A stretch of the A5 in Staffordshire remains closed more than an hour after lorry caught fire.

Huge plumes of black smoke can be seen over the road and it's unclear what the lorry was carrying.

Staffordshire fire service has crews at the scene from Tamworth and Lichfield, with the route closed in both directions to help firefighters tackle the blaze.

The lorry driver managed to get out of the vehicle, said the ambulance service, which still has staff at the scene.

Twitter user Cath O'Dray reported hearing a "massive bang".

Passengers in Wrexham complain about changes meant to allow faster Cardiff to Holyhead services.

Allen Cook
BBC News

Fish are going to benefit as part of work to tackle flooding in part of Bromsgrove.

Image source, Bromsgrove District Council

Several small pools are going to be created on Spadesbourne Brook near Blackmore Lane, the district council said, external, to hold excess water after heavy rain.

It's also going to add a "rock ramp fishway" to help fish get along the waterway and the work's expected to start later this year.

BBC News Travel

A lorry fire has closed part of the A5 in both directions in Staffordshire.

The stretch runs between the A453 Bonehill Road and Bitterscote Drive, at the Ventura Park Interchange.

The fire is on the eastbound side, however the westbound carriageway has also been closed.

Lee Thomas
Newsreader, BBC Radio Stoke

Plans to put barriers around a park are expected to be finalised in the coming weeks, after a series of traveller encampments over the summer., external

People living near Barony Park, in Nantwich, have been campaigning to get a mixture of fencing, bollards and even orchards around the land to stop people being able to drive on to it.

Cheshire East Council says it’s had “positive discussions” with local campaigners and politicians and will hold more meetings to finalise the future of the site.

Matt Sandoz
Stoke City commentator, BBC Radio Stoke

Stoke City's owners have been praised by midfielder Joe Allen for standing by manager Nathan Jones.

Image source, Getty Images

The Potters had failed to win in their first 10 Championship games this season, leaving Jones under pressure with the side bottom of the table.

But victory over Fulham at the weekend gave Stoke back-to-back wins and moved them off the bottom.

Shropshire Star

The top stories for the Shropshire Star today include:

• Teenage pair locked up for Telford knife attack terror, external
• Four further arrests made in burglary spree investigation, external
• Four weeks of work starting on canal in Newport, external

The custom gold-plated Harley Davidson motorbike was signed by Pope Francis in Rome.

Two men have been charged in connection with disturbances inside and outside Elland Road following Leeds United's game with Birmingham City.

A number of people were arrested when violence flared at the end of the game with police officers and stewards being injured.

Bottles and cones were thrown at officers, West Yorkshire Police added.

A 44-year-old Leeds man has been charged with assaulting an emergency worker and a public order offence, and a 25-year-old Leeds man has been charged with criminal damage to a police vehicle.

Both are due to appear at Leeds Magistrates' Court next month.

Meanwhile, two men, aged 19 and 22, and a 17-year-old youth, all from Birmingham, were given a community resolution for being drunk and disorderly, as was a 56-year-old man, from Lincolnshire, who was arrested with them.

A 24-year-old man, from Leeds, and 20-year-old man, from Birmingham, were arrested on suspicion of assault and released under investigation, police say.

An investigation into the trouble is ongoing with CCTV being trawled.

Supt Chris Bowen said: “These were isolated incidents involving only a relative minority of the supporters of both sides and it is fair to say this is the worst trouble we have seen at Elland Road for over a decade."

The purchase of a former sewage works in the Black Country will unlock the biggest brownfield housing site in the region, said the West Midlands mayor.

The 26.4 hectare site in Friar Park Wednesbury is to be turned into a 750-home community following the sale to the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), it has announced.

Image source, West Midlands Combined Authority

The organisation will fund a major clean-up of the land, previously also the site of a hospital and iron foundry, before working with the council on an "ambitious" masterplan for the site.

The land, which has been derelict for more than 30 years, was purchased from Midlands Land Portfolio, the property development arm of Severn Trent Water.

Sandwell Council needs to build 13,420 homes by 2026.

The mum of a junior doctor, missing since 2017, met with the Health Secretary over understaffing.

Eight other people were assessed by paramedics at the scene of a fire that left a toddler in a critical condition in hospital.

A woman has been arrested on suspicion of child neglect after the fire at a property in Cattell Way, Bedworth on Sunday.

"On arrival ambulance crews discovered the fire service treating a girl they had rescued from the property," said the ambulance service.

“The girl was then transported to the specialist trauma care centre at Birmingham Children’s Hospital on blue lights and sirens. Unfortunately, upon arrival her condition was described as critical."

Crews assessed and performed welfare checks on three men, a woman and four other children, all of whom were discharged at the scene.

Hundreds of people have gathered in Coventry for a surprise performance to celebrate the impact of National Lottery funding.

Tom Grennan performed his hit Found What I've Been Looking For at the city's Godiva statue as part of the National Lottery's 25th birthday celebrations.

The lottery has contributed £5.3m to Coventry's City of Culture 2021 programme.

A teenager arrested in connection with a carjacking in Coventry has been released on bail.

Robbers armed with a machete jumped in front of a vehicle on Blackberry Lane on Thursday demanding the driver get out of the car before making off in it.

Following a police pursuit, the vehicle crashed into a lamp-post on Caradoc Close at about 21:45.

The teenager was arrested on suspicion of robbery, possession of an offensive weapon, theft of motor vehicle, assaulting a police officer, dangerous driving and failing to stop.

Worcester News

The Worcester News' headlines today include:

• Increase in knife crime cases across West Mercia, external
• Plan to build three-storey homes near Worcester flood zone set to be approved, external
• Former Worcester Warriors star becomes mortgage advisor, external

BBC Sport

Former professional footballers are three and a half times more likely to die of dementia than people of the same age range in the general population, according to new research.

Image source, Getty Images

The study began after claims that former West Brom striker Jeff Astle (pictured) died because of repeated head trauma.

Experts at Glasgow University investigated fears that heading the ball could be linked to brain injuries.

It compared deaths of 7,676 ex-players to 23,000 from the general population.

However, despite the dementia risk, the study also found that playing the game increased average lifespan.

Local Democracy Reporting Service
Kerry Ashdown

Nearly £60,000 in uncollected taxes and overpaid benefits are going to be written off by a council.

A report to Cannock Chase Council's cabinet , externalrevealed the total included £34,000 owed in business rates, £19,769.63 in uncollected council tax and £6,197.03 overpaid in benefits.

But the authority said it had recovered overpaid benefits totalling £222,785.22 in the first quarter of this financial year.

BBC Hereford and Worcester

A rugby union coach has said it was a "surreal experience" to see his side beat their opponents 240-0 at the weekend.

Image source, A.Jepson Photography

Bromsgrove Rugby Club registered three points a minute in the rout of South Leicester at Finstall Park.

The visitors have now conceded more than 100 points in all but one of their seven games this season.

South Leicester said every first-team player left during the summer after relegation from National League Two.

BBC Weather Watchers

Some autumnal scenes from our local BBC Weather Watchers with mushrooms growing and the leaves changing colour.

These three are from Snow Crystals in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, Suttonwalker in Sutton Coldfield and Margrose in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire:

Image source, Snow Crystals

Image source, Suttonwalker

Image source, Margrose

Coventry Live

Some of the Coventry Live headlines today include:

• Temple reveals £2m renovation plans that will 'transform Coventry skyline', external
• Thieves grab thousands of pounds worth of new iPhones in store raid, external
• Car-jacking saw man threatened with machete, external