The number of flood warnings in the West Midlands has been reduced further as river levels fall.

The Environment Agency still has them in place for the River Severn in Worcestershire and the River Vrynwy in Shropshire, but others have been downgraded to flood alerts.

Image source, STFC Goose

The Environment Agency said that with no heavy rainfall forecast over the next 24 hours it was expecting river levels to fall slowly.

But it said it would keep a close eye on them with more rain expected at the end of the week.

The car Ashley Atkins was driving went into the river and it is thought he tried to get to the other side.

Allen Cook
BBC News

Firefighters say they're making "good progress" in tackling a fire in Stoke-on-Trent this afternoon. , external

They say there are no reports of injuries from the blaze on High Street, Tunstall and everyone's been accounted for.

Craig Fallon was found dead in woods about three miles away from his home in Telford in July.

The Birmingham clinic, which shut in December, was one of the worst inspected by the health regulator.

BBC Entertainment and Arts

Heavyweight boxer Tyson Fury has told BBC Radio 5 Live that he’s "taking over" the music world with a little help from Stoke-on-Trent singer Robbie Williams.

The pair are planning to release a duet for Christmas 2019.

Rebecca Wood
BBC Midlands Today

A battle is taking place today between growers of Christmas trees to land a prestigious honour - to win the right to provide a tree for outside the prime minister's home on Downing Street.

The annual contests has been held since 1998 and is at Woods Farm Christmas Trees, in Solihull.

The British Christmas Tree Growers’ Association's described it as a "fierce" contest with owners wanting the votes of their fellow growers.

Organisers say the winner of "Grower of The Year" and "Champion Festive Wreath" will provide the Christmas tree and wreath for 10 Downing Street.

Allen Cook
BBC News

Dozens of firefighters are battling a fire in Stoke-on-Trent this afternoon., external

Image source, Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service

Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service said crews were called at around 15:00 to High Street, Tunstall.

They're urging people in the area to keep their doors and windows shut.

Repairs are expected to get under way in the next few days after the weekend's torrential rain damaged tracks used by a heritage railway.

Image source, Dave Gibson

The Churnet Valley Railway (CVR), in Staffordshire, said nearly a month's rainfall fell in 30 hours and breached the Caldon Canal and flooded parts of the track., external

In some places, the group said the railway line in Consall, near Leek, was left "suspended in mid-air" and the planned Super Power Saturday event was immediately cancelled.

Repairs will take an estimated seven days to complete and CVR said it would reopen on 30 November for the start of the annual Santa and Steam event.

Image source, Churnet Valley Railway

Halesowen News

A few of the headlines from the Halesowen News today:

• Warning as residents targeted by council tax refund scam, external
• Woman taken to hospital after severe fire in Wordsley, external
• Callous thieves let pet dog loose in Rowley Regis burglary, external

A judo champion from Telford took his own life in woodland near the Wrekin, an inquest has concluded.

Craig Fallon, 36, who was the head coach of the Welsh Judo Association and winner of multiple gold medals, was described by the Shropshire Coroner John Ellery as "highly successful and respected in his sport".

Image source, Getty Images

The inquest in Shrewsbury heard he left his home in Lawley Bank on 15 July after sending an email which contained the line "remember this was my choice".

His car was found near the Wrekin and he was found near Spout Lane the following morning.

The coroner said he did not think it appropriate to publicly air Mr Fallon's personal circumstances.

Local Democracy Reporting Service
George Makin

Adrian Bailey, Labour MP for West Bromwich West, has announced he won't be standing in the next general election, expected on 12 December.

Image source, UK Parliament

The 73-year-old, who was first elected to the seat in 2000, said contesting the vote would commit himself to serving until he was nearly 80.

In an email to Labour Party members, the former Sandwell councillor said he was sticking by a decision made in 2017 not to stand for re-election in the future.

He succeeded the former Commons speaker Betty Boothroyd in the seat in 2000 and, at the last election, won it with a 4,460 majority.

A man who had been pursued by police through Shrewsbury died after attempting to swim the River Severn, an inquest has concluded.

The Shropshire coroner John Ellery said 33-year-old Ashley James Atkins from Tipton had been in a car with three other men on 16 April and an unmarked police car had attempted to pull them over in the Copthorne area of town.

Image source, Atkins family

Their vehicle was later found half-submerged in the river, near the Frankwell car park and two people were arrested.

Mr Atkins and another man attempted to swim across the river, but Mr Atkins was unable to make it across and his body was found in the river the following afternoon.

The inquest concluded his death was accidental.

Alex Hamilton
BBC Weather

The dry weather's set to continue into tonight:

Keep up-to-date with the latest weather for your area by heading to the BBC Weather website.

River levels may on their way down across the Midlands, but it's a slow process, despite four consecutive days of clear skies.

Twelve flood warnings remain in force across the region, as well as a string of less serious flood alerts.

Image source, Dave Throup

More worryingly, the Environment Agency is warning that further rainfall is forecast from Thursday evening into the weekend.

It said river levels were expected to remain high until Friday and staff were monitoring the situation.

Worcester News

Here are some of the lead stories on the Worcester News website:

• Beth Shipsey: Dad accuses Home Office of systematic failures, external in fight against 'diet drug' which killed daughter
• Drivers warned about road closures following flooding in Worcestershire, external
• Veteran goes viral after selling poppies to motorists stuck in flood traffic, external

Birmingham Yardley MP Jess Phillips has called for Prime Minister Boris Johnson to ensure schools in the city get the funding they need to stay open five days a week.

Currently, numerous schools in Birmingham shut at lunchtime on Fridays in a bid to save money, including Ms Phillips's son Danny's school.

Image source, UK Parliament

Paying tribute to her son, who is celebrating his birthday today, the Labour MP said schools had suffered "years of cuts".

She said that meant "hundreds of children in Birmingham Yardley are in super-sized classes" and called on Boris Johnson to ensure every single child is "able to go to school for five days a week".

In response, the prime minister said the government had pumped £14bn into primary and secondary schools across the country.

The Hylton Road flood defences have been removed in Worcester and the road has reopened to traffic.

Despite that, levels remain high on the River Severn, with some 400 tonnes of water passing Worcester per second, the Environment Agency says.

Three flood warnings remain in place in the city.

BBC Business News

There were 4,355 company insolvencies in the last quarter, according to the latest figures from the Insolvency Service, external.

Last month, figures revealed Stoke-on-Trent to be the insolvency capital of England.

Image source, Getty Images

One in every 200 adults in the city became insolvent in 2018 and the BBC We Are Stoke teamspoke to some of those trying to claw their way out of debt.

The latest figures, covering July to September of this year, showed insolvencies at their highest level since the first quarter of 2014.

The body of Rob Spray has been returned to the UK and a coroner is now investigating how he died.