A gang of thieves stole specialist bikes and equipment worth thousands of pounds – just hours before a group of cyclists were due to perform at a top race in Shropshire.

At the time, he had a long mop and facial hair. “One question was, would I be prepared to have my hair cut and shave my beard off,” remembers Martin Whitelegg of his initial interview to join West Mercia Police.

A man was left with a cut to his throat after a late-night assault by five hooded youths in Market Drayton town centre.

More than 100 catalytic converters have been stolen from vehicles across the county over the past 12 months, police have revealed today.

Seventeen pedestrians have been killed and more than 130 seriously injured on roads in Shropshire over the past five years, police figures revealed today.

About 20 medical scans at a Shropshire hospital had to be cancelled after metal thieves stole electrical cables.

Two motorcyclists have been killed in horrific crashes in Shropshire and Mid Wales.

A suspected fuel thief thought to have carried out 100 offences during a 10-year spree which included Shropshire, has been arrested police said today.

With its back against the wall already, West Mercia Police says it is conjuring up a further £11 million in savings, which comes hard on the heels of a budget cut of almost £10 million in the past year.

West Mercia Police will have to find £11 million of savings from its budget this year as part of its extensive programme of cuts, according to a report which will be seen today.

Police have released CCTV images of a suspected fuel thief who has carried out 100 offences during a 10-year stealing spree, including one in Whitchurch.

Oswestry has lost its top police officer following the retirement of Inspector Jim Stafford.

Police have launched a new appeal in a bid to catch a 28-year-old man believed to have raped a woman in Telford more than eight years ago after he disappeared while on bail.

Two men who were killed in a horrific car crash in north Shropshire were friends from Hodnet and Market Drayton, it has emerged today.

Children went missing from care homes in Shropshire nearly 250 times over three years – with one girl absconding from a care home in Telford 130 times in a 12-month period, shocking figures revealed today.

A man has been arrested today in connection with a £50,000 armed robbery at a luxury home near Bridgnorth.

Burglars broke into a house and stole more than £5,000 of antique jewellery, including treasured family heirlooms, from a house in Craven Arms while the owners were on holiday, police said today.

Nearly 50 lambs plunged to their death on a farm near Much Wenlock after a concrete well cover was removed in what police this afternoon described as a ‘suspicious incident’.

A trailer carrying dozens of sheep overturned on a busy road on the outskirts of Shrewsbury today closing part of the carriageway and causing delays of up to 20 minutes.

A shop in Leominster has surrendered its right to sell alcohol after a sting operation by the police discovered that it had sold alcohol to underage children without ID checks.

Police investigating a £50,000 armed robbery on a couple at their Shropshire home today arrested a 22-year-old man.

Almost 450 sex crimes were committed against children across the West Mercia Police area in the last 12 months, shock new figures suggested today.

TV star Ricky Tomlinson has called for a meeting with top officials from West Mercia Police after he was jailed following the notorious 1970s building workers’ dispute in Shrewsbury.

Burglars raided four homes in Newport in the space of six hours stealing thousands of pounds worth of jewellery, electrical good and cash.

Thieves have caused more than £1,000 of damage to a village hall after breaking in, smashing sinks and stealing copper piping.

Car crime in Shrewsbury has grown ‘significantly’ since the turn of the year – with four suburbs now considered to be hotspot areas, it was revealed today.

A motorcyclist in his 20s was flown to hospital with a serious leg injury after his bike hit a car and a wall.

A 29-year-old man was today fighting for his life in hospital after a crash near Bridgnorth. The Volvo left the road before crashing at Shipley, police said today.

Six men have been placed on the sex offenders register after grooming a teenager from Shropshire on the internet before travelling to the county to meet her, police said today.

I was coming to the end of my time at secondary school when I noticed the advert in the Shropshire Star about recruitment for the Telford Volunteer Police Cadets writes police cadet Kate Theodore.