Dave Courtney had a ticket to England's 4-2 victory over West Germany - but was too ill to go.

A man who claimed to be working for the coastguard has been stopped on the M6 for having fake emergency lights on his car.

Staffordshire Police said officers had pulled him over near the junction for Stafford at about 20:00 BST on Wednesday after he had been spotted driving at 95mph through a 60mph area.

When he was first seen he was using flashing lights at the front and back of his Ford Mondeo, but switched them off when the police approached with their own lights flashing.

Image source, Getty Images

The 34-year-old, from Blackpool, claimed he was responding to a callout in his home town, but checks confirmed he did not work for the Coastguard or any other authority.

It turned out he had travelled up from Oxfordshire using the emergency lights, the force said.

He was reported for summons for excess speed and for using a vehicle with blue beacons in a prohibited manner.

BBC Radio Stoke

The Conservatives have narrowly won the vote to have their candidate elected mayor of Stoke-on-Trent.

It's the first test of the voting power of their new minority administration after four councillors defected to join them last week.

Image source, Stoke-on-Trent City Council

Today the Conservatives got the backing of the four independents to elect councillor Ross Irving to the post, by 23 votes to 20.

BBC Radio Stoke

Today's vote to elect a new Lord Mayor for Stoke-on-Trent could indicate how the political make-up of the city council will affect future votes.

The Conservatives recently gained four councillors after defections from the City Independents and Labour and that meant the end of the coalition which has run the council.

But the Conservatives don't have a majority of their own either and will rely on councillors without a party to back them tonight.

If they can show this works, they might be able to pass their own motions in future.

The police have responded to complaints from Churnet Valley Railway after a break-in which resulted in thousands of pounds worth of signalling equipment being stolen.

The railway wrote on its Facebook page: "Following a lack of response to previous calls through official channels, due to an over complicated reporting system that fails to deal with reports made to Staffordshire Police, we have felt it futile in reporting this case."

It said it felt, "the chances of a positive outcome have shown to be minimal or non existent".

Image source, Churnet Valley Railway

Chief Inspector Mark Thorley responded: "We have not received any crime reports from Churnet Valley Railway in the last 12 months."

And it said that while officers have been to visit the railway, it needs further information to progress their investigation.

Four men are being questioned over what police call a violent attack at a shop in Stoke-on-Trent, which left one person needing medical care.

Armed police were sent to the One Stop Shop on Community Drive in Smallthorne on Tuesday night.

Image source, Google

The local men, aged between 19 and 38, were arrested on arrested on suspicion of violence against the person.

Players are accused of failing to quarantine after going to Prague, but they deny breaking rules.

BBC Radio Stoke

A member of staff has tested positive for cornavirus at the JCB Academy in Rocester, five days after 100 students were asked to self isolate.

A single case closed the school on Friday, but it reopened at the start of this week.

Image source, JCB Academy

The academy says three additional members of staff have now been asked to self-isolate, but no more pupils.

Stoke City sign forward Jacob Brown from Championship rivals Barnsley for an undisclosed fee.

Stoke-on-Trent Live

Here are three stories from the Stoke-on-Trent Live website today:

• Four arrested after armed police called, external
• Staff member at school tests positive for coronavirus, external
• Complaints over 'poor social distancing' and timetable gaps at college, external

The Churnet Valley Railway in the Staffordshire Moorlands has said tens of thousands of pounds worth of signalling equipment has been stolen.

It said thieves broke into storage containers in Froghall at the weekend, cutting three security locks to get inside.

Image source, Churnet Valley Railway

The railway said mechanical signalling equipment was becoming harder to get hold of these days and it was a "bitter blow to the line’s volunteers".

It said it would now have to wait for more to become available when the parts are taken out of use on modern-day tracks and replaced with new ones.

The wait could be up to 10 years for some parts.

It said following the loss of income because of coronavirus this year, "this is one hit the railway just could not afford".

Local Democracy Reporting Service

A coronavirus outbreak linked to a working men's club in Newcastle-under-Lyme is now said to be under control.

Staffordshire County Council had asked anyone who had visited a dozen venues between 16 and 17 August to get tested after cases centered on a bingo night at Silverdale Working Men’s Club.

Image source, Google

About 500 tests a day had been carried out over the course of five or six days and 18 confirmed cases were identified

Dr Richard Harling, the county council’s director of health and care, said: “We do believe that incident is now under control and has now been closed.”

Fans attend elite competitive football in the UK for the first time since March as Cambridge beat Fulham U21s in the EFL Trophy.

Anyone who visited one of a dozen venues across Staffordshire had been urged to get tested.

Stoke-on-Trent Live

Here are three of the updates from the Stoke Sentinel's website today:

• Drink-driving shopper flips PCSO onto bonnet, external
• Aggressive beggar arrested for pestering passersby, external
• Partying young people 'to blame' for Stoke-on-Trent's new surge, external

Local Democracy Reporting Service

More than 350 people have been tested for coronavirus at a strawberry farm near Stafford.

The checks were carried out at Dearnsdale Farm after one worker tested positive for Covid-19.

Staffordshire County Council said it had acted fast after the outbreak at a farm in Herefordshire.

So far all the test results have come back negative.

Image source, Getty Images

The authority’s director for health and care, Dr Richard Harling, said: "At the moment we have got about 170 incidents which we’re managing."

But he said they did not publicise most cases because "if we tell people about all of them the risk is that people just get snowed under".

BBC Radio Stoke Sport

Stoke City's Harry Souttar won't be going out on loan again in the near future, the manager Michael O'Neill has said.

Souttar has had spells at Ross County and Fleetwood over the past couple of years, but O'Neill said: "He would be better served staying in the building and pushing to get into our team."

Image source, Getty Images

However, O'Neill said he would look again at the situation if the young defender failed to claim a place in the Stoke City side.

The group says it has seen a "huge" rise in people dumping personal protective equipment.

A park in Stoke-on-Trent has been closed for repairs after paint was thrown over the play equipment

The city council said Anchor Road park, in Longton, had been vandalised at the weekend and police were now investigating.

Image source, Stoke-on-Trent City Council

BBC Radio Stoke Sport

The Stoke City manager has warned fans loans from Premier League clubs are "not cheap deals".

Michael O'Neill said he was always looking to bring players in from the top division, but explained: "What people don't realise is these young players are on big, big contracts and sometimes there's a substantial loan fee, agents' fees involved."

Image source, Getty Images

O'Neill said he had also tried to bring in Premier League players on loan a number of times last season.