One defendant claimed to be 14 years old, before police proved he was actually 26.

More than 60,000 Thomas Cook customers have so far been flown back to the UK since the firm collapsed on Monday, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) says.

Dozens of those flights have come into Birmingham Airport, including for passengers who were originally expecting to arrive back in Liverpool.

The CAA says about 40% of Thomas Cook holidaymakers are due to fly back to the UK over the two weeks since the business failed.

Some 72 flights are scheduled to operate today to return a further 16,000 people.

Operation Matterhorn, the largest peacetime repatriation scheme, will continue until Sunday 6 October with more than 1,000 flights planned in total.

Part of Coventry city centre remains cordoned off after the body of a man was found.

Officers remain on Hales Street, adjacent to Lady Herbert's garden after the man was found just after 12:45.

Enquiries continue to establish the exact circumstances and road closures have been put in place in the immediate area, said West Midlands Police.

BBC WM

Work on the long-awaited revamp of Wolverhampton Civic Hall is set to resume within days, according to councillors.

Image source, Google

The £38m project was delayed earlier this year when the previous contractors, Shaylors, went into administration.

The City of Wolverhampton Council said the fabric of the Grade II listed building needed significant repairs.

New developers have been appointed and the entertainment venue is currently scheduled to reopen in 2021.

Vanessa Pearce
BBC News

Part of Coventry city centre has been cordoned off by police.

There are currently at least six police vehicles and officers seem to be searching Lady Herbert's Garden off Hales street.

The cordon stretches from Milennium Place to Swanswell Gate.

We'll bring you more details when we have them.

The decision does not appear to have been based on a well-evidenced business case, a watchdog says.

A Birmingham man has been jailed for five years after admitting causing the death of a pedestrian by careless driving.

West Midlands Police said 26-year-old Sohail Hussain, of Siskin Drive in Balsall Heath, was driving at almost double the 30mph speed limit along Highgate Road on 28 December 2018 when he hit 54-year-old Martin Carmichael.

Image source, West Midlands Police

Hussain was also disqualified from driving for five years and six months at Birmingham Crown Court yesterday, and will have to take an extended driving test to get his licence back.

Det Con Jamie Simon said: "This case shows the importance of obeying speed limits and if Hussain had been driving at 30mph, he would have been able to slow down in time and the fact he was doing nearly double is inexcusable."

More than 300 knives were handed in to the Warwickshire and West Mercia police forces, during a week-long knife surrender campaign.

Warwickshire Police collected 82 and West Mercia 234.

The two forces had set up bins in police stations and other public places in towns, for people to leave bladed weapons they wanted to dispose of and said they would check them over, to make sure none had been used in crimes.

Image source, Warwickshire Police

The two forces also ran community roadshows, weapon sweeps, worked with local schools and spent time talking to around 100 children identified as being at risk of being involved in knife crime.

Stoke-on-Trent Live

Here are three of the stories bulging out of the Stoke-on-Trent Live website today:

• Shopper accused of stealing clothes drops pants, external
• Weather Warning issued for rain, external
• Four 'bully' builders locked up, external

Parts of Staffordshire could be affected by heavy rain on Saturday and Sunday, the Met Office is warning.

Image source, Met Office

A yellow warning for rain has been issued from 18:00 on Saturday to 17:00 on Sunday.

Two overnight road closures, both lasting a number of nights, are planned for the coming weeks, as work continues on the dualling of Worcester's Southern Link Road.

From Monday, Temeside Way will be fully closed in both directions for up to five nights.

Following that, the A38 will shut in both directions between the Ketch and Timberdine roundabouts for up to 10 nights.

Diversions will be in place during the closures.

A man has been charged with a series of sexual offences against a number of children, police say.

The 29-year-old from Rugby has been charged with two counts of causing a child to look at an image of sexual activity, one count of engaging in sexual communication with a child and seven counts of sending a communication conveying an indecent or offensive messages.

The alleged offences occurred in November 2018 when the 10 alleged victims were aged between 14 and 18.

He was also charged with four counts of distributing indecent images of children and is set to appear at Warwickshire Magistrates' Court today.

Jessica Labhart
BBC News

David Knight contacted us to ask: "I'd like to know what benefits, if any, Stoke will gain from HS2?"

One note of caution before we begin - the government has launched a review into HS2 after the latest news that it is already five years behind schedule and more than £20bn over its original budget.

