Andy Giddings
BBC Shropshire

The £2.5m lottery grant to open up another length of the Montgomery Canal has been welcomed by the Montgomery Waterway Restoration Trust, external.

The money will be spent on a project next year to restore a 2km (1.25 mile) section of the canal and a turning point, ending at Crickheath, near Oswestry. 

It will also improve access to the canal, create new nature reserves and improve 6km (3.8 miles) of towpath.

About 50% of the canal, which runs between England and Wales, has already been restored.

Shrewsbury CEO Brian Caldwell tells BBC Sport he has been 'snowed down' with applications for their managerial vacancy.

BBC Weather Watchers

It's still cloudy around Shropshire, but we've been getting photos this afternoon of it starting to break up.

These ones were taken by BBC Weather Watchers at Church Stretton (top) and Bicton (bottom).

Image source, Snapper Simon

Image source, Raj's Range

Telford Journal

Shropshire and Staffordshire Blood Bikes are without a motorbike to fulfil their life-saving service after a crash involving a herd of cows, external.

Image source, Shropshire Star

Britain's Got Talent is coming to Telford the weekend after next, to hold auditions for next year's series.

The series  launched the careers of artists including Susan Boyle and Paul Potts and has featured a number of Shropshire competitors in the past, including Kate Nicholas, from Norbury, and her performing dog Gin.

Image source, Britain's Got Talent

The auditions will be held at Telford shopping centre on 23 October.

James Bond
Sports Producer, BBC Shropshire

Shrewsbury Town are getting closer to finding their new manager and have now narrowed down the list of applicants to less than a dozen.

Chief Executive Brian Caldwell has been giving us the latest on the search.

Andy Giddings
BBC Shropshire

Our headlines this afternoon include:

- Telford councilors react to suggestion by MP that their authority should be abolished

- West Mercia continues to record rise in alleged rapes

- Cinema group plans to buy former bank building

Shrewsbury chief executive Brian Caldwell says increasing the League One club's fanbase is one of his top priorities.

Andy Giddings
BBC Shropshire

Police say 32 sheep have been stolen for a farm near Newcastle-on-Clun.

It's believed they were taken sometime over the last five days and all 32 are marked with a notch under their right ear.

This follows the theft of 74 ewes in August from a nearby farm, on the other side of the Welsh border.

As part of his first Get Inspired show on Radio 5 live, Olympic gold medallist Darren Campbell has taken Rio 2016 hockey champion Sam Quek back to her first Premiership hockey club.

Sam talks about her journey through hockey, how she nearly turned her back on the game and how she and the team are inspiring the next generation.

You can hear more of the interview with Sam - and lots more about getting into sport - from 20:30 BST tonight.

Andrew Hewkin
Newsreader, BBC Shropshire

Supporters of a scheme to create a community arts centre in Wellington are hoping to take out a short-term lease on the town's now-closed HSBC bank.

Project leaders say they still want to buy the old Clifton cinema site, if it becomes available, but need to move their plans forward.

Image source, Google

They want to install an 80-seat cinema and cafe bar in the old bank buildings on Station Approach and have relaunched their fundraising campaign, saying investors can get up to 30% tax-relief.

Faith Page
Reporter, BBC Shropshire

Hinstock could get a new campsite. 

Plans have gone in for six camping pods, a log cabin and toilet block on a field off Marsh Lane. 

The proposal suggests it would be good for the economy in the north Shropshire village and support amenities such as the pub.

Tracey Higgins
BBC Local Live

An exercise to test how voluntary organisations would cope with an emergency situation in Shropshire will be staged on Saturday. 

Groups such as Severn Area Rescue Association and British Red Cross will work together with the emergency services in a mock exercise simulating a collapse in the Ironbridge Gorge, resulting in a number of people missing and others needing help.      

It's taking place between 08:00 and 17:00 on Saturday. 

Public transport won't be affected, but the Museum of the Gorge car park in Ironbridge and the small car park in Church Road, Jackfield, will both be closed. 

Shrewsbury Chronicle

A farm worker suffered horrific injuries when a 14ft metal hook and chain weighing five-and-a-half stone shattered his skull , externalin a freak tractor accident.

Andy Giddings
BBC Shropshire

Two years ago, the French government announced it wanted to award the Legion d'Honneur medal to all surviving veterans of the D-Day landings.

It was to tie in with the 70th anniversary of D-Day and veterans who haven't already been notified can fill in an application form, external to get one.

Image source, PA

The honour is available for any veterans, including Royal Navy and Royal Air Force personnel, who operated in support of the landings.

Andy Giddings
BBC Shropshire

Owen Paterson's comments about Telford & Wrekin Council haven't gone down well with councillors and they've been reacting angrily on social media this morning.

The North Shropshire Conservative MP had accused Telford politicians of a "deliberate misrepresentation" of proposals for the future of hospital provision in the county and suggested the authority should never have been created.

Image source, Twitter

British athletics needs a successor to Jessica Ennis-Hill following her retirement from the sport and the lady herself wants to help people be more active and find a way into sport - starting with two fun days combining music and running.

"For me it's about communicating my experiences about keeping fit with the general public," she says. "To help people take those first steps to being more active than they already are and finding a way into sport."

Find out how anyone can get involved with just about any sport with our special guides.

Andy Giddings
BBC Shropshire

An HMIC, external report suggests there's a link between a rise in rape allegations in the West Mercia area and the launch of the Operation Yewtree investigation into sexual abuse carried out by Jimmy Savile and others.

And today's report says the rapid increase since 2012 (seen in the table below) might not indicate an real increase in the number of sex attacks.

Image source, ONS

Instead, it says victims may have felt "empowered to come forward" following the launch of Yewtree and the increase might also be explained by improvements in the way police record crimes. 

Andy Giddings
BBC Shropshire

Our top stories this lunchtime:

- Anger at Noth Shropshire MP Owen Paterson's suggestion Telford & Wrekin Council should be abolished

- Number of rape allegations in West Mercia has more than doubled since launch of Operation Yewtree

- Project to restore Montgomeryshire Canal given £2.5m lottery grant

Tracey Higgins
BBC Local Live

Permission's been given for 12 affordable homes to be built in Much Wenlock. 

Councillors decided to back the scheme, near Oakfield Park, despite concerns from some local residents.   

Image source, Google