Summary

  • Updates from the past week

Live Reporting

  1. Apply to become a BBC apprentice

    Have you got new ways of using social media to tell a good story?

    If so, you might be interested in this.

    An opportunity to become a digital apprentice for the BBC in the West Midlands has opened.

    Meet one of the BBC apprentices who is working in Berkshire about his experience...

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    Applications to apply for this year's digital journalism apprenticeship close on 18 April.

  3. New vs old - How Hereford has shaped up three years on

    The Old Market in Hereford was named with a nod to the 154-year-old cattle auction which once stood on the site after it was moved out of the town centre.

    BBC News takes a look at the town three years on from a transformation which was make or break for the area.

    Old Market, Hereford

    In 2014, the creation of the Old Market was named the  UK's best new shopping centre  and brought 1,200 new jobs. What's not to love?

    Die-hard farmers who wanted to keep the cattle market weren't happy, say two teenagers, Jack and Georgia who much prefer the new look.

    On the other hand Ray and Jean Ridley say: "I don't think the new development is for the likes of us." 

    Jack and Georgia and Ray and Jean Ridley

    Read the full story on BBC News.

  4. Rail disruption until 16:30

    BBC News Travel

    Services are running again between Ledbury and Malvern, but train operator London Midland is warning that services could be affected until 16:30.

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  5. Your pictures: Lunar views across Herefordshire and Worcestershire

    BBC Weather Watchers

    Our Weather Watchers have been busy sending us pictures, with this view of last night's moon over Redditch sent in by Kev.

    Moon over RedditchWeather Watcher/Kev

    Whilst LouNik snapped this fabulous image in Hereford.

    Moon over HerefordWeather Watcher/LouNik

  6. Points failure prompts delays warning

    BBC News Travel

    Train operator London Midland is warning travellers between Ledbury and Malvern they face delays after a points failure.

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  7. Police body-cams to 'improve evidence gathering'

    Elizabeth Glinka
    BBC Midlands Today

    Cameras being worn by West Mercia Police officers from today will help gather evidence and show "the real impact" of a crime on victims, the force's chief constable says. 

    More than 40 officers are being equipped with the technology, with plans to roll it out to all front-line staff by the end of the year.     

    Anthony Bangham says the new technology will also offer "the best chance to secure a conviction in court".

    Body cams

  9. Driver's 'miraculous' escape after 50ft hill plunge

    A woman "miraculously" escaped serious injury when her car went off the road and went 50ft down a hillside near Malvern, West Midlands Ambulance Service says.

    It happened shortly before 8:30 on the B4232 Jubilee Drive, in Upper Colwall.

    Police, fire and ambulance crews all arrived to find that the woman had escaped through her sunroof after the car's fall had been broken by a tree.

    She was treated at the scene, before being taken to Worcestershire Royal Hospital for further checks.

    Crash sceneWest Midlands Ambulance Service
    Crash sceneWest Midlands Ambulance Service

  10. How is Hereford High Town three years after Old Market opened?

    Jennifer Meierhans
    BBC News Online

    When England's last surviving inner-city cattle market was ripped down and replaced with shops, restaurants and a cinema, opinion was divided.  

    High Town in Hereford is a short walk from the £90m Old Market shopping and leisure complex BBC/Chas Breton

    Some feared the new complex would be the death of the historic high street. Others hoped it would bring a new lease of life.

    As the third anniversary of the transformation approaches BBC News takes a look at its impact on Hereford - read more here.

  11. Your Weather Watchers photos

    BBC Weather Watchers

    Here are two glorious photos uploaded to the BBC Weather Watchers website , taken by Morning Amble in Ashton under Hill and The Wolster in Kidderminster.

    Aston under HillMorning Amble
    KidderminsterThe Wolster

  12. Rugby Union: Worcester in Te'o boost for Sale Sharks trip

    BBC Sport

    Worcester Warriors are at Sale Sharks this evening in a bottom-of-the-table clash between two sides struggling in the Premiership this season.

    Worcester prop Ryan Bower comes in for Val Rapava Ruskin, while England centre Ben Te'o is also fit to return. 

    Ben Te'o of Worcester Warriors scoresAlex Broadway/Getty Images

    Perry Humphreys will replace winger Bryce Heem, who was sent off in that game and given a  two-game ban.

    Worcester, who are just four points behind 10th-placed Sale, have not won away in the Premiership since beating Harlequins in March 2016.  

  14. PCC defends £1m body-cam price tag

    Phil Maiden
    Reporter, BBC Hereford & Worcester

    The Police and Crime Commissioner for West Mercia Police has defended a £1m spend on body cameras for its officers.

    Body cameras on charge

    From today the force has started rolling out use of the technology with 46 officers in Malvern equipped with them. 

    The force aims to have all front line officers using them by the end of the year.

    I am absolutely confident that we're investing in kit that's been proved by other police forces so we've got kit that we know that works and is the latest on the market."

    John Campion , Police and Crime Commissioner for West Mercia

  15. Football fans start charity walk in aid of skin cancer unit

    BBC Hereford and Worcester

    A group of Kidderminster Harriers fans have set off from the town to walk to Cheltenham to watch their team play Gloucester City tomorrow. 

    Kidderminster Harriers groundJulian Finney/Getty Images

    They're doing it to raise money for the skin cancer unit at Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital - and in memory of a friend who died from the disease. 

    The first time such a walk was carried out in 2014, they raised nearly £40,000 for charity and £20,000 in 2015.

    Between 36 miles from the home of Kidderminster Harriers through to Tewkesbury then from Tewkesbury we walk to Cheltenham on Saturday morning, that's 10 miles but in between there's the little matter of a fans' football match."

    Karl Davies , Member of the charity walking group

  16. West Mercia Police start use of body-worn cameras

    BBC Midlands Today

    Police in Malvern are going to be the first in the West Mercia force to start wearing body-cameras from today.

    Bodycam

    Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) John Campion says 46 officers in the town are being equipped with the technology, with plans to roll out to all front-line officers and staff by the end of the year. 

    The PCC says more than £1m has been invested in the technology, which has been shown to reduce complaints, prevent crimes and provide evidence.

  17. Has new centre killed city or saved it?

    What impact has replacing a 150-year-old cattle market with a £90m shopping complex had on the city?

    Read More

  19. Ambulance diverts 'should be urgent priority'

    How the NHS system works

    Prof John Appleby, of the Nuffield Trust, said tackling the issue of ambulances being diverted from A&Es should be an "urgent priority". 

    He also said his research showed there was low morale among ambulance staff, which he said was worrying.  

    However, Mark Docherty, from West Midlands Ambulance Service, said it was more important patients get prompt care.

    Clearly what we don't want is very sick patients being taken into a hospital where ere are long delays and the patient many have their care delayed as a result of going to a hospital that's already struggling."

    Mark Docherty , Drector of clinical commissioning and development, West Midlands Ambulance Service

  20. Turning ambulances away from A&Es 'bad for patients'

    According to the NHS figures compiled by The Nuffield Trust, only Pennine Acute Hospitals had a poorer record for turning ambulances away - 89 were diverted in December and January.

    The diverts normally last only a couple of hours and are put in place to allow A&E staff to reduce the queues of patients waiting for treatment.

    When a divert is put in place, ambulances are routed to other nearby hospitals.

    Graph

    Saffron Cordery, of NHS Providers, which represents hospitals, said the trend was "stark".

    "Diverting ambulances to other hospitals is disruptive for paramedics and bad for patients.

    "The sharp increase in the number of diversions is very worrying. Further steps will be needed across health and social care to address these pressures."