Murdered toddler serious case review delayed
Hole opens in road in Longton
JCB boss backs EU Leave campaign, although PM describes his views as 'an exception'
Cancer drug campaigners fear prospect of postcode lottery
Updates on Thursday 9 June 2016
We've had rain across much of the West Midlands this morning as our BBC Weather Watchers have been finding out.
These three are from users BoardWalk in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, Shaun in Stafford and Steve Blackman in Napton on the Hill, Warwickshire:
Image source, BoardWalk
Image source, Shaun
Image source, Steve Blackman
BBC Radio Stoke
Police are appealing for witnesses after anti-mask graffiti appeared on buildings across Stafford.
Image source, @tommossOver the past few days sightings have been reported on the O.kra restaurant, The Bird in Hand pub, on an office building and on a bus stop in Rising Brook.
In each case the graffiti reads: "We carnt (sic) breath" and "say noto (sic) mask's", along with a crude drawing of a mask.
Nick Gallagher-Hughes works at Topline Dance Studio and told BBC Radio Stoke they've been targeted three times although the paint is not the most annoying aspect.
"I wasn't sure what annoyed me most, the bad grammar and spelling or the fact that they had painted red all over our board."
Staffordshire Police is appealing for witnesses to come forward.
BBC Radio Stoke
A theatre in Cheshire's become the latest venue to postpone this year's pantomime.
Crewe Lyceum, which is owned by Cheshire East Council, said it wasn't possible to successfully put on shows while following social distancing guidelines.
In a statement on Facebook, external the theatre said the pantomime was being put back to 2021 and all performances were suspended until at least 31 January.
Earlier this month, the UK's biggest pantomime producer started cancelling its 2020 shows amid ongoing uncertainty about when theatres will be able to reopen fully.
Allen Cook
BBC News
A young boy's been rescued from a river.
Image source, West Midlands Fire ServiceFire crews and paramedics were called to Dosthill Park, Tamworth,, external yesterday afternoon after getting reports of someone in the water.
After firefighters used a boat to rescue him, the boy was checked over and discharged at the scene, the ambulance service said.
Five men have been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a teenager was found with several stab wounds.
The 19-year-old man was discovered in a serious condition yesterday afternoon at an address in Abbeyfields, Great Haywood, near Stafford, Staffordshire Police said., external
The five men, all from Stafford, were arrested by police after they stopped a vehicle on Tixall Road.
The nephew of a woman who died in a fire is raising awareness of the dangers posed to smokers who also use emollient creams.
Maureen Milton, 74, who used the treatment for leg ulcers, died in Burton-upon-Trent last year when she tried to light a cigarette and her nightdress caught fire.
The cream had made her clothing flammable.
Robert Evans has joined forces with Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service to raise awareness.
Image source, Staffordshire Fire and Rescue ServiceThe arm chair where the fire began
"Before this happened to Maureen I had no idea these creams made clothing so flammable," Mr Evans said.
In the last 10 years in England, at least 56 people who have died in fires used emollients, which are often prescribed for skin conditions.
The creams are safe to use but can soak into clothing and bedding, leaving a flammable residue.
A man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a hit-and-run in Stoke-on-Trent.
A motorcyclist was seriously injured when his bike crashed with a Saab that failed to stop at the junction of Coalpit Hill and Coppice Road in Talke at 23:00 on Monday night.
A 41-year-old man was arrested a short time later, said Staffordshire Police.
The 27-year-old rider was taken to hospital suffering serious leg injuries.
Staffordshire Police says investigations are continuing into Clare Bell's death.
Read More
BBC News Travel
A crash involving two cars and a lorry is blocking the M6 southbound exit slip road at J16 in Staffordshire.
There's heavy traffic and congestion in the area.
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Almost 400 people have been tested after a spike in the Stoke-on-Trent borough.
Read MoreAbout 30 students protested outside Gavin Williamson's office over the A-level results system.
