Mohammed Fazal led an operation selling Class A drugs across the North West and the Midlands.

BBC Radio Stoke Sport

Crewe Alexandra manager David Artell says he is "eternally grateful" to the club's board, as he approaches his 100th game in charge.

He said he saw other managers getting the sack and shakes his head because "that chairman was saying he was going to manage England two months ago".

Image source, Getty Images

Artell will reach the landmark when his side play Oldham at home on Saturday.

Birmingham Post

From the Birmingham Post:

• Mayor urges government to fund new £36.2m accident and emergency department, external
• Bus plan from Walsall to Birmingham has made firm unhappy, external
• One in three West Midlands children growing up in poverty, external

More than 150 officers were deployed to deal with "despicable" behaviour by some fans, police say.

Lee Blakeman
Port Vale commentator, BBC Radio Stoke

Port Vale FC says repair work has started after 'significant' damage was caused to one of its stands during trouble in their derby game with Stoke City last night.

Image source, Adam Boulton/PA Wire

Staffordshire Police said seats,toilets and windows were broken during the Checkatrade Trophy tie and Ch Supt Wayne Jones said some fans had tried to set fire to a toilet block.

Eleven people were arrested, external and Port Vale says it's working with police and Stoke City to identify any more offenders.

The club adds that the match referee included several incidents in its report and it's now waiting to hear back from the FA on those reports.

BBC Coventry & Warwickshire

A Coventry MP has tweeted, external to say "I'll be back" for next week's Brexit vote, after undergoing heart surgery.

Geoffrey Robinson, who has been the MP for Coventry North West since 1976, added: "I'm recovering well from my minor heart operation and would like to thank everyone for wishing me well.that he was recovering well."

Image source, Getty Images

He plans to vote against Theresa May's deal with the EU, calling it a "botched Tory Brexit deal" that "won’t protect jobs, workplace rights or provide frictionless trade for UK businesses".

The homeless charity Shelter is warning that thousands of children will be living in temporary accommodation across the West Midlands this Christmas.

The charity estimates that up to 5,600 children in the region will be without a permanent home on Christmas Day, which is an increase of 30% from last year.

The worst-affected areas in the region include Birmingham, Coventry and Rugby.

Across the UK, Shelter says government figures suggest more than 130,000 children could be without a permanent home.

A driver has been taken to hospital after his car was in collision with a van on the A500 at Audley.

The crash happened before 11:00 and the carriageway has been closed northbound for recovery work.

The 40-year-old isn't thought to have serious injuries.

The MP says he is 'recovering well' and will be fit to take part in a Brexit vote.

Andre Thomas is jailed for eight years after the death of Daniel Blount in a crash in Birmingham.

Rebecca Wood
BBC Midlands Today

After a cloudy, drizzly day, this evening should see the rain ease and clear - here's how the rest of tonight and Thursday are looking:

You can get a latest weather forecast at any other time from the BBC Weather website.

Road safety measures will be introduced along the length of a Coventry road where two brothers were killed by a drug-driver earlier this year.

Coventry City Council said it wanted to control speed along the whole length of Longfellow Road and would spend £170,000 to raise some sections of the road and other traffic-calming measures.

Image source, Family photo

Thousands signed a petition calling for urgent action, after the death of Corey and Casper Platt-May nine months ago.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Street paving in the centre of Hereford has been put on hold over December, to avoid disrupting Christmas shoppers.

Herefordshire Council said the refurbishment work on Commercial Street, which is due to finish in May, is on track and the workmen will return in the new year.

Image source, Balfour Beatty

Image source, Balfour Beatty

Contractors from Balfour Beatty have spent the last six months working on the project, which the council says will "enhance the city as an attractive and easily accessible destination for visitors and shoppers."

BBC Sport

At least 80 sports coaches have been convicted of child sexual abuse in the UK in the two years since the Offside Trust was set up, the body has claimed.

Image source, Getty Images

The body was set up 'by survivors for survivors' after child sexual abuse in football was revealed in 2016.

According to Offside Trust research - drawn from media reports - almost half of the cases involved crimes that have been committed since 2006.

The most high-profile case involved former Crewe coach Barry Bennell, who was jailed for 31 years at Liverpool Crown Court for 50 counts of child sexual abuse between 1979 and 1991.

Former Crewe footballer and director of the Offside Trust Steve Walters (pictured, centre), who was abused by Bennell, said: "What these latest figures confirm is that child sexual abuse in sport is not just historic. It is still going on today, particularly at grassroots level and it affects every sport."

Atta Ul-Haq says refusing his request for an edge around his father's grave breaches his human rights.

Shropshire Star

Here are three stories from today's Shropshire Star:

• Jail for Shrewsbury petrol station robber, external
• £50 million 'holiday venue' plan for estate, external
• MP backs call for an inquest into 16-year-old's death, external

BBC Radio Shropshire Sport

The Sam Ricketts era officially begins at Shrewsbury Town today, with the team playing an EFL Trophy tie against Walsall this evening.

The new manager said he wanted to get off to a winning start, but would be making a number of changes to the team for the cup tie.

Image source, Getty Images

Ricketts explained: "There's a good number of players who can come in and who haven't been starting who are more than good enough to be playing."

And he went on to say he wanted to "give the lads who have been playing a bit of a breather" ahead of a busy Christmas schedule.

Lucy King
News Editor, BBC Radio Stoke

A man's needed extensive surgery after being stabbed on a street in Stoke-on-Trent.

Image source, Google

Police say the 42-year-old victim suffered stab wounds to his chest and head on Parsonage Street, Tunstall, just after midnight on Tuesday morning.

He's now said to be in a stable condition in hospital.

The force says his attacker was wearing dark clothing and ran off onto the High Street, heading towards Sandyford.

Daz Hale
BBC WM

Talk about saving money - the same Christmas card is going to be sent between two men in the West Midlands for the 43rd year in a row this year.

Steve Ford, from Kingswinford, says it started in 1975 when he and Ray Pearson, from Stourbridge, were work colleagues.

Mr Ford told BBC WM it had become a tradition for them - although he admitted they're running out of space to write inside the card and "we may be on the back cover next year".

But he added that they have no plans to stop.

Amy Woodfield
BBC News

There are warnings about the dangers of not wearing a seat belt following this crash between Sheepy Magna and Pinwall.

Emergency services, including the air ambulance, were called to the crash on Sheepy Road at about 15:00 on Monday.

Image source, Leicestershire Police

Police said the passenger in the Vauxhall Corsa was not wearing a seat belt and the windscreen damage was caused by their head hitting it.

A post on the Market Bosworth Police Facebook page says: "This just goes to show the damage that can be done when you don’t belt up."

Image source, Leicestershire Police

A 43-year-old man from Burton was arrested after testing positive for drink driving.

Two men were taken to hospital with "significant" injuries that are not believed to be life-threatening.