Local Democracy Reporting Service

A shortage of lollipop ladies and men means there are more than 25 school crossing patrol vacancies across Staffordshire, with North Staffordshire being the most affected area.

Image source, Local Democracy Reporting Service

There are currently 29 empty posts out of 240, a vacancy rate of 12% and some of the vacancies are "long standing and hard to recruit to", a Staffordshire County Council report revealed.

A 20-year-old man is in a serious condition in hospital after being found stabbed in a car park in Birmingham.

West Midlands Police said officers were called to Cliveland Street, in Newtown, at 19:22 on Thursday, where the injured man was discovered.

Image source, Google

"He was taken to hospital where he remains in a serious condition," a force spokesperson said.

"CCTV is being reviewed as investigations continue and we urge anyone with information to contact us."

BBC Radio WM

Wolves captain Conor Coady says he felt "absolutely amazing" and was in shock, after marking his first start for England with his first international goal.

Image source, Glyn Kirk - Pool/Getty Images

They beat Wales 3-0 in Thursday night's friendly, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin scoring from a cross by Aston Villa's Jack Grealish, who also started for England for the first time.

After Coady made it 2-0, Danny Ings added the third.

BBC Radio WM

Fewer school pupils in Wolverhampton are having to self-isolate in Wolverhampton, according to the latest figures.

The city council says the number has fallen from 3,000 to 500 in the past fortnight.

Households in the city are currently banned from mixing.

Coventry Live

Here are some of the stories from Coventry Live:

• Plans revealed for 46 new homes on the edge of Coventry, external
• Coventry's oldest pub warns, external another lockdown will be 'final nail in coffin'
• Three Covid-19 hotspots in Nuneaton and Bedworth, external revealed

Strictly Come Dancing's 2021 live arena tour has been put back until 2022, due to coronavirus concerns.

Strictly fans can, however, book tickets for the delayed tour from next week.

The delayed Strictly Come Dancing Live Arena Tour will now kick off in Birmingham on 20 January 2022, before heading to Leeds, Newcastle, Manchester, and beyond.

Image source, Getty Images

This year's BBC TV contest, which hits our screens from next weekend, will include the likes of comic actor Bill Bailey, TV/radio presenter Clara Amfo, and former home secretary Jacqui Smith (left to right above).

Singer HRVY (second from right), who has tested positive for the virus, is self-isolating for at least 10 days and pending a negative test should not miss any of the action.

BBC Weather

We're forecast more showers today, although it could be largely dry and cloudy in some parts of the West Midlands.

Temperatures will rise to around 11C (52F).

Tomorrow, the rain is expected to continue, but that should go by Sunday.

Image source, Len Ticular

Welcome to our live service for Friday.

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.

England batsmen Ollie Pope and Rory Burns switch teams for The Hundred next summer, as the first batch of men's and women's players are confirmed.

Why do some areas stay on for weeks while others with high infection rates came off?

The charges relate to offences allegedly committed in Redditch between 2011 and 2017.

That's all for our coverage today.

We'll be back with more news, sport, travel and weather updates from 08:00 on Friday.

BBC Midlands Today

The Wolves captain, Conor Coady, says playing with a host of internationals at Molineux has been the perfect preparation for breaking into the England team.

Coady (pictured) is in the squad for tonight's friendly against Wales alongside the Aston Villa pair of Jack Grealish and Tyrone Mings.

The company involved in an e-scooter trial that was halted in Coventry last month says they will return to the city in the next few months, BBC CWR reports.

The scheme will focus on the University of Warwick, after safety concerns were raised amid reports some users were riding them on pavements with others discarding them across the city centre.

Voi head of public policy Lucy Yu says it has been working hard to ensure it doesn't happen again.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Solihull saw more than 700 cases of Covid-19 last month, with a warning this week that the "rapid rise" was continuing – with most being infected in their own homes.

Image source, Google

Analysis of the dramatic increase reveals that labs confirmed 758 cases in the course of just 30 days, compared with 359 in the entirety of May, June, July and August.

While the total number of cases was 1,015 on 31 August, by last Wednesday the number had leapt to almost 1,800.

But it’s important to note mass-testing was not available during the peak of the crisis earlier in the year, when infections were still running well in excess of those now being reported.

Currently the infection rate has climbed to 114 per 100,000

Karen Grinsell, deputy leader of the council and cabinet member responsible for health, said: "Solihull has seen a rapid increase in cases and that really started at the beginning of September."

A report into child sexual exploitation in Telford may be delayed due to the pandemic, the inquiry warns.

Shrewsbury Town sign Arsenal goalkeeper Deyan Iliev on loan until January.

Murder accused Nathan Maynard-Ellis raped and threatened to kill another woman, a court hears.

A man has been arrested on suspicion of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, after a motorway crash that left a passenger in a critical condition.

A black VW Caddy struck the central reservation while travelling northbound on the M5 near junction two earlier, at about 05:50.

An 18-year-old passenger was seriously injured and remained critical in hospital, police said.

The driver and another passenger suffered minor injuries.

The arrested man has been released under investigation while inquiries continue.

A car was forced to take evasive action, but was clipped by the VW Caddy. The driver was not injured.

The northbound stretch between junction 3 for Quinton and junction 2 for Dudley and Oldbury was closed earlier.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Plans have been unveiled for the first phase of a new multimillion-pound cycleway in Binley, Coventry.

Image source, Coventry City Council

The city council has set out the plans for the first part of the fully segregated two-way cycleway, which runs to Binley Business Park on Harry Weston Road.

The first phase covers a 3.4km (2.1 mile) section, but the final route will span 6km (3.75 mile), eventually running to University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire.

It will also link cyclists to the likes of the city centre, Coventry University, Gosford Green and Stoke Green.

The scheme could start in spring 2021 and take up to a year to complete.

A number of side roads will become closed to vehicular traffic including Stoke Green (West), Raleigh Road [CGI above] and Anthony Way at their junctions with Binley Road.