Artist Bamber Hawes hopes to reach Glasgow in time for the UN Climate Change Conference.

Val Fisher was fundamental to bringing a wheelchair tennis programme to Shrewsbury.

Image source, National Highways

Two lanes of a stretch of motorway which saw a severe tanker fire this morning are to remain closed for the day.

The fire, involving a tanker carrying 28 tonnes of bitumen, closed the motorway southbound between junction five for Droitwich and junction six (Worcester) for several hours.

National Highways said two lanes had reopened but motorists should expect delays.

"The lane closures will remain in place through the day in preparation for the complex recovery work and resurfacing to be completed overnight to reduce the impact through the day," it said.

The stretch will close completely from 19:30 to complete the work.

BBC Weather Watchers

Here are some of the dozens of photos we get sent every day by our local BBC Weather Watchers.

These three are from Tippytoes in Walsall, Neil in Lilleshall, Shropshire and Caterpillar Girl in Kington, Herefordshire:

Image source, Tippytoes

Image source, Neil

Image source, Caterpillar Girl

An arts festival has had funding from Shropshire Council's Covid-19 recovery fund.

Ludlow Fringe Festival, now in its ninth year, has had the money from Shropshire Council’s Wider Economic Recovery Fund, part of its coronavirus business support package of grants.

In 2021 there was a mixture of online and live performances and the festival turned over £154,000 with 78 events over 30 days featuring 58 companies.

Festival director Anita Bigsby said the grant had been used to purchase vital equipment, including the technology to live-stream performances and a "trailer-stage" - a movable performance space.

“We want to thank Shropshire Council so much for the money," she said.

"It has been put to excellent use enabling us to grow and professionalise the Ludlow Fringe Festival both locally – by involving the local community and the rich pool of artistic talent we have in the area – but also nationally and internationally by helping us to engage with audiences and performers around the world.”

Image source, Ludlow Fringe Festival

Five people arrested over Mollie Taylor's death will face no further action, police say.

Stoke-on-Trent Live

A few of the headlines on the Stoke-on-Trent Live website today:

• Police arrest man after hit-and-run crash puts taxi driver in hospital, external
• Teen desperate for school place after no education for 15 weeks, external
• Enraged Erica left 'living in third world country' as human waste floods garden, external

BBC Radio Stoke

Adam Peaty is loving being in Strictly Come Dancing - despite being in pain, according to his mother.

The Olympian from Uttoxeter avoided the dance-off in last night's show, after performing an Avatar-inspired Rumba in Movie week.

Image source, PA Media

His mother Caroline says the swimmer is finding it physically challenging.

"He was having fun and you could see he was having fun and that's the main thing of it," she says.

"Like, it's a bonus he's got through, a big relief because he wants to go as far as he can, because he really is enjoying it even though it's killing his feet.

"In water your body is more buoyant isn't it? But when you're on land it's going to have impact on your joints and on his ankles.

"Like he said, his feet were swollen - I've never known him to have swollen feet. I said, 'well you can have a bit of sympathy with your mother then can't you?'"

The fire on a lorry carrying 28 tonnes of bitumen shut part of the southbound carriageway.

An area of Staffordshire is among one of the worst areas affected by a lack of GPs, research shows.

Image source, Getty Images

The analysis has shown that there is on average one GP per 2,038 people across the country, but in East Staffordshire that dropped to just 1,745 - the fifth worst affected area of the country.

The Liberal Democrats, who commissioned the analysis, have called on the government to train more GPs.

The party's health spokesperson Munira Wilson MP said: "These figures reveal a postcode lottery of care that is leaving people struggling to get GP appointments or waiting weeks to be seen."

The Solihull Moors player was taken to hospital in the back of a car over a six-hour ambulance wait.

The women's team, led by Telford's Saffron Allen, has missed out on Winter Games qualification.

Problems in getting petrol was distressing for health workers and patients, a health boss says.

A 30-year-old man has been arrested following suspected arson at a Wellesbourne pub.

Police officers and firefighters were called to the Stags Head, Chestnut Square, after "multiple reports of a fire" at about 01:00.

Image source, Google

Appealing for information, Det Con Emma Mackay of Warwickshire Police said: “We are working with the fire service to establish the cause and are treating the incident as suspected arson at this time.

“We appreciate this is a concerning incident but thankfully no-one suffered any injuries."

The fire has been put out but officers said several road closures were expected to remain in place "for the coming days" as part of their investigation.

The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust pays its male employees an average of 26% more than its female staff, latest figures reveal.

Image source, Getty Images

Dividing its employees into quartiles from highest paid to lowest paid, the trust, in Stratford-upon-Avon, also said that 88.5% of its staff in the lower middle quartile were women and 74.1% in the lower quartile.

Despite being underrepresented in the lower quartiles, men take up 46% of the jobs in the upper quartile and are also paid an average of just under £7 more an hour than women at that level.

The charity blamed the pandemic and furlough scheme which is said had an "impact on our gender pay gap calculation". Its last report, in 2018, showed a 5.2% gender pay gap favouring men.

The trust said it was "committed to reducing our gender pay gap".

"We are determined to do our utmost to ensure an inclusive, welcoming environment for our people and audiences," it said, adding that it had hired a specialist consultancy firm to help it understand how to better "welcome people from all places and backgrounds".

Dawid Kurdziel was found dead outside a restaurant in Ketley, Telford, in July.

The attacker takes objection to the victim holding hands with a man in Birmingham city centre.

Police appealed for help on social media after the 37-year-old was reported missing on Sunday.

BBC Radio CWR

A hospital said it had not see a huge surge in patients with Covid-19 needing treatment even as cases rise in the local community.

Image source, Getty Images

Two areas of Warwickshire, Nuneaton and Bedworth and Stratford-upon-Avon, are currently among the top 20 areas in England for infection rates, according to the latest figures.

In Nuneaton and Bedworth, it has risen to 706 per 100,000 for the seven days to 6 October compared with 623 the week before.

Stratford's has risen to 588 from 528 over the same period.

Nina Morgan, chief nursing officer at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS trust, said staff had seen a steady number of coronavirus patients.

"We have not seen that huge surge that we saw previously. We actually have 46 patients at Coventry at the moment and nine are in critical care," she said.

A woman has been assaulted at a property in Newcastle-under-Lyme by a man who had demanded money from her, police said.

Image source, Google

The attack happened at an address in the King Street area at about 19:30 to 19:40 BST on Saturday.

The man, who was described as white, in his mid-20s and with a local accent, fled in the direction of Albert Street.

Staffordshire Police, which has appealed for people, external in the area to review their doorbell, CCTV or dashcam footage, said the suspect was about 5ft 10 in to 6ft tall; had a slim face with high cheek bones, brown eyes and was clean shaven.

He was wearing a black waterproof jacket and pale grey jogging bottoms.