BBC Midlands Today

Queues of shoppers haven't just been visiting the big retail giants which reopened today. Independent traders in Worcester told the BBC they'd been surprised to see queues.

After a tough few weeks, jeweller Ian Quartermine said he was surprised to see so much interest as the store reopened.

"We expected it to be sort of fairly quiet this morning but we had a little bit of queue to start. People's watches have obviously broken down. We've got a good reputation in the town and we've been fairly busy."

Haberdasher Tina Masullo said she'd seen loyalty from customers to her store, House of Haby.

"One lady who came in today, she said I was the last shop she visited and the first shop she's visited since lockdown," she said.

Customers had a mixed view on the reopening. One lady told the BBC she felt shopping was "something none of us are going to take for granted again".

Another woman said she was nervous about being out shopping again: "There could be a second wave, I'm not ready to go into the charity shops yet which are my favourite".

A head teacher says the chance for some secondary pupils to be back in school this week is vital for the ones who have been struggling to work from home.

Image source, Getty Images

Only 25% of the chosen year groups, 10 and 12, can be on site at a time.

Bryn Thomas, head of Wolverley CofE Secondary School, near Kidderminster, said staff had seen a "digital divide" between some of their students.

"It could be as simple as they're from a large family and there aren't enough PCs to go around at home. We know the government has promised laptops but they're still not with us.

"Some students are literally trying to do homeworking off their phones which is just not easy."

While Holly Rigby, head of the Telford Park School in Stirchley, Shropshire, told BBC Shropshire staff had worked to make the school safe for returning students.

"It's very different but I think they will enjoy being here and being back in that community that they're used to. It has been 11 weeks, it's along time so it very much feels like the first day of a new term today."

Worcester News

A few of the headlines from the Worcester News:

• 'Good to see you' Shops in Worcester begin to reopen, external
• Man taken to Worcestershire Royal Hospital after four-vehicle crash on M5, external
• Peaceful Black Lives Matter protest in Worcester, external

Hereford Times

The Hereford Times is covering these stories today:

• Huge queues at Primark as shoppers return to Hereford, external
• Lorry driver fined after main road crash, external
• 'Outstanding' Herefordshire school retains Ofsted rating for thirteenth year, external

James Pearson
BBC Hereford & Worcester

About 100 people were queuing outside the Sports Direct store in Worcester when it reopened this morning.

Customers waiting for the St Martins Quarter store included plenty of mums who told me they would be looking for children's clothes.

There were also NHS staff as the shop's offering them a discount today.

A teenage girl's been badly hurt in a house fire in Redditch.

Image source, Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service

She and three others suffered injuries in the blaze on Lilac Close on Sunday morning, the ambulance service said. , external

It added when staff arrived, the house was "well ablaze".

A man, a woman and a teenage boy suffered serious but not life-threatening injuries and were taken to hospital.

The girl's injuries were described as very serious and she was given critical care on the way to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham.

James Pearson
BBC Hereford & Worcester

People have been queuing in deckchairs outside the Primark in Worcester this morning:

It's the first day non-essential shops can reopen since lockdown began.

James Pearson
Political reporter, BBC Hereford & Worcester

New rules are coming in for anyone travelling on public transport in England to wear a face covering from today.

These members of West Midlands Railways staff were on hand at Worcester Foregate station to hand coverings to anyone who may have forgotten.

They've so far given out about 50.

Passengers without a covering will be asked to wear one, or will face being refused on board or fined £100.

Siblings David Sheriff and Elizabeth Ashby reunite for a Sunday dinner after weeks apart.

Demonstrations are held at Worcester Racecourse and other West Midlands locations.

BBC Midlands Today

A children's charity says it has lost about £1m in income during the lockdown because its charity shops have been closed.

Acorn's Children's Hospice runs centres in Birmingham, Walsall and Worcester.

With its 55 stores shut, the organisation said it had lost about £100,000 every week in income.

It's preparing to reopen stores and head of fundraising Vicki Rowles said it had received thousands of bags of donations since the donation hub opened on Monday.

"Hopefully now, we're starting to reopen some of our shops back up on a phased return. These donations will make a huge difference," she added.

BBC Weather Watchers

Here are some more photos from our BBC Weather Watchers today - Littleacorns in Southam, Warwickshire, Ken M in Lydbury North, Shropshire and Bookworm in Hay-on-Wye:

Image source, Littleacorns

Image source, Ken M

Image source, Bookworm

BBC Hereford and Worcester

Work on a collapsed road in a Herefordshire village could finally begin in July more than two years after it was first closed.

Since June 2018, the only access to 40 homes and holiday cottages in Symonds Yat has been via a track next to the river which is only 1.9m (6ft) wide.

A legal dispute over ownership of a wall held up work until April which was then further delayed by the pandemic.

John Blows, who lives in the village, said the recent floods and coronavirus measures had made life without the road difficult

"The lack of access for heavier vehicles because of the road closure means that half a dozen flooded cottages can't get on with preparations. It just goes on and on and on. We can't get deliveries in so we can't get groceries delivered," he said.

Herefordshire Council said it expected work to start in July and continue for 10 weeks - hopefully reopening in September.

BBC Hereford and Worcester

The Royal Three Counties Show, which should have been held this weekend, will be going online instead.

Virtual visitors will be invited to meet producers and judges and go behind the scenes at the event.

Hereford Times

The Hereford Times includes these three stories today:

• Man given 24 hours to live beats coronavirus, external
• Man jailed for life for serious sexual offences, external
• Road will be closed for eight months for building work, external

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Here are three of the stories covered by the Local Democracy Reporter based in Worcester today:

• Plans to split what was once Malvern's oldest department store into four units have been backed in a report to district councillors.
• West Mercia Police will pay neighbouring Warwickshire Police £10.5m by autumn 2021 as part of the agreement to end their partnership.
• Changes to a barn at Worcester’s historic Middle Battenhall Farm have been approved by councillors, after talks.

Wye Valley Butterfly Zoo was still recovering from Storm Dennis when lockdown arrived.

Hereford's swimming pool will not reopen until next year, because of major flood damage.

Image source, Google

Halo Leisure, which runs the site, said it was working to repair electrical damage caused in the February floods and originally estimated the work would take six months.

The coronavirus outbreak meant work had to be suspended until May and there remains a limit on the number of people who can work on the site.

BBC Weather Watchers

If it's not already raining where you are, the chances are it soon will be.

We're seeing lots of threatening grey cloud from the BBC Weather Watchers today, including these photos taken near Church Stretton, Leek and Upton upon Severn.

Image source, Snapper Simon

Image source, Videoman

Image source, Bobwalking

The loss of parking machine revenue has cost Worcester City Council £400,000.

Flooding earlier in the year and the coronavirus lockdown have forced the local authority to dip into its reserves to plug the gap.

Councillors also agreed to look for funding from the government’s business rates retention pilot scheme.