BBC Radio Derby

Voters in Derby and East Staffordshire will have to show ID if they want to vote in next year's local elections.

Both areas are participating in a government pilot project aimed at making it harder to commit fraud at the ballot box.

In Derby, voters will need to present either one form of photo ID or up to two forms of non-photo ID. People in East Staffordshire will need photo ID.

Image source, PA

Labour's leader in Derby, Lisa Eldret, said the move could reduce voter turnout and she would be pushing the city council to carry out a major education programme to make sure people are aware ID is needed.

A house fire that spread from a garage to the home's roof was caused by an electrical fault, a fire service says.

Image source, Staffordshire Fire Service

Three fire crews were called early on Sunday morning after the people inside had escaped and called them to Brewood. , external

Staffordshire Fire Service says crews managed to save the "habitable rooms" in the house, adding that the fault was in a freezer., external

A church drapes a curtain of poppies across its front after thousands respond to an appeal.

BBC One's Countryfile programme was in Worcestershire last night.

The team found out about plans to save Pershore Lock Island and encourage more wildlife to live there, as well as other projects in the county.

Hereford Times

The Hereford Times has these stories today:

• Man sustains potentially life-threatening injuries at Queenswood, external
• Police warning of shed burglaries in town, external
• Two Hereford community projects receive vital funding, external

BBC News Travel

Traffic is being diverted away from the site of a crash on the M69, which is closed between J1 and J2 in Warwickshire.

Image source, Highways England

A person is trapped in a car that's rolled several times, said Highways England.

Drivers are being warned of severe delays in the area.

Work has begun on upgrading facilities at Longbridge Station in Birmingham, West Midlands Railway said.

Image source, West Midlands Railways

Passengers are being warned of delays at the station as the £1.7m refurbishment to be carried out.

The works, funded by Birmingham City Council, will see the front of the station transformed, and a larger concourse area developed.

The project is expected to be completed in spring 2019.

Three people have been arrested after officers were called to reports of disorder in the Warwickshire village of Wolston this morning.

The incident happened on School Street, shortly after 09:00, said Warwickshire Police.

Local Democracy Reporting Service
Tom Davis

Proposals to redevelop an abandoned school into an £18m education and sports village in Coventry have been backed by cabinet.

Image source, Google

Plans to transform the former Woodlands School site into a new “state-of-the-art” home for Woodfield Special School has been supported by councillors.

The project will require an estimated £15.15m to transform the Woodlands buildings, which date to the 1950 and are Grade II listed, and a further £2.73m for "community space".

Coventry City Council hopes the idea can help them satisfy the growing demand for places for children with special educational needs and disabilities.

BBC News Travel

A person is trapped in a car that's rolled several times after a crash on the M69 in Warwickshire.

The southbound carriageway is closed between J1 and J2.

Traffic is being diverted away from the scene, said Highways England.

Birmingham Live

Some of today's headlining stories on the Birmingham Live website are:

• Fundraising campaign launched to raise £95k to buy toddler a robotic arm, external
• UK's first statue of South Asian WW1 soldier unveiled, external
• Fraudster posed as National Hunt jockey to withdraw 10k from his account, external

A 19th Century music room that has stood empty for more than two decades features as part of the Prince of Wales' initiative - "7 for 70" - to help preserve seven historic sites across the UK in honour of his birthday.

Grade II listed Drapers' Hall was built in 1832. It was used as a magistrates' court until the 1980s.

A £5m restoration project, overseen by The Prince’s Foundation and the Historic Coventry Trust, and supported by The Prince of Wales’ Charitable Foundation, will see it transformed into a classical music and education venue and professional performance space.

Image source, The Prince's Foundation

As he turns 70 on 14 November, the Prince of Wales will have been involved in public affairs for 50 years, championing environmental and social issues long before they reached the mainstream.

The restoration features in Prince, Son And Heir: Charles At 70,which will be screened on BBC One on Thursday 8 November at 21:00.

Phil Maiden
BBC Hereford and Worcester

The owner of a fireworks shop in Worcester says he doesn't think graphic images on the packaging of his products would reduce injuries.

Image source, Diane Labombarbe

A group of surgeons are appealing to the government to introduce warnings similar to those on cigarette packets, showing the injuries they can cause.

Plastic surgeons say the number of life-changing injuries is rising every year despite numerous safety campaigns.

But Andy Watson, who runs The Firework Place, says to him, graphic images aren't the way to prevent people being hurt.

He is treated at the scene before being taken to hospital by ambulance.

BBC Sport

It's "totally up in the air" as to whether Worcestershire all-rounder Moeen Ali (pictured) will bat at three for England in their first Test against Sri Lanka, according to BBC cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew.

Image source, Getty Images

The national side start the game tomorrow and Agnew says, in all his decades of touring, he's "never previously known a situation in which 16 of a 17-man squad could be picked."

He adds that the top three of the batting line-up, as a whole, is unclear, despite Moeen batting at three in England's final Test of the summer.

You can read more here on Jonathan Agnew's thoughts on England ahead of the start of their Test series.

Tim Page
News Editor, BBC Shropshire

A stray firework may have caused a fire which spread to two houses in Shrewsbury and took more than 30 firefighters to put out, the fire service says.

Image source, Google

A single crew was initially called to what started as a small fire on the roof of a shed on Aston Butts, Monkmoor, on Saturday evening. , external

But the service says the flames quickly spread and six fire engines were eventually needed as the fire damaged two houses, although no-one was hurt.

The cause of the fire's still being analysed but investigators say early indications are of a stray firework as the most likely cause, although they've not totally ruled out arson.

The work is unveiled in memory of Indian subcontinent servicemen who gave their lives for a foreign land.

Worcester News

Here are a few of the stories featuring on the Worcester News website this lunchtime:

• Armed police swoop and man arrested, external
• Worcester dad faces jail for wounding, external
• Three-week wait for housing benefit claims to be processed in Worcester, external

Forensics teams have continued digging in a Sutton Coldfield garden over the weekend in connection with the murder of Suzy Lamplugh.

A garage to the back of the semi-detached property in Shipton Road has been dismantled and paving has been removed.

Image source, Getty Images

The Met, which is leading the investigation with support from the West Midlands force and a private forensics company, would not say how long the search would continue.

Homeowner Phillip Carey said he has had no discussion with police about when the search would end and, when asked last week about how long the investigation would last, said: "How long is a piece of string?"

The Met Police is continuing its search for clues to the estate agent's 1986 disappearance.