Read MoreChampionship club Stoke City sign former Chelsea and Nigeria midfielder John Mikel Obi.
Read MoreDozens of students have gathered outside the Staffordshire constituency office of Education Secretary Gavin Williamson.
Pupils from Codsall Community High School acted after A-level results were downgraded from teacher-awarded marks when the exams regulator used an algorithm based on schools' previous results.
These are some images from the protest...
Image source, PA Media
Image source, PA Media
Image source, PA Media
Image source, PA MediaStudents marching on the Education Secretary's constituency office say they're protesting to achieve "justice for students all over the country".
Image source, PA MediaJessica Moody, one of the organisers from Codsall Community High School, said: "We want the government to trust the teachers."
There's been some variation on teacher-assessed grades. About 40% of A-level results have been downgraded after the exams regulator Ofqual used an algorithm based on schools' previous results.
"We want [Gavin Williamson] to be aware that we're not happy with grades across the country. We want him to think about how this is going to affect future years."
A march by A-level students is under way in Codsall, Staffordshire.
The teenagers from the town's Community High School headed to the constituency office of Education Secretary Gavin Williamson.
It comes after covid-19 disrupted students' final year and exams, meaning grades could not be issued in the normal way.
Students are protesting over the government's working out of marks, with pressure mounting on ministers to let teacher-assessed grades stand in England.
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The students from Codsall chanted "trust our teachers" and "you're having a laugh, Gav".
Some members of the public gathered to cheer the group, with one shouting: "Go on kids, show them."
A Department for Education spokesman said hundreds of thousands of students had received a calculated grade to "enable them to progress" and that the department aimed "to build as much fairness into the appeals system as possible".
A school in the Education Secretary's constituency says it will appeal all A-level results.
Students from Codsall Community High School are marching to the offices of Gavin Williamson to bring that message.
They're protesting over the way the government has awarded some grades after exams were not taken due to coronavirus.
Headteacher Alun Harding said the students wanted to protest about the "significant level of disappointment and frustration they feel".
He said: "The system has been so poorly thought-through - the impact on [the students'] lives going forward is going to be enormous and they want to vent their frustration.
"We'd predicted very, very strong A-level results this year and the algorithm has left us with a negative score for the overall year group - I don't feel that it recognises the significant hard work the students put into that."
The government has defended the approach it used to determine grades.
Nicola Bray, 45, was found dead at her home in Stoke-on-Trent on Thursday.
Read MoreThere have been 18 cases of coronavirus in a "concentrated number of streets" in Normacot.
Read More
Local Democracy Reporting Service
The Local Democracy Reporting Service in Staffordshire has been covering these stories this week:
BBC Shropshire
Students who lost their places at university after having their A-level marks downgraded say they feel angry and let down by the government.
Image source, GoogleSamantha Smith, from Woodside, Telford, told BBC Shropshire she overcame being homeless in her teens and was anticipating getting three As in her subjects.
But instead, the student, who goes to Newport Girls High School, was given a B, an E and a U by a controversial modelling system and lost her offer from Cardiff University.
"I've called up several universities and the motto seems to be 'we understand how difficult it is, we don't understand how this has happened to you but if you get the grades on appeal we'll let you in and if not, we don't know what we can do'."
Fellow Newport Girls High School student Lucy Dover had been predicted three As but ended up with two Bs and a C and lost her offer from the University of Nottingham.
"I feel like the government's let me down a bit. We trusted them to work out our exam results for us and here I am unable to go to the universities I want to, to do the course I wanted to do, so I'm quite disappointed and a bit angry."
Labour has called on ministers to act immediately to sort out an "exams fiasco" in England and a "flawed system" had led to 280,000 pupils having their marks downgraded.
The Prime Minister Boris Johnson has defended what he said were a "robust set" of grades and said that pupils who believed they were treated unfairly would be able to appeal or, if they wanted, sit exams in the autumn.
