BBC Local Live: Herefordshire & Worcestershire on Friday 28 July 2017

Summary

Man shoot by police 'stable'
Bomb squad called over homemade fireworks
Lottery funding for museum project
Walk-in health centre closes
New civil war exhibition
Updates on Friday 28 July 2017

Live Reporting

Jerry Chester

Firm 'deeply shocked' by secretary's £260k fraudpublished at 17:44 British Summer Time 26 July 2017
The managing director of a Worcestershire firm that was swindled out of £267,547 by its company secretary says he is "deeply shocked and dismayed" by her crimes.
Worcester Crown Court jailed Wendy Dillingham (pictured), of Wisteria Drive, Evesham, who pleaded guilty to charges of theft, fraud and false accounting.
Vernon Pethard said staff at PPS Media had worked "incredibly hard to rectify the situation Wendy Dillingham created" and ensure the business continued to thrive.
Image source, West Mercia Police
Quote Message
She was in a position of trust and this was a highly thought out and long term deception. I had even made her an executor of my will, which shows the extent to which she was trusted by me."
Vernon Pethard, Managing director
Weather: A dry night, but more rain tomorrowpublished at 17:30 British Summer Time 26 July 2017
Shefali Oza
BBC Midlands Today
Most of us will have a dry night, but we've got more rain forecast for tomorrow.
Media caption,
Weather forecast for the West Midlands
Woman stole £260,000 from employerpublished at 17:20 British Summer Time 26 July 2017
The company secretary is jailed for 'abusing her position' to siphon off the money to buy luxury items.
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Air guns fired by youths in woodpublished at 17:18 British Summer Time 26 July 2017
Worcester News
The guns were seen in near Rowntree Gardens in Worcester, external both on Tuesday morning and Monday morning.
Worcestershire v Durhampublished at 17:18 British Summer Time 26 July 2017
Listen to live BBC local radio commentary of Worcestershire v Durham in the T20 Blast.
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'Leading the way' on electric transport, claims councilpublished at 17:10 British Summer Time 26 July 2017
There are already 723 electric vehicles registered in Worcestershire, the county council says, claiming the area is "leading the way" in green transport.
Worcestershire County Council says it has also installed 12 rapid charge points using government funding.
Image source, Shutterstock
The council also has two electric pool cars and an electric courier van.
Quote Message
Working with partners, the county council continues to push for more and more electric charge points to be installed across the county, to make Worcestershire as electric-vehicle friendly as possible, as well as supporting local businesses and residents to consider electric vehicles, where these are cost-effective
Councillor Tony Miller, Worcestershire County Council
Decline in heating oil theftspublished at 17:00 British Summer Time 26 July 2017
Andy Giddings
BBC Shropshire
The number of thefts of heating oil in the West Mercia and Warwickshire police areas has been falling over the past three years, figures have revealed.
They dropped from 149 in 2014 to 39 last year, with the majority of those thefts reported in Shropshire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire.
That trend ended in the first six months of 2017, with 48 thefts being reported to police so far this year.
Cricket: Outlaws v Rapidspublished at 16:47 British Summer Time 26 July 2017
Dave Bradley
Cricket commentator
Worcestershire will be looking for their first T20 Blast win of the season as they travel to Trent Bridge to take on the Notts Outlaws.
Their record so far is lost four and one no result due to rain.
You can hear ball-by-ball commentary on the game, which starts at 18:30, on BBC Hereford & Worcester's 738AM frequency and online.
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Work begins to make road 'flood proof'published at 16:27 British Summer Time 26 July 2017
Preliminary work to raise one of the main roads in and out of Upton-upon-Severn upon Severn will get under way next week.
The county council’s contractors will be doing investigations along the A4104, between the town and the A38, 10 years on from when the town was badly hit by floods (pictured).
The work is the latest of a number of schemes to stop the town being cut off by flood waters. The project is due to begin later this year.
Blue plaque unveiled to honour composerpublished at 16:02 British Summer Time 26 July 2017
A leading composer is to be honoured with a blue plaque to be unveiled near Worcester cathedral.
Thomas Tomkins, who was born in 1572, worked at the cathedral for 60 years after he was appointed as organist and Master of the Choristers at the age of 24.
Image source, Worcester Cathedral
Tomkins composed both sacred and secular music and much of his output has survived and has been sung regularly by the cathedral choir.
