Former JLS member Oritse Williams is due in court today charged with rape over an alleged attack on a fan in a hotel room in Wolverhampton after a concert.

Image source, PA

The 31-year-old singer from Croydon, London, was arrested on 2 December 2016, the morning after performing at the Gorgeous club in Wolverhampton.

A second man, Jamien Nagadhana, 31, of Hounslow, London, faces a serious sexual assault charge.

Both men are due to appear before magistrates in Walsall.

A misconduct panel found David Malengela asked parents to pay extra deposits but kept the money.

BBC Business News

The owner of Patisserie Valerie has uncovered "significant, and potentially fraudulent, accounting irregularities" and discovered HMRC has filed a winding-up petition against one of its subsidiaries.

HMRC is seeking £1.14m in taxes, the Birmingham-headquartered cafe chain said.

Image source, Getty Images

It said earlier that finance director Chris Marsh had been suspended.

Shares in the company, 37% owned by entrepreneur Luke Johnson, have also been suspended.

Speaking on Radio 4's Today, Laura Foll of Janus Henderson Investors described the revelations as "extraordinary" and said she had never seen anything like it in nine years in her job.

BBC News Travel

Damaged overhead lines at Leighton Buzzard are causing delays and cancellations to Virgin Trains services between Birmingham and London Euston.

BBC News Travel

A broken down vehicle is causing delays of about 25 minutes on the M6 southbound between J6 and J5 in the West Midlands.

Recovery vehicles are en route, said Highways England.

BBC Radio 5 live

A 23-year-old with Down's syndrome has been speaking about how people's misconceptions about the condition make her feel sad.

Heidi Crowter, from Coventry, works in a children's hair salon, has a boyfriend and lives independently in her own flat.

She said she wanted to make this video to challenge some of the misconceptions surrounding people with Down's syndrome.

Local Democracy Reporting Service
Carmelo Garcia

Fruit-picking robots could replace agricultural migrant workers after Brexit, it's been claimed.

Image source, PA

Regional business leaders from Marches Local Enterprise Partnership told Herefordshire Council that big local food producers were facing recruitment challenges.

They presented a draft economic plan for the region to the authority this week, saying developments of new agricultural technology could benefit the local economy post-Brexit.

Hundreds of truck operators from across the West Midlands will raise their fears about Birmingham’s proposed clean air zone today.

Image source, Getty Images

The city council said it was considering a levy of between £6 and £10 per day on car drivers travelling into its planned Clean Air Zone which will include parts of the city centre.

Owners of high-polluting lorries could have to pay £100 a day if the proposal goes ahead.

The council is meeting the operators at Villa Park to explain how they'll be affected.

Alex Hamilton
BBC Weather

It will be a cloudy day with showers or light rain with highs of 20C (68F).

Vanessa Pearce
BBC News

Welcome to our live service for Thursday.

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.

The pilot extended his leg in an attempt to relieve the "excruciating pain".

Aston Villa appoint Dean Smith as their new head coach, with former Chelsea defender John Terry as his assistant.

Paul McCann is alleged to have groomed his teenage victim and abused him at his home in Crewe.

We'll be back with our usual mix of news, sport, travel and weather from 07:00 tomorrow, but keep an eye out here for more updates this evening and into the morning.

Local Democracy Reporting Service
Carmelo Garcia

A farm's going to be allowed to build a 16,000-bird free range poultry unit.

Image source, Google

Tim Hodnet had applied to Herefordshire Council to install the egg production building, external, with feed bins and a packing unit, at Willey Cottage Farm, in Willey, near Presteigne, on the Welsh border.

Despite objections over the plan's impact on the local roads and wider countryside, councillors approved them saying there were "no strong grounds to refuse".

The council wants to spend money on preventing children from entering the care system.

Phil Bowers
Journalist, BBC Radio Stoke

A driver's died from injuries he suffered in a two-car crash earlier this week, police say., external

Image source, Google

It comes after a passenger in the same vehicle, a 29-year-old man, died at the scene of the crash on Monday morning on Congleton Road, Arclid, near Sandbach, Cheshire.

Officers say both of the men were from Romania.

Nick Clitheroe
BBC Midlands Today

A teenage archer says she’s setting her sights on a medal at the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires this weekend.

Alyssia Tromans-Ansell, 17, from Cannock, only took up the sport with Lichfield Archers after serious leg problems ended her gymnastics career.

Last year she took gold at the World Youth Championships, external, which were also held in Argentina.

Allen Cook
BBC News

People in parts of Stoke-on-Trent may have lost their water supply this evening, external, Severn Trent says.

The firm says it was caused by an equipment fault affecting the ST6 and ST7.

They add that it has been fixed but the supply may take a while to be restored.

The family of a 30-year-old cyclist, who died after being knocked off his bike in Shrewsbury last week, have described him as "unique and irreplaceable".

Michael Jarnot, who lived in the town, died after being hit on Wenlock Road, near the Peacock Inn, at 21:20 on 3 October.

Image source, West Mercia Police

In a statement his family added "he touched the lives of the many people who knew him" and "his sudden death will leave a huge hole in all our lives".