Former JLS member Oritse Williams has denied raping a woman in a hotel room after a concert.

Image source, PA

The 31-year-old was arrested in December 2016 in connection with an incident in a hotel in Wolverhampton.

Mr Williams, from Croydon, south London, appeared at Wolverhampton Crown Court earlier to deny the charge.

During a 36-minute hearing, co-defendant Jamien Nagadhana, 31, from Hounslow, London, denied a serious sexual assault charge in connection with the same incident.

A trial date was set for 14 May.

Five people have been arrested after a series of armed robberies in Birmingham yesterday.

West Midlands Police tweeted , externalthe five were in the cells on suspicion of at least three robberies at knife and gunpoint yesterday in Aston and Perry Barr.

The force said a phone stolen in one of the robberies was tracked to a store.

Local Democracy Reporting Service
Tom Davis

Major plans to redevelop the University of Warwick with new state-of-the-art facilities are expected to be approved by Coventry City Council next week.

Image source, University of Warwick

The university has submitted a "hybrid" planning application to the council which includes its vision for nine campus projects over the next five years.

Full planning permission is sought for a new arts building on its central campus and a £54.3m research facility.

Outline planning permission is also requested for a new 1,000-bed student residence, a pedestrian and cycle route, along with a 650-space multi-storey car park.

The university says the plans will support its ambition to be world-renowned, by helping to modernise its facilities, widen its teaching and skills development, and provide sites for "potentially significant externally government funded research opportunities".

BBC Sport

Worcester Warriors centre Ben Te'o (pictured) says he's looking forward to renewing his rivalry with New Zealand's Sonny Bill Williams this weekend.

Image source, Reuters

The 31-year-old is set to continue in the number 12 shirt for England, after the side edged past South Africa on Saturday.

Te'o and Williams faced each other in the Australian rugby league competition the NRL, before doing battle in the Lions series last summer.

A Primark store set to open in Birmingham has become the latest target of street artist Foka Wolf, who has posted a fake advert for "Europe's biggest jumble sale" on boards surrounding the site.

Image source, Foka Wolf

The anonymous artist posted the picture on social media sites adding: "They are building the world's biggest Primark on this site. I put "Europe" because I thought "world's" sounded too ridiculous."

Other work by the artist recently put up in Birmingham include posters offering "free penis enlargement therapy" for 4x4 drivers, medical trials for students and an advert inviting people to "rent a curse".

The artist has previously told Birmingham Live, external: "I am bored of being bombarded with corporate messages so I've invented my own advertising agency."

However, they have also faced strong criticism for some projects, including an advert offering voodoo classes for children, which featured the Birmingham City Council logo.

Primark has been approached for a comment.

Its website says the firm prides itself on combining low prices with good standards, external.

Stoke-on-Trent Live

The Stoke-on-Trent Live website has these stories this morning:

• Tenant's anger after devastating house fire leaves her out of pocket, external
• James McClean will be in Stoke City squad at Nottingham Forest despite ongoing review, external
• Biker died after pulling wheelies moments before crashing into car, external

A woman has been taken to a place of safety by officers concerned for her welfare, close to Birmingham New Street.

British Transport Police said officers were called to the scene shortly after 10:00.

Rail delays in the area are expected until 12:00, said National Rail.

Vicky Breakwell
BBC Hereford and Worcester

A minor injuries unit (MIU) has reopened today after it was shut yesterday so staff could help out at another hospital.

Image source, Google

The Wye Valley NHS Trust says the emergency department at the County Hospital, Hereford, has been busy this week and three wards are shut to visitors due to an outbreak of norovirus., external

The MIU at Ross Community Hospital was shut yesterday so staff could help out the Hereford site.

It has reopened today, although the trust says two wards at the Ross-on-Wye hospital are still closed due to norovirus., external

Officers investigating a series of burglaries in the Handsworth area of Birmingham are trying the trace the owner of a box of cricket balls.

Image source, West Midlands Police

Officers said they came across the box after arresting a man in connection with the thefts and a search of his home.

They can't be matched to any reported crime, said West Midlands Police, external, and officers are keen to find out who they belong to.

