Politicians in Shropshire have been giving their reaction to the news that Telford's accident and emergency department will stay open overnight.

The leader of Telford and Wrekin Council, Shaun Davies, welcomed the development and said: "We've worked really hard as a council, but also a community to rally behind our NHS here in Telford and Wrekin."

The council was thanked by the hospital chief executive Simon Wright for helping to refurbish homes for doctors and for arranging a meeting with the Indian consulate to hire more doctors from overseas.

The Wrekin MP Mark Pritchard, who was also thanked, for helping speed up the visa process for the new staff, said it was "huge victory for common sense".

And the Ludlow MP Philip Dunne said staff "will welcome the stability" the recruitment creates.

But, while the the Telford MP Lucy Allan welcomed the news, she hit out at hospital managers, saying in a tweet they "threatened closure instead of finding solutions - causing anxiety for staff, patients and community." and she accused them of "disgraceful incompetence".

The documentary series Ambulance filmed in the West Midlands is back on BBC One tonight.

The final two episodes of series three were filmed during one of the toughest winters ever faced by the NHS.

Tonight it shows the Royal Stoke hospital struggling to cope with the volume of patients being brought in and deciding whether to declare a major incident - which would mean shutting its doors to ambulance crews and their patients.

Andrew Griffiths is undergoing medical treatment for his mental health, party officials say.

A man is due in court charged with firearms offences and assault after armed police were called to a domestic incident in Cross Houses near Shrewsbury in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

The 35-year-old is accused of four firearms offences and causing actual bodily harm.

Image source, Google

He's due before magistrates in Kidderminster.

Restoration work on a well-known Telford statue is complete and workmen have switched back on a water fountain which has been out of use for the last 10 years.

The repairs have been carried out as part of a £2m programme of work to mark the town's 50th anniversary and have involved repainting the "Telford" lettering and the statue of Thomas Telford himself - the man the town is named after.

Workmen have also revamped the nearby clock tower, refurbished benches and bins repainted railings and fences and relaid block paving.

This is what the sign looked like before the work was carried out.

Bob Hockenhull
BBC Midlands Today

A population of extremely rare pine martens is expanding in the woods of south Shropshire

There had been no sightings of the animal in England before 2015, but the Shropshire Wildlife Trust says there have been 10 caught on cameras since then at its secret site and there is evidence they are now breeding.

Image source, Shropshire Wildlife Trust

The wildlife trust is raising funds to pay for extra den boxe, which it says will help the pine martens settle over the winter months.

Tom Edwards
Reporter, BBC Hereford & Worcester

A Worcester nightclub owner who’s accused of sexual assault told police he couldn’t be guilty because he was too “embarrassed” to show his body to women, a jury has been told.

Darren Pinches, who is 52 and owns Bushwackers nightclub and Browns at the Quay, is on trial accused of four charges of supplying or possessing cocaine, and sexually assaulting a 20-year-old woman.

Image source, Google

Today the jury have heard the defendant’s police interview, recorded after he was arrested in January last year, when he said he’d only engaged in “small talk” with his alleged victims.

Det Con Pete Ryland said the defendant showed police a skin condition which left red marks over his legs, telling them he was under the treatment of a GP, and was too embarrassed to show it to anyone.

Mr Pinches, from Bromyard Road in Worcester, denies the charges and the trial continues.

Image source, Liam Walker

Seven people arrested after a spate of cash machine thefts have been released pending further inquiries.

Police raided several addresses as part of an investigation into burglaries across Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Worcestershire.

Officers discovered a stolen firearm, large quantities of cash and drugs, and suspected stolen car parts, jewellery and power tools.

Five men aged 18, 38, 39, 43 and 53 were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to burgle.

A 31-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of perverting the course of justice and a 17-year-old boy was held on suspicion of burglary.

Wycombe Wanderers sign Birmingham City goalkeeper David Stockdale on an emergency loan deal for seven days.

Leamington Observer

These are some of the headlining stories on the Leamington Observer website:

• A thief who stole life-saving equipment , externalfrom a fire engine has been jailed
• Cleary's boxer Kumar ends Polis' unbeaten run, external
• Mum who lost 14 stone 'devastated' over operation refusal, external

Union staff at the University of Birmingham have voted to turn down teaching at the university's Dubai campus as part of a protest at the university's "failure to stand up for human rights and academic freedom".

