Summary

  • An extra £1m for Shropshire A&E departments

  • Nine sentenced over Telford-based drugs operation

  • Extra police patrols following train vandalism

  • AFC Telford United make emergency goalkeeper signing

  • Updates on Friday 21 April 2017

  1. Runners prepare for London Marathonpublished at 09:16 British Summer Time 21 April 2017

    Tracey Higgins
    BBC Local Live

    Runners in the county are making their final preparations for the London Marathon on Sunday. 

    Philip Fewtrell from Shrewsbury will have a special starting place, alongside celebrities, in recognition of his efforts to raise funds for the Mental Health Foundation. 

    London MarathonImage source, Getty Images

    After running more than 700 miles in training, he's now looking forward to getting started.   

    Quote Message

    I'm getting a bit nervous, I'll admit it. I've got a few butterflies in the stomach at the thought of it. I couldn't have done any more preparation than I've done, so it's fingers crossed now that all of that will pay off on the big day."

    Philip Fewtrell, Marathon runner

  2. Child protection officials review allegations of bullying on seven-year-oldpublished at 08:51 British Summer Time 21 April 2017

    Tracey Higgins
    BBC Local Live

    Child protection officials say they've reviewed allegations that a young boy was bullied at a Telford school.

    The mother of a seven-year-old who goes to St Peter's in Bratton says an attack by another child left her son needing extensive treatment in hospital.

    St Peters School BrattonImage source, Google

    The boy's original injury, a head wound, is said to have been minor, but got worse through infection.

    Telford's Safeguarding Children board says the school has taken "various measures" involving a small group of pupils, in response to the bullying allegations and says if the mother isn't happy she can follow the official complaints procedure. 

  3. Video: Your 50-second weather updatepublished at 08:25 British Summer Time 21 April 2017

    Alex Hamilton
    BBC Weather

    A mostly dry day is in store with some sunny spells, but also the chance of light rain later with highs of 16C (61F).

    You can find a detailed forecast for your area on the BBC Weather site., external

    Media caption,

    Latest weather for the West Midlands

  4. Good Morning from BBC Shropshirepublished at 08:00 British Summer Time 21 April 2017

    Tracey Higgins
    BBC Local Live

    I'm here with all of your news, sport, travel and weather this morning. 

    Do get in touch if you have a story or pictures you'd like to share with the rest of the County.

    You can email, tweet , externalor get in touch via our Facebook, external page.  

  5. Our live coverage across the daypublished at 18:00 British Summer Time 20 April 2017

    We'll be back with our usual mix of news, sport, travel and weather from 08:00 tomorrow, but keep an eye out here for more updates this evening and into the morning.

  6. Unite suspends McCluskey challengerpublished at 17:59 British Summer Time 20 April 2017

    Gerard Coyne is suspended as a Unite official - as counting is set to begin in leadership ballot.

    Read More
  7. Hoard of sovereigns probably hidden between the warspublished at 17:55 British Summer Time 20 April 2017

    The hoard of 914 gold sovereigns and half-sovereigns found inside a piano in Bishop's Castle were probably hidden in the 1920s, according to experts from the Portable Antiquities Scheme.

    The most recent coin in the collection was made in 1915 and they were contained in wrapping which included a Shredded Wheat advertising board thought to have been made some time between 1926 and 1946.

    Sovereigns

    The piano tuner who made the discovery, Martin Backhouse (below, right) said the packages had been stitched up and that he carefully investigated them up with his pen-knife, before realising what he'd uncovered.

    Sovereigns and piano tuner
  8. Watch: Shop owner's half century honouredpublished at 17:50 British Summer Time 20 April 2017

    Trevor Owens
    Sports Editor, BBC Hereford & Worcester

    Shops come and shops go - but not the independent shoe shop run by Audrey Cole.

    She's been trading in Presteigne for 50 years - and I went along to watch as her local Chamber of Trade marked the landmark.

    Media caption,

    Shop owner's half century in business honoured

  9. Watch: Latest weather forecastpublished at 17:45 British Summer Time 20 April 2017

    Shefali Oza
    BBC Midlands Today

    Some cooler weather ahead - find out what the next few days have in store.

    Media caption,

    West Midlands weather

  10. Cricket: Three debutants for Shropshire's opening matchpublished at 17:36 British Summer Time 20 April 2017

    BBC Sport

    The former Worcestershire bowler Chris Russell will make his Shropshire debut against Staffordshire on Sunday, along with teenagers Dillon Pennington and George Hargrave (pictured below).

