BBC Radio Stoke Sport

A group of Crewe Alexandra fans have two more days to raise the £250,000 they need to buy a place on the club's board.

Image source, Getty Images

The Railwaymen Supporters' Society is looking to have a say in the way the club is run and have so far raised nearly £200,000.

The group was given a deadline of this Friday to raise the money, which they will use to buy out the majority shareholder, Norman Hassall.

The Royal Stoke Hospital has redecorated its children's centre reception with a rollercoaster theme, with the help of Alton Towers.

The theme park's charity, Merlin Magic Wand, donated a boat from the log flume, covered the wards in pictures of rides and created an interactive play wall.

Image source, University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust

The aim was to make a visit to the hospital a bit less intimidating for young people.

Consultant paediatrician Dr Melissa Hubbard, said: "It has made our large open entrance a more inviting and engaging environment making the experience of arriving at hospital as a safe, fun and non-threatening place to be and gives them somewhere to just be a child away from the clinical environment."

Work is under way at Wolverhampton's Civic Hall today ahead of major renovations.

The music venue has been closed since City of Wolverhampton said the fabric of the Grade II listed building needs significant repairs.

Cabins are being lifted into place by crane today, before work starts in earnest in the coming weeks.

BBC Radio Shropshire Sport

Telford Tigers head coach Tom Watkins is confident his team can pull back a three goal deficit in their National Cup semi-final against Swindon Wildcats.

The second leg is being played at Telford Ice Rink this evening and Watkins said his players need to put in more effort, admitting that in the first leg "they competed harder than us in the key areas".

Image source, Steve Brodie

The first leg ended 7-4 to Swindon, but Watkins added: "We are a team that have come from behind this season on a number of occasions so I have a lot of belief that we can still advance to the final."

A businessman has been fined £4,500 for operating a waste recycling site in Telford without an environmental permit.

Brian Anthony Wood, 64, of St George's in Telford, had earlier admitted two charges relating to operating a regulated facility, and had stored around 6,500 cubic metres of waste at The Old Granville, Granville Road, Donnington Wood, Telford, the Environment Agency said.

At Telford Magistrates Court on Monday he was also ordered to clear the site and not to take any additional waste onto the site.

Image source, Environment Agency

Woods was a director of Granex Recycling Ltd, which was dissolved in April 2017 but prior to that recovered waste plastics, processed these and produced plastic pellets for re-use in the plastics industry, the agency said.

He was also told to pay court costs of £7,101.65 and a victim surcharge of £120.

A student who reported flu-like symptoms after arriving in the UK from China has tested negative for coronavirus, Aston University said.

It said the tests were done as a "precautionary measure" because of the students' recent travels.

A university spokesperson said: "A student from the one of the halls of residence on campus was taken to hospital by ambulance on Saturday night.

"We understand that the NHS is approaching all cases reporting flu-like symptoms with extreme caution in order to keep their ambulance crews and other employees safe.

"Aston University takes the health and safety of its staff and students very seriously. We are monitoring the coronavirus situation closely and we are following guidance from Public Health England, the World Health Organisation and other relevant agencies."

Coventry City Council says it has been given £464,000 towards helping rough sleepers.

We earlier reported how Wolverhampton and Staffordshire authorities have also been given a slice of £112m of government funding to help get people off the streets and into accommodation.

Image source, Getty Images

The money will be used to create four new posts to help rough sleepers in the city, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

It will also be used to extend the existing work of the city’s rough sleeping co-ordinator and two existing outreach workers up until April 2021, and nursing provision is also likely to be covered along with specific emergency temporary accommodation.

Councillor Tariq Khan, cabinet member for housing and communities, said it is an important step in supporting the city’s rough sleeping strategy and added: "The funding is needed to support specialist work on drugs and alcohol and mental health."

BBC Weather Watchers

It's been a chilly morning, but we've had clear blue skies around the West Midlands.

These photos were taken by BBC Weather Watchers in Worcester, Edgbaston and Lydbury North.

Image source, Mikesnapper

Image source, Elle Nino

Image source, Ken M

Cancer Research UK has cancelled its annual Race for Life event in Hereford as organisers say it isn't "cost-effective".

The charity has apologised for the disappointment caused to runners, but said it has a responsibility to ensure it's raising as much money as possible from its events.

Image source, Getty Images

People in the area who want to take part in a Race for Life are being encourage to register for the one in Worcester in July instead.

Birmingham Live

These are some of the early headlines from Birmingham Live:

• Live updates, external as fire crews tackle fatal Digbeth fire
• Father and son, 15, attacked with hammers and knives after masked ambush, external
• Manchester United adopt fresh Jack Grealish transfer plan - reports

Local Democracy Reporting Service

A promise of £27m for Hereford's western bypass has been withdrawn by the Marches Local Enterprise Partnership.

