A congestion charge is to be imposed after government rejects Coventry's air quality improvement plan.

Andy Giddings
BBC News

We'll be back with the news, sport, travel and weather from 07:00 tomorrow.

Local Democracy Reporting Service
Carl Jackson

Hundreds of residents are expected be evicted from their homes in Birmingham in the next few years, to make way for council regeneration projects.

Image source, Google

The city council's cabinet backed the move , externalwith about 1,500 homes in the city set to be cleared in the next decade as part of a 10-year plan by the local authority.

Councillors said residents in Druids Heath affected by a £43m revamp - which will see five high-rises demolished and three tower blocks revamped - would be the first to benefit.

However, with the policy only providing "principles", opposition councillors questioned how it would be implemented and whether enough new homes would be built to rehouse people.

The local authority's housing boss, Councillor Sharon Thompson, said there would always be some scenarios that have to be dealt with on a "case by case basis".

Riki Wessels hits a second ton in three games and Josh Dell makes a maiden half-century as Worcestershire lead Durham.

BBC Coventry & Warwickshire Sport

Coventry City have appointed a goalkeeping coach to replace the legendary Steve Ogrizovic.

Aled Williams joins from Wolverhampton Wanderers, where he was their under-23s coach.

Image source, AFC Telford United

The 35-year-old Welshman also had a spell working at AFC Telford United under their previous manager, Rob Edwards.

Part of the wall surrounding Shrewsbury's former prison is being demolished, to allow workmen to clear the site of unwanted temporary buildings.

The jail was sold to the Trevor Osborne Property Group in 2014 and two years ago it was given outline permission to convert the site into student flats and offices.

No date has been set for the start of the redevelopment, although full planning approval has now been given for nine flats in the former visitors car park.

The clearance of the site of demountable buildings is expected to take six weeks.

The organisers of the Vélo Birmingham and Midlands cycle ride say they've set up an online fundraising page in memory of the rider who died in a crash at the weekend.

The man, in his 50s, fell from his bike in Atherstone, Warwickshire, and died in hospital after suffering "significant head injuries".

Image source, VÉLO BIRMINGHAM & MIDLANDS

CSM Active said they were in touch with his family and all the proceeds from the JustGiving page would go to the Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Rutland Air Ambulance.

Halesowen News

A few of the stories making the headlines on the Halesowen News website:

• Stab victim campaigners 'positive' after Home Secretary meeting, external
• Comedy night fundraiser for tragic Arsenal fan, external
• Community library to host countryside walks, external

A 26-year-old man who admitted hitting a police officer with his car in Stafford will be sentenced next month.

Gurajdeep Malhi from Charnley Road in Stafford, had pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm of PC Claire Bond with intent to resist arrest on 23 September and has been remanded in custody until his appearance on 17 June.

His co-accused, 31-year-old Lucy Maria Bullmore, aged 31, of Morton Road, Stafford, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving in Stafford on the same day and failing to provide a specimen for breath analysis and failing to stop.

She was given unconditional bail and will also be sentenced on 17 June.

PC Laura Lawson would have been sacked from the force had she not resigned, a panel hears.

Shefali Oza
BBC Midlands Today

The dry, fine weather's set to continue tonight in the West Midlands - here's the full forecast for the night and tomorrow:

To get a latest forecast for your area at any other time, head to the BBC Weather website.

Fraud police are warning Muslim tourists booking trips to Mecca to perform the Hajj pilgrimage, "to take steps to ensure that they are not the victims of insurance fraud".

Up to 25,000 British Muslims will be booking trips to Mecca over the coming months for Hajj in the autumn.

In recent years, the trading standards team at Birmingham City Council has shut down numerous businesses selling unlicensed tours and seeking to exploit would-be pilgrims.

Image source, Getty Images

Det Sgt Kevin Ives of the City of London Police, which leads on fraud investigations, said many victims "will have saved for years to be able to afford to travel to Saudi Arabia and as a result will be absolutely devastated when they find out that they have in fact been conned by fraudsters".

He called on people to research travel operators thoroughly and to report incidents of Hajj fraud.

