Allen Cook
BBC News

A British man who died in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia before England's Euro 2020 qualifier was from Staffordshire, it's been confirmed.

Bulgarian authorities said Rob Spray, from Hednesford, was found "in a helpless condition" in the city centre and taken to hospital, where he later died.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has said it's supporting the 32-year-old's family.

Allen Cook
BBC News

A water main that burst and brought down part of a house has been repaired, a water firm has said.

Image source, West Midlands Fire Service

Residents had to be evacuated from houses on Park Lane West, Tipton, West Midlands on Monday when the main burst, jetting water into the air and flooding the area.

South Staffordshire Water said at the time 20 properties were damaged, one severely.

This morning, the firm confirmed repairs to the water main had finished and it's now working on repairing the road., external

Image source, West Midlands Fire Service

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Planning applications in parts of Herefordshire could be put on hold because of concerns about water pollution in the River Lugg.

Its catchment area in Herefordshire spreads from the Welsh border near Kington as far east as Bromyard and from the northern outskirts of Hereford to almost as far north as Orleton. Natural England has raised concerns about measures to control phosphate levels.

Image source, Google

Arrow ward councillor Roger Phillip said: “This has resulted in all planning applications in my ward being halted."

A Herefordshire Council spokesperson confirmed: “Natural England have recently raised concerns that the actions proposed for the River Lugg in the Nutrient Management Plan may not be sufficient to achieve favourable status and have therefore raised concerns about future development in the Lugg catchment."

It said it would continue to work to control phosphate levels and regulate the sources of the pollution.

A man has been charged with attempted murder after a woman suffered knife wounds on Hadley Road in Telford on Monday.

She was taken to hospital, but her injuries were not life-threatening, police said.

West Mercia Police said Steven Carless, 60, of Ketley Park Road had been charged with attempted murder, kidnap, stalking, affray and possession of a bladed article.

He is due to appear at Kidderminster Magistrates' Court this morning.

A musician has spent several months cycling thousands of miles to record the sounds of the UK.

Phil McCann
Cheshire Political Reporter, BBC News

Cheshire MP Antoinette Sandbach says she's received a death threat after losing a vote of confidence among members of her local party association last night.

The Eddisbury MP tweeted a screengrab of part of an email she was sent overnight.

Last night's vote paves the way for a formal deselection and followed her expulsion from the parliamentary Conservative Party when she and 20 other Tory MPs rebelled against Boris Johnson over Brexit.

Two of the other rebel MPs, Richard Benyon, external and Nicholas Soames, external, tweeted their support for Ms Sandbach and called the vote "disgraceful" and said she had been "shamefully treated".

The Archbishop of Canterbury will be meeting farmers and traders at Hereford livestock market this morning, on the final day of his visit to the Hereford Diocese.

The Most Reverend Justin Welby has also been taking morning prayer in Hereford Cathedral and will be making a private visit to St Michael's Hospice.

His trip has allowed him to see the work done by the Bishop of Hereford, the Right Reverend Richard Frith, who retires later this year.

Worcester News

Here are three of the stories in the Worcester News today:

• Police on the lookout for wanted man, external
• Worcester singer chases stardom, external
• Green fingered group improve biodiversity, external

BBC Sport

Chris Woakes thinks his Warwickshire team-mate Dominic Sibley deserves his chance to play for England, on their tour of New Zealand.

And he said the opener, who scored 1,575 first-class runs in 2019, including six centuries was "probably a bit unlucky to not have a go sooner".

Image source, Getty Images

England fly out on their tour in the next couple of weeks and are due to play two test matches against the Kiwis.

Local Democracy Reporting Service
Kerry Ashdown

A hospital in Stoke-on-Trent is applying to get children's hospital status.

The Royal Stoke University Hospital already has a children's emergency centre, intensive care unit and an outpatients area for youngsters.

But the NHS trust running it says the move to get the status could bring positives in areas such as recruitment, retention and charitable donations.

