BBC News Travel

Rail passengers affected by flooding can use their tickets on bus and Metro services.

A fallen tree is blocking the rail lines between Birmingham Snow Hill and Stourbridge Junction, and a problem at Tyseley depot is causing disruption to CrossCountry services at Birmingham New Street.

BBC News Travel

Bus replacement services are running and rail tickets are being accepted on buses because of a tree blocking rail lines between Birmingham Snow Hill and Stourbridge Junction.

Services are set to be disrupted until 12:00.

A yellow weather warning for rain remains in place for the West Midlands until 23:00.

Heavy rain and possible thunderstorms are expected as the weather front, loosely linked to Hurricane Humberto, travels across Britain.

BBC News Travel

All lanes have reopened on the M5 northbound near Quinton, but there is five miles of queuing traffic in the area.

There are delays of 40 minutes after the earlier closure between J3 and J2 with traffic also queuing back Halesowen along the A456 following an earlier entry slip road closure.

A fire has broken out at a timber yard in Congleton, Cheshire.

Image source, Cheshire Fire Service

Image source, Cheshire Fire Service

Residents have been evacuated from their homes close to the scene on Bark Street, off Mountbatten Way.

Image source, Cheshire Fire Service

Crews were called out shortly after 00:45 and managed to contain the blaze preventing further spread, said the fire service.

Neighbouring properties are being advised to keep their windows and doors closed.

Rich Davis
BBC Weather presenter

Showers will continue through the morning but should clear this afternoon with highs of 19C (66F).

BBC News Travel

Flooding is affecting roads across the West Midlands, with heavy rain set to continue throughout the morning.

• The entry slip road is closed on the M5 northbound at J3, Quinton Expressway.
• The A38 in Bromsgrove is closed in both directions between Austin Road and Charford Road.
• The A448 Kidderminster Road in Bromsgrove is blocked near Sanders Park.

BBC News Travel

A tree blocking the railway line between Smethwick Galton Bridge and Langley Green is causing disruption.

Services between Birmingham Snow Hill and Stourbridge Junction are likely to be delayed or cancelled until 12:00, said National Rail.

There's also a problem at Tyseley depot which is causing disruption to CrossCountry services at Birmingham New Street., external

As a result of this, trains may be delayed or revised and this is expected to continue until 08:00.

Vanessa Pearce
BBC News

Welcome to our live service for Tuesday.

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

You can get in touch via email,Twitter, external and Facebook., external

Jamie is in training to fight a past dominated by prison and drug use.

Rodney's Pillar in Powys has started cracking and has had its lightning conductor stolen.

Photographer Alice Zoo meets past residents of the Sustainability Bungalow at Keele University.

He is in training to fight a past dominated by prison and drug use.

A group in Stoke-on-Trent is providing a safe space for members to discuss their lives.

The couple, who had taken "a combination of drugs", died as a result an accident, an inquest hears.

We'll be back with our usual mix of news, sport, travel and weather from 07:00 tomorrow, but keep an eye out here for more updates this evening and into the morning.

Birmingham City Council referred more businesses to bailiffs than any other local authority over the last year, an investigation has found.

Research by real estate adviser Altus Group has found that councils have sent bailiffs to more than 78,000 companies across England that have struggled to pay their business rates in the year to the end of March.

In Birmingham they were sent to 3,755 premises over arrears.

The Chancellor and Bromsgrove MP Sajid Javid faces fresh calls to deliver budget measures to ease the burden of business rates.

BBC Inside Out

Former miners are leading a campaign to protect and develop the largest colliery in Staffordshire.

The Chatterley Whitfield Colliery is a derelict site in Stoke-on-Trent, with buildings that date back to the 1880s.

After the pit closed in 1976, a mining museum was created, but that closed in 1993.

The Friends of Chatterley Whitfield are hoping to restore some of its buildings to ensure the historic site is not lost forever.

You can see more about this story on Inside Out on BBC One in the West Midlands at 19:30 on Monday 23 September or on iPlayer afterwards.

Local Democracy Reporting Service
David Irwin

Some of today's stories from the Local Democracy Reporting Service include:

• The designs for a major new business development in Solihull have been unveiled, with the building set to be one of the tallest in the area.
• Reducing the number of people killed or seriously injured on Solihull’s roads remains a top priority, the council’s roads chief has said.
• Solihull has been able to keep its street lamps on through the night thanks to a move to new, more eco-friendly lighting, a senior councillor has said.

A revised route for the planned high speed route between Birmingham and Walsall along the A34 will retain more than 80% of parking spaces earmarked for removal, it's been announced.

Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) said the changes follow a public consultation which raised concerns about the proposed loss of almost 280 parking spaces in the Perry Barr section of the route.

Image source, Transport for West Midlands

Local group the A34 Safety Action Group has been campaigning against proposals for the Sprint bus lane and welcomed the "positive" news.

TfWM said it had "listened to local people" and revised the plans protecting 233 spaces that were due to be removed, by cutting in to verges and the central reservation.

Main construction is due to begin in spring 2020.

Liberal Democrat Councillors for Perry Barr Jon Hunt and Morriam Jan called for the final landscaping plan to be made public. Twenty seven trees are set to go, but the local authority has pledged to replace them.