Shropshire Star

These are some of the Shropshire Star headlines:

• Shropshire MPs split after PM's letter to quell coronavirus tier rebellion, external
• £5.4 million industrial scheme in Telford to create more than 200 jobs, external
• More than 8,500 trees being given away by Telford council to fight climate change, external

Dates have been revealed for major works to remove the fly-over in Perry Barr.

The Perry Barr fly-over will make way for a dual carriageway at ground level, as part of £27.1m infrastructure works.

The next phase of the works, including removing the fly-over, widening the carriageway and works to the new bridge at Birchfield Island will run from January to May 2021, said Birmingham City Council.

Image source, Birmingham City Council

In order to carry out the works, a temporary traffic system will be put in place from 8 to 11 January 2021, the council says with the removal of the fly-over itself scheduled for 5 to 8 February.

BBC Radio Stoke

Two people have been arrested after armed police were sent to a caravan park in Stoke-on-Trent.

Officers were responding to reports of disorder at Boathorse Lane in Goldenhill on Saturday night.

A man and woman from the city have since been released on bail, said Staffordshire Police.

Monica Rimmer
BBC News

The mass Covid testing of students, so they can go home safely for the Christmas break, is starting at many universities.

At the University of Wolverhampton, a spokeswoman said about 10% of its 23,000 students would be included in plans for the testing and travel window, although it is unclear how many will take up the offer.

Home test kits are also available for collection at its Wolverhampton, Walsall and Telford campuses.

Image source, Getty Images

From 27 November to 4 December, students with no symptomscan also books tests, external.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Geoff Layer said many of its students live in the West Midlands region and are classed as "commuter students".

Students are being asked to remain at the university until they receive their test results.

The trust that runs Royal Stoke University Hospital says it is seeing "significant pressure" in its critical care department.

Last week, the University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust moved its internal incident level to level 4 for Critical Care - the highest available.

Image source, Google

It said it has been receiving support from neighbouring trusts with additional critical care capacity and it was seeing a steady fall in the number of patients requiring a critical care bed.

Chief Executive Tracy Bullock said the trust had taken action as part of its surge plans "to prioritise urgent and emergency care and ensure our sickest patients receive timely treatment".

Stoke-on-Trent remains has the highest rate of new Covid-19 cases in the West Midlands, and one of the highest in England.

However, the rate of infections in the city have fallen for at least two consecutive weeks and it said that was having a positive impact on reducing the number of people in hospital.

Express and Star

Some of the Express and Star headlines today include:

• Tory Black Country MPs back tough tier action to suppress coronavirus, external
• Wolves striker Raul Jimenez comfortable after operation on fractured skull, external
• Pensioner accused of killing wife at Stourbridge home 'unfit' to stand trial, external

The health minister appointed to oversee the rollout of the Covid vaccine in England has said the vaccination programme will not be compulsory.

Image source, PA Media

Nadhim Zahawi MP for Stratford-on-Avon, will oversee distribution of the vaccine until at least next summer.

He told Radio 4's World at One programme he hoped people would see the vaccine as a way to return to normality.

"I think it's right that it is voluntary - people have to be allowed to be able to decide for themselves when they want to be vaccinated or otherwise," he said.

"But I think the very strong message that you will see - this is the way we return the whole country so it's good for your family, it's good for your community, it's good for your country to be vaccinated.

"Ultimately people will have to make a decision."

Local Democracy Reporting Service
Tom Davis

A new woodland walk and cycle path along a former freight railway loop line in Coventry has been given the go-ahead by council planners.

The £700,000 scheme from Historic Coventry Trust will see a new leisure route from Gosford Green towards the Sherbourne viaduct, before looping back along the River Sherbourne, past the Charterhouse, and ending at Far Gosford Street.

Image source, Historic Coventry Trust

Part of the trust’s wider plans to redevelop the Heritage Park, the plans are designed to breathe new life into a site which has been out of use since the 1960s.

It is hoped it will be ready for the start of City of Culture celebrations in May 2021.

Coronavirus infections fell by almost a third in England during the second national lockdown, research suggests.

The latest weekly figures from Public Health England show all 30 local authority areas in the West Midlands again recorded a fall in new cases.

The biggest week-on-week drop was in Lichfield, where the rate fell from 370.4 to 194.7 per 100,000 people for the week up to 25 November.