A Worcestershire pensioner who claimed he designed the Wolverhampton Wanderers logo when he was at school has lost his High Court copyright battle.

Peter Davies, who is 71 and from Stourport, said he created the wolf head design in the 1960s and entered it in an art competition, but Mr Justice Nugee, who had overseen a High Court trial in London, said Mr Davies had faced "insuperable obstacles" in proving his claim.

Image source, Getty Images

The judge also said Mr Davies may have to pick up lawyers' fees from both sides, which could amount to about £450,000.

The newly elected mayor for Ross-on-Wye says she'll make it her mission to tackle loneliness in the Herefordshire town.

Liberal Democrat councillor Jane Roberts says despite the market town having strong community links, there are still far too many lonely people there.

Image source, Google/Ross-on-Wye Town Council

Wasps rugby club say the "ball is back in the court" of Coventry City's owners, after it learned Sisu had taken its dispute over the sale of the Ricoh Arena to the European Commission.

Wasps chief executive Nick Eastwood said: "We were happy to sit down with Coventry City to reach an agreement over their future at the Ricoh Arena, once the club had agreed to cease all legal action or proceedings surrounding our acquisition and ownership of the Ricoh Arena."

Image source, Getty Images

Coventry City are ultimately on the hunt for a new stadium, but need somewhere to play their games next season and had been in talks to stay longer at the Ricoh Arena.

Mr Eastwood said Wasps "entered such discussions in good faith" and that because the case had been taken to the EU, its conditions for negotiations hadn't been met.

BBC Business News

Marston's, which owns pubs and breweries and imports lager to the UK, says it has stockpiled £6m of Estrella Damm, the Spanish beer.

Chief executive of the Wolverhampton-based firm Ralph Findlay told the FT , externalthat disruption must be avoided, and that more beer will be stockpiled if a hard Brexit remains a threat.

Image source, Getty Images

Coventry Live

Here's a look at the headlines on the Coventry Live website today:

• Government orders 'congestion charge' on Coventry roads, external
• Coventry City issue statement over Ricoh talks, external
• Demonstration planned to save historic pub, external

BBC Coventry & Warwickshire Sport

Wasps have called off talks with Coventry City over an extension of their stay at the Ricoh Arena.

Chief Executive of Wasps Rugby club Nick Eastwood said it was because the football club's owners have now taken the stadium row to the European Commission.

Image source, Getty Images

A statement from Wasps says "it's everyone’s interest that Coventry City play their home games at the Ricoh Arena, and we would urge the owners of Coventry City to take steps to make that happen."

The rugby club has consistently said it would not discuss a new deal with Coventry City until owner Sisu dropped its long-running court case with the council.

Coventry City had been looking for a new deal to stay at the Ricoh Arena, until a longer-term solution could be worked out.

A former West Mercia Police officer has been found guilty of gross misconduct while serving on the force.

In October, Laura Lawson admitted assaulting a 17-year-old boy while attending a disturbance in Rugby in 2017 and was given a three-month jail sentence, suspended for two years, at Worcester Crown Court.

At a hearing at the Hindlip headquarters yesterday, Lawson was found to have breached the standards of professional behaviour amounting to gross misconduct and was told she would have been sacked, had she not already resigned.

The West Mercia Head of Professional Standards, Supt Helena Bennett, said: "A serving police officer receiving a criminal conviction for assault brings discredit on the force and is completely unacceptable when we are responsible for protecting the public from harm."

Stuart George
Presenter, BBC Radio Stoke

An inquiry into the support offered to guests on TV shows, launched after ITV axed The Jeremy Kyle Show, also needs to look into how programmes are regulated, a Staffordshire MP has said.

Image source, Shutterstock

ITV said the decision to end the show was as a result of the "gravity of recent events".

Steve Dymond was found dead on 9 May a week after filming the show, during which he took a lie detector test.

Following the announcement, a committee of MPs, which include Newcastle-under-Lyme MP Paul Farrelly, launched an inquiry into whether enough support is offered to guests on TV shows during and after filming.