A woman has serious injuries after being run over during a carjacking in Birmingham.

Image source, SnapperSK

It began at about 17:30 on Wednesday when the male driver of a Mercedes was assaulted by masked men who demanded he get out of the car on Boden Road in Hall Green.

The woman was hit as the robbers reversed the stolen vehicle off a driveway.

She is in hospital with multiple serious injuries, the ambulance service says.

Image source, SnapperSK

Image source, SnapperSK

Road closures to accommodate the Tour of Britain in Worcestershire have been put in place.

Image source, SWPix

• High Street/Bridge Street from the Cherry Orchard Junction (High St) to the Pensham Hill Junction (Bridge St) will remain closed from 09:30 until 18:00. Roadside parking will also be suspended from 07:00 until 18:00.
• North and Southbound traffic will not be able to travel through the town centre. Access will be available to frontages in Head St, Priest Lane, Cherry Orchard and King Georges Way (via Worcester Rd/Station Rd).
• The High St entrance to ASDA car park (opposite Church St) will be closed until 22:00, with approximately 40 parking spaces unavailable.

You can find more details here., external

Warwickshire are in command of their County Championship match against the leaders Essex at Edgbaston.

Image source, Getty Images

Matt Lamb's career-best 173 helped the Bears amass their highest home score in more than four years to further damage Essex's County Championship Division One title hopes.

Essex were 31 for one at the close.

Worcestershire are also well-placed in their second division match against Glamorgan at New Road.

They'll resume this morning on 153-2 in their second innings, 165 runs ahead.

Cycling's Tour of Britain enters the West Midlands today for the first of two stages over the next 48 hours.

Image source, TSWPix

More than 100 of the world's top riders will take part in an individual time trial, which starts and finishes in Pershore, Worcestershire, this afternoon.

They will tackle a 14.5km (nine-mile) trial that passes through the Worcestershire villages of Little Comberton and Bricklehampton in an anti-clockwise loop, starting at 13:00.

They will then move on to Warwickshire on Friday, for a 188km stage between Warwick and Burton Dassett country park.

Birmingham Live

From Birmingham Live:

• Protests over LGBT equality to restart at school ahead of exclusion zone court case, external
• Residential unit at special school shut down amid 'serious allegations', external
• Teenager jailed for fake harassment campaign to get revenge on ex, external

Plans for a £3.5bn improvement programme to transform the region’s rail network are being shared from today.

Image source, Midlands Connect

Midlands Connect said towns and cities could see a major boost in rail services under the new proposals. , external

Under the plan, seven projects would benefit up to 60 locations, it said, and would provide more than 700 extra passenger services a day.

BBC News Travel

One lane remains closed in both directions on the M6 in Staffordshire after Wednesday's lorry crash.

There was total closure of the motorway overnight as engineers carried out repairs to the route which was the scene of major disruption on Wednesday when an HGV struck the central reservation between junctions 12 and 13 near Cannock.

Highways England says Thursday's lane closure will remain until further notice.

A speed restriction of 40mph is also in place between J12 and J13.

Image source, Highways England

Rich Davis
BBC Weather presenter

It will be a cloudy day but feeling warm with highs of 21C (70F).

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

Beth Hewitt, 35, had blood in her stools but said she was told she was too young to have bowel cancer.

Owner Caroline Johnson says she hopes whoever has the dogs is feeding them and keeping them warm.

Matt Lamb's career-best 173 helps Warwickshire amass 517 all out, before Essex close on 31-1 for the loss of Alastair Cook.

Mavis Eccleston denies the murder and manslaughter of her 81-year-old husband Dennis.

Andy Giddings
BBC News

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

Natural England has approved new badger culls, external in parts of Cheshire, Staffordshire and Herefordshire.

It has also authorised licence holders to resume operations in 29 existing badger control areas.

Image source, Getty Images

The new licences allow the people or groups that have applied to capture and kill badgers and run until 31 January 2023.

The licences also set out a number of conditions and limit the culling activities in some protected areas.

Shropshire Star

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

• Residents to get just 48 hours notice of cooling towers demolition, external
• Cameras plan to deter boy racers, external
• 17,000 new trees proposed for Oswestry, external

Families say the drug cerliponase alfa has helped slow down their children's Batten disease.

BBC Coventry & Warwickshire Sport

Four new faces will be in the Wasps squad for this weekend's Premiership Sevens competition in Northampton.

Summer signings Ben Vellacott (pictured below), Zach Kibirige and Paolo Odogwu are among them, along with new senior academy forward Thibaud Flament.

Image source, Getty Images

Wasps will be looking to reach their fifth consecutive final and have won the competition twice.

Two people have been taken to hospital following a collision involving a bus.

It's not yet known how serious their injuries are.

A pelican crossing was damaged iin the the crash which took place on the A49 at Dorrington, Shropshire, at around 16:30, West Mercia Police said.

One lane of the road will remain closed until the bus has been recovered.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Here are some of the stories being covered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service in Herefordshire and Worcestershire:

• A report has found Worcester City Council did not do enough to set out the risks of demolishing the asbestos-filled former baths at Sansome Walk and failed to review the project properly or frequently enough.
• Environmental lawyers for Client Earth have warned Herefordshire Council that they face a legal challenge if they do not introduce proper climate change plans within eight weeks.
• A review of complaints against Herefordshire councillors has been held in public, but the identities of those involved was censored.