We've seen some really spectacular aerial photos of the cooling towers, including this one that Jase Garton shared on the BBC Midlands Facebook page, external.

He said: "I took this at 1000ft above the towers just before they powered down the station for its final time”.

Image source, Jase Garton

And this photo was taken by a pilot from RAF Cosford.

They tweeted, external "The towers have been a great navigation aid for pilots in the skies over Shropshire since they were built."

Image source, RAF Cosford

People who used to work at Ironbridge Power Station have said there was a great sense of community among the staff and some will miss the cooling towers when they are gone.

Trevor Sidaway from Wiltshire (second right) worked there for 20 years, before leaving in 1997 and said: "If you had a problem you could ask anyone and they would help you. You were never stuck for anything."

Trevor Childs (far left) from Much Wenlock agreed and said "power stations tend to be like that, but Ironbridge was particularly so. We looked after each other."

Some will watch the cooling towers come down and they were invited to be part of the event, but Andy Holden from Shrewsbury (second left) said: "I've spent nearly 40 years maintaining the place, running the place, looking after it, doing my job as best that I could. Don't want to be part of the demolition."

He explained: "The power station has been part of my life, it was nearly 40 years. It's helped me raise my children, it's helped me pay off my mortgage and it's gone now and I do miss the place, I miss the camaraderie and the work."

Trevor Childs said: "They looked nice, they blended in, but they were part of a power station, the cooling towers. The problem is, to keep them would have cost an absolute fortune."

Do you have memories of the power station or its cooling towers? Email us

Among the hundreds of people climbing the hills to watch the cooling towers come down is 88-year-old Ethel Martin.

She has travelled from down the road in Dawley to watch the big event and was helped up Strethill.

A £350m contract to build new trains for Avanti West Coast, which replaces Virgin Trains on the west coast route from Sunday, has been awarded to Hitachi.

Image source, PA Media

Twenty-three new intercity trains are expected to enter service from 2022.

The trains will be a mix of 10-carriage electric trains and 13 five-carriage bi-mode trains, which will switch from electric to diesel power where the railway is not electrified, such as in North Wales.

The electric trains will run between London, the West Midlands and Liverpool, while the bi-modes will serve the London to North Wales route.

West Midlands Police say a van shunted a car into a 29-year-old man and trapped him.

We've got reporters all around the cooling towers, to bring reaction to the big event, powered by strong coffee and wrapped in warm coats.

Here you can see BBC Radio Shropshire's Clare Ashford at Buildwas and Paul Shuttleworth at the top of the Wrekin.

And from his vantage point Paul said he could see some rain coming over, but it looks like it should pass soon.

He can also see nose-to-tail traffic approaching the Wrekin and said there are at well over 100 people at the top of the hill now, with more climbing to the summit.

Facebook

More reaction flowing on on the BBC Midlands Facebook page today:

Michelle Smith sent us this, external: "Sad. I know people say they are ugly things but I don’t, they, for me, are a lovely part and reminder of my childhood."

Rachel Reddihough said, external: "They would have made amazing spaces for other things."

While another view came from Julie West:, external "No!!! Stop acting like someone died. Power stations are not built to last forever and this constant moaning and eulogising is doing my head in!"

Officers believe three vehicles were involved in a crash in Balsall Common, in which a man died.

It happened at the junction of Holly Lane and Table Oak Road shortly after 16:45.

It's understood a Mercedes Vito van and a Ford Ranger were involved in a collision, causing the Ford to flip and land on a Honda Civic, police said.

The driver of the Honda, a 34-year-old man, died instantly, said West Midlands Police.

Officers are asking for anyone with information to come forward.

For obvious reasons, people aren't being allowed near the towers when they are demolished and a 350m exclusion zone has been set up around them.

It means Buildwas Road is closed until after the explosions and a small number of properties near the cooling towers have been evacuated.

Image source, Harworth Group

The explosions will create dust and Harworth Group said most of it will fall around the towers, but some may drift further and people in the area are being advised to keep doors and windows closed.

The company also suggested that children and animals should stay indoors because of the noise.

A pedestrian who had his leg amputated after being involved in a "horrific" hit-and-run crash has died, police say.

Image source, Google

West Midlands Police said a van shunted a car into a 29-year-old man and trapped him against a parked vehicle in Coventry on Tuesday evening.

