BBC News Travel

A quick warning to drivers in Worcester this evening of a road closure, as pumps for flood defences are being removed with river levels falling:

A second man's been charged with the murder of a teenage boy in a Birmingham park., external

Image source, West Midlands Police

Sixteen-year-old Abdullah Muhammad was found in Sara Park, Small Heath, on 20 February, and died at the scene.

Today, West Midlands Police said officers arrested Amari Robinson, 20, from Birmingham, in Lincolnshire on Monday.

He's now been charged with murder and two counts of robbery and is due to appear at Birmingham Magistrates' Court on Monday.

Last week, Demille Innis, 19, of Pugh Crescent in Walsall, appeared in court charged with murder and two counts of robbery and possessing an offensive weapon in a public place. He was remanded into custody.

Alice Cutter is fixated with "knives, guns and the ideology of violent ethnic cleansing", a court hears.

A wildlife trust says it's "alarmed" that the government's agreed today to spend £54m towards the cost of a new by-pass around Shrewsbury.

Image source, Shropshire Council

The money will pay a large chunk of the forecast cost of £75m for the North West Relief Road around the town, with work expected to start in 2021.

Shropshire Council's said the route would ease congestion and the Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said it would also improve air quality in Shrewsbury.

But this afternoon, Shropshire Wildlife Trust has criticised the news, external, saying the road will "degrade a unique landscape" as well as harming habitats and being of "questionable benefit" to the town.

Image source, Shropshire Wildlife Trust

A woman has been attacked with a hammer during a violent carjacking in Birmingham.

A black Audi A1 was taken after she suffered injuries to her head and eye, police said.

She was taken to hospital after the attack which happened in the Sheldon area just after 19:30 on Tuesday.

Her injuries are not thought to be life-threatening, said West Midlands Police.

Uniformed officers could be posted outside mosques during Friday prayers in response to attacks on five places of worship in Birmingham.

In a press conference held outside the Witton Islamic Centre, police said they would be pursuing those responsible "relentlessly" and added they already had CCTV footage.

A body modification artist known as Dr Evil has been jailed for carrying out ear and nipple removals and splitting a customer's tongue.

Brendan McCarthy carried out consensual procedures without using anaesthetic.

The 50-year-old, of Bushbury in Wolverhampton, ran Dr Evil's Body Modification Emporium.

He pleaded guilty to three counts of grievous bodily harm and was jailed at Wolverhampton Crown Court for three years and four months.

Coventry City fans are protesting outside the English Football League headquarters in London, five weeks ahead of a decision which could leave the club with no ground in the city.

The Sky Blues' current rent deal with Premiership rugby club Wasps over the Ricoh Arena expires in the summer, and the English Football League has set a deadline of 2 April for Coventry to confirm where they will play next season.

A delegation from supporters group the Sky Blue Trust said , externalit would be visiting the four key stakeholders to deliver a "selection of messages" to convey what Coventry City means to them.

An appeal for calm has been made following attacks on five mosques in Birmingham.

Adil Parka, of the Birmingham Council of Mosques, said it was important to treat the attacks as an "act of vandalism" and to work with the authorities to ensure there were no further incidents.

A derelict Black Country industrial site, described as one of the most contaminated in Europe, is to be brought back to life , externalafter a deal was signed to construct new commercial premises.

Image source, West Midlands Combined Authority

Up until 1999, the Phoenix 10 site was partly occupied by the James Bridge Copper Works Ltd and it is heavily contaminated from previous uses which have hampered efforts to bring it back into use.

Funding from the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) will now pay for the clean-up of the 44-acre site, between junctions 9 and 10 of the M6.

The development is expected to provide around 620,000sq ft of commercial floor space across the site.

Creditors of the firm that runs Giraffe and Ed's Easy Diner chains have approved a Compulsory Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) as it looks to close a third of its 87 restaurants.

Birmingham-based Boparan Restaurant Group, which owns the brands, said earlier this month that the closures were necessary to protect the Giraffe Concepts Ltd business.

Image source, PA

It said sales had improved at the chains since they were acquired in 2016, but several sites remained unprofitable.

Aaron Campbell told a psychologist he was "quite satisfied" with the opportunistic murder of Alesha MacPhail.

Sarah Robertson
Journalist, BBC Radio Stoke

The owners of Wedgwood say they will keep investing in their site in Barlaston, Staffordshire, despite revealing plans to cut a third of the workforce.

About 145 job losses are expected at the world famous pottery firm in Barlaston as it looks to "reduce complexity across its operations".

The company, which employs 440 people at the Staffordshire site, said it would consult unions over the coming days.

Owners, the Fiskars Group, says it does not mean the beginning of the end of manufacturing in Barlaston.

The mayor of the West Midlands, Andy Street, tweeted his condemnation of the attacks on five mosques in Birmingham, calling it "despicable vandalism".

Given the attacks in Christchurch, New Zealand last week, he said, "it's even more shocking that extremists can target mosques at this sensitive time".

A fire at a house in Shropshire is being treated as arson by police., external

Image source, Google

They say it happened early on Tuesday morning on Rosemary Lane, Whitchurch and there are no reported injuries.

The force says it wants anyone who found any discarded canisters near the area that could have had flammable material inside to contact them.

The government has condemned last night's violent attacks on five mosques in Birmingham.

Image source, PA

West Midlands Police say officers are yet to establish a motive and colleagues from the Counter Terrorism Unit are investigating.

In the Commons, the Labour MP for Birmingham Erdington, Jack Dromey, spoke out in support of the city's Muslim community.

The Leader of the Commons, Andrea Leadsom, was scathing of those responsible for the attacks.

Utility back Rob Miller signs a new deal at Wasps, although the contract terms remain undisclosed.

Worcester News

Here are some of the stories making the headlines on the Worcester News website:

• Autism check costs deter Worcestershire schools, says mum, external
• Care boss apologises for 'fundamental failing' amid new wave of allegations, external
• Dad saves teenage daughter's life after she suffers cardiac arrest, external

Birmingham City's teenage midfielder Charlie Lakin extends his contract at the club until June 2021.

It's been expected for some time now, but today the Secretary of State for Transport confirmed Shrewsbury will get £54m to build a new relief road.

Shropshire Council says it will be a 3.5-mile (5.6km) single carriageway with a 60mph speed limit and a footpath and cycleway on its southern side.

It's expecting work to start in 2021 and the extra £16,993,081 that is needed will come from the local authority.