A thanksgiving service will be held later to mark the relocation of a memorial for two teenagers killed in a drive-by shooting 16 years ago.

Charlene Ellis, 18, and Letisha Shakespeare, 17, were shot in Aston, Birmingham, on 2 January 2003.

The mosaic memorial has been installed in the floor of Aston Parish church after its previous home was shut down.

Four men were convicted of the teenagers' murder and were each jailed for life.

The neighbourhood officer for West Midlands Police suffered minor injuries after being pulled 300m.

BBC Weather Watchers

We're forecast some rain to end the week, so enjoy these hazy autumn mornings while you can.

The BBC Weather Watchers have been sharing photos from their walks about the region.

These were taken near Willey, Lydbury North and Edgmond.

Image source, Furry Cottage

Image source, Ken M

Image source, GrannyAnne

A neighborhood police officer was dragged 300m by a car as he and a colleague tried to stop a suspected drug deal, police said.

Concerned by activity on Lichfield Road, Walsall, on Saturday afternoon, the pair approached a vehicle to speak to the occupants.

The car lurched backwards, knocking over a female officer with an open door. As her colleague leaned inside to try to grab the keys, the car was driven off with him partially inside.

After a 300m ordeal, he eventually jumped free and escaped with minor injuries, said the West Midlands force.

A 37-year-old man detained on suspicion of assault has been released under investigation.

One machine was loaded on to a trolley and taken out of a Birmingham hospital.

Men have been jailed over the thefts from premises including hospitals and railway stations.

Stoke-on-Trent Live

From the Stoke Sentinel:

• Police name man found dead in house, external
• Motorway reopens after a morning of chaos, external
• Toddler drowns after being left unsupervised in bath, external

Two teenagers have been arrested following a robbery in Bedworth.

A 17-year-old boy was assaulted before jewellery, a backpack and his bike were stolen on Newton Road.

Two 16-year-olds, arrested on suspicion of robbery, have been released on police bail after the incident on 15 October, says Warwickshire Police.

BBC WM

A couple due to marry at a venue in Warwickshire fear they may have lost a four-figure sum after it closed.

Jimmy Jones and his fiancee Natalie Coley, from Marston Green, Solihull, had planned a Peaky Blinders-themed ceremony and celebration at the Wroxall Abbey Estate for Christmas 2020.

The couple said they'd paid "more than the deposit" to secure the venue in September 2017.

They learned of the venue's closure on Facebook, Natalie told BBC WM.

"I literally took my glasses off, rubbed my eyes and I went 'oh my god' and I just saw the picture of Wroxhall and I knew straight away."

Jimmy added: "To be quite honest we still don't know where we stand - it still exists, it's there, but it's derelict there's nobody there, you can't book anything on their website, it's all unavailable, but there's been nothing, no communication whatsoever."

Both the company which has been running the estate for two months and the previous owners of the hotel have been approached for comment.

Coventry Observer

From the Coventry Observer:

• Firefighters trial wearing video cameras after rise in violence and abuse, external
• Shipston man charged with conspiracy to murder, external
• Heritage lottery funding for City of Culture 2021 events, external

Taxi drivers in Telford who break the law could face longer exclusions from the trade under measures due to be debated by councillors next Tuesday.

The local authority is considering making drivers convicted of violence or supply-of-drugs offences subject to a ten-year wait. The current exclusion period is five years.

The council also wants to make drivers convicted of discrimination offences wait seven years.

Image source, Getty Images

Omar Beckles scores the equaliser as Shrewsbury Town come from behind to draw 1-1 with Gillingham at the Meadow.

A man who was found dead at his home in Longton last week was 57-year-old Christopher Henworth, Staffordshire Police said.

He was discovered at the address on Wigmore Place on 17 October and the force said his death was being treated as unexplained.

Image source, Google

A 41-year-old man from the area was arrested on suspicion of murder on 19 October, but has since been released while investigations continue.

'Floozy' fountain to be restored as part of £25m city centre scheme after it sprung a leak.

The images were discovered after being left in a cupboard for 56 years.

Emma Thomas
Reporter, BBC Midlands Today

Five men have been jailed following a series of “sophisticated and determined” burglaries in which cash point machines were snatched.

The ganged netted £274,000 from the machines, using high-speed stolen cars to drag them out of shops, hospitals and an arts centre.

There was a total of 11 incidents across the West Midlands that spanned a period of almost a year from 2018.

Craig Matthews, 42, from Birmingham, who was described as the gang leader, was jailed for eight years and seven months at Birmingham Crown Court today.

He and co-defendants pleaded guilty to conspiracy to burgle at the start of a trial in July.

Also sentenced today were Coventry men:

David Bradley, 28 - five years.

Kenneth Bourne, 38 - six years.

Shane Stojsavljevic, 36 - seven years, two months

Charlie Ward, 27 - five years

David Templeton's first-half goal earns Burton Albion a 1-0 win at home to AFC Wimbledon.

BBC News Travel

Highways England has been battling a series of problems to get M6 traffic in Staffordshire moving again.

The delays affecting all three lanes began at about 06:00 between junctions 14 and 15, heading north, when a lorry hit a barrier in a contraflow set up in roadworks, with queues growing to nine miles long.

The problem was made worse when the lorry shed more than 150 litres of diesel.

And on top of that, another car broke down in one of the lanes as attempts were made to clear the jam.

The diesel leak has now been cleared, and Highways England is working to move the broken-down car.

Adult social care costs have continued to rise sharply for some local authorities in the West Midlands.

New figures, external from the government show they went up by 4.5% across the region between 2017-18 and 2018-19.

The biggest increase in spending was in Sandwell, where it rose by 16.6%.

Image source, Getty Images

Other local authorities saw significant increases:

• Warwickshire - 7.5%
• Solhull - 8%
• Shropshire - 7.7%
• Telford and Wrekin 8.3%

The average rise across England was just over 4% and councils across the country have warned of an “escalating crisis” in social care costs.

The government promised more funding in a spending review.

Rob Spray died in Sofia a week ago but his family say they still do not know how he died.