BBC Sport

British Cycling has admitted it did not pay "sufficient care and attention" to the wellbeing of staff and athletes at the expense of winning medals .

In October, the organisation found former technical director Shane Sutton guilty on one of nine charges of using sexist language towards Bromsgrove cyclist Jess Varnish, who was dropped from British Cycling's elite programme last April.  

Image source, Getty Images

The organisation has now been forced to respond to a leaked draft report of an investigation into alleged failings in its culture.

Published in the  Daily Mail,, external  it claims British Cycling "sanitised" its own probe into claims Shane Sutton used sexist language towards Bromsgrove cyclist Jess Varnish.

It also spoke of a "culture of fear", with some staff "bullied".

BBC Midlands Today

The number of cases of fly-tipping in Herefordshire and Worcestershire has risen by just under 66% in the past five years. 

A BBC investigation found, from the councils which responded, that there were a total of 4,882 incidents in 2015-16 compared with 2,948 in 2011-12.  

The biggest rise was in Bromsgrove, were cases more than doubled from 877 to 1,757 in the same period. 

Across the West Midlands, the BBC has found fly-tipping incidents have risen by 13%.  

Worcester News

A massive £5m will be ploughed into Redditch to transform the town centre, external , as part of ambitious plans to to drive the "Midlands Engine" forward.

BBC News England

A woman has found a letter by popular children's author Enid Blyton in a book that cost £1.  

Jacqueline Ralph found the note in a copy of Silas Marner, by George Eliot, which she purchased in the Cinema Bookshop in Hay-on-Wye.  

Ms Ralph, from Lichfield said she was "amazed" by the find.

Experts said the letter was probably a generic copy that was sent to the writer's fans.

Trevor Owens
Sports Editor, BBC Hereford & Worcester

Worcester Wolves’ head coach, Paul James, feels his squad is running into form at just the right time. 

The Wolves will go into their BBL Championship match against Leeds Force at the University Arena on Friday, 10 March with a record of eight wins from their last 10 matches in all competitions.  

Ledbury, Leominster and Upton-Upon-Severn are officially among the best places to live in the UK. 

The towns are all included in the Sunday Times list which will be published this weekend. 

The list looks at crime rates, house prices, shops, schools and community spirit.

Image source, bbc

There are plans to get funding to restore the covered walkway, know locally at The Worm, that links Great Malvern station to what was once The Imperial Hotel.

The Friends of Malvern Railways group plan to reopen the tunnel, which allowed first-class passengers to walk directly to the hotel

When it opened in 1860, the Imperial Hotel (pictured below) was the height of luxury - and the first to be lit by "incandescent gas" according to Historic England, external . It is now a private girls' school.

At the time Malvern was a popular tourist destination, due to its range of hills and spring water.

The population of Malvern in the 1861 census was given as 4,484, yet on 28 July 1860 the Malvern Advertiser reported that 5,000 people arrived in the town for "excursions".  

Worcester News

Tributes have been paid to a man whose body was found in a canal in Worcester, external .  

Image source, Worcester News

Good news about the injury Tom Kohler-Cadmore suffered while playing grade cricket this winter for Penrith in Australia.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

The beavers will be released into a 16-acre fenced area along the Greathough Brook near Brierley. 

It's hoped they will dam the stream creating new habitats for wildlife and slowing the flow of water to potentially reduce the flood risk around Lydbrook.

In other areas of the UK where beavers live wild, farmers have complained of damage to their land. 

Wyre Forest District Council has told us it's cost around £40,000 to deal with fly-tipping over the past 12 months.

It said in the first six months of last year environmental enforcement officers issued 30 on-the-spot fines. 

It says it is also running an awareness campaign aimed at businesses to help tackle the problem. 

Image source, bbc

Image source, Getty Images

A family of beavers could be released into a fenced area of the Forest of Dean later this year as part of a three-year trial. 

The Forestry Commission is finalising plans to introduce the animals to an area near Brierley, hoping they would dam the Greathough Brook and potentially reduce flood risk downstream.

In Scotland, the release of Eurasian beavers in Argyll in 2009 was deemed so successful they were given protected status. 

"Beavers promote biodiversity by creating new ponds and wetlands, which in turn provide valuable habitats for a wide range of other species," said the country's environment secretary Roseanna Cunningham.

Phil Maiden
Reporter, BBC Hereford & Worcester

I've been to visit a fly-tipping "hot-spot" in Wychavon, Chadwick Lane between Stourport-on-Severn and Hartlebury.

The number of fly tipping incidents in the Wyre Forest has trebled over the past three years while it's doubled in Bromsgrove and in Herefordshire.

Alex Hamilton
BBC Weather

A cloudy day in store with occasional light drizzle, but also some patches of brightness - highs of 13C (55F).

You can find a detailed forecast for your area on the BBC Weather site.

Jerry Chester
BBC News Online

Welcome to the Local Live service for Herefordshire and Worcestershire on Friday morning. BBC Weather Watcher SK has been out early to snap some daffodils in Hereford.

Image source, SK

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 .

Image source, Getty Images

A family of beavers could be released into a fenced area of the Forest of Dean as soon as September.

The news follows a meeting last night to discuss their reintroduction in a bid to help prevent flooding in the area.

The Forestry Commission wants to release the animals into a 16-acre area by the Greathough Brook, near Brierley.

Beavers were hunted to extinction about half a century ago for their highly valuable fur and oil, but have survived in captivity. 

The note that contains the popular author's signature was discovered in a Hay-on-Wye bookshop.

We'll be back with our usual mix of news, sport, travel and weather from 08:00 tomorrow.

Keep an eye out here for more updates this evening and into the morning.     

Mary Rhodes
Presenter, BBC Midlands Today

On Midlands Today this evening, we'll have more on shocking statistics that more babies die before their first birthday in the West Midlands than anywhere else in the country. 

Health professionals are trying to reduce the numbers of deaths by 20% by 2021.

And with the chancellor Philip Hammond looking to kick-start the so-called Midlands Engine with £392m, we'll look at how it's going to be spent. 

Those stories plus more, including your weather forecast for the West Midlands, from 18:30 on BBC One.

Tim Race
BBC Hereford & Worcester

More than 3,000 tickets have been sold for Bromsgrove Sporting's first leg of the FA Vase semi-final, says the club.

They meet Cleethorpes Town on Saturday 11 March, and are expecting a crowd of around 3,500.