BBC Radio Stoke

A Christmas lights display which has raised thousands of pounds for a children's hospice will not be held this year due to negative feedback and Covid-19, the organiser said.

Image source, Donna Louise

Graham Witter, from Weston, near Crewe, Cheshire, said he has raised more than £150,000 since 2013 for the Donna Louise Children’s Hospice in memory of his sister, Jessica.

However he said the 2021 event would not take place due to rising Covid-19 infection rates, the increased workload and negative feedback from visitors to 2020's display.

But Mr Witter said it would not be the end of the displays.

"My intention right now is to come back in 2022 with another light display and I just hope that people will come back out in their thousands to support me again," he said.

The club agreed to extra conditions including full body searches for anyone entering.

HGV drivers at a truck stop share their views on why the industry faces a recruitment challenge.

Lucy Letby is accused of murdering five boys and three girls at the Countess of Chester Hospital.

A man is being sought after a cyclist was seriously injured during a roobery.

Image source, Google

Two men hit the 60-year-old victim on the head with a metal object and stole his electric bike.

The attack took place near Seymour Grove, in Warwick, on Saturday evening.

Det Sgt Jen Baker of Warwickshire Police described it as a cowardly and vicious assault on a man innocently travelling to work.

A 42-year-old man, arrested near the scene, has been charged with robbery and possessing an offensive weapon.

Anyone in the Europa Way area at the time or has video footage which could help the investigation should contact police or Crimestoppers anonymously.

BBC Radio WM

Military drivers start delivering fuel to petrol stations from Monday.

It comes despite the Petrol Retailers Association saying the fuel supply crisis is "virtually at an end" in Scotland, Wales, the North and Midlands.

However, it said, petrol supplies are still not getting to London and south-east England, with more than a fifth of forecourts still dry.

But Conservative Mayor for the West Midlands, Andy Street, said it is just a short-term solution:

Image source, Getty Images

"The real issue is looking at the underlying issue here which is about the availability of HGV drivers," he said.

"So what we have got to do is get more people trained whether it is for that or for the supermarkets for Christmas or for anything."

He said there were intensive programmes to train drivers ongoing in the West Midlands.

Heavy rain could see some homes and businesses flooded this evening and overnight.

A yellow weather warning for , externalHerefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire has been issued by the Met Office from 17:00 on Monday until 04:00 on Tuesday.

Drivers could also face travel disruption from spray and flooding on roads.

Image source, Met Office

BBC Midlands Today

Businesses in Sandwell are to be spot checked to make sure they are managing the risk of spreading Covid-19.

Working with the Health and Safety Executive, the move by Sandwell Council will include telephone calls and visits to premises, offering help and advice on safety measures.

The HSE will also check businesses have measures in place to manage work-related stress and to support workers.

A man's died after the car he was travelling in hit a tree in Coventry.

Neil Keenan, 52, was a rear seat passenger when the crash happened on Eastern Green Road at the junction of Alspath Lane on Saturday.

Three other people in the car were taken to hospital, with another rear seat passenger sustaining minor injuries, a front seat passenger suffering a broken arm and the driver suffering a broken arm and leg.

Police are trying to establish the cause of the crash and have asked any witnesses to come forward.

Image source, West Midlands Police

A man who was shot in the leg by officers in Worcester on Saturday remains in a serious but not life-threatening condition, the police watchdog said.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said armed officers responded to reports of a man who was sitting in a car with a firearm, according to initial information.

"A single shot was discharged by officers resulting in the man receiving a gun shot wound to the leg," an IOPC spokesman said.

West Mercia Police said it referred the shooting in Ronkswood Hill at about 09:00 BST to the watchdog.

The IOPC added its investigators were deployed to the scene and had secured police bodycam video as part of the inquiry.

His wife says "it's a great comfort to know he will never be forgotten".

BBC Radio CWR

For Haroon Mota, this weekend's London Marathon was just the second of four marathons he is taking part in.

The Coventry man has already run in Berlin, but will also take on the Chicago and New York marathons in a bid to raise £50,000 in aid of the humanitarian crisis in Palestine.

