Updates on Monday 16 May 2016
News, sport, travel and weather updates to resume at 08:00 on Tuesday
Residents who have been protesting against plans for two new schools near Burton have admitted they are "disappointed" at the news that both have been given the green light by planners., external
Image source, Burton Mail
Trystan Jones
BBC News Online
Some trains running between Redditch and Lichfield Trent Valley, external will be running with fewer carriages until December, London Midland say.
The operator says 26 of its trains are having their engines upgraded and rather than cutting a whole service it has decided to shorten some trains.
The busiest departures affected will be:
- 07:50 Lichfield to Longbridge (08:30 arrival at New Street) - 17:16 Four Oaks to Redditch (17:43 departure from New Street)
Lee Thomas
Newsreader, BBC Radio Stoke
This afternoon's Staffordshire and Cheshire headlines include:
- The chief inspector for education says warning notes to suspected illegal schools operating in areas including Stoke-on-Trent , externalhave been issued
- A man has died in a fire in a caravan in Staffordshire
- Careers advice sessions start in Stafford tomorrow, ahead of 600 new jobs coming to the town
John Bray
BBC Midlands Today
Thousands of Stoke City fans are expected to say farewell to one of the club's long-serving players at the Britannia Stadium this evening.
A head injury has forced Andy Wilkinson to retire early. And he's donating the proceeds from tonight's testimonial to local charities.
Lamont Howie
Reporter, BBC Radio Stoke
A Cheshire postmaster claims he has foiled an international online scam involving eBay and PayPal.
Steve Howard, who runs Comberbach Post Office, external, first discovered the scam when he says his daughter nearly posted her old mobile phone to Nigeria after receiving a fake email saying she had received payment for it.
Image source, GoogleHe told BBC Radio Stoke he then noticed many customers were coming into the shop to post goods to similar addresses and warned them.
EBay and PayPal both say they recommend always making sure transactions are done through the two sites.
Alex Morrison
BBC News reporter
Nearly one million people aged over 75 live in poverty and need more help from the government, a report, external suggests.
The charity Independent Age says ministers should do more to make older pensioners aware they can top up their pensions with other benefits.
It also suggests the income of those aged over 75 is, on average, £3,000 a year less than younger pensioners.
Pensions minister Baroness Ros Altmann said the government had run campaigns to encourage pension credit claims.
Allen Cook
BBC Local Live
You send in some great photos of Staffordshire and Cheshire and so do some of the staff at BBC Radio Stoke.
Max Mallen took this in Gnosall while on her way home of a stunning sunset.
Image source, Max MallenWhile this other one's come from Perry Spiller of bluebells in a copse in Bagnall Grange, Stoke-on-Trent.
Of course you can send a picture you've taken in the area in at any time - use email, tweet @BBCRadioStoke, external or put them on Instagram with #bbcstoke in the description, external.
Image source, Perry Spiller
BBC WM
A decision will be made this week on whether a greenbelt site in the Staffordshire village of Essington will become the new base of a delivery firm.
Image source, GoogleHundreds of Essington residents have been protesting against the plans, raising safety and environmental concerns.
DX Freight wants to open its new £36m base next summer and South Staffordshire Council will make a decision on it tomorrow. , external
Prodigious 11-year-old guitarist will perform at Uttoxeter's top music festival, external.
Image source, Uttoxeter Advertiser
Lee Blakeman
Port Vale commentator, BBC Radio Stoke
Port Vale manager Rob Page says he won't be able to make any new signings until he knows which players he's offered contracts to will be staying.
Thirteen players are now considering their deals and have 28 days to respond.
Page told BBC Radio Stoke there's no room in his budget to negotiate.
Quote MessageWe've had to do it down to the penny, it's been difficult, trying to keep hold of the good lads we've got. They've been fantastic for me all season, really proud of how they've conducted themselves."
Rob Page, Port Vale manager
BBC Midlands Today
This lunchtime on Midlands Today we'll have the latest on the trial of a husband and wife who are accused of the rape and murder of a woman from the region with special needs.
And you'll see a piece of cloth, once stored under a vicar's bed in the Herefordshire, which is being described as one of the most important textiles in the world.
Both those stories and more on Midlands Today on BBC One from 13:30.
Caroline Gall
BBC News Online
Work's underway to try and find out what caused a fire in a caravan in Staffordshire after a man's body was found.
Image source, GoogleStaffordshire Police, external say they and Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service were called just after midnight to St James Park in Featherstone.
Officers say the caravan was gutted by the blaze and they found the body inside a doorway in the caravan. The force says he's not yet been identified.
Lee Thomas
Newsreader, BBC Radio Stoke
The main headlines this afternoon include:
- A person's died after a caravan fire in Staffordshire, the fire service says
- The chief inspector for education says warning notes to suspected illegal schools operating in areas including Stoke-on-Trent , externalhave been issued
- A Stafford school says work to remove formaldehyde from its building, external is "on target"
BBC Midlands Today
The mother of Staffordshire teenager Stephen Sutton has been chosen as an ambassador for the Teenage Cancer Trust.
Stephen died on 14 May 2014, after contracting bowel cancer.
The 19-year-old, of Burntwood, became well known after posting a picture online of his "final thumbs up" from a hospital bed and raised £1m for the charity before he died.
Yesterday, Jane Sutton marked the second anniversary of her son's death with a charity ride out in Lichfield, continuing to raise funds for the Teenage Cancer Trust.
Emma Thomas
Journalist, BBC Radio Stoke
A Stafford school says work to remove formaldehyde from its building is "on target".
Image source, GoogleFlash Ley Community Primary School has been closed since October after around 20 children fell ill.
A message on the school website, external says a trial to remove some of the toxic foam has been successful and work is progressing well.
Pupils have been having lessons at three other sites in the town.
Allen Cook
BBC Local Live
A person's died in a caravan fire in Staffordshire, the fire service says.
Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service was called just after midnight to St James' caravan park on New Road, Featherstone.
They say they had three crews there and two from West Midlands Fire and Rescue Service and they were there for more than five hours.
Sean Coughlan
BBC News, education correspondent
It will be made easier to open new universities in England, under plans to be announced by Universities Minister Jo Johnson.
The government's proposals for higher education also confirm plans to allow tuition fees to increase above £9,000 from autumn 2017.
This will depend on universities having high-quality teaching. Labour's Gordon Marsden warned of "inadequate" controls over a "rapid expansion" in new universities.
Staffordshire currently has Staffordshire University and Keele University based in the county.
Alexandra Hamilton
BBC Weather
The BBC website also has a latest weather forecast at any time.
Stephanie Barnard
BBC Local Live
The chief inspector for education says warning notes to suspected illegal schools operating in areas including Stoke-on-Trent have been issued.
A special task force was set up last November after three illegal schools were found in Birmingham, which were teaching a narrow, Islamic-based curriculum, including homophobic and anti-semitic texts.
In a letter to the Education Secretary Nicky Morgan, HM Chief Inspector of Schools Sir Michael Wilshaw says inspectors issued seven warning notices, external across England.
Quote MessageThe evidence that they [taskforce] have gathered so far during this short period firmly reinforces my belief that there are many more children hidden away from the view of the authorities in unregistered schools across the country than previously thought."
Sir Michael Wilshaw, HM Chief Inspector of Schools
A landlord who let his property to unruly tenants has vowed to sell off the building after magistrates ordered it to be boarded up., external
Image source, The Sentinel
