Police are appealing for help tracing a vehicle which "did not stop at the scene".

A post mortem examination confirmed cause of death as a single gunshot wound to the chest.

Che Adams, Teemu Pukki and Billy Sharp are nominated for the EFL's Championship Player of the Season award.

Emergency services and actors reconstruct the scene of a head-on collision to highlight the dangers of joyriding.

Vicky Norton
BBC Radio Stoke

A bin lorry is to be named after England and Stoke City goalkeeper Gordon Banks, external - and have an unofficial knighthood added to his name.

Image source, Getty Images

Banks, who died on 12 February aged 81, helped England win the World Cup in 1966 and helped Stoke win the League Cup in 1972, the club's only major honour.

Stafford Borough Council says he'll be the first person to have a bin lorry in Stafford named after him and, despite not being knighted, they'll call it 'Sir Gordon Banks'.

Banks' family have given the idea their blessing, a council spokesman said.

A major phase in works to redevelop two performance venues is under way.

Wolverhampton's Civic and Wulfrun Halls have been closed since December 2015.

The city council says the sites have now undergone extensive asbestos removal, meaning structural, engineering and electrical works can begin.

Image source, City of Wolverhampton Council

They are expected to re-open for business in autumn 2021.

Councillor John Reynolds, cabinet member for city economy, says the works will make the halls "world class venues".

Proposals to reduce services and routes are "detrimental" to rural communities, passengers say.

Gordon Oates, who has achieved the accolade for over-85s doubles, says it is never too late to start.

BBC Sport assesses a potential eight-way scrap for Premiership survival as teams gear up for a nervy run-in.

A 52-year-old man who was shot by police died from a single gunshot wound to the front of the chest, an inquest heard.

The hearing at Birmingham Coroner's Court earlier was told Trevor Smith, a transit driver from Lee Bank, Birmingham, was shot and killed at his home in the early hours of 15 March.

The inquest was opened and adjourned, with full proceedings set to resume in February 2020.

Image source, Facebook

During proceedings, the court heard officers from West Midlands Police's firearms unit accessed the property on Wheeleys Lane just before 05:00 GMT.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said in a statement read in court that officers found Mr Smith in a bedroom and when he did not respond to requests to leave the room, a shot was fired.

Despite first aid being given, Mr Smith was pronounced dead a short time later, the statement continued.

The IOPC added it was investigating, including the intelligence that led to police's operation, the details of which did not emerge at Tuesday's opening.

Three men have been charged in connection with burglaries and theft across three counties including Warwickshire.

They were arrested after officers were called to a builders' merchants in Somers Road, Rugby, on Sunday evening, the Warwickshire force said.

Each has been charged with three counts of burglary in connection with break-ins at commercial premises in Nuneaton and Derbyshire, along with the Rugby burglary.

The men also face a further charge in relation to a stolen van in Surrey.

The trio were due before magistrates on Tuesday.

The signed 1924 manuscript, possibly a new piece of music, sold for £5,400 at auction.

A previously undiscovered piece of music by composer Sir Edward Elgar has today sold at more than double the expected price at auction.

The 1924 manuscript was folded up in an autograph book which included the signatures of Charlie Chaplin and Sir Winston Churchill.

Auctioneer Richard Winterton expected the manuscript to sell for about £2,000, but it fetched £5,400.

“The excitement built," he said of the bidding in Lichfield, Staffordshire, earlier.

"With more than 1,000 watching it online and 35 registered bidders on this lot at any one time, plus bidders on the telephones and a packed room, it just showed what an incredible find this was."

The autograph book, which was in a separate lot, sold for £3,600.

Elgar was born in 1857 in Broadheath, Worcestershire, and died in 1934.

BBC News Travel

Rail disruption has ended between Birmingham New Street and Redditch.

Services had been delayed earlier due to overhead wire damage.

Some breaking news from Staffordshire fire service which has crews tackling cars in flames.

It's happening in Hanley.

More details as we have them...

News that coroners in England and Wales may be given new powers to investigate stillbirths has been welcomed by a Solihull couple.

Under the measures, each baby death would be independently assessed in a bid to help parents gain answers on what went wrong.

Mike and Trish White, who lost two babies at birth in 2017 and 2018, told the BBC news channel that post-mortem examinations helped them come to terms with their loss.

Mrs White said what was being proposed was a good thing, but individual choice should rest with families.

Mr White added: "Unless you do things like post mortems, you can't help yourself in the future.

"It's a difficult decision but I would encourage families that are going through that to just try and think a bit longer term, even though it's such a hard thing to do when you lose your baby."

Here's a short film on how they've been helping similar couples with a special blanket:

Birmingham City Council and Transport for West Midlands have stepped in to help with funding.

A new apprenticeship scheme has launched for those who want to develop a career in tramway construction.

The project, launched by Midland Metro Alliance which is developing the tramway throughout Birmingham and the Black Country, has already seen 12 people sign up to begin the course later this year.

Image source, Midland Metro Alliance

West Midlands mayor Andy Street said the apprenticeship was the first of its kind.

Alejandro Moreno, director of Midland Metro Alliance, said it was an "ideal opportunity" as the "light rail sector is undergoing a period of expansion".

A man in his 70s has been punched to the floor, kicked and stamped on during a serious assault in Hereford.

Image source, Google

He was walking in the alleyway between Pentwyn Court and Freda Pearce Close when he was attacked by two men some time between 19:10 and 19:30 on Saturday.

The victim received treatment for injuries to his face and body, which are not thought to be life-threatening.

The men are believed to have been riding bicyles, says West Mercia Police.

A spokesperson described it as a "particularly nasty and unprovoked attack" that left the victim "injured and shaken".

Hereford Times

Some of the Hereford Times headlines today are:

• Pensioner in seventies brutally beaten in Hereford alley, external
• Calls for tree works after falling branch almost hits car, external
• Civic society to host hustings ahead of elections, external