BBC Midlands Today

Teachers and parents have been protesting in Birmingham over nursery school funding.

They say the government has failed to secure long-term cash for state-funded nurseries and warned some were at risk of closing.

One worker said it would be a "travesty" if nursery schools were no longer viable.

In a statement, the government acknowledged there had been some uncertainty, but said it had provided extra cash to councils for maintained nurseries.

Cheryl Hooper was killed in front of her teenage daughter as she sat in her car outside her home.

The severe weather warning for thunderstorms across the West Midlands has been extended to Tuesday.

Localised flooding, lightning strikes and up to 30mm of rain in an hour is possible between 12:00 on Sunday and the end of Tuesday, said the Met Office, external.

BBC Sport

Worcestershire have been set a target of 297 to beat Sussex at Kidderminster.

They have just bowled the visitors out for 424 in their second innings on the final day of their county championship match.

Image source, Getty Images

Laurie Evans scored 113 for Sussex and Ed Barnard (pictured above) took three wickets.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

A campaign group that opposes new homes being built in the village of Tong in Shropshire is disputing claims from landowners that they're working with community groups.

Shifnal Matters, which also opposes new homes in Shifnal, said neither Shifnal Town Council nor Tong Parish Council had been contacted by Bradford Estates.

Tong Parish Council also said it hadn't been contacted.

Image source, Google

A leaflet by agents working for Bradford Estates has been sent to people living in both Tong and Shifnal, setting out the benefits of building 3,000 homes on land it owns.

The estates's representative David Henry, said: "Over the course of the past 18 months we have spoken to communities throughout the area who have told us that that top priorities are to provide sufficient high-quality jobs and affordable homes to ensure that Shropshire and the surrounding area can flourish. We can provide both."

Councillor Paul Fisher, chairman of Tong Parish Council, replied: “Shifnal and Tong residents were taken aback by these preposterous claims around the planned development of a huge greenfield site that lies between the two communities."

Mark Lawton kept the sword on his windowsill after finding it in Shropshire's Caynton caves.

Hereford Times

Three stories from the Hereford Times today:

• Farm worker was killed by falling machinery, external
• Pop up shop for independent businesses, external
• Herefordshire girl becomes headteacher for a day, external

A farmer who shot his wife as she sat in her Range Rover outside her home has been jailed for at least 31 years after being found guilty of murder.

Image source, West Mercia Police

Cheryl Hooper, 51, was killed in front of her daughter outside her home in Newport, Shropshire, in January 2018.

Andrew Hooper, who turned the shotgun on himself after the attack, was convicted this morning at Birmingham Crown Court today.

Jailing the 46-year-old, Judge Mark Wall QC told him: "The sentence that I must pass on you is one that you richly deserve - life imprisonment."

Carer caught on camera ill-treating 101-year-old dementia patient

A new interim chief executive has been appointed at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust.

Paula Clark starts on 1 July and takes over from Simon Wright, who announced he would step down at the beginning of the month.

Image source, SATH

Ms Clark is the former chief executive at the University of North Midlands NHS Trust, which runs the Royal Stoke University Hospital and Stafford's County Hospital.

She takes over at a time the hospital trust is in special measures and being investigated over the number of baby deaths.

A post-mortem examination has not determined the cause of Julia Rawson's death.

Police and the Health and Safety Executive are investigating the fall at a building site.

Claire Bond's leg and kneecap were broken by a motorist she feared was going to drive into an 10k race.

The sister of a nurse murdered by a convicted sex offender criticised "catastrophic" agency failings.

Redevelopment plans for the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham are to be revealed later.

Image source, Birmingham City Council

The stadium in Perry Barr will be at the heart of the 2022 Commonwealth Games, hosting the opening and closing ceremonies, as well as the athletics competition.

A £70m investment is expected to increase the stadium's capacity and provide new facilities for athletes and the community.

BBC Radio Stoke

A man has died after falling from height at a new housing estate in Nantwich.

He was taken to Royal Stoke University Hospital in a critical condition on Wednesday and has since died, housing developer Barratt Homes says.

The incident happened at the Stapeley Water Gardens development, currently under construction.

The developer says its thoughts are with the man's family, and it's working with the Health and Safety Executive.

A woman murdered by her estranged husband has been described by her daughter as "funny, beautiful" and her "best friend".

Georgia Hooper said her "life was got turned upside down" when her mum Cheryl was shot in Newport, Shropshire in January 2018.

Andrew Hooper, 46, from Newport, was found guilty of murder by a jury at Birmingham Crown Court earlier today and is due to be sentenced this afternoon.

Image source, Family handout

Georgia Hooper added: "The thought of her not being with me to share my life makes me very sad."

Cheryl Hooper's parents described her as a "true Christian" and said: "It has taken some 17 months to bring this case to court, which has been an incredibly difficult time for us all as a family."

Staffordshire Police officers have arrested 12 people in connection with what they are calling "allegations of non-recent child sexual abuse in Stoke-on-Trent".

The force said 11 men, aged between 23 and 47, and a 55-year-old woman, all from Stoke-on-Trent, were arrested over the past two days.

Two of the men remain in custody for questioning, the others have all been released on bail.

Jeremy Hunt seems to be enjoying his day out in Worcestershire.

He's tweeted to say, external he's moved on to Tenbury Wells and since leaving Worcester, he's visited a bakery, a chocolate factory and got a free haircut.

Image source, Jeremy Hunt

He's on the campaign trail, trying to win over party members in his bid to become the next leader of the Conservative Party and prime minister.

He will take part in a hustings in Birmingham at the weekend, the first of a series of similar events across the country.

And this lunchtime he's been at a factory in Cookley, Worcestershire.

Shropshire Star

Here are three of the stories featuring in the Shropshire Star today:

• Desperate bid to find missing father after Thailand disappearance, external
• Shrewsbury Labour candidate facing no confidence vote, external
• Whistleblowing up by 50 per cent at Shropshire Council, external