The Wem-born screen actor Peter Vaughan said he caught the acting bug while at primary school in Wellington.

He went on to start a television career in the 1950s and appeared in more than 200 TV shows and movies, including the sitcom Porridge (pictured).

Speaking to the BBC earlier this year, he said it had all begun when he had been asked to recite a poem on stage in front of an audience of parents.

The manager of Shrewsbury Town's youth academy says the club is moving into an "exciting new era", with Paul Hurst as the new manager of the first team squad.

Andy Jones will lead the under-18s against Accrington Stanley tonight in the third round of the FA Youth Cup and knows it's a chance for them to make their mark.

The match, at the Greenhous Meadow, kicks off at 19:00.

Shropshire has got two of the least-used railway stations in the West Midlands.

Broome, near Craven Arms, has the third fewest passengers in the region, with just over 1,500 using it over the past financial year, followed by Hopton Heath (below), the next station down the Heart of Wales line.

Image source, Google

The figures, from the Press Association, show the quietest station in the region is Polesworth, in Warwickshire, with 900 passengers a year and the busiest is Birmingham New Street, with almost 40 million entries and exits from the station in 2015/16. 

Peter Vaughan's most recent role was the elderly, blind Maester Aemon of the Night's Watch in HBO's fantasy series Game of Thrones, a role he said he thoroughly enjoyed.

He was in it for five years, recorded all his parts in Northern Ireland and described everyone involved in the show as "absolutely first class at what they do".

Image source, HBO

After leaving the show he said he was "pretty well retired from acting now" and said he had recently turned down a film role.

Andy Giddings
BBC Shropshire

Our top stories this afternoon:

- Council leader spells out in video concerns about hospital plans

- Shropshire-born actor Peter Vaughan dies

- Warning after spate of van thefts in Oswestry

The leader of Telford & Wrekin Council has set out his argument to keep women and children's services in Telford in a video message, external.

Councillor Shaun Davies said the process had not been fair, open and transparent and the recommendations that had been made by the NHS Future Fit review were not in the interests of the whole council.

Image source, Telford & Wrekin Council

The proposal put forward last week involves downgrading the A&E department in Telford, moving women and children's services to Shrewsbury and moving all planned surgery in the other direction, to Telford.

Telford & Wrekin Council is threatening to take the plans to a judicial review.

Peter Vaughan started his TV career in 1954 in a series called Stage by Stage and was a regular on our screens right up until the present day.

He played Harry Grout in Porridge in the 1970s (below) and most recently Maester Aemon in Game of Thrones.

The Wem-born actor also appeared in a number films, including Remains of the Day with Anthony Hopkins

In all, he was in 222 TV shows and movies and released his memoirs earlier this year.

BBC Sport

If Shrewsbury Town can win their replay and reach the third round of the FA Cup they face what appears to be a daunting trip to the newly-redeveloped Ashton Gate to take on Championship side Bristol City.

Image source, Getty Images

Their potential opponents are 11th in the division and have won six of their nine league matches at home, but their recent record in the FA Cup is not quite as impressive.  

The Robins have been knocked out at the third round stage four times in the past five seasons, including one defeat to Crawley Town.

So is there hope of another cup upset for Shrewsbury?

BBC Travel

There's disruption at Mucklestone Road in Loggerheads this lunchtime:

The Highways Agency is warning drivers to be extra careful on roads around Shropshire, with fog continuing to cover the county.

It says areas of fog could reduce visibility to less than 100 metres.

This photo was taken by one of the BBC Weather Watchers near Horsehay, Telford, this lunchtime.

Image source, Biker Don

Actor Peter Vaughan, best known for his roles in Porridge and more recently Game of Thrones, has died.

Born in Wem, Shropshire, he started his TV career in the 1950s and was 93 years old.

Andy Giddings
BBC Shropshire

There's been a spate of seven thefts from vans in the Oswestry area over the past week, the police say.

In most cases the vehicles, containing tools, had been left locked and secured and the thieves had been able to break in without causing damage.

The police are warning van owners to park in well-lit areas and remove any valuables.

A triathlon club is being launched in Ludlow tonight, at the town's brewery.

The man behind it is Lee Hassan, who said thanks to the success of people such as the Brownlee brothers (above), the sport had "absolutely boomed" and he had been bombarded with calls from people wanting to start a club.  

Mr Hassan has been involved in organising triathlon and duathlon events in the area for 20 years, but said he was looking for somewhere suitable to do the open water swimming element - at the moment they are using the pool at the South Shropshire leisure centre, external.

Andy Giddings
BBC Shropshire

Our top stories this lunchtime include:

- Police commissioner in London to lobby for more funding

- Licences taken away from two Shropshire bus companies

- Mystery booking confuses Much Wenlock guest house owner

BBC Weather Watchers

The BBC Weather Watchers have been sharing plenty of photos of birds this morning, including these ones taken near Tilstock and Ludlow.

Image source, Stanm

Image source, Virtual Jane

The owner of a Much Wenlock guest house says she was prepared to offer a couple a room in her own house, to help them out of an online booking mix-up.

They'd turned up thinking they had booked a room at The Fox Inn through a hotel website, only to find the guest house had not been told about the reservation.

Sarah Hopkins said there was no room at her hotel and most of the other guest houses in the town were full, but she was able to find them a bed elsewhere in the end.

Charlie Slater
BBC Weather presenter

This fog is going to remain with us for the rest of the day, but it should clear up by tomorrow.

Two Shropshire bus companies linked to the failed GHA Coaches have also lost their operating licences. 

Following a public inquiry in Birmingham yesterday, the traffic commissioner ruled RJ's of Wem and RML 2418 Limited were no longer "in good financial standing".

The finding follows a similar investigation in Wales into GHA Coaches, which resulted in a ban for its former directors, Gareth and Arwyn Lloyd, from running bus firms.

GHA firm went bust in July, with the loss of 320 jobs and causing disruption for a number of bus services in the county.

Andrew Hewkin
Newsreader, BBC Shropshire

The police are looking for your help, external, after sightings of what they describe as an "injured wolf-looking animal" on the A458 between Bridgnorth and Much Wenlock. 

The animal, which may be a dog, was spotted this morning in the Muckley Cross area, and they're wondering if anyone else has seen it.

Image source, Getty Images

Ian Perry
BBC Radio Shropshire

The owner of a guest house in Shropshire is trying to find out why an internet booking agency she's never heard of appears to be renting out her rooms without permission.

Image source, Google

Two would-be guests turned up at the Fox Inn last Saturday night thinking they'd reserved a double room through an online company called happyrooms.com. 

We've tried to contact the company to get to the bottom of what's happened, but so far we haven't heard back from them. 

The venue says it has agreements in place with other hotel booking websites, but has no such deal with happyrooms.com and couldn't give the couple a room because it was full.