BBC News Travel

Trespassers on the line at Birmingham New Street is causing disruption to rail services through the station, said National Rail.

Trains may be delayed or cancelled, it said.

Disruption is expected to last until 12:00.

Kathryn Stanczyszyn
Midlands reporter, BBC News

The only survivor of a wall collapse at a scrapyard in 2016, in which five men died, will give evidence at an inquest today.

Ousmane Diaby, 39, Bangally Dukureh, 55, Saibo Sillah, 42, Muhamadou Jagana, 49, and Alimamo Jammeh, 45 died at Hawkeswood Metal Recycling, Birmingham, in July 2016.

Six men from the Gambia and Senegal had been cleaning out a scrap metal bay when a concrete wall fell on them.

Jurors in Birmingham will hear evidence from Tombong Conteh, who survived.

Allen Cook
BBC News

Council staff are going to have to work from home for at least one day a month as a struggling local authority tries to get its budget back on track.

In September, Shropshire Council revealed it was already predicting an overspend for this financial year of £6.8m on its gross budget of £561.95m., external

Staff are being asked to work from home on the last Friday of every month, as part of "environmental days".

From January, council buildings will also shut at noon on all Fridays under what's termed a "lock out". Staff will again be asked to work from home, although the local authority admits that won't be easy for everyone.

The moves are expected to reduce travel, heating and lighting costs, as well as the impact on the environment.

Chief Executive Clive Wright adds that the Conservative-run council is also monitoring how much staff are printing as it costs them " a colossal" £300,000 a year.

Shropshire Council has announced it is implementing a spending freeze "with immediate effect".

In a letter to staff at the Conservative-run authority, Chief Executive Clive Wright said this year's budget was "proving to be a challenge" and called on officers not to commit "any expenditure that can be avoided".

Lee Thomas
Newsreader, BBC Radio Stoke

A man's been arrested this morning after a gun was fired at a house in Stoke-on-Trent., external

Image source, Google

Police say they carried out raids on Mollison Road, Meir and Lightwood Road, Dresden, and there'll be searches throughout the day.

A 19-year-old is being held on suspicion of conspiracy to commit criminal damage with intent to endanger life.

Officers say his arrest relates to an incident in Meir on Monday evening, adding that no-one was hurt and it was "not a random attack".

James McClean has had abusive packages sent to him at Stoke's training ground over his refusal to wear a poppy, says club manager Gary Rowett.

Express and Star

These are some of the headlining stories on the Express and Star website this morning:

• Former JLS star reappearing at court over rape charge, external
• Huge Bilston Urban Village homes plan given backing, external
• Three people charged after man dies in flat fall, external

Former JLS member Oritse Williams, charged with rape over an alleged attack on a fan in a hotel room after a concert, is due to appear in court today.

Image source, PA

The 31-year-old singer from Croydon, London, was arrested on 2 December 2016, the morning after performing at the Gorgeous club in Wolverhampton.

A second man, Jamien Nagadhana, 31, of Hounslow, London, faces a serious sexual assault charge.

Both men are due to appear at Wolverhampton Crown Court.

Does the resilience of independent Asian businesses make them better equipped to survive the challenges of Brexit?

Sir Elton John will play two dates in Birmingham as part of his goodbye world tour, it's been announced.

The singer will play both the Arena and the Resorts World Arena as part of the UK leg of his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour.

"These homecoming shows will be very emotional, and a lot of fun," he said.

Earlier this year, Sir Elton, 71, announced his farewell world tour after deciding to bow out of live performing to spend more time with his children.

Local Democracy Reporting Service
Tom Davis

Part of a main Coventry road will be resurfaced with an environmentally friendly plastic material following a trial elsewhere in the city.

A pilot scheme was launched by the council in June, in which roads were resurfaced in material containing two different types of plastic pellets - made from materials that would otherwise of gone in to landfill or been incinerated.

The pellets are used as a binding agent, the city council says, replacing much of the bitumen which is ultimately a fossil fuel.

Trials have so far "gone well", a council spokesman said, with a section of the Birmingham Road in Allesley now revealed as the next target for the scheme.

Resurfacing of the road will be carried out at the turning for Gardenia Drive and the roundabout for the A4114.