    George HargraveImage source, Stuart Dunn

    The 28-year-old Russell is a right-arm seam bowler and played 40 matches for Worcestershire.

    Pennington is an all-rounder who plays for Shrewsbury and Hargrave is a wicket keeper who plays his cricket for Walmley.

  11. Pregnancy services disrupted by staff shortagespublished at 17:30 British Summer Time 20 April 2017

    Pregnant women expecting to have their blood tests, blood pressure monitoring and scans done at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital's Day Assessment Unit will have to go elsewhere for the next fortnight, because of staff shortages.

    Services are being suspended from next Monday until 8 May and women who had appointments will now need to be seen at the hospital's maternity unit, in outpatients or at the day assessment unit at the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford.

    RSH sign

    Staff shortages also led to the overnight suspension of services at the Bridgnorth maternity unit last night.

  12. Watch: BBC Midlands Today's brand new studio getting builtpublished at 17:22 British Summer Time 20 April 2017

    BBC Midlands Today

    BBC Midlands Today has moved into a temporary studio at the moment , externalas a brand new studio is prepared.

    Here's a timelapse look at how work's going.

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  13. Woodland body is missing farmerpublished at 17:21 British Summer Time 20 April 2017

    Hundreds of people helped search for him and more offered to help his family with the harvest.

    Read More
  14. Piano's former owner wants college to keep treasure rewardpublished at 17:16 British Summer Time 20 April 2017

    A family who gave away their piano, not knowing it contained over 900 gold coins, say they would be "very happy" for the community college in Bishop's Castle to keep any reward, now that the hoard has been declared treasure.

    The Hemmings family, who moved to the county in the 1990s, donated it to the college last year when it appealed for musical instruments and Meg Hemmings said she understood that in doing that they had lost any claim to the gold sovereigns.

    She said they were "amazed" like everyone else, because they'd had the piano tuned themselves a couple of times, when they used to live in Essex, but nothing was ever found.

    They'd bought the piano to help their own children learn to play and were happy that the reward money from the sale of the sovereigns might now help future music students.

    Quote Message

    It's a school and all schools are in need of funding. I hope they will do something that benefits the children's musical abilities."

    Meg Hemmings, Former owner of piano

  15. Your photos: Cloudy scenes from around Shropshirepublished at 17:04 British Summer Time 20 April 2017

    BBC Weather Watchers

    The BBC Weather Watchers have been sharing some cloudy photos with us this afternoon.

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

    DucksImage source, Ray
    FieldsImage source, Thetreehunter
  16. Shropshire piano gold haul: Coroner says 'stunning' coins are treasurepublished at 16:33 British Summer Time 20 April 2017

    South Shropshire Journal

    Mystery surrounds the identity of the rightful heirs to a treasure trove of gold coins worth enough to buy a house which were found hidden under an old piano's keyboard, external.

  17. Museums invited to buy piano goldpublished at 16:14 British Summer Time 20 April 2017

    Now that the gold found in the Bishop's Castle piano has been declared the property of the Crown, its value will be decided by an independent Treasure Valuation Committee at the British Museum.

    And then museums will be given the opportunity to buy some or all of the hoard.

    British MuseumImage source, Getty Images

    The piano tuner who found the coins and the community college in Bishop's Castle will share a reward if the coins are sold.

  18. Pledge to help fund live CCTV network for Newportpublished at 15:55 British Summer Time 20 April 2017

    Newport Advertiser

    Money will be provided for Newport’s live CCTV network, councillors have agreed., external

  19. Piano gold coin hoard declared treasurepublished at 15:54 British Summer Time 20 April 2017

    The coins were found hidden in a piano and will be offered for sale to museums.

    Read More
  20. Treasure find could benefit 'students and community' of Bishop's Castlepublished at 15:37 British Summer Time 20 April 2017

    Community College Bishop's Castle says if it gets a reward for the discovery of gold sovereigns in one of its pianos, the money will "be used to benefit our students and the local community of Bishop's Castle".

    A value has yet to be set on the hoard, but Saffron Walden Museum in Essex has already expressed an interest in acquiring some of the coins, because the the piano was originally from the area.

    Community CollegeImage source, Google

    The piano was donated to the college after it appealed for musical instruments to help with its music lessons.

    Quote Message

    The discovery of hundreds of gold coins in a piano was incredible, exciting and almost unbelievable – and meant it was a day that none of us will ever forget.Clearly this was something that none of could possibly have imagined and it’s hard to describe how we felt on making this discovery."

    Kathy Dowbiggin, Business Manager at The Community College Bishop’s Castle