Live updates for Stoke and Staffordshire have finished for the week but we'll be back from 08:00 Monday with the latest news, sport, travel and weather.

Rebecca Wood
BBC Midlands Today

The BBC website also has the latest weather forecast for any part of Staffordshire or Cheshire.   

Stoke boss Mark Hughes is hoping to arrest the Potters' recent slump in form. Until recently, they were targeting European football next season.

"We've sat down and talked about what we need to do better," Hughes said.

"My feeling is that we'll be fine and get back to what we need to do to win Premier League games."

"It may not be enough if Manchester City perform, but I'm looking for a better performance in terms of executing a game plan - which we haven't done well enough in the last two games."

Stuart George
Presenter, BBC Radio Stoke

A classic locomotive built in Stoke-on-Trent nearly 100 years ago has returned to the city.

The Foxfield Railway trust brought the machine, built in 1923, back to Blythe Bridge.

It will be put on display in town immediately.

You can hear more on this exciting news on my show from 16:00 on BBC Radio Stoke.

Tim Wedgwood
BBC Local LIve

Pensioners and dignitaries mingled at an afternoon tea in Stoke-on-Trent yesterday afternoon, celebrating the Queen's birthday.

Many of those in attendance at the Kings Hall were also 90, and spoke glowingly of the longest-serving monarch.

I caught up with a few of those celebrating.

After a mauling at the Britannia at the hands of Tottenham, Stoke City face a trick trip to Manchester City.

Stoke will be without midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri after he suffered a hamstring injury against Tottenham.

Shay Given is expected to continue in goal, while Jon Walters and Glen Johnson are getting close to a return but won't feature on Saturday.

Image source, Getty Images

Leek Post and Times

Plans to give an historic Leek mill a new lease of life have been approved – despite concerns over a lack of car parking in the area., external

Chris King
News reader, BBC Radio Stoke

Here are some of the main stories we are looking at in Staffordshire and Cheshire:

- A court heard it was the people in the front row that "suffered the greatest physical injuries" after the Smiler rollercoast crash last year

- Police have been handed new powers in Tamworth to seize the vehicles of boy racers, but approved meets won't be targeted

- Two men have been arrested after two cannabis factories containing plants with a combined street value of about £900,000 were discovered in Stoke-on-Trent

Two men have been arrested after two cannabis factories containing plants with a combined street value of about £900,000 were discovered in Stoke-on-Trent in the space of a week.

Image source, Leon Neal / Getty Images

The first was found on Railway Passage, Longton, last Thursday, the second was in Atlas Street, Fenton, on Tuesday, Staffordshire Police said., external

Both men were bailed until June, and the drugs destroyed.

Cheshire Police, external says most of the guns handed in during their latest gun amnesty were antiques people had in their lofts. 

More than 120 firearms were collected in the two-week Give up the Gun initiative. 

Despite it now being the end of the amnesty, Sgt Gareth Wrigley says it's not too late to hand in weapons.

Image source, Oli Scarff / Getty Images

The new Public Space Protection Order approved by Tamworth Borough Council was amended after feedback from some car enthusiasts who expressed concern that it would stop legitimate, responsible car meets.

Image source, Alamy

Jo Sands, from Tamworth Borough Council, said official meetings, social gatherings and charity events on land where the owner has no objection would be allowed.

She said it was "never the intention to deter or prevent legitimately organised car cruising events". 

Graham McGarry
Crewe Alexandra commentator, BBC Radio Stoke

Crewe boss Steve Davis has admitted he's failed in some areas of how he's managed the team this season. 

The Alex were relegated with five games of the season still to play.

Image source, Paul Thomas / Stringer

Sarah Robertson
Producer, BBC Radio Stoke

Police have been handed new powers in Tamworth to seize the vehicles of boy racers, in what the local council describes as the first order of its kind in the country.

Tamworth Borough Council approved the measure today and it will come into force at the beginning of May.  

Image source, Aaron Tam / Stringer

The authority says it will allow police to respond quicker to irresponsible car-meets on all public roads, car parks and private land - allowing offcers to issue fines on the spot or even seize vehicles.

The council, external said there were 32 incidents of vehicle nuisance between August 2015 and January.

BBC Travel

There are delays on the M6 northbound between J17 for the A54 (Crewe) and J19 for the A556 (Knutsford). 

It's due to a broken down lorry - one lane is blocked. More details on BBC Travel.

Chris King
News reader, BBC Radio Stoke

Here are some of the main stories we are looking at in Staffordshire and Cheshire:

- Merlin Entertainments faces the prospect of a large fineafter admitting health and safety breaches

- A faith leader who used his role as a "spiritual guide" to cover up a multimillion-pound property fraud and tax-avoiding conspiracy has been jailed

- Cheshire Police says most of the guns handed in during its latest gun amnesty were

Phil Bowers
Journalist, BBC Radio Stoke

A faith leader who used his role as a "spiritual guide" to cover up a multimillion-pound property fraud and tax-avoiding conspiracy has been jailed.

Muslim cleric Mehboob Akhtar, of Stoke-on-Trent, was sentenced along with nine others including his wife and daughter.

Image source, Staffordshire Police

They were found guilty of lying to mortgage lenders to amass nearly £1m of property in a bid to "control and dominate" areas of the city.

Akhtar was jailed for 14 years at Birmingham Crown Court.

Merlin Entertainments face the prospect of a large fine in part because of the firm's fortunes, the court heard.

The company, reported pre-tax profits of £250m in February across the whole group, up 0.3% from 2014.

However, sales at resort theme parks division, which includes Alton Towers, fell 12.4%.

Image source, Getty Images

The court heard it was the people in the front row that "suffered the greatest physical injuries" and were "life-changing in many cases".

Merlin Entertainment, represented by Simon Antrobus, said the company accepted  "additional reasonable and practicable measures could have been taken to guard against the safety risk that arose on the day".

Image source, Richard Vernalls / PA

District Judge Jack McGarva agreed with the HSE that the severity of the injuries and the potentially "very high level of fine" meant the case should be moved to Stafford Crown Court for sentencing.

From the time the Smiler ride was introduced at Alton Towers in May 2013, until the crash in June 2015, it was not run "as safe as it should have been", Newcastle Magistrates' Court heard.

Bernard Thorogood, representing the Health and Safety Executive, said an "absence" of proper systems for staff to follow when a carriage was stopped on the rails led to the accident.

Image source, WMAS

He said the crash happened on one of the furthest sections of the track, near the Cobra Loop.

Failing to spot the stationary carriage on the track, operators chose to override a computer warning, leading to the collision. 

A report by Alton Towers last year concluded human error was to blame for the crash.

Extra safety measures have since been introduced across all theme parks owned by Merlin.

In all 16 people were injured in the crash, five of them seriously.

Image source, PA

The 500-acre theme park was shut for four days following the collision and the Smiler ride itself - the world's first 14-loop rollercoaster - only reopened in March this year.