Child on child sex offences double in West Mercia force area
Body found in the River Severn yet to be identified
Firm promises £2.5m investment after brook polluted
'Canary girls' tree tribute in Hereford
Updates on Friday 3 February 2017
Alex Homer
BBC Local Live
I'll be bringing you Thursday's news, sport, travel and weather updates.
Comment on our stories and send us the pictures you have captured on your local travels over email, tweet us on @bbchw, external or message us via Facebook, external.
A 16-year old transgender pupil is suing his former school for discrimination.
Read MoreThe mother of the 16-year-old claims her son was made to feel like a "freak".
Read MoreWe'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.
Hundreds of volunteers have helped the BBC programme DIY SOS to make Antonia Payne-Cheney's house suitable for her needs.
The 17-year-old has a medical condition which means that she is unable to eat properly and her joints regularly dislocate.
She spent three years in hospital, but the transformation means she can live at home now.
She now has a functional sterile space for medical procedures in her own bespoke bedroom, a specially adapted wet room and an accessible space for her to socialise with family and her friends.
DIY SOS helps teenager return from hospital
A mushroom packaging and distribution company has been fined £50,000 for polluting a brook in Evesham.
Walsh Mushrooms pleaded guilty at Cheltenham Magistrates’ Court yesterday to polluting Battleton Brook with the effluent of rotting mushrooms.
Image source, Environment AgencyThe Environment Agency said it investigated reports in April and May 2015 that the brook had turned black and had a foul odour.
Its officer found the brook heavily polluted with organic matter, causing low levels of oxygen.
Frogs and a significant number of invertebrates downstream of Vale Park had been killed as a result of the pollution incident, the agency said.
The pollution was caused by a skip full of decomposing mushrooms (pictured) on the Walsh Mushroom site, which was leaking into a surface water drain, a spokesman said.
Image source, Environment AgencyThree Worcester Valkyries players are likely to start England's opening Six Nations game at Twickenham on Saturday.
Lydia Thompson, Rochelle Clark (pictured) and Laura Keates are in the starting 15 for the game against France.
Image source, Getty Images
Shefali Oza
BBC Midlands Today
This evening will be largely dry, however patchy rain will move in from the southwest overnight. The rain will be mostly light but it will be accompanied by a strengthening breeze. Lows of 10C (50F).
BBC Midlands Today's Shefali Oza has your forecast
A former teacher who worked in Worcestershire and has admitted 45 sex offences against children in Britain and abroad, inflicted "severe psychological harm to all of the children he abused", according to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
The CPS said many of the victims are now old enough to realise the enormity of what happened to them.
Quote MessageThe harrowing evidence presented by the prosecution in this case outlined the suffering that Mark Frost caused to his victims. Over many years, Frost repeatedly exploited vulnerable young victims, both in the UK and in Thailand, for his own sexual gratification."
Ruona Iguyovwe, CPS senior specialist prosecutor
The bridge collapsed in May after its supports were undermined by fast-flowing water.
The new bridge is due to open by April, according to Worcestershire County Council.
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Two 18-year-old men and a 27-year-old man, all from Worcester, have been arrested on suspicion of rape, arranging and facilitating the sexual exploitation of a child, police say.
West Mercia Police say the arrests are in connection with reports of the rape of a teenage girl at the County Hall car park off Spetchely Road, Worcester, on 27 December.
All three men are currently in police custody, a spokesman said.
Image source, Worcestershire County CouncilQuote MessageOfficers from the Child Sexual Exploitation team are continuing to provide support for the victim as investigations continue."
Det Sgt Jim Hopkins, West Mercia Police
Here are some of the stories we are looking at this afternoon:
- A former teacher who worked in Worcestershire admits 45 sex offences against children in Britain and abroad
- A mother tells an inquest "part of her died" when her son was killed by terrorists in Tunisia
- A man is left in a critical condition in hospital after being attacked by a group of men and women
A veteran who had his war medals stolen from his Stourport home has made an emotional appeal for their return, external.
Retired English teacher Mark Frost admits 45 sex offences against children in the UK and abroad.
Read MoreSarah Campbell
BBC News
An inquest is being held at the Royal Courts of Justice in London into the details around a terror attack in Tunisia.
Charles Patrick Evans, known to friends as Pat, 78, his son Adrian Evans, 49 and his grandson, Joel Richards, 19, were all killed in the indoor pool area of the Imperial Marhaba Hotel.
Suzanne Richards, who lost her eldest son, brother and father that day said they were a very close family.
They had arrived in Tunisia the night before, calling it a "jolly boys outing". The four of them - including Joel's brother, Owen who survived - had been twice before
This time they were there to celebrate Owen finishing his GCSE's.
Mrs Richards said: "There are no words to explain how heartbroken we are but we take comfort that they stayed together in their last moments, protecting each other"
Speaking of her brother Adrian,she added: "I so wish he was here for me to help me understand and deal with what's happened to my family".
A man is in a "critical but stable condition" after being assaulted in Kidderminster by a group of men and women, external, police say.
West Mercia Police say they were called to a property in Burcher Green, in the Comberton area on Monday where three men had been assaulted.
A 30-year-old man sustained serious head injuries and was taken to Worcester Royal Hospital and later transferred to University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire.
Police say they believe the offenders used a black BMW which was later abandoned near the junction of Coronation Way and Borrington Road.
A learning disabilities charity is half way to buying a "ground-breaking" inflatable sport arena, thanks to a donation from the Worcester News’ publisher Newsquest, external.
A man has been sprayed in the face with a deodorant, stabbed with a pen or nail and punched, during an assault in Kidderminster, external, police say.
The assault happened as the 40-year-old was walking across was walking across the wasteland of the former British Heart Foundation site on Bridge Street (pictured), sometime between midnight and 00:40 on Tuesday.
Image source, GooglePolice say the group of two or three attackers left the man needing treatment for cuts and bruises.
The daytime closure, on the A4111 at Eardisley, will start on Monday, 13 February.
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Sarah Campbell
BBC News
The inquest into a Black Country family killed in the Tunisia terror attack has been hearing family statements.
The mother of Joel Richards, 19, from Wednesbury, who attended the University of Worcester, told the Royal Courts of Justice in London that Joel was robbed of his future.
Suzanne Richards, said: "Part of me died that day when my beautiful child was taken from me. I'm sorry that you lost your dreams but you are in my dreams every day".
