BBC Sport

Aston Villa boss Dean Smith says he knows how much the League Cup means to the five-time winners.

Image source, Getty Images

Injury-hit Villa go into the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final with Leicester City without striker Wesley, goalkeepers Tom Heaton and Jed Steer and midfielder John McGinn.

"The players are all ready," said the Villa manager, a boyhood fan of the club. "We don't have a lot of choice with the numbers we have, but everyone is looking forward to the game.

"Some of my best memories of watching this football club came in this competition - my dad taking me to the 1977 cup final. I know my history about this football club in this competition and I'm excited about leading them in the semi-final," he added.

BBC Business News

Pendolino trains running on the West Coast Main Line are going to be refurbished in a £642m deal.

Image source, Avanti West Coast

Avanti West Coast took over from Virgin Trains as the operator running the route, which connects London Euston and Glasgow through Staffordshire, the West Midlands and Warwickshire.

A seven-year deal has been agreed between the operator and Alstom, which built the fleet.

The work will include new seats, refurbished toilets and more luggage space.

BBC Hereford and Worcester

Plans to redevelop six railway arches in Worcester will be discussed by city councillors next month.

It's the latest phase of the £4.5m The Arches-Worcester project, and would turn the arches between Foregate Street and The Hive into spaces for artists and creative businesses.

Image source, KKE Architects

Part of the space will be set aside as a performance space for actors, musicians and other artists, and if planning permission is granted work could start in the spring.

In January 2019 the government agreed to give £3m to the project, which is run a partnership made up of local councils, the University of Worcester, Severn Arts and The Arch Company, external - a company which specialises in reviving old arches.

A number of other arches have already been converted and are now occupied by small businesses.

Image source, KKE Architects

Birmingham Live

From the Birmingham Live website today:

• 'Selfish' Stratford Road traders block pavement with onions, oranges, pallets and boxes, external
• Birmingham City University awards posthumous degree to former student Lyra McKee, external
• Fundraiser launched as tributes flood in for A5 crash victim, external

Last year saw killings across the UK fall but London's level rise to its highest since 2008.

A Ross-on-Wye farmer is asking why the government is giving flood relief to people in Worcestershire and Gloucestershire, but not to colleagues in neighbouring Herefordshire.

The Farming Recovery Fund , externaloffers grants of between £500 and £25,000 to farmers in the counties worst affected by flooding last year, but Ally Hunter Blair said his farm saw one of the worst floods since the 1960s and will get nothing.

BBC WM

A Perspex screen used to temporarily protected a Banksy artwork is now being shown off in the area after being sold at auction.

Image source, Fellows Auctioneers

The screen covered the work depicting two reindeers flying away from a bench in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter, which appeared on a wall last month.

It was put up to protect the work after it was vandalised, but was later vandalised itself.

The plastic was bought for £2,300 by Steve Tolley, co-owner of the Bullion Room, a Birmingham-based precious metal and jewellery dealer.

He's now displaying it there and told BBC WM: "We've had loads of interest, we've had people coming in and commenting what a good thing it's been."

Stoke-on-Trent Live

These headlines are from the Stoke-on-Trent Live website today:

• Police drop investigation after mass street brawl, external
• Mum's horror as cops turn up at home after her son went 'missing' from hospital, external
• Mum-of-five spends £8,000 on addiction that sees her eat tub of talcum powder a day, external

BBC Sport

Former Sports Minister Tracey Crouch says she hopes the Football Association "reconsiders the decision" to sell FA Cup broadcast rights via a third party to gambling website Bet365.

Image source, Getty Images

Since the start of last season, the Stoke-on-Trent-based bookmaker has had rights to show FA Cup ties on its website and app.

To watch, fans had to place a bet or open an account with a deposit.

"I am deeply uncomfortable and disappointed by the sale," Crouch, MP for Chatham and Aylesford, added.

The FA has said it will "review this element of the media rights sales process ahead of tendering rights from the 2024-25 season".

According to Bet365, the matches are available to anyone who had placed a bet or put a deposit in their account in the 24 hours before kick-off.

Louise Hancock
Newsreader, BBC WM

Talks are due to take place today to try and end industrial action by refuse workers in Sandwell.

Image source, Sandwell Council

The GMB union's said, external its members have voted to work to rule after accusing private contractor Serco of compromising their safety.

The issue stems, the union's added, from the company cutting two rounds from waste collections.

The GMB hasn't ruled out full strike action but Sandwell Council said it hopes the contractor and the union can find a way to resolve the situation quickly to avoid disruption for residents.

Serco has been contacted for comment.

Express and Star

From the Express and Star today:

• New era beckons for Beatties as £3m sale poised to go through , external
• Exam cheat teacher banned from schools over grade 'fraud', external
• Sharp rise in flu cases amid vaccine concerns, external

Allen Cook
BBC News

A puppy, stolen during a burglary, has been found.

The pet, named Tyson, was taken along with an engagement ring, clothing and jewellery, from a home on Rafferty Adams Way, Longford, in Coventry, on Monday morning.

Officers said yesterday evening , externalhe'd been found and returned to his owner but they're still hunting the burglar.

BBC Midlands Today

A search is continuing for a man in his 70s who was last seen fishing on the River Dove.

Image source, Staffordshire Police

Police were alerted yesterday afternoon that Roger Wheats had gone missing, after he was seen near to Ellastone Bridge in Ellastone, Staffordshire.

He was wearing a brown Barbour jacket, dark trousers and boots.

BBC Sport

Walsall and Port Vale are both out of the Leasing.com Trophy after defeats in the third round.

The Saddlers lost 2-1 at home to Portsmouth while the Vale were thumped 3-0 at Salford City.

Elsewhere last night, in League One, Shrewsbury Town lost 2-0 at Doncaster Rovers.

BBC News Travel

Drivers are facing another day of delays in part of Stoke-on-Trent as a roundabout's resurfaced.

The Reginald Mitchell Way junction is on the main route from the north of the city to the A500.

The city council's installed four-way lights while they carry out the repairs.

They say they're aiming to reopen it by this evening , externalbut drivers have already told BBC Radio Stoke it's causing delays of over 20 minutes.

BBC News UK

The number of people killed in most parts of the West Midlands fell in 2019, BBC research suggests.

It's in line with a trend across the UK as, in total, 650 people were killed in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland last year.

That's down from the 774 homicides in 2018, police figures show.

West Midlands Police said the number fell from 51 in 2018 to 39 last year; while homicides in Greater Manchester were down from 64 to 39.

West Mercia and Cheshire police forces also saw drops in homicides recorded in 2019 compared to the previous 12 months.

Alex Hamilton
BBC Weather

It's going to be mainly cloudy today with patches of rain and just the rare sunny spell around. High: 11C/52F.

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

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, external and Facebook, external.

Doncaster climb to within two points of the League One play-off positions with a comfortable win over Shrewsbury.

Leicester City Under-21s fight back from a goal down to beat Tranmere and reach the Leasing.com Trophy quarter finals.