Updates from Friday 9 September
We've had rain around this morning and here are some of the photos reflecting that from our local BBC Weather Watchers.
These three are from users Di's Walk in Sutton Coldfield, Melanie in Binley Woods, Warwickshire and BoardWalk in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire:
Image source, Di's Walk
Image source, Melanie
Image source, BoardWalk
BBC Radio Hereford and Worcester
A school in Worcestershire has closed today after a teacher tested positive for coronavirus and another has symptoms.
Image source, GoogleDroitwich High School put a statement on its website , externaland added work was under way to work out which students might have had close contact with the staff involved.
Lessons will be taught online, it added.
Several thousand tonnes of straw and hay has gone up in smoke in a huge barn fire.
Image source, Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue ServiceDozens of firefighters were called last night to a farm in Munsley, near Ledbury, Herefordshire, the fire service said. , external
The blaze covered about 1,600 sq m and involved about 3,500 tonnes of hay and straw.
The service said three fire engines had remained at the farm this morning to keep hosing the area down.
Image source, Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue ServiceRichard Hammond has been given the go-ahead, but with a number of restrictions in place.
Read More
Caroline Gall
BBC News
A wildlife charity is hoping to buy more than 100 acres of land to return it to a network of heath-land habitat.
Dropping Well Farm, in Worcestershire, has been intensively farmed for decades, but a £1.4m project aims to create the county's largest block of heath-land.
Worcestershire Wildlife Trust said up to 85% had been lost across the UK over the past 150 years.
Heath-land habitat must be restored so "wildlife can thrive once again", its chief executive Colin Raven said.
Conservationists want to create a "huge, green heart" of natural habitat in Worcestershire.
Read More
BBC Midlands Today
Businesses in England on the border with Wales are fearing a "massive impact" from Friday's two-week lockdown.
Image source, PA MediaWelsh people are being told to stay at home and pubs, restaurants, hotels and non-essential shops will shut until 9 November.
In Herefordshire, several towns and villages are close to or straddle the border between the two countries.
Jonathan Smith-Milne, who owns The Old Court Hotel in Whitchurch, says they are already seeing Welsh visitors cancelling bookings.
"I think there will be a massive impact. We were fortunate, we had a pretty good summer, but there will be businesses that suffer because they haven't had that solid summer trade."
Hay-on-Wye is mostly just inside Wales but Josh Green, from Green Ink Booksellers, says the lockdown will mean different parts of the town having different restrictions.
"There are businesses here that are in Herefordshire technically so we have accommodation providers that are still going to be allowed to be open to visitors but a town they are basically attached to will be closed."
Stuart Towns suffered fatal head injuries working at Alutrade Ltd in Oldbury, Sandwell, in 2017.
Read MoreA horse has been rescued by firefighters after getting stuck in the mud in a ditch.
Image source, Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue ServiceThey were called to the area in Kidderminster yesterday morning, Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service said. , external
Fire crews cut away the undergrowth to get near the horse and then safely lifted it clear with straps and a telehandler., external
Image source, Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue ServiceBBC Midlands Today
Work is well under way in Worcestershire to create an underwater fish viewing gallery.
It's being constructed in Worcester at Diglis Weir on the Severn (pictured above), where a fish pass is being built, so people can see the salmon migrating.
It's all part of a £20m improvement scheme for the river which was announced two years ago.
Nearby, a similar pass has been completed at Bevere weir (pictured below), to help migratory fish like salmon and shad to reach their spawning grounds.
Image source, Skynique Film CompanyThree men have been arrested after catalytic converters were stolen from vehicles parked at a hospital.
Image source, PAWest Mercia Police said two vehicles were targeted at the Worcestershire Royal Hospital in Worcester on 12 October.
The men, all from Leicestershire, have been arrested and bailed.
Ch Insp Gareth Morgan said: "We take the theft of catalytic convertibles very seriously and know what a devastating effect these crimes can have on individuals within our community."
