Local Democracy Reporting Service
Tom Davis

New A45 junctions and a fly-over are set to be approved as part of plans for 3,495 homes on former green belt land in Coventry.

Image source, Google

Hallam Land Management is planning two new junctions off the A45, a fly-over, access link road and roundabouts as part of wider plans for new homes at Eastern Green.

Land was removed from the green belt and allocated for 2,250 houses in the Local Plan in December 2017, but it has since been admitted the scheme could in fact reach up to 3,495 houses - a 55% increase.

While the homes plan is still under consideration, infrastructure is recommended to be approved ahead of a committee meeting on Thursday, 25 June.

Two people have been arrested for drugs offences after a significant amount of what's believed to be heroin and cocaine was found in a car.

The vehicle was stopped in Stratford-upon-Avon on Friday, Warwickshire Police said.

A large amount of cash and a number of mobile phones were also discovered.

A one-year-old child was in the vehicle along with a 17-year-old girl and 19-year-old man.

The pair from Coventry were arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply class A drugs and have been released under investigation.

A 27-year-old man from Coventry has also been charged in connection with the incident.

The UK's biggest tour operator Tui is to resume its holiday programme from Birmingham Airport within three weeks.

Image source, Getty Images

The company says it has "absolute confidence" that the government will have relaxed travel restrictions by then.

The firm has announced plans to offer destinations across Spain and Greece from 11 July.

Worcester Warriors forward Ted Hill signs an extended contract with the Premiership club until 2024.

Stoke-on-Trent Live

The Stoke-on-Trent Live website's headlines include:

• Supermarket says sorry after Stoke-on-Trent couple barred from shopping together, external
• Warning to motorists as lorry spills offal onto major Stoke-on-Trent road, external
• School threatens to ban children if their parents keep turning up late, external

Two boys have been charged after staff were threatened and a large quantity of cigarettes stolen during a robbery at a shop in Nuneaton.

Image source, Google

Two males entered the McColls shop on Lutterworth Road on Friday at about 17:50 - with one of them believed to have been carrying a knife.

Two boys, aged 15 and 16, were arrested along with two girls aged 16 on suspicion of robbery.

The girls have been released on police bail, said Warwickshire Police.

Lee Thomas
Newsreader, BBC Radio Stoke

Luxury carmaker Bentley says some of its workers are facing compulsory redundancy as not enough have come forward to take voluntary redundancy.

Image source, PA Media

Earlier this month, the company, which produces its cars in Crewe, Cheshire, said it needed to cut 1,000 jobs to safeguard the rest of the workforce.

At the time, boss Adrian Hallmark said Covid-19 was not the cause of the cuts but a "hastener".

Today, Bentley says the number coming forward to take voluntary redundancy is "some way short" of 1,000 and it has now started a consultation on compulsory cuts.

BBC Weather Watchers

With lots of sunshine around today, our local BBC Weather Watchers have been busy taking photographs across the region.

Here are three from users Hedgehog in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, Timbo in Birmingham and Sue Snaps in Codsall, Staffordshire:

Image source, Hedgehog

Image source, Timbo

Image source, Sue Snaps

Four men have been arrested after a woman was injured in a knife attack, police say.

The 25-year-old was taken to hospital after the attack in Bridge Street Walsall at about 22:10 on Sunday.

She has since been discharged, said West Midlands Police.

Four men aged 24, 26, 28 and 38 were arrested on suspicion of wounding and possession of intent to supply cannabis.

The 26-year-old man was also arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police officer.

They all remain in police custody.

Six-year-old Arthur Labinjo-Hughes died from a head injury after being found unresponsive at his home.

Worcestershire players have started training again, external despite domestic cricket being shut down until at least 1 August.

Image source, Worcestershire County Cricket Club

The club said the squad were coming off furlough today, external and would be put through their paces within government guidelines on social distancing.

The county cricket season was due to start on 12 April before being postponed until August at the earliest because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Pears said they want to be as "prepared as possible" for cricket if it does return then.

Worcester News

The Worcester News has these top stories today:

• Supermarket worker's 'inside job' knife and hammer cash burglary, external
• Ofsted slams children's home after staff 'poorly managed' girl who undressed in public area, external
• Woman's plea for basketball court in park, external

Simone Stewart
BBC News

What do black parents tell their children about growing up in the UK?

Three families discuss the impact of racism on their lives and what the Black Lives Matter campaign means to them.

Archaeologists have discovered a ring of prehistoric shafts, dug thousands of years ago near Stonehenge.

Academics from universities including Birmingham and Warwick worked on the project.

Image source, PA Media

Fieldwork has revealed evidence of a 1.2-mile-wide (2km) circle of large shafts measuring more than 10m in diameter and 5m in depth.

They surround the ancient settlement of Durrington Walls, two miles (3km) from Stonehenge.

Tests suggest the groundworks are Neolithic and were excavated more than 4,500 years ago.

Experts believe the 20 or more shafts may have served as a boundary to a sacred area connected to the henge.

Express and Star

Some of the Express and Star headlines today include:

• Murder arrest as man stabbed to death in Great Barr street, external
• Four arrests as woman seriously injured in Walsall knife attack, external
• Fears rise for future of Go Outdoors, external

BBC Business News

Go Outdoors' owners say they are preparing to call in administrators as the coronavirus pandemic pushes high street retailers to breaking point.

Image source, Go Outdoors

The chain - specialising in camping equipment, bikes and clothes - employs about 2,400 staff across 67 stores, including Coventry, Birmingham, Shrewsbury, Stoke-on-Trent, Kidderminster and Wolverhampton.

JD Sports, which owns Go Outdoors, said in a statement it had looked at the options for Go and had decided to start the administration process.

The coronavirus pandemic has ramped up pressure on the firm.

The Windrush flag has been raised outside Birmingham Council House to mark Windrush Day.

The contribution of the Windrush generation to British society is being celebrated around the country.

Here Baroness Floella Benjamin explains why Windrush Day is important.

A 24-year-old man is held over the death of a man, 30, who was found with fatal neck injuries.

Allen Cook
BBC News

A hiker's suffered a serious injury after falling down a muddy slope at Symonds Yat.

Image source, West Midlands Ambulance Service

The man fell about 600m while walking on Saturday morning and it took paramedics about 10 minutes to get to him after arriving, the ambulance service said. , external

He was lifted up the embankment on a stretcher before being taken to Hereford County Hospital.

Shropshire Star

A few of the headlines from the Shropshire Star today:

• Driver 'inches from death' as post smashes through windscreen in early-hours crash, external
• Armed police search Shrewsbury hospital after reports of man with machete, external
• Workshop near Market Drayton gutted by fire, external