Four other youths have also denied murdering Keon Lincoln, who was shot and stabbed in Birmingham.

An anaesthetist has paddled 115 miles (185km) in a canoe from Birmingham to Manchester in memory of a friend who died from a brain tumour.

Dr Tim Molitor, 31, from Solihull, along with 35-year-old GP Dr Danny Magona, from Northwich in Cheshire, completed the gruelling five-day trip yesterday to raise money for Brain Tumour Research.

They were remembering their friend Aria Nikjooy who lost his life to a medulloblastoma, external in February 2021.

The pair set off on 18 July, from Birmingham Medical School, where the trio met, to Manchester, where Aria lived with his wife Naomi and their toddler, Eliyas.

Image source, Brain Tumour Research

Dr Molitor, who works at University Hospital Coventry, but is about to start a six-month secondment at Birmingham Children’s Hospital, said: "It feels amazing to have completed the challenge.

"The last five days have been physically and mentally exhausting.

"The canoe has taken a bit of a beating, through the 102 locks we’ve had to navigate."

A lane of a roundabout in Leamington Spa is closed after a lorry shed its load of bricks.

Warwickshire Police is warning motorists to be aware of possible delays.

Wolverhampton’s annual Pride event is returning to the city after the pandemic forced it to be cancelled in 2020.

Nadine Coyle, formerly of Girls Aloud, and Lee Ryan, formerly of Blue, have been announced as part of the line-up for the event on 4 September.

It's part of the city’s Relight Festival which is taking place inside a big top-style marquee at West Park.

Tickets for Pride went on sale on Friday.

Image source, City of Wolverhampton Council

Wolverhampton City Councillor Steve Evans said: “Pride is back – an opportunity for people to come together and celebrate who they are in a safe and happy, party environment.

“Pride is our city’s annual celebration of the LGBT+ community, it is open to everyone and it promises to be one heck of a party."

Two men were stabbed during a disorder in Walsall, police said.

The men, aged aged 30 and 31, were taken to hospital following the incident on Caldmore Green yesterday, West Midlands Police said, but have since been discharged and are now in custody on suspicion of violent disorder.

The force said two other men have also been arrested, a 20-year-old on suspicion of assault and a 48-year-old for violent disorder, and both remain in police custody.

It said it is "keeping an open mind" as to what has taken place but believes the violence escalated from a neighbor dispute.

West Midlands Police urged anyone with information to come forward.

West Midlands Railway and London Northwestern Railway cancelled 600 trains last week as the number of self-isolating staff surged.

Image source, West Midlands Rail

On 21 June, 32 workers at operator West Midlands Trains were isolating, while by 21 July, there were 131.

The operator also said it had a driver shortage as it had been unable to train new drivers because of Covid restrictions and social distancing rules.

The company had recruited more than 100 drivers as it anticipated many existing drivers were due to retire.

West Midlands Trains said it lost 25,000 training days and it would take a year to catch up.

There will also be changes to its train timetable for London Northwestern services from Saturday. Buses will replace trains on some Saturday services, and four services between Northampton and Euston will be removed on weekdays.

BBC Midlands Today

Stoke-on-Trent long jumper Jazmin Sawyers says she has been able to get everything she needs ahead of the Olympics, despite the challenges of the pandemic.

The athletics team are at their preparation camp in Yokohama before moving to the village in Tokyo next week.

Sawyers has been demonstrating the restrictions Team GB competitors are facing in a series of social media videos.

BBC Weather Watchers

Plenty of hot and sunny scenes coming in from our local BBC Weather Watchers today as the current heatwave draws to a close.

These are from users Serena in Newport, Shropshire; Billie in Hereford; and Eskimoden in Bidford-on-Avon, Warwickshire:

Image source, Serena

Image source, Billie

Image source, Eskimoden

The 44-year-old is discovered on the dual carriageway and given medical treatment.

They are accused of attempted murder following an attack at a shopping centre.

Stoke-on-Trent Live

From Stoke-on-Trent Live:

• Heroes battled in vain to save man's life after rescuing three Stokies from sea, external
• Police hunt continues for hit-and-run driver who left car like this, external
• We visit Stoke-on-Trent's biggest Iceland as 'pingdemic' hits stock and staff, external

A longer gap between first and second doses of the Pfizer vaccine makes the body's immune system produce more infection-fighting antibodies, UK researchers have found.

Experts say the findings support the UK's decision on extending dosing intervals from the initial recommendation of three weeks.

