text: Hereford and Worcester was an English county created on 1 April 1974 , by the Local Government Act 1972 from the area of the former administrative county of Herefordshire , most of Worcestershire ( except Halesowen and Stourbridge , which became part of the West Midlands ) and the county borough of Worcester .
simplified: Hereford and Worcester was a county in England set up after 1974 .