Echoing both the Conservative mayor of the West Midlands and Labour deputy leader of Birmingham Council Council, MP Andrew Mitchell spoke out in the House of Commons urging the prime minister to think again on his plans.

The Tory MP for Sutton Coldfield said the "medical evidence and the political consenus" in the West Midlands conurbation demonstrated that the area should stay in tier one, with the addition of the current local measures.

Image source, UK Parliament

Boris Johnson replied that the virus was continued to rise across the country and the government would be "sticking with" its latest plan.

Across the political divide, the deputy leader of the Labour-run Birmingham City Council is likewise not impressed by the details of the government's latest measures.

West Midlands Metropolitan Mayor Andy Street has said he is "very disappointed" with restrictions on different households meeting in pubs and restaurants in certain parts of the conurbation, which he says is not supported by the latest data.

The Conservative mayor said the bulk of transmission in the West Midlands is in "household settings.... and stricter measures for the hospitality sector will not solve that".

He said councils across the region were unanimous in their support for keeping the current restrictions - whereby visiting someone's house is banned, but you could meet them in a pub - and urged the government to reconsider.

Household mixing indoors will be banned in Birmingham, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton from Wednesday - residents in Dudley and Coventry will still be able to socialise outside of their homes.

Cheshire East is also in the "high" alert category.

It means people living in Crewe and Nantwich, like much of the West Midlands conurbation, won't be able to mix indoors - whether it's in private homes, or pubs and restaurants.

Image source, Reuters

However, two households will be able to socialise outdoors, up to a maximum of six people.

While Manchester saw rates of new infections peak at 448.8 per 100,000 people in week up to 9 October, Cheshire East recorded a rate of 145.5 - a total of 559 new cases in the week.

Drivers are being urged to avoid the Bristol Road in Selly Oak after a serious collision this afternoon.

Four cars and a bus were involved in the crash at the junction with Heeley Road at about 16:20, police said.

A female pedestrian has been taken to hospital with serious injuries.

The road is expected to be closed for a number of hours.

Birmingham will be on the second tier of the government's new three-tier system for lockdown restrictions.

Image source, PA Media

Preet Gill, the Labour MP for Birmingham Edgbaston, said she had been told by health secretary Matt Hancock shortly before prime minister Boris Johnson addressed MPs at 15:30.

The second tier is for areas where there are more than 100 cases of coronavirus per 100,000 people and where the spread of the virus cannot be contained through local responses.

The latest statistics for Birmingham show there are 168 positive cases per 100,000 people - look up the cases in your area using our tool.

Boris Johnson explains a three-tiered system of rules to fight the coronavirus pandemic in England.

The English council areas which border Liverpool City Region - Lancashire, Warrington, Greater Manchester and Cheshire West and Chester - have all been put under the second "high alert" tier of the government's new guidelines system.

That means alongside the current national measures, including the rule of six and the 22:00 curfew, measures in "high alert" areas are also subject to local restrictions, preventing mixing between different households indoors.

Wellington Town Council has announced its annual Remembrance Day parade and Christmas lights switch-on would be cancelled, due to coronavirus restrictions.

Image source, Wellington Town Council

The local authority said it would be pre-recording a service for Remembrance Sunday which would then be available for people to watch online.

Santa Claus too will be coming to town via Facebook, in place of the annual Christmas lights switch on event - although the council said the town would still be decorated and lit up for the festive season.

It's overcast and wet today in the West Midlands but our Weather Watchers have still been able to snap some glorious autumnal shots.

Image source, Suttonwalker/ BBC Weather Watchers

Image source, Laura and Glenn/ BBC Weather Watchers

Image source, Caraman on tour/ BBC Weather Watchers

Image source, Grum/ BBC Weather Watchers

Visit our Weather Watchers page if you'd like to get involved and send us your photos.

A nine-year-old boy was taken to hospital after he was hit by a motorcycle outside a country park.

Image source, Google

Warwickshire Police said the boy was hit on the main driveway at Coombe Abbey, in Binley, just before 14:00 on Sunday.

He was taken to hospital by ambualance but has since been discharged, the force said, adding that he was "thankfully not seriously injured".

Police are appealing for witnesses and are "actively trying to locate" the motorcyclist, who is believed to have left the scene with another biker.

A motorcyclist is in a critical condition in hospital after a three-vehicle collision near Leek, Staffordshire, on Sunday.

Image source, Google

Emergency services were called to the A53 in Upper Hulme shortly before 15:00 after the crash, which police say involved a red Peugeot 206, a blue Lotus Elise and a yellow Aprilia motorcycle.

Staffordshire Police said a 35-year-old woman who was driving the Peugeot was also taken to hospital by ambulance, alongside a two-year-old child for treatment while the driver of the Lotus, a 33-year-old man, was also treated for minor injuries.

The force appealed for information, particularly dashcam footage, from witnesses.

Police have issued pictures of two men they're trying to trace after a mass brawl involving 19 people in Penrith.

Image source, Cumbria police

Officers say the disorder left a man from Dudley seriously injured in hospital and another, local, man with minor injuries.

The fight is said to have started inside the Pinny and spread into the street just before 22:30 on 19 September, and police are now trying to identify the two men caught on CCTV.

Ten others have been interviewed, with three being arrested and released under investigation, on suspicion of violent disorder.

Shropshire Star

Here's a selection of some of the headlines in today's Shropshire Star:

• Far fewer patients begin cancer treatment than pre-pandemic at Shropshire hospitals, external
• Woman cut free from car and taken to hospital after crashing into ditch near Bridgnorth, external
• More than 1,000 homes set to be built in Telford thanks to £170m investment, external

Anil Vegad was found stabbed at his home in Coventry in June.

"It was immediately clear" Mahad Aden was under the influence of drugs, Staffordshire Police says.

Warwickshire Police said it responded to 36 reports of coronavirus restrictions breaches over the weekend, including a number of house parties.

The force said fines had been issued to homeowners in Bedworth, Stratford-upon-Avon, Leamington Spa, Nuneaton and Rugby after revellers were found gathered in homes.

Those found in breach of restrictions are facing fines of up to £200.

Officers are also investigating reports of shop workers and customers not wearing face coverings and a group of more than 20 people sitting together at a restaurant in Rugby.

Worcester City FC's manager is racially abused during a fixture in Walsall, officials say.

Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) has been fined £4,000 by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) over failures to initially assess A&E patients within 15 minutes.

“We have issued a penalty notice due to the severity of the situation and to ensure the necessary, urgent improvements are made," Chief Inspector of Hospitals Ted Baker said.

“It is essential that patients are seen in a timely way when they arrive at an emergency department; failure to do so could result in deteriorating health, harm, or even death."

Failures in triaging were identified at both the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and Princess Royal Hospital, between 18 April 2019 and 29 September 2020.

The trust said it had made a number of changes, including recruiting more nurses, and had managed to reduce its average triage time to nine minutes over the past few weeks.

Coventry Live

Some of today's top stories from Coventry Live include:

• Sunday League footballer suspended for playing game after testing positive for Covid-19 - but told no-one, external
• Police move in as 150 revellers gather outside bars after 10pm curfew, external
• Covid-19 infection rate rises again in Coventry and Warwickshire, external