Passengers on West Midlands Railway services via Birmingham Snow Hill are being warned of a new timetable being introduced next week.
Image source, West Midlands RailwayThe operator says, external Covid-19 is making it difficult to run a normal train schedule and it has had to cancel a number of services in recent weeks.
The new timetable will have a reduced number of departures, but the firm says all trains will have as many carriages as possible with peak-time and school trains prioritised.
As one example of the changes, the new timetable will see most trains from Snow Hill to Worcester start and end at Shrub Hill station instead of Foregate Street.
Women with endometriosis have told the BBC living with it is a constant battle and puts a strain on their relationships.
Endometriosis affects one in 10 women in the UK and can cause debilitating pain, heavy periods and infertility.
A report by MPs said care for the condition across the UK needs urgent improvement and diagnosis times need to be halved.
It found an average wait for a diagnosis was eight years and that had not improved in more than a decade.
Tracey Morgan, from Shrewsbury, said before she was diagnosed she was in so much pain she felt her "life was nothing".
"Just before my last, fourth surgery I was so poorly and I was going to see a different endo specialist who is phenomenal and I said to my partner 'if he can't help me, I'm really sorry I can't live like this'."
Helen MacLaughlin, from Worcester, said the fatigue from the condition meant she couldn't work full-time.
"Relationships, friendships, some of them have strained, I've lost friends and it is a constant worry."
Nadine Dorries, minister for women's health said awareness was increasing, but there was still a long way to go.
Three teenagers have been arrested after a man was attacked in Hereford.
Image source, GoogleThe victim, in his 20s, was left with serious injuries after the assault on Saturday evening in High Town, West Mercia Police said.
The teenagers, two aged 16 and a 15-year-old, all from the city, have been arrested on suspicion of assault and released on bail.
We've had a flurry of wildlife-themed photos from our local BBC Weather Watchers.
Here are three, from users Anna L in Stourbridge, Dudley, SteveC in Warwick and Step Counter in Bodenham, Herefordshire:
Image source, Anna L
Image source, SteveC
Image source, Step CounterBBC Radio Hereford and Worcester
Businesses in Herefordshire near the Welsh border have said they are worried they will lose out financially from a national lockdown across Wales.
Image source, PA MediaA decision is due to be announced later on Monday about a two or three-week "fire-break" to slow down the Covid-19 virus.
Firms working in towns and villages in Herefordshire near the border said there was already confusion about the different rules in England and Wales.
Lucy Gardner runs the village shop Woods of Whitchurch: "I'm a couple of miles from Monmouth so what does that mean for us?
"I go in and out of Monmouth every day, my bank is in Monmouth - what does that mean for me?
"Can I go to my bank, can they come here? No they can't, so the impact financially is going to be massive."
Sonya Cary runs a care hub in Pontrilas which provides a lunch club and delivers prescriptions and food to people on both sides of the border.
"I'm hoping that our social bubble will continue to remain strong here and I do foresee us having Christmas Day lunch here unless government forces us to say... we don't know what is going to happen, but we are positive."
Abu Dhabi's minister of tolerance has denied allegations he sexually assaulted a festival organiser.
Read MoreCovid-19 restrictions mean the memorial to the four passengers killed is limited to 30 people.
Read MoreZobaidah Salangy, 28, went missing from her Bromsgrove home after saying she was going for a jog.
Read MoreBBC Radio Hereford and Worcester
Three teenagers have been arrested in Leominster after a car crashed into about 15 other vehicles in the early hours of this morning.
West Mercia Police said officers were called to Croft Street at around 02:00 when a vehicle was seen being driven erratically.
Image source, GoogleTwo of the cars it hit were police cars and the two men and one woman from Ludlow were arrested on suspicion of taking a car without the owner’s consent, criminal damage and burglary.
While in custody, one of them was also arrested for assaulting an emergency worker after attacking a police officer.
