Andy Giddings
BBC News

We'll be back with the latest news from around the West Midlands from 08:00 tomorrow.

The first food parcels for vulnerable people have been delivered this week.

Telford and Wrekin Council said it had supplemented them with items such as tea, coffee, jam, tinned food, butter and eggs and is taking them to 66 residents in the borough.

Image source, Telford and Wrekin Council

All the recipients were identified through the government’s Shielding Communities initiative.

But the council said people in Telford who are self-isolating and who have no-one to support them should register online, external or phone 01952 382030.

Cheshire Live - Crewe

The Cheshire Live website for Crewe has these headlines today:

• Tributes to 108-year-old woman who succumbed to coronavirus days before birthday, external
• Man jailed after coughing and spitting in faces of police officers amid coronavirus crisis, external
• Vulnerable people targeted by man selling candles claiming they cure coronavirus in Nantwich, external

BBC WM

Birmingham City Council's appointed its second interim chief executive in a year after struggling to fill the key role.

Image source, Birmingham City Council

The latest appointment, Chris Naylor, (pictured) will only be on loan for 12 months from Barking and Dagenham Council in London while the authority re-advertises the role from May., external

Three candidates were interviewed for the post in February, but council leader Ian Ward said none of them matched the city's high expectations.

Mr Naylor suceeds Clive Heaphy who quit as interim chief executive last month after failing to get the role permanently.

Mr Heaphy had taken on the job when previous chief executive Dawn Baxendale left in July after 16 months to take up a job in New Zealand.

BBC Radio Stoke

Crewe Alexandra FC has offered its stadium and training ground for use by the NHS in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

Image source, Crewe Alex FC

The club said it had the space as all of its staff were currently working from home. , external

The stadium's been used for blood donor sessions in the past and the club said it was talking with the local NHS and Cheshire East Council about what more it can do.

Reports of young people gathering, despite the lockdown, are being investigated by police in Shropshire.

This morning, ground staff at the Oldbury Wells School extinguished the remains of a small fire that was left unattended and a group of people were seen leaving the wooded area last night.

Image source, West Mercia Police

Image source, West Mercia Police

Police in Shrewsbury have also appealed to young people to remain at home and the force said it would be patrolling known meeting places and "anyone found will be dealt with".

BBC Weather

Staying mostly cloudy tonight with the chance of the odd shower in places but most areas will remain largely dry. Low: 5C/41F.

Image source, Boardwalk

Another cloudy day's in prospect tomorrow with more showers coming in at times from the west. High: 12C/54F.

Keep up-to-date with the weather where you live by going to the BBC Weather website.

Colleges and engineering firm JCB have donated kit for staff at the Royal Stoke University Hospital.

Image source, Newcastle and Stafford Colleges Group

Goggles and masks were handed over by the Newcastle and Stafford Colleges Group. , external

While JCB said it had given more than 8,000 pairs of gloves and a large number of face masks.

Pictures of rainbows drawn by children could soon be springing up on buses in the West Midlands and Coventry in response to the pandemic.

Image source, Angela Carss

National Express West Midlands said , externalit wants to brighten up each of its vehicles with the artwork.

Rainbow pictures first started appearing in windows after schools closed last month with schools encouraging pupils to paint them to "spread hope".

The bus firm said photos could be shared with them on social media and it would pick winners on Friday.

An emergency appeal by the Seven Valley Railway to help it survive the coronavirus outbreak has raised more than £100,000 in just two weeks.

The heritage railway has completely closed because of the pandemic and it's trying to raise £250,000 to make up for the loss of income.

The closure comes shortly after part of the line, which runs between Kidderminster and Bridgnorth, had to be closed for repairs following the severe floods earlier this year.

Livestock auctions in Shropshire are still going ahead but with rules to keep people separated.

Sellers at the markets in Shrewsbury, Bridgnorth, Ludlow, Oswestry and Bishop's Castle are being told to stay in their cars, while the buyers in the ring are asked to keep their distance from one another.

