A man has been charged after a police community support officer [PCSO] was allegedly threatened in Stoke-on-Trent.

The officer was alleged to have been threatened in Market Square on the evening of 11 July.

Image source, Google

Staffordshire Police say the 39-year-old man was charged with using threatening/abusive/insulting words or behaviour with intent to cause fear or provoke unlawful violence.

He was bailed to appear before North Staffordshire magistrates on 13 August.

Worcester Warriors say head coach Rory Duncan - a target for South African side Southern Kings - can leave Sixways.

The family of a 16-year-old boy hope the conviction of his killer will "serve as a lesson to those young people who are involved in knife crime".

Sidali Mohamed was murdered in Highgate, Birmingham, by 17-year-old Louai Ali, who was told he would serve at least 19 years in jail.

Image source, Family handout

Paying tribute to Sidali, his family said he was an amazing son, brother, cousin, nephew and fantastic friend.

"Sidali was an ambitious young man with his whole life ahead of him."

Workers at Amazon's depot in Rugeley, Staffordshire, are expected to join protests around the world over pay and conditions at the online retailer.

In the UK, unions say week-long protests are planned to coincide with Amazon's sale where it offers discounts to its Prime service members.

Mick Rix, GMB national officer, said Amazon workers want the firm's founder Jeff Bezos to know they are "people not robots".

"It's prime time for Amazon to get round the table with GMB and discuss ways to make the workplaces safer and to give their workers and independence voice," he said.

Amazon employs 29,500 people in the UK and a spokesperson said it offered industry-leading pay starting at £9.50 per hour and was the "employer of choice for thousands of people across the UK".

Local Democracy Reporting Service
Joe Sweeney

A playground in a Wolverhampton park has been closed after damage caused by a suspected mineshaft.

Work is being carried out to make the area in the north of Ashmore Park, Wednesfield, safe after the Coal Authority contacted the city council.

Image source, Wolverhampton City Council

Phil Bateman, Labour councillor for Wednesfield North, said the work was expected to take two weeks but it could be longer.

“At the moment the full works area is fully fenced off, which also includes the skate park, and this will all be fully reinstated upon completion of the works," he said.

The council added the work was being paid for and managed by the Coal Authority and it wanted the area made safe and restored "as soon as possible".

Local Democracy Reporting Service
Carmelo Garcia

Two West Mercia Police officers have been given written warnings a handcuffed man was sprayed with an incapacitant spray while he was partially naked and on the toilet.

The officers discharged the spray at close range on a man in Baschurch in July last year after responding to a call he was threatening to kill a family member, the hearing heard.

The hearing also hear PC Philips sprayed the man again while he was being walked barefoot to the police van.

PC Sharon Phillips and PC Simon Wilkey were found to have breached the force's professional standards at a public misconduct hearing last week.

Both officers were found to have breached the standards of professional behaviour relating to authority, respect and courtesy, use of force, orders and instructions and discreditable conduct.

BBC Radio 5 Live

A church deacon from Stoke-on-Trent has been describing how she managed to follow the climax of the Cricket World Cup final even though she was at a service at the time.

Linda told BBC Radio 5 Live she even had a secret code to let the church organist - also a big cricket fan - know if England were winning.

Worcestershire all-rounder Moeen Ali, who featured in England's World Cup triumph, says he believes the victory will bring a new audience to the sport.

"This has changed cricket in our country," he said.

Image source, Getty Images

Speaking to BBC Hereford and Worcester his father, Manir Ali, echoed the sentiment, saying school children "will all be talking about cricket today."

Mr Ali, who watched the game at Lords, said the atmosphere at the ground was "electric".

"Everyone was in tears and were jumping in the air," he said.

"It was absolutely amazing.

"The nails on my fingers have gone".

A council's social services department has been criticised in the High Court for the way it handled the case of a 14-year-old boy who's spent much of his life in care.

Image source, Google

Worcestershire County Council's failings were described as "egregious in the extreme".

The boy who's said to have "complex needs", and who can't be identified for legal reasons - left his mother's home nearly nine years ago.

In a written ruling published today, Mr Justice Keehan said 22 social workers had been involved but there had been no "consistent planning" for the boy's care, and neither he nor his foster parents had been given enough support.

The boy's mother died two years ago and the identity of his father isn't known.

