A six-year-old girl who has been in a critical condition since a flat fire in Stoke at the weekend has died this afternoon, police say.

Tafaoul Fadoul, from Ringland Close, was being treated at the Royal Stoke Hospital, along with her six-month-old sister, Tamunni Fadoul, who remains critically ill.

Their mother, 36-year-old, Zainab Adam, also died after the fire.

More than 15 years after 20-year-old Kevin Nunes was shot dead in Pattingham, the Chief Constable of Staffordshire Police has apologised for "significant police failures" in the investigation into his death.

Gareth Morgan said he decided to make the statement after reading an Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) report into the handling of the police inquiries.

Image source, Staffordshire Police

Five men were jailed for the murder, but they have since been cleared on appeal and Mr Morgan said he was sorry the family had "not received justice for his death" and acknowledged "they have been let down".

While pointing out that neither the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) nor the IPCC "found no evidence of corruption or criminality in the actions of Staffordshire Police", he accepted "there were failings in the management of protected witnesses and in the disclosure of relevant material to the Crown Prosecution Service and the courts."

He said action had been taken since then to improve the recording of information.

Mike Taylor
BBC WM

The new owners of Birmingham Speedway will be announced next week, as current owner, Tony Mole, retires after a career spanning 50 years.

Image source, Birmingham Brummies Speedway

He said the future of Birmingham Speedway "should be an exciting one" and that he "can assure supporters that [the new owners] are business people of substance."

Mr Mole brought speedway back to Birmingham in 2007, 21 years after the closure of the previous club, the Birmingham Brummies.

He sold the club in 2011, but it folded three years later. Mr Mole revived The Brummies again for the 2015 season, leading them to victory in the League title in 2015 and 2016.

Three police officers were accused of lying under oath at the inquest of a man who died in custody.

Rob Mayor
Political reporter, BBC WM

West Midlands Police admit that the 11,550 uninsured vehicles seized in the last 12 months are likely to be the "tip of the iceberg".

Image source, West Midlands Police

During a filming trip in a squad car earlier this year, the scale of the problem was made clear to me when the Automatic Number Plate Recognition system (ANPR) would identify a couple of potentially uninsured cars each minute on the M6.

The force say it simply doesn’t have the resources to investigate every time ANPR flags up a car as possibly being uninsured.

Officers are looking into systems that could automatically send a warning letter to drivers whose cars are flagged up, with repeat offenders facing more targeted action.

A police sergeant is to go on trial accused of murdering his wife, who was a detective in the same force.

Image source, Family/Facebook

Mother-of-three Leanne McKie, 39, was discovered in the water at Poynton Park, Cheshire, on Friday.

Darren McKie will go before a jury on 5 March, over the death of the Greater Manchester Police officer.

The 43-year-old made a brief appearance at Chester Crown Court via video-link from HMP Altcourse in Liverpool and was remanded in custody.

A large quantity of cash, drugs and weapons have been found in a police raid on a house on Severn Road in Perton, police say.

Image source, Staffordshire Police

Staffordshire Police say a 43-year-old woman and two men aged 18 and 21, all from Perton, were arrested on suspicion of possession of controlled drugs with intent to supply.

All three are now in custody while investigations continue.

BBC Sport

The new Port Vale boss, Neil Aspin, says he knows the task facing him won't be easy, with the side third from bottom of the Football League.

He's arriving with an impressive record in the lower leagues, having led Halifax to three promotions in three seasons.

Image source, Getty Images

Port Vale haven't won a game in League Two since the opening day of the season and are the lowest scorers in the division, finding the net just eight times so far.

Five officers who have travelled to the British Virgin Islands to support recovery efforts following Hurricane Irma have been commended by the West Mercia Police and Crime Commissioner.

They flew out last week, alongside another 49 officers from eleven other forces - John Campion praised the officers for volunteering to help, knowing the desolation and limited resources they’d be faced with.