The managing director of Barbers Auctions, Bernie Hutchinson, said "it's by no means easy" and that it was difficult to know the value of animals in these uncertain times.

But he added: "We want to play that essential part in the food chain."

Gifts of flowers, cakes and chocolate are being given to ambulance staff in the region.

This collection was dropped off at West Midlands Ambulance Service base in Shrewsbury today.

Image source, WMAS

And an 11-year-old girl called Lissy made cakes for the for 111 staff in Brierley Hill.

Image source, WMAS

Demand for food banks in Herefordshire and Worcestershire is up by 50%, but they say donations are at their lowest level for years.

Grahame Lucas from the Worcester food bank said volunteers made an appeal for donations two weeks ago and "for a week it was like Christmas, the donations were coming in at a rapid rate", but since the country went into lockdown, "the donations are through the floor".

Image source, Getty Images

The food banks believe that people are staying at home and because of supermarket shopping restrictions they are stocking their own shelves instead.

BBC Hereford and Worcester

Rebecca Schwarz, a singing teacher from Alvechurch, has had to take her choir sessions online during the lockdown and is running them via Zoom.

About 40 people join her on the online platform, but she can accommodate up to 100.

Image source, Getty Images

"It's lovely having lots of people, but it's also nice having a few less so you can chat," she said.

However coordinating so many voices online is not without its problems.

"The singing is different, it's very different," she said. "You cannot sing together."

Nevertheless she Ms Schwarz persists - although she admitted "muting them all" while she does her warm up exercises.

"I feel like some crazy dictator!"

BBC Shropshire

A children's hospice needs to secure more personal protective equipment.

Hope House, external, based in Oswestry, said guidance means both parents and nurses need to wear gowns and masks to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Vanessa Thomas, from the hospice, said: “It is particularly important so parents can spend time with children in their final moments.

“To know a lack of personal protective equipment could actually mean you are saying goodbye to your child through a video screen or through a phone instead of in person is something we can’t bear thinking about.”

Image source, Google

It has asked for anyone who has a 3D printer to help in making the masks, and any businesses, like beauticians or tattoo parlous, which may have plastic aprons it can spare, to come forward.

Here are some more of the thank you messages left for bin collectors, these ones are from Shropshire.

They've been continuing to collect the rubbish while the rest of us are inside and Shropshire Council said the messages "are greatly appreciated by the crews who are out and about every day as normal."

Image source, Shropshire Council

The council also reminded people to wait inside until the bins were collected, to avoid unnecessary contact.

Image source, Shropshire Council

Image source, Shropshire Council

BBC Shropshire

Every day, BBC local radio stations are sharing the ways communities are coming together to help each other during the coronavirus pandemic.

In Shropshire, this includes

• Shrewsbury hairdresser Royston Blythe, who is joining salons nationally to offer free hairdressing to NHS staff on the first Sunday after they are able to reopen. Anyone who wants to take advantage should visit nationalhairsunday.co.uk
• East Shropshire’s Talking Newspaper has made it possible to listen to it through a telephone number, 03302233452

Image source, Getty Images

• And a new food bank is being set up in Bishop’s Castle Methodist Hall to support people during the pandemic. Anyone who wants more information should contact Andy Stelman andystelman.t21@btinternet.com

BBC Weather Watchers

We told you there'd be cloudy skies today and that's what our local BBC Weather Watchers have been snapping.

These are from users Stormchaser Al in Halesowen, Z70 in Ranton, Staffordshire and Shropshire_Lad in Clee Hill, Shropshire:

Image source, Stormchaser Al

Image source, Z70

Image source, Shropshire_Lad

Prof Peter Sinclair taught the future prime minister at Brasenose College in the 1980s.

A further 60 patients with coronavirus have died in the West Midlands, the latest figures have revealed.

The NHS said it took the total number of deaths in hospitals in the region to 310.