Two men were attacked with an axe and an iron bar after three men forced their way into a property in Earlswood, Warwickshire.

Image source, Google

Warwickshire Police said a 55-year-old man suffered serious head and shoulder injuries after the axe attack, on Mill Lane, and was taken to hospital where he remains in a stable condition.

An 85-year-old suffered facial injuries after being attacked with an iron bar.

Items of silverware and a laptop were taken by the offenders at about 23:15 on Monday.

Local Democracy Reporting Service
Tom Davis

Coventry has been named as one of the top 10 cities to live and work in Britain.

Image source, Coventry City Council

The city is placed eighth in the Good Growth for Cities Index, ranking it as the best place to live and work in the Midlands.

Coventry scored highly in indicators including secure jobs in the city, good health, adequate income levels, business start-ups and wealth distribution.

The study is carried out annually by accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers and thinktank Demos.

Oxford takes top spot, with Reading, Southampton, Milton Keynes and Bristol rounding off the top five, with Birmingham named as the fifth most improving city.

Derek Whyteside, 42, died after being assaulted in Malinslee, Telford, on 18 June.

The Politics Live panel looks at the causes of and potential solutions to knife crime in Britain's bigger cities.

A stepfather from Telford was murdered by a 16-year-old boy armed with a cricket bat as he searched for two stolen bikes, a jury at Stafford Crown Court has been told.

The Crown Prosecution Service said Derek Whyteside, who was 42, suffered a skull fracture from the single blow from behind and collapsed to the ground, where he was attacked by two men.

Image source, West Mercia Police

The jury heard Mr Whysteside, who lived with his partner Michelle and her four children, was attacked from behind on Withywood Drive in Malinslee and was given "no chance to take any action to defend himself, to get away or to evade the blow".

The teenager denies the charge and claims he acted in self-defence. The trial continues.

The airport wants to attract more passengers by handling more flights but drops second runway plans.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

The alliance between the West Mercia and Warwickshire police forces didn't work because it was imbalanced and inefficient, the West Mercia chief constable has said

Chief Constable Anthony Bangham told his police and crime panel his neighbours were getting a 50:50 say on decisions, even though his force was paying for 69% of the services across the two areas.

Image source, West Mercia Police

He also said West Mercia's plans to centralise control rooms in Worcester had been frustrated because Warwickshire "decided they did not wish to be without their own control room" and opened a new one in Warwick.

The West Mercia’s area population of 1.2 million is more than double Warwickshire’s 554,000.

Last month the two forces announced they would be ending the alliance, which began five years ago.

Members of the armed forces are being offered free train travel to attend Remembrance events on Sunday.

Operators are also offering free travel for Royal British Legion volunteers raising money through Poppy Appeal collections in Birmingham, Bristol, London and Manchester.

Paul Plummer of the Rail Delivery Group, said: "This centenary year, we remember those who worked tirelessly to keep Britain's railway moving during the Great War and the thousands of railway workers who served under arms."

Stoke-on-Trent Live

These are among the headlines on the Stoke-on-Trent Live website today:

• North Staffordshire mum dies on holiday in Lanzarote, external
• Two men taken to hospital after arson attack, external
• Firefighters tackle second blaze at scrapyard, external

Search our interactive map of Britain to see where rent is judged as "unaffordable".

Children at a Birmingham primary school have created their own "weeping window" poppy display to mark 100 years since the end of World War One.

The 2,500 paper poppies at Stirchley Primary School were made by each of its 220 pupils, as well as families and community groups.

The project was the idea of teaching assistant Karen Lane who saw the Weeping Window artwork at Hereford Cathedral , externalearlier this year.

"The aim was educate and raise awareness," she said.

Image source, Stirchley Primary School

Graham Tanner, the school's building sites manager, constructed the display over the half-term holidays.

Ms Lane said the children had been "thrilled" to see the art which was the result of months of fundraising and hard work.

"The expression on their faces was beautiful to see," she said.

"They are all talking about it."

West Midlands Police is leading enquiries about messages directed at a brain-injured Watford FC fan.

A member of staff has been fired after cameras caught him kicking reindeer at a centre in Ashford, Kent.

Work to turn the old HSBC building at Wellington in Shropshire into an arts venue is under way.

The Clifton Community Arts Centre will include a cinema and cafe on the ground floor, with a dance studio, art gallery and rooms for training added later.

Image source, Google

Phase one is expected to be complete by early next year.

BBC Radio Stoke Sport

Stoke City says it is carrying out its own investigation into comments made by winger James McClean on social media after Saturday's game against Middlesbrough.

He was warned by the Football Association for his use of an offensive word in one of his posts.

Image source, Getty Images

McClean used the word in a post where he spoke of abuse he has received over refusing to wear a poppy and in which he called some Stoke fans "cavemen".

The club says it will be making no further comment at this time.

Coventry Live

These are some of today's headlining stories on the Coventry Live website:

• Man to stand trial accused of GBH over violence at city nightclub, external
• Arsonists torch derelict building in Nuneaton, external
• Teenage girl dies after being hit by lorry on Halloween, external

The "very powerful fireworks" stolen from Kidsgrove yesterday have all been recovered, Staffordshire Police says.

It put out a safety warning when they went missing, saying they could "cause serious injuries or kill" and described them as large tubes "which are so powerful they can’t be lit directly".

The force said three teenagers were seen in the area where the fireworks were being stored and it is still investigating the circumstances of the theft.

The children were crossing a road in Upper Gornal with their mother when the accident took place.

A number of churches around the West Midlands appear to have taken inspiration from the "weeping window" poppy display at the Tower of London.

These churches in Cleobury Mortimer and Wrockwardine Wood have both created displays on their clock towers to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of World War One.

The original poppy display, which was created in 2014, has been touring sites around the country this year, including Hereford Cathedral and the Stoke Potteries.

These displays can be seen at St Mary's Church at Kington in Herefordshire.

A driver suffered minor injuries in the incident on the line between Ludlow and Craven Arms.