Alec Blackman
BBC Coventry & Warwickshire

A £700,000 project to tackle domestic violence and abuse is being set up in the West Midlands.

Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson has announced a two year Domestic Violence Perpetrator Programme which will target abusers. 

Experts will be employed to work closely with them on a specialist rehabilitation programme, and a support service for their families will be provided by the Domestic Violence Consortium.

An investigation into the death of a man who was found at the bottom of a lift shaft at a business in Warwick, has been launched by police.

The man died at the scene on Tuesday afternoon.

Mark Plato, chief executive of Telent Technology Services, where the man was found, said the company's thoughts are with the man's family.

Image source, Google

BBC Coventry & Warwickshire

These are the leading stories in Coventry and Warwickshire this afternoon:

- A man has died after being found at the bottom of a lift shaft in Warwick

- Transport Secretary Chris Grayling says the government is still committed to the HS2 project

- Wasps hand a new contract to New Zealand-born fly-half Jimmy Gopperth

Khia Norman has earned herself a trip to London after her poem on racial equality won her a national award.

Her effort, called 'We Are All Equal', scooped the primary school creative writing prize in the Arts & Minds competition run by teaching union NASUWT.

The judges praised the former Camp Hill Primary School student's "mature" technique and "very clever" use of well-known quotes.

Image source, NASUWT

Transport secretary Chris Grayling has announced £70m worth of funding for road safety and support for communities affected by the line to the Midlands.

Addressing a HS2 conference, Mr Grayling said: "We need it for the boost it will give to our regional and national economies. We need it for the jobs it will create, and for the way it will link our country together."

It comes as MPs warned last month that ministers must setout a realistic timetable for delivering HS2. 

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) was "not convinced" that the target for completing phase one between London and the West Midlands by December 2026 will be met.

Image source, HS2

A man has died after he was found at the bottom of a lift shaft in Warwick.

He was found on Tuesday afternoon at Telent Technology Services, on Haywood Road.

West Midlands Ambulance Service said he was confirmed dead at the scene.

Warwickshire Police is investigating, and the Health and Safety Executive has also been informed.

Image source, Google

Alice Rosenthal
BBC Coventry & Warwickshire

Here are some of the biggest stories around Coventry and Warwickshire this afternoon:

- Plans to build about 5,000 homes on greenbelt land around Coventry are being examined by the government's planning inspector

- Transport Secretary Chris Grayling says the government is committed to the HS2 rail line

- Coventry City fans announce a day of action to take place before this month's match with Rochdale

A plan to write to motorists who were wrongly fined has been rejected - but drivers can still get a refund if they contact Coventry City Council.

A tribunal ruled drivers who received £30 fines for driving in bus lanes should not have received the penalty because the signs weren't properly authorised.

Image source, Google

Last night Conservative councillors said drivers should be made aware, but the council said it had no legal obligation to contact motorists and it would cost too much money to write to all of them.

So far 412 have been refunded. Anyone who was issued with a ticket between 10 December 2015 and 21 April can write to or email the council if they've been affected.

BBC Coventry & Warwickshire

Coventry City may have finally picked up a win in their last league match, but fans still aren't happy over off-field issues.

The Fighting the Jimmy Hill Way alliance, which is calling on owners Sisu to sell the club, will host a "day of action" ahead of the home match with Rochdale on 22 October.

They're also asking fans to boycott the match at the Ricoh Arena.

The Sky Blues are currently bottom of League One.

Image source, Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service

One curious dog learned how it feels to go down the rabbit hole - but then found himself on the wrong end of a rescue operation.

Fox terrier Zac managed to get himself stuck in a hole in a field in Kineton, Warwickshire.

Nearly eight hours later, and after much digging by Gaydon-based firefighters and a nearby construction crew, he was finally freed, much to the relief of his owner.

Who ever said curiosity killed the cat?

Image source, Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service

Stratford Herald

A member of a gang that stole cash and goods worth around £200,000, external in a series of raids after planting covert cameras to capture staff members entering alarm codes has been jailed for two years.

As we've been reporting, the transport secretary Chris Grayling has given a speech regarding HS2.

He said the government is "not backing away" from the rail link between London and Birmingham, where it will terminate at Curzon Street station (design pictured below).

Image source, Birmingham City Council

UKIP Transport spokesman Jill Seymour has expressed her disappointment at the government’s decision to press ahead with the HS2 rail link.

She said: "HS2 has never been needed. It is just a vanity project with an ever-growing budget, which is edging closer to the £100 billion mark. It will never pay its way, and will always be a burden on the taxpayer."

BBC Sport

New Zealand-born fly-half Jimmy Gopperth has extended his stay with Wasps.

The 33-year-old, who joined the club last season from Leinster, is currently the top scorer in the Aviva Premiership with 90 points from six games.

Image source, Getty Images

BBC Coventry & Warwickshire

These are some of the main stories around Coventry and Warwickshire this lunchtime:

- A government inspector will face greenbelt campaigners in Coventry as the city council's Draft Local Plan is examined

- Coventry City Council has a moral obligation to tell drivers who've been fined for using bus-only junctions in the city that they could be in line for refunds according to opposition councillors

- New Zealand-born fly-half Jimmy Gopperth is extending his stay with Wasps

The government is "not backing away" from the rail link between London and the north, the government has said.

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling told an HS2 conference the the rail network is rapidly approaching "crunch-point" as out-dated rail lines are unable to keep up with demand.

"We're not backing away from HS2. The case is as strong as ever. We need this railway. And if we're going to build it, let's make it state-of-the-art, fit for the decades of growth ahead."

Image source, Getty Images

The first stage of HS2 will run between London and Birmingham, through Warwickshire.

It was a crisp and bright start in Warwickshire this morning, as BBC Weather Watcher Old Salt's picture from Southam shows. 

If you've got a picture you'd like to share, you can get in touch with us via email, Twitter, external or our Facebook page, external.

Image source, Old Salt

It's 50 years since Coventry's first Asian police officer joined the force.

Mohammed Yusuf Daar, now 74, had been serving in Tanzania before moving to the West Midlands in the spring of 1966.

Image source, West Midlands police

"I was already experienced as an officer and wanted to join the force in the West Midlands," he said.

"I didn’t really think about the impact or that I was making history in becoming the force’s first Asian officer. 

"Everyone was very welcoming and members of the public would come over and shake my hand. I did not encounter any racism. 

Image source, West Midlands Police

Alec Blackman
BBC Coventry & Warwickshire

There's been a 20% rise in the number of people across Coventry and Wawrickshire being admitted to hospital with allergic reactions or anaphylatic shock.

Figures from NHS England show 233 people were admitted in the last 12 months compared to 196 five years ago.

More than 29,000 people were admitted to hospitals across the country in 2015.

The government's confirmed it's to push ahead with HS2 - the rail line connecting Birmingham and London - and going through the Warwickshire Countryside. 

They've unveiled a £70m fund to compensate communities affected, with £30m of that going on new road safety improvements. 

Kenilworth-based Joe Rukin from 'Stop HS2' told the BBC the money being offered isn't enough. 

Coventry's draft local plan, which could see  3,000 new homes built in the Keresley green belt and 2,000 around Eastern Green and Allesley, is being examined by the government's planning inspector today. 

Campaigners are expected to protest outside the council house ahead of the meeting.

Image source, Google