Plans to temporarily close Telford's accident and emergency department at night, have been described as "chaotic" by the leader of Telford and Wrekin Council.

The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust is discussing the move at a meeting this afternoon, saying it's being considered in the interests of patient safety, because of staff shortages.

Councillor Shaun Davies, who is also opposing a hospital reorganisation plan known as Future Fit, said he wanted the government to intervene.

The trust has previously said recruitment had been hampered by a national shortage of A&E doctors and consultants and trying to run a rota across the two sites.

In March it was awarded £312m to overhaul services.

The 100-mile closed road route for next year's Velo Birmingham and Midlands will take in Coventry, Solihull, Warwickshire, Dudley and Sandwell as well as Birmingham city centre, it's been announced., external

Image source, Velo Birmingham

About 17,000 cyclists are expected to take part in the ride, which was marred by controversy last year, when nails and other sharp metal objects were thrown on to the route.

Entries go on sale on Thursday 4 October to riders that have pre-registered.

Tim Race
Producer, BBC Hereford & Worcester

A man's been fined after admitting damaging a giraffe sculpture in Worcester.

Image source, Worcester Stands Tall

Over the summer, about 60 of the artworks made a trail across the streets of the city.

Oleksiy Koval appeared before magistrates today charged with attacking the sculpture called Hive Mind on 11 July, after England lost their World Cup semi-final match against Croatia. , external

The 37-year-old, of Solitaire Avenue, Worcester, pleaded guilty to the vandalism and was fined a total of £495.

Coventry Live

These are some of the headlines on the Coventry Live website today:

• Coventry is to be part of huge cycling event route, external
• Tributes to 'lovely' mum found dead at home, external
• Leader defends decision to allow travellers to stay on public land, external

Seven people have been arrested by officers investigating illegal "chop shops" in the West Midlands.

Image source, West Midlands Police

Two men, who were found asleep in the back of a transit van displaying false number plates, in Broadmore Road, Bilston were arrested on suspicion of car theft, police said.

Three others were arrested, also on suspicion of theft, at a unit in Minerva Lane, Wolverhampton.

All five remain in custody for questioning.

At another site, two men were arrested on suspicion of handling stolen goods after police tracked a stolen car to an industrial unit off Oak Lane, Kingswingford.

They have been released under investigation, said West Midlands Police.

Oleksiy Koval attacked the sculpture in Worcester after England's defeat in the World Cup semi-final.

Salih Khater is accused of driving into members of the public and police outside Parliament.

Faith Page
Reporter, BBC Shropshire

Questions are being asked about whether enough has been done to recruit more A&E staff in Shropshire.

Image source, Google

It comes as a hospital trust today will discuss proposals to temporarily close an accident and emergency unit overnight.

Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) Board says the move for Princess Royal Hospital (PRH) in Telford is to protect patient safety due to a lack of A&E doctors.

But Wrekin Conservative MP Mark Pritchard has called the plans "deeply flawed" and wants to know how well the trust has tried to recruit.

Energy regulator Ofgem has ordered 11 of the UK's biggest suppliers to improve how they deal with complaints.

Image source, Getty Images

The regulator said it had "compliance cases" open against four companies, including Coventry-based First Utilities, over customer dissatisfaction with how they handled complaints.

However, the chief executive of industry body Energy UK said suppliers' overall performance in dealing with consumers' problems was improving.

Lawrence Slade said his organisation was working with the industry and Ofgem to see if the rules governing the complaints handling process could be improved.

Birmingham Live

These are some of the headlining stories on the Birmingham Live website today:

• Cycling event to return in 2019 with major changes, external
• Escaped prisoner high on ecstasy broke his back in crash, external
• Man stabbed after 'row between residents' at bedsit, external

Delroy Forrester told police of "demons in his head" after attacking his great-niece with a table leg.

Allen Cook
BBC News

A car ended up nose-down in the garden of a house after the driver failed to stop for police.

Image source, West Mercia Police

It happened earlier in Tunnel Hill, Worcester.

West Mercia Police has not said if anyone was hurt.

From a photo tweeted by @OPUWorcs, , externalthe car appears to have smashed through a garden wall and then half-fallen into a sunken area.

The force says a man's been arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving, not having insurance, failing to stop and possession of a controlled substance.

An appeal to overturn the decision not to name the suspects behind the Birmingham pub bombings should be publicly funded, says the solicitor representing some of the families.

Coroner Sir Peter Thornton challenged an earlier High Court decision to allow evidence about alleged suspects to be included in the inquest hearings.

But on Wednesday judges at the Court of Appeal ruled in the coroner's favour.

Julie Hambleton, whose sister Maxine was 18 when she was killed in the bombings, said she was "beyond disappointed" with the decision and the families now had until Friday to decide whether to appeal themselves.

Christopher Stanley, representing some of the families, says the case would be in the public interest and should be publicly funded "because there are points of law which will affect other complex multi-deaths inquests".

Dan Roan
BBC Sports editor

The independent review into child sex abuse allegations in football has been delayed indefinitely because of a pending retrial and further allegations in the Barry Bennell case.

The scandal has been described as one of the biggest crises in the history of the Football Association.

In February, Bennell was sentenced to 31 years in prison for abusing 12 boys, seven of whom were linked to Crewe Alexandra.

Image source, Getty Images

"Due to the ongoing criminal investigations and prosecutions it has not been possible for all those who want to speak to the review to be able to do so," said Clive Sheldon QC, who is leading the investigation.

"Whilst I had hoped and expected to complete my review this autumn, I believe this extension will ensure many more individuals who want to engage with the review will be able to do so.

"It is essential that the review is as comprehensive as possible."

It is not known how long the delay will be as it is dependent on the criminal matters being resolved.

Express and Star

Some of the headlining stories on the Express and Star website today are:

• Hospital's reputation nearly beyond recovery, says scrutiny bosses, external
• Labour take back control of Dudley Council from the Conservatives, external
• Black Country's gridlocked roads among nation's worst, external

Vicky Breakwell
BBC Hereford and Worcester

More than a week after trainee teacher Thomas Jones went missing in Worcester, police are directly appealing to new university students in the city.

Image source, Family handout

The 18-year-old, from Bromsgrove, has not been heard from since the early hours of Wednesday 19 September.

West Mercia Police says officers believe he crossed the Sabrina footbridge over the River Severn at some point between 03:30 and 04:00. , external

They want to hear from any students in the area at that time as, officers say, there were more around than usual due to it being during freshers week.

Allen Cook
BBC News

Worcestershire say they're waiting for the results of a scan to know how bad fast bowler Josh Tongue's foot injury is., external

The 20-year-old wasn't able to bowl in the second innings of their final County Championship match with Yorkshire, which ended yesterday in defeat for the Pears.

Tongue was also yesterday named in the four-day squad for the Lions' winter tour of the UAE, but that's subject to him getting medical clearance.

The bowler's already missed two-and-a-half months of the summer due to a metatarsal fracture but has still taken 40 wickets this season in the County Championship.

Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council is now being led by the Labour Party.

Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust will have to provide regulators with details of deaths back to 1998.

Allen Cook
BBC News

All lanes have now reopened on the M6 northbound in Staffordshire, external, near Stoke-on-Trent, Highways England says.

It had been shut from J15 to J16 after a man was fatally hit by a lorry.