BBC Sport

Worcestershire have set Lancashire a target of 368 to win their opening game in the Royal London One-Day Cup.

Image source, Getty Images

The Pears looked to be on their way to a score of around 400 with both Daryl Mitchell and Hamish Rutherford (pictured above) scoring centuries.

But, having been 300-3 with 11 overs to go, Worcestershire lost their last seven wickets for 67 runs with five balls to spare.

Coventry Live

Here are some of the headlines on the Coventry Live website today:

• Teens stealing cars in return for tracksuits and trainers, external
• Police chase sees suspected burglary gang snared, external
• Rugby Club respond to Coventry City groundshare reports, external

A man has been arrested on suspicion of theft in Malvern after police were called to reports of metal being stripped from a building.

West Mercia Police said a number of police officers, as well as police dogs and a helicopter were sent to St Andrew's Road just after 19:00 yesterday.

Image source, Google

The 39-year-old man from London remains in police custody.

Labrador Arthur is being trained to help nine-year-old Lewis, who has autism

Local Democracy Reporting Service
Carl Jackson

Birmingham City Council is hoping to bring thousands of empty properties in the city back into use.

In all, almost 10,000 are lying unoccupied - about a quarter of them for more than three years.

Image source, @bccemptyhomes

The local authority has set itself a target of reclaiming the equivalent of one vacant property for every day this year.

Its head of empty homes Matthew Smith said it was "scandalous" that so many had been abandoned in "appalling conditions" at the same time the country faced a "housing crisis".

Figures released by housing charity Shelter in November suggested about 15,000 people in Birmingham were officially homeless, mainly sleeping in temporary accommodation.

The council said it would be focusing its efforts on the Ladywood and Hodge Hill areas.

Image source, @bccemptyhomes

Allen Cook
BBC News

Three teenagers have been arrested after another youth was reportedly attacked and their jacket stolen., external

Image source, Google

West Midlands Police said they were called to the Bullring yesterday and found one 18-year-old man hiding in the toilets.

Two teenagers, aged 17 and 16, were then arrested on a bus in Great Barr Street.

Officers say two knives were also found and all three are in custody on suspicion of knife possession, robbery and drugs offences.

Birmingham has been centre-stage in recent months in the battle against knife crime, which has seen a resurgence in some of the UK's biggest cities.

Network Rail says helium balloons are causing delays by getting caught in overhead cables.

BBC Weather Watchers

A lot of us saw a hazy start to the day and the BBC Weather Watchers have been sharing some dramatic photos.

These ones were taken in Stourport-on-Severn, Hednesford and Newport.

Image source, Snapshot Emma

Image source, Angus and me

Image source, TAY

Hereford Times

Here are three of the headlines from the Hereford Times today:

• Overnight closures planned for M50, external
• Mothers barred from childcare funding for nurseries in Wales, external
• Ice cream shop to open at city pub, external

Police say the man they are searching the River Severn in Shrewsbury for is 33-year-old Ashley Atkins, from the "West Midlands area".

They are linking his disappearance to an incident yesterday morning in which a vehicle was recovered from the water.

The force also said a 39-year-old man and a 27-year-old man, both from Birmingham, were arrested in the town on Tuesday on suspicion of conspiring to commit burglary and they remain in police custody.

A man from Dudley has appeared before Warwick Crown Court this morning and denied a series of modern slavery offences.

Ermal Lushaj, who is 33 and from Pear Tree Lane, faces nine counts - four of arranging or facilitating the travel of another person with a view to exploitation, three of holding a person in slavery or servitude and one of assault by beating.

Mr Lushaj was arrested after police raids on a Rugby car wash in November.

He is now scheduled to face trial on 29 July.

Defender Bruno Martins Indi say he is contemplating leaving Stoke as he looks for a quick return to the Premier League.

An Australian museum is appealing to people in Shropshire for information about an anchor that was discovered in an Australian river bed six months ago.

It once belonged to The Beagle, the ship Charles Darwin spent five years travelling the world on, and has been missing since its third and final voyage, a survey of the Australian coast.

Image source, Getty Images

Darwin grew up in Shrewsbury and the museum in the Australian city of Darwin is hoping people in Shropshire might have more information or images about the anchor, which it is planning to put on display.

Two houses have been raided in Stoke-on-Trent as part of a police operation to stop the supply of the drug Monkey Dust.

Officers forced their way into properties on Rochester Road in Longton and Burt Street in Weston Coyney early this morning.

Class B drugs, cash, a baton and mobile phones were seized, and two arrests were made.

Image source, Staffordshire Police

Staffordshire Police said a 48-year-old man was in custody suspected of importing and supplying drugs, and money laundering, while a 26-year-old is suspected of drug possession with intent to supply, as well as money laundering.

Taxi drivers in Bromsgrove are being urged to look after their vehicles better after four were taken off the road in the town for safety reasons.

Licensing officers carried out spot checks on 5 April and nine vehicles were taken in for further examinations.

Image source, Getty Images

Four of those were found to have serious problems with their suspension, brakes, or tyres.

Another 12 drivers were given penalty points for breaching licensing conditions, such as not wearing an identification badge and displaying licence plates incorrectly.

BBC Radio Shropshire Sport

Shrewsbury Town defender James Bolton says the club is already starting to make plans for next season.

Image source, Getty Images

The club is close to securing its place in League One for another season and if results go their way it could be all-but-confirmed this weekend.

Cheshire Live - Crewe

A few of the headlines making the news on the Crewe Chronicle website:

• Police patrols stepped up for annual Nantwich Jazz Festival, external
• Developer submits 400 new homes application for Crewe, external
• Con artists claiming to be police officers steal money from women in Crewe, external

Two men have been attacked with a knife by a robber who stole money off them.

Image source, Google

West Midlands Police said the pair were on a canal towpath new to Forge Lane bridge, Erdington, Birmingham, on Monday night when it happened.

A man with a knife threatened them and slashed their hands as they tried to get away while he escaped with some money.

A helium balloon delayed hundreds of train passengers in the West Midlands after it got wrapped around overhead wires, Network Rail says.

Image source, Getty Images

The organisation is warning of the dangers of such foil balloons, saying it's recorded 619 such incidents in the past year across the country.

It says they cause delays because the electricity has to be turned off and the lines made safe.

The delay in the West Midlands happened this week at Smethwick Rolfe Street Station with Network Rail estimating the cost of delays in this case reaching £5,000.

BBC Midlands Today

Front-line troops from the Midlands are being trained to tackle rioting.

The Mercians' second battalion are on standby for rapid deployment to overseas trouble-spots.

Soldiers from the unit, known as "The Heart of England's Infantry", come from five counties, once the ancient kingdom of Mercia.

They're currently training in Cyprus with the aim of protecting Britain's overseas bases.