Local Democracy Reporting Service
Tom Dare

Thousands of people passing through Birmingham New Street station will have the opportunity to air their views on the proposed merger of the Police and Crime Commissioner’s (PCC) office with that of the West Midlands mayor.

The board of the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) agreed to put the plans to the public in two separate consultation exercises.

An exhibition bus will be at New Street tomorrow between 12:00 and 18:00 with staff available to answer questions.

BBC Sport

Worcester Warriors director of rugby Alan Solomons says his side's sensational comeback against Bath will give his players a lot of confidence for the rest of the season.

Image source, Getty Images

The visitors led 19-3 at half-time at Sixways but ended up with 11 men as replacement Ross Batty was red carded just seven minutes after coming on and three players were sent to the sin-bin.

Worcester kept their heads to cash in after a string of penalty offences and a try 14 minutes into added time completed their 21-19 win.

Aston Villa sign Wolves defender Kortney Hause on loan until the end of the season, with the option of a permanent deal.

Press Association

Workers in Birmingham enjoyed some of the biggest pay rises last year, the Press Association reports.

Image source, Getty Images

Research by CV-Library suggested that average salaries in the city increased by 9.7% to £35,100.

The jobs site said vacancies increased in 2018 and the trend is set to continue this year.

Average pay in Liverpool, Portsmouth, Southampton, Brighton and Manchester went up to around £32,000 after rises ranging from 4.2% to 6.6%, said the company.

Local Democracy Reporting Service
Gurdip Thandi

Streetly residents have called on police and council bosses to take more action to tackle burglaries in the area.

A petition has been submitted to Walsall Council ahead of a meeting tonight, calling for more police patrols and CCTV.

Andy Parsons from Walsall Police said there had been a 16% reduction in burglaries in the area in the last year and they have been carrying out more activity in the area.

The petition states that local expertise has been lost with officers now based at Bloxwich Police Station, and added residents are dissatisfied with the level of service.

Allen Cook
BBC News

Two shotguns have been stolen in a burglary., external

They were taken on Friday night, Cheshire Police said, from a house in Norbury, near Nantwich.

The burglars also stole cash.

Allen Cook
BBC News

Photos of nine more men have been released by police, external investigating disorder at a football derby game in Stoke-on-Trent last month.

Seats, toilets and windows were broken in the away stand, when Port Vale played Stoke City Under-21s at Vale Park on 4 December.

Police say they want to speak to these latest nine men over what happened on the night.

They added that they've made a total of 47 arrests so far in their investigation.

Peter Plisner
BBC Midlands Today

Diesel trains are still being used on a newly electrified railway line in Staffordshire, months after the new scheme was finished, it's been revealed.

Network Rail spent £100m upgrading the route between Walsall and Rugeley and finished the project in November. , external

But last year's disastrous timetable changes in other parts of the country led to the government delaying the introduction of electric trains on the line.

Operator West Midlands Railway says that's led to a knock-on impact - with diesel trains still being used on the line, they can't be sent to other parts of the region to relieve overcrowding.

Network Rail says the hope is for the new electric services to be introduced in May.

BBC Shropshire

A Christmas pantomime has broken box office records, according to a council.

Image source, Shropshire Council

Mother Goose ended its run yesterday at Shrewsbury's Theatre Severn, which is owned by Shropshire Council.

The authority says more than 42,000 people came across the 70 shows and 15,000 tickets have already been sold for next year's pantomime. , external

Last month, the theatre told BBC News that the shows "makes a huge contribution" to the money they make each year, close to 30% of all ticket sales.

Rich Davis
BBC Weather presenter

Any patchy rain will move away through the night leaving some clear spells and lows of 4C (39F).

Coventry Live

Some of Coventry Live's headlines today are:

• Gun search carried out at home where man was shot dead by police, external
• Day one of Daniel Kennell murder trial, external
• Inside one of the 50 new homes for Coventry's homeless, external

A man who was arrested on suspicion of murder has been released without charge.

A man arrested on suspicion of murder has been released without charge after the death of a woman in her 90s in Birmingham was confirmed not to be suspicious.

West Midlands Ambulance Service said it was called to reports of a medical emergency at a property on Chingford Road, Kingstanding, last night.

A post-mortem examination was carried out today and police say they're now treating the death as not suspicious.

BBC Sport

Wolves forward Diogo Jota will be available to face Liverpool later in the FA Cup third round after returning to training on Friday after missing four matches with a hamstring injury.

Moroccan Romain Saiss has also overcome a minor knee complaint.

Boss Nuno Espirito Santo said the side was preparing for a "tough" match.

"They are very organised, very intense, have individual quality, press well and their counter-attack is one of the best there is," he said.

BBC Hereford and Worcester

Two teenagers have been arrested in connection with a stabbing in Hereford.

Image source, Google

Police said a 20-year-old man was stabbed in the back on Ethelstan Crescent on Friday night and had his phone and glasses taken.

The arrested pair, aged 16 and 18 and from Evesham, are suspected of attempted assault and theft. The younger of the two has been released under investigation.

Researchers from the University of Birmingham have identified two biomarkers that could help in the diagnosis of a heart condition that raises the risk of stroke.

Image source, SPL

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common heart rhythm disturbance, affecting around 1.6m people in the UK.

But it is often only detected after someone has had a stroke.

The British Heart Foundation said the study could pave the way towards better detection of people with AF and targeted treatment.

BBC Science and Environment

Some 200 million years ago in what is now Warwickshire, a dolphin-like reptile died and sank to the bottom of the sea.

Image source, Bob Nicholls

Its bones were found in a farmer's field more than 60 years ago, but technology is giving fresh insight into the life of an ichthyosaur.

The creature's burial preserved its skull in stunning detail - enabling scientists to digitally reconstruct it thanks to data from CT scans.

It means scientists have effectively been able to look inside the fossil.

"Crashing out" of the EU would cause job losses in the West Midlands, says a local MP.

Dame Caroline Spelman, Conservative MP for Meriden, said that 209 MPs had signed a letter to Theresa May, urging her to rule out a no-deal Brexit.

Leaving the EU without a deal would "bring to an end the renaissance of manufacturing that we've seen in regions like mine in the West Midlands," she said.

Dame Caroline said the signatories to her letter included Brexit and Remain supporters - but the letter did not bind them to supporting the PM's withdrawal deal.

Long-serving Worcester Warriors full-back Chris Pennell signs a new two-year contract with the Premiership club.

A woman's been arrested on suspicion of arson after a fire in a flat in Telford.

Image source, Google

The fire service says it was called this morning to Beaconsfield, Brookside, and found the blaze in the hallway of the first floor flat. , external

A man was taken to hospital for treatment although details of his injuries have not been revealed.

West Mercia Police says the 42-year-old woman, who's from Telford, is in custody.