Summary

  • Updates from Monday 25 June to Sunday 1 July

  • Click on related stories for updates from your area

Live Reporting

  1. Coffee table gun found in police raid

    A gun and bullets have been found on a coffee table by police raiding a house after getting a local tip-off.

    The gun on the table with bullets nearbyStaffordshire Police

    The force says officers went to the house on Slater Street, Biddulph, this morning and found the weapon along with a samurai sword, propped up against a wall.

    They say it turned out the gun couldn't have fired live rounds and they arrested a 37-year-old man in a neighbour's garden as he was trying to get away.

    He was arrested on suspicion of cultivation of cannabis and abstraction of electricity.

  2. Stem cell match brother issued visa

    The brother of a woman with rare blood cancer has been issued with a visa to enter the UK after initially having an application turned down due to his "financial circumstances".

    Shirley KordieAnthony Nolan Trust/Shirley Kordie

    Shirley Kordie, 33, from Walsall has hypoplastic MDS and her brother Joseph, who lives in Ghana, is a "perfect" stem cell match, said the Athony Nolan Trust.

    After "urgently reviewing" the case, the Home Office said it was treating the case as a priority, and working with Mr Kordie to ensure he's able to travel to the UK as soon as possible.

    A petition supporting her case currently has about 78,000 signatures.

  3. Biker dies in three-vehicle crash

    Allen Cook
    BBC News

    A motorcyclist has died in a three-vehicle crash near Stourbridge.

    The A458 Bridgnorth Road, near StourtonGoogle

    Police say the 48-year-old man from Oldbury was riding a Triumph motorbike when it was in a collision with a Mercedes and a Land Rover.

    They say it happened on Saturday afternoon on the A458 Bridgnorth Road, near Stourton, and the man died from his injuries at the scene.

  4. Use of spit hoods increases in police figures

    Spit and bite guards have been used more than 110 times in the last year by West Mercia Police, compared with just nine occasions in 2016.

    Spit hoodsHerts Police

    They're used to prevent suspects from spitting or biting, but critics say they are distressing and humiliating.

    The statistics come from West Mercia's latest "use of force" figures, which also show they used Tasers 43 times between April 2017 and March this year.

  5. Move to speed up evictions at illegal traveller camps

    Sophie Calvert
    Political Reporter, BBC Radio Stoke

    Efforts are being discussed today aimed at speeding up the time taken to evict travellers from illegal encampments.

    Travellers at Station Walks, Newcastle-under-Lyme this yearNewcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council

    Councillors from Newcastle-under-Lyme will this afternoon meet with Staffordshire Police to work on improving the information the two organisations share.

    They'll also look at what powers the police have in those instances and why the eviction process works faster in some parts of the county than others.

    In Newcastle-under-Lyme, there have been several illegal camps on sites such as Wolstanton Marsh and The Wammy in recent weeks.

    There are significant discrepancies, depending on where you are in Staffordshire, as to the speed with which the court process can actually be achieved."

    Matthew Ellis, Staffordshire's Police and Crime Commissioner

  6. Man arrested after woman killed in suspected hit-and-run

    A man has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving after a woman was killed in a suspected hit-and-run crash.

    Scene of crashGoogle

    Mother-of-three, Noreen Akhtar, 38, from Banbury Oxfordshire, died in hospital after being struck by a vehicle on Saturday 16 June outside a cafe in Sparkhill, Birmingham.

    A 33-year-old man was arrested after the car believed to be involved in the collision was found at an address in Birmingham, said West Midlands Police.

    The man, from Moseley, has been released on police bail.

  8. Drones join battle against 'aggressive' gulls

    Allen Cook
    BBC News

    Several gulls nests have been spotted by drones in Worcester city centre as part of work to cut their numbers.

    The birds' eggs are being replaced with fake versions in a long-running bid to cut their numbers, especially during July and August when they are at their most aggressive and noisy.

    The drone being flownWorcester City Council

    The city council has previously blamed half-eaten takeaways giving the birds the chance to feed and encouraging them to come into the city.

    The local authority has fitted cameras to the drones for the first time this summer in a bid to spot nests in hard-to-reach places such as around chimneys.

    A nest spotted next to a chimney by a droneWorcester City Council

    The birds tend to nest in the same places and the city council says it will make it easier to replace more of their eggs with "convincing dummies" in future.

  9. My son was stabbed: Why has this happened?

    Twenty-six-year-old James Brindley was stabbed in the heart on his way home from a night out.

    Read More

  10. Will temperatures reach 30C?

    It's going to be hot out there today - and the chance to top 30C Dave Thoup, from the Environment Agency believes.

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  11. Triple anniversary theme for ninth bloom award attempt

    Three anniversaries are being celebrated in a Staffordshire town this year in its efforts to win a Heart of England in Bloom gold award for the ninth year in a row.

    Display around Tamworth CastleTamworth Borough Council

    Tamworth Borough Council says this year is themed around 100 years since the end of World War One, the 100th anniversary of Girlguiding Tamworth being formed and 1,100 years since the death of Aethelflaed, Lady of the Mercians.

    The authority is urging more residents to get involved and says its displays are "starting to take shape" ahead of judging on 17 July.

    Work on one of the displaysTamworth Borough Council

  13. Call for major emergency drill

    Local Democracy Reporting Service
    George Makin

    Councillors in Wolverhampton are calling for an emergency planning exercise, mimicking disasters such as the fire at Grenfell Tower, to be brought forward.

    Wolverhampton Civic CentreGoogle

    The call came at a meeting of the Fire Safety Scrutiny Group, which was set up to oversee and monitor safety procedures for all of the local authority’s residential homes and properties.

    Members of the panel heard that by law the city only needs to hold a major exercise every three years.

    Council officers have now been asked for a report on the feasibility of bringing forward a major exercise.

  14. Power cut hits 800+ homes and businesses

    More than 800 homes and businesses have lost power this afternoon in part of Staffordshire.

    Western Power Distribution says it's happened in the area around Upper Tean and engineers are working to get the electricity back on by 15:00.

  15. Motorcyclist dies in crash

    A motorcyclist has died in hospital after a crash with a Peugeot car.

    A53 Baldwins GateGoogle

    The collision happened on Saturday evening on the A53 in Baldwin's Gate, Newcastle-under-Lyme, police say.

    The biker, a 33-year-old man from Lincolnshire, died from his injuries at the Royal Stoke University Hospital.

  17. Theft fears over ancient marker stone

    People in a village are being urged to "keep a vigilant eye" after it's reported someone tried to remove an ancient canal marker stone.

    The marker stoneBarlaston Parish Council

    Barlaston Parish Council says on Friday it was told about the attempted removal of the stone on the canal side on Meaford Road.

    The authority says it's a historically important artefact and wants people walking on the canal to watch out for any "unusual activity".

  19. Worcs all-rounder in line for England debut

    Allen Cook
    BBC News

    Worcestershire all-rounder Ed Barnard won't play for the county today against Nottinghamshire as he's had his first call-up for the England Lions side.

    Ed BarnardGetty Images

    Last season, the 22-year-old scored nearly 600 runs and took 47 wickets and has continued to build on those figures this year.

    In the Pears' latest game, Barnard took nine wickets, following his 11-89 against Somerset.

    England's national selector Ed Smith confirmed the all-rounder's been picked for tomorrow's game with India A and Thursday's with West Indies A.

  20. 'Aggressive' stags get flight diverted

    One member of the 27-strong group has been given a lifetime ban by airline Jet2.

    Read More