BBC Midlands Today

The Trent Valley in Staffordshire is set to be transformed over the next 25 years in a £4.7m wildlife scheme.

The money's come from the National Lottery and Staffordshire Wildlife Trust says it has already started to restore Tucklesholme Quarry, near Burton-upon-Trent. , external

Since quarrying ended at the site last year, the site's been changed into a wetland habitat with the trust hoping to bring one bird species, the bittern, back to the county.

Similar efforts will now take place at other locations along the valley over the next 25 years.

BBC Hereford and Worcester

More than 1,000 people have added their names to a list of potential stem cell donors to try and find a match for a little boy with a life-threatening disease.

Image source, Jo and Paul Hill

Finley Hill, from Belbroughton, Worcestershire, has a rare immune system disorder and needs a transplant.

The seven-year-old is kept stable with steroids and immuno-suppressants, but the only cure is chemotherapy and a transplant, his mother Jo Hill said.

His school held a two-day donor drive at the weekend with participants undertaking a cheek swab for analysis.

Coventry Observer

Some of today's Coventry Observer headlines are:

• Lorry driver caught making credit card payment on phone, external
• 'Much loved' victim of suspected Bedworth murder named, external
• Frail residents left 'scared and shaken' after burglars stole jewellery, external

The 12-man moped gang also stole BBC equipment filming the Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race.

Lotus Cars says it is taking on the additional workforce to help "grow the brand".

Sir Lenny Henry is to tour the country sharing memories and insights into his life and work, it's been announced.

Image source, PA

An Evening With Lenny Henry - Who Am I, Again? follows the publication of the Dudley-born comedy star's memoirs.

Sir Lenny said: "I'm looking forward to travelling around and telling these stories. "I can't wait to share more stories and fun about growing up in the Midlands, my early days in the clubs, pubs and discotheques and of course working on Tiswas, Three Of A Kind and The Lenny Henry Show."

Image source, Birmingham Hippodrome

The tour starts with a date in Birmingham on 20 October, external and ends in Stoke-on-Trent on 29 November.

Rich Davis
BBC Weather presenter

It will be a dry night with largely clear skies and lows of 2C (36F).

A teenager has been arrested on suspicion of theft and fraud, police say, after reports money was being collected online on behalf of the family of an 18-year-old found dead in a flat.

Image source, Family handout

Megan Newton was found at the property in Fletcher Road, Stoke-on-Trent, last month.

Staffordshire Police said an 18-year-old man was arrested on Friday and released under investigation.

The force has urged people not to speculate about the case and not to take matters into their own hands.

Joseph Trevor, from Trentham and also 18, has been charged with Ms Newton's murder and is due to appear at Stafford Crown Court later this week.

Crewe Chronicle

The Crewe Chronicle's covering these stories today:

• Labour and Independents form agreement to run Cheshire East Council, external
• Police reassure public after reports of explosions in Crewe, external
• Police called following arson attacks at old Electricity Works in Crewe, external

Youngsters chipped in £5 each to buy the sign, which disappeared 27 years ago.

Luke Morgan and Emma Cole are cleared of murdering their two-month-old Tyler who was smothered.

BBC Business News

Funeral firm Dignity says its profits are likely to be lower this year because fewer people have died in 2019 so far.

Image source, Getty Images

The Sutton Coldfield based company said the absolute number of deaths in the first three months of 2019 fell by about 12% to 159,000, compared with 181,000 in the same period last year.

It added that full-year profit could be £3m-£4m lower than previously thought.

Figures issued by the Office for National Statistics confirm the lower number of deaths, but they also indicate that the first three months of 2018 saw a particularly high number of deaths, because of flu outbreaks and extreme cold weather

Local Democracy Reporting Service
Kerry Ashdown

An NHS hospital trust is being offered £32m by the government if it avoids going more than £32m into the red by April 2020.

The University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust runs the Royal Stoke University Hospital and Stafford's County Hospital.

At its latest board meeting, it revealed it's expecting to end this financial year with a £56m deficit although that will be a fall on last year's £69m. , external

But its acting chief financial officer, Jonathan Tringham, told the board that if they met a target of £32m for the next financial year, they'd receive the same figure in funding from the government and therefore "break even" that year.

Crack cocaine and heroin have been seized after a teenager was arrested in Warwickshire.

The 17-year-old was picked up in Barsby Close, Atherstone after being seen acting suspiciously.

Officers also found a can of pepper spray.

The boy, from Birmingham, was arrested on suspicion of possession of class A drugs with intent to supply and possession of a firearm.

He has been released under investigation, said Warwickshire Police.

Phil McCann
Cheshire Political Reporter, BBC News

A deal's been done for the Labour Party to run Cheshire East Council, along with independent councillors.

Image source, Google

It's after the Conservatives lost control of the authority in this month's local elections, the first time in the 10 years of the council's existence.

The combined forces of Labour and the Independent group would allow them to command a majority so they're going to serve together on the cabinet, under a Labour leader.

But, over the next year, they say they will work to abolish the cabinet and will run the council through a series of committees that'll be shared among all the political groups.

A man's suffered potentially serious injuries after being hit by a lorry in Wolverhampton.

Image source, Google

West Midlands Ambulance Service said he was a pedestrian on Stafford Road, outside Selco Builders Warehouse, when it happened this morning.

They said people had pulled the man, aged in his 50s, on to the pavement before their paramedics arrived and then took him to hospital.

A man suffered serious injuries after coming off his bike in the Vélo Birmingham & Midlands bike ride.

Coventry Live

These are some of Coventry Live's headlining stories today:

• Police investigating cyclist's death after Velo bike ride incident, external
• Attempted murder charge over Hillfields stabbing, external
• HGV driver caught with mobile phone in one hand and credit card in the other, external

Quaker meeting houses in Birmingham, Worcestershire and Stourbridge are among 17 in the country to be given new or enhanced protected status.

Image source, Google

The house in Malvern (pictured), one of only a few purpose-built inter-war meeting houses - along with one in Edgbaston have been newly listed at Grade II.

The Edgbaston Meeting House was built in 1893 as meeting houses in central Birmingham became overcrowded and suburban meetings were set up, said Historic England.

A meeting house in Stourbridge, dating from 1689, and still retaining historic features, has been upgraded to Grade II*.

Their owner says road closures meant a vet could not reach the animals in time.