The plaque is being unveiled as part of the Three Choirs Festival.
Redditch Community Advocacy Project requires volunteerspublished at 15:42 British Summer Time 26 July 2017
Redditch Advertiser
Community volunteers across Redditch and Bromsgrove are being invited to sign up to a new project designed to help support vulnerable adults across the county, external.
Exeter Chiefs sign former Warriors lockpublished at 15:22 British Summer Time 26 July 2017
Premiership champions Exeter Chiefs have signed former Worcester Warriors lock Wilhelm van der Sluys on a one-year deal.
The 25-year-old South African ended last season with the Southern Kings in Super Rugby.
Image source, Getty Images
Van der Sluys started just one competitive match for the Warriors and returned to South Africa in March.
Slideshow: Flowers in the rainpublished at 14:37 British Summer Time 26 July 2017
BBC Weather Watchers
It takes more than a bit of rain to stop BBC Weather Watchers from getting some great photos.
This selection comes from Mikesnapper, Johnqa, Morning Amble and J at Severn Ridge.
Media caption,
Flowers in the rain
New homes to be built on swimming pool sitepublished at 14:10 British Summer Time 26 July 2017
The old swimming pool site in Sansome Walk in Worcester will be used to build new housing, the city council says.
Worcester City Council says it considered "a number of options" for the land, including turning it into a car park or offices.
Image source, Google
A strip of the land will be sold to the neighbouring Wood Terrace Community Bowls Club, to provide a driveway to the club entrance.
Residents of the adjoining Chestnut Street will also get 20 parking spaces on the land.
Quote Message
The committee weighed up a range of options for the site before making its decision. A number of councillors made strong arguments for creating more car parking capacity in the city, however I believe the housing option carries more weight."
Councillor Louis Stephen, Worcester City Council
UKIP MEP pulls out of leadership racepublished at 13:49 British Summer Time 26 July 2017
The West Midlands Euro MP, Bill Etheridge, has announced he's withdrawing from UKIP's leadership contest.
The politician, who's seen as being a moderate within the party, says he's still to decide which of the other candidates he'll support.
Reward scheme aims to encourage recyclingpublished at 13:27 British Summer Time 26 July 2017
Householders in Redditch will be able to earn vouchers in return for recycling waste, under a new scheme started by the council.
The campaign will encourage residents to reduce the amount of waste they throw away through a number of activities including purchasing compost bins, changing to reusable nappies or planning their meals.
In return, they will receive points which can be swapped for vouchers to redeem in shops or leisure facilities.
Alternatively residents can donate their points to local charities and community projects.
Watch: Tiny tortoise treads tentativelypublished at 13:07 British Summer Time 26 July 2017
Alistair Binney
Reporter, BBC Hereford & Worcester
I've been to see a tiny "pancake" tortoise, the first of its type to be born at a Worcestershire safari park.
Finn the tortoise is the first to be born under a special breeding programme at West Midlands Safari Park, near Bewdley.
Media caption,
Tiny tortoise treads tentatively
Lost tarantula was a prankpublished at 12:47 British Summer Time 26 July 2017
Hereford Times
Pranksters ensured there were a few restless nights for people living in one Hereford suburb, external.
World War One 'mercy link' to village celebrated by citypublished at 12:27 British Summer Time 26 July 2017
The links between a French village, devastated in World War One, and the city of Worcester are being celebrated in a special exhibition.
Gouzeaucourt (war graves pictured below) was "adopted" by Worcester at the end of the war, inclduing helping the village to restore its water supply, which had been poisoned.
Image source, Google
The Worcester Twinning Association have been to the village to take photographs and carry out the research which forms the basis of the exhibition at Worcester’s Guildhall, which runs until 29 July.
The exhibition outlines the part played by Gouzeaucourt during the war, the scale of the devastation in the village and the work of the British League of Help for the Devastated Areas under whose auspices the adoption took place.
Quote Message
It has been exciting to have had the opportunity to research this forgotten story in Worcester's past."
Liz Smith, Worcester Twinning Association
CCTV images show home being burgledpublished at 12:07 British Summer Time 26 July 2017
CCTV images of two men police want to talk to in connection with a burglary a house in Clent in Worcestershire, external have been released by officers.
The burglary took place at a residential property, at The Elm, Worcester Road, between 10:23 and 10:38 on 5 July.
Image source, West Mercia Police
Image source, West Mercia Police