Allen Cook
BBC News

Train passengers in the West Midlands are facing another August Bank Holiday of travel disruption and replacement bus services.

Image source, Network Rail

Network Rail is carrying out major engineering work between Rugby and Birmingham International from midnight tonight, closing all lines.

There will be no trains in or out of Coventry with buses being used instead across the route, National Rail Enquiries says, external.

Allen Cook
BBC News

Business leaders in the West Midlands have welcomed a government campaign aimed at encouraging people to return to their workplaces.

Image source, Coventry City Council

Employers will be asked to reassure staff it is safe to return by highlighting measures taken to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

Trish Willetts, manager of the Business Improvement District (BID) organisation in Coventry, said the city needed people back in their workplaces.

"We absolutely need that message, that clear directive that it is OK to come out," she said.

"I do appreciate people that have been shielding, people that haven't the confidence but we are really trying as a team in Coventry to make the city inviting."

Business leaders have warned of damage being done to the local economy as people stay away from city centre offices.

Jonathan Bellamy, chair of Hanley BID in Stoke-on-Trent, said: "Self-isolation is not healthy and people need to engage with other people."

He said encouraging people to return to offices would benefit both them and the local economy.

BBC CWR

A paraplegic woman from Coventry says she's heartbroken after being turned down for a grant to help turn her bungalow into a safe and accessible home.

Anya Darlow uses a wheelchair and was told recently she wasn't eligible for the grant despite spending the last year waiting for adaptations worth about £14,000.

The city council said it can’t comment on individual cases, but applications for Disabled Facilities Grants can be refused for a number of reasons and are subject to a means test.

The doorman was left seriously injured when a brick was hurled.

BBC Weather Watchers

We've had a morning of ominous looking clouds rolling in over the West Midlands, at least from the look of these photos from our local BBC Weather Watchers.

These are from users DaveA in Royal Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, Beefy in Halesowen, Dudley and Videoman in Leek, Staffordshire:

Image source, DaveA

Image source, Beefy

Image source, Videoman

A driver has escaped uninjured after a performance car crashed into a lamp-post in Leamington Spa last night.

Image source, Warwickshire Police

Police said the Subaru Impreza came off the road on Europa Way, first crashing into a hedge and then the lamp-post.

Officers from Warwickshire Police, who shared images of the crash on Facebook, said the driver "didn't quite have the driving skills of the Rally driver Richard Burns".

The Royal Shakespeare Company says social distancing prohibits it opening its theatres this year.

Balvinder Gahir was found with serious head injuries at a property in Leamington Spa on Monday.

A hospice group is predicting a shortfall in its budget of £1m due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Image source, The Myton Hospice

Myton, which has three hospice - in Coventry, Rugby and Warwick - said the deficit was due to the impact of Covid-19 on its ability to raise funds.

The organisation said it was now drawing up plans to make sure it was sustainable in the future.

Myton also said it would be reopening its inpatient unit in Warwick by the end of September having previously given it to the local NHS trust as part of the response to the pandemic.

Coventry Live

The Coventry Live website's headlines today include:

• 'Threats to kill' arrest after armed police surround a flat in Bedworth, external
• Cops stumble upon cannabis factory in Exhall during routine call out, external
• Travellers set up camp on council-owned land in Binley, external

Coventry sign defender Leo Ostigard on loan from Premier League side Brighton for the 2020-21 season.

The two men, aged 57 and 23, will appear at Coventry Magistrates Court on Thursday.

Patrick McDonagh and Daniella Hill are charged after a 22-year-old man died in hospital on Tuesday.

A man arrested after a body was found in a freezer has been bailed, police say.

The remains of an elderly man were found inside the appliance at a waste management centre near Coventry.

West Midlands Police said the 50-year-old man had been released pending further inquiries into the discovery at a recycling centre in Exhall.

The suspect, who is believed to be known to the victim, was detained on suspicion of murder in the Derby area on Tuesday, police said.

Image source, Google

Coventry Live

The Coventry Live website is covering these stories today:

• Planning row over mural of boxer Jack Bodell and hero Captain Tom, external
• CCTV appeal in Leamington murder investigation, external
• Green light to borrow £17m to deliver Two Friargate scheme, external

Amy Woodfield
BBC News

The actor, writer and television presenter Brian Blessed has lent his support to Twycross Zoo, in Leicestershire, which has been struggling financially since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

In a video recorded to back the zoo, Blessed - who calls himself an "animal lover" - says "without your help Twycross Zoo could close".

CEO Dr Sharon Redrobe said: "Covid-19 has been the worst crisis we have faced in our 57-year existence.

"Every day that we are open, we are slowly clawing back the uncertainty that lockdown has caused but, by no means, are we out of the woods."

Warning: Video may feature third party content.

Two suspects arrested on suspicion of the murder of a woman in Leamington Spa have been bailed.

The 54-year-old victim was found with serious head injuries at a property on Valley Road in the Lillington area shortly after 02:30 BST on Monday.

Warwickshire Police said the 15-year-old girl and a 28-year-old man had been released on police bail.

Image source, Google

Two men from Maidenhead, aged 23 and 57, who were also arrested on suspicion of murder, remain in police custody.

Ch Insp Caroline Corfield has appealed for anyone with information to come forward.

“A number of inquiries are currently ongoing and we would appeal to anyone who was in the area at the time of the incident or may have CCTV or dashcam footage to please make contact," she said.

Plans for a multimillion-pound health centre in the Foleshill area of Coventry has been given the go-ahead by councillors and could be ready by next spring.

Patients and staff at the former Livingstone Road surgery in Foleshill have had to use demountable buildings, which two years ago were declared unfit for purpose.

Image source, Getty Images

The new £3.3m development will house a GP practice including five consulting rooms and two treatment rooms.

BBC Weather Watchers

BBC Weather Watcher Violet1953 has shared this image of a large tree down in the Lillington area of Leamington Spa.

It "narrowly" missed houses and cars, Violet1953 said.

Image source, violet1953

Storm Francis has been lashing the UK with "unseasonably" strong gusts of nearly 80mph (129kph) and heavy rain.

Luke James scores the Sale try at the Ricoh Arena as Steve Diamond's side end Wasps' winning run to go third in the Premiership.