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Here are three of the stories from the Shropshire Star today:
Phil McCann
Cheshire Political Reporter, BBC News
A policing watchdog chairman has apologised after he criticised an officer for wearing a rainbow lanyard.
Bob Fousert, chair of the Cheshire police and crime panel, claimed it was political for the force's deputy chief constable to don LGBT neckwear.
He’s been urged to resign, but said he has no intention of doing so and added he thinks he’s been vilified for asking a contentious question.
In a letter to the panel,, external Mr Fousert said his question was not meant as an attack on the LGBT community and he’s sorry that it’s been made to seem that way.
Local Democracy Reporting Service
A member of the West Mercia Police and Crime Panel said he was "disappointed" when he got no answer after calling the non-emergency 101 number to pass on information he had received about child sexual exploitation.
Councillor Kuldip Sahota said he called on a Friday evening and initially gave up after trying for "five or 10 minutes", before eventually getting through when he called back half an hour later. However, he said he worried other people might have given up.
Police and Crime Commissioner John Campion apologised, but said there may have been an incident going on and added: "That’s the system. If I ring my telephone provider or utility provider and it’s not an emergency and they’re busy and I can’t afford to wait when they’re busy, I ring back later."
His deputy, Tracey Onslow, said research being carried suggests the 101 number gets a lot of extra calls about matters like mental health when other services close for the evening or the weekend, and those calls "can be quite lengthy and quite difficult".
Quote MessageHad it been an ordinary member of the public and not a councillor like myself they would probably have just given it up in the first instance. I was rather disappointed with that.”
Councillor Kuldip Sahota, West Mercia Police and Crime Panel member
Cheshire Police's deputy chief constable is accused of being political over her rainbow lanyard.
Read MoreBob Fousert says he has "no intention" of quitting after criticising an officer for her rainbow-coloured lanyard.
Read MoreA man is being treated in hospital for head injuries and a suspected stab wound to his arm after being attacked in the street in the Dawley area of Telford this morning.
Image source, GoogleWest Mercia Police said the assault happened at around 08:15 on King Street, external, close to the Dawley Social Club, when "an unknown number of offenders assaulted a man before fleeing the scene".
The victim's injuries are not believed to be life-threatening, the force said.
Det Sgt Andrew Dawson, said: "This was a nasty incident which we realise will prove particularly alarming to the local community."
Investigations are ongoing and patrols have been increased, he added.
Sussex 255 v Worcestershire 14-2 - lunch
While they're at lunch at Chester Road, Kidderminster, on the second day of Worcestershire's rescheduled game with Sussex, things are now looking a little brighter 15 miles away back at county headquarters, at New Road.
It has stopped raining, the River Severn has now reached its peak, the waters are starting to recede and the clean-up operation has begun in parts of the ground.
Image source, Worcestershire CCC on Twitter
Image source, Ged Scott - BBC SportOn past experience, it usually takes three weeks to get the place ready for cricket again after a New Road flood, which would wipe out next week's one-day game against Australia A, on 25 June.
But the next home game after that, the Championship fixture against Derbyshire on 7 July, at least looks a reasonable target.
The club are yet to comment on how long they expect to be at Kidderminster this time.
Staffordshire Live
The Staffordshire Live website today's covering these stories:
Mother-of-three Noreen Akhtar died after she was hit by Mohammed Shameel's car in Birmingham.
Read More
John Acres
Journalist, BBC Radio Stoke
A Staffordshire police officer who was hit by a car while on duty says she feels lucky to be alive.
PC Claire Bond was at the Stafford 10k race in September when she was knocked down in a hit-and-run.
Both her legs were broken in the collision and at one stage, she told BBC Radio Stoke she thought the vehicle was going to reverse over her.
Quote MessageI looked straight at the car and I remember the reverse lights coming on and I was lying there and I couldn't move. I thought, he's going to reverse over me."
PC Claire Bond, Staffordshire police officer
The car's driver is due to be sentenced later this year after admitting causing grievous bodily harm with intent, dangerous driving, driving while disqualified and drugs charges.
