Fifty firefighters have been sent to deal with a fire at a south Warwickshire plastics company.

Ten pumps are on site at JFC Plastics at Goldicote Business Park, on Banbury Road, close to Stratford-upon-Avon, said Warwickshire Fire Service which tweeted this image:

A large diesel spillage has closed part of Bishop's Castle town centre in Shropshire, police say.

Image source, Shropshire Police

Salop Street is closed, with Station Street also affected.

Drivers are being advised to avoid the area.

The West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner has said that a merger between the force and Warwickshire Police would "not be welcome by us".

Image source, West Midlands Police

But David Jamieson said the door "must be kept open" for closer ties between the two forces.

West Mercia Police announced this month its plan to "withdraw from the current strategic alliance" it had with Warwickshire Police.

MP for Rugby and Bulkington, Mark Pawsey, said the "small" Warwickshire force would "need to look for new partners".

Widnes Vikings sign versatile Halifax forward Adam Tangata on a two-year deal.

Phil Bowers
Journalist, BBC Radio Stoke

Drains have been searched in Stoke-on-Trent by police, external investigating the deaths of two men found less than half-a-mile apart on the same afternoon.

Officers made the discoveries on Thursday near the allotments by Leonora Street and at an address in Barnfield Road.

On Friday, the Staffordshire force confirmed it was leading a murder investigation, adding today it had completed an "in-depth" search of the drains on Barnfield Road in a hunt for new evidence.

Post-mortem examinations have been carried out on both bodies which are yet to be formally identified.

Matthew Falder, branded one of Britain's most "prolific paedophiles", was initially jailed for 32 years.

Nick Southall
Journalist, BBC Shropshire

So many people have turned up to the funeral of a veteran, some are having to stand outside.

I've counted nearly 200 mourners who are paying their respects after a Twitter appeal which followed the death of Royal Marine David McLaren Kerr who had no living family. He was 90.

He died last month in Shrewsbury, where the service is also being held. Funeral directors were worried only a few people would attend.

Many have shared their thoughts on social media about the appeal's success.

Clive Whittall posted:, external "We've just been there and couldn't even get into the car park. A large group of students just arriving on foot too. This old gentleman was definitely not alone at the end!"

Darren Carley's body was found in Lancashire 16 years ago, but only identified in 2018.

One woman who works with sex assault victims said it was "never OK" to joke about rape.

Lee Thomas
Newsreader, BBC Radio Stoke

Class A drugs with a street value of more than £250,000 have been seized in a series of police raids this morning., external

Image source, Staffordshire Police

Officers searched addresses in Stoke-on-Trent including properties in Chell Heath and Burslem after tip-offs from local residents.

They also seized cash, mobile phones, laptops and a BMW.

Police say three men, aged 20, 31 and 56, all from the city, have been arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply Class A drugs and are in custody.

Two men have been arrested following a series of car crashes in Warwickshire this morning.

Police were called to a crash involving multiple vehicles on the A445 Leamington Rd in Ryton-on-Dunsmore at about 08:40.

Two vehicles then left the scene, said the Warwickshire force which added they were involved in two further crashes on the A423 and at the roundabout where the two roads merge.

Two men have been taken to hospital with neck injuries according to a spokesperson.

A 20-year-old man from Middlesex has been arrested on suspicion of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and a 24-year-old man from London has been arrested on suspicion of assault occasioning grievous bodily harm.

Nick Southall
Journalist, BBC Shropshire

More than 100 people have turned up to the funeral of a veteran who had no living family.

Royal Marine David McLaren Kerr died on 7 September at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.

There had been fears just one or two people would attend the Shrewsbury service, but a Twitter appeal for mourners by funeral directors was shared thousands of times on Twitter.

It resulted in these scenes...

The former boss of Birmingham Dogs Home is among five Paddy Power Betfair gamblers whose activities have been at the centre of a Gambling Commission inquiry.

Simon Price was jailed in 2017 for defrauding the charity of £894,754 to feed his gambling addiction. He estimated to police that £700,000 had been spent through a Betfair account.

Some of the sum is to be repaid to the charity in a settlement between the bookmaker and commission, which says about £500,000 is to be diverted to impacted parties uncovered by the inquiry into the customers' history. It would not say how much money the dogs home would receive individually.

Image source, Getty Images

In total, Paddy Power Betfair has been fined £2.2m for failing to stop stolen money being gambled through its website and for failing to protect customers showing signs of problem gambling.

Allen Cook
BBC News

Judges at the Court of Appeal have agreed with a convicted paedophile that his 32-year prison sentence was "manifestly excessive".

Image source, NCA

Matthew Falder, from Birmingham, was jailed in February after admitting 137 charges but today his jail term was cut to 25 years.

The 29-year-old's barrister told the court it was "grave offending" but the original sentence was too tough.

Lord Justice Holroyde, announcing the decision, said 25 years was the "appropriate" term, taking into account credit for Falder's guilty pleas and the "principle of totality".

At the same time, judges increased his extended licence period from six to eight years.

The defendant was charged with attempted murder and remanded in custody until next month.

Phil Maiden
BBC Hereford and Worcester

Bromsgrove MP Sajid Javid has spoken of the hate crime he's faced since becoming home secretary earlier this year.

Image source, PA

Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Mr Javid said he'd been called a raft of racial epithets.

He revealed the abuse as he vowed to tackle intolerant behaviour in England and Wales.

Ministers are preparing to publish a new blueprint aimed at providing better responses to reports of hate crime and raising awareness of what constitutes an offence.

Allen Cook
BBC News

Drivers are being warned not to drive through floodwater, not only because of the safety issues, but the pollution it can cause.

Parts of Worcestershire are recovering after the rain at the weekend.

Image source, Environment Agency

The Environment Agency's Dave Throup says the flooding still didn't stop one driver trying to take their car through Walcot Ford near Pershore today.

He's highlighted on Twitter , externalthe resulting pollution as oil from the vehicle leaked into the water.

Allen Cook
BBC News

A paedophile who blackmailed victims and shared abuse tips on the dark web has had his prison sentence reduced on appeal.

Image source, PA

Cambridge graduate Matthew Falder had admitted 137 charges - including rape - against 46 people and was jailed earlier this year for 32 years.

But the 29-year-old, who lived in Edgbaston, challenged his jail term and today judges at the Court of Appeal reduced it to 25 years.

BBC Entertainment and Arts

Bell-ringers and ceramicists in Stoke-on-Trent have inspired one of a series of plays which are aimed at giving snapshots of the state of the nation.

Image source, Atri Banerjee

Dramatists Chris Thorpe and Sam Pritchard have been visiting six locations across England, trying to get under the skin of each place.

The resulting plays have toured around the six locations under the title The Mysteries - borrowed from the medieval mystery plays - before all being performed at the Royal Exchange theatre in Manchester at the end of October.

One man has been arrested in connection with an "ongoing incident" in Ryton-on-Dunsmore, Warwickshire, police say, external.

Officers were called to Leamington Road at about 08:40 to reports of a crash involving a number of vehicles, said the Warwickshire force, which added two vehicles left the scene shortly after.

Police have increased patrols in the area to try to locate them.