More than 30 police officers from around the UK are passing through the area today, on a 180-mile (290km) cycle ride in remembrance of colleagues who have lost their lives in the line of duty.

The Police Unity Tour, external will be passing through Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire over the next two days, finishing at the National Memorial Arboretum at Alrewas.

Image source, West Mercia Police

Deputy Chief Constable Amanda Blakeman (pictured above right) from West Mercia Police is among them and she said she was taking part to remember PC Richard Gray who was shot dead in Shrewsbury in 2007, while trying to arrest a gunman who was holding two fellow officers hostage.

An "intense" pre-season fitness programme for players will "pay dividends" once games get under way, according to Crewe Alexandra manager David Artell.

He says he wanted to give them a good platform of fitness, external to "make sure we can last the whole season".

Image source, Rex Features

Neil Baker, Crewe Alexandra's head of recruitment, is to return to manage his former club Leek Town 23 years after leaving.

A review is being carried out into whether the murder of a two-year-old girl by her mother in Stoke-on-Trent could have been prevented.

Macy Hogan was suffocated by her mother Cody-Anne Jackson at her house in Fenton last year.

She's now been given a life sentence with a minimum of 16 years.

Image source, Staffordshire Police

Det Insp Dan Ison, from Staffordshire Police, said the review involves several different agencies, but it would be inappropriate to comment at this stage.

Alex Hamilton
BBC Weather

After a bright start cloud will start to increase with outbreaks of showery rain expected this afternoon.

A breezy day with top temperatures of around 20C (68F).

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.

Police say they have CCTV footage of thieves stealing a large quantity of equipment from a building site in Newport over the weekend.

They say it shows the intruders breaking into the rear of the Victoria Hotel on St Marys Street and a white pick-up truck, a white van and a flat bed lorry then driving off along Water Lane.

Image source, Google

Staffordshire digger maker JCB says it has agreed one of its biggest ever orders in the UK, worth around £55m.

The firm says hire company A-Plant wants more than 1,200 machines, plus more than 160 generators, which are made in Hixon.

Image source, PA

Rebecca Wood
BBC Midlands Today

Most places should become largely dry with clear spells overnight, with perhaps the odd shower around. It will be a breezy night - lows of 13C (55F).

In a statement read out in court, Macey Hogan's father Paul said he missed his daughter every day and a big piece of his heart went with her the day that she was killed.

Her mother Cody-Anne Jackson has been jailed for life and told she would serve at least 16 years for her "wicked and appalling" crime.

A Wolverhampton man has appeared in court, charged with dangerous driving and attempting to cause grievous bodily harm to a police officer, following a chase on the A51 at Bridgemere.

The 35-year-old was remanded in custody and is due to appear before Chester Crown Court on 24 August.

A safeguarding review is typically carried out after the death of a child. It's purpose it so see if it could have been prevented and what lessons can be learnt, if any.

In some notable past cases they have been highly critical of various agencies.

In the case of Macey Hogan, however, it's so far unclear if there was any contact at all with the family before Jackson's fateful 999 call.

Such reviews often take months to compile, depending on the amount of evidence.

So far, we have no timeline for the review into Macey's death.

A review is being carried out to see if there were any opportunities to spot the danger Macey Hogan was in and prevent her death.

The investigation involves several agencies.

The case was "unusual and very rare" said Det Insp Dan Ison, "something that I've never come across before".

"As the judge commented", Det Insp Ison said, "when the mother takes the life of a child there's usually some kind of mental health issues associated with it - that is not the case here".

"The police are engaged in the review, so we will see if anything comes out of it."

The formidable under-11s Leek Town Strikers are hoping to persuade more girls to join the sport.

Macey Hogan was killed after her mum sent the toddler's father "one last picture" of her.

Cody-Anne Jackson was no "struggling single parent" said Staffordshire Police, nor did she kill her daughter Macey Hogan for her to be "protected from someone or something".

"This was a killing that was cold and callous" said Det Insp Dan Ison, and "set to exact revenge on Paul Hogan as he had broken off the relationship."

The court heard that Macey’s father, Paul Hogan, had ended the relationship with Jackson a week before two-year-old Macey’s death.

A 999 call made by Cody-Anne Jackson to police on the morning of 10 October was a "complete hoax" and a "sham", said police.

Speaking outside court, after sentencing today Det Insp Dan Ison of Staffordshire Police said the call was "completely fraudulent".

"There was clearly direction being given for CPR to be carried out on Macey" he said, "and we know that she had been dead for some time by that point."

"It goes to show the coldness of Cody-Anne's defence".

Image source, Staffordshire Police

During sentencing, Judge Michael Chambers QC said Jackson had thought about killing herself and "decided to kill Macey as well to prevent her having a life without a mother".

The court heard Jackson, who had a history of self-harm, sent a photo to Macey's father Paul Hogan with a message reading: "Savour the last ever picture... Possibly see you in court."

A mother who's been sentenced to at least 16 years in jail after murdering her two-year-old daughter carried out a "wicked and appalling" act, said the judge at Stafford Crown Court.

In sentencing Cody-Anne Jackson for the murder of daughter Macey Hogan, Judge Michael Chambers QC said Jackson had the "courage to plead guilty" and "recognise the enormity" of the act, but "for a mother to kill her young child, who depends on her for protection above all others, is a wicked and appalling act".

A 20-year-old mother who killed her toddler did it as a "cold and callous" act of revenge on her former partner, police say.

Cody-Anne Jackson, from Stoke-on-Trent, has been given a life sentence at Stafford Crown Court for the murder of her two-year-old daughter

Staffordshire Police say Jackson wanted to extract revenge on Paul Hogan as he had broken off their relationship.

She suffocated Macey Hogan after sending the toddler's father "one last picture" of her.