BBC Radio Stoke

Stoke-on-Trent is heading towards being moved to a higher Covid-19 tier as infection rates soar, the council's leader said.

The city is currently in tier one, but the infection rate has risen from 113.5 per 100,000 in the seven days to 10 October up to 185.7.

Image source, Reuters

There are also 94 people with Covid-19 being treated in the hospitals run by the University Hospital of North Midlands NHS Trust compared with just seven in the previous fortnight.

City council leader Abi Brown said: "In the last five to six days we’ve seen a big increase in our number in Stoke-on-Trent which is extremely concerning.

"I think potentially we are [heading for a higher tier]. We need residents to continue to follow the guidance especially over half-term."

The NHS trust's chief nurse, Michelle Rhodes, said their beds were filling up with Covid-19 patients. She said both staff and patients had tested positive.

"At the minute, we are able to continue to do as much planned elective surgery that we possibly can but if the numbers continue [to rise] that will be at risk going forward," she added.

William Henry and Brian McIntosh were found shot dead in a Dudley car park last month.

Express and Star

The Express and Star has these headlines today:

• Councils in region to receive millions more to fund fight against Covid-19, external
• Russells Hall Rainbow within a whisker of hitting £30k fundraising target, external
• Call for residents to follow guidelines as hospital deaths rise, external

Talks are taking place today to try to avoid a two-day strike by hospital porters.

Image source, Google

The University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust wants to bring in a rotating shift pattern at Heartlands Hospital.

Health bosses said it would create fair working practices across its sites but Unison said the workforce were some of the lowest paid in the NHS and many cannot afford to work flexibly.

The union said 92% of members at the hospital voted in favour of the 48-hour stoppage from 30 October.

The talks are being held today at the independent arbitration service Acas.

BBC Radio WM

Band UB40 are offering to help new artists during the coronavirus pandemic by offering them the chance to tap into their fanbase.

Image source, Getty Images

They're asking up and coming musicians to send in their music for the chance to perform to fans on their social media channels.

Guitarist Robin Campbell said it might not change the world but it could really help some musicians.

"We could change it for one or two artists if we can use our platform to give them a hand at just getting out to an audience which might not otherwise have heard them," he said.

UB40 formed in Birmingham in 1978 and went on to have hits such as Red Red Wine and Falling In Love With You.

A women's basketball team is lobbying MPs and the government after being told its players can no longer train due to Covid-19 restrictions.

Image source, Bromsgrove Bears

Bromsgrove Bears has over 90 members with teams from under sevens to adult level.

But the club's director, Dawn Hall, said they have had recent issues with their women's team joining national leagues and have now been told they can't train.

The Bears are based in Rednal, south Birmingham, which is in tier two zone - which only allows organised indoor sport if households don't mix. , external

Mrs Hall said the news has "left our women devastated" and could have a "detrimental effect" on the players' mental and physical health.

BBC Weather

It's set to be cloudy this morning with the chance of a few blustery showers before more sunny spells, with winds easing this afternoon. High: 13C/55F

Image source, Desmondo

Expect cloudy spells this evening with the chance of a shower before it turns mainly clear tonight. Feeling cool, with a low of 6C/43F.

Get a forecast for your area at any time by going to the BBC Weather website.

The Wroth Silver ceremony, mentioned in the Domesday Book, had kept going through two world wars.

Ten-man Stoke City come from behind twice to deny Barnsley a first league win of the season.

Wolves defender Max Kilman agrees a new contract with the Premier League side until 2025.

Extra restrictions on households mixing in homes and hospitality venues are being introduced.

BBC Midlands Today

A man has completed a 350-mile walk from the south coast to Stoke-on-Trent in memory of his baby son who died from heart complications last year.

Chris Gibbs, from Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, set off from Eastbourne four weeks ago.

The walk raised £20,000 for the Royal Stoke University Hospital and Birmingham Children's Hospital, which both cared for his son, Thiago.

Mr Gibbs said his walk connected important places in his life.

"That meant my birthplace, Eastbourne. So I set off from there, went via Birmingham where we lost our little man in November last year and ending in Stoke-on-Trent at the hospital where my wife works and my son was born."

Parts of the world’s tallest freestanding clock tower are going to be taken away and cleaned this week.

Image source, University of Birmingham

Old Joe, which has stood at the heart of the University of Birmingham since 1905, is being serviced this week, the university said, external.

Once the parts have been refurbished they will be refitted in the coming months.

Worcester News

The Worcester News has these stories today:

• Guilty of manslaughter - the woman who stabbed partner to death, external
• Worcestershire care homes reopen for visits despite rising Covid cases, external
• Malvern man speaks out over difficulties faced by deaf people in lockdown, external

Two hospitals in Staffordshire have seen a "significant increase" in new patients with Covid-19 in the past 10 days, health bosses said.

Image source, UHNM

Staff at the Royal Stoke University Hospital and the County Hospital Stafford are currently caring for 94 people with the virus.

The University Hospitals of North Midlands (UHNM) NHS Trust said , externalit had to go back to May to find similar figures.

It added on Twitter: "it is clear that we have our work cut out for us this winter."

Sun Sun Wong was jailed in 2018 after police posed as clients and visited an address in Cambridge.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Birmingham faces a "tsunami of job losses" in the coming months unless the government steps in, according to the deputy leader of the city council.

Speaking during a council audit committee meeting yesterday, on the issue of Brexit, Brigid Jones said she was concerned by the prospect of Britain leaving without a deal and the future rights of EU citizens living in the city.

Image source, BBC/ Resolution Foundation

Ms Jones said one in five under 25s in the city were unemployed, while one in four people in Ladywood were claiming unemployment benefit.

"Furlough ends in 11 days, and we are going to see a tsunami of job losses unless the government makes a decision about job retention going forward... our economy locally is the second most exposed region in the UK to Brexit," she said.

The government's Job Support Scheme replaces its furlough offering from the beginning of November and is expected to cost the treasury hundreds of millions of pounds a month.

It will pay people who can't go to work because their business is closed under tier three restrictions and firms which are allowed to open and where employees can return part-time.

In September, Chancellor Rishi Sunak said it was designed to support jobs as far as possible, but added: "We obviously can't sustain the same level of things that we were doing at the beginning of this crisis."

A 20-year-old man has been arrested after he handed himself in at a police station.

Nathan Maynard-Ellis and his boyfriend deny murdering Julia Rawson at their "flat of horrors".

Shropshire Star

Some of the headlines from the Shropshire Star:

• Two more murder suspects arrested over Telford drive-by shooting, external
• Covid cases at Harper Adams University contribute to Shropshire hotspot, external
• Firefighters' plea as skateboarding youngsters block station exit during 999 call-out, external