £60m - £24m to implement the zone and £36m to help businesses, key workers and those on low incomes cope.

Proposals include a scrappage scheme and exemptions, but it’s safe to assume it's asking the government for more than it expects to get.

With just over a year until the cameras are switched on, drivers still don’t know what the charges will be and what help if any will be on offer to upgrade to a less polluting vehicle.

When pressed today, Councillor Waseem Zaffar, who is responsible for transport, promised answers within weeks not months.

Jilani the lion is "stiff and sore" but recovering after being attacked in a dispute over meat.

Business are being encouraged to sign up to a project designed to help boost productivity by looking after workers' health and wellbeing.

Image source, West Midlands Combined Authority

The Thrive at Work programme offers a free toolkit, support, advice and accreditation for businesses with 10 to 250 employees across Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton.

The West Midlands Combined Authority is also offering grants of up to £12,000 for the new scheme.

Businesses only have until 12 September to sign up., external

A court considering only the first 20 applications for six roles aids a "crisis in quality".

Four boys have been arrested over a violent robbery in Coventry in which a man was threatened with a nunchuk and another punched in the face, police said.

Image source, Google

Officers were called to the recreation ground on Ansty Road, Stoke just after 19:00 on Tuesday to reports of the boys robbing a 19-year-old, before attacking an 18-year-old and making off with jewellery.

The four, aged between 14 and 16, have all been bailed, said West Midlands Police.

The National Trust will use a £100m loan to improve its cafes, car parks, shops and toilets without cutting spending on conservation work, the charity has said.

Image source, National Trust

One recipient could be Charlecote Park, in Warwickshire, where visitor numbers have doubled in a decade to 220,000, it said.

The current tea room has just 56 seats and the main car park fills up quickly at busy times, with overflow parking on fields impractical in winter and wet periods.

Properties will "bid" for the money with a business plan setting out how a minimum 10% return on the money borrowed will be delivered

Coventry Observer

Some of the top stories in this week's Coventry Observer are:

• Staple family issues emotional plea after fatal stabbing, external
• Four-week old baby's life-threatening injuries could not be 'prevented', external
• Pioneering digital portal allowing actors miles apart to rehearse together, external

Image source, Coventry Observer

Inspectors raised concerns after examining Russells Hall Hospital's death records.

Birmingham City Council has announced it's pressing ahead with proposals for a clean air zone, which would see the most polluting vehicles being charged for entering the city centre.

It follows a major public consultation during the summer in which 50% of people who responded were against the idea.

Councillors have been outlining the next steps, including plans for a scrappage scheme and mitigation for worst-off residents - as well as small businesses and key workers - which would require government funding.

Charges are expected to be decided at a later date, but the original proposals outlined a £6-£10 charge for cars not meeting minimum standards, while some lorries could be charged up to £100 per day.