He completed the London Marathon in five hours and one minute.

So far, Mr Mota has raised over £13,000 said the run was "extremely hard work" but there was "phenomenal" spirit in the city.

BBC Radio CWR

Schools in Rugby are asking children to wear face coverings again from Monday.

The Warwickshire town has the second-highest rate of coronavirus in the country.

Nationally a further 30,439 confirmed cases were announced on Sunday.

In Rugby there were 764 cases per 100,000 people in the latest week from 21 September to 27 September, while the average area in England had 339.

Image source, Getty Images

Masks stopped being compulsory in schools from 17 May

Emma Rose, from the National Education Union, said the area is right to reintroduce them.

"The government have taken this approach that is just Covid doesn't exist anymore essentially as far as schools are concerned so heads are having to make really difficult decisions about how to keep their communities safe," she said.

"And of course it is not just the children in the classroom but children go home to their families and out into the community and, yeah, leaving people really vulnerable at the moment actually."

Tributes have been paid to a police officer 20 years after his death.

Malcolm "Mac" Walker, 46, was rammed off his bike in Birmingham by a man driving a stolen car in 2001 and later died from his injuries.

A memorial was held at Sutton Coldfield Police Station on Saturday and a short service took place.

Image source, West Midlands Police

Sgt Chris Thomas said: “I worked with Mac and was the second car at the scene the day he died. “This was the most harrowing day of my 25-year career and a day that will be with me forever. “My thoughts have always remained with Mac’s family and the legacy he leaves behind."

Mac’s wife Helen added: “Twenty years have just flown by. He is in my thoughts daily and will be in my heart forever.”

Image source, West Midlands Police

BBC Radio Shropshire

The number of people visiting Shrewsbury's shopping centres is almost back to pre-Covid levels, the council says.

Shropshire Council bought the three precincts for £51,000,000 in 2018.

The purchase has been criticised and the value of the centres has gone down to around £12,000,000.

Image source, Google

The authority's deputy leader Ed Potter said it was right to make the purchase.

"The town has bounced back remarkably well," he said.

"Footfall has been steadily increasing and is matching that of pre-pandemic levels.

"The tourism as well as people staying more local or staycations in this country has also boosted the visitors to Shrewsbury."

A catapult has been seized after reports of ball bearings being shot into a football ground during training.

The force tweeted it had been called to Elgar Avenue in Malvern on Sunday.

BBC Radio Hereford and Worcester

Sewage which is only partially treated could be flowing into rivers in Herefordshire and Worcestershire this winter.

Water companies may face a shortage of chemicals because of Brexit and the pandemic, so the Environment Agency said they will not be fined if they release partially treated water into rivers.

The River Avon at Evesham, the Leadon in Bosbury, the Arrow in Kington and Norton Brook near Worcester could all be affected.

Image source, Getty Images

Glyn Marshall from the Severn Fisheries Group, urged people from the government to meet with campaigners.

"We're not going to put up with the state of our rivers," he said.

An investigation has been launched into allegations of racist abuse at the Sky Blues clash with Fulham at the CBS Arena.

Police say they're looking at claims a Fulham fan was targeted with monkey gestures from a group of city fans.

The Sky Blues say they're working with the police - and there's no place for racism of any form at games.

BBC Midlands Today

A climate change experiment is investigating the future impact of raised CO2 levels.

A series of large metal rings are pumping out the amount of CO2 expected globally fifty years from now.

Scientists from the University of Birmingham are then testing trees in a Staffordshire woodland to see how they react to the increased levels of the gas.

Prof Jeremy Pritchard, from the university, said: "Are they [the trees] going to expend it on defence against pests and diseases?

"Maybe they will put it in the soil and stimulate other organisms.

"So there's lots of ways that carbon can be used and we're only just starting to understand that."

A doctor set a new world record whilst running the London Marathon.

Jane Faulkner, 40, from Sutton Coldfield, claimed the record for the fastest female dressed as a three dimensional plant to run the distance.

She completed the 26.2 mile route with a time of 4:05:18 raising more than £9,500 for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust.

Image source, Guinness World Records