Stoke & Staffordshire

Weather for Stoke-on-Trent

Sport

BBC Sounds: From Stoke & Staffordshire

View more

Latest Updates

  1. A group of bikers set off on a charity motorcycle ride. Featured is a man dressed as Santa on a three-wheeled bike with a passenger dressed as a snowman.

  2. Frustration reigns as Stoke slip up against Hull

    Mark Elliott
    BBC Radio Stoke's Stoke City commentator

    Stoke City and Hull City players clash after the final whistle at the bet365 StadiumPA Media

    At half-time, it looked like Stoke were cruising to a second successive win. By full-time they were coming to terms with a third defeat in four games.

    Such are the highs and lows of this rollercoaster Championship season in which nobody bar Coventry can seem to put a decisive run of wins together.

    Mark Robins was as emotional as we've seen him post-match. He said his team deserved to lose and wants more from them in the big moments that often decide the sort of tight games Stoke have lost in recent weeks.

    Emotions were heightened by the irresponsibility of some Hull players, led by John Lundstram who decided to goad the home fans in the Boothen End rather than enjoying the win with their own fans at the other end at full-time.

    That sparked several minutes of pushing and shoving on the pitch and the odd projectile from a minority in the stands in unedifying scenes that didn't need to happen.

    The palpable post-match frustration of those in red and white is fuelled by the fact that Stoke stand on the brink of an amazing 2026 that looks there for the taking if only they can solve two key problems.

    Can they be more efficient in front of goal and can they stop conceding goals from moves beginning with their own possession midway inside their own half?

    They played really well in the first half against Hull and they're clearly a good side. But their chances of promotion will be determined by their ability to become more efficient in those areas.

  3. Medics take part in training in a simulation course at Keele University. They are wearing scrubs and aprons and are using the equipment while looking at a screen. There is operating theatre equipment all around them.

  4. The outside of Shire hall, a stone and glass building with a canopy over the front door topped with a red and white shield.

  5. A three-storey building with barred windows, surrounded by a high fence

  6. EFL match balls

  7. National League ground

  8. Robins left fuming by Stoke's last-gasp loss at home to Hull

    Stoke manager Mark Robins was furious after their last-minute loss to HullGetty Images

    Mark Robins was left fuming by Stoke's loss to Hull

    Stoke boss Mark Robins felt his side contributed to their own downfall in their last-minute defeat to Hull at the bet365 Stadium.

    Sorba Thomas volleyed Stoke ahead before they capitulated in the second half and Robins was not happy with Hull for sparking a player melee after the final whistle, which could result in an FA charge for the Potters.

    Robins told BBC Radio Stoke: "It was a game of two halves. We gave them the impetus, we gave them their goal, although it was offside. I've got to say it's offside and you can't miss that.

    "But they've missed that and it's ended up in the back of our net. And then time after time, we were getting in really good areas and not completing the pass, not finding the man coming onto it, not finding the final pass.

    "Then for the final goal, we've inexplicably given the ball away in the middle of the pitch and they've broken against us. They were better in the second half, but we allowed that to happen and that's a real frustration.

    "At the end, I've spoken to the referee, and one of their players has incited the crowd and we've ended up in a situation where there are players confronting each other. We'll get charged with failing to control our players or whatever it is and it's an absolute joke.

    "I'm fuming at what we did in the second half and I'm fuming at what happened at the end."

  9. Joe Gelhardt

  10. The National Memorial Arboretum illuminated in purple and warm yellow lights

  11. A man with short hair, wearing a grey and white patterned top, his arms folded. He is smiling at the camera

  12. Frazer Clarke in the ring with his hands aloft after winning a fight. A ring announcer in a red jacket is on the left with a microphone, while a referee holds Clarke's left arm up. His opponent Bogdan Dinu looks dejected on the right

  13. A mugshot of a man with white hair, a balding head and brown eyes. He is wearing spectacles and a navy jumper.

  14. Three images in a composite - on the left is drummer John Bonham, in the middle a tractor decorated with Christmas lights and on the right Bea Ward, who is starring in major musical.

  15. A grandmother helps her granddaughter to decorate Christmas cookies. The girl is wearing reindeer antlers and is picking up decorations. There is a Santa model on the table and a tree behind them.

  16. A women with brunet hair, wearing brown glasses and a black jumper. She is stood next to a green parking meter.

  17. Table 'not something I sit and stare at' - Robins

    At this point in the season, Mark Robins says he is more interested in how people in and around Stoke City are feeling than who is in the automatic promotion places.

    His previous side Coventry are top of the Championship while The Potters are second after a 3-0 win against Charlton on Tuesday.

    When asked how he feels about seeing the two sides' places in the league table, Robins said: "I want to be top."

    He added: "It's not something I sit and stare at. It's not something I sit and think about too much. It's only 17 games, you look at all sorts of things that you can't affect and then you're wasting time so you procrastinate about things that you've got no control over so, no point.

    "I think that my energy is better served to look at what we're doing, what we can do better and then getting on with that and I think everybody is aware of that.

    "The staff and the players are aware of that. It's only about us. We talk about it's us in the building, it's us around the place, it's our supporters, it's you guys [the media], the positivity and the good will that we've gleaned.

    "Those are the things that feel good around the place and you can really use that to push things forward and I think that the players are in a brilliant place because of all of those things, because of the performances they put in so I'm happy with all of those things.

    "Christmas is around the corner and there'll be plenty of work that goes on in the community now, that continues all season anyway but we can start to put a little bit back into the community."

    You can listen to more from Mark Robins on BBC Sounds.

  18. A police mugshot of a man with a beard in a light grey t-shirt

  19. A car park, with a number of vehicles parked in the spaces. There are buildings and a church in the background

  20. A police car is parked outside the drive of a dormer bungalow. There is a van and car parked on the drive, with police tape across the entrance. Blue sheeting hangs above the door of the property

  21. Simon Tagg, a man wearing a navy blue coat, is standing outside a large set of green gates at the entrance to a landfill site. There is signage on fencing to the side of the gates which indicates the site is hazardous.

  22. Lord Mayor of Stoke-on-Trent, Steve Watkins is stood under a wooden trellis with a red ribbon attached. He is holding a pair of scissors, and is cutting the ribbon.

  23. Port Vale manager Darren Moore looks on from the touchline during a game

  24. Rob Barber, chief fire officer for Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service, is stood against a wood-panelled wall in his uniform.