Jeremy Hunt has started his campaign to become the next prime minister in Worcester this morning, tweeting that he'd started his "personal marathon" in the city.

Thursday's vote put Boris Johnson and Mr Hunt top in the race and they will now go head-to-head to become PM.

Mr Johnson and Mr Hunt will now take part in hustings in front of Conservative Party members around the country, starting in Birmingham on Saturday, before members' postal votes are counted, with the final result to be announced during the week of 22 July.

The partial opening of new fitness facilities in Coventry has been postponed, it's been announced.

Image source, CV Life

The gym along with a 25m pool at The Wave, in the city centre, were due to open on Monday but customers must now "wait a little longer", said operator CV Life, "to ensure the highest standards are met".

The new £36.7m water park, also featuring a spa and nine slides, is set to replace the current sports centre in Fairfax Street.

Image source, CV Life

The 50m pool at the sports centre will remain open until September, said the city council, but all gym facilities will close on Sunday.

Paul Breed, Chief Executive for CV Life, said “The opening of the health and fitness suites and spa will be a hint as to how amazing the waterpark and the rest of The Wave is going to be, and for this reason we would like to wait a little longer open to ensure the highest standards are met.

“The facilities must be finished to the highest quality and until we are satisfied we have that we will not be opening."

Members have been informed that no fees will be taken until 1 August, it added.

There's no date for the full opening of the attraction.

A former prisoner of war during World War Two has given his support to calls for a national day to mark VJ Day - Victory over Japan Day.

Ron Mockford, 97, from Bulkington near Coventry, was captured by the Japanese in Java and held for three and a half years. During that time he worked on the infamous Burma Railway.

A petition has been set up by the Children and Families of Far East Prisoners of War (Cofepow), calling for a national day commemorating the significance of 15th August 1945.

With prices being driven down by supermarkets selling milk in bulk, there was a time when it looked as if the early morning rattle of bottles was to become a thing of the past.

But Luckett's Dairy, in Coventry, says its delivery business is rocketing, with new customers wanting to cut down on plastic waste by having re-usable glass bottles delivered.

BBC Radio Stoke

A road that flooded nine days ago is due to reopen today.

Sandon Road in Stafford should be cleared and opened later today, the county council said.

It has been closed in both directions between Astonfields and Peel Terrace.

This was the view a week ago:

Image source, Peter Curry

Express and Star

These are some of the early headlines on the Express and Star website:

• Wolverhampton binman jailed after glassing colleague on night out, external
• Hundreds of police officers off work due to stress and anxiety, external
• Shaylor Group suffered sudden collapse, accounts suggest, external

A body found in Tipton last Wednesday has been confirmed as that of missing woman Julia Rawson.

Image source, West Midlands Police

The 42-year-old from Dudley, was last seen on 12 May, with inquiries leading detectives to believe she was dead.

Nathan Maynard-Ellis, 28, from Tipton, and David Leesley, 23, of Russells Hall, have been charged with her murder.

A cause of death has not yet been determined.

BBC News Travel

A fault with the signalling system is delaying rail services between Coventry and Nuneaton.

Buses have been requested to run in place of any cancelled services.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Plans for the £1.5bn redevelopment of former wholesale markets sites in Birmingham might have to be reconsidered, following the release of alternative plans by a community group.

A Birmingham City Council scrutiny committee has asked for the local authority's own proposals to go back before councillors "as a matter of urgency".

Image source, Birmingham City Council

Peter Culley, an architect who is supporting the alternative vision, produced by the City Park 4 Brum group, called the council plans "bland" and added: "It looks like a corporate American suburban plan from the 1990s.”

The campaign group would prefer the area to be turned into a green space with room for market stalls and a mock medieval moat.

Richard Cowell, assistant director of development for the council, defended the masterplan, which has taken four years to draw up, saying it would be key to delivering the housing and jobs Birmingham needed.

Alex Hamilton
BBC Weather

It will be a dry day with a good deal of sunshine and highs of 18C (64F).

Vanessa Pearce
BBC News

Welcome to our live service for Friday.

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

We love to hear from you so share your news, thoughts and photos of the area with us via email, Twitter, external and Facebook., external

One parent, who has been waiting two years for a school place, says her son was "squeezed out".

An unbeaten 106 from Sussex batsman Laurie Evans helps build a useful second-innings lead against Worcestershire.

League Two newcomers Salford City will face Championship club Leeds United in the Carabao Cup first round.

Lisa Skidmore was raped and strangled by a convicted sex offender at her home in Wolverhampton.

Andy Giddings
BBC News

We'll be back with the news, sport, travel and weather from 07:00 tomorrow.

Local Democracy Reporting Service
Carl Jackson

A decision to place advertising signs on an "iconic" roundabout which is home to a bust of famous industrialist Sir Josiah Mason has been described as "heartbreaking" by a local councillor.

Image source, Google

Birmingham City Council will install a pair of 1.6ft tall and 3.2ft wide post-mounted signs on the island which connects Orphanage Road and Chester Road in Erdington.

The statue in the middle in honour of Mason, who famously opened a large orphanage in the area, becomes a focal point during various celebrations throughout the year such as St Patrick’s Day and Christmas when it is decorated accordingly.

The council’s planning committee approved the signs earlier today despite the objection of local councillor Bob Beauchamp.

The jury in the case of a Newport farmer accused of murdering his estranged wife with a shotgun has been sent home for the night.

Andrew Hooper, who is 44 and also known as Jack, has accepted that he shot Cheryl Hooper outside her home nearly 18 months ago, but said he had only produced the gun to frighten her into a reconciliation.

Image source, Google

The defendant, who shot himself after the attack, has severe facial injuries and has lost the ability to speak.

The jury of five men and seven women at Birmingham Crown Court was sent out this morning.

Women's Twenty20 cricket, beach volleyball and Para-table tennis are set to be added to Birmingham's 2022 Commonwealth Games programme.

Homeless people in Coventry are being left "trapped" in hospital because no accommodation is available, local MP Colleen Fletcher has told Parliament.

She said in the last financial year people in the city spent the equivalent of 674 days delayed in hospital due to a lack of suitable housing - "the highest number on record".

Image source, Parliament

The Labour MP called for a debate on the "homelessness crisis" in the country, its impact on the NHS and the government's plans to "stop people being unnecessarily pushed into homelessness or stuck in hospital for extended periods".

In response, Mel Stride, the Leader of the House of Commons, said the government had built more homes to combat homelessness and had announced a "substantial multimillion-pound fund to address rough sleeping".

He also urged Ms Fletcher to apply for an adjournment debate.