The research team, including the University of Birmingham, found an eight-week gap seemed to be the "sweet spot" for tackling the Delta variant.

Image source, Getty Images

Alex Richter, professor in clinical immunology at the University of Birmingham, said: "Real world data demonstrates the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine is effective at reducing levels of serious disease, hospitalisation and death.

"There is benefit after one dose but two doses provides a much more robust response."

The government initially extended the dosing gap to 12 weeks at the end of 2020, external, but as the vaccination programme was rolled out through the age groups, it was reduced to eight weeks.

NHS bosses say only "exceptional circumstances", such as end-of-life care, will allow exemptions.

An independent supermarket has hit out at changes that allow manufacturers and depot workers to keep the supply chain going by being exempt from quarantine rules.

Tuffins in Craven Arms, Shropshire, says the measures do not go far enough if they are not applied to all types of staff in the industry.

Amid the so-called 'pingdemic', the government ruled some workers, regardless of vaccination status, could do daily Covid testing instead of isolating.

The new daily contact testing measures are beginning at 15 supermarket depots, followed by 150 depots next week - but they will not apply to supermarket store staff.

Image source, Google

Tuffins said it had been "experiencing huge issues", adding it would order certain products for one day "and it'll be late and then it'll be coming in the day after and... there'd be half of the products that we'd ordered there".

Of the government's depot plan, commercial director Harry Delves alluded to a need for rules to be extended to retailers' in-store staff, saying: "The problem is throughout the supply chain.

"[The plan] obviously doesn't go far enough because fair enough you can sort the problems in distribution centres, but if you get it into a store and there's nobody to put the food on the shelves, it's kind of pointless isn't it?"

Tuffins said it had independent producers who could "kind of keep the wheels turning almost".

A Post Office worker from Telford who was jailed after being wrongly accused of stealing said the decision to give her and others like her up to £100,000 in compensation was "a small step in the right direction".

But Tracy Felstead, who was sentenced to six months in prison when she was 19, added "nothing will adequately compensate - and for some this comes too late".

Image source, PA Media

Ms Felstead is one of a number of former Post Office workers whose convictions were overturned by the Court of Appeal.

Between 2000 and 2014, the Post Office prosecuted 736 sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses based on flawed information from a recently installed computer system called Horizon.

Some went to prison following convictions for false accounting and theft, many were financially ruined and have described being shunned by their communities. Some have since died.

England's heatwave is set to be replaced by torrential thunderstorms.

Image source, PA Media

A yellow warning of rain is in place for parts of the country over the weekend.

England reached its hottest temperature of the year on Tuesday when 32.2C was recorded at Heathrow Airport in west London and on Thursday a 31.1C high was recorded in Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire.

Despite the amber heat warning expiring in England just before midnight on Thursday, temperatures are expected to hit highs of 27C in Ross-on-Wye on Friday.

But forecasters warned that more unsettled weather is on the way, with a yellow warning for rain issued for central and southern parts of England and Wales from early on Saturday to midnight on Sunday.

The Met Office predicted heavy and thundery showers would break out over the course of the weekend, especially on Sunday, which could be widespread and torrential in places. It warned of potential flooding, poor travel conditions, lightning and hail.

A cyclist has suffered 'potentially life-changing' injuries in a collision with a bus.

West Midlands Ambulance Service said it was called to Bloxwich Road in Walsall at 15:44 BST on Thursday where it gave advanced trauma care to the male patient.

A spokesperson said he was then taken to hospital.

The bus driver was assessed and discharged at the scene, they added.

Image source, Google

BBC Radio Hereford and Worcester

Herefordshire's flag will be flying over Parliament Square for the first time today.

It's one of 52 being unfurled to mark County Flag Day and it's the first time Leicestershire and Herefordshire's flags have been involved.

Image source, The Herefordshire Flag Committee

The design was selected from a shortlist of five, drawn up by the Herefordshire Flag Committee in 2019.

The communities secretary wrote to all councils across Great Britain, urging them to join in and celebrate the day with their banners.

Today will be a fine and sunny day although not as warm as yesterday, with patchy cloud in places and perhaps one or two showers. Highs of 22C to 25C (72F to 77F).

This evening will continue to have plenty of sunshine, but thicker cloud will gradually build in from the south-west. Heavy, showery rain will arrive and spread further inland throughout the night. Lows of 13C to 16C (55F to 61F).

Good morning, welcome to Midlands Live on Friday.

We'll bring you all the latest news, sport, weather and travel until 18:00.

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