A plans to build homes and businesses on the site of the former Ironbridge Power Station will be shown to the public today.

It stopped generating electricity in 2015 and Harworth Group bought the 141-hectare (350 acre) plot last year.

Shropshire Council had listed it among potential sites that could be used to build 28,750 homes before 2036, along with the Clive Barracks at Tern Hill.

The acting chief constable of Cheshire Police said budget cuts over the next two years would have "significant impact on the availability of front-line resources and on the delivery of operational services".

Janette McCormick warned 250 officers could go as a result, and she is talking to the area's Police and Crime Commissioner about how to manage the expected cuts.

The force said it had cut £60m from its budget since 2010, but had been able to limit the impact on staffing numbers up until now.

The government car service is to take delivery of its first five electric vehicles from Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) "in the next few days", it's been announced in parliament.

Image source, House of Commons

Replying to a question from Labour MP Jim Cunningham, about infrastructure for the technology, Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said more than 14,000 public charging points for electric vehicles now exist, and and more were planned thanks a £400m fund.

The Coventry South MP had asked if Mr Grayling has spoken to JLR, which had recently expressed concern over Brexit, prompting fears it could slow the production of electric vehicles.

Mr Grayling replied that he has had conversations with numerous car manufacturing companies about their plans, and the department was "focusing their support on electric vehicles".

The company has been testing its autonomous technology in Coventry this week.

A man has suffered a serious head injury after an attack in Stafford last night and is in a critical condition in hospital, Staffordshire Police says.

Officers were called to Marston Road at 19:35 and the 27-year-old was taken to Royal Stoke University Hospital for treatment.

Image source, Staffordshire Police

A 31-year-old man from Stafford has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and remains in custody.

Local Democracy Reporting Service
Tom Davis

Men from the most deprived area of Coventry can expect to die 9.4 years younger than those from the least deprived, a report has highlighted.

Image source, Coventry City Council

A graph detailing average life expectancy has been drawn up based on the city's number 10 bus route, which crosses the city's more affluent and deprived neighbourhoods.

Life expectancy for a female born today is highest on Alderminster Road, at 87, but drops to the lowest point of 79 just over six miles away on Broad Park Road, showing a difference of 8.7 years.

The life-expectancy figures, external were presented to councillors at a meeting on Wednesday. Conservative council leader Gary Ridley described them as "concerning".

Armed police were told it was a "false alarm" as staff were playing the game for training.

Shropshire Star

These are some of today's headlines on the Shropshire Star website:

• More than 100 knives surrendered in Shropshire police amnesty, external
• Man who cleaned up blood at a crime scene cleared of wrongdoing, external
• Rail users to see changes on the line as Arriva departs, external

Aston Villa co-chairman, Dr Tony Xia says John Terry has "everything to grow" into being a great manager "one day" after his appointment as Dean's Smith's assistant at the club.

It is John Terry's first role since retiring from playing.

Spaniard Jesus Garcia Pitarch has been appointed as Sporting Director - after previously working in a similar role at Valencia and Athletico Madrid.

England's Nathan Hughes must wait to discover if he will be punished for punching an opponent during Wasps' loss to Gloucester.

Cheshire Police is warning 250 officers may have to be cut as it's facing major budget cuts over the next two years.

It says £12m needs to be saved.

A new memorial to the 54 men from a Warwickshire village who died in World War One is to be unveiled in time to mark the centenary of end of the war.

Long Itchington residents have raised the money for the public memorial, at the village church, which will have the names of the 54 inscribed on it.

Dave Berry (pictured left), one resident behind the scheme, said it had "taken a long time" to get to this stage, but added the memorial would be dedicated before the anniversary in November.

A mum has called for "common sense" after she was asked to leave the cinema with her four-week-old baby.

Staff at Cineworld in Shrewsbury say they were following the law in not allowing the child into a screening of the film A Star is Born, which is rated 15.

Catherine Buckley says her daughter Rosie would have little comprehension of any film - regardless of its nature.

England face Croatian on Friday night in a Nations League game in Rijeka.

It'll be the first time England have played behind closed doors, because of Uefa sanctions against the hosts.

That hasn't stopped Wolves fan James Monks from travelling.

He and some friends are flying out to Zagreb and then paying about £175 on a taxi to travel the 165km to Rijeka.

Image source, James Monks

He said he had not missed an England game since 2011 and reckoned he had spent £5,000 following the team in the World Cup in Russia.

He hopes a hill overlooking the stadium in Rijeka will offer a view of the match and, if not, the group will retire to a local bar.

Three women tell their stories of what it has been like supporting their football club for more than 40 years.

A motorcyclist has been airlifted to hospital suffering potentially serious injuries after his bike was involved in a crash with a car near Telford.

The motorbike and car both suffered "significant damage", in the crash just after 18:00 on Wednesday close to the junction of the A4169 and B4379 at Kemberton, said the ambulance service., external

The driver of the car was uninjured, it said.

Trade unions have urged councillors in Worcestershire to rethink their decision to close four children's homes.

The county council is looking at homes in Worcester, Malvern, Pershore, Bromsgrove and Redditch - up to 20 vulnerable children could be affected.

The Conservative-run authority's also said smaller libraries are under threat as it seeks to tackle an £18m overspend on services.

Unison's branch secretary Jim Price said the decision was a "short-sighted dash to save money wherever possible," and urged the council to think again.

Giraffe sculptures that became a major tourist attraction in Worcester over the summer will be auctioned off for charity today.

It’s hoped that selling 30 giant giraffes and one of the small giraffe calf statues will raise at least a £100,000 for the city's St Richards Hospice.

The remaining giraffe calves will be returned to the schools and community groups that decorated them.

Thirty miles of roads around Stoke-on-Trent have been resurfaced during the first six months of a repair project.

More than 7,000 potholes and other defects have been fixed since April.

The city council said it would double the number of crews maintaining the streets during the winter.

Express and Star

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

• Former JLS star Oritse Williams in court over rape claim, external
• Jihadi wifein West Midlands homes scandal, external
• Solicitor jailed after taking almost £150,000 from pensioner’s will, external

We might have had a couple of nice days, but it looks like the rain is back tomorrow.

The Environment Agency says it is monitoring the situation closely, particularly in Herefordshire and Shropshire as the forecast suggests we could be in for a downpour.