Tom Turrell
BBC Midlands Today

Nine bikes from the West Midlands force, a sat nav in West Merica and a lap top in Staffordshire are among the items stolen from police across the region. They are bound to raise an eyebrow among many. 

Their value ranges from a few pounds to tens of thousands of pounds. "But," I hear you ask, "how on earth could all this property go missing from under the noses of officers?" 

In the case of the £113,000 stolen from within the bowels of the Warwickshire force HQ, the answer is, despite a court hearing, nobody knows.

Image source, Thinkstock

You can see more on this story on Midlands Today, BBC One, at 13:30 and 18:30.

Tom Turrell
BBC Midlands Today

Handcuffs, emergency vehicles and more than £100,000 in cash have been stolen in the last five years from police forces across the region. 

The figures were released as part of a Freedom of Information request. 

The items were taken from both individual officers and police stations. 

The West Midlands force says every effort is made to secure police property. 

A cloudy start, with rain arriving through the morning and becoming more persistent with some heavy bursts in places. 

This will clear later to give a bright and breezy end to the day with highs of 22C (72F).

Rob Mayor
Black Country Political Reporter, BBC WM

The chair of the West Midlands Combined Authority, Bob Sleigh says the elected mayor’s pay will be decided by an independent panel, but it should be "commensurate with the role" and "would have to be more, obviously" than the £40,000 figure which has previously been reported.

Mr Sleigh said the mayor would receive extra powers in time, which could include decisions on housing and transport. 

He added that it was "inevitable that the government is going to say we want this particular devolution power in the hands of the mayor" when future devolution deals are negotiated.

Image source, West Midlands Combined Authority

A mayor is due to be elected for the West Midlands in 2017.

BBC Travel

There's two lanes closed and heavy traffic on M6 Toll southbound between JT2, Coleshill and JT1, Curdworth, because of an accident and recovery work, BBC Travel news reports.

There's also a lane closed, slow traffic and delays on M42 southbound before J6, A45 (Birmingham Airport), because of recovery work and emergency repairs. Congestion is to J9, M6 Toll (Curdworth).

Coventry City sign striker Dan Agyei on loan from Premier League side Burnley until 17 January.

Four plumbers have been jailed after charging more than £5,000 for unblocking a toilet.

A Warwickshire resident called the plumbing company, Plumb-Tech to unblock a toilet at the cost of £672 per hour + VAT, external. The plumbers returned a day later to carry out further emergency work, charging a total of £5,642

Warwickshire County Council's Trading Standards team investigated after the issue was raised with them and found other complaints had been made about the company over a two year period from 2014.

Company director Duane Linton, of Wood Lane, Handsworth, Birmingham, pleaded guilty at Stafford Crown Court to fraud by false representation and was jailed for two years and eight months.   

Image source, Thinkstock

Three subcontractors all pleaded guilty to the same offence:

• Otis Wray, of Birdbrook Road, Birmingham was jailed for nine months and ordered to pay £2,000 costs
• Peter Hawketts, 55, of Vardon Way, Kings Norton was jailed for 16 months 
• Patrick Thawe, 45, of Little Park, Quinton, was sentenced to 20 months

BBC Weather

Today will be cloudier than it has been on recent days.

It will stay dry though, and it will still feel warm with some sunny spells and fairly light winds with highs of 25C (77F).

Jonathan Trott hits 101 as Warwickshire defeat Essex by 70 runs in their One-Day Cup quarter-final at Edgbaston.

We'll be back with our usual mix of news, sport, travel and weather from 08:00 tomorrow, but keep an eye out here for more updates this evening and into the morning.    

One lane is closed after a six-vehicle smash on the M42 between junction 4 for Solihull and 3 for Redditch.

Highways England say there are long delays. 

Kay Crewdson
BBC weather presenter

A lovely day's ahead - it will be dry and fine with lots of sunshine.

It'll feel warm, so make sure you put your sun cream on if you're heading out.

BBC Business News

The West Midlands was one of only two regions in the UK to see unemployment rise between April and June, official figures indicate.

Image source, Getty Images

Across the UK the total fell by 52,000 to 1.64 million - in the West Midlands it increased by 18,000 to 173,000, external compared with January to March. 

The only other region to see unemployment rise was London where it rose by 7,000 people.

Birmingham MP Gisela Stuart is to chair an inquiry into the rights of EU migrants living in the UK, but how will the immigration issue be tackled?

BBC Travel

• Slow traffic on M6 southbound between J7, A34 (Great Barr) and J6 A38(M) Spaghetti Junction, because of an accident earlier on. Congestion to J10, A454 (Walsall)
• Slow traffic on M42 southbound before J7 M6, because of an earlier broken down vehicle. Congestion to J9, M6 Toll (Curdworth)
• A traffic light failure is causing delays on on Castle Road West in Oldbury at the Stanley Road junction

For the latest disruptions on the roads visit BBC Travel.

BBC Weather

Most places will be sunny, warm and dry again all day, though there will be a little more cloud over high ground with highs of 23C (73F).

Coventry fail to score for the third league game running as they play out another 0-0 draw against Bury.

We'll be back with our usual mix of news, sport, travel and weather from 08:00 tomorrow, but keep an eye out here for more updates this evening and into the morning.

The story of a battle in the Afghanistan war is being told in a Channel 4 television documentary.

L/Cpl Paul Muirhead, from Bearley, Warwickshire, was one of the British soldiers who died at Musa Qala in Helmand province in 2006.

A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: "Our Armed Forces served with professionalism and bravery in Helmand Province, making sacrifices to deliver important security gains which gave the Afghan forces space to take the lead for protecting their people.

"We have conducted a thorough and frank review of the Afghanistan campaign, which will help inform future military planning."

Kay Crewdson
BBC weather presenter

There are also latest weather forecasts on the BBC website at any other time if you want to keep up-to-date.