Allen Cook
BBC News

Two boys have suffered potentially serious injuries in a two-car crash this morning., external

Image source, Google

The collision happened on Hednesford Road, Heath Hayes, Cannock, Staffordshire, just before midday, the ambulance service said.

A woman driving one of the cars was airlifted to hospital with several injuries while the children were taken by ambulance.

A man and a woman in the other car were also taken to hospital with injuries which paramedics said weren't life-threatening.

Three people have been airlifted to hospital after two motorbikes were involved in a crash in Hereford this morning.

One of the riders, a woman, was found to have suffered multiple serious injuries after the incident close to the junction of the A4112 and B4457, the ambulance service said.

The rider of the second motorbike, a man, and his pillion passenger, a woman, were both treated for multiple injuries, it said.

Lee Thomas
Newsreader, BBC Radio Stoke

At least one person was stabbed during an afternoon of disorder in Stoke-on-Trent, police have confirmed.

Armed police officers were sent with emergency services to Milton Street at about 15:00 yesterday.

Officers today confirmed knives were used during the disorder and five men were left hurt, one critically.

Five men from Stoke-on-Trent have been arrested on suspicion of affray and the force said there would be increased patrols across the rest of Friday.

Burton Albion striker Marvin Sordell retires from professional football at 28 after the Brewers agree to terminate his contract.

Coventry Live

Some of the Coventry Live headlines today are:

• Postman raided mailbag to steal customers' bank cards, external
• Union hits back at outburst over staff's 'fake' sickness, external
• Why a Coventry road won't get new safety measures, external

BBC Sport

Warwickshire's Chris Woakes was the hero for England today as they bowled Ireland out for 38 to win their four-day Test by 143 runs.

Image source, Reuters

Ireland, playing their third Test, were chasing 182 for a famous win only to be demolished.

Woakes ended up with six wickets as the visitors registered the seventh lowest total in Test history.

BBC News Travel

Rail delays between Crewe, Stafford and Stoke-on-Trent are expected to last until 18:00 after an earlier signalling system fault.

London Northwestern Railway and Virgin Trains are affected, said National Rail Enquiries.

The son of former Aston Villa player Paul McGrath has been found.

In a post on Twitter he thanked the "power of social media and Metropolitan Police"

BBC One

The one question to ask the Christian founder of a car festival – what car would Jesus drive?

Aled Jones gets a great answer from James Noble of Coventry MotoFest in Sunday's Songs of Praise which was recorded at the festival in June.

You can see the programme at 13:15 on BBC One on Sunday and afterwards on the BBC iPlayer.

BBC Hereford and Worcester

A town's planned bypass remains in limbo today as councillors say they need more time to decide whether to press ahead with it.

Image source, Herefordshire Council

Last year, a preferred route was chosen for the road scheme to the west of Hereford by the then Conservative-led Herefordshire Council.

But the Tories lost control of the local authority in May and a coalition of Greens and Independents took over.

They promised to reach a firm answer by today on whether to go ahead as proposed, scrap it or move the route but now want more time to make a final decision.

Conservative councillors and Hereford's Tory MP Jess Norman have claimed that, if the bypass doesn't go ahead, the county could miss out on £180m funding from Westminster.

Shropshire Star

The Shropshire Star's main stories today include:

• Shropshire nurse faces being struck off for giving beauty treatments while on sick leave, external
• Protest is held over Shrewsbury GP closure, external
• Telford & Wrekin Council declares 'climate emergency', external

The man was unable to hear the train horn until it was "virtually upon him", a report finds.

Tyler Campbell is starting the weekly club after a spike in shootings and stabbings in Coventry.

The car industry lobby group Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has written to newly minted prime minister Boris Johnson, telling him its wants, including a so-called gigafactory - similar to that build by Tesla in the USA - to make batteries for electric cars.

And there's already a strong candidate.

Coventry was chosen almost two years ago as the site for a new national battery factory - since named the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre.

Image source, Tesla

Initially attracting £80m of funding, the project was awarded a further £28m in May, described at the time by West Midlands Mayor Andy Street as a "major coup" for the area.

SMMT has also called for preferential trade with critical markets around the world, including the EU and said a No-deal Brexit was simply not an option.

Hereford Times

The headlines for the Hereford Times today include:

• Businessman sentenced for voyeurism, external
• Fire crews called to house fire, external
• Visitors join blackcurrant harvest celebration, external

The cause of Thursday's blast at a marina is yet to be confirmed but is not thought to be suspicious.

Dr Christopher Ball-Nossa claimed he used the images to "calm himself", a report by a tribunal says.

BBC News Travel

A serious crash has shut a road in Norton Canes, near Cannock, Staffordshire, this afternoon

Looks like roads in the area will stay closed for some time.

The government has denied officials from the Department for Education put pressure on a Birmingham school to halt its LGBT teaching programme.

The chief executive of Parkfield Community School, where dozens of people from the Muslim community have held protests, has urged Boris Johnson to step in or risk further divisions in communities.

Hazel Pulley said the school felt "extreme pressure" from the DfE to stop teaching its equality programme in March to keep the issue out of the media.

The DfE told the BBC: "It is wrong to suggest that pressure has been applied to Parkfield to stop teaching about equality.

"Any suggestion that the dispute should be kept out of the media was absolutely not an attempt to silence the school, but a bid to bring an end to protests, encourage consultation and ensure tensions weren't further inflamed by sensationalist coverage."

BBC News Travel

Train services are back to normal in and around Birmingham after the disruption from yesterday's overhead line and signalling problems in the heatwave.

Overhead power line damage due to hot weather affected those travelling in the West Midlands on Thursday, but engineers "worked hard" to repair the damage, said Network Rail.

There was still some disruption this morning but National Rail Enquiries tweeted it had now ended., external