'Sinkhole' road reopens after void is filled
Search for relatives of Somme soldiers
120,000 people expected to attend Victorian Street Fayre in Worcester
Debut for two Warriors; academy players
Updates from Friday 25 November
Jerry Chester
BBC News Online
Welcome to the Local Live service for Herefordshire and Worcestershire on Thursday morning.
I'll be bringing you all the news, sport, travel and weather as it happens.
If you'd like to get in touch you can email, tweet us on @bbchw, external or message via Facebook, external.
We'll be back with our usual mix of news, sport, travel and weather from 08:00 tomorrow, but keep an eye out here for more updates this evening and into the morning.
BBC Midlands Today
David Finney has been a swimming coach in Redditch for 40 years.
His dedication has seen him shortlisted as one of our three finalists.
David Finney has been a swimming coach in Redditch for 40 years.
An artist's impression of how Droitwich High Street will look after a £650,000 facelift have been released by the county council.
Image source, Worcestershire County CouncilIt is "widely recognised that the high street is currently in a poor state of repair and has a number of uneven surfaces", Worcestershire County Council says.
The revamp will involve upgrading the carriageway and paths, and the installation of a raised crossing point so that pushchairs and wheelchairs can cross over easily, the local authority says.
The scheme will be paid for with £500,000 from Worcestershire County Council and £150,000 from Wychavon District Council.
The Environment Agency still have one flood warning in place for the River Severn at Court Meadow, Kempsey and Callow End, external.
Allow Twitter content?
This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.
The A449 at Ombersley is to be resurfaced tomorrow after a bus caught fire damaging the road surface, the council says.
All the passengers got off safely, but the bus driver was treated in hospital after breathing in smoke during the fire, which broke out just after 13:00.
Worcestershire County Council says the resurfacing will start tomorrow at 09:30, after the morning rush hour, and one lane will be kept open during the work.
Claudia Berry
Producer, BBC Hereford & Worcester
A 54-year-old E-type Jaguar Roadster that was once owned by the wife of the Prince of Persia has sold for £22,500.
The car, which is one of the first 500 to be made, was discovered languishing in a Jamaican scrapyard and was sold by Brightwells, the Leominster-based auctioneers, external.
Image source, BrightwellsThe car was bought for Princess Nina Aga Khan by her husband as a present.
She used to drive her two pet black panthers around her own private Caribbean island in the car - but then you would, wouldn't you?
Image source, Brightwells
Shefali Oza
BBC Midlands Today
Staying fairly cloudy overnight with some light and patchy rain for some. Perhaps clearer in the north allowing it to turn cold here with pockets of frost. Lows of 8C (46F).
Shefali Oza with the West Midlands weather update.
The old maxim says that you wait half an hour for a bus and then two come along.
That frustration will be a thing of the past, the council is promising, when a £1.8m project to bring "real time information" using solar-powered display boards is complete.
Image source, Worcestershire County CouncilWorcestershire County Coucil says 13 real-time information displays are already in place and a further 26 will be rolled out in key areas across the county between now and the end of the year.
Online information, on-street information points and a mobile app are also planned for the future.
At the end of World War One, Worcester adopted the french town of Gouzeaucourt to help it recover after four years in the front line of the conflict.
The Heritage Lottery Fund has just awarded Worcester £10,000 for a temporary twinning with the French town - an exhibition and website are planned among other things.
Image source, Google- Gouzeaucourt village was at the centre of the fighting during the Battle of Cambrai in 1917
- The village changed hands hands five times during the fighting
- The cemetery originally contained the graves of 55 soldiers who died in the fighting, but has since been expanded to contain 295 burials
- The village is mentioned in the poem The Irish Guards by Rudyard Kipling
Michael Perkins
BBC Hereford & Worcester
The driver of a bus which caught fire on the main road between Worcester and Kidderminster was taken to hospital after breathing in smoke, the police say.
West Mercia Police say several other passengers were seen by paramedics after the fire, which broke out shortly after 13:00 on the the A449 at Ombersley.
The cause of the fire is not known at this time, but is "not believed to be suspicious", a spokesman said.
Road closures were in place in both directions while the fire was put out, but all lanes of the dual carriageway are now open.
Here are some of the main stories we are looking at in Herefordshire and Worcestershire:
- Road to be resurfaced after lorry fire closes main Worcester to Kidderminster road
- Worcester's link with a French town devastated during World War One is rekindled with a £10,000 lottery grant
- One of the first 500 E-type Jaguars to be built, which was once owned by a princess, goes up for auction
Three suspected illegal workers were removed from their business premises and told to report to an immigration office as part of a police campaign, external.
Claudia Berry
Producer, BBC Hereford & Worcester
A 54-year-old E-type Jaguar Roadster that once belonged to the wife of the Prince of Persia is up for sale in Leominster.
James Dennison, from auctioneers Brightwells, took me through some of the car's exotic history.
Princess' classic E-type up for sale.
Patrick Burns
Political editor, Midlands
It's Philip Hammond's first Autumn Statement since his move from foreign secretary to chancellor of the exchequer.
I've been looking at what his announcements mean to us living and working in the Midlands.
Image source, PAA recent survey by Midlands Connect, a collaboration of 28 councils and 10 local enterprise partnerships across the East and West Midlands, suggests a quarter of local businesses would consider relocating elsewhere in the country if there's no improvement in connectivity.
He promised more details of road improvements would be announced in the Midlands by Transport Secretary Chris Grayling within the next few days.
But the most ambitious individual transport initiative is a £5m Rail Hub which will, among others things, enable 10 more train services every hour through Birmingham's New Street station, the cross roads of the rail network.
Read more of my analysis here on the BBC News website.
Jerry Chester
BBC News Online
The city council is warning that the riverside walks in Worcester are flooded, and river levels are not expected to peak until the evening.
Riverside walks flood in Worcester.
Claudia Berry
Producer, BBC Hereford & Worcester
A classic Jaguar E-Type, that once belonged to Nina Aga Khan, the wife of the Prince of Persia, has been found languishing in a Jamaican scrapyard.
Image source, BrightwellsThe princess used the car to drive her pet panthers around the private island on which they lived.
Auctioneers Brightwells, who are based in Leominster, think the 54-year-old sports car will be worth more the £200,000 when it is restored
Image source, BrightwellsQuote MessageIt's a very early car with a chassis number, it's got an identity and a heritage certificate. It'll be worth over £200,000 when it's finished and it will probably coast £100,000 to £150,000 to restore - so it's worth doing."
James Dennison, Brightwells
Phil Maiden
Reporter, BBC Hereford & Worcester
A Redditch man says he's been shot at with a BB gun while filling up his van at a petrol station in the town.
Barry Love was coming home from work last night when he stopped to get fuel - he says the pellet was very close to hitting him in the eye.
Quote MessageA couple of other people ducked behind their cars just in case, but whoever it was legged it or had been on a pushbike."
Barry Love
The police say they conducted a search but that no item was found.
Tim Race
Producer, BBC Hereford & Worcester
A bus has caught fire in Ombersley, closing the A449 Worcester to Kidderminster road.
All the passengers were safely evacuated, the fire service says.
Crews from Droitwich and Worcester tackled the blaze shortly after 13:00.
Here are some of the main stories we are looking at in Herefordshire and Worcestershire:
- Bus fire partially closes the main Worcester to Kidderminster road
- Worcester's twinning association given £10,000 lottery grant to link with French village "adopted after WW1
- A classic Jaguar sport car, once owned by a princess, goes up for auction
