Bob Hockenhull
BBC Midlands Today

A secondary school in Coventry is warning people to watch out for youngsters posing as their pupils to con people out of money.

Children not in uniform, pretending to be pupils of Ash Green School, , externalhave been seen in the area requesting money for a local charity.

The school says it would not permit its students to collect donations unless they were in full school uniform and accompanied by a member of staff.

Amy Cole
BBC Midlands Today

One of the biggest archaeological digs in history has started on the route of the new high-speed rail link.

Thousands of bodies are thought to lie along the route of phase one of the line between London and Birmingham, with about 45,000 in London alone.

Image source, HS2/MOLA HEADLAND INFRASTRUCTURE

One of the 60 sites due to be excavated is Park Street burial ground near Moor Street station in Birmingham.

Other digs include at a medieval manor in Warwickshire and the site of a World War Two bombing decoy in Lichfield.

Sophie Madden
BBC News

Fire crews have been at Grove Lane, Handsworth overnight to control a factory fire.

West Midlands Fire Service said they were called just after 21:30 and at its height, 50 firefighters were at the scene.

As of 06:20 this morning, firefighters are still at the scene, with two pumps, but the roads around the area have reopened to make way for morning traffic.

BBC Weather

Coats at the ready, it'll be bright but cold and windy today with sunny spells & showers - highs of just 10C (50F).

And it's getting colder this weekend.

Monica Rimmer
BBC News

Welcome to our live service for Friday from a damp and drizzly Birmingham.

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 grisly history behind murder stones - monuments to victims of crimes that outraged local communities.

Some 45,000 skeletons are being removed to make way for a new station terminus.

"When I tell people about my previous life you can see their jaws drop," says 18-year-old Chloe.

Chinese journalist Linlin Kong allegedly hit an activist at the Conservative Party conference.

Andy Giddings
BBC News

We'll be back with the news, sport, travel and weather from 07:00 tomorrow.

James Bond
Sports Producer, BBC Shropshire

Gavin Cowan says he's going to get his players and staff together and "recalibrate" after a series of bad results.

The Bucks started the season brightly, but in their last four games have suffered three defeats and a draw.

Telford host York City at the Bucks Head this weekend.

BBC Hereford and Worcester

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have unveiled a statue of a largely unknown SAS war hero who died in battle after holding off hundreds of enemy soldiers for hours.

Harry and Meghan paid tribute to Sgt Talaiasi Labalaba, a British-Fijian who saved the lives of his fellow soldiers at the Battle of Mirbat in Oman in 1972.

The royal couple unveiled the statue at Nadi Airport on Thursday morning.

It follows another statue of Sgt Labalaba unveiled by Prince William at the SAS headquarters in Herefordshire in 2014.

Hereford Times

Here are three stories from the Hereford Times today:

• Arts Council investment for The Courtyard, external
• Grandmother dies after fall at home, external
• Late Bronze Age ring found, external

BBC News Travel

Rail services between London and Birmingham are still being affected by an incident on the line earlier this afternoon.

West Midlands Railway said all lines were blocked for over three hours between Coventry and Northampton earlier today while emergency services dealt with an incident near the railway.

The lines have now reopened, but the company warned services stopping at Rugby, Coventry and Birmingham would be disrupted "for the foreseeable future".

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Shropshire Council says it will fight any attempt to close level crossings in the county.

In February Network Rail announced in a business plan it would look to close the Harlescott crossing in Shrewsbury to all but pedestrians and replace the one in Craven Arms with a bridge.

Image source, Google

Network Rail said the changes would improve safety and increase the speed of trains, but the council's mapping and enforcement officer, Shona Butler, said it would "resist wholesale closures and would rather work with the organisation to find an alternative if at all possible.”

A faulty extractor fan contributed the death of five-year-old PD Ivy, a review finds.

BBC Sport

Aston Villa manager, Dean Smith, says he's been working on the speed of his players in training, but has no concerns about their fitness levels.

They travel to play QPR tomorrow and both Tammy Abraham and Yannick Bolasie are expected to be available again.

Image source, Getty Images

Albert Adomah is unlikely to play at Loftus Road after coming off in the defeat to Norwich on Tuesday.

Facebook

We've had all sorts of comments on the BBC Midlands Facebook page, external, following the news that Debenhams plans to close up to 50 stores.

Rita Matthews is among those who will be sad to see them go, writing: "I will miss it. Another one of our stores to close. It's all thanks to people who shop online. I like to see what I'm buying also try them on."

Image source, Getty Images

But others, like Jenny Dennis, said many people are put off shopping there. She posted: "They are too dear for some people that are living on a budget."

And some saw the announcement in a wider context, with Paul Ingram adding: "So much for a growing economy. People have not got the money plain and simple and I'm afraid there is more to come."

Louise Hancock
Newsreader, BBC WM

Campaigners say someone could die after councillors in Walsall voted to stop providing a free community alarm service.

Image source, Getty Images

The alarms most commonly take the form of a pendant which can be pressed to call for help in the event of an accident.

Walsall Council says its service is outdated and too expensive, costing £1.29m a year to deliver. , external

The authority says users will now be able to buy it from private providers at a cost of between £4 and £14 a month.

Rebecca Wood
BBC Midlands Today

Staying dry this afternoon with some sunshine - here's the weather forecast for tonight and tomorrow in the West Midlands:

To get a latest forecast at any other time for your area, head to the BBC Weather website.