Man appears in court charged with Halfway House murder
Telford MP warns over 'political posturing'
Folk festival founder dies
New Telford manager has ambitious aims
Updates on Friday 30 June 2017
Dan Pallett
BBC Midlands Today Sport
On Midlands Today this evening, it's that time of summer again - Wimbledon is poised to start next week.
Tied in with that, the Lawn Tennis Association has today committed to spending £250m on grassroots tennis, over the next ten years.
I'll reveal how groups across the Midlands are now trying to get a slice of it, on BBC One from 18:30.
Plans to create a £30m double housing and care home development on land in Telford have been lodged by a new developer., external
Michael Buchanan
Social Affairs Correspondent, BBC News
The internal review of Shropshire maternity services, discussed by hospital board members today, set out to ask two main questions of the trust - are maternity services safe? And did we learn from previous mistakes?
This badly written report, external uses lots of words to say very little. Neither question is clearly answered and talk of a "high degree of energy to provide safe maternity services" doesn't say services are safe.
Image source, ThinkstockAs to the second question, there is a clear insinuation that major cultural problems within the maternity service has not resulted in learning from avoidable deaths.
Curiously, the person who many blame for setting that culture, the long-term former head of midwifery, Cathy Smith, has been promoted to lead cultural improvements across the trust.
Many of the recommendations have been made previously - some, years ago - and why they haven't been implemented raises continuing serious questions of the trust.
This quick, six-week review will not take any pressure off the trust, as it fails to answer the fundamental questions, both bereaved parents and the wider public have raised.
Rebecca Wood
BBC Midlands Today
We're forecast cloud, rain and some blustery wind tomorrow, but it could be improving slightly over the weekend.
Rebecca Wood has your forecast
Detailed new plans have been submitted for the conversion of the old Dana Prison in Shrewsbury.
Previous plans had been rejected because of concerns about over development of the site, traffic disruption and car parking.
The revised application includes landscaping, provides more parking and access through the site.
Local councillor Alan Moseley says it shows good progress but is still concerned that there is not enough parking.
Cutting back on services at three rural maternity units could make life more certain for staff, a hospitals board meeting has been told this afternoon.
It heard staff sickness had this year had led to a number of maternity unit closures, with staff being shuffled around to fill gaps and that was making them anxious, because they didn't know where they'd be working from one day to the next.
The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust hopes that reducing services in Oswestry, Ludlow and Bridgnorth for up to six months will allow staff to be moved to Shrewsbury and Telford and given more certainty about their shifts.
BBC Sport
Shropshire are making four changes for their minor counties match against Oxfordshire, following their draw against Herefordshire.
Charlie Home, Dillon Pennington, Ross Aucott and Gurjit Sandhu are all set to play in the game, taking the places of Will Parton, Warrick Fynn, Jack Edwards and Dan Bowen.
Image source, Stuart DunnThe match is being played at Shifnal, starting at 11:00 on Sunday.
Shropshire's hospitals say they have been advertising for 15 extra midwives, but there has been little interest, due to concerns about the future of maternity services in the county.
A board meeting this afternoon was also told fewer midwives were willing to work overtime, to cover for sickness, partly because of the extra scrutiny maternity is under, following the disclosure of at least seven avoidable baby-deaths.
Deidre Fowler, the director of nursing and quality told the meeting midwives were tired and gaps in the rota which they'd filled with existing staff before had become harder to fill.
A decision has been made to close maternity units in Ludlow, Oswestry and Bridgnorth for up to six months, as a temporary measure.
The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust will offer expectant women the choice of a home birth or a move to hospitals in Shrewsbury, Telford, Hereford or Wrexham.
Tributes have been paid to a motorcyclist who died in a crash in Shrewsbury at the weekend.
Adrian Bolton, 53, from Daventry, suffered severe head injuries when his motorbike and sidecar collided with a Fiat Panda at about 09:50 on Saturday, on he B4386 Yockleton to Stoney Stretton road.
Paying tribute, his family said he was "a life-long classic motorbike enthusiast, devoted husband, father and granddad who will be sorely missed".
