Live updates for Herefordshire and Worcestershire have finished for the day but we'll be back from 08:00 Tuesday with the latest news, sport, travel and weather.  

On BBC One this evening, Inside Out returns from 19:30 to take a closer look at the region's stories  

Three friends have completed a charity sailing trip around the Tanzanian coast in nothing but a hollowed out log and a bed sheet for a sail. 

Thomas Lanyon-Hogg from Worcestershire said the "gruelling" 500km (350 mile) adventure saw them battling exposure to the elements and dehydration.

Image source, Tom Lanyon Hogg

The 30-year-old was part of a team that set off on 29 December.

He said they faced "many challenges" but have surpassed their £2,000 fundraising target by £500  

Droitwich Spa Advertiser

The ex-leader of Worcestershire County Council, external has described his own personal devastation at his fall from grace - saying he is "deeply ashamed".

Mary Rhodes
Presenter, BBC Midlands Today

Here's a look ahead to some of the main stories we'll be focusing on this evening from 18:30. 

A lorry driver who hit the central reservation on the M5 motorway has been taken to the Worcestershire Royal Hospital suffering from a leg injury, ambulance crews say.

The motorway is closed in both directions and there are long delays, the Highways Agency says.

Police say a bridge needs to be inspected and diversion routes have been set up via J1 of the M50 and J7 of the M5.

Image source, West Midlands Ambulance Service

A woman living in Worcestershire says her South African husband is unable to stay in the UK because she doesn't earn enough money. 

Immigration rules state that a British spouse needs to earn at least £18,600, but Lorraine Van Vuuren, who lives in Cradley near Malvern, says it's impossible to earn that amount in her job as a care worker.

See a video of Lorraine and her husband Willem on BBC Hereford & Worcester's Facebook page., external

Phil Maiden
Newsreader, BBC Hereford & Worcester

Here are some of the stories we're looking at today:

- Mott The Hoople founding member Dale "Buffin" Griffin has died aged 67 

- Former leader of Worcestershire County Council Adrian Hardman has been fined and banned from the roads for 16 months after admitting drink driving

-  Motorists on the M5 are facing severe disruptions with both carriageways closed just south of Worcester after a lorry hit a bridge

BBC Travel

More on the closure of the M5 south of Worcester after a lorry hit a bridge. 

The fire service says a man's been freed from the lorry between J7 and J8.

 Congestion is backing up northbound to J10 for Cheltenham and southbound to J5 for Droitwich

Hereford Times

Dale 'Buffin' Griffin, drummer with iconic Herefordshire band Mott The Hoople has died at 67, after suffering from Alzheimer's, external. 

A founding member of the Herefordshire rock band Mott the Hoople, Dale Griffin, has died at the age of 67. 

The drummer and record producer, who was known as "Buffin", had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease nine years ago. Griffin attended Ross-on-Wye Grammar School. He played in local bands with fellow Mott the Hoople member Overend Watts.

Fellow founding member Verden Allen will be paying tribute to Dale Griffin on Andrew Easton's Drivetime programme on BBC Hereford & Worcester after 17:00 today.

BBC Travel

We're hearing reports of big problems on the M5 after a lorry struck a bridge south of Worcester.

Fire crews are trying to free a person from the heavy goods vehicle between J7 and J8. The motorway is closed in both directions.

More on BBC Travel.

Worcester Warriors winger Tom Biggs (pictured) has been ruled out for around three months with an ankle injury.

The former Bath flyer limped off early in the club's 32-22 Premiership defeat to Wasps at the Ricoh Arena just over a week ago.

Image source, Getty Images

The Sixways club has been hit by a number of injuries in recent weeks, including news that scrum-half Jonny Arr could be out for the rest of the season with a knee problem.  

BBC Midlands Today

It's been pretty chilly the past few days and you have been sending in your snow-capped images from across the West Midlands.

Here is a selection of some of them.

Phil Maiden
Newsreader, BBC Hereford & Worcester

Here are some of the stories we're looking at today:

- The former leader of Worcestershire County Council has been banned from driving for 16 months. Adrian Hardman has also been fined £350 after admitting drink driving

-  A man has been airlifted to hospital after being hit by a bus in Redditch this morning

- A Malvern man has sailed around the coast of Zanzibar in nothing more than a hollowed-out log with a bed sheet for a sail. Thomas Lanyon Hogg raised more than £2,000 for charity

Carson Wishart
Journalist, BBC Hereford and Worcester

It can be the scourge of the local footpath or pavement. No matter how many dog walkers pick up their pet's mess, there are always some who don't bother. 

More than 1,000 reports in Worcester have been received by a new app since it was launched in November as part of a crackdown, the city council says.

Called "Poowatch", it involves volunteers spraying pavements with a warning with the Warndon and Barbourne areas of Worcester identified as dog-mess hotspots.

West Mercia Police has published an online guide to explain chalk road-markings - to reassure people that they're nothing to worry about.  

Image source, West Mercia Police

There have been rumours on social media that criminals were using markings to identify future targets, but the force says there is little evidence to support this theory.

West Mercia is using Facebook, external to get its message across, but says it's still interested in hearing from you if you do see something suspicious.

Carson Wishart
Journalist, BBC Hereford and Worcester

This picture of Worcester Cathedral and its mirror image in the floodwater comes from Roger King.

To send me your pictures of Herefordshire and Worcestershire you can email, tweet us on @bbchw, external or message via Facebook, external.

Image source, Roger King

Tom Grundy
Journalist, BBC Hereford & Worcester

People living in the Far Forest, near Bewdley, are concerned for the future of a nearby wood that becomes covered in bluebells during the spring. 

It's claimed Natural England - who look after Brand Lodge Coppice - are planning to fell and cut many of the trees that make up the idyllic setting.

Image source, Elke Jury

Natural England says it is intending to coppice a small section of the wood, as part of its management of the site, to encourage birds, butterflies and other species.

The future of about 30 children's centres in Worcestershire is being considered by the county council as part of a revamp of family support services.