Summary

  • Updates from Monday 18 March to Sunday 24 March

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Live Reporting

  1. Teenager to help keep score in international cricket matches

    A teenager has been selected to work with the official scorer for two international cricket matches at Edgbaston this summer.

    Holly Eccleston, 16, from Whitchurch, Shropshire, got the job after being accredited as a scorer by the International Cricket Council.

    Holly Eccleston

    She is training to do the job for Warwickshire and will work on the India and Bangladesh limited overs match in July and the Ashes test between England against Australia in August.

  2. Your photos: Dark skies and daffodils

    BBC Weather Watchers

    The rain and stormy weather appears to be behind us but the dark cloud is lingering in these photos from the BBC Weather Watchers.

    These pictures were taken in Knowle, Newport and Stone.

    KnowleDammo
    Newport daffodilsTAY
    Stonesarahlou86

  3. Grenade attack 'hitmen' and boss jailed

    The grenade attack followed a businessman's "campaign of intimidation" over lost money, say police.

    Read More

  4. Date for Wolves' Wembley semi-final confirmed

    Wolves' FA Cup semi-final against Watford will take place on Sunday 7 April at 16:00 BST.

    Diogo JotaGetty Images

    The game between Manchester City and Brighton will be played on 6 April at 17:30 BST.

    The Football Association has said each of the four clubs will be given about 33,000 tickets for their own fans. Ticket prices will remain at £30, £45, £65 and £80 for adults.

    The east end at Wembley has been allocated to Wolves.The FA said ends had been allocated to the clubs and their fans in consultation with the local transport and police authorities.

    Diogo Jota (pictured above) scored the second goal as Wolves beat Manchester United 2-1 in the sixth round.

  5. Players flying the flag for Stoke in international break

    BBC Radio Stoke Sport

    Stoke City will have 11 members of their first team squad away representing their countries over the two-week international break.

    Six academy players have also been called up.

    Manager Nathan Jones said it was "fantastic" the club is being represented in this way, but hopes they all return injury-free.

    Joe AllenGetty Images

    Joe Allen (pictured), Sam Vokes and Ashley Williams have been called up for Wales while Jack Butland is one of three keepers named by England.

    The club will also have representatives in the Republic of Ireland, Nigeria, Burundi, DR Congo and Catalonia senior teams and a number of youth sides too.

    People like Jack Butland going away with England, fantastic. We've got one of the top three keepers in England playing for us at Stoke, so that's good for us. It's just that, God-willing, they all come back, safe and sound."

    Nathan Jones, Stoke City manager

  6. CCTV image released over woman's rape

    Police say a comprehensive investigation is under way into the city centre attack.

    Read More

  7. Cabbie who collected 52 points loses his taxi licence

    Local Democracy Reporting Service

    A taxi driver who had accumulated 52 points on his DVLA licence over a number of years has been banned from taking passengers.

    Stoke-on-Trent City Council's licensing committee heard he had also refused to pick up disabled passengers and that a complaint of racial aggression had been made against him.

    Taxi signGetty Images

    He had also failed to tell the authority's licensing department he had been banned from driving.

    The driver cannot be named because the licensing hearing took place behind closed doors, but he has lost both his Hackney Carriage and his Private Hire Vehicle Driver’s Licence.

    When people are dishonest or do not declare driving bans, it makes our job more difficult. We will not tolerate dishonesty

    Councillor Randy Conteh, Stoke-on-Trent City Council

  8. Children's services to get commissioner

    The Department for Education is appointing a “commissioner” to help improve children’s social care services in Stoke-on-Trent.

    It’s after an Ofsted report rated them inadequate and said vulnerable children are not being protected.

    child in parkGetty Images

    The commissioner will work with the city council over the next 12 months, providing advice and support.

    At the end of that time he or she will decide if the service has made the improvements it needs to make.

  9. Walsall 'can't drop heads' after entering relegation zone

    BBC WM Sport

    Walsall striker Josh Gordon says they can't afford to drop their heads, now they're in the relegation zone in League One.

    Dean Keates - archive imageWalsall FC

    Dean Keates' (pictured above) team play another promotion-chasing side, Barnsley, at the Banks's Stadium next, after being beaten 2-1 at Sunderland and slipping to 21st place in the table, despite Gordon's early goal.

