Midwife vacancies in Walsall have been exacerbated by staff having to self-isolate due to Covid-19.

Warwickshire need four more wickets to beat Lancashire and lift the Bob Wllis Trophy at Lords.

Image source, Getty Images

Bad light halted the county champions march towards a win on Thursday with rain arriving to curtail the third day of the five-day final.

Earlier the Bears had amassed 518 in their first innings to lead by 440, having resumed on 464-7.

The forecast for the last two days also looks doubtful and should the match finish as a draw, Warwickshire would be awarded the trophy having gained a first-innings lead.

Three boys have been arrested on suspicion of assault after a 13-year-old was attacked by a group of children wearing boxing gloves, leaving him concussed.

Image source, Google

A video appeared of the assault, which happened in Woodside Park, Dudley on 25 September, said West Midlands Police.

The boys - one aged 13 and two 12-year-olds - have been bailed with conditions not to contact the victim, who also suffered bruising.

The matter will be referred to the Youth Offending Team and a decision made, in conjunction with the victim’s family, on how the attackers will be dealt with, said the force.

Sara Blizzard
BBC Weather

Early rain should clear leaving a dry afternoon with bright spells and highs of 10°C (50°F).

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We'll be bringing you all the news, sport, travel and weather for the West Midlands.

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An award-winning US playwright talks about his new Princess Diana and Tom Jones stage shows.

Birmingham City Council says there is evidence improvements have been made.

The northbound stretch was closed for several hours while the carriageway was cleared.

Emma Fisher recalls her experience as police pledge to crack down on behaviours driving the activity.

That's all from Midlands Live on Thursday.

We'll be back with more news, sport, weather and travel updates from 08:00 on Friday.

Pawanveer Singh, aged 23 months, and 10-year-old Sanjay died at the scene.

Bad light halts Warwickshire's march towards a huge innings win against Lancashire in the Bob Willis Trophy final.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

The leader of Herefordshire Council has said there is "no risk whatsoever" in the local authority buying Hereford's Maylords shopping centre.

The council spent more than £4m on it in June last year and David Hitchener said: "We had an extraordinary opportunity and had we not gone ahead with it, I would have been ashamed.”

Image source, Google

Chief finance officer Andrew Lovegrove said: "It’s paying its way, it’s an investment asset. I was very comfortable it was an appropriate use of council money.”

The local authority's scrutiny committee was also told 11 units were currently vacant, but there could be businesses prepared to take two of them.

And the cabinet member for procurement and assets, Gemma Davies, said: “We didn’t buy Maylord to make a massive profit or to compete against online or the high street.

“The priority for the centre is culture, which punches well above weight in the income it provides to a city, and encourages people to move to the area, and those already here to stay.”

Relive all the action as Nick Powell's winner sends Stoke third in the Championship and ends West Brom's unbeaten start.

Relive day four of the Bob Willis Trophy final at Lord's as Warwickshire beat Lancashire after winning the County Championship last week.

The electric vehicle is designed to be a low-cost option for farmers in Africa and Asia.

West Brom supporter Simon Silwood is given an eight-week sentence for his abuse of Romaine Sawyers.

A football fan who racially abused a footballer on social media is jailed for eight weeks.

BBC Breakfast

The government is being urged to offer targeted financial support to some industries even after the end of the furlough scheme which closes today.

The Greater Birmingham Chamber of Commerce said it carried out a survey of businesses in the city and one in five have serious concerns about the end of the scheme.

The group said issues including levels of debts, overheads and rent payments have firms worried.

The chamber's head of policy, Raj Kandola (pictured), said there was a risk of redundancies especially in sectors hardest hit by the pandemic such as aviation, travel, retail and hospitality.

"What the government needs to do now is take a common sense approach, look at the unemployment figures in the next few weeks, think about where there is unemployment going up and which sectors and offer targeted financial support," he said.

A driver is banned from the wheel for three years after injuring a toll booth operator in the smash.