City council leader Ian Ward said it would now work with the community to find a solution.

A missing elderly man has been rescued by firefighters and paramedics after being found collapsed in a cow shed in "sub-zero temperatures".

Emergency services were called to the property near Market Drayton at about 21:13 on Tuesday with the location, terrain and lighting making it difficult for medics to access the man.

Image source, West Midlands Ambulance Service

Fire crews used portable lighting to help paramedics who used a scoop stretcher to lift the casualty out of the shed and he was taken by ambulance to hospital.

BBC News Travel

There's about three-and-a-half miles of traffic on the M6 northbound as traffic officers remove a large amount of gravel in the carriageway.

Highways England said the gravel was being cleared between the slip roads at junction 8 for Great Barr with traffic stretching back to junction 6 for Gravelly Hill.

The incident is adding about 40 minutes to journey times.

The UK's best paid boss has received a £320m payday.

Denise Coates, co-founder of online gambling firm Bet365, was paid a £277m salary plus dividends as the popularity of online gambling continues to grow.

Image source, PA Media

Bet365 is Stoke-on-Trent's largest private sector employer and offers its millions of worldwide customers sports betting, poker, casino, games, and bingo.

It made a profit before tax of £791m in the year, compared with £661m the year before.

The group of firms owns Stoke City Football Club, which made a loss of £8.7m in the year.

Local Democracy Reporting Service
George Makin

Network Rail has been refused permission to build a railway sleeper factory near Walsall and Wednesbury.

It would have built 600,000 concrete sleepers a year, but last night councillors in Sandwell ruled it out because of concerns about its impact on the environment.

Image source, Network Rail

Local residents had raised concerns the plant would add to air pollution in an area already badly affected by the nearby M6 and thousands of people signed petitions against the plans.

A similar site at Westwood Heath was shut to make way for the new HS2 high-speed rail depot.

Network Rail said it was disappointed with the decision as the factory was of "national importance to the rail infrastructure" and claimed the council didn't give it enough time to provide more information about the plans.

Worcester News

A few of the morning's headlines from the Worcester News:

• Photos show Worcester drug dealers posing with weapons and cash, external
• Residents frustrated over ‘abandoned’ car parked outside flats in Worcester, external
• Councillors say 'we have no other option' but to increase council tax, external

Birmingham City Council is trying to track down the owners of a dog who was found tied to railings in the city.

Image source, Birmingham City Council

The "elderly chap" is not micro-chipped and was found tied up on Broad Lane in Kings Heath "on a very chilly day".

"Let's hope he finds a loving home for Christmas," the council said, and appealed for anyone with information about the dog to contact them and speak to an animal welfare officer.

More than 25% of inmates tested positive in drug tests, twice the average for similar prisons.

Three men have been arrested after police chased suspected thieves through Rugby at speeds reaching 120mph last night.

Image source, Rugby Police

Police said they were called to reports of men attempting to steal from an HGV in the town before the car involved made off from the scene.

"The vehicle was pursued along the M6 northbound where it reached speeds of 120mph," Warwickshire Police said. "The vehicle exited the M6 at junction 2, attempted to go down the motorway the wrong way and then went up the M69 reaching speeds of 120mph again."

Officers made tactical contact with the vehicle after it hit two members of the public, although the force confirmed nobody was injured.

A teenager has been arrested on suspicion of possessing an imitation firearm after armed police were called to an incident in Crewe.

Image source, Google

Cheshire Constabulary said initial reports suggested an armed teenager was on college premises on Dane Bank Avenue shortly after 11:00 yesterday but had left the building.

The 17-year-old was arrested in Crewe town centre and officers recovered an air pistol.

Shropshire Star

Here's some of the headlines from the Shropshire Star today:

• Man drove at 80mph in 30mph zones in police chase through Shrewsbury, external
• Shropshire man died after walking into metal railing because sun was in his eyes, external
• Fire crews tackle house blaze near Welshpool, external

BBC Stories

In 1983 Pramila Le Hunte became the first British South Asian woman to stand for parliament as a Tory representative for Birmingham Ladywood.

