Hundreds of runners in Coventry have been taking part in the city's annual half marathon and 10k race.

The city's mayor wished entrants good luck ahead of it starting at 09:00 BST with the 10k kicking off half and hour later.

Half-marathon winner Warwick University student Adam Hudson said he found it very warm but thanked organisers for putting on the event.

Kelly Edwards, from Coventry, who runs with Leamington Cycling and Athletics Club, was the first woman to finish and said the support around the course was amazing.

"I was rather nervous before the race because I have been out with injury," Ms Edwards said.

"But I thought I'd give a local race a go because it's my home half marathon.

"So I was surprised with how it went. My team mate took it out quite hard and I decided to go with her and then kind of regretted it but had to commit then and just tried to keep going."

She and her team mate finished third and others from the club also took part.

"All the support has been amazing and being local there was obviously quite a few people shouting my name and that kept me going."

Mr Hudson, from Sutton in south London, who had never competed in a half marathon before said he could not have got round the course without the support from the crowds.

"People of Coventry coming to support was amazing – don't think I could have got though without being cheered on," he said.

"Of course the other runners, they gave me a good run. It was a strong battle to half way and a strong uphill course in the first half and I just really tried to crank it to the top."

Although he felt out of his comfort zone he said he "thoroughly enjoyed it".

"I've got one more year at uni so I hope I will still be around next year to do it again," he added.

Nick Woolley won the 10k race and said it was "tough, hilly and a little bit warm".

Roisin Quinn was the female winner of the 10k race.

Mr Woolley also said he appreciated the support from the crowds.

He and his partner had recently had their third baby so he had been quite sleep deprived which made his finishing time of 33 minutes all the more rewarding, he said.

The event is organised by Jane Tomlinson's Run For All in partnership with Coventry City Council, and expected to generate thousands of pounds for charities.

The cost of building homes in London is more than in other parts of England, think tank analysis has found.

The Centre for London reported the upfront cost of constructing 88,000 new homes a year, the government's annual target for the capital, is roughly 43 times higher than the equivalent target in the West Midlands.

The research was shared at the centre's 2025 housing summit on Wednesday, where Sem Moema, chair of the London Assembly housing committee, said: "If we don't fix the housing crisis, the character of the city will be extinguished."

A Mayor of London spokesperson said: "The mayor will continue to work in partnership with the government to deliver more genuinely affordable homes."

'Closing schools'

Separate polling by the think tank, which is politically independent, found 60% of Londoners surveyed had considered moving out of the capital due to housing costs rising over the past 12 months, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) said.

Ms Moema, a Labour member representing Hackney, Islington and Waltham Forest at City Hall, said: "I see in my own constituency the hollowing out that occurs and continues to occur, when the failure to fix the housing crisis for a decade and a half changes the character of our city, and not for the better.

"In all three boroughs, we're being forced to consider closing schools, because there are basically no children left in northeast London.

"Families can no longer afford to own or even rent properties in my boroughs."

Centre for London's research found the crisis is being exacerbated by the upfront cost to developers being at least £2.2bn, if they built enough homes to hit the government's target in the capital.

The estimate was produced by combining the costs associated with the Building Safety Levy, Section 106 agreements, the Community Infrastructure Levy and planning fees for local councils, according to the analysis.

The figure in the West Midlands metropolitan county – which includes Birmingham – was only £50.6m, and only slightly higher in Greater Manchester at £61.3m.

In the London borough of Wandsworth alone, which had the highest cost of any London council area, according to the LDRS, the estimate was £253.9m.

'Invest in capital'

Ms Moema said: "We have a generation who will never get on to the property ladder independently.

"We need to confront this reality. As with climate change, the costs of not doing anything will be greater than the costs of further investment."

A spokesperson for the mayor said: "The mayor is working hard to turn things around, building on a strong track record of delivering tens of thousands of genuinely affordable homes across the capital and more new council homes than any time since the 1970s."

'Ambitious solutions'

Commenting on the Labour government's approach to tackling the housing crisis, Centre for London CEO Antonia Jennings said: "We've seen increased investment in the Affordable Homes Programme, planning reform which allow building on low-quality sections of the green belt and the new Renters Reform Bill.

"But, these are only the very first steps."

She added: "We urgently need ambitious solutions that respond to the scale of the challenges facing the capital.

"The government must get behind London's leaders and invest in the capital to finally turn the corner on the housing crisis."

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has said meeting the housing challenge in London is a "crucial part" of its national mission to build 1.5m homes and kickstart economic growth.

The government added that it had made "£200m available through the Brownfield Infrastructure and Land fund to strategic sites across the capital".

Another £81m from the Housing Infrastructure Fund is also being given to Transport for London (TfL) to make improvements to Surrey Quays Station and "unlock more than 8,000 new homes in Southwark and Lewisham".

A organist is celebrating four decades behind the keys of a Wurlitzer organ at a popular attraction.

Robert Wolfe, from Norwich, has played the organ for 45 years at Thursford in Fakenham, Norfolk, home to the annual Christmas Spectacular.

"To be here for the 45th year is absolutely fantastic, and I am loving it more than ever," he said.

He is expected to perform at the venue later in the year as part of Thursford's Steam Gala Day.

Mr Wolfe, who was born in Luton, was invited to play at Blackpool Tower at the age of 16, becoming one of the youngest musicians to perform at the iconic ballroom.

"I was very lucky to be in that position at such an early age, and it was a great experience being there for three years," he said.

Wurlitzer organs were used in movie theatres to evoke atmosphere and provide a live soundtrack during the era of silent film.

During a trip to the museum when he was 19 years old, Mr Wolfe asked John Cushing, the chief executive at Thursford at the time, if he could play the original Wurlitzer.

Since that visit in 1981, Mr Wolfe has since returned every year to play two shows a day for visitors.

The theatre closed during the pandemic, which had an impact on Mr Wolfe's confidence.

"In the year we closed with lockdown, I did not think there would be a return, and I did not that I would come back to it," he said.

"I lost a lot of my self-confidence. I thought that is it, my career is over.

"But I did come back, and I am so pleased I did."

The Thursford organ was built about 100 years ago and is one of two of its kind still played regularly in the country.

Mr Wolfe is expected to play three shows during the Thursford's Steam Gala Day on 6 July.