More than 50 have been trying to bring the blaze in Willenhall under control.

It could be another at least another two weeks before the A53 fly-over at Etruria reopens, Stoke-on-Trent City Council has said.

The local authority is aiming to appoint a specialist contractor by the end of today, to find out the cause of the hole that first opened up on the carriageway on 9 July.

Image source, Google

The council said it would take concrete samples from the bridge and they could take two weeks to be tested.

Only then can a repair plan can be created.

Aston Villa striker Rushian Hepburn-Murphy joins League One side Tranmere Rovers on a season-long loan.

Here's some footage of the Holiday Inn fire, near junction 10 of the M6, captured by a drone operated by West Midlands Ambulance Service.

It is currently supporting emergency services as they deal with the fire.

The family of a boy who's been to the USA to be treated for a rare form of leukaemia say his latest tests have come back clear.

A fundraising campaign raised £500,000 to send five-year-old Zac Oliver from Broseley, in Shropshire, to Philadelphia for gene-therapy.

Image source, Family photo

Initial tests, in March, suggested the therapy had worked, but he had to go back for these follow-up tests.

Photos from people living near the Holiday Inn and West Midlands Fire Service's own volunteer photographers show the scale of the fire.

Although it is officially named as the Birmingham Holiday Inn, it is on the edge of the city, close to junction 10 of the M6

Image source, @kennettphoto

Image source, @tauruswoman

Caribbean food and culture is being showcased in the heart of the city.

Fire crews have described the fire at the Holiday Inn near Walsall as "severe" and advised people living in the area to keep their doors and windows closed.

Smoke is billowing across the M6 and West Midlands Fire Service warned drivers to take extra care near junction 10.

Image source, Lisa McNally

A 14-year-old boy was stabbed in the chest during an incident in Moseley, Birmingham today.

He was found with serious injuries in Yardley Wood Road just before 12:30.

He was taken to hospital suffering serious injuries not thought to be life-threatening, said West Midlands Police.

Cricket fans at Edgbaston have just witnessed the first England century of the Ashes series.

Surrey's opening batsman Rory Burns is the man who got it, and a few people have commented that his haircut makes him look a little like one of Birmingham's Peaky Blinders.

Image source, Getty Images

Here's what West Midlands Fire Service has told us about the fire at the Holiday Inn, near junction 10 of the M6:

• They were called out at 15:54
• The building has two storeys
• The evacuation of the hotel started at 16:12 and management carried out a roll-call of guests
• There is a large amount of smoke drifting over the motorway
• At 16:40 the number of appliances at the scene was increased from six to 10
• There are between 55 and 60 firefighters at the scene

Rob Mayor
Reporter, BBC WM

The fire at the Holiday Inn near junction 10 of the M6 is clearly visible at the approach to the A38M.

There's a lot of thick black smoke and it smells like tyres.

Image source, Google

A large fire has broken out at a hotel in Willenhall and West Midlands Fire Service has 10 engines there, dealing with it.

Crews are advising motorists to avoid the area around the Holiday Inn on Wolverhampton Road West, near the M6, for the time being.

BBC Coventry & Warwickshire Sport

Some Coventry City supporters are planning to boycott the opening game of the season against Southend tomorrow.

They're unhappy at having to play their home games at Birmingham City's St Andrew's stadium, because the club could not come to an arrangement to remain at the Ricoh Arena.

Image source, Getty Images

The Vice Chair of the Sky Blues Trust, Bruce Walker, said: "We've been pulled and pushed and ripped out of Coventry, dropped 20 miles away with no immediate prospect, no longer-term prospect as far as I can see of being brought back."

And he urged all the parties involved to get together and bring the team back to Coventry.

A man operating as a loan shark, who charged 40% interest, has been jailed after admitting illegal money lending.

Colin Devereux, 52, of Deedmore Road, Coventry was also ordered to pay back £100,000 within three months under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

Loan records and £9,000 in cash were found stashed in kitchen drawers and under the bedroom carpet when police carried out a warrant in December 2018.

It's estimated he would have received £154,000 in repayments during his seven years as an illegal lender, the Illegal Money Lending Teams said.

He was sentenced to 22 months in prison at Warwick Crown Court on Thursday after pleading guilty to two counts of illegal money lending.

Which EFL clubs did you pick to be promoted this season? BBC Sport users have their say.

Unions for the emergency services say they have concerns about the size of the building.

A judge directs the jury to find PC Paul Birch not guilty of racially aggravated wounding.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

The chief executive of the West Midlands Ambulance Service says he cried at every episode of the BBC series Ambulance, when it was featuring his staff.

Dr Anthony Marsh also said he spent an hour after each episode contacting staff to thank them.

Image source, WMAS

Dr Marsh said it was "one of the best, most emotional things that I can remember happening to us" and, "my Thursday nights were completely taken over by this wonderful show".

The series went on to win a Bafta last year.

A man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after "disorder" close to the Longbridge Island near Barford.

A man in his 40s was taken to hospital with a stab wound, after the incident near the A429 shortly after 16:15 on Thursday.

Four others - two men and two women - aged between 18 and 48, have been arrested on suspicion of affray.

The man's injuries are not thought to be life-changing, said Warwickshire Police.

Officers are keen to speak to anyone who saw a black Audi A1 pulling into a layby on the A429 near Wasperton around that time.

It's thought all those involved were known to each other, the force added.