BBC Local Live: Shropshire on Friday 17 February 2017

Summary

Another maternity unit is forced to close overnight
Phone boxes to be saved after objections raised
Severn Valley Railway sees increase in passenger numbers
Updates on Friday 17 February 2017

Live Reporting

Andy Giddings

Watch: Protesters link hands around hill fortpublished at 14:41 Greenwich Mean Time 13 February 2017
The organisers of a demonstration on Oswestry's Iron Age hill fort estimate 350 people turned out in the freezing cold yesterday, to link hands at the ancient monument.
They are opposing plans to build homes nearby and were visited by two members of the Stonehenge Alliance, external, which is fighting proposals for a tunnel under the World Heritage site in Wiltshire.
Media caption,
An estimated 350 people joined hands in a protest on Oswestry hill fort
Valentine's advice from policepublished at 14:19 Greenwich Mean Time 13 February 2017
West Mercia Police are using Valentine's Day as an excuse to give out some personal safety tips.
They advise us not to meet someone new at their house or in their car and telling us not to fall for sob stories.
The force is also warning that fraudsters may use Valentine's Day as a way to hook new victims.
Your photos: Pictures from Great Hanwood and Ludlowpublished at 14:00 Greenwich Mean Time 13 February 2017
BBC Weather Watchers
It's been a brighter day today and these photos from the BBC Weather Watchers in Great Hanwood (top) and Ludlow (below) illustrate that.
Image source, Jenny-Rose
Image source, Foggy
On BBC Midlands Today from 13:30: Tesco promotions short-change shopperspublished at 13:24 Greenwich Mean Time 13 February 2017
Joanne Malin
BBC Midlands Today
On Midlands Today this lunchtime, we'll have more on the BBC investigation which has found Tesco customers are being short-changed by promotions which have expired but are still advertised on the shelves.
Image source, AFP
The supermarket giant's promising to check up on the accuracy of its pricing after BBC Inside Out checked 50 of its stores across England.
We'll have more on what the investigation found on BBC One from 13:30.
West Mercia Police seize 840 cars from the roadpublished at 13:11 Greenwich Mean Time 13 February 2017
Oswestry and Borders Chronicle
Almost 840 cars were seized, external in the West Mercia Police region in just 12 months after motorists were found to be driving without road tax, new figures revealed today.
Image source, Oswestry Chronicle
Football: A memorable debut for Telford signing Hughespublished at 12:53 Greenwich Mean Time 13 February 2017
BBC Sport
Perhaps inevitably, AFC Telford United's new striker Lee Hughes made the headlines on his debut.
He scored a headed goal for the Bucks in the 58th minute and had a number of other good chances.
Image source, Mike Sheridan
Telford manager Rob Smith said after the 1-1 draw that his side has been "a goal-scorer away from being a decent side" all season and praised Hughes' all-round performance, saying the other players "buzzed off him".
Image source, Mike Sheridan
Disqualified Shropshire drink driver jailed after 100mph police chasepublished at 12:35 Greenwich Mean Time 13 February 2017
Shropshire Star
A disqualified Shropshire driver who travelled at speeds of more than 100mph on country lanes during a police chase has been jailed., external
Hundreds on march 'to hug' Oswestry Hill Fortpublished at 12:16 Greenwich Mean Time 13 February 2017
Tracey Higgins
BBC Local Live
Hundreds of people braved the wintry weather for a Valentine's Day themed march up Oswestry's historic hill fort yesterday.
The event was in protest at proposals for a housing development nearby.
Image source, Kate Clarke
Image source, Kate Clarke
Dr Rachel Pope, senior lecturer at Liverpool University and part of the campaign group, thinks to build near such a historic site is simply unacceptable.
Quote Message
I don't think anyone here is suggesting that we don't build houses. The point is that there are protections in place for the setting of monuments of this status, that are not being adhered to. There are plenty of other places we can find for a couple of thousand houses
Dr Rachel Pope, Senior lecturer at Liverpool University
Tesco promotions short-change shopperspublished at 11:58 Greenwich Mean Time 13 February 2017
BBC Panorama
Investigative TV show
Tesco customers are being short-changed by promotions which have expired but are still advertised on the shelves, a BBC investigation has found.
It revealed shoppers were overcharged at two-thirds of stores visited by an undercover reporter.
Media caption,
Tesco multi-buy offers widely out of date, BBC investigation finds
In 33 of 50 stores visited, multi-buy promotions were marked on the shelf, but the time-limited discounts were not applied at tills.
Tesco said it would double-check the accuracy of pricing at all its stores.
Ice hockey: Tigers hit nine against Guildfordpublished at 11:51 Greenwich Mean Time 13 February 2017
Andy Giddings
BBC Shropshire
Telford Tigers need just four more wins to claim the EPL title after thrashing Guildford Flames 9-4 on Saturday night.
They've now won nine games in a row and remain 10 points clear at the top of the table.
Image source, Telford Tigers
Despite the impressive scoreline, the Tigers' coach believes his side can play better and was disappointed they let Guildford peg them back to 5-4 in the second period, before they finished the game off in the final session.
Quote Message
I sat a few guys down tonight, as I didn’t think they were in the game and they have got to learn from that. There’s guys out there with a tonne of ability, but they have got to play with more grit, jump and aggression. It helps us if we’re able to turn a team around and turn pucks over and sometimes that is a little bit frustrating."
Tom Watkins, Telford Tigers head coach
PCC could take charge of fire service as well as policepublished at 11:25 Greenwich Mean Time 13 February 2017