Back in 2018, , externalthe government said it planned to extend the high-speed rail service through to Crewe, via Stoke-on-Trent, which would see a new junction and platform extensions at Crewe.

Image source, HS2

Part of the Crewe Hub vision would "allow five to seven HS2 trains per hour to call at Crewe and improve connectivity on the lines from Crewe to Shrewsbury, Chester and Stoke-on-Trent," it said.

Latest research by organisation Midlands Connect, external says HS2 will see some long distance rail services taken off the existing network and on to HS2, which will create capacity for more frequent services on existing lines and reduce crowding on those services.

A spokesperson for Midlands Connect said: "What that means for Stoke-on-Trent is that existing services to London and Manchester on the West Coast Main Line will be less crowded than they are now, because some of those existing services will now be on HS2 - for example: London to Manchester direct, London to Birmingham."

Sir John Peace, chair of Midlands Connect and the Midlands Engine, said: “It is the capacity released by the line – not just its speed – that will give the whole network a desperately needed overhaul.

"Regional and local rail services are in desperate need of improvement and it’s time we face facts, without the space and flexibility created by HS2, the transformational change needed is not possible".

BBC Radio Stoke Sport

Stoke City's assistant manager Paul Hart believes Nathan Jones has the ability to turn their season around and said: "You don't become a bad coach-stroke-manager overnight."

They're still looking for their first Championship win this season and play Nottingham Forest tonight. Hart took the weekly press conference yesterday, saying Jones was busy.

He said Jones was doing a job and added: "His presentations are excellent, his management of the players is excellent".

Shropshire Star

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

• Five taken to hospital after two-car crash, external
• Landmark Shropshire pub now up for sale, external
• 39,000 patients in four-hour A&E wait, external

Plans have been submitted to build two new railway stations in south Birmingham, with mayor Andy Street saying he's confident they'll open by 2021.

Image source, West Midlands Rail Executive

Under proposals, the Camp Hill line would reopen to passenger services, with stations initially opening at Kings Heath and Hazelwell.

The Camp Hill line stations closed during 1941. Since then, the line has only been used only by freight and non-stop through-services.

Plans for the third station at Moseley are undergoing further design work and will be submitted later in the year.

Image source, West Midlands Rail Executive

People bonding over their shared feelings of isolation find coffee beats "staring at four walls".

A manslaughter investigation has been started after the death of a man who was attacked outside his home.

Image source, Google

The 66-year-old was taken to hospital with a serious head injury after the incident in Hyde Road, Kenilworth on 13 September.

He died in hospital on 21 September.

A 67-year-old woman and a man, 46, both from the town and arrested on suspicion of assault have been released under investigation.

A post-mortem examination has been conducted, but further tests are required to establish the exact cause of death, said Warwickshire Police.

Claire Massey started running at Hanley Park Run two years ago to improve her mental health - now she's completed the London Marathon and is taking part in Sunday's Berlin Marathon.

Battling anxiety and depression, running has become a coping mechanism, she told the We Are Stoke-on-Trent team.

Being part of the Michelin Running Club, she said, had allowed her to meet new friends and be a part of the "generous and warm-hearted" Stoke-on-Trent community.

Image source, Claire Massey

But it's not just a personal challenge - Claire has thrown herself into raising money for charity alongside her running efforts. To date, her total is nearly £10,000 for Children with Cancer UK.

"The figure will continue to rise, thanks to the people of Stoke and my online running community," she told us.

Even Claire's nine-year-old daughter, Amelie, has joined her in her mission, by having her hair cut off and donating it to the Little Princess Charity, which makes wigs for children that have lost their hair during chemotherapy.

BBC Radio Stoke

A man who tried to stab a GP at a health centre in Stoke-on-Trent has been detained indefinitely at a secure hospital.

Robert Vaduva, who is 24 and from Waterloo Road, had pleaded guilty to possessing a knife blade or sharp pointed article in a public place and assault causing grievous bodily harm at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court in July.

He was sentenced under Section 37 of the Mental Health Act on Wednesday.

Image source, Google

Staffordshire Police said he had gone to see the doctor at the Cobridge Community Health Centre on 18 January, complaining of a broken jaw, and then drew a six-inch kitchen knife

Vaduva then attempted to strike the doctor in the chest. He also punched and kicked him.

The GP suffered a number of injuries and has likely been left with permanent damage to one of his eyes, the force said.

Vaduva was disarmed with the help of a receptionist, and the judge awarded her the High Sheriff's Award for her bravery.