BBC Radio Stoke

Football fans have been leaving their tributes to Gordon Banks on the BBC Radio Stoke Facebook page today.

Mark Farr remembered watching him play at the Victoria Ground and wrote: "The best goalkeeper England ever produced and probably the greatest there ever has been."

Image source, Getty Images

Ian Cooke said: "An honorary knighthood and at least a stand at Leicester, Stoke and Chesterfield grounds to be named after him."

And Ian Stuart Pilkington wrote: "What a great person, what a great man, what a great great friend of Stoke-on-Trent, what a great ambassador for football, what great goal keeper."

A man suspected of drink driving ploughed into four parked cars in the Handsworth area of Birmingham overnight, police say.

After spitting in the arresting officer's face, he then went on to threaten to kill the officer's children and bite his nose off, West Midlands Police tweeted., external

The fire service said they were called by police to assess the scene at the junction of Great Western Close and Handsworth New Road shortly after midnight.

A 38-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of drink driving, failing to stop and assaulting a police officer, said West Midlands Police.

He remains in police custody for questioning.

Gardening equipment, including five tonnes of soil seized from cannabis factories, has been donated to community projects in the West Midlands.

Image source, Wets Midlands Police

The pots and soil will enable Edgar Stammers school in Walsall to have its own allotment this year, West Midlands Police said.

More than 300 cannabis farms have been cleared by officers in the last 12 months, the force said.

Head teacher Rebecca Woodall said: "We are very grateful for the donation as our pupils want to develop our grounds and try to grow their own flowers and vegetables."

The Prison Service will carry on running HMP Birmingham for a further six months, the government says.

BBC Radio Stoke Sport

The man who went on to replace Gordon Banks at Leicester City and for England, Peter Shilton, has said he is "devastated" to lose his hero.

The two players were at Leicester together for a short while but the team decided to go with the younger man and at the age of 28 Banks was put up for sale, the year after winning the World Cup.

He moved to Stoke City, saying he wanted to "play for a club that wanted me."

A four-day appeal hearing begins today into plans to build 227 homes in Trentham.

The development by Barratt Homes was thrown out by Stoke-on-Trent City Council in December over road safety and traffic concerns, but the company is challenging that decision.

People living in the Meadow Lane area formed the 'Keep Our Meadow Green' campaign to oppose the plans and will take part in the hearing.

The developer says it would be providing much-needed affordable housing in the area.

Firefighters say the investigation into a fire at a Tamworth mental health facility is likely to take some time.

They were called out at 20:52 last night and about 20 people had to be evacuated from the George Bryant Centre on Plantation Lane.

Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service said crews from Tamworth "are still at the scene damping down and checking for hot spots".

BBC Radio Stoke Sport

Former England players, including Gary Lineker, are among those paying tribute to Gordon Banks this morning.

The England football team has tweeted this:

Danny Shaw
BBC Home Affairs Correspondent

The government takeover of Birmingham Prison from G4S has been extended for another six months, BBC News has been told.

The Prison Service stepped in to operate HMP Birmingham in August last year after an inspection uncovered widespread and serious failings.

Prisons Minister Rory Stewart said today the jail was still in a "fragile" state.

Last year, inspectors triggered the official "urgent notification" process - calling on them to take immediate action.

The prison was graded "poor" on all four performance indicators.

BBC Radio Stoke Sport

Fifa has described the former England World Cup winner Gordon Banks as "one of the game's greatest goalkeepers".

Banks was named Fifa goalkeeper of the year six times and earned 73 caps for England.

And they've tweeted this video of his wonder-save against Pele in the 1970 tournament.

Gordon Banks will be fondly remembered by football fans in Stoke-on-Trent and was given the freedom of both Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme.

A statue of England's World Cup-winning goalkeeper stands outside Stoke City's Britannia Stadium - the club he played for between 1967 and 1973.

The legendary England and Stoke City goalkeeper Gordon Banks has died aged 81.

He'll be remembered as the only English goalkeeper ever to lift the World Cup, back in 1966.

Changes are being made to the city council's contingency plans for bin collections in Birmingham, as industrial action continues.

The ongoing dispute between the Unite union and city council will be discussed later at a council cabinet meeting.

Image source, Getty Images

In the new dispute, which began in December, up to 300 Unite members have been working to rule over claims the council made payments to GMB members who did not walk out in the previous strike.

Workers from the union are due to walk out for two days a week from 19 February.

The city council said fortnightly services will be temporarily offered, starting Monday 18 February.

During the dispute, a reasonable amount of “side waste” can be presented alongside bins when put out for their temporary fortnightly collection, it said.

Express and Star

Some of the Express and Star headlines today are:

• Wolverhampton Council worker 'stole new laptops and sold them on eBay', external
• Fundraiser to bring ill grandmother home from Mexico nears £6,000, external
• Wolverhampton Council defends decision to scrap historic organ pipes, external

BBC Sport

Coventry Bears will travel to Doncaster for the third round of Rugby League's Challenge Cup.

All 12 ties will take place over the weekend of 9 and 10 March, with BBC Sport streaming one game live.

French side Catalans beat Warrington Wolves at Wembley last August to become the first non-English team to lift the trophy.

Leona Smart
Broadcast Journalist, BBC WM

The Sir Robert Peel Hospital in Tamworth will open as normal after a fire engulfed part of the building overnight, say staff.

Ten crews from Staffordshire, West Midlands and Warwickshire fire services were deployed as the fire took hold at the George Bryan Medical Centre, prompting the evacuation of 11 occupants and staff.

The George Bryan Centre shares a site with the Sir Robert Peel Hospital in the Mile Oak area of Tamworth, although the two buildings are not connected.

A 43-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of arson, police said.

The families of the Birmingham Pub Bombing victims met the Irish president - just two weeks before the fresh inquests into their deaths.

Image source, PA

In his first visit to Birmingham as Irish President, Michael D Higgins attended a ceremony for a new memorial to the 21 people who died in 1974.

Image source, PA

Speaking about the memorial Mr Higgins said: "I wanted to pay tribute and offer the respect of memory and sympathy to all of the innocent victims and their families and I do so as the President of Ireland."

Image source, PA

He also praised the city's Irish community who became part of the "very fabric" of the city.

He remarked on the work of Irish men in the 1950s who "built so much in the region", including famous Birmingham landmarks such as the NEC events venue and the Spaghetti Junction road system.

Alex Hamilton
BBC Weather

It should be a dry day with some cloud and feeling mild with top temperatures of 10C (50F).

BBC News Travel

There are hour-long delays on the M6 northbound in Staffordshire after over-running roadworks on the northbound carriageway.

The road has fully reopened between J14 and J15, with congestion back to J12.

Investigations are continuing into the cause of a severe fire at a mental health centre in Staffordshire.

Image source, Bradley Stokes

A 43-year-old, from Tamworth, was arrested on suspicion of arson over the fire in the George Bryan Centre at the Sir Robert Peel Community Hospital in the town.

Image source, PA

There were no reports of casualties in the fire, which broke out at about 21:15 on Monday.

"All occupants and staff have been evacuated from the centre," Staffordshire Police said.