Its chair, Mandy Thorn, said the council's decision to review the project meant it couldn't meet the agreed timetable and the LEP is also asking for the return of £3.8m that has already been paid out.

Image source, Google

Herefordshire council's transport and infrastructure cabinet member John Harrington said the authority knew this was a risk when it started the review.

But he said his administration inherited a scheme with rising costs, an incomplete business case and issues over planning permissions.

The Conservative group deputy leader Nigel Shaw said he was saddened by the decision to withdraw the funding, which had been agreed by the previous Tory administration.

Telford's Exotic Zoo could move to a site on the town park, the local council suggests.

Telford's exotic zoo might have found a new home - in Telford Town Park.

It announced earlier it would stop admitting visitors to its site at Priorslee and would concentrate on educational and therapy group visits instead.

Image source, Telford and Wrekin Council

But now it says its working with Telford and Wrekin Council on opening at a new site next to the Wonderland park.

If planning approval is given, this new site could open later this year and would be open to the general public.

Demolition of a "town centre eyesore" is to take place within weeks, a council said.

Workers are moving on site at Cavendish House in Dudley after a plan was agreed by developer Avenbury and the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) earlier this week.

Back in 2017, Stephanie Round asked what the future of the building was, after the seven-storey, 85,880 sq ft building was bought at auction by Avenbury Dudley Ltd for £800,000.

Image source, Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council

As well as Cavendish House, the former B&Q building, the former Rickshaw restaurant, a taxi office, a disused scout hut and the former Metro Bar pub will also be knocked down to pave the way for a £82 million retail and leisure development.

Councillor Patrick Harley, leader of the council, said:"[Cavendish House] has been a blot on the skyline of the town centre for far too long but today’s news is a symbol of the recovery and resurgence of Dudley."

University lecturers trapped in Wuhan, the centre of the coronavirus outbreak, are still waiting to find out when they can return to the UK.

Three Birmingham City University lectures are stranded in China, where the virus has caused more than 130 deaths, as it spreads across the country and to at least 16 other countries.

Image source, AFP

The university has a base in the city which has remained closed since the national holiday for Chinese New Year.

Staff are liaising with the UK embassy in China to find out when flights will restart, a spokesman said.

British citizens being flown back to the UK will be put in quarantine for two weeks.

BBC Coventry & Warwickshire

People who use the Ring and Ride in Coventry say its standards have declined since it was taken over by a new operator last month.

Users say since National Express Accessible Transport took over the service, buses often turn up early or late.

Passenger Olga Miller from Earlsdon said: "When we need to go out to lunches, which is a nice sociable time, [they] can't do it.

"Last Tuesday they couldn't do it so everybody had to either get on a bus which some find very difficult and others live [further] out and that costs them a lot of money to get to wherever we are going."

Transport For West Midlands say they are investigating.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Stumbles on paving slabs, potholes and a collision on a traffic island are some of the personal injury claims which have cost Solihull Council almost £200,000 in recent years.

A Freedom of Information (FoI) request shows the authority authority has paid £187,942 in claims since April 2015.

Image source, Local Democracy Reporting Service

As of this month, the council had received 358 claims with a personal injury element during that time.

The data, obtained by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), showed the majority of cases were due to people injuring themselves on a footpath or after striking a pothole in the road.

The authority said the number of claims it received had dropped from 2018 to 2019, but added: "One case of avoidable injury is still too much however, so we continue to strengthen our processes to keep the borough safe."

Shropshire Star

Here are some of the headlines from the Shropshire Star website:

• Telford's Exotic Zoo to close for public visits, external
• Shrewsbury care home which gave medication to wrong patient told it must improve, external
• Coronavirus: Shropshire couple worried for family in Chinese city at heart of killer virus, external

BBC WM

The West Midlands Mayor says, although performance on West Midlands Trains has improved, it is still far from good enough.

The firm runs the under-fire West Midlands Railway routes as well the London Northwestern operator.

Andy Street is threatening to recommend it loses its Midlands franchise if there aren't improvements by the end of this month.

Image source, Getty Images

Transport Focus' latest figures put the operator in the bottom five for satisfaction nationally with about three quarters of commuters satisfied with the rail firm's performance.

"I know there is still huge, huge concern and 'fed-up-ness', if that is the word, over this," he said.

"If we decide not ask for the franchise to be removed now, let's be clear, they are not in any way off the watch list.

"And I will need to discuss with the Secretary of State for Transport what is an appropriate way of keeping them very firmly on that watch list to make they continue to deliver improvement."

Heart attack and stroke patients are among those facing long delays for crews to arrive, BBC finds.