The council - which is being sued by lawyers for the boy - has accepted liability and is trying to ensure there's no repeat.

The judge praised his foster parents and said the boy should remain living with them.

Much of the regeneration strategy for the West Midlands Combined Authority rests on high-speed stations in Birmingham and in Solihull.

A motorcyclist has died after his bike was involved in a crash with a car in Warwickshire.

The man in his 50s died at the scene.

The A435 near Mappleborough Green, was closed for a time after the collision, which happened shortly after 10:40 on Friday, police said.

Warwickshire Police is appealing for any witnesses to come forward.

A 17-year-old who murdered a student had gone to his college "armed with a fearsome knife", a judge said.

Sidali Mohamed, 16, was fatally stabbed outside Joseph Chamberlain College in Highgate, Birmingham, on 13 February.

Image source, West Midlands Police

Sentencing Louai Ali to serve a minimum of 19 years behind bars, Judge Mark Wall QC said he had intended to stab the teenager.

The court heard Ali bought the 10 inch zombie knife through Instagram.

Judge Wall said: "It had a long blade which was split in two. It was a weapon which was obviously, potentially lethal.

"You bought it because in your words 'It looked cool.'"

Press Association

Warwickshire seamer Chris Woakes paid tribute to Ben Stokes as England lifted the Cricket World Cup for the first time.

"I'm a big believer that people should be given second chances; you live and you learn in this life," he said.

Stokes was found not guilty of affray in August 2018, apologised for his actions and worked his way back into the England set-up.

Image source, Getty Images

"Ben's always given 110 per cent on the field, he's the best team man we have in this team, and we've got a lot of good ones," he said.

Woakes bagged 16 wickets across a hugely-fruitful personal tournament, as pre-competition favourites England ground their way to their maiden triumph.

Shropshire Star

Some of the headlining stories on the Shropshire Star website are:

• Policing boost after record number of new recruits, external
• Aldi and care home plan for Market Drayton given green light, external
• Care home staff praised for compassion, external

Louai Ali told jurors the zombie knife used to kill Sidali Mohamed was bought for £50 via Instagram.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Campaigners say they will step up their campaign against a new factory in Wednesbury.

NetworkRail said it would apply for planning permission this month to build a plant on Bescot sidings to produce about 600,000 concrete railway sleepers a year.

Image source, Network Rail

But the 'People of Wednesbury Say No to Network Rail' group says it will lead to noise, air pollution and traffic congestion.

Carol White, of the group, says 21 schools within a one-mile radius of the proposed site could be affected by silica used in the manufacture of cement.

But Network Rail has said the factory would not produce cement which will instead be brought into the plant in sealed lorries and unloaded in an airtight area within the building so it can’t escape into the atmosphere.

It has also estimated the number of HGV vehicles coming onto the site would average 30 a day, or some 7,500 a year.

BBC News Travel

A crash involving a lorry and two cars has closed two lanes of the M6 southbound.

Traffic is affected between Stafford Services and J14 for Stafford North.

Police are urging people to hand in guns and ammunition during a two-week national “firearms surrender” as part of efforts to tackle violent crime.

Members of the public can hand in items, including stun guns and pepper sprays, at any West Midlands police station from Saturday.

Image source, West Midlands Police

West Midlands Police chief Mark Payne hopes the surrender will also stop unused shotguns or antique firearms from falling into the hands of criminals, who could reactivate them.

A surrender held by the force in May 2018 saw 115 firearms handed in, which included 30 “lethal firearms”, police said.

The Cricket World Cup winning England squad is made up of 15 new champions from all around the globe, but two of them are from Birmingham.

Chris Woakes, who plays for Warwickshire and Worcestershire's Moeen Ali are both from the city.

Meet the rest of the champions here.

Brooklyn Beckham has made his debut as a music video director with an indie band from Birmingham.

The 20-year-old son of David and Victoria is behind the visuals for Jaws' latest single End Of The World.

Image source, Getty Images

Beckham, who is on an internship with photographer Rankin, approached the rock band after seeing them perform live.

He and his friend Louis Valentine Berry made the film in Coseley, West Midlands, over two days.

Partly filmed at the Roaring Tiger Karate Club, Coseley, the video is a tribute to drummer Eddy Geach's late father, who practised the martial art.