PC Bond said she's determined to return to front-line policing and plans to read a victim impact statement at the sentencing.
BBC Sport
Worcestershire have bowled out Sussex for 255 on the second day of their county championship match at Kidderminster.
The visitors' wicket-keeper Ben Brown (pictured below) was the top-scorer in their first innings, with 80 runs.
Image source, Getty ImagesBrown scored 92 with Chris Jordan for the seventh wicket and another 56 with Ollie Robinson.
BBC Coventry & Warwickshire Sport
Coventry City Council leader George Duggins has called on the owners of Coventry City football club to explain "what they are hoping to gain" by taking the matter of the sale of the Ricoh Arena to the European Commission.
Image source, Getty ImagesThe club is making the move after being denied an appeal over the sale by the British courts, but owners Sisu claim the Ricoh was undervalued by £28m, and is asking the Commission to see if the deal breaks state-aid rules.
Coventry will play at St Andrew's in Birmingham next season after failing to agree a new deal with arena owners Wasps.
Three more schools are to join one of Shropshire's largest academy trusts.
The Marches in Oswestry already runs five schools in the county and it's now looking to take over the Shrewsbury Academy, the Grange Primary School, and Longland school in Market Drayton.
Image source, GoogleParents can find out more about the plans at a series meetings on 24 June.
BBC Midlands Today
"Nothing has changed" over how bullying and harassment is handled in Parliament, a Birmingham MP's claimed.
Image source, PAJess Phillips said she felt as if there had been "no significant material change" despite a wave of allegations in 2017 which saw MPs accused of harassing or propositioning young women inappropriately.
She made the remarks during a debate in the House of Commons in which other MPs also voiced their concerns at the lack of action since a major report on the issue in Parliament was published.
Former cabinet minister Andrea Leadsom did make recommendations to reform the Commons' Commission, including to try and get it to meet weekly rather than monthly.
HMP Hewell is told its care systems for vulnerable inmates needs an "urgent and radical overhaul".
Read More
Allen Cook
BBC News
A kitchen's been gutted in a severe fire which was caused by a faulty tumble dryer, external, the fire service's said.
Image source, West Midlands Fire ServiceFirefighters were called to Hawthorn Road, Walsall, yesterday afternoon.
They said no-one was hurt in the blaze but the ground floor kitchen's been left badly damaged.
Image source, West Midlands Fire ServiceHow did the candidates for Conservative leader fare in the BBC's Our Next Prime Minister debate?
Read MoreAn appeal to raise £26,000 to repair a cast iron crown at the top of an historic mill is less than halfway towards its target, with just three days to go.
The crown on Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings was originally created 122 years ago to celebrate Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee, but the ironwork is now cracked and the paint is peeling.
Image source, Historic EnglandHistoric England, which received a grant of more than £20m from the Heritage Lottery Fund for the latest phase of the work, said it needed to find more money through its own fundraising.
It plans to use the £26,000 to take the crown to a conservation workshop and have it repaired and repainted in its original colours.
So far the appeal has received £8,458 from 165 supporters.
A two-week crackdown on tailgaters on the M6 in the West Midlands resulted in 44 drivers being stopped.
Central Motorway Policing Group said they were given either a driving course, a court notice, a fixed penalty notice or advice.
Image source, Staffordshire PoliceStaffordshire Police said figures recently released by Highways England show that one in eight of all road casualties are caused by people who drive too close to the vehicle in front.
A survey of 13 UK rivers including the River Severn and the River Wye has found they all contain tiny pieces of plastic known as microplastics.
In one hour, researchers from Greenpeace found 42 pieces of plastic measuring less than 5mm were in the Severn and 10 in the Wye.
The microplastics ranged from fragments of straws and bottles to tiny microbeads, which are now banned.
The charity is calling for the Government to introduce "bold" new plastic reduction targets and create an independent watchdog with powers to enforce them.
