Midlands Live: Breaking news and local stories

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The Duke of Cambridge has met a group of ambassadors from the Diana Award’s anti-bullying campaign during a video call to mark Anti-Bullying Week.

Kensington PalaceCopyright: Kensington Palace

His Royal Highness heard about the work the young people were undertaking to combat the problem in schools.

Isabel Broderick, 15, from the West Midlands and Rose Marie Agnew, 14, from Warwick, were among those to join the chat on Thursday.

The scheme has trained more than 35,000 young people as ambassadors to support students to tackle bullying across their schools.

The Duke heard about how they had adapted their efforts to allow them to continue to provide support throughout the pandemic, including by taking their campaigns online.

Drivers are being warned of congestion on the A38 near Lichfield, Staffordshire.

A lorry has overturned on the southbound side at Fradley at about 18:30, Staffordshire Police said.

Staffordshire PoliceCopyright: Staffordshire Police

A Conservative councillor and former mayor has voluntarily left the party after being criticised for comments he made about Rolf Harris.

During a poll about Christmas songs online, the former Evesham mayor Mark Goodge defended the inclusion of the Australian's song Two Little Boys and argued the singer wasn't a convicted paedophile.

When contacted by BBC Radio Hereford and Worcester, Mr Goodge said he should not have made the comments and he did not mean to defend Mr Harris's actions.

He has voluntarily stepped down from the party while an investigation takes place.

The Conservative leader of Wychavon District Council Bradley Thomas said Mr Goodge's comments were poorly judged and would be considered offensive and inappropriate.

Harris was jailed for five years in 2014 for several counts of indecent assault, relating to four girls between 1968 and 1986, but released on licence in 2017.

Parents and pupils are being urged to wear face masks on journeys to and from schools with nearly a quarter of students in Birmingham currently self-isolating due to Covid-19.

PA MediaCopyright: PA Media

Attendance on Wednesday stood at 76.2% compared with 82.% the week before, city council leader Ian Ward told a West Midlands coronavirus briefing on Friday, with 28,818 pupils self-isolating.

He said his main concern over the spread of coronavirus involving schools was around people not following guidelines on journeys to and from school.

"On journeys they should follow all the rules and I would say wear a face mask," he said.

A man has been arrested on suspicion of rape after a woman was attacked in Hereford.

The victim, in her 20s, had been approached by a man in the St James' Road area on Thursday afternoon, West Mercia Police said.

She was attacked and sexually assaulted.

Officers said a 32-year-old man, from Hereford, has been arrested and remains in custody.

A few of the headlines from the Shropshire Star today:

• Hundreds of jobs will be lost if outdoor education centres are not allowed to reopen soon, says MP
• Shropshire court told 'sadistic' attacker scored assault on woman 'seven out of 10'
• Free festive parking present for Shropshire shoppers when lockdown is lifted

Car parking charges are being lifted for some of the day for more than a month in parts of Shropshire.

Shropshire Council said fees would not apply in its car parks between 11:00 and 18:00 from 3 December to 17 January.

It said it hoped the move would get people shopping locally over the Christmas period.