BBC News Travel

Northfield Road in Cotteridge has reopened after an earlier incident, said West Midlands Police.

Staff at Sandwell College are being balloted for possible strike action over the sacking of a colleague.

Image source, University and College Union

David Muritu was sacked for defacing a poster promoting the government anti-extremism programme, Prevent.

The college lecturer said he had acted in "a moment of frustration" but felt the strategy unfairly targeted Muslims.

The Universities and College Union says the response from the college was "heavy-handed," and warned industrial action was now an option.

A college spokesperson said: "Safeguarding is of paramount importance to everybody at Sandwell College and we expect everybody to act professionally, ensuring that we adhere to our statutory duties whilst creating the best possible environment for all of our students and staff to thrive.

Water levels in Worcestershire are starting to drop "significantly" says the Environment Agency.

Two flood warnings remain in place on the River Severn, external, and four flood alerts.

The New Road cricket ground in Worcester , externalflooded after the rain last week pushed the River Severn to bursting point.

Image source, 237 Creations

Rob England
BBC News Online

Dozens of parishes in England have doubled their council tax bills, while some are taking on services they say larger authorities cannot afford, BBC research has found.

Melverley in Shropshire is one parish with the largest rises in council tax for 2019-20.

BBC analysis found 45 parishes more than doubled their levy on the Band D council tax for 2019-20.

The government said councils were responsible for their own decisions about how much to charge.

Express and Star

Headlines from the Express and Star:

• homes planned for industrial land on Coseley and Tipton border, external
• Man jailed for £29,000 distraction burglary at family flat, external
• Fears over further delays on Wolverhampton Civic Hall work, external

BBC WM

The head of the Acorns Children's Hospice charity is due to meet MPs today, after announcing plans to close its Walsall site.

The charity said an increase in care costs, reduced revenue from its shops and uncertainty over government funding means it can only afford to operate sites in Birmingham and Worcester.

The charity said it cost £10m a year to run its three sites.

Current spending figures are still being audited, but a spokesman said it looked likely that the charity's 2018-19 spending would exceed income by £1.6m.

BBC News Travel

Police have closed Northfield Road, in Cotteridge, Birmingham.

Drivers are being advised to avoid the area.

A man's been charged with drink driving after a car ended up in bushes on a traffic island on Walsgrave Road in Coventry on Sunday.

Image source, West Midlands Police

The driver was treated at the scene for minor injuries after the crash, shortly before 21:00, at the junction of Longfellow and Walsgrave roads, said the ambulance service.

A 39-year-old man from Nuneaton has been released on police bail and set to appear at Coventry Magistrates Court on 1 July.

Alex Hamilton
BBC Weather

After a largely dry morning cloud will thicken and areas of showery rain will move in with highs of 18C (64F).

Vanessa Pearce
BBC News

Welcome to our live service for Tuesday.

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.

The chief inspector of prisons says the task to improve conditions at HMP Birmingham is "huge".

A sergeant raised concerns about a convicted rapist weeks before he killed a nurse, an inquest hears.

An inquest jury finds failings by the Prison Service contributed to Marcus McGuire's death.

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.

BBC Hereford and Worcester

Final preparations are being made in Kidderminster today to host Worcestershire's latest County Championship home game.

New Road, Worcester, is currently flooded, external after the rain last week pushed the River Severn to bursting point.

Image source, 237 Creations

Last week, Worcestershire announced the switch of venue, adding that the Sussex match had been pushed back to tomorrow to allow groundstaff extra time to prepare.

The last time the ground was under water in mid-summer was in 2007, when they suffered the second worst flood in the county's history.

Image source, 237 Creations

A washing machine's been blamed for a fire which has badly damaged a house today., external

Image source, Staffordshire Fire Service

Staffordshire Fire Service said the blaze started at about 08:20 on Primrose Grove, Newcastle-under-Lyme.

The family-of-four who live in the house were out at the time.

Fire crews said the blaze was thought to have started accidentally in the utility room.

A woman was sexually assaulted in an alleyway in Rugby on Sunday, police said.

Image source, Google

The 20-year-old was attacked near the Victoria Inn Pub in Lower Hilmorton Road at about 22:00.

The victim reported the offender left with another man in a gold car with a black roof, said Warwickshire Police. Officers are also keen to trace a women the victim spoke to following the incident.

Any witnesses are being urged to come forward.

BBC Weather Watchers

The heavy rain of last week may be becoming a distant memory for some, but in Shropshire the water levels on the River Severn are still causing flooding.

BBC Weather Watcher Liam Ball's been out and about in Ironbridge, where there is still a flood alert from the Environment Agency, external, and took these photos:

Image source, Liam Ball

Image source, Liam Ball

Shrewsbury MP Daniel Kawczynski has called on the government to better fund adult social care in rural counties.

The Conservative MP said Shropshire, like many other rural areas had an elderly population "growing at a disproportionate rate to the rest of the country", increasing the local council's social care costs.

Image source, Parliament TV

In response, James Brokenshire, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, said extra funding had recently been provided, while the state of social care in rural areas, would also be looked at as part of the government's wider fairer funding review.

Kidderminster Shuttle

These are the main stories today on the Kidderminster Shuttle website:

• River Severn levels peak after flood barriers deployed in Bewdley, external
• Flooding forces return of county cricket to Kidderminster, external
• Council chairman crashed his car at hill climb event, external