The MP for North Shropshire, Owen Paterson, says merging the county's two main councils could save £20m a year.

Mr Paterson says Telford and Wrekin Council provides "totally unnecessary duplication" to the work done by Shropshire Council.

And he said Telford and Wrekin Council's opposition to plans to move emergency and women and children's services to Shrewsbury was an "absolutely ridiculous waste of public money". 

Police in Shrewsbury have raided a house which they say was "full of cannabis".

One person has been arrested.

Image source, @shrewsburycops

The Meadows Primary School in Ketley has won a national award for its film club, at an event attended by stars like Daniel Craig, Eddie Redmayne and Charles Dance. 

A group of pupils, aged between seven and 11, got to go to the Into Film event at Leicester Square with their teachers.

Image source, Meadows Primary School

The children were invited on stage to be presented with their award by actor Ruth Wilson, who has starred in TV shows such as The Affair and Luther.

Andy Giddings
BBC Shropshire

A 61-year-old man has been tied up, threatened with baseball bats and robbed at the village hall in High Ercall.

Police say two men wearing boiler suits, with scarves covering their faces, walked into the the building shortly before 11:30.

They got away with the keys to the man's silver Jaguar.  

Image source, Google

The man was not seriously injured and managed to free himself and get to a nearby house to raise the alarm - he is said to be "very shaken" by the experience.

Staff at National Trust properties in Shropshire have been carrying out a spring clean - a process that can take weeks.

Simply setting the dinner table at Attingham Park (pictured below) in the style of a 1830s ambassadorial Dinner can take three days.

The organisation says polishing the wooden floors in the galleries at Dudmaston Hall takes four volunteers a whole week.

Shrewsbury Chronicle

The expansion of Meole Brace Retail Park could threaten the redevelopment, external of Shrewsbury’s Riverside Mall, according to the centre’s owners.

A fire at an electricity substation in Telford is thought to have left 2,000 homes without power this afternoon.

Firefighters were called to the University of Wolverhampton's campus in Priorslee just before midday and reported hearing pops and bangs and smoke billowing out.

After they put out the flames, engineers from Western Power were able to fix the fault.

BBC Weather Watchers

The BBC Weather Watchers have been sharing some great photos of blue skies around Shropshire.

These ones were taken in Ellesmere (top) and Hopton Heath (below).

Image source, Marguerite

Image source, Hopton Karen

Telford Journal

Discount supermarket Aldi is coming to Telford as part of the £15m redevelopment of the Northern Quarter, formerly the Asda supermarket at Telford Shopping Centre., external

Tracey Higgins
BBC Local Live

Landlords in some parts of Telford could have to pay for a licence before renting their homes, under plans being considered by the local authority.

Telford and Wrekin said the scheme, expected to cost £610 per landlord, was designed to encourage them to vet tenants better and prevent problems such as fly-tipping and anti-social behaviour.    

Faith Page
Reporter, BBC Shropshire

A 54-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of two counts of attempted murder following a stabbing incident at a house in Bomere Heath last week.

Police were called to a bungalow on Sefton Drive last Tuesday morning where a woman had been stabbed in the chest. 

A man was also suffering from stab wounds and a second woman had a head injury - all three were taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

A housing developer has lost its fight to build new homes near Shrewsbury.

A planning inspector upheld Shropshire Council's decision not to allow the development off Bicton Lane in Bicton.

The report says the proposal, originally for 25 then reduced to 15 homes, would have "serious and harmful" impact on the environment.

Giles Latcham
BBC Midlands Today

This lunchtime on Midlands Today - how thousands of jobs could be created in part of the region through a regeneration plan. 

Image source, Glenn Howells Architects

Plus we'll have the latest unemployment figures and news of a pension protest by car workers in the Midlands. 

Those stories along with your lunchtime weather forecast  on BBC One from 13:30.

BBC Sport

AFC Telford United's 2-0 victory in the Shropshire Senior Cup last night was only their third since they reformed and their first since 2014 - when Shrewsbury didn't enter a team.

Their last win over Shrewsbury Town in the tournament was in 2009, when they won on penalties.

Image source, Mike Sheridan

For both AFC Telford United and Shrewsbury Town, last night's match was a chance to lift some silverware in what has been a difficult season for both clubs.

Image source, Mike Sheridan

Market Drayton Advertiser

Police have unveiled their latest measure to tackle persistent parking problems outside primary schools., external

BBC Weather Watchers

It looks like we're in for another fine spring day in Shropshire and we've had some great photos of the sun from the BBC Weather Watchers, such as this one taken in Newport.

Image source, Tay

We really like this one too - the way the cloud is broken up and illuminated by the sun, it looks like the sky is filled with UFOs...  or are they fish?

Image source, Raj's Range

Tracey Higgins
BBC Local Live

Plans for a footpath around a former quarrying area in Condover have been dropped. 

It was part of a plan to restore part of Gonsal quarry to nature. 

The developer's now agreed to give an area of woodland and £10,000 to the parish council instead.  

BBC Sport

Shrewsbury Town's Chris Doig said that while last night's defeat in the Shropshire Senior Cup final "wasn't the result we wanted" it was a "fantastic experience" for some of their younger footballers.

They fielded a mix of youth team players and members of the first team squad in the match and Doig said it was "a good chance to see youth team play in a much more physical environment".

Image source, Mike Sheridan

AFC Telford United played a near-full strength side in the match and were rewarded with a 2-0 win.

Image source, Mike Sheridan

Shropshire Council's going to court today, to fight for more money for adult social care.

It's one of four authorities who say the government's not properly funding assessments of people with learning disabilities or dementia. 

The council says there's been a big increase in the number of people being assessed since a Supreme Court judgement led to many more people needing tests. 

It says the number has gone up from 160 to 1400 in the two years following the judgement and "without adequate funding" it says there's "no alternative" but to go to the High Court. 

Allen Cook
BBC Local Live

Unemployment in the West Midlands rose by 9,000 to 160,000 in the three months, external to January, official figures show. 

They show the region saw the joint-largest jobless increase compared with the rest of the country - five other areas also saw rises.

Image source, Matt Cardy/Getty Images

It means the current unemployment rate in the West Midlands is 5.6%, the Office for National Statistics said.

That compares with the UK unemployment rate falling to 4.7%, its lowest rate in 41 years in the three months to January.