Stoke-on-Trent and Dudley remain the highest in the region, and among the highest in England, although Dudley saw its rate fall from 506.5 to 338.9.

Both areas are set to enter tier three when lockdown ends on 2 December.

A man was attacked with a machete and a woman threatened with a knife by armed robbers who smashed their way into their home.

The three armed men confronted the couple in Harden Road, Bloxwich on Saturday night.

A substantial amount of cash and jewellery was stolen, said West Midlands Police.

The man in his 60s sustained head and arm injuries and remains in hospital, the force added.

Teachers have warned of a "collapse" in school attendance after the second wave of the pandemic spread across the UK during autumn.

Image source, Emily Proffitt

"It's been a bit of a nightmare", said Emily Proffitt of the asymptomatic spread that forced her to temporarily close Cooper Perry Primary School in Staffordshire on the advice of public health officials.

"For the parents, I feel so sorry for them," Ms Proffitt said. With several pupils having had four weeks out of school since half-term, some of their parents will have had to take time off work. For some of them, they will have been unpaid.

Pupils are anxious, with some asking to wear masks even when they are not required. Staff are working in isolation from each other and are stressed, as many prepare two sets of lessons for in-person and remote teaching, Ms Proffitt said.

You can read more on the story here.

Shots were fired at a property in Coventry overnight, police say.

Officers were called to reports of gun shots on Tile Hill lane shortly before midnight, said West Midlands Police.

No one was injured but there was damage to the window.

Police are appealing to anyone who may have witnessed someone running from the house, who may have been picked up by a dark coloured vehicle.

A man has been arrested over the death of a pedestrian who was hit by a car on a main road into Birmingham.

The 46-year-old man was struck by a Volkswagen Golf on Hagley Road West, at about 22:00 on Friday.

"Despite the best efforts of emergency services he was sadly confirmed dead at the scene," West Midlands Police said.

A 30-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and driving under the influence of drink or drugs, the force said.

He has since been released under investigation.

BBC Business News

Sir Philip Green's retail empire Arcadia, which includes Topshop, Burton and Dorothy Perkins, could face collapse within hours.

Image source, PA Media

The company, with stores across the West Midlands, could enter administration as soon as Monday, putting 13,000 jobs at risk.

Senior sources at the company have told the BBC they do not expect a last-minute rescue deal.

The group had been seeking extra cash to help it plug the gap from lost sales during the pandemic.

Mass Covid-19 testing of students is starting at many universities across the West Midlands, in a bid to ensure they can safely return home at Christmas.

Universities, including Coventry and Aston University are opening temporary testing centres where hundreds of thousands of students can be checked for coronavirus this week before they leave.

Students have been asked to take two tests, three days apart.

Benjamin Wilkinson caused Steven Carey "catastrophic injuries" in a street fight over a debt, police say.

BBC Sport

Wolves striker Raul Jimenez is "comfortable" in hospital following an operation after a clash of heads during his side's Premier League win at Arsenal.

Image source, Reuters

Sunday's match at Emirates Stadium was in its early stages when Jimenez and Gunners defender David Luiz accidently collided at an Arsenal corner.

Jimenez, 29, was given oxygen on the pitch and the game was stopped for about 10 minutes.

He suffered a fractured skull, said Wolves.

A man has died after a car hit a stationary lorry in Warwickshire.

The driver of the car died at the scene on the A5 roundabout in Mancestter near Atherstone shortly after 06:45 on Sunday, said the ambulance service.

An ambulance service spokeswoman said: “When ambulance crews arrived, they found a car which had been involved in a collision with a stationary HGV.

"It quickly became apparent that nothing could be done to save the driver of the car, a man, and he was confirmed dead on scene.”

More than 100 people were issued with fixed penalty notices for taking part in an illegal rave in the Digbeth area of Birmingham.

Image source, West Midlands Police

Bottles were thrown at police when they broke up an illegal rave with a 150-strong crowd at a disused warehouse.

Police seized Class A drugs, a knuckleduster and DJ equipment when they went to the site after being contacted.

A man who was arrested on suspicion of assault was later released under investigation.

Sara Blizzard
BBC Weather

It will be an overcast day with some patchy rain or drizzle and highs of 10°C (50°F).