Eight people have been arrested after disorder in West Bromwich town centre.

Image source, Google

Armed young people clashed in High Street (generic image above) at about 16:10 on Wednesday.

West Midlands Police stopped a Ford Fiesta and recovered a number of knives, including combat and zombie-style knives, from the vehicle.

Four men, three aged 18 and one 19, have been held on suspicion of possessing an offensive weapon. An 18-year-old woman was detained over violent disorder.

A second car was stopped in Claypit Lane.

A 20-year-old woman and two boys, aged 15 and 17, have been arrested on suspicion of violent disorder.

A 17-year-old boy was stabbed, but not seriously injured, on West Bromwich Ringway at about 15:00 and police are investigating whether there is a connection.

BBC Radio Shropshire

Shrewsbury Town admit there could be job losses at the club if the financial landscape of the game doesn't improve this season.

Image source, Getty Images

Fans in the EFL are currently banned and no support package has yet been finalised by league officials.

Chief executive Brian Caldwell says they are monitoring the situation closely.

Councillors say the Birmingham charging zone, originally due in January, will be in place next year.

Stoke-on-Trent Live

Here are some of the headlines from Stoke-on-Trent Live:

• Lockdown warning as Newcastle sees spike in Covid cases, external
• Boy, 17, charged after man stabbed in leg in Stoke-on-Trent, external
• Workers at Staffordshire Argos warehouse test positive for coronavirus, external

Local Democracy Reporting Service

A "huge" increase in potentially hazardous PPE is littering parks, pavements and other public spaces across Solihull, according to councillors.

Image source, Local Democracy Reporting Service

Borough councillors and community groups have both reported a rise, with concerns that the coronavirus crisis has led to a resurgence of single-use plastic.

Some fear that tossing aside face masks, gloves and similar items after use could pose an infection risk – with litter pickers being asked to bag the waste separately.

Alison Rolf, cabinet member for stronger and safer communities, said a selfish minority were being "just as stupid" with masks as other types of litter.

"I don’t see what people’s problem is, I genuinely don’t," she said.

"[Because of the risk] we can’t expect people to be clearing up after them, unless they have got the proper equipment."

Ex-Manchester City scout Barry Bennell is jailed for four more years after further convictions.

Kathryn Stanczyszyn
Political Reporter, BBC WM

So will it be a case of third time lucky on the rescheduling front for Birmingham’s Clean Air Zone?

Or unlucky of course depending on your point of view.

The controversial zone is the only one planned outside of London which will see a charge for private vehicles that some argue will economically disadvantage those already struggling.

And that was before coronavirus hit.

Image source, BIRMINGHAM CITY COUNCIL

But the city council has remained clear that its direction of travel is… much less travel.

And yes, cleaner air is a government requirement, but it’s also an crucial aspiration.

It seems the infrastructure is in place and the will, and indeed the legal necessity, is very much there to make this a reality next June.

But in these swiftly changing times, it’s still a fairly long way off.

Worcester News

Here are some of the Worcester News stories today:

• Concerns have been raised about a plan to build new homes on a doctor's surgery car park, external
• A support worker who works with children with special needs says he has been using his down time to grow a gigantic pumpkin, external
• Figures show where Worcester virus cases are with some areas seeing biggest rise in months, external

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Birmingham’s Clean Air Zone (CAZ) will be brought in on 1 June next year, the city council has announced today.

The long-delayed introduction will see vehicles not meeting strict environmental criteria charged for driving in the city centre in a bid to cut air pollution levels.

A stretch of the M5 remains closed northbound, after a multi-vehicle crash that left a man seriously injured.

It has been shut between junction 3 for Quinton and junction 2 for Dudley and Oldbury, following the incident at about 05:50.

The man was given treatment before he was taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham.

Two other men were assessed and discharged at the scene with minor injuries.

Safety failures were partly responsible for a driver's death at a Birmingham depot, a report says.

BBC Radio Shropshire

A Shropshire family say they've been left devastated, after a fire destroyed their home and belongings, and killed their pets.

Emergency services were called out to their static caravan at Fordhall Grange Stud livery yard in Market Drayton at about 17:00 on Wednesday.

Sharon Bailey, 48, said she had lived there for about six years, but had owned the property with the horses and the livestock for just over 20 years.

Mrs Bailey said she was out feeding horses at the time and had lost all of her belongings .

Mrs Bailey, who has lived there with her husband and her son, said: "Our whole world has just collapsed."

Residents in and around Warwick are being encouraged to switch their Christmas lights on at home at the same time as those in their local town centres are turned on.

Image source, Warwick District Council

With this year's switch-on events cancelled due to the pandemic, the district council says people can watch them from home via the internet on 27 November. , external

It also wants residents to join in with the event beginning at 17:45 before the lights go on at 18:00.

BBC Radio WM

More than 300 students at the University of Birmingham have tested positive for Covid-19 in the last seven days.

The latest figures show the two areas around the university accounted for the biggest numbers of cases in the city. There were 95 positive cases in Selly Oak and 73 in Edgbaston South and University district.

The University of Birmingham says it has more than 30,000 students in all and 8,000 staff and had a range of measures to minimise risk, including delivering all lectures online.

It said it also had a robust internal track and trace system in place, but was unable to say how many students were self-isolating.

There are 61 cases at Aston University, 130 people at Birmingham City University have tested positive and there are nine cases at the University of Wolverhampton. Newman University Birmingham didn't reply to our request

More than 500 staff and students at the University of Leeds have tested positive for Covid-19.

A scheme which offers free trees to landowners in Shropshire has opened up to applications again, for planting this autumn and winter.

Shropshire Council is offering them in bundles of 20 trees of hedgerow plants, up to a maximum of 200 per site, as part of its commitment to make the county carbon-neutral by 2030.

The trees have to be planted somewhere visible to the public and can't be grown for profit.

Coronavirus restrictions are to be further tightened in parts of England early next week, with the closure of bars and restaurants a possibility, the BBC has been told.

Image source, PA Media

The government is also likely to introduce a three-tier system for local lockdowns.

"A lot of cities are now seeing serious problems,", said the chair of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges.

Dr Helen Stokes-Lampard told BBC Breakfast: "I'm based in the Midlands and we are seeing problems in Birmingham, but we are also seeing issues in Coventry, Nottingham, and it's working further south."

According to current regulations anyone living in Birmingham, Sandwell, Solihull and Wolverhampton must not mix with people outside of their household either indoors or in a private garden.

They have also been told to avoid socialising with other households in public venues.

A man has suffered serious injuries in a multi-vehicle crash on the M5 at about 06:00 this morning.

The northbound carriageway remains closed from J3 to J2 near Oldbury.

The man received specialist trauma care at the scene before being taken to hospital, said the ambulance service.

Two other patients, both men, were assessed and discharged at the scene, it added.

BBC News Travel

A stretch of the M5 in the West Midlands remains closed after a multi-vehicle crash.

The northbound carriageway is shut from J3 to J2 for accident investigation work.

Travel company Inrix is reporting the road is expected to remain closed throughout the morning.

BBC Weather

We could have some rain showers this morning, but they should clear up by midday and temperatures are expected to rise to about 14C (57F).

But we are forecast rain for the next two days.

Image source, SuttonWalker

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.