BBC Midlands Today

At least one new drama series and one new entertainment series will come from the West Midlands under plans by the BBC.

Changes to the corporation will include relocating Radio 1's Newsbeat team to Birmingham, which will also be the base for the Asian Network.

The BBC is to move some of its key departments and staff outside London to make it more reflective of the UK as a whole.

BBC Radio Wolverhampton is to continue beyond its current temporary period and learning hubs are to be opened in the city and Birmingham to train young people for careers in digital media.

The corporation said its plans represent a "top-to-bottom change" and its biggest transformation in decades.

Chris Hopkins wants to try to prevent more children losing their mothers to cervical cancer.

Stoke-on-Trent Live

Here are some of the stories on the Stoke-on-Trent Live website:

• Pigs on the loose on Stoke-on-Trent road, external
• Ex-Corrie actress complains about 'disgusting' smell linked to Walleys Quarry, external
• Police called in after two-vehicle crash in city centre, external

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Flu infection rates were "considerably low" over the winter and Shropshire's vaccination rates are above the English average in all categories, a report says.

Measures introduced to fight the coronavirus pandemic also helped keep influenza down in 2020-21, Sustainability and Transformation Partnership programme director Nicky O'Connor said.

Flu vaccination uptake rate among over-65s in Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin was 81.9%, nearly 11% higher than the previous year. The England-wide rates were 80.7% and 70.5% respectively.

At-risk people over six months and under 64 years in Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin had a 58.3% flu vaccine uptake rate in 2020-21, compared to 44.3% last year.

A man who was killed when a car crashed on the M42 in Worcestershire on Sunday has been identified.

Image source, Family handout

Harvey Blount, 18, from Derby, died at the scene after an Audi A3 left the motorway and hit a sign before continuing down an embankment.

Harvey was in the RAF and based at MoD St Athan, near Cardiff, police said.

The West Mercia force is appealing for witnesses and dashcam footage of the crash, which happened at 20:20 GMT on the westbound side of the motorway between junctions three and two, near Alvechurch.

Kyra King had rented her Cannock home for 16 years before she died of Covid-19 in February.

Severn Trent will star in a new BBC Two documentary, "revealing the hidden treasures that hide inside sewage", the water company said.

The Secret Science of Sewage, which airs on BBC Two at 21:00, goes behind the scenes at Severn Trent's sewage treatment works at Minworth, Sutton Coldfield.

Presenters Dr George McGavin and Dr Zoe Laughlin will follow each stage of the treatment process and speak to Severn Trent experts, who explain how bugs and other bits of kit are used to turn urine and faeces "into renewable energy and a nutrient-rich fertiliser", the firm said.

The show will also look at science that has the potential to discover new life-changing medicine and other valuable resources that have "remained hidden inside sewage, until now".

Shropshire Star

Here are some of the stories on the Shropshire Star website:

• Couples left waiting at the altar over wedding confusion, external
• West Mercia Police launches new improvement charter, external
• 'We're staying': Thorntons franchise in Bridgnorth will remain open, external

Radio 1's Newsbeat team will relocate to Birmingham, which will also be the base for the Asian Network, under plans by the BBC.

The corporation is to move some of its key departments and staff outside London to make it more reflective of the UK as a whole.

The BBC said its plans represent a "top-to-bottom change" and its biggest transformation in decades.

Entire departments and news divisions will be moved to Birmingham, Cardiff, Leeds and Salford.

The BBC's activities in Birmingham include Radio 4's The Archers, BBC Midlands Today, the BBC Drama Village, including TV drama Doctors, and BBC Radio WM.

The region's mayor, Andy Street, said he was "delighted" by the news.

Police say they do not take concerns "lightly" following claims of sexual harassment in a university area.

The West Midlands force said it understood students, external at the University of Birmingham were concerned and worried following claims of "sexual harassment, sexual assault and abductions on The Vale campus in recent weeks".

Image source, PA Media

In February, a student reported she was harassed by two men claiming to be delivery drivers.

Despite being "understandably shaken by the incident, she was not physically harmed", the force said.

It added this was the only incident it was aware of and it did not want people to worry unnecessarily, but police "don’t take the concerns lightly and promise to do everything we can" to ensure students "feel safe".

Police have stepped up patrols, in partnership with security services at the university, to offer reassurance.

Coventry Live

Here are some of the stories on the Coventry Live website:

• Jogger dies after collapsing in Coventry, external
• Violence in Coventry will 'not be eradicated', says top cop, external
• Man facing £200 of fines from University Hospital Coventry after camera 'did not pick up reg plate', external

BBC Radio WM Sport

New Birmingham City head coach Lee Bowyer has paid tribute to his team's "outstanding" efforts, after they beat Reading 2-1 in his first game in charge to move six points clear of the Championship's relegation zone.

Image source, PA Media

He said it was a "real team effort" and "pleasing to see them with smiles on faces".

In a match of three headed goals, Lukas Jutkiewicz's early strike gave Blues the lead and skipper Harlee Dean scored the winner on 71 minutes.

The Worcester Beer Festival in August will not be going ahead.

Image source, Getty Images

The organisers of the event, held each year on the racecourse, said the decision to cancel for the second year running was the right thing to do in the interests of public health and well-being.

Instead, they said they would arrange another festival to support local pubs and breweries this year.

BBC Midlands Today

West Midlands Police says it is stepping up efforts to prevent knife crime ahead of the easing of lockdown.

There will be extra patrols on the streets in problem areas as restrictions change, the force said.

This week officers have used knife arches to scan members of the public and searched parks and green spaces.

It is the work of Project Guardian, the force's youth violence prevention team.

BBC Midlands Today

Firefighters in Shropshire have given almost 10,000 Covid-19 vaccinations to residents in just over a month.

It is to help support the government's target with the rollout of the vaccine.

Sixty staff at Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service have been trained and redeployed at three centres across the county.

Thomas Ball is jailed after pleading guilty to six "carefully planned" child sexual offences.

BBC Hereford and Worcester

Herefordshire families will be getting help to feed their children during the Easter holidays.

The local authority said it will use money from the government's winter Covid grant to pay for the scheme, which helped more than 3,600 children during the Christmas holidays and following half term.

Image source, Getty Images

Primary and secondary age children who are eligible for free school meals will get £80 each directly through their school.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Motorists were forced to reverse back up a road near Stoke-on-Trent because it was blocked by so much fly-tipped rubbish.

This photo was taken by a driver who didn't want to be identified, on Peck Mill Lane between Brindley Ford and Bemersely Green.

Image source, LDRS

The driver said: "It’s really frustrating that the road was blocked and it could have caused an accident."

Councillor Carl Edwards said it took more than an hour and two pick-up trucks to clear the mess.

A fire at a high rise block of flats was dealt with overnight in West Bromwich, the fire service said.

It was a small kitchen fire at the block on Beacon View Road, it said.

Image source, West Midlands Fire Service

In another incident, 11 residents were evacuated from a property on Compton Road, Wolverhampton after a small fire broke out on a stairwell.

Crews were sent to the house shortly after 04:00 but all residents were allowed to go back into the property by 06:00.

BBC Weather

It is set to be a dull and cloudy day, but it should stay dry, with highs of 12°C (54°F).