Rebecca Wood
BBC Midlands Today

Most of us have had a fine November day, but we're expecting plenty of rain this weekend.

Here's your forecast.

Andrew Rose fled the scene after hitting a mother and her four-day-old child in Great Barr.

BBC Sport

Tim Flowers is already a previous Premier League and League Cup winner, England international and Britain's most expensive goalkeeper.

Image source, Getty Images

Later today, the 51-year-old hopes to add another entry to his impressive CV: FA Cup giant-killer with Solihull Moors.

Flowers manages the non-league club aiming to topple 1953 winners Blackpool in the second round in front of the BBC Two cameras at Damson Park, a former golf driving range one mile from Birmingham Airport.

Four seasons ago the West Midlands side, formed in 2007 by the merger of Solihull Borough and Moor Green, struggled to attract crowds of 500.

Footage released by Dudley Zoo in February shows its two snow leopards enjoying their enclosure.

BBC Radio Shropshire Sport

Sources in Wrexham suggest Sam Ricketts could be appointed the next Shrewsbury Town manager early next week, with talks thought to be at an advanced stage.

The club have been without a manager since sacking John Askey three weeks ago.

Image source, Getty Images

BBC News Travel

Motorists are being asked to avoid the A500 in Stoke-on-Trent, near City Road turn off.

Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service says a large vehicle fire blocking both carriageways.

Image source, Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service

A Coventry man has been arrested in southern Spain and brought back to the UK by detectives investigating the murder of one man and the disappearance of another.

West Midlands Police say 28-year-old Daniel Shaw was shot dead in Coventry in March and they believe 33-year-old Johnny Robbins could also be dead, but no body has been found.

Image source, West Midlands Police

The 29-year-old is being questioned over his possible involvement in a conspiracy to murder.

The leader of Telford and Wrekin Council says he hopes to see a "lasting benefit" from the town's 50th birthday celebrations.

The authority set aside £2m to fund community projects in the area, external, such as renovation work in the town park, lighting on the Iron Bridge and a project to tackle homelessness.

Image source, Telford and Wrekin Council

But Shaun Davies said it also involved "harnessing an ever more positive spirit and involved community here, working together to create an even better borough".

A man has been charged with assault after two paramedics and their ambulance were attacked by a patient they were sent to treat in Birmingham.

Image source, West Midlands Ambulance Service

The crew had responded to an emergency call in Handsworth, Birmingham, at about 07:00 on Thursday West Midlands Ambulance Service said.

Tanya Mohammed, 40 of no fixed address, is set to appear at Birmingham Magistrates' Court also charged with racially aggravated assault, racially aggravated criminal damage, racially aggravated public order offence, threatening behaviour and malicious communications.

Sally Brayshaw was left terrified of the birds after her GP religiously groomed her, a judge rules.

Worcester News

Here are three stories from the Worcester News today:

• Woman hit by bus in Worcester, external
• Road safety fears near school, external
• Tributes to bus shelter-dwelling homeless man, external

Joanne Writtle
BBC Midlands Today

A former gang member has gone back to school to try to warn students about the dangers of getting involved in crime.

Simeon Moore was a member of the notorious Birmingham gang the Johnson crew and was excluded from school when he was 15.

His warning comes as the number of children permanently excluded in the West Midlands has almost doubled to 727 in the last seven years.

You can see more on this story on Sunday Politics Midlands at 11:00 on BBC One on Sunday morning.

Here are some more photos of the operation to transport a 27ft tall sculpture from its home near Oswestry to Liverpool's Anglican cathedral.

The Knife Angel was made out of 100,000 bladed weapons that had been collected by police forces around the UK and was created to raise awareness of knife crime.

Despite the high winds and heavy rain yesterday morning, it was successfully loaded on to the back of a lorry.

Image source, British Ironwork Centre

Image source, British Ironwork Centre

Image source, British Ironwork Centre

A metal frame had to be made to allow it to be lifted on and off the lorry and since going to Liverpool, its creators say they've been contacted by other cities interested in hosting it.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Telford has the highest rate of domestic abuse in the West Mercia and Warwickshire police force areas, according to a report due to be presented to Telford and Wrekin Council next week.

It said in 2016-17 28.2 offences were recorded per 1,000 people, with north Warwickshire's rate of 19.9 the second highest and south Warwickshire's the lowest with 13.2.

Image source, PA

The report also said demand on services for victims and perpetrators was increasing.

In 69% of cases in Telford and Wrekin the perpetrator was male and the victim female.

Local Democracy Reporting Service
David Lawrence

Up to five more Syrian families could be rehoused in the Warwick District Council area as part of a national scheme.

Councillors at this week’s executive committee agreed to take in the extra families as part of the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme after hearing how well another five families had settled in the area.

The funds are provided by the government and administered by Warwickshire County Council who also help the refugees through an Arabic speaking support worker service.

The social media challenge where people fill a trolley with donations was set up by a proud Gypsy.

Gurajdeep Malhi, 26, hit PC Claire Bond as she responded to reports of a BMW crashing into a garage.

A man from Dudley has picked up one of the top prizes at the National Apprenticeship Awards.

Daniel Millington, who works as an engineering technician at HydraForce Hydraulics in Birmingham was awarded the Advanced Apprenticeship of the Year at the ceremony in London.

Now in its 15th year, the awards are the largest and most prestigious celebration of apprentices and apprentice employers across the country, organisers the Education and Skills Funding Agency claims.

Andy Giddings
BBC News

Telford Tigers head coach Tom Watkins says he's been pleased with the physical game his team has been playing and said his younger players had delivered "some of the biggest hits I’ve seen this season" in last weekend's match against Blackburn.

They play Billingham in the league tomorrow and Hull in the cup on Sunday and Watkins said they had been "playing hard all over the ice".

Image source, Steve Brodie

Coventry Blaze make the long trip to Scotland to play two games north of the border.

They play Glasgow Clan in the Elite League tonight and Dundee Stars tomorrow - two sides below them in the table, before returning home to play Guildford Flames on Sunday.

Solihull Barons are at home to Sutton Sting on Sunday.

A ballot has opened that could see bin strikes return to Birmingham.

The 2017 strike action lasted for three months and saw uncollected waste pile up on city streets and the then-council leader forced out.

Opposition councillors have previously said the effect of strikes cost the cash-strapped council £10m.

The Unite union claims the latest threat of strikes is due to claims some staff had been "blacklisted" for taking part in last year's industrial action.

Unite says its members were denied a council payment made to GMB members who did not walk out in the long-running dispute last year - a claim the GMB denies.

In a statement the council said it had made a payment to the GMB, after the union initiated legal proceedings against it for a failure to consult claim, and denied the payments were made for not going on strike.

The Unite ballot is set to run for two weeks and if members voted to strike, Unite said it would then give the authority two weeks' notice, meaning action could begin on 28 December.