Summary

  • Body found in river at Holt Fleet, Worcester

  • Richard Johnson narrowly loses out in Gold Cup race

  • Pershore fear it will lose out on new rail services

  • £1m dream for Hereford woman battling cancer

  • Updates on Friday 17 March 2017

  1. Inquest into death of eight-year old boy opens laterpublished at 08:37 Greenwich Mean Time 14 March 2017

    The inquest into the death of an eight-year-old boy who died a day after being discharged from hospital opens later.

    Callum Cartlidge suffered a cardiac arrest at home in Redditch after developing suspected sepsis, the BBC has been told. He had been diagnosed with tonsilitis.

    Callum CartlidgeImage source, Family photo

    Paramedics were allegedly told to take him 18 miles (29km) to Worcestershire Hospital and not nearby Alexandra Hospital in Redditch, which  stopped admitting children to A&E in September.

    Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust is investigating what happened.

  2. Video: What's the weather got in store today?published at 08:20 Greenwich Mean Time 14 March 2017

    Sara Blizzard
    BBC Weather

    After a cloudy start, a few brighter intervals are possible; feeling mild with highs of 14C (57F).

    You can find a detailed forecast for your area here.

    Media caption,

    Latest weather for the West Midlands

  3. Good morning from Tuesday's Herefordshire and Worcestershire live page published at 08:00 Greenwich Mean Time 14 March 2017

    Jerry Chester
    BBC News Online

    Welcome to the Local Live service for Herefordshire and Worcestershire on Tuesday morning. 

    Not such a bright start to the day  as you can see from this early morning photo from BBC Weather Watcher Happysnapper71.

    Cloudy skyImage source, Happysnapper71

    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  emailtweet us on @bbchw, external  or message via  Facebook, external .

  4. Our live coverage across the daypublished at 18:00 Greenwich Mean Time 13 March 2017

    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.

  5. Tennis court facelift a step closerpublished at 17:56 Greenwich Mean Time 13 March 2017

    A campaign to upgrade tennis facilities in Droitwich Spa received a boost today, after Wychavon District Council agreed to provide an extra £10,000.

    The group Let's Play Tennis needs to raise £40,000 to refurbish the courts at the Lido Park - this latest grant means the council will now be meeting three quarters of the total cost. 

    Lido ParkImage source, Wychavon District Council
    Quote Message

    We’re thrilled with this additional funding which gets us so much closer to our final goal. We still have a lot of money to raise though, so we are once again calling on the community as well as local businesses to... give what they can to this project."

    Elaine Ball, Fundraiser

  6. Plan for pleasure boats in Herefordpublished at 17:53 Greenwich Mean Time 13 March 2017

    Nicola Goodwin
    Reporter, BBC Hereford & Worcester

    There are plans for pleasure boats to be put on the River Wye in Hereford to host school trips and parties.

    Campaigners are hoping to introduce boats on the water in the city by next year, similar to the ones used at Symonds Yat and in Worcester. 

    Gary Wilding from the Left Bank, where the boats could be moored, says there's lots of potential. 

    River Wye in HerefordImage source, Google
    Quote Message

    Obviously we operate a lot of weddings from the Left Bank, so no doubt the wedding parties will operate on the boats as well. The registrars are quite happy to marry people on the boat, so we'll no doubt have a few ceremonies on the boat as well."

    Gary Wilding, Left Bank

  7. Your photos: Bloomin' marvellouspublished at 17:51 Greenwich Mean Time 13 March 2017

    Spring has arrived in Worcestershire - thanks to BBC Weather Watchers Feline Ferocity in Redditch and Toppo in Doddenham for these beautiful pictures of blossom across the county.

    blossom in RedditchImage source, Feline Ferocity
    tree in bloom in DoddenhamImage source, Toppo
  8. On Midlands Today from 18:30: Mountain of waste fly-tipped on woodland published at 17:33 Greenwich Mean Time 13 March 2017

    Nick Owen
    Presenter, BBC Midlands Today

    On Midlands Today this evening - more fly-tipping as around 200 tonnes of commercial rubbish has been dumped on private woodland.  

    Fly-tipping

    Fly-tippers drove lorry-loads of waste on to the Enville Estate on Tuesday afternoon. 

    We'll have the full story including the cost of clean-up from 18:30 on BBC One.

  9. Watch: Tonight and tomorrow's weather forecast for the West Midlands published at 17:15 Greenwich Mean Time 13 March 2017

    Alex Hamilton
    BBC Weather

    After a bright, sunny day today, here's how tonight and tomorrow are shaping up.

    You can also keep up-to-date with the latest forecast at the BBC Weather website .

