Summary

  • Rare Chinese cup sells for £3m at auction

  • Stoke council criticised for rejecting refugee resettlement plan

  • Tamworth has only one public toilet, BBC figures show

  • Updates on Tuesday 31 May 2016

Live Reporting

Allen Cook

  1. Football: Crewe facing up to Inman loss

    Graham McGarry
    Crewe Alexandra commentator, BBC Radio Stoke

    Crewe Alexandra's Brad Inman says he is hoping his involvement with Australia's international squad will lead to him moving to a Championship club next season.

    Brad Inmancrewealex.net

    Inman has almost certainly played his last game for Crewe and will become a free agent next month when his contract expires. 

    The Alex boss Steve Davis says he'll have no problem finding a new club.

    He'll be of interest - he's got some talent, some pace, he can get goals. I'd love to have kept him, we had him here for three years. Had we stayed in the league, maybe we would have had a better chance.

    Steve Davis, Crewe Alexandra manager

  4. Rare Chinese cup sells for £3m at auction

    Sian Grzeszczyk
    Staffordshire Reporter, BBC Midlands Today

    A rare Chinese cup, which was donated to Staffordshire University, has been sold today at auction for just over £3m.

    The cupAuctioneers Lyon & Turnbull

    The ornament, which dates back to the Ming dynasty, was given to the university during World War Two as part of a collection. 

    The university says the proceeds will be used to fund a new national ceramics centre based in Staffordshire.

  5. Can you solve an insect mystery that scientists can't?

    David Gregory-Kumar
    Science correspondent, BBC Midlands Today

    One of the great things about my job is you discover just how little we actually know about the natural world. And because as humans we tend to focus on the furry and (to a lesser extent) feathered bits of that world, most of the really big gaps in our knowledge are to do with insects.

    Take the giant willow aphid or Tuberolachnus salignus. As you can see, it's a pretty large aphid with a shark-style fin on its back.

    Giant willow aphid

    But after 15 years of studying them and two PhD students having a really close look, we still don't know what the shark fin is for - and we also don't know where the aphids disappear to every November.

    It's about this time of year that the aphids re-emerge and start to appear on willow trees so head to the BBC website to find out how you could help solve this mystery.

  6. Consultation over allocation of council homes ends

    James Bovill
    Staffordshire Political Reporter, BBC News

    Consultation ends today on changes to the way council houses are allocated in Stoke on Trent.  

    Stoke-on-Trent City Council's HQ, the Civic Centre

    The city council is proposing prioritising rough sleepers and families with children as well as offering shared tenancies to single people under 35.

    The authority owns and manages more than 19,000 properties in Stoke-on-Trent.

  7. Public toilets 'wiped out in parts of UK'

    BBC News UK

    Some UK High Streets and public spaces no longer have any council-run public toilets, the BBC has learned.  

    At least 1,782 facilities have closed across the UK in the last decade, Freedom of Information requests found.  

    Gentlemen sign

    Ten areas now have no council-run public toilets at all, data showed. A total of 22 councils now only have one public toilet, including Tamworth.

    The Local Government Association said councils were trying to keep toilets open but faced squeezed budgets.  

  8. This lunchtime on Midlands Today: The sale of a rare '£2m' Chinese cup

    Sian Grzeszczyk
    Staffordshire Reporter, BBC Midlands Today

    An auction is under way in Hong Kong of a rare Chinese cup which was donated to Staffordshire University.

    The cupAuctioneers Lyon & Turnbull

    The antique from the Ming dynasty is valued at £2m and was only discovered by chance - but will it sell and for how much? 

    I'll have more on Midlands Today on BBC One from 13:30 including what the money could be spent on.  

  9. Latest: Power station's 'homeless' leisure groups; Syrian resettlement bid turned down; public toilet decline in Tamworth

    Chris King
    Newsreader, BBC Radio Stoke

    This afternoon's top stories include:

    - There are calls for help to re-home sports clubs and community groups who are currently based at Rugeley B Power Station

    - Stoke-on-Trent City Council has turned down a request from a local charity to resettle a Syrian refugee family  

    - Tamworth is among a number of councils to now only have one public toilet, the BBC learns

  11. Call for power station community groups to be saved

    Stephanie Barnard
    BBC Local Live

    There are calls for help to re-home sports clubs and community groups who are currently based at Rugeley B Power Station. 

