Caroline Gall
BBC News Online

Polls have opened in Worcestershire for combined council and police and crime commissioner (PCC) elections.

Votes will be cast for Worcester City councillors in Arboretum, Battenhall, Bedwardine, Cathedral, Claines, Gorse Hill, Nunnery, Rainbow Hill, St John, St Clement, St Stephen and Warndon.

Seats on Kidderminster Town, Wyre Forest District and Redditch Borough councils are also being contested.  

A new West Mercia Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) will also be chosen.  Polls opened at 07:00 and will close at 22:00.

Kate West
Journalist, BBC Hereford & Worcester

This morning's headlines include:

- A transgender man from Worcestershire is trying to raise thousands of pounds for gender reassignment treatment so he doesn't have to wait years to get surgery on the NHS

- Polls have opened in Worcestershire for combined council and police and crime commissioner (PCC) elections

 - One of the country's biggest gardening shows gets underway in Malvern today, external, with 90,000 people expected through the gates

Alexandra Hamilton
BBC Weather

You can also get the latest weather forecast at any time from the BBC website.  

BBC Travel

There's stop-start traffic on the M42 northbound between J1 (Bromsgrove) and J3 (Redditch). More from BBC Travel.

Welcome to the Local Live service for Herefordshire and Worcestershire on Thursday morning. 

We'll be bringing you all the news, sport, travel and weather as it happens. 

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