A mobile coronavirus testing centre will be in Stoke-on-Trent from today after the prime minister was asked why key workers were having to travel to Manchester to get tested.

Image source, AFP/Getty Images

Boris Johnson was responding to a question from the Stoke Sentinel at yesterday's Downing Street news conference.

They said a warehouse worker from Trent Vale who suspected he had Covid-19 was told to drive an an 80-mile round trip to Manchester Airport to be swabbed., external

Mr Johnson promised to get to the bottom of the issue: "We will bring it up immediately with the NHS and the huge team that we now have responsible for testing."

The mobile testing unit will be based on Forge Lane, Etruria, for the next few days with people needing to go online to book a test.

An appeal to keep the Severn Valley Railway running has now raised £650,000.

The historic railway launched the fundraising bid in March to pay for 'care and maintenance', with an initial target of £250,000.

General manager Helen Smith said the railway has "already suffered a huge loss in income from tickets and secondary spend, and don’t know how long this will continue."

She said in a normal year the railway would look to spend around £4.5m on the railway, with the money coming from visitor revenue.

The 16-mile railway, which operates between Kidderminster, Bewdley and Bridgnorth, ran its last service on 15 March and has had to cancel a number of big revenue-making events.

Smoke billowing from a scrapyard fire affected visibility in the area and could be seen from miles around.

Drivers were urged to avoid Heartlands Parkway in Birmingham due to the smoke.

Image source, West Midlands Police

Fire crews battled the blaze on Aston Church Road, Nechells, for several hours.

West Midlands Police tweeted , externalsmoke is affecting visibility in the surrounding area.

West Midlands Fire Service's station commander Lee Baker tweeted a video of the fire, adding they expected to be there most of the day:

Tributes have been paid to a "funny and friendly" delivery driver who has died after contracting coronavirus.

Image source, Davies family

Pete Davies, 60, spent more than three weeks in hospital before dying with his two daughters by his side.

His family told how they were given personal protective equipment (PPE) so they could be with him during his final hours.

Mr Davies, from Locking Stumps near Warrington in Cheshire, had worked for FedEx for more than 10 years.

The grandfather-of-four fell ill on 29 March and was treated at Warrington General and later Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, which is also treating adults during the pandemic.

The key worker died in the early hours of 22 April while his daughters Emma Crawford and Claire O’Brien were with him.

Walsall assistant manager Marcus Stewart leaves the League Two club by mutual consent.

Express and Star

These stories are being covered by the Express and Star today:

• Army staffs drive-though coronavirus testing centre in Walsall, external
• RSPCA deals with 1,500 incidents in West Midlands and Staffordshire since start of lockdown, external
• Hospice shares donations to support women and children amid virus outbreak, external

BBC Weather

Today's going to see a mixture of sunshine and showers with the chance the rain could turn heavier this afternoon. High: 14C (57F).

Image source, Pringle

Those showers will mostly ease after sunset with just the odd one lingering through the night. Low: 5C (41F).

Head to the BBC Weather website at any time for a latest forecast for your area.

A large scrapyard fire is being tackled by dozens of firefighters in Birmingham this morning.

West Midlands Fire Service tweeted , externaljust after 08:15 it had five crews at the site on Aston Church Road, Nechells.

It said people should avoid the area.

Follow the latest developments on the pandemic from across the region.

What is it like to be stuck inside a home blighted by floodwater just before Covid-19 struck the UK?

Patrick Owens said during the lockdown he found he "couldn't get a coffee for 100 miles".

Families are posting virtual maypole dances online to celebrate May Day and the coming of summer.

Betty Green says her secret to living to 100 years old is down to "boys, booze and baccy".

People with tickets to shows at a Staffordshire theatre which have been suspended due to the pandemic won't be able to get refunds until staff return to work.

In a post on Facebook this afternoon,, external the Stafford Gatehouse said it was still closed due to the outbreak and all staff had been placed on furlough.

With the venue shut, a spokesperson said they couldn't provide refunds, credits or details on rearranged shows until the team was back at work.

Allen Cook
BBC News

Nearly 600 police officers have been recruited by the four forces in the West Midlands in the first six months of a national drive to bring in 20,000 within three years.

Image source, West Midlands Police

West Midlands Police - which has brought in 366 officers - is also one of two forces to trial new online assessment centres to allow recruitment to continue during lockdown, the College of Policing says.

The service, which takes candidates through tests of judgement, briefing exercises and interviews, is expected to be rolled out nationally in June.

Reversing cuts to police officer numbers was one of Boris Johnson's first policy pledges when he became prime minister in July last year.

Allen Cook
BBC News

Another sporting event has had to be postponed due to the pandemic, this time the Staffordshire Ironman triathlon.

Image source, Staffordshire County Council

Organiser Ironman England said, external the coronavirus outbreak meant it couldn't be held on 7 June and was being pushed back to 13 June 2021.

The group added all athletes due to take part should receive an email with more details.

Guest houses and B&Bs around Stratford-upon-Avon are asking for extra help because they aren't eligible for the government's small business grants.

They fall through a gap because they pay council tax instead of business rates. Stratford District Council has agreed to lobby the government on their behalf.

Image source, Google

The deputy leader of the authority, Daren Pemberton, said the businesses played an important part in the town's economy. The local MP, Nadhim Zahawi, has also written to the government.

He received a reply which said the government was "continuing to look at where businesses are potentially falling through the cracks of support and will continue to assess such scenarios".

BBC Radio Stoke

Police are urging drivers not to speed in Staffordshire despite there being fewer cars on the roads due to lockdown.

Image source, Staffordshire Police

Ch Const Gareth Morgan told BBC Radio Stoke police were still seeing motorists speeding and it "is more obvious as there are more open roads".

He said: "I appreciate there might be a temptation but let's be clear, there's enough going on without people adding to it."

In one example today, police said they stopped a vehicle on the A500 , externalin Stoke-on-Trent which was recorded at 109mph.

Updates on the coronavirus pandemic and other news from across the North West of England on Friday 1 May.

BBC WM

A milestone's been reached by Wolverhampton City Council under lockdown - it's delivered its 10,000th food parcel.

Image source, Wolverhampton City Council

Hundreds of the authority's staff have been packing the boxes at the WV Active Aldersley leisure centre which was turned into a distribution hub.

The council says it's delivering more than 3,000 of the parcels each week to vulnerable people, and demand for them is still growing.