Image source, Getty Images

The five will patrol the islands and assist the British Islands Police with their duties.

Next year's Gymnastics World Cup in Birmingham could give people a taste of what it would be like for the city to host the Commonwealth Games in 2022, the Wolverhampton gymnast Kristian Thomas says.

It will be held at Arena Birmingham, one of the venues which forms part of the Commonwealth Games bid.

Image source, Getty Images

Birmingham was the only city to submit a bid for the 2022 event.

Thomas also said the world cup event could inspire people to get involved in his sport.

Andy Giddings
BBC News

PlanS put forward by West Mercia's police and crime commissioner to spend another £1m on CCTV cameras have met with a mixed response on the BBC Midlands Facebook page., external

John Maddox wrote: "Better quality cameras, more of them. Only those with something to hide will object."

And Mich Ellen agreed, adding: "To be honest more CCTV isn't a bad idea considering the constant increase in crime and violent crime. It certainly saves a lot of police investigation resources."

But a number of people said they would prefer to see the money spent on more traditional policing, with Steve Clarke arguing "more police officers on the streets will help people feel safer".

And James Prosser wrote: "Only good if more people employed to monitor them and report what is going on in real time."

BBC Sport

Olympic champion Adam Peaty, from Uttoxeter, is among the first swimmers to be selected for the Team England Commonwealth Games squad.

The 2018 Games, which take place from 4-15 April, will be Peaty's second Commonwealths, having won gold and silver medals at Glasgow 2014.

Rio Olympic medallists James Guy and Siobhan-Marie O'Connor are also included.

Team England are expected to take a squad of around 600 athletes and staff to the Gold Coast Games, which will be their largest ever team to represent the nation at an overseas event.

Birmingham Mail

A grieving brother and sister who wanted to remember their mum at a Midland crematorium were stunned when the price rocketed from £219 to more than £1,600 in just a year., external

Double killer Aaron Barley’s life was one of chaos and violence - but what drove him to kill?

Kingsley Burrell died in custody in 2011, four days after being detained under mental health laws.

Homeless Aaron Barley was warned he may never be released after he "destroyed" the family who helped him.

After a year working on The Archers, editor Huw Kennair-Jones has announced he's leaving Ambridge for pastures new at ITV.

Mr Kennair-Jones has overseen "an eventful year in the village", says Radio 4 controller Gwyneth Williams: "Rob Titchener left for Minnesota, the cricket team admitted women for the first time, Jill Archer celebrated 60 years in Ambridge and Matt Crawford has returned to upset the apple cart."

Mr Kennair-Jones said he's "delighted to be joining the ITV drama team" after a year at the world's longest-running soap, which is made in Birmingham.

BBC Sport

Shrewsbury Town's Paul Hurst and Coventry City's Mark Robins are in the running for EFL manager of the month awards.

Hurst's team is sitting at the top of League One and have won all but one of their league games in September.

He is up against Blackburn's Tony Mowbray, Bradford boss Stuart McCall, and Paul Warne from Rotherham.

The winner will be revealed on Friday.

Food and clothing is being donated to the people affected by a fatal flat fire in Stoke-on-Trent.

A 36-year-old woman died, and her two young daughters have been left critically ill, after fire broke out on Sunday morning on Ringland Close in Northwood.

Investigators believe the fire started in a wall-mounted storage heater.

People in the surrounding city council-owned properties have been moved into temporary accommodation.

A 106-year-old runner will be an honorary starter at the first Birmingham International Marathon next weekend.

Fauja Singh, known as the "Turbaned Tornado", began running in his 80s after moving to London from Punjab.

Image source, Birmingham International Marathon

In 2011, Mr Singh became the first centenarian to complete a marathon after previously breaking records completing a marathon aged 89 nearly an hour faster than the previous world best in his age bracket.

Now retired, Mr Singh said he feels "privileged" to be taking part in the marathon,which starts at the Alexander Stadium, "because it makes me feel as if I am still running myself".