Roy Beddows, who lost the gold ring while working aged 17, says he never expected to see it again.

Shropshire Star

Here are three of the stories from the Shropshire Star's website today:

• Prisoners held for more than 8,000 hours after courts move, external
• Mayor calls for West Midlands Trains improvement, external
• Elderly man taken to hospital after collapsing, external

After covering stories about ambulances being broken into and rude messages left on their windscreens it's nice to report on Christmas goodwill towards West Midlands medics.

People have been leaving gifts for the ambulance crews, to thank them for their hard work, including these treats left at New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton and the ones pictured below, which were delivered to the ambulance hub in Dudley.

Image source, WMAS

Image source, WMAS

Jodie Looker
Newsreader, BBC Radio Stoke

Police are appealing for witnesses after a man broke into a jewellers by tunnelling in from a neighbouring basement.

Image source, Google

He burgled Alexandra's Jewellers, Crewe Road, Alsager, on 8 December, Cheshire Police said. , external

After breaking in, he then fled with jewellery in a plastic bag.

Officers said people using a nearby car park may have seen something suspicious and they also want any residents in the area with CCTV cameras to come forward.

Tracey Mertens was set on fire and left to die in a churchyard 25 years ago.

BBC Sport

Aston Villa midfielder John McGinn could miss several months of the season after breaking his ankle when he appeared to get his studs caught in the turf.

Image source, Getty Images

The 25-year-old was hurt seven minutes into the Premier League game against Southampton and had to be helped to the dressing room.

No timeframe has been given for his return to action, but he could be out for up to three months.

Last week, McGinn was named Scotland's men's player of the year after scoring seven international goals in 2019.

"I feel for John because he's in such a rich vein of form for club and country and obviously all of us at the Scotland team wish him a speedy recovery," said national head coach Steve Clarke.

Allen Cook
BBC News

Flooding fears in parts of Worcestershire are starting to ease as river levels falls.

Image source, Stefftheneph

In the county, there are still five flood warnings,, external meaning flooding is expected, with four on the River Severn and one on the River Avon, near Bredon.

More than 15 flood alerts are also in place, spread across the West Midlands.

Image source, Bondy

BBC Midlands Today

Residents campaigning against "vile smells" they claim are originating from a landfill site are calling for an independent investigation.

The Environment Agency has carried out air quality monitoring at Walley's quarry in Newcastle-under-Lyme.

Its report shows Red Industries, which owns the landfill, is operating within industry guidelines.

However, residents claim their quality of life is suffering due to a "vile smell" in their homes and told the BBC they're concerned about their health.

Red Industry bosses welcomed the findings of the report and said it would continue to operate the site compliantly.

BBC Midlands Today

Rail services run by West Midlands Trains are said to be so "woeful" that the region's mayor has issued bosses with an ultimatum.

It's had a lot of disruption due to shortages of train crews, particularly over the past few weeks.

The firm operates London Northwestern Railway and West Midlands Railway, running services from London Euston to Birmingham and around the Midlands..

West Midlands mayor Andy Street tweeted a statement, external describing the current service as "quite simply woeful", adding the problems "have been dragging on for months".

He added he'd ask the Department for Transport to strip West Midlands Trains of the franchise if it didn't restore a reliable service by 31 January.

Last week, Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson described the situation on the railways as a matter of "public safety" and said he would hold a hearing unless matters improved.

The company said things should improve with the introduction of a new timetable and it was spending £700m on new trains which were due to go into service next year., external

On Saturday, one in four of its trains were delayed or cancelled, external. Of those, the train operator said it was the cause of the problem in 85% of cases.

Stoke-on-Trent Live

From Stoke-on-Trent Live:

• Cancer-hit mum's desperate plea to find donor after jealous ex murdered her teen son, external
• OAP slams 'idle' bin men who refused to collect rubbish at retirement complex for third time, external
• Nearly 500 ambulances delayed for at least 30 minutes outside Royal Stoke in one week, external

BBC News England

The family of a football fan who died while in Bulgaria for an England game says Christmas will be hard because it was a time of year he loved.

Image source, AFP

Rob Spray, 32, from Heath Hayes, Staffordshire, was in Sofia for England's Euro 2020 qualifier on 14 October when he died.

His sister Katie Brown said relatives talked to his ashes daily and the family would put out a dinner plate on Christmas Day.

"He loved this time of year with the festive football fixtures," she said.

BBC Entertainment and Arts

Tributes have been paid to the Birmingham-born actor Tony Britton who died over the weekend aged 95.

His daughter, TV presenter Fern Britton, announced on Twitter that he had died early on Sunday morning.

Tony Britton was best known for starring in BBC sitcom Don't Wait Up alongside Nigel Havers in the 1980s, as well as many British films including The Day of the Jackal.

He also appeared in Robin's Nest alongside Richard O'Sullivan and Tessa Wyatt, and films Operation Amsterdam as well as Sunday Bloody Sunday.

Among the tributes, comedian and actor Sanjeev Bhaskar wrote, external: "Profound condolences Fern and gratitude for the joy and entertainment your Dad brought to me and millions of others. Sending love and strength."

Actor Peter Egan tweeted:, external"Very sad to see the passing of the legend Tony Britton. A wonderful actor and light comedian. Condolences to his family. A lovely man too."

Rob Spray's sister says they will put out a plate for him on Christmas Day.

Michael Buchanan
Social Affairs Correspondent, BBC News

An NHS trust at the centre of England's largest inquiry into baby deaths was paid almost £1m for providing good maternity care, the BBC has learned.

Under the Maternity Incentive Scheme run by NHS Resolution, which aims to improve maternity care, trusts must certify they meet 10 safety standards.

The Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust did so and received £953,391.

But weeks after the payment was made, inspectors rated the trust's maternity care as inadequate.

The trust said evidence of its progress against the maternity safety actions had been shared with committees before being submitted to its board.

Express and Star

From the Express and Star:

• Thousands sent home from hospital in the middle of the night, external
• Mayor calls for West Midlands Trains to be stripped of franchise if no improvement, external
• Jail for Christmas Day gate crasher who hit reveller with paving slab, external

Sara Blizzard
BBC Weather

A mostly dry day with sunny spells and patchy cloud across the West Midlands.

There's just the chance of the odd shower this morning. Today's high: 9C/48F.

Then a dry start to tonight but turning more cloudy as the night goes on, with rain spreading in from the south west. Low: 4C/39F.

Keep up-to-date with the BBC Weather website.

Allen Cook
BBC News

Welcome to our live service for Monday.

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

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