School staff feel "broken" by last minute demands for them to set up and run mini test-and-trace schemes in their schools, a head teacher has said.

Image source, Getty Images

Nicola Mason, head at a Staffordshire school, said she was staggered to hear, as the term ends, that heads have to set up testing for pupils next term.

The head at Chase Terrace Academy in Burntwood said it meant she and other heads would have to spend their Christmas holidays planning for the January start.

Schools minister Nick Gibb said it was a response to a fast moving situation.

Flood barriers are being deployed at Bewdley in Worcestershire ahead of expected heavy rain.

Image source, Environment Agency

Image source, Environment Agency

It is a "precautionary" measure, the Environment Agency's Dave Throup said, as the River Severn levels are already high.

Image source, Environment Agency

Flood pumps have also been installed at Hylton Road in Worcester, and the flood gate in Upton upon Severn has also been closed.

Flood alerts have been issued, external for the River Severn in Worcestershire; the River Wye in Herefordshire and the River Lugg south of Leominster.

A man has paid tribute to hospital staff after spending more than a month at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital with Covid-19.

Writing on Twitter, Hefin Richards said doctors and nurses were very worried about a post-Christmas surge in cases.

BBC Sport

New West Brom head coach Sam Allardyce says his friends are calling him Red Adair after the famous firefighter as he embarks on another Premier League salvage mission.

The former England boss has developed a reputation for dragging teams out of relegation trouble in recent years.

Now he has succeeded the sacked Slaven Bilic at West Brom, who are second-bottom and have won only one game all season - against bottom club Sheffield United.

It is two and a half years since Allardyce left Everton and he has not managed since.

"I'm hungrier than ever and I've never had such a long break," he said.

A pedestrian has been hit by a car on Brettell Lane, Amblecote in Dudley.

She was treated at the scene for multiple serious injuries before being taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

The road is expected to remain closed near the junction of Platts Crescent throughout the morning following the incident shortly before 07:00.

Birmingham Live

Some of the Birmingham Live headlines today include:

• Birmingham unites to demand crackdown on badly run hostels, external
• Homeless families to be housed in prestige hotels in landmark deal, external
• What Birmingham needs to do to exit tier three on next review, external

BBC News Travel

A crash has closed the A461 Brettell Lane near Amblecote in Dudley - in both directions.

Drivers are being asked to avoid the area, which is expected to remain closed throughout the morning, police say.

A network of 69 specialist clinics are operating across England aiming to support people suffering from the long-term effects of coronavirus, NHS England has announced.

It comes as doctors say patients in hospital with coronavirus should be offered a follow-up six weeks later to check for "long Covid" symptoms.

Image source, Getty Images

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) says the longer-term effects can be "significant".

It has identified 28 of the most common symptoms, from breathlessness and dizziness to chest pain.

Seven hospital trusts in the West Midlands will operate the clinics:

• University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust
• Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust
• Shropshire Community Health Trust
• Birmingham Community Healthcare Trust
• Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust
• Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust
• The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust

Shefali Oza
BBC Midlands Today

After a dry start for some it will be a mainly wet day with some heavy rain and highs of 13C (55F).

Vanessa Pearce
BBC News

Welcome to our live service for Friday.

We'll be bringing you all the news, sport, travel and weather for the West Midlands.

We love to hear from you so share your news, thoughts and photos of the area with us via email, Twitter, external and Facebook., external

Aston Villa are frustrated by Burnley in entertaining goalless stalemate at Villa Park.

Live updates have now finished for the West Midlands.

We'll be back with you on Friday from 08:00 with all the usual news, sport, travel and weather.

The mayor of the West Midlands said he would be seeking "urgent clarification" from the government over the decision not to move Coventry, Solihull and Warwickshire from tier three to tier two.

He described the announcement as "incredibly disappointing" after the areas had made "immense progress".

Andy Street said he would also press the government for more cash to support businesses following the announcement that much of the region would remain in tier three.

Mr Street said the current package of financial measures allowing affected businesses to claim up to £3,000 a month "just is not going to cover it" for firms struggling with overheads and a bleak Christmas trading period.

He said the Treasury would "have to do more on this", adding he had already written to the Chancellor.

The latest Covid-19 figures are out from Public Health England and they show a rise in cases in almost every local authority in the West Midlands.

Wychavon in Worcestershire saw its rate of new infections more than double in the seven days up to 13 December - up from 59.5 per 100,000 people to 136.8.

Stratford-upon-Avon's rate almost doubled - up from 56.1 to 109.9.

There was also a big rise in the rate in East Staffordshire - from 223.8 to 316.5, making it the worst-affected part of the region, per capita.

Only Stoke-on-Trent, Dudley, Tamworth and Worcester saw the number of cases fall - in some cases by a very small amount.

Staff at a travel agents were threatened with a knife and ordered to open a safe during a robbery in Lichfield on Wednesday.

Image source, Staffordshire Police

The TUI Travel Agents store on Bore Street was targeted by the armed man at about 16:00.

The male escaped on foot by running up Tamworth Street and onto Lombard Street in the direction of Stowe Street at about 16:15, said Staffordshire Police.

CCTV images of a man officers would like to speak to have been released.

The body was found when emergency services were called to a fire at a lay-by in Worcestershire.

A cannabis factory has been discovered by fire crews called to reports of a flooding at a property in Wolverhampton.

Image source, West Midlands Fire Service

Image source, West Midlands Fire Service

The discovery was made by the crews who had gained access to the property in order to isolate electricity and water, an area commander from the fire service tweeted. , external

The property was made safe and left in the hands of West Midlands Police, he added.

Post-Covid rehab centres to help treat people suffering with the after-effects of the disease are set to be up and running in the West Midlands "within weeks", it has been revealed.

Image source, Google

The deputy chief medical officer from Birmingham and Solihull Clinical Commissioning Group Will Taylor told a meeting on Wednesday that work had been ongoing for a "couple of months" to set up centres.

The long-term effects of coronavirus are not well known, with some sufferers of "long Covid" experiencing a wide range of symptoms such as fatigue and aches months after their initial diagnosis.

Mr Taylor said that the rehab centres would be used to treat two types of patient – one suffering with the impact of long Covid, and one for those who had suffered with a particularly aggressive form of the disease.

Funding to allow community testing to continue in parts of Staffordshire is going to be looked at, Health Secretary Matt Hancock has promised.

Image source, Parliament.TV

The MP for Burton and Uttoxeter Kate Griffiths asked the health secretary to look at the situation after large scale testing was rolled out in her constituency.

She said the local director of health had raised a number of concerns with the Department of Health about the "lack of clarity over funding" for the lateral flow tests.

"Will my right honourable friend review the three letters that have been sent to his department on this issue in order to provide clarity which is urgently needed to allow this testing to continue," she asked.

"Yes I'll get on to it right away," the health secretary responded.

Babacar Diagne, 15, was stabbed in Coventry in February in an apparently motiveless attack.