Worcestershire CC's leader Adrian Hardman will step down days before answering a drink-driving charge in court.

In a message to colleagues, seen by The MJ, the council's chief executive, Clare Marchant, wrote: ‘Adrian has given this council five excellent years of leadership, injecting a huge amount of ambition and pace into the vision of a county open for business in what are very challenging financial times and I want to thank him for that.'