Image source, Shutterstock

Unlike Pramila, nearly all British South Asians in the early 1980s voted Labour. Pramila says it was in their genes when they arrived in the UK.

"Because who gave them independence? Clement Attlee [the Labour prime minister]. Who was against us? Winston Churchill… So Labour was deified from day one."

Ladywood had a large British South Asian population - mostly Sikhs, and Mirpuris from Pakistan-administered Kashmir. Even though they were all Labour supporters, they told her they would vote for her.

She rationalises it by saying, "I'm Punjabi. Their culture. Their person." They told her no politician had ever come to speak to them before.

On election night, she didn't win.

Pramila did, however, nearly double the Conservative vote in Ladywood. She says she knew she was never going to win such a Labour stronghold, but "I thought I would make an impression."

Read more about Pramila's story here.

BBC Sport

Former Great Britain cyclist Jess Varnish has won the right to an appeal hearing in her employment case against British Cycling.

Image source, BBC Sport

The 29-year-old from Bromsgrove failed in an initial attempt to contest her tribunal defeat in January but an appeal can now be heard, probably within six months.

The former European team sprint champion and world silver medallist attempted to prove she was an employee of British Cycling or funding agency UK Sport to allow her to sue both bodies for wrongful dismissal and sexual discrimination after being dropped by Great Britain for the 2016 Rio Olympics.

An initial hearing ruled her funding was like a university grant.

Kathryn Stanczyszyn
Political Reporter, BBC WM

The leader of Birmingham City Council has apologised to the people of Druids Heath over claims they're being "socially cleansed".

In an unusual move Ian Ward attended a public meeting on Tuesday night and promised to go back to the drawing board over regeneration plans.

Known as the "Forgotten Estate", Druids Heath in south Birmingham had been allocated £43m to demolish its tower blocks and rebuild, but residents say they've been ignored - and it has become clear many of the community won't be able to afford to come back.

Michele Paduano
Health correspondent, BBC Midlands Today

The family of a woman who died when her bowel burst, hours after paramedics decided not to take her to hospital, is suing West Midlands Ambulance Service.

Image source, Ray Gower

A paramedic admitted in an inquest he had failed to do a routine check on Lynda Gower, from Redditch, that would have shown she needed hospital treatment.

Her husband, Ray, said he was "shocked" the coroner ruled she had died of natural causes when the evidence suggested it was likely she would have survived.

The ambulance service has apologised, however Mr Gower has decided to pursue legal action due to the "failings in basic care".

BBC News Travel

Wellington Road in Newport is closed due to a burst water main.

Police have advised people to avoid the area while emergency repairs are carried out.

BBC Sport

Aston Villa overwhelmed Liverpool's youngest-ever starting line-up to cruise into the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup with a 5-0 win last night.

Image source, Getty Images

None of the Liverpool players were alive the last time Villa won a trophy, when they beat Leeds to win this competition in 1996.

Get the full match report here.

Much of the West Midlands is covered by weather warnings for ice and fog today.

Image source, Met Office

The warning for ice is in place until at least 10:00 and the fog warning until 13:00.

People are advised the fog may cause slower journey times, and the Met Office has issued advice for travelling in foggy conditions., external

BBC News Travel

A fallen tree is blocking Chester Road in Solihull and is causing delays.

Drivers are advised to plan ahead and find an alternative route.

The lack of action being taken to tackle drugs at a Warwickshire prison is "inexplicable", inspectors have said.

HMP Onley, near Rugby, holds about 740 men and while improvements have been made to tackle violence, there has been no meaningful progress against illicit drugs, a report by chief inspector of prisons Peter Clarke found.

Earlier this year an inspection report noted how staff suspected London gang rivalries were fuelling violence at the jail which was described at the time as "fundamentally unsafe" - about 80% of inmates are from the London area.

"It was clear the prison had focused on safety as a main concern and its success in reducing levels of violence should be commended. However, the lack of attention to tackling drugs was inexplicable," Mr Clarke said.