What weather's in store for us over the coming 24 hours? Better get those umbrellas out.

Rob Mayor
Black Country Political Reporter, BBC WM

A UKIP leadership hopeful and West Midlands MEP is calling for hardline prison reform - and wants inmates to pay £40,000 a year for their stay.

Bill Etheridge is calling for a string of changes, although he admitted to BBC WM his proposal would only work if convicts had assets.

He has also admitted he has never been inside a jail.

Jails "would probably work for people like him," he said, despite comments last week that prisons should be about "punishment rather than rehabilitation".    

A woman who died from a blood clot five months after taking the combined contraceptive pill, had reported breathing difficulties and leg pain to her GP, an inquest hears.

BBC Midlands Today

If you’re still feeling a little lost and confused about what Britain’s decision to Brexit means for you, you aren’t alone. 

A month on from the EU Referendum we’re calling in an expert to sort the facts from fiction, looking at what people said would happen and what actually happened and then make a best guess at what is likely to happen as we prepare to leave. 

We’ve also been interested in hearing from a range of voices from across the West Midlands to find out how Brexit has affected their daily lives – if at all. 

Today on the programme we meet the Sorge family - a French mum and German dad who weren't allowed to vote but were shocked by Brexit - and Sutton Coldfield window cleaner Roger Needle who wants to leave the EU.

We’d love to hear your thoughts too, so share them with us here on Facebook, external or Twitter, external and we’ll try to read as many as we can on the programme tonight.  

BBC Weather

What's the weather going to be like this weekend?

It'll be much like that we've experienced over the past few days - sunshine and showers.

If, like a lot of Midlanders, you're thinking about heading down to the South West, it might be worth checking out these top tips for motorway driving.

The big seasonal getaway is moving up a gear and today is one of the busiest days of the year for the motorway network. 

Nicola Beckford
BBC Midlands Today

It's a month since the UK voted to leave the European Union.   

Image source, AP

To mark that we're planning to follow more than 25 families, individuals and business owners over the next two years as the country grapples with the momentous decision.

This lunchtime we're going to introduce you to a few of the people we'll be following - join us from 13:30 on BBC One for Midlands Today.

Rob Mayor
Black Country Political Reporter, BBC WM

West Midlands MEP and UKIP leadership candidate Bill Etheridge says there should be a referendum on the death penalty and he would back its reintroduction.  

He said: “For my part I believe that the very worst crimes deserve the ultimate penalty and I propose that those who murder and rape children, those that commit sadistic acts of murder and torture and those that commit acts of murder through terrorism against our country or our people should be subject to the death penalty at the discretion of the presiding judge."

The MEP, who stood in 2012 as UKIP’s Police & Crime Commissioner candidate in the West Midlands Police force area, also said three strikes should mean "life behind bars for violent criminals".

The death penalty is opposed by the UK government, Amnesty International, the UN, the European Union and 16 US states.

Alice Bentley
Journalist, BBC Radio Stoke

Unemployment across the West Midlands has gone up, external.

Image source, Getty Images

In the March-to-May period, 165,000 people were out of work in the region - an increase of 13,000 on the previous quarter. 

In contrast, figures for the whole of the UK show a fall of 54,000 to 1.65 million.

A man has died after two cars were involved in a crash in Shropshire, emergency services confirm.

More than 250 jobs are to go at car parts firm GKN in Shropshire, Unite says.

Live updates have finished for the day but stories could still appear through the night and into tomorrow.

We'll be back from 08:00 on Wednesday with more live news, sport, travel and weather.

Mary Rhodes
Presenter, BBC Midlands Today

Our reporter Sarah Falkland visits a fruit and veg farm near Stourport on Severn to see how work continues in the heat.

A couple from Stoke-on-Trent urge the NHS to fund a treatment which saved the life of their daughter and a Telford lorry driver has his £10,000 fine, for having five illegal immigrants in his trailer, waived.

Find our more on Midlands Today, BBC1 at 18:30.

This is the weather forecast from one of the trains on the Severn Valley Railway - be thankful you're not on the footplate shovelling coal into the firebox.

A weather warning for thunderstorms across the West Midlands, external is in force from 17:00.

The Met Office says while most places will miss the worst, it's warning of localised flash flooding, lightning, hail and strong winds.

A woman who worked for a council-run company that was closed this year is charged with fraud.

Close economic links should be forged between mid and west Wales and the West Midlands, according to Wales' economy secretary.

Yep you read that right - according to BBC Weather it will be hotter in the Midlands than Hawaii, Jamaica and the Maldives.

But wait - it'll start cooling down tomorrow so don't cancel your holiday just yet.

A lorry driver accused of bringing illegal immigrants into the UK in his trailer has a £10,000 fine overturned by the Home Office.

Adrian Goldberg
Presenter, BBC WM

A former UKIP MEP for the West Midlands says she hasn't worked since losing her seat two years ago because she was accused of expenses fraud. 

It took four years to bring the case to court and Nikki Sinclaire was cleared of the charges last week.