Allen Cook
BBC News

Pottery firm Portmeirion Group has revealed its income has increased for a 10th year in a row, to £89.6m for last year.

Image source, Portmeirion UK

The Stoke-on-Trent-based company, which makes Portmeirion, Spode and Royal Worcester, , externalsays pre-tax profits are also up 10.1% on 2017, to £9.7m.

The rise in revenue is being put down to the success of its new home fragrance range which it bought in 2016 and a rise in online sales of nearly a quarter.

The MP for Birmingham Ladywood called attacks on mosques in Birmingham "truly terrible".

Police have confirmed counter-terrorism officers have been called in to investigate attacks on four places of worship in the city.

Labour MP Shabana Mahmood, said she would be in constant contact with community leaders throughout the day.

Sima Kotecha
Midlands Correspondent, BBC News

Parents have once again been protesting outside a Birmingham school in a row over pupils being taught about LGBT rights.

Parkfield Community School, in the city, said it would not resume the lessons until a resolution had been reached with parents.

Image source, Getty Images

One of the protesters, Amir Ahmed, said the group wanted a complete stop to the No Outsiders programme, not just a suspension.

In a statement released yesterday, the school said it wanted to evolve its equality teaching "in collaboration with parents".

Accident investigators are still at the scene of a crash involving a lorry and a van, in which one woman has died.

A diversion is in place away from the scene on the M5 northbound at J3 near Quinton.

There's congestion to Frankley services, but local roads are also slow in the area, said Highways England.

The carriageway is expected to remain closed throughout the morning.

Stoke-on-Trent Live

The Stoke-on-Trent Live website has these stories today:

• MP demands review into how man was twice bailed by court before murdering teenager, external
• Angry cabbie lands parking fine as house-move doctor loads his taxi with bags and boxes, external
• Residents resort to emptying sandbags into giant pothole after waiting months for it to be repaired, external

Attacks on four mosques in Birmingham have been confirmed by police, with counter-terrorism officers called in to investigate.

The head of West Midlands Police called for unity "against those who seek to create discord, uncertainty and fear in our communities”.

Image source, Cllr Majid Mahmood

Officers were called to reports of a man smashing windows with a sledgehammer at a mosque on Birchfield Road shortly after 02:30, but say the attack had occurred some time earlier, police said.

A similar attack at the mosque on Slade Road, Erdington was reported just before 03:15, said West Midlands Police.

Further damage was found at places of worship on Witton Road, in Aston, and Broadway, in Perry Barr.

The motive behind the attacks, which are being linked for the moment, is yet to be established, but the West Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit is involved in the investigation.

Chief Constable Dave Thompson said: "Since the tragic events in Christchurch, New Zealand, officers and staff from West Midlands Police have been working closely with our faith partners across the region to offer reassurance and support at mosques, churches and places of prayer".

At least five mosques have been damaged in attacks overnight, said the Birmingham Council of Mosques.

Image source, Google

One of them, Witton Road Islamic Centre was attacked by a man with a sledgehammer the mosque confirmed.

A spokesperson said a man was captured on CCTV smashing the windows of the centre at about 01:30.

"The whole of the front windows, about six, were smashed," he said.

"Because of the force he used it's gone through the windows and into the mosque itself."

Andy Giddings
BBC News

A childminder is offering to look after children for free, to allow their mums to get a smear test done.

Helen Woodcock from Shifnal, in Shropshire, said she knew the tests were not pleasant and wanted to make it a little easier, with test-screenings at a 20-year low.

She saw other childminders, elsewhere in the country, make the same offer and thought it was a good idea.

Image source, Helen Woodcock

She said the one-hour sessions are on a first-come-first served basis, adding: "Yes it's not pleasant, it's uncomfortable, undignified, but hey, so is cancer and all its symptoms."

BBC Coventry & Warwickshire

HMP Olney in Warwickshire has been described as "fundamentally unsafe" by inspectors who found problems with drugs, violence, rubbish and rats at the category C jail.

It is a training prison, designed to prepare prisoners for release.

Image source, Getty Images

The inspectors said the reception wing at the prison was "chaotic" and new arrivals were standing around clutching their belongings, with many saying they felt unsafe.

And they reported that while violence between prisoners had fallen since the last inspection in 2016, not enough was being done to block the flow of drugs into the jail.

A woman has died following a crash involving a van and lorry on the M5 in Birmingham this morning.

Emergency services were called to the northbound carriageway in Quinton shortly after 05:15.

The woman, a passenger in the van, was confirmed dead at the scene, said the ambulance service.

The driver of the van suffered minor injuries and was taken to hospital for further checks, it said.

The carriageway is expected to remain closed throughout the morning.

A Birmingham mosque that had its windows broken last night was targeted with a sledgehammer, according to a city councillor.

Majid Mahmood tweeted , externalfootage of the damage at Witton Road Islamic Centre.

West Midlands Police has been contacted for comment.

Mr Mahmood called for assurance from police that "Muslims will be free to pray at the prescribed times across the city".

The M5 northbound at J3 in the West Midlands is expected to be closed for several hours for accident investigation work.

There are currently 30-minute delays on the approach to the incident, near Quinton, says Highways England.

Drivers are being advised to avoid the area.

A joint parent-teacher group is being set up at a Birmingham school at the centre of a row about LGBT issues being taught to children.

Some Birmingham schools have stopped LGBT rights classes after protests.

The Parent School Reference Group at Parkfield Community Primary School will be chaired by an independent person.

The school recently said it would not resume the lessons until a resolution had been reached with parents.

Plans for a reorganisation of hospital care in Shropshire have been referred to the health secretary by Telford and Wrekin Council.

It's sent a 61-page document to Matt Hancock to say the Future Fit programme is not in the best interests of health services and claims the consultation carried out by the health service was inadequate.

The plans would see Shrewsbury become the only centre for emergency care in the county and Telford's specialist women and children's unit moving to the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, with the Princess Royal Hospital becoming a centre for planned care instead.

Coventry City fans are heading to London to lobby the club's owners and the Football League over the ongoing stadium dispute which threatens to leave the club homeless.

Image source, Getty

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, external it would be visiting the four key stakeholders to deliver a "selection of messages" to convey what Coventry City means to them.

Coventry City's owners Sisu Capital Ltd said it had rejected an "extremely low" takeover bid from a consortium.

Rebecca Woods
BBC News

The mother of a disabled woman who died after all her teeth were removed says she did not consent to the operation.

Image source, Diana Johnston

Rachel Johnston's family has started a legal claim for negligence, saying medics failed to discuss risks of the treatment she had for tooth decay.

Ms Johnston, 49, who collapsed shortly after being discharged from hospital, was readmitted and died weeks later.

Health chiefs in Worcestershire said serious incident investigations had been carried out.

BBC Weather

Early patches of mist or fog will clear leaving a dry but cloudy day with highs of 15C (59F).

Vanessa Pearce
BBC News

Welcome to our live service for Thursday.

We'll be bringing you all the news, sport, travel and weather for the West Midlands.

We love to hear from you so share your news, thoughts and photos of the area with us via email, Twitter, external and Facebook., external

A lead campaigner against LGBT lessons in Birmingham schools says morally, homosexuality is not "a valid sexual relationship".

About 80% of inmates at a rural prison on the Northamptonshire-Warwickshire border are from London.