A campaigner says having a monument to Clive of India is like having a statue of Genghis Khan.

A fatal house fire in Alsager was caused by a cigarette, fire investigators have confirmed.

Its the third fatal fire in south Cheshire to be caused in this way in recent months.

An elderly man and woman were rescued from Moorhouse Avenue on 31 May, but died later in hospital.

In April, a 73-year-old man died in a living room fire in Congleton, and in February, a couple in their 80s died in a bungalow fire in Nantwich.

BBC Weather Watchers

We've had a break from the showers, but the weather has remained grey and overcast today.

But it's not stopped the BBC Weather Watchers getting out and about.

These photos were taken at Leek, Hanbury and Ludlow.

Image source, Videoman

Image source, Mrs_Strivzy

Image source, Ken M

Some 200 people gathered as cricket matches were played in breach of social distancing rules.

Clive Eakin
BBC Coventry & Warwickshire Sport

Coventry City are likely be promoted as champions of League One as clubs vote on the future of the current season.

A final decision about whether there will be any more matches played in League One's regular season is set to be made later after new regulations were ratified.

Image source, Coventry City Football Club

It is almost three months since elite football in England was suspended because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The club is five points clear at the top of League One with a game in hand on rivals.

League tables will be settled by a points-per-game format, while promotion and relegation both remain in place.

Coventry Live

From Coventry Live:

• Man charged with attempted murder after stabbing in Earlsdon, external
• Big John's to open on The Burges in Coventry, external
• Leamington murder investigation: Partner pays tribute to 'my first love', external

Planned surgery will resume today at the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Hospital in Gobowen, Shropshire.

The orthopaedic hospital suspended the procedures in late March because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Image source, RJAH

Patients are being tested for Covid-19 three days before surgery by attending a drive-through swabbing centre.

A "Miss Hitler" beauty pageant entrant and three others are jailed for being National Action members.

BBC Shropshire

Just over a tenth of eligible pupils have gone back to school in the Telford and Wrekin district.

Image source, Telford and Wrekin Council

It's a week since the youngest and oldest primary school children were invited back after lockdown eased.

The figure from Telford and Wrekin Council suggests 15% have returned, but doesn't include children considered vulnerable to the coronavirus and those whose parents are key workers.

Not all schools in the district have opened, external, though, and the council expects the number to rise.

Shropshire Council said it had no data available.

Police caught 1,192 drivers speeding on Staffordshire's roads over the last fortnight.

They included one who was driving at 146mph in a 70mph section of the A50 near Uttoxeter and another who drove at 71mph on the A449 near Stourton, where the speed limit is 40mph.

Image source, Staffordshire Police

The Staffordshire force said between Monday 25 May and Sunday 7 June, it had been focusing on areas where speeding was known to be an issue.

Monica Rimmer
BBC News

A mother and her baby who were injured in an attack at a property in Tipton are now in a stable condition in hospital.

The infant suffered "potentially life-threatening" injuries, said emergency services following the incident on 28 May. The 37-year-old mother was stabbed in the hand.

A man has been charged with two counts of attempted murder in connection and has been remanded in custody to appear before Wolverhampton Crown Court on 29 June.

West Midlands Police said the hurt pair were no longer in a life-threatening condition, and remained stable in hospital.

Police are appealing for information after the woman was approached at a cashpoint in Birmingham.

A govenrment decision to drop plans to get every primary school pupil in England back in class before the summer break has been welcomed by a teaching union.

Image source, Kirsty O'Connor

Schools are being given "flexibility" over whether or not to admit more pupils before the end of term.

Tim Gallagher, a former head teacher from Wolverhampton and the West Midlands regional secretary for The National Association of Head Teachers said: "They're listening to our school leaders, because they know schools best.

"Every school is different and has different operational and geographical issues."

The Emma Bridgewater factory in Hanley is now back to full production, with social distancing measures in place

The company said the final group of pottery workers returned to the Lichfield Street site yesterday.

A woman "knocked off her feet by a remote-controlled car" in a park was airlifted to hospital for emergency treatment.

Image source, West Midlands Ambulance Service

Paramedics and the air ambulance were called to Sutton Park in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, shortly after 16:30 on Monday, said the ambulance service.

A spokeswoman said: “Crews arrived to find a woman who had sustained serious injuries.

"They were told the woman had been knocked off her feet by a remote-controlled car which caused her to land awkwardly."

She received trauma care at the scene before being airlifted.

Worcester News

From the Worcester News today:

• Dying dad's appeal for help to create memories, external
• Mixed race councillor pulls out of protest over 'mindless thuggery', external
• Vandals damage allotments near Droitwich, external

A Herefordshire school which is named after the wife of a prominent slave trader has said it won't be changing its name.

Nicholas Dinsdale, who's a history teacher and the head of humanities at Lady Hawkins School in Kington, said: "Lady Hawkins herself was not a slave trader and the connection is not especially strong."

In Bristol at the weekend, a statue of a slave trader was toppled amid anti-racism protests in the wake of George Floyd's death in police custody.

Image source, Google

Sir John Hawkins is believed to be one of Englands first slave traders.

Mr Dinsdale said: "The importance is learning lessons from the past. We don't choose our past but we must learn the lessons and hopefully move on and make the world a better place."

BBC News

Students must decide by the middle of next week whether or not to accept university offers for the new academic year, with many universities, including Keele in Staffordshire, deciding to alter their normal schedule.

Image source, Getty Images

Keele is using a five-stage alert system, , externalsimilar to the government's coronavirus scheme, to decide its policy.

Deadlines to decide on whether to accept offers have been pushed back , externalto 18 June.

You can read more on this story here.

BBC Shropshire

A charity that supports rough sleepers and vulnerable people says £15,000 of extra funding from the government will barely make a difference to its running costs.

Image source, PA Media

Since the lockdown began, people who were on the streets or at risk of sleeping rough have been given emergency accommodation.

The Shrewsbury Ark has been among the groups helping and the government announced yesterday it would get a share of £6m split among more than 130 charities., external

But the charity's chair, Karen Higgins, says it has gone from a day centre to providing 24/7 service and, while it's grateful for the extra money, the costs have been "absolutely astronomical".

"It's not just a case of putting a roof above someone's head. If that is all it was, then the problem would be solved. The issue is far more it's the care and the support that is needed to help people that really are struggling," she said.

Birmingham Hippodrome is scaling back areas of the business as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.