BBC Radio Hereford and Worcester

A village's scarecrow decorations have more than trebled this year, with organisers putting it down to community spirit in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Every year, Fernhill Heath in Worcestershire has a scarecrow trail that normally involves between 30 and 40 on show outside homes and other locations. In 2020, there are 138 scattered around the village.

A map has been created to record them all, and the event encourages people to get out and do some walking.

Here's an NHS-themed display...

And a wedding - events which have also felt the impact of the virus.

A man has been freed by firefighters after getting trapped in a potato-harvesting machine.

The emergency services were called to a farm near Stoke Heath, Shropshire, just after 16:00 on Monday and were able to free him using air bags and other tools.

West Midlands Ambulance Service said his injuries were not as serious as first thought and he was taken to the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford for treatment.

A 24-year-old man has been taken to hospital with serious stab wounds after an attack in the Sparkbrook area of Birmingham yesterday.

West Midlands Police said officers were called to Knowle Road at 23:00.

The force added that it appeared a car was deliberately set on fire there at about the same time, causing damage to several other parked vehicles.

Nobody else was hurt.

Coventry Live

Here are three stories from the Coventry Telegraph's website:

• Major expansion plans at two Coventry schools, external
• Murder investigation launched as woman found dead, external
• New homeless hostel in Coventry approved, external

BBC Radio WM

Concerts are going to restart at Birmingham's Symphony Hall next week, after it and the town hall secured more than £2.5m in government funding.

The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, which also got funding, will play the socially distanced concert on 4 November.

Image source, THSH

It will be playing Brahms Symphony number three, the last piece it played before lockdown started in March.

Coronavirus cases in South Staffordshire have more than doubled, the latest figures reveal.

The rate climbed from 172.5 per 100,000 people to 348.6 for the seven days up to and including 23 October.

That represents the highest rate in the West Midlands, despite currently being in the lowest level, tier one category.

Image source, bbc

Neighbouring Wolverhampton, which entered tier two on 14 October along with Birmingham, Walsall, Sandwell and Solihull also a significant rise in the same period - from 170.9 to 235.4.

Elsewhere in Staffordshire, Cannock Chase saw its rate rise to 289.8 per 100,000 people, up from 185.6.

In fact the only part of the region which saw a slight fall was Bromsgrove.

BBC Weather

We're forecast rain today, some of it heavy and temperatures up to around 12C (54F).

There will also be a light breeze.

This weather is set to stay with us for the rest of the week.

Image source, Suttonwalker

Andy Giddings
BBC News

Welcome to the start of our live service for Tuesday.

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, external and Facebook, external.

Why was the civil rights activist in a small industrial town in the Midlands?

New blocks will be built on the sites in the city centre and Edgbaston in a £442m project.

West Bromwich Albion manager Slaven Bilic says the club assured him defender Ahmed Hegazi would not leave.

Stuart Anderson says some Conservative MPs "are afraid to go outside their house at the moment".

Karlan Grant's late strike cancels out a Jake Livermore own goal to earn a point for West Brom at Brighton.

Five things you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic this Monday evening.

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

A former England footballer will try to raise £1m for a cancer charity next year by cycling all the stages of the Tour de France with a team of amateur cyclists.

Image source, Cure Leukaemia

Geoff Thomas had been due to make the attempt this year in aid of Birmingham-based Cure Leukaemia before Covid-19 forced the amateur event to be cancelled.

The charity, which has been named official charity partner of the Tour de France in the UK, external, said the cancellation had left it with a £1m shortfall.

Mr Thomas, a former Wolves and Crystal Palace player, left football in 2002 and was diagnosed with leukaemia a year later.

However, he overcame the disease two years later and has since been a prolific fundraiser.

Local Democracy Reporting Service
Tom Dare

A bar has lost its licence for breaking Covid-19 rules several times despite the firm's lawyer arguing "nothing has happened".

Image source, Google

Birmingham City Council's licensing sub-committee decided to revoke the licence of La Reference.

Councillors heard police visited the bar five times between June and September over Covid breaches including one instance in August when 60 to 80 people were found there.

Barrister Sarah Clover said: "Nothing has happened, in this case. Nothing. Has. Happened. What we’re dealing with is an assessment and an analysis of speculation and risk."

The licence will remain suspended for up to 28 days while the owner decides whether to appeal.

BBC Radio Shropshire

Several workers have tested positive for Covid-19 at a savoury foods bakery in Shropshire, a food company has confirmed.

Image source, Google

Addo Food Group said it believed the staff at its Palethorpe Bakery in Market Drayton caught the virus outside the facility.

The firm said it had strictly followed government guidance on screening, social distancing and handwashing, and the staff were self-isolating.

Burton Albion is offering children free packed lunches over the half-term holiday.

Image source, Burton Albion

The club says , externalit is doing it after the government refused to extend free school meals over the break.

The lunches are available to collect from the club shop at the Pirelli Stadium and they say "no questions will be asked".

Boris Johnson is defending the refusal and says the government will "do everything in our power to make sure that no kid, no child goes hungry".

Local Democracy Reporting Service
Carmelo Garcia

A new Covid-19 testing centre will be opened in Ross-on-Wye this week as part of moves to expand testing in Herefordshire.

Image source, Reuters

The main testing centre in the county is a mobile unit at Merton Meadow car park, Hereford.

The county's director of public health, Karen Wright, says the local authority's intention is for more sites in Leominster, Ledbury, Kington and Bromyard.

"We want to be testing in all of our market towns as we go into winter to make it as easy as possible for our residents to get tested,” she said.