Underwear once owned by Wallis Simpson, the woman for whom Edward VIII abdicated the throne, will go on display in aid of St Richard's Hospice in Worcester.

The collection, owned by Sally Simmonds from Clifton-on-Teme, features silk nightdresses, French silk knickers, a negligee and kid gloves worn by the Duchess.

Mrs Simmonds is living with secondary breast cancer and is being supported by the hospice.

Image source, Hulton Archive/Getty Images

The garments can be viewed at a lunch and lecture on 6 July at The Wood Norton Hotel and Restaurant, near Evesham.

Image source, St Richard's Hospice

Worcester News

Green councillors in Worcester have spoken out against plans for a new Worcester City FC football stadium at Perdiswell Park, external.

A shakeup of bin collections in Worcester is to be considered, with savings of up to £267,000 a year possible, the city council says.

Its environment committee will look at six options to "improve efficiency" on 27 June.

They are:

• The addition of two 32-tonne collection lorries – larger than the current vehicles – plus some minor changes to collection rounds, saving £222,000 a year
• Two larger vehicles, plus a move to new collection zones, so that black and green bins can be collected in the same week, saving £244,000 annually
• Retain current Tuesday-Friday collections for green bins, but move to Monday-Friday collections for black bins, saving £177,000 a year
• Switch to Monday-Friday collections for both black and green bins with an annual saving of £157,000
• Introduce two shifts per day, five days a week, with one running 05:00 to 12:30, and the second 12:30 to 20:00, saving £238,000 a year
• Six-day working Monday-Saturday, with staff doing a five-days-on, one-day-off pattern, saving £267,000 a year

The report to the committee recommends option two, with option one as a backup, the authority says.

We're in the middle of a heatwave, so we apologise now for mentioning....Christmas.

But over in Worcester the city council is celebrating after being named as a finalist in a festive lights competition.

It's been shortlisted in the national competition organised by Revive & Thrive, which looks at how entrants have used light displays to enhance their communities.

The finalists are now invited to Blackpool on 23 June to give a presentation to the judges.

Image source, Worcester City Council

Hereford Times

A former Hereford United player has died aged 79., external

Eric Tomkins was born in Hereford, a descendent of the Tomkins family that first bred the Hereford Bull.

A man was hit by a car while changing a tyre on a car in Redditch, police said.

West Mercia Police said he suffered a broken leg after his red MG was hit by a purple Nissan Qashqai.

It happened at about 17:00 yesterday on the A441 Alcester Highway, at the end of the exit slip road from the A448 Warwick Highway.

Police have asked witnesses to call the force on 101.

As Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust is rated as inadequate by government inspectors, bosses at the trust say improvements have already been made in some of the areas highlighted by the Care Quality Commission.

Among the improvements, the trust says it has:

• Updated its plans for dealing with significant peaks in the number of patients its sees, particularly so patients have a better experience at busier times
• Updated its policy and the way it ensures male and female patients are treated in separate areas when clinically appropriate to do so
• Improved systems to ensure medicines are stored correctly and all staff receive full training around administering medicines safely
• Ensured it learns from mistakes when they do occur; with robust systems in place for reporting incidents, and improved induction and training for staff
• Ensured staff have received appropriate levels of training to care for the specific needs of children

As part of events to mark Armed Forces Week, Hereford, will see a fly-past by a Second World War Spitfire this Saturday, the council says.

The chief inspector of hospitals says "serious problems" were found at the trust that runs Worcestershire Royal, Kidderminster and the Alexandra hospital in Redditch.

Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust has been rated as inadequate by government inspectors.

The trust is already in special measures and Professor Sir Mike Richards has now recommended an extension of three to six months.

Image source, PA

Hot weather forecasts have prompted Public Health England to issue advice to beat the heat, external.

Its amber warning is declared when there is a 90% probability of a heatwave.

Children and the elderly are being warned to keep cool and hydrated.

Here's the Met Office with more...

People in Kidderminster were evacuated from their homes during anti-terror investigations when "suspicious material" was found.

Resident Wendy Tate told BBC Hereford and Worcester what she saw.

Image source, Google

Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service has issued advice on staying safe outdoors after attending a "number of incidents in the last week involving fires in the open".

A number of issues were highlighted by Care Quality Commission following an inspection which found Worcestershire Acute NHS Trust to be "inadequate".

They include:

• Since May 2016 the trust has regularly breached the 12-hour target for patients remaining in the emergency department, and many continued to be cared for in the corridor at Worcestershire Royal Hospital
• Staffing levels within the emergency department were not planned and reviewed in line with national guidance. There were not enough consultants there to meet the Royal College of Emergency Medicine's workforce recommendations

• There was no privacy and little confidentiality for patients being cared for on trolleys in the corridors of the emergency departments at Worcestershire Royal Hospital and the Alexandra Hospital. Patients were sometimes waiting by external doors in cold conditions or out of staff view

• Patient risk assessments were not fully completed on admission and generally not reviewed at regular intervals throughout the patient's stay in hospital and records were not always stored securely. This occurred in various hospital services

• Aging and unsafe equipment was used in the radiology departments across the trust that was being inadequately risk-rated

National Trust parkland near Worcester has seen a wildlife boost after "holistic grazing" was introduced, as these colourful pictures show.

Traditional breeds of cattle now graze across the estate of Croome and have transformed impoverished soil into a healthy and natural environment teeming with wildlife, bosses said.

Image source, National Trust/Tracey Blackwell

Image source, National Trust/Tracey Blackwell

Holistic grazing involves an individual section of a patchwork of land being fenced off to be grazed. Cattle are regularly moved to a new section to prevent overgrazing.

A man arrested in possession of an axe and knives in Kidderminster remains in custody.

Relive the action from day two of the County Championship as Samit Patel makes 247 for Notts and Essex and Middlesex dominate.

The chief executive of the trust that runs Worcestershire Royal, Kidderminster and the Alexandra hospital in Redditch today apologised for letting down patients, their families and carers, after it was rated as "inadequate" by government inspectors.

Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust was given the rating following an inspection by the Care Quality Commission., external

A woman was treated for smoke inhalation after a flat fire in Worcester this morning, the fire service said.

Crews were called to the address on Portland Street at 03:38.

Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service said the woman was rescued by police and other residents were evacuated.

Image source, Google

Other residents have since returned to their flats. Investigations were continuing this morning.

"Little improvement has been made" at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, say inspectors.

Army bomb disposal experts were called in after a house was searched in connection with the arrest of a 23-year-old man in possession of knives and an axe near an army reserve centre.

West Midlands Police said a "routine search" of an address in Merton Close, in Kidderminster, was carried out last night. The man was arrested on Sunday.

Image source, Google

Officers said following the discovery of "suspicious material", some residents were evacuated for a short period of time.

The Army's ordnance disposal unit confirmed the material was not suspicious and people were returned to their homes. Police say no one was in danger at any time.