Warwickshire will host Stage Four of the Women's Tour today, starting at 10:30 in Warwick and ending at Burton Dassett Country Park.

Sixteen of the world’s top female cycling teams and ninety-six of the world’s best women cyclists are taking part in the competition.

The 158.9km stage will pass through Ashorne, Wellesbourne, Warmington and Avon Dassett.

There are two designated Queen of the Mountains climbs will take place on the route, one of which being cycled three times.

Three people had to be rescued from a vehicle caught in a flooded ford in Warwickshire.

Image source, Warwickshire Fire Service

Fire crews were called to Crowberry Lane, Middleton shortly after 22:10, said the fire service.

Earlier in the day a driver also had to be rescued from a flooded road near Witherley, it said.

Drivers are being warned not to attempt crossing flooded roads.

A man has died after being stabbed in Coventry, police say.

Officers were called to reports of a fight in gardens behind Franklin Grove, in the Tile Hill area, just after 14:30 on Wednesday.

The man, believed to be in his 20s, was found with a serious stab wound to his leg, and died at the scene, said West Midlands Police.

Det Insp Nick Barnes said: “We understand a group of around six or seven young men were fighting in rear gardens off Franklin Grove when one suffered the fatal stab wound. Moments earlier they were seen running across Tile Hill Lane."

The force is appealing for any witnesses to come forward.

This is what the rail line looks like at Wood End, between Whitlocks End and Stratford-upon-Avon.

Southbound rail services have been suspended with tickets being accepted on local bus services.

BBC News Travel

A fallen tree is blocking one lane of the A449 at Torton, Kidderminster, West Mercia Police said.

The closure is near the Fuscia Vale Nursery.

Jennie Aitken
Reporter, BBC Radio Stoke

Flooding is causing problems on Sandon Road in Stafford.

The water is covering the pavement and road right through to the nearby garage forecourt.

The road is closed but some van and lorry drivers are still able to get through.

Almost 40mm of rain fell in Pennerley, Shropshire, on Wednesday, making it the wettest place in the UK.

The Environment Agency has two flood warnings in place in Shropshire along with five flood alerts in the county., external

Drivers are being warned there could be more flooding and disruption this morning.

Image source, Shropshire Lass

After several days of rain and more overnight, the forecast is for further wet weather through today.

The Environment Agency has flood warnings in place for parts of Shropshire, Warwickshire and Staffordshire, , externalas well as flood alerts across the West Midlands.

The Met Office has a yellow weather warning in place until midday which covers Cheshire, including around Crewe and Nantwich. , external

Yesterday, the bad weather caused disruption to trains as flood water blocked railway lines and several roads were under water.

Rail services are being affected by flooding this morning with the southbound rail line blocked between Whitlocks End and Stratford-upon-Avon, said West Midlands Railway.

Services running to and from these stations may be cancelled, delayed or diverted, it said.

Alex Hamilton
BBC Weather

It will be a cloudy day with outbreaks of rain, with some of it heavy, and highs of 15C (59F).

Vanessa Pearce
BBC News

Welcome to our live service for Thursday.

We'll be bringing you all the news, sport, travel and weather for the West Midlands.

We love to hear from you and you can get in touch via email,Twitter, external and Facebook, external.

Martin Morris amassed 36,000 Marvel and DC comics over decades, with one probably worth £10,000.

Gary Dobbie indecently assaulted nine pupils while he was at Christ's Hospital School in Sussex.

We'll be back with our usual mix of news, sport, travel and weather from 07:00 tomorrow, but keep an eye out here for more updates this evening and into the morning.

Former Northern Ireland keeper Maik Taylor has been announced as the new goalkeeping coach at Walsall Football Club.

Image source, Press Eye

Taylor, who won 88 international caps between between 1999 and 2011, used to play for Birmingham City FC and Fulham.

In March, the 47-year-old quit his role as part of the coaching team for the Northern Irish squad after five-and-a-half years.

He said he was "really looking forward" to working at the Saddlers, saying: "It will be good for me and, hopefully, good for Walsall".

Worcester's ongoing efforts to try and cut the number of gulls in the city could see businesses putting spikes on their roofs this summer

The city council's been battling for several years to try and reduce the bird population as they're seen as a nuisance and have been known to attack people.

In their latest move, council staff visited dozens of businesses to encourage them to get rid of old nests, put up spikes to stop gulls perching and look at putting up netting.

The council's also working with local takeaways to cut the amount of food available for the birds to scavenge.

Local Democracy Reporting Service
David Lawrence

A major revamp of several roads around Warwickshire are planned in the coming years after the government set aside funds.

The A426 and A4071 in Rugby are expected to be the priority, Warwickshire County Council said, with work expected to be completed by 2025.

A dual carriageway is also due to be created from Kenilworth’s Thickthorn Island to Bericote Road in Leamington Spa, along with improvements to roads in Nuneaton town centre.

The package of works is expected to cost more than £52m, with central government providing about 85% of funding.

Local Democracy Reporting Service
Carl Jackson

The councillor in charge of Birmingham's bin collections said there was "no overnight fix" after it was revealed last week that rubbish in the city was still going uncollected.

John O'Shea admitted that up to 900 collections were missed every day and told a council meeting on Tuesday that he was "under no illusions the service is not delivering".

"The problems are quite serious and need to be resolved," he said, explaining that there were lingering problems regarding routes and structures after workers changed from a five-day week to four.

However he said he was "confident they will be resolved and we will make the service better".

Refuse collections in Birmingham have been disrupted twice since a strike in 2017 about the changes to working patterns.

Crewe Chronicle

The Crewe Chronicle's headlines today include:

• Man taken to hospital after car becomes trapped in flood near Crewe, external
• Consultation on changes to HS2 phase 2b route between Crewe and Manchester, external
• Thieves flee Sandbach home carrying huge 19th Century Grandfather clock, external

BBC Weather Watchers

Rising river levels, flooded roads and fallen trees - we've had them all from our local BBC Weather Watchers today.

Here are three, from users Henry in Leintwardine, Herefordshire, Z70 in Stafford and Chris n Ginny in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire:

Image source, Henry

Image source, Z70

Image source, Chris n Ginny