Hereford and Worcester and Shropshire fire services are exploring ways of working more closely with West Mercia Police.
The plans could see the Police and Crime Commissioner John Campion taking full responsibility for the fire service or more simply taking a seat on the existing fire authority.
The government has imposed a duty on fire and police services across the country to co-operate and work more efficiently.
Quote Message
That work is at a very early stage and there is no indication at this stage of what its outcome would be and what changes, if any, would be made. We will of course keep our communities and partners updated as and when appropriate."
Joint statement from fire and police services
Police office told to expect jail sentence over child porn imagespublished at 11:14 Greenwich Mean Time 13 February 2017
A Metropolitan Police officer from Dawley has been told he could expect a prison sentence after he admitted downloading more than 65,000 pornographic images of children.
PC Peter Ba-Han, 55, pleaded guilty at Southwark Crown Court to one count of making indecent images of children.
Ba-Han was suspended from duty after police seized a computer and external hard drives from his home in May 2013 and said he did not know what the images were "at the time of downloading".
Sentencing will take place on 23 March and he was placed on conditional bail until sentencing.
Work begins today on Randlay Interchangepublished at 10:54 Greenwich Mean Time 13 February 2017
Tracey Higgins
BBC Local Live
Work starts today on the Randlay interchange in Telford - as part of a £17m project including five other nearby roundabouts.
When the work's finished it will become the first roundabout in the area with "part time traffic lights" - which will only be used during rush hour.
Image source, Google
It should be completed by the end of next month.
Football: Shrews starting to believe they can win games says managerpublished at 10:34 Greenwich Mean Time 13 February 2017
James Bond
Sports Producer, BBC Shropshire
Town boss Paul Hurst says his team are starting to believe they can win games.
Shrewsbury got just their second league victory on the road under Hurst at Scunthorpe on Saturday.
The win means Town move up to 17th in the table.
Quote Message
Can't enjoy this one too much, because we've got a game on Tuesday. I think we might have picked up a few injuries as well, so the team might look quite a bit different come Tuesday. I said before it's a squad game and it might be an opportunity for one of two lads to stake a claim."
Paul Hurst, Shrewsbury Town Manger
Could police and fire services be run together ?published at 10:14 Greenwich Mean Time 13 February 2017
Tim Page
News Editor, BBC Shropshire
Shropshire's police and fire bosses say proposals for them to be run more closely together are at an early stage.
Police and Crime Commissioner John Campion has written to local authorities proposing options ranging from doing nothing, to him taking on a similar role for the region's fire services too.
Football: Lee Hughes scores on Telford debutpublished at 09:55 Greenwich Mean Time 13 February 2017
Nick Southall
Journalist, BBC Shropshire
Telford's manager says new signing Lee Hughes was the missing piece after his side held league leaders Fylde to a 1-1 draw.
The Bucks signed Hughes last week and he scored on his debut.
Manager Rob Smith said his side were now "too good to go down".
Image source, Mike Sheridan
Councils 'will struggle to fund adult social care after 2020'published at 09:19 Greenwich Mean Time 13 February 2017
Joanne Gallacher
Political reporter, BBC Shropshire
The leader of Shropshire Council says he has no idea how they'll fund things like adult social care after 2020.
From that year, central government grants will be cut and money to pay for roads, bin collections and looking after the young and the elderly will have to come from business rates, council tax and any income councils can bring in themselves.
Labour-run Telford and Wrekin Council is expected to do slightly better but they have concerns too.
Quote Message
We're in a slightly better position than we thought we'd be 12 months ago, we've now set a budget until 2020. It's meant some difficult decisions and its meant some cutbacks in terms of what we'd like to do. The big problem is what to do after 2020."
Malcolm Pate, Conservative leader of Shropshire Council
Telford PC admits downloading 65,000 child porn imagespublished at 09:05 Greenwich Mean Time 13 February 2017
Telford Journal
A police officer from Telford has admitted downloading more than 65,000 pornographic images of children., external
Image source, Telford Journal
Increase in business rates 'could force shops in Ludlow to close'published at 08:35 Greenwich Mean Time 13 February 2017
Business leaders in Ludlow say they're worried the town's unique High Street could be lost, due to a national change in the way business rates are calculated.
Some smaller shops will pay nothing from April - but others, including many independent retailers, are facing hefty rises.
Image source, Google
Liberal Democrat Andy Boddington, who's a councillor for Ludlow North says some shops will be unfairly discriminated against.
Quote Message
I've looked at the business rates for every shop in town and they're going up four times the national average. I don't quite know why that is so, but it's going to hit our businesses very hard."
Andy Boddington, Liberal Democrat Councillor for Ludlow North
Video: Your 50-second weather forecastpublished at 08:19 Greenwich Mean Time 13 February 2017
Alex Hamilton
BBC Weather
A cloudy and blustery start to the day across the West Midlands.
Here's how the rest of this morning is looking - and remember, you can also get latest forecasts for your area from the BBC Weather website.
Media caption,
Latest weather for the West Midlands