Coventry City have until 2 April to reach a deal over where to play home games next season, or face possibly being thrown out of the football league.

They seem to be pinning their hopes on agreeing a "fair" deal with Ricoh owners Wasps.

Image source, Getty Images

In the long term, the club says owning its own stadium that it can "truly call home" is key to its success on and off the pitch.

Otherwise, it said it was left "without access to its own match-day income, and crippled with high rents".

Sara Blizzard
BBC Weather

Storm Gareth may be heading away from these shores but we haven't quite said goodbye to this blustery weather just yet.

Heavy rain will quickly move in from the west this evening, with winds strengthening again, leading into a rather wet night with lengthy spells of rain.

Halesowen News

The Halesowen News is covering these stories today:

• School declared '100 per cent knife free', external
• Heating system spend proposed for leisure centre, external
• Care home placed in special measures after 'inadequate' rating, external

Local Democracy Reporting Service
George Makin

CCTV cameras and panic alarms could be used by councillors in Sandwell in a bid to give them better protection.

The borough council's been reviewing personal safety for when elected ward members hold surgeries for voters.

A report to the authority's Ethical Standards and Member Development Committee , externalsaid the review followed meetings with two cabinet members who'd experienced "issues relating to personal safety".

The council refused in a statement to the Local Democracy Reporting Service to give details on the incidents.

An interim report's been drawn up, suggesting the use of panic alarms and CCTV, and will be discussed on 19 March before a full set of recommendations are drawn up.

Coventry owners Sisu will drop their legal dispute against the council if they are supported in a bid to build a new stadium.

Three teenagers have been arrested after a man was reportedly threatened with a knife, punched and robbed in Birmingham.

Image source, Google

West Midlands Police said officers were called to Slade Road, Erdington, external, early this morning.

Two men, both 19, and an 18-year-old man were all arrested on suspicion of robbery and are still in custody.

Phil Bowers
Journalist, BBC Radio Stoke

Drivers who park near the entrance of the main hospital in Stoke-on-Trent are being warned they could be fined up to £70 from today.

Staffordshire County Council has painted double yellow lines on the A34 outside the entrance to the Royal Stoke University Hospital after complaints of ambulances struggling to get past.

Work on the road markings started on Monday and they're being enforced from this evening., external

The North Shropshire MP Owen Paterson has written to Jeremy Corbyn, to correct him over remarks made in Prime Minister's Questions today.

The Labour leader told the house that Mr Paterson had previously said "only a madman would actually leave the single market", but Mr Paterson has responded to explain this was a "very common misquotation, frequently repeated on Twitter".

Mr Paterson added "I hope that this is clear and that you will avoid misquoting me in future".

What he actually told Sky News in October 2015 was: "Only a madman would actually leave the market. It's not the EU, which is a political organisation which is delivering the prosperity and buying our goods, it's the market, it's the members of the market. We'll carry on trading with the market."

And he went on to say: "I mean, are we really suggesting that the fifth-largest economy in the world is not going to come to a satisfactory trading arrangement with the EU?

"Are we going to be like Sudan and North Korea? I mean, it's ludicrous this idea that we're going to leap off a cliff into a dark space. We're going to carry on trading."

Part of Birmingham's canal network is due to reopen tomorrow after 12 weeks of bridge-strengthening works.

The Broad Street canal tunnel and the towpath has been closed for work to be carried out as part of the Midland Metro works in the city.

Independent businesses on the route had complained to the BBC that they'd been cut off from trade.

But the Midland Metro Alliance says it's finishing two days earlier than planned.

Hereford Times

Here are three headlines from the Hereford Times today:

• Jobs at risk at Leominster factory, external
• Council backs climate emergency campaign, external
• Councillors pledge £50,000 to cycle circuit project, external

Coventry City owner Sisu says it's "invested considerable time and money" in exploring the possibility of building a new stadium, but has been met a number of barriers.

It says the Football League has rules which restrict where it could be developed and that there has been "strong animosity" against it "at every turn".

Image source, Getty Images

Sisu also pointed out it had been in a long-running legal dispute with the city council and worried about the effect this might have on the planning process.

But it hoped that in the future it could work with the council "to progress the development of a new stadium".

The BBC has approached both Coventry City Council and Wasps rugby union club for a comment.

A 16-year-old boy is the third person to be quizzed over the death of Hazrat Umar in Birmingham.

Shropshire Council says it hopes its new policy will help prevent child sexual exploitation.

Local Democracy Reporting Service
Carl Jackson

Black cab taxi drivers have brought a council meeting to a halt with angry scenes over Birmingham's new Clean Air Zone plans.

The government yesterday agreed the city council's plans to charge high-polluting vehicles £8 to drive around parts of the city.

But this morning, at a licensing meeting, TOA Taxis chairman Manawar Hussain claimed his firm, which represents about 400 drivers, had been left out of talks between the authority and the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union.

He told the meeting the company "will be taking protests", saying they had tried to work with the council but weren't happy with a new vehicle age and emissions policy which is part of the plans.

The meeting was briefly adjourned and the cab drivers left.

The council then confirmed the policy had been withdrawn from today's meeting so more talks could be held with the RMT and trade representatives.

Emily O'Connor claimed Thomas Cook cabin crew said her crop top and trousers "caused offence".

The victim's father said she was left broken and had disappeared into a shell after the attack.

The owner of Coventry City, Sisu, has agreed to drop its legal action against the city council if it backs the club's new stadium plans and if an agreement can be reached with Wasps to stay at the Ricoh stadium until then.

Image source, Getty Images

Sisu's statement has been welcomed by the football club, and a statement on its website says it, "provides important clarity for supporters, the community and everyone who cares about the Football Club regarding the situation currently and the owner’s aims for the football club".

The heavy rain over the last 24 hours has raised river levels across the West Midlands, and the Environment Agency has flood alerts, external in place across Shropshire, Staffordshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire.

It says it will continue to keep an eye on levels, with more rain forecast and tweeted these photos of the River Severn in Shrewsbury this afternoon.

Image source, Environment Agency

Image source, Environment Agency

Cheshire Live - Crewe

The Cheshire Live website for Crewe is covering these stories today on its website:

• Shop worker assaulted during robbery at Crewe tile shop, external
• Cheshire East councillors get free car park passes whilst attending meetings, external
• Drivers paying thousands to park in Nantwich when it's free, external

An opera company which has gained a worldwide reputation for staging its performances in unusual places is now offering a lifeline to refugees.