BBC Shropshire

Hundreds of defence jobs are expected to be created and hundreds more secured in Shropshire with the signing of a £2.8bn government contract.

Image source, Google

Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land, which has its UK factory in Telford, said an agreement had been reached with the Ministry of Defence.

The firm added the contract was for 500 military vehicles, half of which would be assembled and tested in Telford.

Les Horler, a spokesman for union Unite, said it marked the return of engineering and manufacturing to the site which hasn't, he says, made a vehicle for around 15 years.

Nick Timothy, who aimed to contest Meriden in Solihull, was an adviser to ex-PM Theresa May.

Louise Hancock
Newsreader, BBC WM

Controversial plans to demolish a Birmingham flyover are going to press ahead after a majority of city councillors supported the move.

Image source, Google

The Perry Barr flyover on the A34 is due to be knocked down as part of a £27m regeneration scheme.

But the plans have been opposed by some local residents, with campaigners saying the work will cause increased traffic disruption.

A full council debate was triggered last night after over 15,000 people signed petitions against the proposals.

But the motion managed to get a majority of votes in suppor, externalt and it will now go to the cabinet for approval.

BBC Midlands Today

Lecturers and support staff at three universities in the West Midlands are to strike for eight days in disputes over pay and pensions.

Members of the University and College Union (UCU) will walk out between 25 November and 4 December, following votes in favour of industrial action.

Aston University, the University of Birmingham and the University of Warwick are among 60 across the UK which will be affected by the strikes, UCU says.

The group Universities UK said it hoped the action would not go ahead, but said plans were in place to ensure disruption to students is minimal.

As well as the eight days of strike action, union members will begin other forms of industrial action when they return to work, such as working strictly to contract, not covering for absent colleagues and refusing to reschedule lectures lost to strike action.

Stoke-on-Trent Live

From the Stoke-on-Trent Live website:

• Three Stoke-on-Trent fraudsters jailed after Home Office busts passport scam, external
• Sex offender breaches court order after using aliases on social media, external
• Tenant slams landlord after boiler packs in to leave him without heating and hot water, external

Worcestershire's England T20 fast bowler Pat Brown is to join Australian Big Bash League side Melbourne Stars in January.

Lee Thomas
Newsreader, BBC Radio Stoke

A city park's being searched by police investigating reports of a sex assault in the area.

Image source, Google

Staffordshire Police said they were told a woman had been attacked yesterday evening in Hanley Park, Stoke-on-Trent.

No arrests have been made and the park's sealed off for the search this morning.

BBC News Travel

Part of the M6 southbound has reopened after being resurfaced overnight following a lorry fire, Highways England has tweeted.

Image source, Highways England

The fire broke out early on Tuesday and closed the southbound carriageway between junction two for the M69 and junction one at Rugby.

Specialist teams were sent to the scene to recover the lorry trailer that had been carrying a "hazardous substance".

Highways England closed the southbound side from J4 to J2 just before 21:00 to carry out the works and said the total closure was removed just after 05:00., external

Express and Star

Headlines from the Express and Star:

• Anger over 10,000 homes vision along A449, external
• Residents slam developers over Stourbridge Corbett Meadow plan, external
• Decision on warehouse plans near M5 'delayed' again, external

BBC News England

A former Downing Street chief who was an adviser to Theresa May has failed in his bid to run as a Tory candidate in the general election.

Image source, EPA

Nick Timothy was beaten by Saqib Bhatti, who was selected to run for the Meriden seat in Solihull.

Mr Timothy resigned as Mrs May's joint chief of staff after the general election in 2017.

Mr Bhatti will contest the seat to replace MP Dame Caroline Spelman.

Allen Cook
BBC News

Four men have been arrested by police after reports of fireworks being fired from a moving car.

Image source, Staffordshire Police

Staffordshire Police said it's thought the incidents happened in the Cobridge area of Stoke-on-Trent overnight., external

After stopping a vehicle and making the arrests, the force also said fireworks were seized (pictured).

Rich Davis
BBC Weather presenter

A cold start but it should be a mainly dry start to the day although rain's expected later:

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

BBC Sport

Ethan Ebanks-Landell's goal just before half-time sealed a narrow League One victory for Shrewsbury over Peterborough.

Marcus Maddison had a second-half penalty saved by Shrewsbury goalkeeper Joe Murphy.

The result moved Shrewsbury up to 11th in the table, two points outside the play-off places.

In the National League, Solihull Moors won 1-0 at Hartlepool United, lifting them to sixth.

Allen Cook
BBC News

Welcome to our live service for Wednesday.

We'll be bringing you all the news, sport, travel and weather for the West Midlands.

You can get in touch via email, Twitter , externaland Facebook., external

Ethan Ebanks-Landell's goal just before half-time seals a narrow League One victory for Shrewsbury over Peterborough.

Solihull Moors bring Hartlepool United's four-game unbeaten run to an end with a win at Victoria Park.

Andy Giddings
BBC News

We'll be back with the news, sport, travel and weather from 07:00 on Wednesday.

A man is to appear in court charged over the death of a motorcyclist on the M54 last year.

The crash happened on the eastbound carriageway between junctions two and three on the evening of 11 July.

Gordon Nutt, 68, from Wolverhampton, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Image source, Staffordshire Police/Family handout

Jasbir Soori, 48, of Grasmere Close, Tettenhall, Wolverhampton, is charged with causing death by dangerous driving and another motoring offence, Staffordshire Police said.

He is set to appear at Cannock Magistrates' Court on Wednesday.

A plan to build more than 3,000 homes on land near junction three of the M54 in Shropshire has been criticised by the Weston Park country estate.

Bradford Estates, which wants to develop the land, has been sending out promotional material to people living nearby, saying the project would be "a green place of high environmental quality".

Shropshire Council says it is yet to make a decision on the proposal but there is interest from neighbouring councils in the Black Country.

The marketing manager at Weston Park, Andrea Webster, said: "The sense of place, tranquility and exclusivity are key to attracting customers to the estate." She expressed concern it would be jeopardised by a large housing development.

She added: "The release of green belt land around junction three would be contrary to national guidelines."

Evha Jannath was unsupervised when she fell into the water while on the Splash Canyon ride.