Investigations into the collision are ongoing and officers are continuing to appeal for witnesses.
A number of GPs across Telford and Wrekin are offering extended opening hours.
It'll mean extra appointments in the evenings, weekends and bank holidays.
Image source, ThinkstockThe move is being made to cater for patients affected by the closure of the walk-in service at Telford Princess Royal next month and provide a more accessible services for people who work.
The West Midlands Ambulance wants more people to sign up, external to be emergency volunteers in Shropshire.
Comunity First Responders are trained to give basic life support and deal with medical emergencies until an ambulance can arrive. They must be aged 18 and over and have a driving licence.
The ambulance service says it will help volunteers get the necessary equipment and no previous experience is necessary.
The closing date for applications is 6 July.
Rail commuters from Shropshire will be able to travel on trains into the West Midlands using smart cards from next month.
The Swift card is already used around Birmingham like London's Oyster card and will be available to passengers getting on at Shrewsbury, Wellington, Oakengates, Telford Central, Shifnal, Cosford and Albrighton.
The decision to roll out the service was made by the West Midlands Combined Authority.
Shropshire is enjoying another typical British summer, with thick grey cloud and showers of rain.
These photos were taken near Church Stretton (top) and Ludlow (below) by BBC Weather Watchers today.
Image source, Peter Steggles
Image source, Jan's PatchA protest was taking place outside a Wem transport firm today because of its involvement with the fracking industry., external
An internal review of maternity services in Shropshire over the past 10 years says there needs to be a clear plan in place to ensure patient safety and that transparency and accountability need to improve.
The review was commissioned by the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust. Earlier this year, the BBC highlighted a series of avoidable baby-deaths in the county.
The report, external also encourages staff to "take ownership of incidents and complaints" and says the hospitals should find better ways to learn from mistakes.
Quote MessageWe know we haven’t always done as well as we might have in the past, but we are changing that, and today’s report builds on our candour and transparency of recent years to be more open and accountable than we have been. We believe this is critical if we are to continuously learn and improve.”
Simon Wright, Chief executive of Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust
Telford College of Arts and Technology has been told it still needs to improve.
Earlier this month, consultations were held with unions and staff over the potential loss of 79 jobs.
While the college has improved from its previous "inadequate" rating, Ofsted inspectors say teaching is still not consistently good, and financial difficulties remain.
The MP for the Wrekin says he believes the majority of people in Shropshire will support the Conservatives' deal with the DUP because it brings "stable government".
The prime minister has promised £1bn to Northern Ireland in return for the support of the Democratic Unionists and Mark Pritchard said the alternative would be "insecure government that is not good for investment".
Mr Pritchard also said that "agreements and coalitions have been going on for generations".
He said losing their parliamentary majority was "challenging" and "not ideal" but he said "that is that hand that people dealt us".
Quote MessageI think the majority of listeners this morning would say that they want a government that is more likely to last a long time and is more stable rather than one that is insecure."
Mark Pritchard, MP for the Wrekin
The chief executive of Shropshire's hospitals says there "will always have to be a rural element" to its maternity services.
Simon Wright was talking ahead of a board meeting which will consider suspending midwife-led units in Ludlow, Oswestry and Bridgnorth for between three and six months.
Image source, SATHThe units have been hit by a series of short closures because of staff sickness this year and Mr Wright said taking a decision to suspend services for a length of time would be better because "then the mums have certainty".
The current proposal is for women in rural areas to be offered the choice of giving birth at home or travelling to Shrewsbury or Telford, but daytime ante-natal appointments might still take place at the rural maternity units.
Nick Southall
Journalist, BBC Shropshire
An 85-year-old man from Craven Arms who died when a tree fell on a car during Storm Doris had been on his way to a hospital appointment, an inquest has heard.
Alan Green was being driven up the A49 in February, when the tree fell on the car near Church Stretton, causing severe chest trauma, which led to his death three days later.
Image source, WMASThe inquest in Shrewsbury recorded a verdict of accidental death and the coroner John Ellery said there was nothing the volunteer driver could have done to prevent the crash.
