Richard Hall was stabbed multiple times by Moses Christensen while at a Shropshire beauty spot.

The list of places in England receiving funds is dominated by the north west, Yorkshire and Midlands.

Police raid 18 properties in Reading and seven across Blackburn, Sunderland, Birmingham and London.

The victim, who was attacked in Perry Barr, is yet to be formally identified, say police.

Businesses can apply to receive a one off cash payment of up to £18,000 as part of a "restart grant" announced by the chancellor.

Rishi Sunak said those in hospitality, accommodation, leisure, personal care and gym businesses can apply through the new UK-wide Recovery Loan Scheme to help businesses of all sizes through the next stage of recovery.

Image source, Getty Images

Two nurses, one recovering from Covid-19, are walking 100 laps around a park in memory of Captain Sir Tom Moore.

Health care assistant, Vikki Morris, 44, from Bushbury, said after contracting coronavirus she wanted to set herself a personal challenge to help raise funds for the emergency department at New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton, where she is based.

Also taking par is Sally Williamson, 56, also from Bushbury, who works as a senior sister in the department.

Image source, Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust

They are aiming to complete 10 laps per day, having so far completed 60 laps. Each lap is around one mile. They have raised £190 so far.

Ms Morris said: "This is also in memory of Captain Tom. He has inspired me, I thought if he can do it then I can too.”

The Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, has announced the first 45 towns to get funding from its Towns Fund, external. They include Wolverhampton, Kidsgrove, Rowley Regis, Smethwick, West Bromwich, Burton-on-Trent and Nuneaton.

The £3.6bn pot of money would help the govermment in its aim of "levelling up" the country.

Delivering his Budget in the Commons, he paid tribute to the work done by the West Midlands Mayor, Andy Street.

Image source, House of Commons/PA Wire

Wolverhampton is to get £25m share of Towns Fund having bid for £48m.

Council Leader Ian Brookfield said: "Of course we welcome the investment, but we are disappointed that the sum falls significantly short of what we bid for.

"Rest assured we'll make best use of the funding we have."

BBC Radio Stoke

A house fire which led to five people being taken to hospital was started accidentally by "careless disposal of smoking materials", Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service said.

Three children and two adults were treated for smoke inhalation after the fire at the property in Standersfoot Place in Chell Heath on 16 February.

Image source, Google

The chief executive of Coventry City of Culture said he was "very happy with how things landed" after details of the summer's progeamme were revealed on Tuesday.

Image source, COVENTRY CITY OF CULTURE TRUST

"People are really looking forward to getting involved," Martin Sutherland said.

Responding to some criticism that there was not enough detail in some of the "surprise" elements, including the launch of Coventry Moves on 15 May, Mr Sutherland said it was partly due to having to remain flexible due to the changing situation around coronavirus.

"We have to be responsible, we have to make safety paramount and we have to follow government guidelines," he said.

"Ultimately we want to keep some of our surprises and we will make sure people have a good time on 15 May."

A father is set to walk and cycle a distance of 363 km (225 miles) to raise money for charity in memory of his son, who died after 363 days.

Baabzi Miah, from Birmingham, is raising money for Mencap after son Adam who was born with Down's syndrome and pulmonary hypertension, died in 2017 at 11-months-old after suffering complications due to flu.

He said the organisation helped his son "in every way" during his life.

Image source, Family handout

The challenge will start on 21 March, which is World Down's Syndrome Day.

Mr Miah said: “I’m going to start this challenge with 5km a day and then increase the daily target by 1 km so hopefully I'll be completing it within six weeks.”

Image source, Family handout

The furlough scheme will be extended until the end of September by the chancellor in the Budget later and businesses in the West Midlands have said they welcome the move, but are hoping for more support.

Joshua Singh runs the Eleven nightclub in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, and has six members of staff on furlough. He said the government support has not gone far enough and he's now having to put his business up for sale.

"We're in arrears big time," he said. "We're struggling. Furlough's helping but we've still got bills to pay every month."

He wants more financial help for businesses over the next six-nine months to be announced.

Image source, PA Media

In Birmingham, Gary Wills was on furlough for six months last year.

"I think [the extension] is needed," he said. "I think there'd be mass redudancies if there wasn't the furlough scheme in place.

"However I really want to see more money pumped into supporting people on furlough and searching for jobs."

A number of revellers at Walsall Wood FC and Social Club barricaded themselves in during lockdown.

Families with school-aged children are being urged to have Covid-19 tests as schools prepare to reopen to all pupils from Monday.

Councillor Dr Michael Hardcare, from City of Wolverhampton Council, said: "Our schools have worked incredibly hard to create safe learning environments for staff and pupils, and the onus is now on us all to do everything we ensure they remain safe in the coming weeks and months.

“Regular testing of staff, secondary school pupils and households and bubbles is a key part of this."

Image source, Getty Images

Secondary pupils will be asked to take three tests in school under supervision.

Family members and members of childcare or support bubbles can either order home test kits online or collect home test kits from a test site.

BBC Midlands Today

The chief executive of Warwickshire County Cricket Club, Stuart Cain (pictured), has welcomed news the sport is to receive what's expected to be a significant chunk from the government's Covid-19 recovery fund.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak is to announce £300m of funding to help sport recover from lockdown in today's Budget.

Warwickshire lost £9m as last season fell victim to the pandemic and the new money will help the club to prepare for what it hopes will be the return of spectators.

Stoke-on-Trent Live

Some stories from the Stoke Sentinel that are making headlines today include:

• Family of schoolgirl, 12, claim her death at Royal Stoke could have been prevented, external
• Mr Kipling bakery workers test positive for coronavirus, external
• Covid cops called to sports club find revellers enjoying wine and mince pies, external

A study is to investigate the immune response to Covid-19 vaccinations in patients with certain immunosuppressed conditions, including cancer.

People with cancer, inflammatory arthritis, diseases of the kidney or liver or who are having a stem cell transplant may be at increased risk of the more severe complications of Covid-19 infection.

These underlying medical conditions and the treatment such patients receive as part of their care may weaken the immune system, making vaccines particularly welcome for these groups.

But researchers, including those at the University of Birmingham, have said current evidence suggests people with these medical conditions may not obtain optimal protection from established vaccines.

The new Octave trial, a research project involving groups in universities and funded by the Medical Research Council, will seek to better determine the effectiveness of Covid-19 vaccines in these clinically at-risk patient groups.

The study will investigate the effectiveness of such vaccines being used in the UK in 2021, in up to 5,000 people within these patient populations.

Inspectors visited The Princess Royal Hospital after being contacted about its out-of-hours cover.

Police want to hear from anyone who was in the area, in Moseley, and who may have dascham footage.

It's going turn a little chillier over the next few days but today we also have the risk of showers.

We could see some heavy rain and even a rumble of thunder, and you can expect some overnight frost.

Temperatures will reach between 7 and 12 Celsius.

Pep Guardiola believes Manchester City have "come through hell to do something incredible" by extending their winning run to 21 games with victory against Wolves.