Essex and Worcestershire play out an inevitable draw after batsmen dominate in their County Championship meeting.

The latest news and updates from across the West Midlands and south Cheshire.

Unbeaten centuries from Jake Libby and Ed Barnard move Worcestershire towards parity with county champions Essex.

Tom Westley scores his second career double century against Worcestershire as reigning county champions Essex continue to dominate.

Former chancellor Sajid Javid says the duke devoted his life to serving the UK and the Commonwealth.

BBC Weather

Dull with outbreaks of rain or drizzle this morning and there will continue to be little sunshine through the rest of the day with outbreaks of rain around. High: 8C/46F.

Image source, WeatherWatcherWill

Skies will turn quite clear tonight which will mean temperatures dropping away and it will turn very cold with a widespread frost likely. Low: -1C/30F.

You can get a latest forecast for your area at any time by going to the BBC Weather website.

Essex captain Tom Westley steers champions Essex to a steady start with the bat against Worcestershire.

The Unite union says work done at the Komatsu factory in Worcester is to move overseas.

Relive the opening day of the 2021 County Championship season as defending champions Essex make a strong start.

The Wildlife Trusts says it wants 30% of UK land and sea to be set aside for nature by 2030.

BBC local radio cricket commentators give their thoughts on how the season might pan out for their county.

With the County Championship making an eagerly anticipated return on Thursday, here's a look at who and what to watch out for.

The Wildlife Trusts coalition has revealed 10 locations in England and Wales they are hoping bring back nature.

Sites in Shropshire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire are included in the £8m project.

The trusts have begun a campaign, backed by Sir David Attenborough, to drive the recovery of nature across 30% of land by 2030.

Image source, Getty Images

In Shropshire, 12 acres of unsprayed fields around the Stiperstones ridge (pictured), above Tankerville, will be restored to allow harebells, yellow mountain pansies, stonechats and skylarks to thrive.

Meanwhile in Herefordshire, £200,000 will be spent restoring the 14-acre Ail Meadow, increasing wildflowers to boost numbers of the wood white butterfly, providing a home for species such as bog pimpernel.

Ninety-five acres of arable fields will be restored back to heathland in Worcestershire to connect four surrounding nature reserves and provide home to wildlife, including the hornet robberfly and minotaur bee.

"Just protecting the nature we have left is not enough; we need to put nature into recovery and to do so at scale and with urgency," Wildlife Trusts chief executive Craig Bennett said.

"We need to transform nature-poor areas into new nature-rich places - and change the way we think about land, looking for opportunities to help nature outside traditional nature reserves."

Today will begin dry and bright but it will feel cold. The cloud will build through the afternoon and it will turn overcast, but should remain dry. Gentle winds. Highs of 4C to 7C (39F to 45F).

This evening and tonight will be largely cloudy, but there should be a few clear spells. It will continue to stay dry. Winds will be lighter and it will not be as cold as the past couple of nights. Lows of 1C to 4C (34F to 39F).

The latest news and updates from across the West Midlands and south Cheshire.

Arrests are made after hundreds of people travelled to the event in Dorstone at the weekend.

The community is increasingly concerned about a "large gathering" in Dorstone, police say.

Injuries are not believed to be serious following the incident in Ledbury.

Theatres, cinemas and cathedrals are also among the beneficiaries in the West Midlands region.

About 94% of everyone aged 50 and over have received their first coronavirus vaccine dose in the Midlands, according to the latest official figures.

The figures are based on estimated populations, so are open to a margin of error.

Data from the Office of National Statistics show that 59% of people aged between 16 and 80 have also received their first dose.

The area with the highest rate of vaccinations in the West Midlands is the Malvern Hills and the lowest is Birmingham with 79%.

The figures show the rates from 8 December 2020 to 28 March 2021.