A man is due in court this morning charged with murdering an 80-year-old man who was stabbed to death in his home.

Image source, West Mercia Police

Desmond Wooding's body was discovered in Vines Lane, Droitwich, on 24 June.

Adam Leslie Mason, 32, of Plough Lane, Tibberton, in the Worcestershire town, will appear before Kidderminster Magistrates' Court later.

A second man arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender has been released on bail, the force said.

Local Democracy Reporting Service
David Lawrence

A decision on whether up to 382 houses can be built on land next to a Warwickshire quarry has been deferred for a second time so that more information can be gathered.

Image source, Tarmac Trading

Tarmac Trading wants to build on land east of Castle Road and north of Camp Hill Road, in Hartshill - an area bordered by the quarry, which is operated by Crown Aggregates.

The matter was deferred by councillors in April and members of this week’s planning and development board of North Warwickshire Borough Council again asked for more time.

Staff at a Birmingham school are taking strike action this morning in a dispute with the trust that runs it.

Image source, NASUWT Shenley

Members of the NASUWT union at Shenley Academy claim poor management is impacting on their health and wellbeing.

Educaton trust E-ACT has been accused of failing to address a culture of fear and bullying.

Image source, NASUWT Shenley

About 30 teachers walked out this morning, with the union saying it regretted disruption to parents and pupils.

The school says it continues to have open dialogue with union representatives and it remains committed to resolving the issue as quickly as possible.

Express and Star

Some of the early headlines on the Express and Star website today are:

• Cash crisis as Dudley hospital trust to 'run out of money in two months', external
• Sir Bill Cash: Cross country lines needed more than HS2, external
• Masterplan revealed to boost town centre, external

BBC News Travel

A vehicle has hit a bridge at Lichfield City, delaying rail services in the area.

The insurance firm reaches an agreement with Atlanta to take over its Stoke-on-Trent site.

Rich Davis
BBC Weather presenter

It will be a cloudy day with the chance of some showers and some sunny spells with highs of 19C (66F).

BBC News Travel

A fault with the signalling system between Birmingham Snow Hill and Birmingham Moor Street is delaying rail services in the area.

Thousands are expected at Edgbaston for England's World Cup Cricket clash against Australia.

England have won 10 consecutive matches at the ground across all formats; Australia have not won a one-day international since their famous 1999 World Cup semi-final against South Africa - and even that was tied.

Neil Snowball, chief executive of Warwickshire Cricket Club, says the ground, nicknamed "fortress Edgbaston" is a favourite with the players.

"England always do raise their game here and they have a knack of winning."

The sides are bidding to face New Zealand in Sunday's final at Lord's.

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 so share your news, thoughts and photos of the area with us via email, Twitter, external and Facebook., external

Somerset all-rounder Lewis Gregory will lead a depleted England Lions against Australia A, while there are call-ups for Sam Curran and Sam Hain.

A Westminster Hall debate hears claims the cost of high-speed rail could reach £100bn.

The arrests come after West Midlands Police was given £7m to tackle youth violence.

Andy Giddings
BBC News

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

Premier League club Wolves part company with managing director Laurie Dalrymple after four and a half years' service.

Local Democracy Reporting Service
Carl Jackson

A Birmingham pub is going to have its licence reviewed after complaints about loud music, fights and late-night parties.

West Midlands Police said there was "no control" at The Horseshoe in Hall Green and a report, due to go before Birmingham city councillors on Monday, external, detailed a "large fight" and an alleged stabbing there in April, as well as a late night event held without the necessary Temporary Event Notice.

It also said an event was booked as a "birthday party", but later officers "received intelligence that this event was a memorial for an urban gang member who was killed", with artists due to fly in from the USA to perform on the night.

Image source, Google

The most recent incident detailed in the report was another large fight in the car park on 18 May involving "up to 50 people".

Environmental health officers said they had received 15 complaints about noise between July 2018 and April this year.

The Horseshoe has been approached for comment.

Worcester News

Here are three of the headlines from the Worcester News today:

• Men deny GBH at traveller site, external
• Dog has surgery after swallowing 10-inch stick, external
• Village hit by shed burglaries, external

The officers were found not guilty of criminal charges after an arrest during an anti-fascism demonstration

BBC Politics

The prime minister's been urged to tackle the root causes of poverty by a Stoke-on-Trent MP.

Labour's Gareth Snell told the Commons that the latest Stoke-on-Trent Hardship Commission report had come out this week.

He said it showed income, education and employment "were the driving factors of poverty" in the city and urged Theresa May to fix universal credit, better fund further education and raise the national living wage.

Mrs May said she believed universal credit was a better system than the previous one and had already indicated it was important universities and colleges were funded to give an "alternative route" for young people.

League One side Doncaster Rovers appoint former West Brom boss Darren Moore as their new manager.