BBC News

A campaign group of vets has accused Defra and its ministers of telling "barefaced lies" about the effectiveness of one of its badger culls in England.

Image source, PA

The group has written to the Chief Vet, Dr Christine Middlemas, asking her to ensure that the department retracts "insupportable claims that its badger cull policy is working".

Culling was authorised in Herefordshire and Staffordshire in September.

In response, a Defra statement said: "The latest statistics showed reductions in new outbreaks of bovine TB in the initial cull areas, an encouraging sign that the steps we have taken have had a positive impact."

A £43.5m fund for winter road repairs and local road maintenance has been announced for councils across the West Midlands.

It will cover repairs to pot holes and other maintenance projects.

Image source, PA

Chancellor Philip Hammond made the announcement in the budget, with details of the funding issued today by the Department of Transport (DfT).

Staffordshire will get the most funding with almost £8.9m followed by Shropshire which received £7.2m.

It brings the region's total funding for roads this year to £144m, said the DfT.

Image source, Department of Transport

A man has been banned from keeping horses for five years after two were found starving in a field in Stoke-on-Trent.

Paul Simpson, 60, of Maple Avenue, Alsager, pleaded guilty to three Animal Welfare Act Offences.

Two horses were found lame and skinny lying in a field in Talke Pits in November 2017, the RSPCA said.

Image source, RSPCA

They were also covered in lice, and had no food or water.

One horse had to be put down due to its condition.

As well as the disqualification order, he was sentenced to a 10-week prison sentence suspended for 18 months at North Staffordshire Justice Centre on Wednesday.

He was also given a two-week curfew and was ordered to pay £250 costs and £115 victim surcharge.

Work is starting today on £15m of road improvements, aimed at easing future congestion when a designer outlet shopping village is opened.

Image source, Staffordshire County Council

The development itself has been under way since the summer on the project at Mill Green, Cannock, which, when finished, should feature about 130 shops and restaurants and create about 1,000 jobs.

It's due to open in 2020 and Staffordshire County Council says, ahead of that, the developer McArthurGlen has committed £15m towards highway improvements., external

The roadworks are set to last for about a year-and-a-half and see work carried out on the A460 Eastern Way, including widening it to a dual carriageway.

Hereford Times

Here are some of the headlining stories from the Hereford Times today:

• Police identify man in CCTV image, external
• Faces of Hereford hospital patients show horrors of war, external
• Ann Summers to close in Hereford, external

The prime suspect in the disappearance of Suzy Lamplugh has accused the police and media of "character assassination", according to a newspaper.

No-one has ever been charged in connection with her disappearance, but in 2002 police named convicted killer John Cannan, now 64, as the only suspect.

Image source, PA

The Mirror reported John Cannan, wrote in a letter, external he was "deeply upset" by the search at his former mother's home.

Last week, Cannan released a statement through his lawyer saying he hoped the search would "end speculation" over his involvement in Suzy Lamplugh's disappearance.

Town councillors are looking at moving from Shropshire to Telford in local authority row.

Local Democracy Reporting Service
Tom Davis

More than £333,000 has been spent by Coventry City Council on keeping ex-staff from claiming against them in the past three years.

Image source, Google

Compromise agreements, also known as settlement agreements, are usually struck up when an employee facing redundancy or workplace issues leaves.

This year alone Coventry council paid out £210,500 to departing staff – a 425% increase on last year.

A council spokesman said: “The council uses settlement agreements as a last resort to resolve employment issues quickly and without incurring additional expense."

The investigation into the disappearance of Suzy Lamplugh remains open, police said.

Detectives said they would continue to assess any new information that comes in about her disappearance.

The Metropolitan Police's Det Ch Supt Richard Wood said: "The case remains open, and the Met remains committed to bringing Suzy's killer to justice."The force, which described the case as landmark in terms of "scale and complexity", also paid tribute to Ms Lamplugh's family for their support.

The search of a garden in Sutton Coldfield for evidence connected with the disappearance of Suzy Lamplugh had been going on for two weeks.

It was prompted after new information was received earlier this year.

Tents have masked much of the work, but police say the "painstaking search" involved excavating parts of the garden and the use of ground-penetrating radar.

Image source, PA

That work has now ended, with no evidence being discovered.

Estate agent Ms Lamplugh, 25, from London, went missing in 1986 and was declared dead, presumed murdered, in 1994. A body has never been found.

Since 29 October, officers had been searching the house in Shipton Road, which had once belonged to the mother of prime suspect John Cannan.

BBC News Travel

Six miles of queuing traffic is being reported on the M6 southbound near J5, close to Solihull, after a trailer overturned.

Image source, Highways England

Two lanes remain closed, although recovery is under way, said Highways England.

No evidence has been recovered from a police search at a house in Sutton Coldfield as part of the investigation into the disappearance of Suzy Lamplugh.

The Metropolitan Police said officers had now concluded their search at the property.

Thousands of beacons were lit across the country to mark the end of Remembrance Day, on the centenary of the end of World War One.

This was the moment it was lit at Fort Royal Park, in Worcester.

Image source, Worcester City Council

Image source, Worcester City Council

A Warwick Hospital ward has been closed to visitors, due to a suspected outbreak of norovirus.

However, there's good news at Hereford County Hospital.

Restrictions set up last week after an norovirus outbreak on three wards have now been lifted.

Coventry Observer

These are some of the headlining stories on the Coventry Observer website today:

• Controlling bully dictated what girlfriend could eat, external
• Teenager who turned her back on judge escapes jail sentence, external
• Honouring the fallen on the centenary of the Armistice, external

The killer has not been found despite police receiving nearly 1,000 statements, the force says.

Local Democracy Reporting Service
Alex Moore

Police chiefs have hit back at allegations that Shropshire sometimes has eight or fewer officers on duty overnight to serve its 500,000-strong population.

Speaking at the AGM of the Shropshire Association of Local Councils, Ch Supt Kevin Purcell accused his constables of exaggerating to the public about how stretched they were and said he was "ashamed" by the suggestion.

He also pledged to deal personally with officers who made that “excuse”.

A team of serving wounded and injured military personnel and veterans have marked Remembrance Day at one of the highest points on earth.

The team, led by the Royal British Legion's Battle Back Centre and Leeds Beckett University, are trekking through the Himalayas.

Image source, Battle Back Centre

They reached the summit of Mera Peak yesterday, raising a Royal British Legion (RBL) flag at 6,500 metres above sea level.

Since it was established in 2012, the Battle Back Centre, in Newport, Shropshire, said it had supported more than 5,000 wounded, injured and sick service personnel.

A motorcyclist has suffered possible life-changing injuries in a crash with a car in Stafford.

The collision happened on Within Lane just before 09:00, Staffordshire Police said.

Officers are currently at the scene and have closed part of the road.

Residents and businesses are being invited to a public meeting later to discuss plans to relocate Warwick District Council's headquarters.

Image source, Warwick District Council

Plans have been approved for new offices in Leamington town centre, along with the creation of a 620-space car park.

The move from the current Riverside House to the town centre will save the council more than £300,000 a year in running costs, it said.

Image source, Warwick District Council

The Royal Spa Centre meeting will start at 19:00.