Members of the University and College Union (UCU) at the university today backed a motion calling for staff to refuse to engage with the campus unless "explicitly required to" in their contract.

Image source, Daniela Tejada

The meeting was held to discuss a response to the jailing of British academic Matthew Hedges, accused of spying in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

UCU Birmingham branch president James Brackley said union members had been left "outraged" at the sentence, and said the university "must now engage meaningfully with us to provide guarantees about the safety and academic freedom of staff and students in Dubai".

A spokesperson for the University of Birmingham said it "respected the views of those staff who do not wish to engage with our Dubai campus" and that work there is "optional for all staff".

“Our priority is the safety of our staff and students and the delivery of a high quality educational experience in locations across the world and we will continue to review and update our advice as appropriate to ensure this remains the case.”

Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust secures enough staff to keep the department open 24/7.

A competition has been launched for artists and community groups to design a temporary hoarding at Wolverhampton station.

Image source, West Midlands Railway

Work is currently being carried out to build a huge £150m transport hub at the site of the current station, which includes demolishing a section of the main building.

Station staff are looking for people to submit their design ideas for the area during the works.

The hoarding area is approximately 10m x 3m and the winning design will need to be painted on to a plasterboard surface, said West Midlands Railway.

Local Democracy Reporting Service
Gurdip Thandi

Plans have been approved to cut council funding for a community alarm service for vulnerable people in Walsall.

The service, currently used by about 7,000 people, includes a special pendant which the service user can press if they need urgent help at home.

Image source, Google

Cabinet members met on Wednesday to ratify a decision they made in October but which had been called in for scrutiny.

The proposal to cut funding for the £1.29m service came about as the cash-strapped local authority looks to balance the books due to budget pressures.

Despite opposition from users and some councillors, cabinet members confirmed the funding cut would go-ahead and the service would be phased out between January and March, with private providers set to fill the void.

BBC Sport

A frustrated Coventry Blaze head coach, Danny Stewart, said his side made "too many mistakes" in their 6-2 defeat to Guildford Flames last night.

The two sides were level at 30 minutes, but five unanswered goals put the visitors 6-1 up before a late consolation for Coventry.

Image source, Scott Wiggins

Coventry are at home again on Saturday, against the Belfast Giants.

Stratford Observer

Thees are some of the headlining stories on the Stratford Observer website today:

• Citizen's Advice Bureau swamped with benefit payment problems, external
• Gas pipe work completed in Stratford, external
• Christmas light switch-on to spark festivities, external

Footage released shows the moments before Ozell Pemberton was stabbed to death.

The trust running the main hospitals in Shropshire says staffing levels at its accident and emergency departments will be their highest for seven years, after a successful recruitment campaign.

It had a minimum target of seven middle grade doctors and 15 specialist nurses. It was able to sign up nine doctors to start next month, with another two starting in January.

And by mid-February it said it would have three extra consultants, bringing the total to seven.

Image source, SATH

Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust Chief Executive Simon Wright said he thought the planned £312m reorganisation of the hospitals had helped attract more consultants.

The trust said: "Work continues to recruit middle-grade doctors into substantive permanent roles with a number of new starters expected to join the trust in March next year."

A learning and development manager from the West Midlands has become the latest contestant to be fired from The Apprentice, leaving her "heartbroken".

Jasmine Kundra said she'll now be focusing on an events company with her performer husband.

The 34-year-old said she stood by her "laser focus" leadership style, despite others claiming it sucked the joy out of the tasks, as she was kicked off the series in its eighth week.

After a botched task, selecting and selling contemporary art, Lord Sugar singled out Ms Kundra for her poor leadership style and choice of product.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Plans to build eight new homes on the site of a village petrol station have been submitted to Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council.

Image source, Google

Permission is sought to pull down the facilities at Shirleys Garage, in Main Road, Meriden, and erect the housing in its place.

The development, on the same stretch of road as The Strawberry Bank Hotel and The Bull’s Head pub, would also require fuel tanks and the forecourt’s hard standing area to be removed.