Street murals highlighting biodiversity loss and climate change have been unveiled around the country ahead of the COP26 conference.

Image source, Grantham Institute

One of the artworks, which were all designed by young people, is called Our Home Too and has been painted in Stoke-on-Trent.

The mural on Port Street, near the canal, shows a white-clawed crayfish holding a sign which also features the Dingy Skipper butterfly.

Designed by Jasmine, 23, who said it highlighted species that are losing their homes due to destruction or competition by using "imagery of homelessness with the sign".

The seven mural designs were all winning entries to the Grantham Institute's Climate Art Prize, external and were then painted by street artists.

A lorry has become wedged under a bridge in the Black Country, causing disruption.

The lorry became stuck under the railway bridge on Cradley Road in Cradley Heath this morning.

Image source, West Midlands Fire Service

National Rail Enquiries said trains may be cancelled or delayed by up to 25 minutes.

West Midlands Fire service said it had been deployed to the scene to assist.

It's the second lorry to hit a bridge in the West Midlands this morning.

According to Network Rail, the number of bridge strikes almost doubles in October, external, with the shorter days and extra deliveries leading up to Christmas thought to be behind the rise.

Friends of Birmingham Wheels vow to "fight on" as they wait for the council to find them a new home.

Lauren Woodhead
Journalism Researcher

Giant puppet Little Amal visited Erdington High Street as part of her 5,000-mile journey across Europe.

Hundreds of people welcomed her to the town centre on Thursday and enjoyed live music and entertainment as part of the event, which was held in partnership with Birmingham 2022 Festival.

The 3.5m (11.5ft) puppet requires three people to operate it and represents a nine-year-old Syrian refugee in a project named The Walk.

Organisers said the aim was to shine a light on the stories of millions of displaced refugee children.

Little Amal, whose name means “hope” in Arabic, began her journey in Turkey on 27 July.

She will visit the Peak District and Sheffield later before completing her journey in Manchester on 3 November.

An Environment Agency manager says longer-term solutions are needed to combat rising water levels.

Rail passengers in Worcestershire are being warned of potential issues on lines through Bromsgrove after a lorry struck a bridge.

Network Rail said the vehicle hit a structure in Stoke Prior.

It said staff were on their way to inspect the bridge, but passengers were advised to check the website for updates on how their journey may be affected.

Further flood alerts have been issued in Shropshire, affecting the Upper Teme.

Image source, Environment Agency

Ludlow and Church Stretton have been highlighted as at-risk areas after heavy rainfall.

Water levels are expected to peak at between 1.6m - 1.8m this afternoon but remain high over the weekend.

The latest updates can be found here, external.

BBC Radio Hereford and Worcester

Friends, family, neighbours, classmates and even strangers are joining forces to raise money to help a nine-year-old boy from Herefordshire who has an incurable brain condition.

Stan Wilkes, from Fownhope, was diagnosed with leukodystrophy four months ago.

Image source, Family

Luke and Laura Jordan have decorated their home as a haunted house to support their neighbours and try to raise £12,000 to help his family go on a trip to Yorkshire and buy the equipment they need to make day-to-day tasks easier for Stan.

"Our next stop is a car, my car isn't practical any more," Stan's mum, Kath Wilkes said.

Image source, Family

Mrs Wilkes said she hoped to take Stan to visit the house and thanked the community for their generosity.

"It really rings home there are lovely generous people out there," she said. "I don't have the words to thank them enough."

Five women held over the killings of two men at a lockdown party are released under investigation.

Mobile testing clinics will be deployed to a Walsall car park where people are being invited to take part in a nationwide cancer trial test.

A blood sample will be taken from volunteers and tested for the earliest signs of more than 50 types of cancer.

The NHS hopes to test 140,000 volunteers across the country, including at the site in Walsall at the Sainsbury's car park on Reedswood Way. The mobile clinic will be stationed there for a month before moving on to Redditch.

"The test could be a game-changer for early cancer detection, and we are excited to be leading this important research," said Prof Peter Sasieni, from Cancer Research UK.

“We are particularly keen to attract volunteers from diverse communities in the West Midlands to ensure the results are relevant for as many different people as possible."

Local Democracy Reporting Service
Keri Trigg

A petition signed by more than 3,000 people has failed to persuade ambulance service bosses to change their minds over closing an ambulance station.

Image source, WMAS

Oswestry's base, along with three others in Shropshire, closed on 4 October.

West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) said the closures would save time for crews and free up funds for front-line services.

The petition called for a full public consultation before making a final decision on the closures.

WMAS said no public consultation was required as the changes would not negatively impact the service, but has since apologised for the lack of communication to the public over the plans.

At a meeting on Wednesday of the service's board of directors, chief executive Anthony Marsh said bosses remained certain the right decision had been taken.

Flood alerts have been issued for parts of Herefordshire after heavy rainfall.

Flooding is expected along the River Wye from Hay-on-Wye to Ross-on-Wye. Byford, Bredwardine and Hereford may also be affected.

River levels are expected to remain high over the weekend.

The Environment Agency said it was closely monitoring the situation - for the latest updates, visit its website., external

Firefighters were called to a serious blaze at a paint factory in Wolverhampton in the early hours of this morning.

West Midlands Fire Service said crews were called to The Flint Group on Old Heath Road in the Heath Town area shortly after midnight.

There were no reported injuries, the fire service said, and the fire has since been contained.

Sara Blizzard
BBC Weather

It's a wet and windy start to the day after some heavy overnight rain.

Gradually we'll see some breaks in the clouds, but there will still be some showers and it will be a bit blowy too.

Expect temperatures of up to15C (59F).

Welcome to our live service for Friday.

We'll be bringing you the latest news, sport, travel and weather updates from the West Midlands until 18:00.

Find us on Facebook , externaland Twitter , externalif you want to get in touch.

West Midlands Police denies it happened and says a video on social media is "misleading".

The 9% uptake in the city puts Stoke-on-Trent among the lowest rates in the country.

They plead not guilty to charges relating to the deaths of Sanjay Singh, 10, and toddler Pawanveer.

Midlands Live returns at 08:00. Have a pleasant evening.

Local Democracy Reporting Service
Gurdip Thandi

Plans to build a leisure and commercial development on the site of a former leather factory look set to be rejected.

Image source, SMD Architects

The proposals from JMI Planning want to create the facilities in a building of up to five storeys on Lower Forster Street, Walsall.

The site was the home of the saddle-making business Jabez Cliff until it was heavily damaged in a suspected arson attack in 2011 and the building demolished shortly after.

JMI Planning said its building would become a "gateway" for Walsall and improve the area.

However neighbours have objected to the plans with concerns including loss of light and privacy.

The council's planning committee is set to discuss the plan on 4 November but a report by planning officers has recommended refusal amid fears about the size of the development.