Sophie Madden
BBC News

Thanks for joining us. We will be back from 08:00 on Tuesday with the latest news, sport, travel and weather for the West Midlands.

People are being urged to stick to lockdown rules to combat rising Covid-19 cases in Staffordshire.

Staffordshire County Council said the county’s rates per 100,000 of the population are now almost 60 per cent higher than the average England rate.

Alan White, leader of the authority, said everyone must continue to follow the new lockdown guidance to prevent the county facing further measures when the current restrictions expire.

Image source, Gett

Mr White said: “It is still a little too early to say whether the restrictions are working, but we need to be clear that if they don’t, more lives will be put at risk and businesses face being closed for longer."

Dr Richard Harling, the county’s director of health and care, said: “Despite everyone’s best efforts, the numbers are continuing to rise at an alarming rate.

“Following the new rules and sticking to the basics of washing your hands regularly, covering your face on public transport and in shops, and keeping your distance of 2m, is our only chance currently to stop the rapid spread of infection.”

A man has appeared in court charged with the murder of Kimberley Deakin.

Bradwell Hospital turned away nurse Tracy Shenton and her daughter as she treats Covid patients.

CCTV also shows him and a fellow murderer dumping blood-stained furniture before police catch them.

BBC Midlands Today

Traders in a Birmingham suburb say measures to reduce traffic and improve air quality is deterring shoppers and threatening livelihoods.

Some Kings Heath residents have welcomed the scheme which has involved closing about six roads to cars to encourage walking and cycling instead.

But Leanne Poole, who runs a pet shop, said delivery drivers were struggling to navigate the closures.

Pet shops are among essential stores allowed to keep trading during the second lockdown, along with food shops, garden centres, hardware stores and others.

Councillor Lisa Trickett said: "What we're doing is to try and create a sense of destination, that when people come to King's Heath they can feel it is somewhere they want to stay...somewhere they want to walk about and spend money."

The city council said it would respond to feedback, but cutting traffic and emissions was not negotiable.

Horror fan Nathan Maynard-Ellis and his partner David Leesley killed and dismembered Julia Rawson.

BBC Radio Shropshire

More than 300 people across Shropshire have been waiting more than a year for routine operations.

The backlog has been partly caused by the cancellation of all but the most serious procedures during the first lockdown, which started in March and eased during late summer. A second lockdown was rolled out in England on Thursday.

Health commissioner Dave Evans said work was under way to resolve the situation.

Image source, Google

He said all those on the waiting list were being reviewed by clinicians to "make sure they are being treated in priority order".

The males aged between 16 and 17 are set to face trial later this month.

Hereford Times

From the Hereford Times today:

• Man found with head injury nine hours after crash, external
• Fundraisers collecting money for Hereford park, external
• Family of student who took her own life look to help others during lockdown, external

BBC Midlands Today's Rebecca Wood trawls the archives to mark the charity's 40th birthday.

People in Wolverhampton are being urged to celebrate Diwali safely, as the second coronavirus lockdown restricts events.

Diwali is the five-day festival of lights, celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs and Jains. It begins on 12 November with the main day of celebrations taking place on 14 November.

The city council is urging people to continue to follow lockdown guidelines as they celebrate, and avoid gathering in one another’s homes.

Image source, Getty Images

Councillor Jasbir Jaspal said: "Families are encouraged to keep in touch with one another virtually and celebrate Diwali through video calling apps like Zoom.

"People can of course still decorate their homes, and families who live together, or are in a support bubble, can enjoy a feast or sweet treats at home."

It comes as the organisers of Birmingham's Festival of Light event arranged for their celebrations to be held online.

Philip Taylor was based at Cannock as a probationary constable before leaving the force.

Police are warning people to be aware of lottery scammers after victims were duped of more than £60,000 in the last three months.

West Midlands Police said residents were contacted over the phone and told they had won either a UK or international lottery.

They were then told to keep their win secret and asked to provide money to cover taxes, or to ensure they were "authorised" to collect their "winnings".

Image source, Getty Images

The force said it was aware of at least 10 fake lottery winners across the region since August.

A spokesperson said fraudsters "can be very convincing".

She added: "They are capable of exploiting anyone with their powers of persuasion; even to the point of getting people to believe they could be a winner even without doing a regular lottery."

Coventry Live

From Coventry Live:

• Coventry driver's rookie error as he gave police fake name and address, external
• Big change in dropped kerb rule to encourage legal driveways in Coventry, external
• Covid-19 rates more than double in a month in Coventry, external

There are celebrations over at BBC Radio WM today which is celebrating its 50th birthday.

As well as looking back at some of the big moments the station has covered, it is also launching the Make a Difference Heroes Awards to celebrate people across Birmingham and the Black Country.

An MP has paid tribute to Port Vale Football Club for the work it has done to support the local community during the coronavirus pandemic.

Jonathan Gullis, who represents Stoke-on-Trent North, made the comments ahead of a debate on a petition today calling for football fans to be allowed back into grounds. He is for supporters' return.

The Hubb Foundation Charity, founded by Port Vale owner Carol Shanahan, has been delivering food and care packages to vulnerable people.

Image source, Parliament UK

Birmingham Live

From Birmingham Live today:

• Bull Ring Market traders' fury as city council demands full rent payments during lockdown, external
• Search for owner after huge pile of cash found at Birmingham scrap yard, external
• Fury as Tesco blocks off huge part of store with booze barricade, external

The NSPCC says thousands of children have been seeking help from Childline during lockdown.

Two rail bridges in the West Midlands have been named among those most regularly hit by vehicles.

Network Rail has released a list of the most commonly-struck bridges, saying there have been an average of five crashes per day nationally, with repairs costing an average of £13,000 per strike.

Second on the national list was Bromford Road bridge, Dudley, which was struck 24 times in a 12-month period.

And third was the St John's Street bridge in, Lichfield, Staffordshire with 23 strikes.

Image source, Network Rail

Most regularly hit was the Watling Street railway bridge on the A5 in Hinckley, Leicestershire, which saw crashes almost once a fortnight on average in the 12 months to the end of March.