    We can't drop our heads. It's important now to keep on going. Southend are just above us, but on goal difference, and we're like (three) points off 12th (place), so you can't look at it as a thing like we're gonna go down

    Josh Gordon, Walsall striker

  10. Toffee-makers celebrate 125th birthday

    A Stoke-on-Trent toffee factory is celebrating being in business for 125 years.

    Walkers Toffee was started by former potter Edward Walker and his sister Florence in a sweet shop in Longton in 1894.

    Toffees

    The company now sells 14 different flavours of toffee to more than 50 countries.

  11. Death crash boy 'a joy to teach'

    A school pays tribute to 10-year-old Sanjay Singh who was killed alongside his brother on Thursday.

    Read More

  12. River levels falling but flood warnings remain

    River levels have started to fall again, but the Environment Agency still has a number of flood warnings in place along the River Severn.

    They affect towns and villages along the river between Shrewsbury and Highley and river levels are expected to remain high until tomorrow.

    Flooding in ShrewsburyEnvironment Agency

    There are also a number of flood alerts in place in the West Midlands, including one for the River Severn in Worcestershire.

  13. Garden furniture factory fire 'accidental'

    The cause of a blaze that destroyed a Birmingham garden furniture factory was accidental, the fire service said.

    Scene of fireWest Midlands Fire Service

    The blaze at Dreams Living in Hay Hall Road, Tyseley, broke out on Monday morning and about 100 firefighters were there at its height.

    The fire service said from high up on a hydraulic platform, the extent of the damage "to the furniture warehouse... can be seen clearly".

  14. Youth players to compete in final of 142-year-old cup

    BBC Sport

    Shrewsbury Town and AFC Telford United play each other in the final of the 142-year-old Shropshire Senior Cup final this evening.

    The game is being played at Market Drayton Town's Greenfields stadium and both teams are likely to field sides made up of academy players.

    TrophyMike Sheridan

    Last year's winners of the cup, Shawbury United, weren't represented this year.

  15. Inspection says jail is 'overwhelmingly safe'

    An inspection of Stoke Heath jail, near Market Drayton, has concluded it is "overwhelmingly safe" and had not seen an increase in violent behaviour since 2015.

    HM Inspectorate of Prisons also praised the prison and young offenders institution for the work it did to stop drugs getting in, but said use of force by prison staff had increased and was high.

    Jail doorGetty Images

    But the report said about a third of inmates at the prison and young offenders institution were inactive and locked up during the day and raised concerns about the rise in incidents of self-harm.

  16. Godiva Festival back in its usual weekend in July

    Moira Rawlings
    BBC Coventry & Warwickshire

    This year's Godiva Festival in Coventry is returning to its usual weekend in July.

    Crowds at the Godiva Festival 2011Coventry City Council

    Last year it was held later to avoid a clash with the BBC's The Biggest Weekend.

    But the 2019 Godiva Festival (archive image above) will take place from 5 to 7 July at War Memorial Park.

    We're still waiting for the first headline acts to be announced by the organisers.

  18. Campaigns to tackle plastic waste and improve sustainability

    BBC Midlands Today

    Two campaigns to tackle plastic waste and improve sustainability in the West Midlands are under way this week.

    Severn Trent Water sign

    Water company Severn Trent is to start a scheme that will allow people to fill up reusable water bottles for free.

    Also, a number of universities in Birmingham have teamed up to reduce food waste and tidy up the streets.

    Events will include a canal-side litter pick later and an event Birmingham's Victoria Square tomorrow, where food waste donated by local supermarkets and charities will be cooked and handed out.

    We want people to think about the small changes that they can make in their everyday behaviour that can really make a big difference. So whether that's reducing the amount of plastic packaging, choosing products that use less plastic, picking up litter wherever they can, all these different things can make a really big difference to our local environment

    Liz Hunt, Aston University sustainability officer

  19. Man held over deaths of brothers in crash released

    A man arrested in connection with the deaths of two brothers in a hit-and-run crash has been released under investigation.

    Sanjay and Pawanveer SinghWest Midlands Police

    The 23-year-old suspect was detained on Sunday after Pawanveer Singh, aged 23 months, and his brother Sanjay, 10, died in Wolverhampton on Thursday.

    The male was released overnight on Monday with detectives continuing to investigate the circumstances of the crash, West Midlands Police said.