The leisure centres in Kidderminster and Bewdley are to reopen next month.

The doors at Wyre Forest Leisure Centre open on 7 August then the facility in Bewdley will reopen on 24 August.

Image source, Google

Measures are being put in place to make sure they are Covid-safe, including increased cleaning and a reduction in the number of people allowed to take part in activities.

Customers are being asked to pre-book sessions online.

A research centre is to be set up to investigate issues relating to early life, from before conception up to the age of five.

Image source, University of Warwick

The new Centre for Early Life , externalwill bring together experts from across the University of Warwick, including Warwick Medical School, the Institute of Digital Healthcare and Warwick Mathematics Institute, among others.

It aims to develop new clinical tests and treatments by partnering with industry and the local Coventry and Warwickshire NHS trust.

Professor Jan Brosens, co-director of the new centre, said that progress in preventing "adverse pregnancy outcomes" and improving the health of women and their babies had been “inexcusably slow in recent decades".

"By bringing together top academics with an exceptional range of skill sets, the centre is poised to drive innovation in reproductive healthcare in the UK.”

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Introducing free wi-fi to the centre of Worcester could help market traders, the city council has said.

It is looking to appoint a contractor to provide the service and will contribute £10,000 to the set-up cost for the scheme, which will initially last five years.

Image source, Google

The council believes the wi-fi will allow traders to make more use of card-readers and also hopes to gather data from people signing up for the service.

On Monday, the council's economic development subcommittee agreed to move ahead with the plans.

Denmark striker Stine Larsen signs for newly-promoted Women's Super League club Aston Villa from French side FC Fleury 91.

Express and Star

These are some of the Express and Star headlines today:

• Sandwell implements own test and trace system as national scheme 'failing', external
• Hospital 'prepared' for increase in coronavirus patients, external
• Delayed Black Country hospital lockdown 'cost 25 lives' after NHS veto, external

Local Democracy Reporting Service
Tom Dare

A new drive-through Covid-19 testing centre is to open in a Coventry city centre car park next week.

Image source, Google

The mobile unit will operate in Moat Street car park, close to the Sky Dome, as part of a national drive to improve accessibility for coronavirus testing for local communities.

The new facility will be on site for a fortnight between from 3-16 August when a decision will be taken to determine whether the unit should be moved elsewhere.

People are being asked not to turn up without a booking. , external

Robert Cuffe
BBC head of statistics

England had the highest levels of excess mortality in Europe for the weeks from 24 February to 14 June, new analysis shows.

It also saw the second highest peak rates of death in Europe, after Spain.

But England had the longest period of deaths running above average in the countries studied, and so overall had the highest levels.

The epidemic in the UK was more widely spread than in other countries – areas in Central Spain and in Italy (Madrid or Milan) were harder hit than cities in the UK, but the UK saw significant increases in death rates in London, Birmingham, Manchester among others.

Analyses that take account of the age of the population also show that England had the highest death rates in Europe in the weeks to 29 May.

Birmingham Live

Some of the Birmingham Live headlines today include:

• City street to be closed for hours over police incident, external
• Miracle driver survived horrific crash - with just stitches, external
• Documents from Joshua Ribera murder investigation leaked on Instagram, external

Sandwell Council has launched its own test and trace service and criticised the national system for not providing enough information.

Image source, BBC/Getty Images

A McDonald's restaurant has shut its doors after five staff tested positive for Covid-19 in the area where there has been a surge in infections.

The council's director of public health Dr Lisa McNally said it was failing to reach four out of 10 cases in the area.

"It's just not working well in areas where there's a lot of diversity," she said.

Launched on Wednesday, the council said it would be providing services in a number of languages to reach the different communities in the area.

BBC Weather Watchers

It looks like it's going to be another sunny day and the BBC Weather Watchers have been sharing their photos with us.

These ones were taken around Dawley, Rowington and Hereford.

Image source, Liam Ball

Image source, Fraser

Image source, Step Counter

Aston Villa appoint FC Copenhagen technical director Johan Lange as their new sporting director.

BBC Business News

The number of cars built in the UK over the past six months has slumped to the lowest since 1954, according to the industry's trade body.

A total of 381,357 cars were made the six months to June, down 42% on the period last year, said the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

Image source, Jaguar Land Rover

Britain's major carmakers all suspended production earlier in the year in response to the lockdown, including Jaguar Land Rover, Honda and Nissan.

The news comes as both Aston Martin and Jaguar Land Rover have announced hundreds of jobs losses in the last few months.

A boy who was hit by a car, becoming trapped under it, has been left in a critical condition, police say.

Image source, Google

Officers believe members of the public helped lift the vehicle to free the seven-year-old.

He suffered a serious head injury in the incident in Debenham Road, in Yardley just before 19:00 on Wednesday, said West Midlands Police.

The 63-year-old driver of the Mini Cooper remained at the scene and is helping with inquiries.

The family of the boy had been left "clearly devastated," the force added.

A Birmingham street has been closed for after officers were called to reports of shots being fired.

Image source, Desmond Jaddoo

Wheeler Street remains closed between the Newtorn Health Centre and King Street North in Lozells after police were called just before 23:00 on Wednesday.

The road has been closed for a forensic search, said West Midlands Police.

No one was injured and no damage reported, the force added.

Five staff tested positive for coronavirus at the restaurant in Sandwell, where cases are increasing.

Coventry Live

Some of today's Coventry Live headlines include:

• Mayor mediated Ricoh Arena discussions between SISU and Wasps, external
• Scammers try to charge residents for Covid-19 tests in Coventry, external
• Woman and baby girl injured in Coventry road smash, external

After starting their 2019-20 campaign against Crusaders in the Europa League on 25 July 2019, Wolves' one-year-old season is far from over.

Health officials urge people to get tested after 10 confirmed cases in Staffordshire.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Health officials in Herefordshire have ruled out a public review into the handling of the coronavirus outbreak at Rook Row Farm in Mathon.

So far, more than 134 workers have tested positive with Covid-19 and the site's been in lockdown.

Image source, Getty Images

Herefordshire's Director of Public Health said there were now only 12 people there who had coronavirus and 96 staff were now well out of isolation and able to get back to work.

Colin Paterson
Entertainment Correspondent

Theatres in England can open from the start of August, with indoor performances and socially distanced audiences.

But are the people who help put on plays, or even Christmas's pantomimes, ready to start staging a return?

The BBC has been exploring Imagine Theatre's panto props and costumes, stored in a warehouse on the edge of Coventry, which has stood abandoned since country went into lockdown.