Jenny Coleman
Reporter, BBC Local Live

Today's top stories in Cheshire and Merseyside:

- The Ministry of Justice reveals £14m has so far been spent on the new Hillsborough inquests. 

- An elderly woman is taken to hospital following an accident involving a bus in Liverpool city centre.

- CCTV monitoring and security services in Huyton town centre are to be scrapped, as Knowsley Council acts to deal with a budget shortfall of £34m over the next two years.

Warrington Guardian

Warrington Borough Council is calling for the Government to stop using 'smoke and mirrors' following a lack of detail on the bids for devolution, external.

BBC Sport

Striker Mario Balotelli, who is on loan at AC Milan from Liverpool, may require surgery on a troublesome groin injury.

Image source, Getty Images

The 25-year-old, who has made only four appearances since re-joining Milan on loan from the Reds earlier this season, has been sidelined for over a month with the problem and travelled to Denmark on Monday for a consultation with a leading specialist.

AC Milan said in a statement: "The medical staff of AC Milan and Liverpool FC will soon agree on which treatment the player will undergo." 

Bus services have been disrupted in Liverpool's Hanover Street following a road accident.

A Liverpool man who went on the run for more than a decade has been jailed for trafficking heroin worth more than £200,000 into Aberdeen.

Scott Coleman, 41, from Liverpool, was caught in 2003 but was freed on bail and failed to reappear. He was finally detained in Amsterdam earlier this year before being extradited.

Coleman admitted being concerned in the supply of heroin and was jailed for five years.

Emma Stanley
Reporter, BBC News Online

A young driver who died after a crash with a taxi in Lancashire has been named by police.

Shane Maughan, 20, of St. Helens, was driving a silver Ford Mondeo when he collided with a taxi on Manchester Road in Burnley at about 01:00 on Saturday. He died at the scene.

The taxi driver, 48, suffered serious chest and leg injuries and was taken to Royal Preston Hospital. His two female passengers, aged 58 and 38, received head injuries.

BBC Travel

One lane is blocked on the M58 westbound between Junction 1, Kirkby, and the A59, Switch Island, because of a broken down car.

More from BBC Travel.

Warrington Guardian

A 32-year-old Liverpool woman had her car seized after being found in possession of an item which police believed would be used in connection with a theft, external.

Phil Kinsella
Reporter, BBC Radio Merseyside Sport

Tranmere midfielder Lois Maynard has received an international call-up by St Kitts and Nevis.  

Maynard has made 17 appearances and scored three goals for Rovers this season, after arriving at Prenton Park from FC Halifax Town.  

The call-up will see the midfielder involved in St Kitts and Nevis' upcoming international friendlies against Andorra and Estonia, meaning he will be unavailable for Tranmere's trip to Lincoln City on Saturday.    

Tom Mullen
Reporter, BBC News Online

A man found storing heroin worth £195,000 in a safe at his home has been jailed.

Image source, Merseyside Police

Anthony Simpson was arrested after a police locksmith broke open the safe during a raid at his home in Thackray Road, St. Helens, in August.

The 41-year-old later admitted possession of heroin with intent to supply and was jailed for five years four months at Liverpool Crown Court.

Fire crews were called to Everton last night after a car hit the sandstone column at the entrance to Everton Park.

A 24-year-old woman had to be cut out of the car roof at the scene of the crash on Domingo Road at about 21:45 - she was taken to the Royal Liverpool Hospital for treatment.  

Jenny Coleman
Reporter, BBC Local Live

Today's top stories in Cheshire and Merseyside:

- The Ministry of Justice reveals it has so far spent just over £14m on setting up and running the Hillsborough inquests.

- A Liverpool man who went on the run for more than a decade is jailed for trafficking heroin worth more than £200,000into Aberdeen.

- A pilot scheme to support people living in fuel poverty in Birkenhead is being extended across Wirral.

BBC Sport

There are a couple of stories from the foreign press in the BBC Sport football gossip column that will be of interest to Liverpool fans.

Image source, AP

Italian website Tutto Mercato Web - reported in the Independent - , externalsay the Reds will sign 26-year-old former AC Milan striker Alexandre Pato in January, according to the president of his current club Corinthians.

Meanwhile, Spanish publication Fichajes - reported in the Daily Star, external - claim  Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has asked the club's transfer committee to make a formal approach for Barcelona winger Cristian Tello (pictured above), 24, who is on loan at Porto.

Warrington Guardian

Police seized alcohol from youths following a Great Sankey house party which had more than 100 in attendance, external on Saturday night.  

Here is the breakdown of how the £14m has been spent so far on the new Hillsborough inquests so far:

• Coroner and inquests secretariat staff costs - £499,364
• Legal costs (counsel, solicitors and paralegals to the inquests) -  £5,828,508
• Accommodation costs (including fit out, rent, service charges and rates)  - £3,830,452
• IT (including in-court equipment, audio visual management services and broadband costs) - £813,143
• Jurors’ allowances and expenses - £108,671
• Expert and ordinary witnesses' allowances and expenses - £573,371
• Hearing running costs (including records management, transcription services, office running cost, welfare support and police support) - £2,350,915

Total = £14,004,424

The full expenditure report, external is available on the Hillsborough inquests website.

BBC Sport

Liverpool defender Mamadou Sakho has been ruled out for eight weeks after suffering a knee ligament injury against Crystal Palace on Sunday.

Image source, Gett

Sakho has already withdrawn from the France squad for their friendlies with Germany and England next week.

Southport Visiter

Plans to demolish a Skelmersdale social club and replace it with affordable housing have been submitted to West Lancashire Borough Council, external.  

Ben Schofield
Hillsborough reporter, BBC Radio Merseyside

The cost of the new Hillsborough inquests so far has been revealed as £14m, according to figures published by the Ministry of Justice.

Image source, Getty Images

These figures cover the 169 days of evidence at the coroner's court in Warrington - with the biggest expense being the coroner's legal team, which has cost almost £6m.

The total also includes the cost of hiring out the specially-built courtroom and running the offices, including managing hundreds of thousands of pages of evidence. 

The smallest cost was for the juror's allowances and expenses, which was just over £100,000.    

The cost of the new Hillsborough inquests so far has just been revealed as £14m, according to figures published by the Ministry of Justice.