Updates from 15-19 June
A 225-tonne oxygen tank is being driven slowly between Stafford and Stone.
About 50 people will be involved in cutting back trees, lifting telephone cables, removing roadside signs and escorting the load.
Image source, Staffordshire PoliceThe load is 49m (160ft), long 6.5m (21ft) high and 4.9m (16ft) wide
BBC Sport
Aston Villa manager Dean Smith says "everybody has written us off already" as his team prepare to play in the first Premier League game since the coronavirus shutdown.
Villa, who are 19th in the table, will face Sheffield United on Wednesday.
Smith says they have an "unbelievable opportunity" to prove people wrong and avoid relegation.
"The eyes of the world will be on us," he added.
Everybody has written us off already - Villa boss Smith
BBC Shropshire
Reopening charity shops is "massively important" to the survival of good causes, a Shropshire hospice says.
Image source, Hope House Children’s HospicesHope House Children’s Hospices, based in Oswestry, says it will reopen four of its 15 stores from today as lockdown rules are eased.
However, the charity says its Wellington shop is staying permanently shut. , external
Commercial director Andrew Fergus said it was vital to the charity the remaining stores got back up and running.
"We were hoping from operating 15 shops throughout this year in our original budget to generate over £750,000 for the charity. Now, obviously the coronavirus crisis is going to put a big hole in that so it's massively important that we get back on track now."
The government is being urged to offer more support for the car industry following the announcement of job losses at Jaguar Land Rover.
Image source, Jaguar Land RoverThe Coventry-based company said it has "taken the difficult decision to reduce the number of contract-agency employees in its manufacturing plants over the coming months".
It is understood that potentially up to 1,100 temporary roles are at risk.
Professor David Bailey from the University of Birmingham said a scrappage scheme to encourage people to buy cars again would be welcome.
"France is already doing it, Germany's doing it, Spain's about to do it - we'll need something similar in the UK to help car companies like Jaguar Land Rover."
England’s new garden villages and towns risk becoming car-dependent commuter estates, a report has warned.
Image source, Stratford-on-Avon District CouncilTransport for New Homes, a group promoting alternatives to the car, singled out Long Marston, a proposed 3,500-home Garden Village in Warwickshire.
The developers’ prospectus said: “Long Marston Airfield will provide opportunities to live, work and socialise, all within 10 minutes of historic Stratford."
The report’s authors agreed the trip to Stratford was indeed 10 minutes – so long as you had a car.
You can read more on the story here.
Birmingham Live
Some of the Birmingham Live headlines today include:
The family of a six-year-old leukaemia patient says he has been cancer free for six months and they're hopeful of returning home soon from Singapore where he's been having specialist treatment for the illness.
Image source, Family handout/Grace Kelly Childhood Cancer TrustOscar Saxelby-Lee, from Worcester, flew with his parents for CAR-T therapy last year, with the help of £500,000 raised through crowdfunding.
He had the treatment over Christmas and a stem cell transplant from his father in March.
On Monday, his family released a video of Oscar on their Facebook page, external and he said: "I'm cancer free everybody and hopefully I'm coming home soon."
His parents called it a "huge milestone" and said while they still had a few more results to come in, they were hopeful of making the return trip to the Midlands.
It will be a partly cloudy day with some sunny intervals and the chance of showers, with highs of 22C (72F).
Image source, Weather Watchers/Les at Large
Local Democracy Reporting Service
Carmelo Garcia
People are ignoring a one-way pedestrian system introduced to help maintain social distancing, a council says.
Image source, Ross-on-Wye Town CouncilRoss-on-Wye Town Council announced the measures last week and suggested pedestrians kept to the left when walking on certain streets.
But a number of people took to the local authority's Facebook page , externalto criticise the idea, with comments labelling it "impractical" and "absolute rubbish".
Town mayor Daniel Lister said: "It’s not being enforced. It’s a recommendation. No one will be forced to do this. Some won’t like it and some will find comfort from it. Let’s just hope it will help some people.”
Vanessa Pearce
BBC News
Welcome to our live service for Tuesday.
We'll be bringing you all the latest updates for the West Midlands.
You can let us know about stories in your area via email,Twitter , externaland Facebook., external
Waiting lists rise for grow-your-own plots during coronavirus pandemic.
Read MoreWe'll be back with the latest for the West Midlands from 08:00 tomorrow.
Temporary road layout changes have been introduced in Stratford-upon-Avon as some shops have reopened.
A one-way traffic scheme has been introduced to some streets in the town, with a cycle lane also provided for those travelling eastbound on Bridge Street.
On-street parking has also been suspended with drivers advised to use car parks and avoid driving into the town centre.
The weekend's storm created some amazing rainbows across the West Midlands.
Pete Venkat sent us this picture of a double rainbow he captured from his apartment looking over the city centre and Edgbaston in Birmingham.
Image source, Pete Venkat
Image source, Pete VenkatWe love to feature your photos of the area - you can share them with us via email, Twitter, external and Facebook., external
Kathryn Stanczyszyn
Political Reporter, BBC WM
It looked a bit like business as usual in Birmingham city centre today, in terms of the number of people on the streets after some businesses reopened.
Except nothing is the same of course - with many wearing masks and queuing outside shops at a social distance.
Shoppers heading into the Apple store also had their temperatures checked and were told they must wear face coverings when inside.
Heavy rain brought sewage into the cafe just days after repairs had been completed.
Read MoreA gosling's drowned after getting tangled up in a fishing line which the RSPCA said had been thrown away.
Another (pictured) was rescued after the pair were found by anglers entwined in the line at the edge of a lake on Jefferson Walk, Stafford, on Wednesday.
Image source, RSPCAThe anglers called out the RSPCA, which said one of the birds had drowned, but the other was cut free and was now being treated.
Image source, RSPCA
BBC Midlands Today
Queues of shoppers haven't just been visiting the big retail giants which reopened today. Independent traders in Worcester told the BBC they'd been surprised to see queues.
After a tough few weeks, jeweller Ian Quartermine said he was surprised to see so much interest as the store reopened.
"We expected it to be sort of fairly quiet this morning but we had a little bit of queue to start. People's watches have obviously broken down. We've got a good reputation in the town and we've been fairly busy."
Haberdasher Tina Masullo said she'd seen loyalty from customers to her store, House of Haby.
"One lady who came in today, she said I was the last shop she visited and the first shop she's visited since lockdown," she said.
Customers had a mixed view on the reopening. One lady told the BBC she felt shopping was "something none of us are going to take for granted again".
Another woman said she was nervous about being out shopping again: "There could be a second wave, I'm not ready to go into the charity shops yet which are my favourite".
A cyclist has been seriously injured after falling from his bike in Sandwell.
The man was treated at the scene near to the Mecca Bingo on the Oldbury Ringway shortly before 13:30, said the ambulance service.
"The man is understood to have fallen from his bike, with no other vehicles involved," said West Midlands Police.
He was taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham.
BBC Shropshire
With churches now allowed to open for private individual prayer after lockdown, a vicar in Shropshire says one of their big issues may be coaxing older worshippers out of their homes.
Image source, GoogleThe Reverend Chris Thorpe, vicar of St Andrew's, Shifnal, says they've made changes including limiting where people can go in the church and cleaning between each person's visit.
But he says lockdown has been tough emotionally for some of his older congregation who have been inside since it began.
"When you've had such a closed down time, it's a big thing to come out," he added.
