Whitchurch

We're forecast sunny weather and temperature over 20C (69F) this weekend.

Bins are going to be set up across Shropshire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire on Monday, for people to surrender their knives.

West Mercia Police says it's aimed at reducing the amount of knife crime, but while the knives can be left anonymously, an investigation might be carried out if they are found to have been used in a crime.

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The knife bins will be found at the Kidderminster, Worcester, Redditch, Shrewsbury, Hereford and Telford police stations.

They will be there for one week.

It will be a dry and settled day with plenty of sunny spells and highs of 16C (61F).

We're forecast some light cloud overnight, but we could see some sunshine tomorrow and the forecast for the weekend is looking pretty good for September.

The West Mercia and Warwickshire police forces say they're working out the terms of their "amicable and negotiated separation" after West Mercia decided to pull out of their "strategic alliance".

But the Warwickshire force is looking for its neighbours to meet the costs of the divorce and said: "The alliance agreement is clear that the party which terminates the agreement is liable to pay the other party’s reasonable costs."

BBC

Warwickshire Police said there was "considerable work to transition out of the current alliance arrangements".

And it said 80% of the services they had been sharing were currently based in the West Mercia force area and would have to be re-established in Warwickshire, which it said could take time.

A Shropshire farmer says she's caught people pooing in her fields three times, and ordered one of them to clean up his mess.

Earlier this week, the issue made the headlines when a Nottinghamshire woman caught a suspected delivery driver defecating in an alley outside her house.

DHL said it was investigating.

BBC

Sarah Winwood, from Brick Kiln farm near Whitchurch said she had had a similar experience -not once, but on three occasions over recent years.

Most recently, she said she had found the offending item under a piece of paper she had gone to pick up thinking it was a receipt - leaving her "absolutely raving".

Mrs Winwood, who has a footpath and bridleway running through her land, said she even witnessed a walker drop his trousers and poo behind a hedge.

On another occasion, she said she confronted a workman in a high-vis vest and marched him to the scene of the crime after he initially tried to deny it.

I made him pick it up, he wasn't going anywhere and I certainly wasn't going anywhere until he picked it up. He'd wiped his bum and there was tissues as well."

It will be a cloudy day but feeling warm with highs of 21C (70F).

Shropshire health commissioners have agreed to pay £4m to their counterparts in north Wales, to settle an argument over cross-border treatment costs.

The disagreement started when the Betsi Cadwaladr health board increased the charges for treating patients from this side of the border.

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The Shropshire Clinical Commissioning Group had argued against the increase, but its chairman, Julian Povey, said it negotiated to pay the £4m and said it was like "shopping in a market".

West Mercia Police could get up to 360 extra officers, as a result of greater government funding, the Police and Crime Commissioner has said.

John Campion said it was a very rough estimate, based on Chancellor Sajid Javid's spending pledge of £750m for 20,000 police officers for the UK.

West Mercia PCC

Mr Campion said the estimate of between 300 and 360 extra officers was based on current spending, but if the government gives priorities to other forces, he might have to fight for a "fairer share" of the money.

Last autumn, West Mercia Police announced it was recruiting an extra 100 officers and in February it confirmed it would hire another 115 on top of that.

All 215 of those recruits should have started work by December this year.

A cloudy start and there's a chance of rain around today:

Keep up-to-date with the latest weather for your area by heading to the BBC Weather website.

It will be a cloudy night with some outbreaks of rain and lows of 15C (59F).

Schoolchildren who are given reduced timetables because of behaviour problems are at greater risk of being recruited by criminal gangs than those who are excluded from the classroom, West Mercia's deputy police and crime commissioner says.

At a meeting with the force, Tracey Onslow said gangs were likely to avoid those who were permanently excluded because they would be on "the radar" of local authorities.

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Ms Onslow suggested councils should do more to monitor children on part-time timetables and that the police needed to work closely with schools to engage with those students.

After a cloudy start it should be a dry bright day with highs of 18C (64F).

Rain will clear away overnight leaving a dry night with lows of 9C (48F).

Open auditions are to take place across the West Midlands for BBC local radio's biggest ever talent search.

BBC

You don’t need any previous presenting experience. You just need a passion for radio and the ability to tell a great story.

Every local BBC radio station in England and The Channel Islands is holding auditions on either Saturday 28 September or Sunday 29 September 2019.

You can find out how to apply here.

A horse has been pulled free by firefighters after getting stuck in a ditch at a nature reserve.

Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service

The animal needed rescuing yesterday afternoon at Fenns Moss, between Whitchurch and Ellesmere, Shropshire, the fire service said.

Crews used specialist equipment to pull the horse free but it's not clear whether it was injured.

Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service

It will be a cloudy and cool day with some rain and highs of 15C (59F).

It will be a dry night with clear spells and lows of 8C (46F).

A few of the headlines appearing on the Shropshire Star website today:

• Big boost as Telford to get up to £25 million in New Towns initiative
• Cat ban call for house buyers on Shropshire estate
• Apology over Shropshire pavement permits price hike

It will be a cloudy day with some rain and highs of 18C (64F).

More potholes are going to be repaired at night in Shropshire.

Shropshire Council

A new method using a new material called Texpatch is much quieter, Shropshire Council said, after trials in Whitchurch and Market Drayton last month.

Currently, just 20 potholes are repaired at night each week, but the local authority reckons it could increase that to 40 every night.

It will be a dry night with some clear spells and lows of 9C (48F).

It will be a dry and fine day with highs of 17C (63F).

After a mixed day with rain around, tonight's expected to be mainly dry with clear spells:

Get a latest forecast for your area at any other time by heading to the BBC Weather website.

Plans to build two new schools on community land in Shrewsbury are going to be discussed this morning.

Google

The proposals are to place them in the Bowbrook area where a lot of new houses are being built.

Shropshire Council's cabinet is meeting at 11:00 and will decide whether to move forward with the plans and ask the full council to approve releasing the land.

While the council would pay for a new primary school on the site, the local authority hopes the government will fund a new special school next door.

It may start with rain but a mainly dry morning with spells of sunshine, here's the full forecast for today:

You can get a latest forecast for your area at any other time by heading to the BBC Weather website.

A few brighter spells are expected this evening before rain moves in with lows of 14C (57F).

It will be a dry day with plenty of cloud around and highs of 20C (68F).

It should be a dry night with clear spells and lows of 11C (52F) and some warmer weather on Tuesday.

It will be a dry day with sunny spells and highs of 19C (66F).

It should be a dry and cloudy night with the small risk of showers and lows of 11C (52F).

It will be a partly cloudy day with some bright spells and highs of 23C (73F).

It should be a mainly dry night with some cloud and lows of 11C (52F).

Shropshire Council treats a lower percentage of its roads during the winter than other comparable authorities, a report has revealed.

Research for the authority's place overview committee said last winter it put grit down on 28% of the roads in its area, compared to the average of 35% for other similar councils.

Shropshire Council

The interim assistant director of infrastructure and communities, Steve Brown, said a budget of £1.4m had been set aside this year and that should be "sufficient to support the winter service".

Although he pointed out that money would also be spent on "other severe weather events, such as intense rainfall, localised flooding, fallen trees".

After a bright start it will be a cloudy day with the risk of showers and highs of 21C (70F).

Shropshire Council is facing an overspend of almost £8m this financial year.

BBC

A report due to go before its cabinet next week states: "Management action across all areas of the council is now required to attempt to bring the budget back into balance."

The report says that if action is taken, cutbacks can reduce the overspend to £1.8m instead.

The rain which has been around today is expected to clear away through this evening to leave a mainly dry, clear night:

You can get a latest forecast for your area at any other time by checking the BBC Weather website.

Mainly dry and cloudy this morning but we could see rain later:

You can get a latest forecast at any time for your part of the West Midlands by going to the BBC Weather website.

A dry start to tonight but it'll turn cloudier with a chance of some outbreaks of rain later on.

Here's the full forecast for the next 24 hours:

Get a latest forecast for your area at any other time by heading to the BBC Weather website.

Fewer than one in four cannabis users caught by police in Herefordshire and Worcestershire end up being prosecuted, BBC Hereford and Worcester's discovered.

BBC

Figured obtain through a Freedom of Information request show 23% of 1,114 offences in 2018-19 resulted in court action.

West Mercia Police says its focus is on "large scale dealing" and cannabis plants.

The force added officers have discretionary powers to issue a "cannabis warning" instead of pursuing prosecution, when appropriate.

The amount spent by West Midlands Ambulance Service on moving patients in taxis has doubled in a year, figures show.

BBC

Freedom of Information requests by the Press Association discovered it spent £4m on them in 2018-19 compared to £2m the year before.

The service said it was trying to reduce the figure.

There's a risk today of some heavy and thundery showers, here's the full forecast for the day ahead:

You can keep up-to-date with the latest weather where you are by heading to the BBC Weather website at any other time.

The sunshine is set to lead to a dry night with long, clear spells - here's the full forecast for the next 24 hours:

You can stay up-to-date on the weather for your area by going to the BBC Weather website.

Dry and cloudy this morning, here's the full forecast:

You can stay up-to-date with the latest forecast for your area by heading to the BBC Weather website.