Live updates from Monday 22 October to Sunday 28 October
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A body's been found after a fire was put out this morning in a bungalow.
Image source, Shropshire StarFire crews were called just after 07:00 to Park Lane, Madeley, Telford. , external
Police say the body was found inside the house and an 89-year-old woman has also been taken to hospital after breathing in smoke.
They say the cause of the blaze is now being investigated.
Monica Rimmer
BBC News
Here's a lovely feel-good Friday story... a "kind gentleman" has tried to pay for breakfast for two police officers.
The firearms unit at West Midlands Police tweeted , externaltheir "big thanks" to the man in Coventry who offered £10.
"He said it was to show his appreciation for the police. Although we declined we appreciated the kind gesture".
The offer drew praise from people on Twitter.
Council bosses in Wolverhampton have joined a campaign to stop the temporary closure of Telford's A&E, over fears "it will lead to hundreds of extra hospital admissions every month".
Under plans, yet to be approved, the A&E department at the Princess Royal Hospital will close from 22:00-08:00 from 5 December for at least six months.
The hospital trust says a shortage of doctors and nurses means it cannot continue to rely on the "goodwill of staff" to keep patients safe.
Image source, PATelford & Wrekin Council says that more than 700 people per month could have to travel to other hospitals – including New Cross if the closure went ahead.
Quote MessageThis is clearly a difficult situation which we believe will have a significant impact upon services at New Cross Hospital and is potentially detrimental to the safety and care of local people. We know that the Accident and Emergency department at New Cross is already under additional pressure as a result of recent changes at Stafford’s County Hospital, where the A&E is already closed at night.
Quote MessageIn addition, the temporary overnight closure of Telford's Accident and Emergency department is planned for the winter months, which is by far the busiest time for hospitals. We are closely monitoring the situation."
Councillor Hazel Malcolm
Vicky Breakwell
BBC Hereford and Worcester
A decision that will allow women to apply to serve in the Hereford-based SAS for the first time would "cost lives", it's been claimed.
Image source, PAThe Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson has announced that all combat roles are now open to women, including serving in special forces units.
He said for the first time the "armed forces will be determined by ability alone and not gender".
However, retired officer Col Richard Kemp has criticised the new policy, saying it would "cost lives".
"My experience is if you have a team of men, even with one or two women, it could lead to divisiveness."
"I am not blaming women, but anything that undermines that teamwork will cost lives."
Liz Ellis
Presenter, BBC Radio Stoke
A woman from Stoke-on-Trent says she was terrified as a powerful 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck where she was on holiday in Greece.
Image source, EPANobody was injured by the tremor, which happened early this morning south of the island of Zakynthos, but there was significant damage to the local port.
A series of aftershocks were felt in the hours after the quake and local schools were shut for the day.
Shauna Robinshaw, from Blurton, is holidaying on the island and says there was panic when it struck.
Quote MessageThe whole room was shaking, furniture was moving, there were cracks in the building. People's sinks and toilets have broken, tiles have broken, water was coming out of the swimming pool and I just ran. I said we need to get out and we ran."
Shauna Robinshaw, Holidaymaker
It might be colder today, but we can take delight in these lovely pictures of a double rainbow sent in by our BBC Weather Watchers.
The rainbow was snapped in Alton by Terry Eyre.
Image source, terry eyreIt was also seen in Hopton Heath, this snap was sent in by Hopton Karen.
You can send us your pictures here.
Image source, Hopton KarenChampionship side Ipswich Town sack manager Paul Hurst after just one win from 15 games since his appointment in May.
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Coventry Live
Here are some of the stories Coventry Live is looking at today:
One man has been arrested after West Midlands Police discovered cannabis plants at a property in the Sheldon area of Birmingham.
The plants and equipment has been seized.
Image source, @SheldonWMP
Image source, @SheldonWMP
Lee Thomas
Newsreader, BBC Radio Stoke
A man's been charged with carrying out two armed robberies in Crewe.
Last week, a Subway store on Market Street was robbed by a man wearing a wolf mask who threatened staff with a gun.
Image source, GoogleThen on Wednesday, police said staff at the Game store on the same road were forced at gunpoint to empty a safe.
A 35-year-old man, of no fixed address, has been charged with two counts of robbery and is due to appear before magistrates today., external
Lee Thomas
Newsreader, BBC Radio Stoke
A private hire taxi driver said double red lines in Stoke-on-Trent could cause big problems for his drop-offs.
The red lines mean drivers are not allowed to stop and if they're caught, they'll be fined £70.
The city council wants to put more red lines on roads across the city, including in Burslem, Longton and Tunstall.
Taxi driver Mohammed Alam says it makes it difficult for picking up elderly and vulnerable customers.
A consultation on the red routes has now ended, and Stoke-on-Trent City Council has previously said the red routes would be to improve safety and congestion, with the busier roads being targeted.
Two crews are still damping down at a factory fire in Handsworth.
West Midlands Fire Service said they were called to Grove Lane just after 21:30 and at its height, 50 firefighters were at the scene.
Image source, @ErdingtonFire
BBC Radio Stoke
Here's some paw-some news! Leek has been named one of the top three dog friendly towns in the UK, external.
It means many of the pubs, cafes and shops in the town let you bring your pet in with you.
It was joint runner up with Keswick, behind Malton in Yorkshire, out of 40 towns who entered.
The Shropshire Star is looking at these stories:
BBC Midlands Today
There are claims that record levels of drug taking and violence at HMP Birmingham are slowly declining thanks to tough measures taken by the new governor.
In August, the government took over control of the prison from the private firm G4S, after inspectors said it had fallen into a "state of crisis".
All post for inmates is currently being photocopied to try to prevent paper soaked or sprayed with illegal synthetic drugs, like Spice or Black Mamba, coming into the jail.
Prison Minister Rory Stewart said improvements had also been made to the building itself and extra staff had been taken on allowing them to focus on rehabilitating offenders.
More than £30,000 of Heritage Lottery Fund money has been awarded to help promote Birmingham's Shakespeare archive.
The collection of more than 40,000 volumes, photographs and posters is worth millions of pounds.
It's housed in the city's library and features books written in 93 languages and art work by Salvador Dali.
The four-year project, called Everything to Everyone, is aimed at giving people the chance to see the treasures - and also honour George Dawson, the little known philanthropist behind it.
BBC WM Sport
Aston Villa get the weekend's live football under way tonight as they take on QPR at Loftus Road.
Tammy Abraham (pictured) has recovered from the head injury he picked up in the defeat at Norwich on Tuesday.
Image source, PAIt's Villa's third game in six days, they'll also have John McGinn back from suspension.
Villa have won only one of their last two league visits to Loftus Road, having won none of their previous seven.
Here are some of the early headlines on the Express and Star website this morning:
BBC Shropshire
Health bosses have stressed that "every stone is being turned" in the search for staff to keep Telford's A&E department open 24 hours.
At a hospital board meeting yesterday, it was confirmed that, subject to final approval, the unit will temporarily close overnight from 5 December.
Image source, PADespite recruiting three extra consultants in recent months, the trust has said it needs at least seven more middle-grade doctors and 15 more A&E specialist nurses to safely run two A&E's overnight.
Partially-sighted Kali Holder said she felt so upset that she left before Lucy Spraggan performed.
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