Warwickshire Police said it was "extremely concerned" about the discovery of a dead horse in a derelict pub.

The decaying corpse was discovered in what remains of the Old Bull & Butcher, between Ryton-on-Dunsmore and Princethorpe in Warwickshire, Coventry Live is reporting. , external

The force is appealing for anyone with information about how the horse came to be in the pub to come forward.

"Cruelty to animals is a criminal offence attracting fines of up to £20,000, a maximum jail term of 51 weeks and a lifetime ban for some owners on keeping animals," it said.

A structural survey on The Ark revealed issues around repairs, fire exits and washrooms.

BBC Politics

Ever wondered what you can and can't do in a polling station?

There's nothing in the law that specifically bans taking photos, but the Electoral Commission very strongly discourages any photography inside a polling station.

Image source, Getty Images

Likewise, the commission advises against tweeting from inside polling stations even if it's about your own vote.

Read more.

Birmingham Live

Here are a selection of stories on the Birmingham Live website this lunchtime:

• Woman, 20, 'critical' with head injuries after handbag stolen in Bull Street, external
• Arrest made after man knifed three times in Wolverhampton stabbing, external
• Cruel thug mugs Netherton pensioner - but the response was remarkable, external

Tamworth's Dave Gilbert is level with four-times world snooker champion John Higgins in their semi-final.

Image source, Getty Images

It's two frames all at the Crucible in Sheffield.

Gilbert, who beat Kyren Wilson 13-8 to reach the last four, will face Judd Trump or qualifier Gary Wilson, if he makes it to the final.

Just over 100 jobs are to go at Wedgwood in Barlaston, it has been announced.

In March about 145 job losses were expected at the world famous pottery firm's site.

That has now been reduced to 103, following an staff consultation period, the Fiskars Group, which runs Wedgwood said.

Ninety-seven are in manufacturing, with six from restaurant operations on site. The job cuts are expected to be made in phases until the end of 2019.

The firm said manufacturing operations in Barlaston would focus on "hand crafted, high-end products" and all design, product development and global marketing of products would remain there.

The 256-year-old company is one of the oldest in the world, set up by Josiah Wedgwood, the grandfather of naturalist Charles Darwin, in 1759.

A woman who was infected with HIV through her haemophiliac husband after he took contaminated medicines has told an inquiry she felt the couple were used for research.

Clair Walton’s husband Bryan was given clotting agent Factor VIII in the 1970s and 80s to help his blood to clot, but said medical staff knew it could carry diseases, such as HIV and Hepatitis.

The 57-year-old from Warwickshire told the inquiry that when the pair told their doctors they were going to try for a baby the clinicians began monitoring them regularly, testing her monthly for HIV.

She said: "They were watching whether I would turn from HIV negative to HIV positive - that was it. There wasn't any advice around."

Ms Walton was giving evidence on the third day of the inquiry at Fleetbank House in central London.

A man has been stabbed outside a university library in Wolverhampton.

Image source, Google

Disorder took place between two men at about 22:30 on Wednesday, police said, which resulted in a 24-year-old man suffering three stab wounds outside the library on Wulfruna Street.

The victim was taken to hospital for treatment with injuries that were not believed to be life-threatening, officers said.

A 22-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of possession of a weapon.

Two men have been charged, after a 102-year-old woman was the victim of a burglary in Newcastle-under-Lyme.

A handbag containing cash and debit cards, was taken as well jewellery, pottery and silverware in the raid in the Westlands area over the weekend.

The woman was unharmed, but left shaken, police say.

A 50-year-old man has been charged with two counts of burglary and theft, and fraud by false representation, Staffordshire Police said.It said a 33-year-old man had been charged with burglary and theft, possessing a knife blade in a public place, and using threatening words/behaviour to cause distress.Two men, aged 43 and 45, both from Stoke-on-Trent, have been released under investigation pending further enquiries.

Polls close in local elections at 22:00 and we'll bring you all the results as they come in through the night and on Friday.

Coventry Live

Some of today's Coventry Live headlines are:

• Police 'extremely concerned' after dead horse found in derelict pub, external
• Mum’s despair at 40-foot industrial unit overlooking her garden, external
• Woman cleared after having sex with 14-year-old boy, external

Three teenagers left one victim with a brain injury as they stole phones and cash in a three-day spree.

Hayley Carruthers made the headlines at the weekend when she was pictured struggling to get over the finish line at the London Marathon.

An elite runner from Birmingham, she finished an amazing 17th, despite only taking up the sport in 2016.

The very next day she was back at work as an NHS radiologist and said the national TV exposure had led to some great conversations with her cancer patients.

The Chairman of the Conservative Association in South Staffordshire says he feels sorry for the former defence secretary, who was sacked yesterday.

Image source, Getty Images

Gavin Williamson, has denied that he was responsible for leaking of information to a newspaper from a national security meeting.

Barry Bond said the South Staffordshire MP had been "got at by certain people".

"He may have been made an enemy by certain civil servants", he said, "and that's not a good thing to do.

"Gavin has been a very conscientious constituency MP and a very conscientious secretary of state."

You can follow live updates on the story here.

Bull Street in Birmingham remains cordoned off after an assault by a suspected thief left a woman in a critical condition in hospital.

The 20-year-old suffered serious head injuries in the attack on Bull Street, police said.

Buses have been diverted around the area all morning and the one-way street, not used by cars, has been shut for several hours.

Officers said they did not know how long a cordon would remain in place.

Lauren Griffiths' body was found at a property in the Cathays area of Cardiff on Tuesday evening.

Hereford Times

These are among the headlines on the Hereford Times website this lunchtime:

• Couple banned from keeping animals after starving staffie, external
• Inspector hears mobile home appeal case, external
• Vandals strike at Herefordshire nature reserve, external

Three teenagers who threatened people with a knife and meat cleaver during a robbery spree have been jailed.

Iosif Filipache and two friends aged 15 and 16 struck five times between 16 and 19 November last year in Birmingham, making off with phones, cash and bank cards, officers say.

Image source, West Midlands Police

West Midlands Police says one victim suffered a brain haemorrhage and needed emergency surgery, after being punched and kicked to the ground, while a café owner was with "nasty facial injuries" following a subway robbery.

CCTV operators spotted the 15 and 16-year-olds, who are too young to be named, carrying out the final attack and directed police to the scene.

The 16-year-old was tasered and the other boy jumped into the canal in a botched escape bid.

Filipache, 19, from Normandy Road, Aston, was jailed for 17 years.

The 16-year-old and 15-year-old, who also admitted the robberies, were sent to young offenders institutions for 11 and six years respectively.

Former home secretary and Redditch MP, Jacqui Smith, has been appointed chair of the Jo Cox Foundation, set up in the wake of the Labour MP’s murder in 2016.

Image source, PA

She said she was "enormously excited and honoured" to take on the role.

The charity undertakes initiatives that Jo was passionate about such as loneliness, the protection of civilians in conflict and supporting women to enter public life.

Jacqui Smith, who was already a member of the Foundation board, said she hoped to use the role to counter the "toxic level of public debate" in the country.

Local Democracy Reporting Service
Tom Davis

Plans have been submitted, external for a 575-bed student accommodation development on the site of a former social club in Coventry.

Image source, Cassidy Group

Applicant Cassidy Group is aiming to develop on the site of the former Spencer Sports and Social Club on Albany Road, and land to the rear.

The front of the site comprises brownfield land, the applicant said, having previously been home to the social club up until its demolition in 2016.

These will span across three four, six and eight storey blocks, accessed off Albany Road.