Occupants of the two vehicles fled the scene and "did not care for how badly he was hurt" when they left him lying in the road, police said.

It happened in Longford Road at 18:00.

No arrests have been made, said West Midlands Police.

The company that owns the former power station in the Ironbridge Gorge says it understands the love local people have for the cooling towers.

Iain Thomson, from Harworth Group, said: "I mean these are massive local landmarks that have been up here for decades and people have got an emotional attachment to them."

But Mr Thomson said the company has overseen a number of big demolition projects to clear former industrial sites and has "got to keep a certain emotional detachment".

He went on to add: "Frankly we think it's in the best interests of everyone to bring them down properly, so we can then get these sites regenerated as quickly as possible."

You will need an umbrella if you're going out to watch the Ironbridge cooling towers come down, because light rain is forecast.

We're also expecting a moderate breeze, but it won't feel too cold for December, with the temperature expected to be around 12C (54F).

Telford and Wrekin Council said if the weather had been really bad, the demolition could have been postponed, but this looks unlikely now.

A man has died after being hit by a car in Bridgnorth on Thursday.

The pedestrian was struck on the B4176 in Hilton shortly before 19:27.

He died at the scene, said the ambulance service.

The man given the honour of pressing the button to end electricity production at Ironbridge Power Station was a former engineer called Mike Smith.

He worked at the power station from the day it opened until 1992 and said 13 November 2015 had been a day of mixed emotions.

"I'm proud to have contributed to the success of a power station which has been at the cornerstone of energy generation and has supported the careers of many members of staff for so many years," he said.

A man has died following a crash in Balsall Common on Thursday.

Image source, Google

It happened at the junction of Holly Lane and Table Oak Road, shortly after 16:45, the ambulance service said.

The occupant of the car, a man, died at the scene.

Two other people involved in the crash were assessed for minor injuries and discharged at the scene.

Still undecided about who to vote for? To help you make your choice, here is our guide on what the main parties are promising.

Compare where the parties stand on key issues - from Brexit and the NHS to education and the environment.

If you're planning to go and watch the demolition of the Ironbridge cooling towers, we've had some advice from Telford and Wrekin Council you might find useful.

First of all, Buildwas Road will be closed to vehicles from 06:00 from Much Wenlock Road to Station Road allowing access to Dale End car park until 09:30 and the closure will extend to Dale End mini-roundabout until about an hour after the demolition.

The council also said:

• During these hours there will be no on-street parking, but all the main car parks would be open, except for the Dale End car park
• A free park and ride bus will be running from the top of Jiggers Bank into the Museum of the Gorge car park in Ironbridge between 09:30 and 13:00
• Some minor hillside roads and some footpaths will be closed along with the area opposite the power station site, until after the all clear is given. This includes Benthall Wood and the council said there will be marshals out, to direct people away from closed footpaths.
• And because a lot of people are likely to want to climb the Wrekin to see the demolition, there will be a team to manage parking and the road may have to be closed if there are too many cars.

A reduced service will run on West Midlands Trains on Saturday despite a series of 24-hour rail strikes being been called off.

Image source, West Midlands Rail

The first of seven Saturday strikes, due to a row over over train guards, started on 16 November.

The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union said action had been suspended while a ballot was held, with a recommendation to accept the new deal.

The company said the agreement "has come too late to withdraw Saturday's amended timetable, as the national deadline for short-notice changes has passed".

A "very basic" service will run tomorrow with a full Saturday service reinstated from 14 December.

Birmingham Live

These are some of the Birmingham Live headlines:

• Bodybuilder stabbed 12 times in brands Sudbury prison a 'holiday camp', external
• Machete-wielding gang run away after brutal murder of dad, external
• Brazen B&Q gang who carried out raids on stores rumbled by police on M5, external

BBC Business News

BBC Radio 4's Today programme is broadcasting live from Wolverhampton this morning.

The chief executive of Marston's, the brewery, pubs and hotels group which is a major employer in the Midlands, has been talking about the effect Brexit has had on things like consumer confidence and business investment in the region.

"It feels like things have just gummed up," says Ralph Finley. "Things have slowed down, people aren't sure quite what is happening.

"We can see it in the consumer confidence figures. All the indicators suggest that consumer confidence should be higher than it is.

"When you look at employment data, when you look at wage rate growth, it suggests that people should be feeling better than they are and they're not."