Warwickshire sign India Test batsman Hanuma Vihari as cover while South African Pieter Malan is delayed by a visa issue.

Unpaid carers looking after terminally ill friends and relatives during the pandemic struggled to access pain relief, with some patients dying in unnecessary pain, a survey has found.

The survey of 995 unpaid carers by Marie Curie also found people had difficulties getting personal care and respite nursing for loved ones.

Image source, Family handout

Susan Lowe, who cared for her mother Sheila, 74, before she died with bowel cancer in April last year, said she struggled to get the right pain relief medication for her mother in her final weeks and spent hours travelling to different chemists.

The public health worker, from Solihull, said: "My biggest regret is that my mum died in pain - more pain than she needed to be. She really wanted to be comfortable at the end. She knew she was dying."

Figures show the number of people dying at home rose by 42% in the past year.

The government said it had taken action to support unpaid carers.

Shropshire Star

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

• Violence, vandalism and blood on Shrewsbury's streets: 'Pack it in plea' to yobs, external
• 103 give evidence in Telford child sex abuse inquiry, external
• Hundreds more dead in Shropshire than predicted - showing impact of pandemic, external

Relive the opening day of the 2021 County Championship season as defending champions Essex make a strong start.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Plans to expand the Herefordshire Football Association (HFA) car park have been given the go-ahead.

The organisation, on Widemarsh Common in Hereford, supports about 10,000 players and volunteers involved in grass roots football in the county.

Officials have said current parking arrangements lead to bottlenecks and "pinch points" and submitted plans to expand the car park by around 6,695 sq ft.

HFA chief executive Alan Darfi told councillors current provisions were "inadequate".

"These get filled very quickly which can lead to bottlenecks and pinch points as people get dropped off instead of being able to park.

"This can cause localised traffic challenges. Our proposed solution is to extend the car park onto the patch of grass."

The planning and regulatory committee unanimously approved the proposals with conditions.

BBC Midlands Today

Drivers who use the M6 toll are to benefit from improvements to its design, as part of a multi-million pound investment strategy.

Automatic Number Plate Recognition technology will be installed from today in some lanes, as part of a pilot project for trucks and vans.

It'll then be gradually rolled out for all other motorists.

It's part of a wider plan to make the toll safer and improve congestion and connectivity across the West Midlands.

Yeovil Town captain Lee Collins was found dead in his hotel room, an inquest has heard.

Image source, PA Media

The 32-year-old footballer, who was born in Telford and began his career at Wolverhampton Wanderers, did not turn up for training on 31 March prompting concerns for his welfare.

He was found dead in the room he was staying in at Lanes Hotel, West Coker, Somerset that day, the inquest heard.

Senior coroner for Somerset Tony Williams adjourned the hearing ahead of another that will take place in Taunton on or before 7 July.

Mr Collins, who lived in Newport, also spent time at Port Vale and other clubs and joined Yeovil in 2019.

BBC Weather

Today will be largely dry, with some patchy cloud at times, but also a few intermittent brighter spells. There is the chance of the odd shower at times later in the day. Highs of 7C to 10C (45F to 50F).

Tonight will continue to be cloudy, with the chance of the odd outbreak of rain, but largely dry. In the early hours, a band of showery rain will push in from the north. Lows of 4C to 7C (39F to 45F).

Susan Lowe is among the carers who struggled to get pain relief for a loved one during the pandemic.

Welcome to our live service for Thursday.

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.

A stage area and 120 seats are to be installed in Birmingham's Victoria Square.

We'll be back with the news, sport, travel and weather from 08:00 tomorrow.

Police are appealing for information after "an act of mindless vandalism" destroyed a nursery's outdoor area in Worcestershire.

Image source, West Mercia Police

West Mercia Police said vandals broke into Pinvin Pre-school grounds, near Pershore, on the evening of 26 February and "threw plants and pots around, destroying them and leaving them strewn all over the floor".

"Targeting a pre-school and causing havoc for no reason, upsetting the children and the teachers is hard to understand," PC Roleston-Lowe said.

Teachers at the school said an anonymous donor had since replaced some of the flowers and plants and that "the children have planted the flowers and are really enjoying fetching water from the allotments and making sure the flowers remain healthy”.

Police asked that anyone with information about the vandalism get in touch.

A Birmingham couple who run a market stall in the city centre have taken the council to court over its new street trading policy.

Stall holders will now have to demonstrate they sell "innovative products" when they renew their licence to trade and Allan and Samantha Poole argue that will put some out of business.

The couple were granted a judicial review in February and the case has now gone before a High Court judge.

The city council has said it will defend its position "robustly" and the case will continue tomorrow with its opening submission.

Len Redding, from Stourbridge, spent months in hospital before continuing his recovery in a care home.

Birmingham Live

Here are some of the stories on the Birmingham Live website today:

• 'Most luxurious shed' could face demolition after sparking fury in Solihull, external
• Grieving families press for public memories wall in Birmingham to match London's hearts, external
• Baby found unsecured in back seat of car on M6 while driver was using phone at the wheel, external

Three teenage boys, aged 16, 17 and 18, have been arrested after a string of attacks on emergency workers in Warwickshire.

Warwickshire Police said one officer was headbutted by a 17-year-old while responding to reports of a disturbance at a property in Nuneaton on Sunday afternoon.

A similar incident, again in Nuneaton, on Tuesday saw an officer headbutted and bitten.

The third incident allegedly saw the 16-year-old boy spit at an officer in Rugby on Tuesday afternoon as they responded to reports of a fight.

The Warwickshire Police force arrested all three on suspicion of assaulting an emergency worker and is continuing to investigate.

Sir Keir Starmer says the union should address members' questions about the cost of new development.

Azam Mangori, 24, killed Lorraine Cox, 32, in his flat above a kebab shop in Exeter in September.

Birmingham City Council has published its Air Quality Action Plan two months before the city's Clean Air Zone comes into force.

The plan outlines key actions the local authority will take before 2026, including promoting cycling and implementing traffic management solutions to cut congestion.

“Birmingham currently has unsafe levels of nitrogen dioxide, and we know this has a detrimental effect on the health and life expectancy of our citizens," Stephen Arnold, the council's head of the Clean Air Zone said.

“The Clean Air Zone is a significant first step in tackling this issue, but – as this plan has shown – other actions must be taken alongside its implementation if we are to make meaningful improvements to air quality."

The full plan is available here, external.