A major cannabis factory has been discovered in Coventry after being "lit up like a lighthouse" by cameras on-board a police helicopter.

Image source, West Midlands Police

Drugs with an estimated street value of £330,000 were seized from the disused shop in the Hillfields area of the city.

Officers were on the lookout for a car which failed to stop when thermal imaging cameras detected a bright heat source coming from the property at the junction of Harnall Lane East and Jesmond Road, said West Midlands Police.

Image source, West Midlands Police

The factory was a "professional" set up, the force added, with a reinforced steel door and escape hatch leading to an adjacent flat.

Two machetes were also recovered from the site on 28 August.

With so many large events being called off, it's nice to report that one is going ahead.

And the Weston Park Model Airshow, which was called off in June, is now going to go ahead on 17 and 18 October.

Image source, Weston Park Model Airshow

The event said it has worked with the local authority to meet government guidelines and will put a limit on the number of people attending.

This follows other successful open air events at the Weston Park estate in Staffordshire, including a camper van gathering and a food market last weekend.

Three men from Telford have been charged with assaulting a police officer after police had to break up an incident in the Brookside area on Monday.

The three, who are all 18, are due to appear before magistrates later to face seven charges.

A 31-year-old woman, also from Telford, has been charged with obstructing the police.

Image source, Google

West Mercia Police described the behaviour of the men as "totally unacceptable" and the four have all been held in custody ahead of their court appearance.

Relive all the action as Manchester City start the Women's Super League season with victory at Aston Villa.

A protest was held in Coventry city centre on Wednesday against far-right groups targeting asylum seekers in hotels.

Two members of the Britain First organisation were arrested in the city on Saturday following reports of disorder at the Coventry Hill Hotel, in Rye Hill.

James White, 30, of St Michaels Crescent, Southam, has been charged with common assault and another 23-year-old released without charge.

Andy Pettit from Stand up to Racism, who organised the demonstration, said the Britain First group were threatening "some of the most vulnerable in society who've been fleeing war and disaster in their own countries".

The BBC's political editor in the West Midlands retires today after 45 years of working for the corporation, 22 of them as a presenter.

Patrick Burns began his career covering the Troubles in Northern Ireland, and reported on 11 UK general elections, interviewing seven prime ministers.

He went on to launch and then present Sunday morning political programmes in the West Midlands.

You'll be able to see his last appearance on BBC Midlands Today from 18:30 on BBC One.

A railway attraction says people must have a letter from a GP or they won't be allowed on board.

Shropshire Star

Here are three stories from the Shropshire Star this morning:

• Four charged after violence against police, external
• Woman treated by paramedics after kitchen fire, external
• Desperate plea as food charity is facing closure, external

A man has been seriously injured by a van in a suspected hit-and-run in Crewe.

Cheshire Police said the 33-year-old was struck at the junction of Vernon Way and West Street in the early hours of Sunday.

The van was later found abandoned on Parkers Road in Leighton.

Image source, Google

Yesterday morning, a cyclist also suffered serious injuries after being hit by a van in Crewe.

Cheshire Police said this man was in his 60s and the collision happened on Bradfield Road.

Hereford's MP Jesse Norman has said pollution in the River Wye is coming from Wales.

The Environment Agency said it was working to address concerns about phosphate levels in the river, but Mr Norman has denied poultry farmers in Herefordshire are to blame.

Image source, UK Parliament

Conservative Mr Norman said the problem was originating in the upper Wye and that he had "been engaging closely with Powys Council and with local MPs there and with Natural Resources Wales".

But he said: "We haven't seen the same energy and the same take-up there."

The Environment Agency said larger poultry farms were regulated to ensure run-off was minimised and did not get into the water to harm fish, insects, birds and mammals.

BBC Radio Stoke Sport

Stoke City's Tyrese Campbell is looking to improve on last season's goal total and reach double figures.

He scored nine in total last season and says he doesn't mind if he starts on the wing or up front, as long as he gets to play.

Image source, Getty Images

Campbell said: "I know what I can do and I know the ability I've got."

Danny Shaw
BBC Home Affairs Correspondent

A catalogue of failings have been found in the way people convicted of terror-related offences are monitored by the authorities in England and Wales.

Image source, Metropolitan Police

The review was launched after convicted terrorist Usman Khan killed Saskia Jones, 23, From Stratford-upon-Avon, and Jack Merritt, 25, in an attack in London in November.

The independent review , externalfound "gaps" in the powers used to check up on such offenders.

Justice minister Chris Philp said the government was legislating to require terrorism offenders to take lie detector tests - a measure the report endorses - and said other proposals were being considered.

Branwen Jeffreys
Education Editor

An apology from the head of Ofqual, external following a U-turn over exam grades has been dismissed by a Shropshire head teacher.

Sonia Taylor, from Grove School in Market Drayton, said she was worried the exams chaos would affect pupils returning to school this week.

"Ofqual should have been very mindful that we've got to ensure that this cohort of children are not prevented from moving on," she said, "and that should have been paramount."

"The fact that they're saying they didn't give that enough consideration I think is really quite disgusting."

The Department for Education said that the decision to cancel exams had been a "necessary step to fight the spread of coronavirus".

BBC Stories

Three women share their feelings of "C-section guilt", saying they sometimes feel like they have "failed" at childbirth by having a Caesarean.

Dr Annalise Weckesser, a medical anthropologist from Birmingham City University, said she had done a study with women who had recently had C-sections.

"We brought them in for focus groups and for interviews, what also came out of those conversations was this feeling of guilt."

You can watch more below.

Prioritising coronavirus testing in high-risk areas has led to shortages in other places, as some people with symptoms are being asked to drive more than 100 miles for a swab.

Image source, Reuters

Ministers have unveiled a £500m fund to trial a 20-minute saliva test, but Prof Alan McNally, from the University of Birmingham, said scaling up of testing should have been done over the summer.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme: "I think the time was right to think about scaling up testing to the wider community and asymptomatic testing over the summer when we were relatively Covid-secure, knowing that autumn and winter would come."

Health Secretary Matt Hancock told BBC Breakfast there were "operational challenges", adding the trial of new rapid tests could "solve the problem".

BBC Radio WM

More than 700 calls have been made to Birmingham City Council’s coronavirus whistleblowing hotline since its launch, it has been revealed.

Image source, Getty Images

By the end of Monday it had received 739 contacts via the hotline, which was set up earlier this month for people to report any concerns they might have about businesses in the city.

It allows residents to get in touch with the council by phone or by filling out a form on the website, if they have concerns about firms not following coronavirus distancing guidelines.

BBC Weather

It will be a cloudy day with patchy rain but also some sunny spells with highs of 20C (68F).

This was the scene earlier in Newport, Shropshire, as taken by BBC Weather Watcher Bing-Lilly.

Image source, Bing-Lilly

Vanessa Pearce
BBC News

Welcome to our live service for Thursday.

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

Ian Cockbain bludgeons an unbeaten 84 as Gloucestershire beat Birmingham on a rain-affected night of T20 Blast action.

Andy Giddings
BBC News

We'll be back with the news, sport, travel and weather from 08:00 tomorrow.