    Media caption,

    Alex Hamilton

  10. Stone attack: Ambulance 'could have left the road'published at 17:04 Greenwich Mean Time 13 March 2017

    An attack on an ambulance carrying an elderly cardiac patient to the Worcestershire Royal Hospital , external could have been much more serious and even caused the vehicle to leave the road, according to West Midlands Ambulance Service. 

    The driver of the ambulance was left covered in glass after a gang of youths threw a stone through the front side passenger window, as it was travelling past the Mitre Oak pub on the A449 just after midnight on Sunday morning. 

    A second ambulance had to be sent out to Hartlebury to take the patient to hospital.

    smashed ambulance windowImage source, WMAS
    Quote Message

    Although police did attend and searched the area, there was no trace of the three youths. Thankfully, no-one was seriously hurt, but we could easily have ended up with the vehicle leaving the road and then who knows what could have happened."

    Steve Elliker , WMAS Security and Safety Manager

    Anyone who knows anything about what happened is asked to contact the police on 101.

  11. Tree removal held up by bat discoverypublished at 16:51 Greenwich Mean Time 13 March 2017

    Briohny Williams
    BBC Hereford and Worceser rerpoter

    Work to remove unsafe lime trees in the centre of Worcester has been held up due to an unexpected find in one of the trees. 

    As workmen began to fell trees on New Road, which were decaying inside, a bat was discovered in the branches.

    An ecologist is now on site to decide what to do next.

    workman in New Road

    An assessment of the trees was commissioned by Worcestershire County Council's Highways team in response to concerns about their condition and ahead of a potential scheme to raise the road later this year to reduce its flood risk.  

  12. Severn Valley Railway share issue tops £1mpublished at 16:28 Greenwich Mean Time 13 March 2017

    The Severn Valley Railway is well on course to reach its target of raising £2.5m through a share issue after raising £1m in the first four months.

    It passed that mark at the start of the March.

    Severn Valley Railway

    The money is going to be used to fund improvements to its station in Bridgnorth and the £1 shares will remain on sale until the end of October.

  13. Crowdfunding success for family of boy whose heart stoppedpublished at 16:16 Greenwich Mean Time 13 March 2017

    A crowdfunding page set up to help raise money for a tribute garden in memory of an eight-year-old boy who died after suffering a cardiac arrest has more than doubled its target of £3,000.

    Callum Cartlidge, from Redditch, was taken by ambulance to the Worcestershire Royal Hospital as the Alexandra Hospital no longer has a children's inpatient unit , but died soon after.

    His death came less than 24 hours after being discharged from the same hospital after being diagnosed with tonsillitis  

    Alexandra Hospital sign

    The trust said it was investigating  

    More than £6,500 has been raised after his aunt set up the gofundme page last weekend.

  14. Hereford FC: Some fans 'an embarrassment'published at 15:38 Greenwich Mean Time 13 March 2017

    Directors at Hereford FC say recent behaviour by a small minority of the club's fans has been an embarrassment.  , external

    Crowd trouble meant last weekend's match at Didcot Town had to be abandoned after the side came from behind to score what could have been a late winner. 

    Directors Ken Kinnersley and George Webb say it's depressing that non-football concerns are overshadowing good news on the pitch.

    George WebbImage source, BBC Sport
    Quote Message

    Although in the main our supporters are great ambassadors for this football club and behave extremely well both home and away, there is no getting away from the fact that on a number of occasions a small minority have behaved in a way that has caused the club embarrassment. There has to be an element of self-policing from supporters and some individuals do need to take more responsibility for their own behaviour."

    George Webb, Commercial Director

  15. Stone hurled through ambulance windowpublished at 15:11 Greenwich Mean Time 13 March 2017

    The attack showered the driver with broken glass, West Midlands Ambulance Service says.

    Read More
  16. 'Information at their fingertips' thanks to giant travel screen published at 15:02 Greenwich Mean Time 13 March 2017

    A giant outdoor touchscreen device has been installed in Worcester to help travellers and tourists access information. 

    Worcestershire County Council say the new interactive travel information point at the city's Cathedral Square is the first of its kind in the UK.  

    The unit gives live bus and train timetables as well as directions to landmarks and amenities in the city. 

    interactive traval information pointImage source, Worcestershire County Council
    Quote Message

    Worcestershire is at the cutting edge of developing platforms that give the public the information they require to easily move around urban spaces and we were delighted to be involved in this project. As a first in the UK, it shows the benefits that can be realised from bringing in data from a number of sources and presenting it to the user through an easy-to-use interface."

    Russ Singleton , Chief Executive of 21st Century

    The installation forms part of the £20m Worcester Transport Strategy Major Scheme, which includes funding of £13.5m from the Department for Transport, announced last month. 

    The council is planning more units at key locations in Worcester over the coming months.