Worcester wing Tom Howe signs a one-year contract extension with the Premiership side.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

A Shropshire village primary school that has trebled its number of pupils since 2006 has been given permission to build a new hall.

Stottesdon C of E Primary School, near Cleobury Mortimer, was set to build one in 2016, but put the plans on hold when it emerged they would be too expensive.

Image source, Google

These revised plans, which were approved by Shropshire Council last night, will give the school more space for assemblies, lunches, PE lessons and after-school clubs.

It's grown from 44 pupils in 2006 to 130 today.

Lee Thomas
Newsreader, BBC Radio Stoke

The prime minister and the Labour leader have both paid tribute to the England and Stoke City goalkeeper Gordon Banks, who died this week aged 81.

Image source, Reuters

As well as being one of the stars of the World Cup winning side in 1966, Banks also helped the Potters to victory in the League Cup in 1972.

In the House of Commons today, Jeremy Corbyn sent condolences to his friends and family, describing him as "one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time".

While, in echoing Banks' standing in the world of football, Theresa May added that he'd also carried out a lot of community work in Staffordshire.

Emma Miles has given her daughter the gift she always longed for - her own baby girl.

Pope Francis has given the go-ahead for the first English saint to be canonised since the Reformation.

According to Catholic organisation The Birmingham Oratory,, external the pope confirmed the case of Cardinal John Henry Newman.

Image source, Getty Images

Born in London, Newman was England's most celebrated convert to Roman Catholicism when he died in 1890 and was responsible for the building of the Oratory in Edgbaston.

In 2010, Pope Benedict beatified him during his visit to the UK before tens of thousands of people in Birmingham.

No date's been set for the ceremony to bestow his sainthood but the Oratory says the Vatican has approved claims of a miracle in 2013 which was attributed to prayers to Newman.

The last English canonisations were in 1970 when 40 men and women of England and Wales, martyred between 1535 and 1679, had sainthood bestowed on them in Rome.

A car has crashed into a house in Warwickshire, demolishing part of the wall.

The collision happened on Rugby Road through Weston-under-Wetherley between 22:00 and 23:00 last night, while the owners were away on holiday.

Warwickshire Police arrested the 29-year-old driver of the Range Rover at the scene and he was taken to hospital by ambulance, but wasn't seriously injured.

BBC Radio Shropshire Sport

Shrewsbury Town midfielder Dave Edwards will have to serve a three-game suspension after the club failed to persuade the FA to overturn the red card he got on Saturday.

He was sent off after a late challenge on a Bristol Rovers player - the first straight red of his career.

Image source, Getty Images

He will miss the games against Burton, Peterborough and Doncaster.

Birmingham Post

The Birmingham Post is covering these stories today:

• Staggering number of Birmingham deaths due to air pollution, external
• Self-harm inside HMP Birmingham soars amid 'national prison scandal', external
• Government dismisses 'nonsense' reports it may scrap HS2, external

Cities like Birmingham are missing out on police funding to "leafy areas of the country", the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner has complained.

David Jamieson has lost more than 2,000 officers since 2010 and said: "We've got to actually fund those areas of the country where the violent crime is the highest."

He argued it was the "big urban areas" that needed the cash.

There were no sprinklers at the mental health centre in Tamworth that caught fire on Monday, Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service has confirmed.

"Had sprinklers have been fitted in this case they would probably have confined the fire to the room where it started,” fire service Group Manager Toby Wilson said.

Image source, PA

A 43-year-old, from Tamworth, has been arrested on suspicion of arson after the fire broke out at the George Bryan Centre, near the Sir Robert Peel Community Hospital.

He's since been released under investigation.

BBC Weather Watchers

The good weather this week has led to more photos of the sun shining across the West Midlands from our local BBC Weather Watchers.

These three are from two Herefordshire users, Ella Mentry in Eaton Bishop and Scout of the Shire in Bromyard, and Shiver Me Timbers in Clee Hill, Shropshire:

Image source, Ella Mentry

Image source, Scout of the Shire

Image source, Shiver Me Timbers

The former Nuneaton Borough owner Ian Neale says he'll do everything he can to find new investors to run the football club, but doesn't want the responsibility himself again.

The club was taken over by former non-league footballer Nick Hawkins in November, but he left yesterday, with the club bottom of the National League North.

With debts believed to be about £100,000, the club are looking to find 10 local investors at £10,000 per head.

Mr Hawkins said the debts included a tax bill of between £26,000 and £30,000 which the HMRC was not willing to put off, because of the club's past history, but described most of the rest of the debts as "manageable".

The process of finding someone to lead Telford's child sexual exploitation inquiry is expected to start next week, but it could take several months to get someone in place.

If Telford and Wrekin Council's Labour-run cabinet agrees to take things forward, a job advert will be placed and the legal firm Eversheds will then oversee the recruitment process.

Image source, Google

The Independent councillor who has been chairing the CSE inquiry group up until now, Peter Scott, said: "We all want the same thing and it will take as long as it takes."

And he criticised Conservative politicians who have complained about the time the process was taking, saying "there should be no politics involved, this is about survivors, this is about victims".

Masked robbers threatened to kill the six-year-old unless his father handed over cash, police said.

Former British number one Laura Robson says her comeback after eight months out with injury felt "better than expected".

Shropshire Star

Three stories from the Shropshire Star this lunchtime:

• Thieves steal mini-digger from Telford's Exotic Zoo, external
• More than 1,000 have their say on development, external
• Child sex abuse inquiry takes step forward, external

Graham McGarry
Crewe Alexandra commentator, BBC Radio Stoke

Crewe Alexandra manager David Artell says their win over Carlisle United "was probably the best game I've seen here".

Image source, Getty Images

The visitors are among this season's promotion contenders, but the Alex ended up winning 2-1 through a late Shaun Miller winner.

The result means Crewe are now six points off the play-off places in League Two.

Tracey Smith thought she would never be able to have children after being born without a womb.

Allen Cook
BBC News

A knife was held to a six-year-old boy's throat during a robbery, external which saw a 71-year-old man attacked, police have revealed.

Image source, West Midlands Police

Four masked men forced their way into the house on Titford Road, Oldbury, on Sunday and hit the elderly victim with a hammer as well as stabbing and cutting him.

West Midlands Police says he's still in hospital, although his condition is said to be improving.

They've today released photographs of jewellery stolen in the raid and revealed that the robbers held a knife to the throat of the man's six-year-old son and threatened to kill him.

Seven people have been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder with four given bail and the others released under investigation.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Plans for the next phase of Telford's Lawley housing development will go before council planners next week.

The Lawley Village Developer Group is asking for permission to build another 362 homes, to add to the 2,000 already built there.

Image source, Google

In December, councillors voted to defer a decision on the plans, which have now been revised.

Outline permission for more than 3,000 homes at Lawley was granted in 2005.