Local Democracy Reporting Service
Alex Moore
Physical attacks on paramedics have risen by nearly a quarter in a year, latest figures have revealed.
West Midlands Ambulance Service said in April and May, 80 ambulance staff were physically assaults, 15 more than the same months in 2018.
Over the same period, verbal attacks increased as well, from 102 to 165.
But the service said "security incidents", such as theft of property, fell from 46 to 38.
Compare the temperature in your area to other locations in the UK and around the world.
Read moreSevere weather warnings for thunderstorms are in place across the West Midlands with flooding and travel disruption expected to continue throughout the day.
The Met Office warning is in place until the end of Tuesday.
It will be dry and bright at times but also some showers with highs of 22C (72F).
Rebecca Wood
BBC Midlands Today
It should be a dry night with largely clear skies and lows of 7C (45F).
The severe weather warning for thunderstorms across the West Midlands has been extended to Tuesday.
Localised flooding, lightning strikes and up to 30mm of rain in an hour is possible between 12:00 on Sunday and the end of Tuesday, said the Met Office.
Claire Bond's leg and kneecap were broken by a motorist she feared was going to drive into an 10k race.
Read more
Robert Alderson groomed the vulnerable 19-year-old and paid for alcohol and outings, a panel hears.
Read moreThunderstorms and heavy rain could cause travel disruption throughout Sunday afternoon, the Met Office is warning.
It has now extended yellow warnings for severe weather starting at 12:00 on Sunday until the end of Monday.
Where thunderstorms do develop, 20 to 30mm rain may fall locally in an hour, and close to 40mm of rain may fall in two or three hours, it said.
The Environment Agency's Dave Throup said there was the "potential for big storms for Sunday onwards as temperatures and humidity rise".
BBC One
A Staffordshire police officer has appeared on BBC TV this morning, talking again about the injuries she suffered when she had her legs crushed by dangerous driver who was trying to escape arrest.
PC Claire Bond told the BBC's Critical Incident "It was like I was in a washing machine, my body was like turning and then all of a sudden I felt quite a hard hit" and said she remember seeing her left leg pointing the wrong way and "my foot felt like jelly".
She was in hospital for nine days and her husband Darren, who is also a police officer, said he's had to take time off and stay at home to look after her.
PC Bond, who is determined to return to front-line policing, also said that when 25-year-old Gurajdeep Malhi, of Stafford was arrested, "relief that I felt was quite overwhelming".
He is due to be sentenced later this year after admitting causing grievous bodily harm with intent to avoid arrest, dangerous driving, driving while disqualified and driving without insurance.
BBC Radio Stoke
A road that flooded nine days ago is due to reopen today.
Sandon Road in Stafford should be cleared and opened later today, the county council said.
It has been closed in both directions between Astonfields and Peel Terrace.
This was the view a week ago:
Alex Hamilton
BBC Weather
It will be a dry day with a good deal of sunshine and highs of 18C (64F).
Rich Davis
BBC Weather presenter
Any lingering rain should clear to leave a dry night with lows of 9C (43F).
Crews are facing a growing number of tumble dryer and washing machine fires, according to Staffordshire Fire & Rescue Service.
It said there have been more than 30 of them in the county this year and it's urging people to keep an eye out for recall or safety notices about their products.
Thunderstorms are set to bring more travel disruption and possible flooding across the whole of the West Midlands at the beginning of next week.
The Met Office has issued a yellow warning for severe weather starting at 15:00 on Sunday until the end of Monday.
Where thunderstorms do develop, 20 to 30mm rain may fall locally in an hour, and close to 40mm of rain may fall in two or three hours, it said.
Local Democracy Reporting Service
A man who had a driving penalty overturned after arguing he could not have avoided driving in a bus lane says he will continue his fight against Staffordshire County Council.
Terry Deighton, 87, said he had driven from Mill Bank into the South Walls bus lane in Stafford town centre because an HGV had blocked his access to Bridge Street.
The council decided not to contest the case when he appealed and cancelled the £60 fine, but Mr Deighton now wants to take further action to claim back his legal and petrol costs.
