A court hears murder-accused Nathan Maynard-Ellis had fantasies about "sexualised killing of women".

Allen Cook
BBC News

We'll return with more news, sport, travel, weather and more for the West Midlands from 08:00 tomorrow.

Philip Taylor was based at Cannock as a probationary constable before leaving Staffordshire Police.

BBC Midlands Today

A farmer says he wants the government to ensure all food imported into the country after Brexit conforms to the same standards as produce made here.

Richard Bower has 150 cattle on his farm at Penkridge, Staffordshire, and exports some of the beef to Germany.

The government has set up a new commission to advise ministers on future trade deals.

"The commission shows the government is listening so we are very, very happy about that," Mr Bower said.

"But we need to make sure it has got some teeth and actually we do want it enshrining in law that food imported into this country is produced to the same standards that we produce it to."

It is the second time graves have flooded at Handsworth Cemetery since August, Conservatives say.

Michele Paduano
Health correspondent, BBC Midlands Today

A lung cancer patient from Coventry says he fears for his future after his potentially life-saving operation was pushed back due to the pandemic.

John Smart, who has been shielding ahead of his surgery, says as the Covid-19 situation gets worse, he fears the operation at University Hospital in Coventry will keep being postponed.

NHS guidelines state cancer treatment should start within 62 days of a patient being referred from a GP, but it's now more than five months since Mr Smart first coughed up blood.

He says he's worried that with every day that passes, his life could be cut short.

A cancer expert warned of delays in diagnosing and treating people with the disease, earlier this year.

"Nobody is counting cancer deaths, " he said.

"One day in the future, some people will start to count up these things and it will be seen that the cost of concentrating on Covid action, has cost more lives than Covid did."

BBC Radio Stoke

The Church of England needs to listen better to victims and survivors of sexual abuse, the Bishop of Lichfield has said.

Image source, PA Media

A report by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse said the Church had failed to protect children and had a culture where abusers "could hide".

The Church defended alleged perpetrators instead of protecting children and young people from sexual predators, the report said.

The Right Reverend Dr Michael Ipgrave said he felt a deep sense of shame reading the report.

"It underlines the need for a complete change in our culture and a change in our focus.

"Our priority needs to be not our reputation, it needs absolutely to attend seriously to every complaint which that is brought to us."

Shropshire Star

The Shropshire Star's main stories today include:

• Police officer assaulted after teen confronted over not wearing mask at shopping centre, external
• Covid outbreak probe at Telford hospital found lack of social distancing, external
• Big revamp planned for Shrewsbury Park and Ride, external

A police community support officer (PCSO) has been attacked after asking a man to put on a face mask in a shopping centre.

Image source, PA Media

The PCSO saw the man at Telford Shopping Centre and spoke to him on Tuesday morning, West Mercia Police said. , external

The man refused and was asked to leave the centre at which point he became aggressive and assaulted the officer, the force said.

The PCSO wasn't seriously hurt.

An 18-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of assaulting an emergency worker and released under investigation.

Face coverings are compulsory across the UK in shops, supermarkets and shopping centres.

BBC News Travel

Train passengers between Birmingham and London Euston are set to have disrupted services until the end of the day.

Several miles of the signalling system was left without power this morning near Leighton Buzzard, Network Rail said., external

While the problem had been fixed this morning, National Rail Enquiries said, external services between Milton Keynes Central and Watford Junction could still be cancelled or revised until the end of the day.

The disruption has been affecting Avanti West Coast and London Northwestern Railway services between Birmingham and Euston.

Cannabis plants with an estimated street value of £1.5m have been found in a raid on an industrial unit.

Image source, West Midlands Police

The cannabis factory was spread across four rooms created inside the unit on Maybrook Road, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands Police said.

They raided the building on Tuesday and found about 1,500 plants.

Birmingham Live

The Birmingham Live website is covering these stories today:

• Hundreds of students at University of Birmingham test positive for Covid-19, external
• Fans call for Aston Villa supporter to be banned for life after he punched boy, external
• Cops discover drugs worth £1.5m in huge Sutton Coldfield cannabis factory raid, external

BBC Radio Stoke

A large outbreak of Covid-19 has been linked to inmates who've tested positive at Stafford Prison.

Image source, Google

The infection rate in the town has risen from 47.3 per 100,000 in the week up to 26 September to 101.3 by 3 October.

Staffordshire County Council hasn't said how many inmates tested positive but the prison outbreak accounted for a third of cases in the borough.

The Ministry of Justice said it had “robust and flexible” plans in place to keep prisoners safe.

BBC Radio WM

The Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games "are on schedule and on budget", according to the chairman of its board, despite criticism from a former director.

Image source, Birmingham City Council

Jonathan Browning resigned from the organising committee on Monday because of "growing frustration" at "a lack of transparency".

In a letter to Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden - seen by the BBC - Browning said there was "a culture where over-promising and under-delivering appears to be acceptable".

In August, plans for a £500m athletes village in Perry Bar was scrapped with construction delays blamed partly on Covid-19.

Games chairman John Crabtree said in a statement the organisation remained committed to keeping the games on track despite the "uncertain times" of the pandemic.

Organisers of the annual Mop Fair say extra safety precautions are being put in place.

BBC Radio CWR

Talks to bring Coventry City back to the Ricoh Arena will resume this week, BBC CWR understands.

The owners of the Sky Blues and Ricoh owners Wasps are to take part in a meeting mediated by West Midlands mayor Andy Street on Friday.

Previous talks went on for months before ending over the summer when City agreed to stay in Birmingham for a second season at St Andrew's.

Mr Street had acted as a mediator in those discussions and, when they broke down, said he remained willing to help if the clubs talked again.

BBC Weather Watchers

Here are some of the views our local BBC Weather Watchers have sent us from across the West Midlands.

These are from users Suttonwalker in Sutton Coldfield, Sunshine Seeker in Stoke Edith, Herefordshire and Ray in Oakengates, Shropshire:

Image source, Suttonwalker

Image source, Sunshine Seeker

Image source, Ray

People have been thanked for their "outpouring of kindness" after burglars ransacked a charity shop.

Image source, Acorn's Childrens Hospice

The break-in happened at the Acorn's Childrens Hospice branch on High Street, Rowley Regis, near Dudley, at about 02:10 on Monday, West Midlands Police said.

The charity's chief executive, Toby Porter, tweeted the burglars "did significant damage" smashing their way in through a door to take "a basically empty till".

Mr Porter tweeted a second time , externaland said staff at the shop wanted to thank people for their donations and messages as "they feel truly loved and supported".

Labour's Matt Western says universities "are struggling to contain coronavirus" with 5,000 cases in recent weeks.

A trial date has been set for a man accused of murdering two men found shot dead in a car.

Image source, West Midlands Police

William Henry, 31, and Brian McIntosh, 29, (pictured left to right) both from Bartley Green, Birmingham, were found in a car park in Brierley Hill, Dudley, on 30 September.

Jonathan Houseman, from Stourbridge, has been charged with two counts of murder.

The 32-year-old appeared at Birmingham Crown Court today and was remanded into custody to next appear in court on 6 November for a plea hearing.

A date for a three-week trial has been provisionally set for 9 June.