We'll be back with our usual mix of news, sport, travel and weather from 07:00 tomorrow, but keep an eye out here for more updates this evening and into the morning.

Matt Sandoz
Stoke City commentator, BBC Radio Stoke

Stoke City midfielder Darren Fletcher says he's open to leaving the Potters next month, to try and get more regular first team football.

Image source, Getty Images

The 34-year-old signed for Stoke in June 2017, but this season has only started four league games so far.

Malvern Gazette

The Malvern Gazette has these stories today:

• Council says fortnightly waste collection has proved a success, external
• Choir's concert commemorates renowned musician, external
• University of Worcester lecturer elected onto top journalism board, external

Thousands of bales of illegally dumped waste have been finally cleared from a warehouse at a cost of £400,000, the Environment Agency says., external

Image source, Environment Agency

It says the rubbish was left without the owner's knowledge on the former AMI Blaymires site at Redbrook Lane, Rugeley, Staffordshire, in 2013.

Today, the Environment Agency says the area's now been cleared and extra security has been put in place, although the culprits haven't been found.

Image source, Environment Agency

The number of drivers being caught driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs has increased for a third year in a row, West Mercia Police says.

The force is halfway through an annual Christmas campaign and says it's already arrested 82 people, compared to 61 for the same period last year., external

Image source, PA

Two key dates of World War Two and another from just after the conflict are going to be marked with special events at the National Memorial Arboretum next year.

Image source, Getty Images

Organisers at the Alrewas site, external say they will have special services to recognise the 75th anniversary in May of the capture of Monte Cassino and then in June to mark 75 years since the D-Day landings.

The arboretum will also commemorate the 70th anniversary in September of the Berlin airlift, when Western countries airlifted supplies to the city in 1948 after the Soviet Union blocked supply lines.

Local Democracy Reporting Service
Tom Davis

Plans have been put forward to build a cemetery on a former sports club, external in Coventry.

The proposals would see the former Northbrook Sports and Social Club redeveloped.

Image source, Google

Its clubhouse was burnt down in 2007 and its pitch has been unused since 2009 after its condition slow deteriorated.

The land on Northbrook Road, Coundon, is part of Coventry’s green belt but is considered by the applicant to be a brownfield site due to its previous use.

A decision on the plan is expected early next year.

Rich Davis
BBC Weather presenter

It will be a cloudy night with some patches of rain and lows of 5C (41F).

Khaola Saleem was stabbed trying to save her daughter Raneem Oudeh from her ex.

West Midlands Police mental health officers deal with an average of 460 cases every month, it has been revealed.

However, this is still just a third of mental health cases referred to the police each month, according to papers for Tuesday's Strategic Policing and Crime Board (SPCB) meeting.

The figures refer to the number of cases attended by a West Midlands mental health triage team, which consists of a mental health nurse, paramedic and police officer, using an ambulance vehicle.

The report will be discussed by Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson and Chief Constable Dave Thompson, among others, during the meeting.

Shropshire Live

The Shropshire Live website is covering these stories today:

• Further 115 officers to join West Mercia Police next year, external
• Police investigate assault on man in Wem, external
• Driver rescued after car ends up in hedge near Newport, external

Vanessa Pearce
BBC News

A statue in Warwickshire has been transformed into a festive Grinch, in a tradition dating back more than 30 years.

Locals in the village of Dunchurch have been secretly dressing the Lord John Scott memorial as different characters since at least the 1970s.

Recent years have seen him transformed into a Star Wars Stormtrooper, a Minion (from the film Despicable Me) and Bart Simpson.

A three-course dinner will be served up to 200 homeless people during a Christmas Eve party at Birmingham's New Street station.

Image source, Network Rail

Volunteers from Network Rail will work with the Midland Langar Seva Society to provide three courses of vegetarian food, non-alcoholic drinks and entertainment as well as Christmas gifts.

Randhir Singh, Midland Langar Seva Society co-founder, said it held a party for homeless people every year, but with the support of Network Rail "we can actually have the party indoors and give them the VIP service they deserve".

A section of the station concourse will be reserved for the event between 18:30 and 21:30.

Sutton Coldfield MP, and former chief whip, Andrew Mitchell has called for an extension of Article 50 to avoid a no-deal Brexit.

The Conservative MP says the deal which has been negotiated is "most unlikely" to gain approval.

During a Commons debate, Prime Minister Theresa May confirmed the Bexit debate would be held the week beginning 7 January 2019, with a meaningful vote by MPs the following week.

In reply to Mr Mitchell, she said it wasn't "right" for the UK to extend Article 50. She says she continues to believe "we can leave with a good deal".

West Mercia Police could recruit an extra 115 police officers from April if budget plans from the force's police and crime commissioner (PCC) are backed by the public., external

Image source, PA

PCC John Campion's revealed the proposals for 2019-20 and says they would take officer numbers up to about 2,150, the highest since 2012.

Earlier this year, Mr Campion announced the force was recruiting an extra 100 officers., external

He says there's been a 44% increase in crimes in four years, with 58,464 recorded between April and November this year. , external

The PCC says he'd need to increase the police's share of council tax to pay for them, with a typical band D household paying an extra £1.63 a month.

A consultation is running until 20 January.

A group of MPs from the Midlands have signed a letter calling on the government to protect the region's manufacturing industries by not allowing a "no-deal" Brexit.

Image source, Getty Images

The memo to Downing Street says that leaving the EU without an agreement on exporting goods would cause unnecessary economic damage and put thousands of jobs at risk.

Labour's Jack Dromey, who represents Birmingham Erdington, said 62 MPs from four political parties across England, Scotland and Wales have signed.

"A no-deal Brexit would have catastrophic consequences for our economy, for our manufacturing base, for our country, it would make Britain a poorer place to live," he said.

Worcester News

The Worcester News is covering these stories today:

• Hostel helps homeless mum spend Christmas with her daughter again, external
• Droitwich man to avoid trains after ticket fine, external
• Campaign group calls for Hanbury Hall's new hunting licence to be revoked by National Trust, external

A police force's handling of contact with a woman before she was murdered by her ex-partner is being examined by investigators.

Image source, West Midlands Police

Today, Janbaz Tarin, 21, of Evelyn Road, Sparkhill, Birmingham, pleaded guilty to stabbing Khaola Saleem, 49, and Raneem Oudeh, 22, to death.

West Midlands Police says Ms Oudeh had been trying to end her relationship with Tarin since April and had spoken to the force several times before she was murdered.

That contact and how it was handled is being investigated by the Independent Office for Police Conduct., external

John Broadhurst told an emergency operator he found his partner "dead as a doughnut" at their home.

Police said charges relate to incidents in Stoke-on-Trent, Derbyshire, Worcestershire and Yorkshire.