The purse was taken from an 87-year-old's handbag as she shopped at a store in Shropshire.

Shropshire Council is calling on the government to reimburse money it has spent to look after children seeking asylum.

The local authority revealed it had spent about £1m to care for 10 youngsters who arrived in the county without their family.

Image source, Google

Councillor Nick Bardlsey said the authority does get money back from central government "but nothing like enough to cover the cost".

"I shall be pressing our MPs and ministers to adequately cover the additional cost," he said.

Alexandra Hamilton
BBC weather presenter

A band of patchy rain will move across the region this morning, followed by a brighter afternoon with highs of 13C (55F).

The Feathers Hotel in Shropshire had been closed following an outbreak of the disease in July.

Joanne Gallacher
Political reporter, BBC Shropshire

A spending freeze and a freeze on filling vacant posts have both been announced by Shropshire Council.

It's to try and stop the authority from going a projected £5m over its agreed budget.

Members of the council's cabinet say they can reduce the overspend to £400,000 by taking money from a number of budgets - including £1m from adult social care.

Shefali Oza
BBC Midlands Today

A chance of some outbreaks of light rain or drizzle tonight. Mild with lows of 8C (46F).

Shropshire health commissioners have agreed their business case for the reorganisation of hospital services in the county, after taking extra time to answer questions raised by NHS England.

The plans will now go before NHS England and, if it approves them, they will be put to public consultation, possibly before Christmas.

The proposals involve downgrading the accident and emergency department at Telford's Princess Royal Hospital and moving specialist women and children's services to Telford, while moving planned operations the other way.

A woman who died in a crash on the A51 in Staffordshire on Monday evening has been named by police as 26-year-old Katie Bennett from Market Drayton.

The car she was driving collided with a tanker near Great Haywood and she died the following morning at the Royal Stoke University Hospital, police said.

Image source, Staffordshire Police

The number of children reported missing to the West Mercia and Warwickshire police forces has remained fairly steady for the last 10 years, but showed a big jump in the last financial year (see graph below).

West Mercia Chief Inspector Jennie Mattinson said it can be explained by a recent change in the way missing people are recorded by the two forces, rather than a sudden increase in numbers.

Ch Insp Mattinson said every report of a missing child is now automatically registered in their system, whereas before they would only be recorded after initial enquiries had been carried out.

And she said this had made it easier to identify children who go missing frequently and also meant the relevant local authority always got a referral to follow up.

The Feathers Hotel in Ludlow has reopened after the death of a woman who contracted Legionnaires' disease there in July.

It has been closed since September. Another woman fell ill in a separate outbreak in April.

Shropshire Council and Public Health England said they were satisfied that all the necessary steps had been taken by the hotel to identify possible sources of contamination and carry out remedial work.

Image source, Google

They say they will work with the hotel to carry out regular tests and make sure the legionella bacteria don't return.

Shropshire Council said a health and safety investigation into the death of Elaine Brown (pictured below) from Merseyside was in its early stages and would take "a significant period of time to complete".

Image source, Brown family

Two men have been charged on suspicion of theft after an 87-year-old woman's purse was stolen in a supermarket in Oswestry.

The men, aged 38 and 44 and both from Smethwick, have been bailed to appear at Telford Magistrates' Court.

Shropshire Star

Here are three of the top stories from the Shropshire Star today:

• Arrest after £25,000 worth of cannabis plants found growing in loft, external
• Fresh plans released for Shrewsbury's Stew, external
• Iron Bridge appeal smashes its target in just 48 hours, external

The latest plans for the redevelopment of a riverside property in Shrewsbury have been attracting a bit of criticism on the BBC Radio Shropshire Facebook page., external

Lynn Pugh wrote: "Big, plain, no character just like the theatre. Are we back in the 60's ? When we lost so many beautiful buildings to be replaced with concrete yuk."

And Anne Delf described it as a "carbuncle" and said it wasn't in keeping with the rest of the town, while Pam Baker labelled it "another modern monstrosity".

Image source, Carl Huntley

But there was some support for these designs, with Barbara King commenting: "Surely its better to have a building in use than letting it get into disrepair."

The owner of a riverside building in Shrewsbury that dates back to the 18th Century said his new plans for the redevelopment of The Stew will keep three quarters of the original structure.

Gareth Leese, is submitting proposals to turn it into a coffee shop, spa, offices, garages and seven apartments - with an extra floor on top and an extension to site.

This video should give you an idea of how it might change.

Andy Giddings
BBC News

In the last 10 years 28,262 children have been reported missing to the West Mercia and Warwickshire police forces, external, with nearly a third of them recorded as being in care.

Police also recorded that a rising number of those children were feared to be the victims of child sex exploitation, although added that this could be down to better understanding and recording of the crime.

Image source, Getty Images

More than two thirds of the children were reported to have gone missing from their homes.

The number of children reported missing each year has remained roughly the same, although the numbers were up in 2016-17.

Sean Fogarty
Producer, BBC Shropshire

A 35-year-old man from Ellesmere has been arrested on suspicion of making threats to kill, criminal damage and a public order offence following an incident in the town last night.

Police were called to a property on Scotland Street just before midnight, following reports of disorder and criminal damage.

The property was evacuated for about two hours, and the public were warned to stay clear of the area, while the incident, which is not thought to be terrorism-related, was dealt with.

The man remains in police custody whilst the investigation continues.

New figures show that unemployment fell by 8,000 across the West Midlands to 155,000 between July and September.

The Office for National Statistics says the national unemployment rate remains unchanged at 4.3%, after dropping from 59,000 to 1.42m.

Image source, Getty Images

Nationally, workers' earnings, including bonuses, rose 2.2% compared with a year ago, which still lags inflation of 3%.

BBC Shropshire

New plans have been drawn up to redevelop a building in Shrewsbury called The Stew.

The 18th Century industrial building next to the Theatre Severn in Frankwell, has been derelict for years.

Plans to demolish it and build a hotel were refused two years ago, and also failed at appeal.

Its owner has now submitted plans to keep three quarters of the original building, add a storey on top, and an extension to the side.

The plans will also create a coffee shop, spa, offices and apartments.

Thousands of trees are to be planted across the West Midlands as part of a major project by the Woodland Trust to restore native woodland.

Image source, Getty Images

The trust has sent out half a million saplings to schools and community groups nationally, with more than 46,000 being planted in this region.

The project is being backed by The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Rich Davis
BBC Weather presenter

A cloudy morning, becoming brighter this afternoon. A dry day with highs of 11C (52F).