Louise Hancock
Newsreader, BBC WM

A police officer who was run over by a car thief in a patrol car has "defied medical predictions" in his recovery, according to his boss.

PC Gareth Phillips of West Midlands Police had attended reports of a stolen car in Moseley, Birmingham, on 10 August when Mubashar Hussain hijacked a police BMW and and drove over him.

Hussain, 29, of no fixed address, was jailed yesterday for 12 years after previously admitting causing grievous bodily harm along with other charges.

PC Phillips sustained potentially life-changing injuries including a shattered pelvis and was discharged from hospital last month.

More police, firefighters and ambulance workers are taking time off for mental ill health.

BBC News England

A woman with a severe condition which threatens her life if she moves her head in the wrong way is flying to Spain to seek treatment.

Doctors have told Rachel Pighills, 33, from Pershore, Worcestershire, her neck can no longer support the weight of her head.

A simple turn to the left could cause her cervical spine to dislocate, leading to possible death, she said.

Mrs Pighills added she was "terrified" of the flight to Barcelona but was being "strong" for her child.

Stoke-on-Trent Live

The Stoke-on-Trent Live website's headlines today include:

• New £40m road to be built between A500 and Festival Park, external
• Sports clubs forced to axe matches because of leaking stadium roof, external
• Staffordshire mum's meningitis warning after baby with no rash nearly dies, external

Phil McCann
Cheshire Political Reporter, BBC News

Cheshire MP Antoinette Sandbach has lost a vote of confidence among members of her local party association.

Image source, UK Parliament

The Eddisbury MP, along with 20 of her colleagues, was expelled from the parliamentary Conservative Party last month by Boris Johnson after a group of MPs rebelled against him in a bid to prevent a no-deal Brexit.

She's currently appealing over this suspension of the Tory whip.

This latest vote, while symbolic, paves the way for a formal deselection.

Ms Sandbach tweeted to say she’s “deeply disappointed” in last night’s decision by Eddisbury Conservative Association.

Sarah Robertson
Journalist, BBC Radio Stoke

More emergency service staff are taking sick leave due to poor mental health, figures suggest.

Workers have been urged to "seek help" after traumatic events.

One Staffordshire Police officer says there's still "a long way to go" in talking about mental health.

Image source, Staffordshire Police

PC Jim Dutton (pictured) witnessed colleagues being seriously hurt in a crash. He later presented symptoms of PTSD and depression, going on to receive treatment and staying at a recovery centre.

Image source, Getty Images

The government said it was funding support for workers to "counter the stigma" around mental health.

BBC Business News

Six regional heads of Britain's biggest employers' group have urged the government to build the controversial HS2 rail project in full.

Image source, Siemens/PA Media

The call by the CBI chiefs comes amid a government-commissioned review which could lead to all or part of the high-speed rail network being scrapped.

The CBI regions were the East Midlands, West Midlands, Yorkshire and Humber, London, the North East and North West.

They said HS2 will bring benefits "far beyond its costs".

Phase 1 of HS2 is planned to run between London and Birmingham. Current designs involve a second Y-shaped phase launching in two stages: Phase 2a from the West Midlands to Crewe followed by phase 2b from Crewe to Manchester, and Birmingham to Leeds.

Sean Coughlan
BBC News, education correspondent

More than a thousand children were caught with weapons in school last year, according to a survey of 29 police forces in England and Wales.

Image source, PA Media

Instances included a 15-year-old found in possession of an axe in the West Midlands, the Press Association survey found.

Head teachers' leader Geoff Barton said the findings were "grim but unsurprising".

The survey, which follows concern about rising levels of knife crime, was based on Freedom of Information data from police forces.

Express and Star

The Express and Star's covering these stories today:

• Wolverhampton's £50m Westside project hit by red tape, external
• M6 Toll a 'driving force' for the economy, say bosses, external
• West Midlands crime warning amid 'open police force warfare' claims, external

Alex Hamilton
BBC Weather

Any early rain should soon clear this morning to leave it mainly dry if cloudy:

You can keep up-to-date with the weather in your area by heading to the BBC Weather website.