Dr Manju Paul was on the way to India to see her family when the woman went into labour.

BBC Radio Hereford and Worcester

Residents and business owners in two Worcestershire villages have been complaining about the length of time a road has been closed, to allow work on a new housing development.

The Pershore Road in Eckington was first shut in July for one and a half months, but the road began to sink so has closed again, with further closures planned in February.

Businesses in the village say trade is at least 50% down, with residents in Great Comberton saying divert traffic are treating their country roads like a "racetrack".

About 75% more instances of domestic abuse were reported than pre-Covid, police say.

Warwick District Council said tonight's Christmas light switch-on events in Kenilworth have been cancelled due to the weather forecast.

High winds, it said, were causing problems with the erection of stalls so the decision has been made to cancel the events.

The local authority said it understood residents would be disappointed, and would be providing further updates in the next few days regarding plans for Kenilworth’s lights.

Abbie Dewhurst
Weather Presenter

After a grey, damp start with heavy outbreaks of rain there will be some brighter spells later with highs of 8°C (46°F).

From midnight a yellow warning of wind is in place across the West Midlands as Storm Arwen sweeps across the country, bringing cold spells of rain and sleet.

Temperatures could feel like -3 on Saturday, the BBC Weather Office said.

Worcestershire appoint long-serving all-rounder Brett D'Oliveira as their new club captain, replacing Joe Leach in the role.

The local authority said changes will help reduce the amount of rubbish going to landfill to 1%.

BBC Radio Shropshire

A delay to the review of maternity services in the county is "essential", according to one mother who lost her baby.

Senior midwife Donna Ockenden has been looking at services at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTh) and her findings had been due in December.

But on Thursday it was announced it has been pushed back to March.

It is because hundreds of documents, previously unseen by the review team, were found over the summer.

Image source, Richard Stanton

Rhiannon Davies was among the families who led the calls for the review after losing her baby daughter Kate in 2009.

"It has to be done once and it has to be done right," she said.

"We don't want to be going back over this again.

"None of the families involved want this to drag on but we want, the ultimate aim, is for a clear identification of the failings so they can never be allowed to happen again."

Demand for adult social care is up by 21% compared with before the pandemic, the council says.

Strong winds could cause travel disruption and damage to trees tomorrow, the Met Office is warning. , external

Image source, Met Office

A yellow warning for wind has been issued for the whole of the West Midlands.

It's in place from midnight until 18:00 on Saturday.

A fire has broken out at a restaurant in Staffordshire.

Firefighters were called to the scene on Stone Road close to Baldwins Gate near Newcastle-under-Lyme just before 04:00.

A stretch of the road remains closed.

A broken down lorry has closed two lanes of the M6.

Lanes three and four are closed between junction seven for Walsall and junction six for Birmingham southbound, Highways England said.

Recovery vehicles are en route, it added, but warned of delays of around 30 minutes in the area.

Image source, Highways England

Welcome to our live service for Friday.

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

We love to hear from you so share your news, thoughts and photos of the area with us via email,Twitter , externaland Facebook, external.

A judge rules against Walleys Quarry Ltd "due to legal technicalities around timings".

Kayleigh Boffey says she is proud of her son Tommy for calling police after she fell down stairs.

The fire at James House may have been started deliberately, West Midlands Police says.

John Adams uses a voice machine to communicate and has limited use of his hands but wanted to raise funds.

Ryan Woods is banned for three games after Birmingham City fail with an appeal to get his red card at Coventry overturned.

That's it for our live coverage today. We'll be back from 08:00 on Friday with the latest news, sport, weather and travel.

A photo of Hereford Cathedral, by Jo Borzsony, made the shortlist for the Historic Photographer of the Year Awards 2021.

Image source, JO BORZSONY

The eventual winner was Steve Liddiard for his photo of the Whiteford Point Lighthouse in the Gower Peninsula, Wales.

Among the other top entries was a view of The Shambles in York and Sunkenkirk in the Lake District.