He plans to appeal to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal on the grounds the council acted "wholly unreasonably".
Rich Davis
BBC Weather presenter
After some patchy rain it should be a largely dry day with highs of 18C (64F).
"Homophobic comments" were made by a group of youngsters and a person was punched, police say.
Read moreRich Davis
BBC Weather presenter
We should get a dry start to tonight with clear spells. Here's the full forecast, including for Thursday in the West Midlands:
Keep up-to-date with the weather where you live by visiting the BBC Weather website at any other time.
John Acres
Journalist, BBC Radio Stoke
A Staffordshire police officer who was hit by a car while on duty says she feels lucky to be alive.
PC Claire Bond was at the Stafford 10k race in September when she was knocked down in a hit-and-run.
Both her legs were broken in the collision and at one stage, she told BBC Radio Stoke she thought the vehicle was going to reverse over her.
I looked straight at the car and I remember the reverse lights coming on and I was lying there and I couldn't move. I thought, he's going to reverse over me."
The car's driver is due to be sentenced later this year after admitting causing grievous bodily harm with intent, dangerous driving, driving while disqualified and drugs charges.
PC Bond said she's determined to return to front-line policing and plans to read a victim impact statement at the sentencing.
A two-week crackdown on tailgaters on the M6 in the West Midlands resulted in 44 drivers being stopped.
Central Motorway Policing Group said they were given either a driving course, a court notice, a fixed penalty notice or advice.
Staffordshire Police said figures recently released by Highways England show that one in eight of all road casualties are caused by people who drive too close to the vehicle in front.
BBC News Travel
Two lanes of the M6 are shut in Staffordshire after a crash.
Highways England said the collision had happened on the southbound side between J13, near Stafford, and J12, for Gailey.
Allen Cook
BBC News
Two flood warnings remain in place in Shropshire but water levels are starting to fall, the Environment Agency's said.
The warnings cover the River Vyrnwy at Melverley and Maesbrook, south of Oswestry.
There are also dozens of flood alerts, meaning flooding is possible mainly in Birmingham and the Black Country, Staffordshire and Warwickshire.
Rich Davis
BBC Weather presenter
Any overnight rain should soon clear away and we're set for a dry, sunny day:
You can get a latest forecast for your area at any other time by heading to the BBC Weather website.
Alex Hamilton
BBC Weather
Areas of showery rain will move in this afternoon with more widespread rain expected throughout the night and lows of 12C (54F).
BBC Radio Stoke
Ambulances carrying 20 patients had to wait more than an hour to be admitted to the Royal Stoke Hospital yesterday because of "annual maintenance" at its accident and emergency department.
The hospital said "processes for ambulance handover were delayed and had an impact on the number of ambulances waiting at the emergency department for a brief period yesterday".
It said improvements had been made today.
West Midlands Ambulance Service said it sent someone to help manage the hold-up yesterday and said it brought 205 patients to the A&E department - lower than the expected number.
A couple has been feeding the birds every day for 10 years.
Heavy rain and thunder could cause travel disruption across parts of the West Midlands later, the Met Office is warning.
A yellow severe weather warning is in place from 18:00 today until 21:00 on Wednesday.
Thunderstorms may bring torrential rain, with anything from 15mm to 50mm expected.
Alex Hamilton
BBC Weather
After a largely dry morning cloud will thicken and areas of showery rain will move in with highs of 18C (64F).
Alex Hamilton
BBC Weather
It will be a largely dry night with the chance of isolated showers and lows of 10C (50F).
The number of people dying in crashes on the A500 in Staffordshire has been reduced to zero in the last 12 months, according to new figures.
Staffordshire Police said no-one died in 2018-19 in a collision, compared with three the year before, and the number seriously injured fell from four to two in the same period.
The force puts it down to the Central Motorway Police Group (CMPG) taking over policing the route in 18 June 2018.
The group's made up of officers from Staffordshire and West Midlands Police and concentrates on driving issues on motorways and main roads like the A500.
In the 12 months since they took on the A500, CMPG officers said they'd caught 1,569 motorists speeding on the route with one driver recorded at 93mph in a 50mph zone.
