Top stories on Shropshirestar.com this week

Arrest after train hits tractor at 70mph at level crossing

On Tuesday the Arriva Trains Wales service from Birmingham to Aberystwyth was left partially derailed following a collision with a tractor at 70mph. Up to 200 passengers had to be helped from the train after the incident near the Buttington Old Hall dairy farm, near Welshpool, which left the tractor driver and train driver shaken but otherwise uninjured. A 27-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of endangering safety and bailed until September 10. "It's lucky no one was killed at 70mph" wrote one reader on our Facebook page.

Shropshire mother jailed for £20,000 theft from village hall committee

On Tuesday we bought you the news that the mother who stole more than £20,000 from the Shropshire village hall committee to feed her gambling addiction has been jailed for 16 months. Tracey Hills siphoned the money out of the accounts of the Wattlesborugh and Halfway House Village Hall Committee over a period of five years. Further court proceedings are set to attempt to recover the money for the committee, with a property belonging to Hills in Lanzarote on the market to recoup the cash.

Shropshire police stations axed in major shake-up

On Thursday it was announced that some Shropshire police stations are set to close as part of a major shakeup of the way policing is delivered in the county. Ironbridge Police Station and a building in Donnington Mill will close and not be replaced. Whitchurch station will close but will be replaced at a location yet to be confirmed. Stations in Albrighton and Ellesmere are also set to close and will be replaced with community policing posts in shared buildings. This latest development has caused a lot of anger amongst our readers. Some took to our Facebook page saying "They should cut our MP's not our services… especially the police!" "Now axe the police and crime commissioner and we will save even more money." Some readers on our website were not surprised by the closures "It's not a surprise Whitchurch police station is to close, the place was a joke," one person commented, while another suggested: "There never seems to be anyone at Newport station so they may as well close that".

Bowls club amazed as Queen pops in for a chat

A familiar face popped in for a chat as members of the Brimfield and Little Hereford Bowling club were playing in the grounds of Windsor Castle. The Queen, who was driving herself around the grounds of Windsor Castle stopped the game with her arrival. Club member Jim Allen said: "I told her that England had just beaten Australia in the first Ashes test and she gave a huge smile and what looked like a little fist pump." "I can't quite imagine the queen doing a fist pump," said one reader on our Facebook page.

Shrewsbury Town fans give Didier Drogba a star welcome

He may have earned a champions league winner's medal and played at the world cup, but superstar footballer Didier Drogba seems just as happy in Shropshire. The striker was in town with Turkish giants Galatasaray was given the red carpet treatment at the greenhouse meadow on Saturday. The match attracted almost 6,000 sadly the Turkish proved too hot to handle for Salop with the match ending 3-0 in heat nearing 30c. Read what the fans had to say here.

By Beth Motherwell