BBC Midlands Today

Plans for a £2bn investment in the region's transport network, have been set out in a government funding bid.

Under the plans, Metro lines would be extended with more tram routes in Wolverhampton, Walsall, Birmingham and the Black Country.

There would also be new rapid bus services, lower fares and safe cycling routes.

Rail projects include the expansion of Snow Hill and Moor Street Stations, and new train stations across the region.

The community ambulance stations in Oswestry, Craven Arms, Bridgnorth and Market Drayton will shut.

Two men have been arrested in connection with the discovery of a fully loaded gun dumped at an industrial unit in Birmingham.

Image source, Google

Officers were alerted to the weapon, which was discovered at Stargate Business Park in Nechells, on Thursday afternoon.

It followed an incident where police on routine patrol spotted a suspicious BMW on false plates shortly before 14:00 BST which then sped through the Nechells area at 80mph before the occupants made off on foot.

However, the officers were able to catch up with two men, aged 20 and 18. They were arrested on suspicion of vehicle theft, dangerous driving and possession of a firearm.

Detectives later discovered that the BMW had been stolen from an address in Shirley in July 2020.

West Midlands Police said the suspects remained in custody for questioning.

The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for parts of the West Midlands this weekend.

Heavy rain on Sunday is likely to cause disruption in parts of Birmingham and the Black Country as well as Warwickshire, Staffordshire and Worcestershire.

Image source, Met Office

The Met Office said there was a small chance of flooding, power cuts and disruption to transport services.

For more information and to stay up to date, visit the Met Office webpage, external.

Tributes are paid to Covid patient Marcus Birks whose illness led him to urge people to get vaccinated.

The High Court has ruled that stricter controls must be imposed on Walleys Quarry in Staffordshire.

Chelsea stretch their unbeaten Premier League run to five games as Thomas Tuchel's team deservedly beat Tottenham.

A woman who works in a care home in Walsall says she is "very angry" after being told she will lose her job after deciding not to have the coronavirus vaccination.

The government announced , externalthat anyone working or volunteering in a care home in England must be fully vaccinated by 11 November, unless exempt.

The government described the move in June as a "sensible and reasonable step".

However, 24-year-old Chelsea told BBC Radio WM it made "no sense at all".

Image source, PA Media

She said: "We’ve worked through the pandemic for nearly two years now and we’ve kept all of our residents safe without being vaccinated.

"Now I’m going to be losing my job because I don’t want a vaccination that we’ve been told doesn’t stop you from passing on the virus, it doesn’t stop you from carrying it, yet I’m putting residents at risk by not having it."

She said she decided not to get the vaccine based on anxieties about needles and the speed of the rollout, and said she didn't think it was fair to be forced to have it.

"I don’t think the government realises what it’s doing to people’s mental health – I’ve worked in care for seven years and now to be told I can’t work in care, which is something I love doing, it’s heart breaking."

Image source, Getty Images

Joyce Pinfield, the vice chair of the National Care Association, said the industry's number one priority had to be keeping residents safe.

However she raised concerns that the policy could lead to a "tremendous impact on staffing", with about 3,000 care workers leaving their roles in the West Midlands, compared with up to 70,000 nationally.

Road sweeping will only be in emergencies as bin collections are prioritised, an authority says.

Police make three arrests over a platform thought to have served hundreds of thousands of customers.

A motorcyclist has been airlifted to hospital after a collision with a car.

West Midlands Ambulance Service said it was called to the island of the A460 and A519 in Cannock, Staffordshire, at about 09:45.

On arrival, it said, crews found the female patient with serious injuries.

She received specialist trauma care at the scene before being taken to Royal Stoke University Hospital by the Midlands Air Ambulance.

Birmingham's traditional market was called off in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Lifesaving equipment put by the riverside in Worcester after the death of student Tom Jones has been repaired.

The emergency rescue pole had become damaged but following intervention by the local authority it is back on the Severn's banks at Bromwich Parade.

The device has a buoyancy aid and hook at the end to help pull people to shore if they get in difficulties in the water.

It was installed after the death of Mr Jones, aged 18, who disappeared nine days before his body was recovered from the Severn in 2019.

Image source, Worcester City Council

Birmingham's annual Frankfurt Christmas market is set to return for its 21st year.

The event will run from 4 November to 23 December, from 10:00 to 21:00 each day, in an area between Victoria Square and New Street.

There was no market last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

With planned works around Victoria Square, Birmingham City Council said the market would have fewer stalls this year; a move also taking into account the potential of change or cancellation, should Covid restrictions come back into effect during the winter.

The big wheel and ice rink is also due to return to Centenary Square and run from 4 November until 9 January.

Image source, Birmingham City Council

A man has been disqualified from driving after hitting a car which was carrying a mother and her two children.

Staffordshire Police said Lee Sorsby, 44, was stopped by officers after colliding with a stationary car on Stafford Road, Cannock, on 23 August.

He had been driving a Volkswagen Transporter when he struck the back of a Vauxhall Grandland, which inside had the woman and children who suffered superficial injuries in the crash.

The force said, upon arrival, officers found three empty bottles of vodka on Sorsby’s passenger seat and during a roadside breath test he blew a reading three times the legal limit.

Image source, Google

Sorsby pleaded guilty to drink-driving at Cannock Magistrates Court on 15 September.

As well as a 40-month disqualification, Sorsby, of Glovers Way, Telford was given a community order and told to pay a £1,600 fine.

Staffordshire Police said he had only just completed a recent disqualification for drink-driving prior to the incident.

Three youth workers are set to be stationed at A&E in Russells Hall Hospital, Dudley, to support those suspected of being "in a cycle of violence or exploitation", either as victims or perpetrators.

Image source, Alamy

With Home Office funding, it's part of a scheme by the violent crime reduction unit at West Midlands Police. The unit seeks to target the root causes of violent crime, working in partnership with St Giles Trust.

Funding has been secured for the positions to remain until March 2022 and similar schemes are already in operation at hospitals in Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Coventry.

Cleon Smith is sentenced to 32 years over separate bursts of violence against the same woman.

Sussex Sharks, Hampshire Hawks, Somerset and Kent Spitfires head to Edgbaston in a bid to be crowned T20 Blast champions.

Shropshire Star

Here are some of the headlines from the Shropshire Star website this morning:

• Shropshire Council under fire over spending on traffic calming measures, external
• Burglars leave empty-handed after being challenged by 98-year-old woman, external
• 'Wholesale failure' by council as mother pleaded for violent daughter to be taken into care, external

Three Birmingham chefs have urged young people to apply for hospitality jobs under the government's £2bn Kickstart jobs scheme before it ends.

Image source, PA Media

The programme matches people aged between 16 and 24 who are on Universal Credit to six-month paid placements. The deadline for applications is 31 December.

Chelmsley Wood-born Michelin star chef Glynn Purnell, who owns restaurant Purnell's, said the scheme would give young people "an opportunity", adding working in hospitality could "take you across the world".

He said: "It is a fantastic career and if you want to own the best sandwich shop, then you can do it, it isn't all about Michelin stars."

His plea was backed up by fellow Michelin star chef Aktar Islam, who runs Opheem, and Alex Claridge, the man behind The Wilderness.

All three chefs supported a plea by the West Midlands mayor Andy Street for more young people to sign up for thousands of vacancies in the hospitality industry.

"They're innovative jobs, they're ambitious jobs, we've seen the celebrity chefs - you might end up like one of them in years to come," Mr Street said.