Andy Giddings
BBC Shropshire

Our headlines this afternoon include: 

- Independent review of hospital proposals to be carried out

- Two arrested after Newport firearms incident thought to involve air rifle

- Women in Shropshire facing long journeys to consultant-led maternity units

Children's author and president of Shrewsbury Children's Bookfest Jacqueline Wilson has backed a campaign to encourage children to keep a diary.

She said it "increases your fluency and helps you become more comfortable at expressing yourself".

The Tracy Beaker author says she herself wrote a diary from the age of seven or eight and continued through her childhood and into her teens.

Ms Wilson told BBC Breakfast she thinks writing a diary has a massive advantage over social media when it comes to expressing innermost thoughts and feelings.  

The National Literacy Trust is calling for children to be given diaries as Christmas presents, saying they help boost writing skills, external.

The number of hip, shoulder and knee replacements carried out on the NHS in Shropshire could be drastically cut to save millions of pounds.

Shropshire's Clinical Commissioning Group pays for the procedures, but it's heading for a deficit of £26m by the end of the financial year and is aiming to save between £10m and £15m from its budget.

Image source, SaTH

The man brought in to cut the CCG's budget, Simon Freeman, believes it has been carrying out too many operations.

James Bond
Sports Producer, BBC Shropshire

Shropshire golfer Ashley Chesters says he hasn't set himself any targets, in his first season on the European Tour.

If he plays well, he could qualify for some end-of-year events, but says, "I just want to play a full season and see where I end up."

Image source, Getty Images

The young player from Whitchurch is just home from his first competition, where he earned £10,000 for a top-30 finish at the Alfred Dunhill Championship in South Africa.

Telford's health commissioners will go into next week's meeting with a clear mind about hospital reorganisation proposals, according to the chair of the Shropshire Clinical Commissioning Group.

The leader of Telford and Wrekin Council's Conservatives, has said he would like them to "pull the plug" on the recommendations, which say Shrewsbury should have the county's centre for emergency medicine.

The chair of the Shropshire CCG, Julian Povey, said he had spoken to his counterpart at the Telford CCG and had been reassured there was "no pre-determination".

There's been a call for Telford's health commissioners to "pull the plug" on plans to reorganise hospital services in the county.

Local politicians in the town have been angered because health bosses want just one centre for major emergencies in the county, based in Shrewsbury, and are planning to move Telford's Women and Children's Unit there too.

Image source, Wrekin Conservatives

At a meeting of the authority last night councillor Andrew Eade (pictured above) said the Telford and Wrekin Clinical Commissioning Group had the power to veto the proposals, when it meets next week.

Police have raided addresses across the West Midlands this morning, external in an operation targeting people viewing and sharing sexually explicit images of children.

Warrants were carried out at properties in Stafford, Telford and Coventry.

A 62-year-old man from Telford has been arrested on suspicion of possessing indecent images.

A 55-year-old man from Stafford; a 52-year-old man from Stone and a 30-year-old man from Fenton, Stoke-on-Trent, were all arrested on suspicion of distributing indecent images of children.  

Since Operation Safenet launched last year, teams across the region say they have carried out 593 investigations, arrested 353 people for sexual offences and safeguarded 491 children.

Shrewsbury Chronicle

Youth services in Shrewsbury could get a reprieve after council members agreed to recommend an increase in council tax, external.

Elizabeth Glinka
BBC Midlands Today

On Midlands Today from 13:30 we'll have the latest news in the region on allegations of historical child sex abuse in English football. 

Image source, Getty Images

We'll also have news on an inquest into the death of a mother during an operation. 

More on both those stories and more, including your lunchtime weather forecast, on BBC One from 13:30.

Andy Giddings
BBC Shropshire

Our top stories this lunchtime:

- Two arrested after shots fired in village near Newport overnight

- Long hospital transfers for Shropshire women in labour, BBC investigation finds

- Plan to cut budgets for hip, shoulder and knee surgery in Shropshire

Two men have been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder by armed officers after shots were fired in the village of Howle near Newport, just after midnight

The pair, aged 21 and 23, are both from the village and the police say they believe the weapon used was an air rifle.

A vehicle was damaged, but nobody was hurt and the two men remain in custody.

Sara Blizzard
BBC Weather

We're forecast a bit of sunshine this afternoon, with light cloud and temperatures reaching 13C (55F).

There's a chance of some fog this evening, in the west of the county.

BBC Sport

Shrewsbury Town expect to be busy when the New Year transfer window opens. 

The new manager Paul Hurst has already said he needs to strengthen his squad to lift Town off the bottom of League One - to safety. 

The club's chief executive Brian Caldwell says Hurst has the backing of the board.

North Shropshire College, branded inadequate by Ofsted earlier this year, is making solid progress and that's been noticed by inspectors, the college says.

Since a highly critical report in January, external, it's been closely monitored by inspectors. 

The principal left suddenly last month. Peter McCann took over and faced a secondary Ofsted inspection in his first few days.  

Maternity care in parts of Shropshire has been highlighted in a BBC investigation that finds one in four women are transferred from midwife-led units to wards staffed by consultants after facing complications. 

Both Catherine Buckley and Angela Gregory from Shropshire planned to give birth at the midwife-led Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, but their stories are very different.

BBC Sport

Whitchurch Alport are into the semi-finals of the Shropshire FA Premier Cup. 

Last night they beat the lowest-ranked side left in the competition - Allscott - 7-1. 

Market Drayton and Newport are already through. Haughmond play Shawbury next week. 

A report by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabularies says improvements have been made in the way West Mercia Police keeps people safe and reduces crime. 

In 2015 the force was told it "requires improvement" in those areas by the watchdog, but they've now been judged as "good". 

The report also found the force had treated the people it serves with fairness and respect, and was good at ensuring its workforce behaves ethically and lawfully.

Telford and Wrekin councillors voted unanimously last night to start legal proceedings if proposed hospital changes go ahead. 

Health bosses want major emergencies treated in Shrewsbury and the Women and Children's Unit moved there too. 

Image source, SATH

Telford would have a 24-hour urgent care centre and would be the home of planned surgery.   

But the leader of the Council, Labour's Shaun Davies, says he'll fight to keep what they already have. 

Carlie Swain
BBC Local Live

Our top stories this morning:

- Long hospital transfers for Shropshire women in labour, BBC investigation finds

- Telford and Wrekin Council backs legal challenge over proposed health plans

- North Shropshire College rating to be upgraded

BBC Sport

Head coach Tom Watkins said “key moments” proved to be the difference in Telford Tigers’ 6-3 win over Sheffield Steeldogs last night.

Telford now lead the English Premier League standings by eight points, albeit with second-placed Milton Keynes having two games in hand.

Image source, Pete Best