Flood warnings are still in place for:
These are the flood alerts:
Heavy rain and thunderstorms are likely to cause travel disruption across parts of the West Midlands.
A severe weather warning is in force from 18:00 Tuesday to 21:00 Wednesday.
Five flood warnings and eight flood alerts are still in place.
Alex Hamilton
BBC Weather
It will be a cloudy day with some showery rain this afternoon and highs of 20C (68F).
Staffordshire Police has not given details about why John Owen has been suspended.
Read moreVicky Norton
BBC Radio Stoke
A senior police officer's been suspended for what his force has described as allegations "which amount to gross misconduct".
Staffordshire Police has refused to reveal the nature of the allegations.
The force said it had decided to take the action over Chief Insp John Owen, its police commander for Stoke-on-Trent North.
It added that it had referred the allegations to its watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct, which assessed them and referred the issue back to the force for an internal investigation.
Stoke-on-Trent Live
The Stoke-on-Trent Live website's covering these stories today:
BBC Weather Watchers
The weather forecast may be improving but there's still plenty of the wet stuff around in photos from our local BBC Weather Watchers.
These three are from users Z70 in Stafford, Bucko in Uttoxeter, Staffordshire and Mikesnapper in Worcester:
Rebecca Wood
BBC Midlands Today
Can we expect the rain to dry up over the next few days?
Here's the weekend forecast.
Visitors to Staffordshire Wildlife Trust's headquarters are being warned that parts of it are under water.
The site's in Wolseley, near Stafford:
BBC News Travel
A main road's still shut on the outskirts of Birmingham because of flooding.
It's the A38 in Castle Vale, between Forge Lane and Midpoint Boulevard roundabout, with local firms telling travel firm Inrix that there's heavy flooding under the railway bridge.
Several other roads are also blocked including Sandon Road, Stafford, the B4101 Balsall Street, near Knowle and Gresty Lane, Shavington, Cheshire.
There is better news on the trains as National Rail Enquiries said services are running normally between Shrewsbury and Newtown after earlier flooding.
These are the places currently on flood alert across the West Midlands:
BBC News Travel
The A38 Kingsbury Road remains closed northbound in Castle Vale between Forge Lane and Midpoint Boulevard roundabout.
The southbound carriageway was also initially blocked, but is now passable with care.
The B4101 is also closed in both directions in Bradnocks Marsh, Solihull between Magpie Lane and Fen End Road West.
In Staffordshire the B5066 Sandon Road is completely closed from Astonfields Road to Peel Terrace.
New Street in Upton upon Severn in Worcestershire is closed between Hanley Road and Upper Hook Road.
Wrinehill Road in Nantwich, Cheshire remains closed from B5071 Bridge Street to Cobbs Lane.
Flood warnings and alerts across the West Midlands have been updated.
These are the places where flooding is now expected:
There are also still more than a dozen flood alerts in place across the region.
Jeremy LeFroy will leave the job in 2022, unless an election is called sooner.
Read moreEmergency services are working to release the driver of a lorry which went down an embankment after leaving an M6 carriageway.
The northbound carriageway remains closed from J13 to J14 after a crash involving the vehicle and two cars.
Alex Hamilton
BBC Weather
Rain will gradually ease and clear with some sunny spells later and highs of 17C (63F).
Drivers are facing a rush hour of wet weather as rain's expected to sweep across most of the West Midlands.
Shropshire's forecast to get the worst of it although it's also looking like being pretty wet in parts of Staffordshire and Cheshire and elsewhere.
The Environment Agency has ten flood warnings across the region along with more than a dozen flood alerts.
BBC News Travel
A crash involving a lorry and two cars has closed the M6 northbound from J13 to J14.
The road was closed from 06:40 with congestion also being reported on the diversion route along the A449 Moss Pit and Rising Brook into Stafford.
Alex Hamilton
BBC Weather
There's some respite on the way from the rain in the latest weather forecast for the West Midlands.
But the wet weather is due to return tomorrow morning:
You can get a latest forecast at any other time by heading to the BBC Weather website.