    Rugeley Power StationGoogle

    This month it was confirmed the power station will close at the end of June with the loss of 120 jobs. 

    The MP for Cannock Chase, Amanda Milling, is calling for new facilities to be found for the 2,000 members of sports and activity groups which are based there.  

    I am calling on any community centre, sports centre and local authority to come forward and help the clubs find a new home"

    Amanda Milling, MP for Cannock Chase

  12. Council rejects charity request to resettle Syrian family

    James Bovill
    Staffordshire Political Reporter, BBC News

    Stoke-on-Trent City Council has turned down a request from a local charity to resettle a Syrian refugee family.

    Sanctus applied to a Home Office pilot scheme to rehome a family, possibly in a disused vicarage.

    Syrian children among several migrantsGetty Images

    The scheme allows charities and other groups to help reach the government's target of resettling 20,000 refugees by 2020. 

    But Stoke-on-Trent City Council has to sign off the request which it declined, saying it had genuine concerns about how the scheme would be run.   

  13. Football: Youth players to get loan time from Stoke City

    Matt Sandoz
    Stoke City commentator, BBC Radio Stoke

    Stoke City's chief executive Tony Scholes says they will consider loaning out some of their young players next season.

    Stoke City's Britannia StadiumGetty Images

    Since the club won promotion to the Premier League, there has been a lack of academy players reaching the first team set-up. 

    But Scholes told BBC Radio Stoke their current crop of youngsters could benefit from a spell at another club.

    It [their development plans] includes time out on loan to other clubs, whether or not they're in the Championship, League One or League Two or even abroad at times.

    Tony Scholes, Stoke City's chief executive

  14. Watch: Stoke and Staffordshire's afternoon weather forecast

    Charlie Slater
    BBC Weather presenter

    The BBC website also has a latest forecast for your part of Staffordshire or Cheshire at any time.

  16. In photos: Hole on Crewe road

    This is the "large hole" which was reported earlier to Cheshire Police on Ruskin Road in Crewe.

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  17. Ming dynasty cup valued at £2m set for auction today

    Sian Grzeszczyk
    Staffordshire Reporter, BBC Midlands Today

    A rare Chinese cup from the Ming dynasty, valued at £2m and donated to Staffordshire University, is being auctioned in Hong Kong this morning.

    The cup, thought to have been made for an emperor in 1425, was among a collection of antiques discovered by chance at the university.     

    This cup thought to be made in 1425 is being auctioned in Hong KongAuctioneers Lyon & Turnbull

    The collection of more than 270 pieces was donated to the university during World War Two and then forgotten.

    Prof Flavia Swann said the antiques were rediscovered last year after a conversation with the head of the Ceramic Technology Department.  

    They were just in unlocked cabinets - sliding doors that when you slide them back [the pieces] literally fell out to the floor. Nothing broke fortunately."

    Prof Flavia Swann

  18. Latest: Charity's refugee plan turned down; university auctions off rare Chinese cup; Battle of Jutland centenary marked

    Phil Bowers
    Newsreader, BBC Radio Stoke

    These are among Staffordshire and Cheshire's top stories:

    - A charity's plan to resettle a family of Syrian refugees in Stoke-on-Trent has been turned down by the city council

    - A rare Chinese cup from the Ming dynasty, valued at £2m and donated to Staffordshire University, is being auctioned in Hong Kong.

    - A service is taking place this morning at the National Memorial Aboretum in Staffordshire to mark the centenary of the Battle of Jutland  

  19. Your pictures: Rugeley Power Station and a bird at take-off

    Allen Cook
    BBC Local Live

    I come back after a bank holiday and find some stunning pictures you've sent in.

    Jon Kelso took this photo of Rugeley Power Station.

    Rugeley power stationJon Kelso

    And this great wildlife snap's come from Villager Jim in the Peak District.

    If you've got a picture to send in of the area, you can do that on email, tweet it to @BBCRadioStoke or put it on Instagram with the tag #bbcstoke.

    Bird taking off from treeVillager Jim

  20. Staffordshire marks Battle of Jutland centenary

    Emma Thomas
    Journalist, BBC Radio Stoke

    A service is taking place this morning at the National Memorial Aboretum in Staffordshire to mark the centenary of the Battle of Jutland. 

    HMS Lion (L) is shelled and HMS Queen Mary is blown up by German shellsGetty Images

    The biggest naval engagement of World War One, 250 ships were involved in the 36-hour long battle - 8,648 sailors died.