Summary

  • Updates on Thursday 16 June 2016

  • News, sport, travel and weather updates to resume at 08:00 on Friday

  1. Latest: Five arrests made at Stafford music event; Disused swimming pool flooded; Kidsgrove man released on bail following Bosley arrestpublished at 17:05 British Summer Time 11 July 2016

    Lee Thomas
    Newsreader, BBC Radio Stoke

    Some of the headlines for this afternoon are: 

    - Police have made five arrests after violence at a family music event at Stafford Castle

    - A disused former swimming pool in Crewe has been flooded - as attempts were made to fill it

    - A 32-year old man from Kidsgrove has been released on bail, after being arrested last night on suspicion of stealing scrap metal at the Bosley Wood mill site

  2. Expenses probe vanity case, ex-MEP sayspublished at 16:56 British Summer Time 11 July 2016

    A former UKIP MEP cleared of expenses fraud brands the police investigation against her a "vanity case".

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  3. Disorder arrests made at Stafford Castle music eventpublished at 16:53 British Summer Time 11 July 2016

    Sarah Robertson
    Producer, BBC Radio Stoke

    Five people from Stafford have been arrested following disorder at a Stafford Castle music event. 

    It happened as Live at the Castle was coming to a close just before 21:00 on Sunday.

    Stafford Castle

    A 43-year-old woman is being held on suspicion of assault and being drunk and disorderly and four males aged between 17 and 31 have been arrested on suspicion of public order offences. 

  4. Four males arrested after car stolen in Stoke-on-Trentpublished at 16:42 British Summer Time 11 July 2016

    Lucy King
    News Editor, BBC Radio Stoke

    Staffordshire Police has arrested four men following a car chase through Burslem this morning. It happened at about 09:30.

    A black Peugeot had been reported stolen from Sackville Street earlier this morning and was spotted by officers on patrol near Burslem Park. 

    They tried to stop the car, but it was abandoned by the four men inside. 

    After a short chase along Moorland Road and Hamil Road, a 14-year-old and two 16-year-olds from Stoke-on-Trent, and a 17-year-old from Newcastle were arrested. They've been taken into custody for questioning.

  5. Port Vale sign Swedish winger Mbambapublished at 16:37 British Summer Time 11 July 2016

    Port Vale boss Bruno Ribeiro makes his ninth summer signing after agreeing a deal for Swedish winger Christopher Mbamba.

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  6. Lack of child mental health services in Staffordshire 'putting lives at risk'published at 16:29 British Summer Time 11 July 2016

    Sarah Robertson
    Producer, BBC Radio Stoke

    A lack of mental health services in Staffordshire is putting children's lives at risk, according to a Stoke-on-Trent mother. 

    Nettie Bromley's 15-year-old daughter Tegan has anorexia and she has struggled to get the urgent help she needs over the past two years, with treatment taking the family all over the country. 

    Nettie told Morgan in the Morning she needs more support.

    Quote Message

    The last two years have been a constant battle of fighting the system, getting people to listen and battling an eating disorder that doesn't want to be won.

    Nettie Bromley, Mother of teenager suffering anorexia

    A spokesman for Stoke-on-Trent Clinical Commissioning Group, external said: "It wouldn't be appropriate to comment on a specific case, but local services work together to recognise and support children and young people with existing and emerging mental health issues."

  7. Sightings of herons needed for Staffordshire's canalspublished at 16:16 British Summer Time 11 July 2016

    John Acres
    BBC Radio Stoke

    An appeal has been launched for people to report sightings of herons on Staffordshire's canals and rivers in an effort to gauge the health of the waterway ecosystems they rely on.

    The appeal comes from the Canal & River Trust, external, the charity that cares for 2,000 miles of canals and rivers in England and Wales, as part of the Great Nature Watch, external, a nationwide survey of wildlife.

    I went along to the canal in Great Haywood to see if I could spot some herons; and I wasn't disappointed. 

    Heron at canal
  8. Football: Stoke City players settle in at Austrian training camppublished at 16:02 British Summer Time 11 July 2016

    Matt Sandoz
    Stoke City commentator, BBC Radio Stoke

    The Stoke City players are over in Kitzbühel, Austria, for their pre-season training. 

    Stoke City have shared a behind the scenes look at the camp. 

    The Potters kick off the new season with an away trip to newly promoted Middlesbrough on 13 August. 

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    It looks like the players are already having a good time. Spanish winger Bojan shared this picture on his Twitter. 

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  9. Afternoon weather forecast for the West Midlandspublished at 15:55 British Summer Time 11 July 2016

    Afternoon weather forecast for the West Midlands

  10. Mother of Newcastle boy struggling to raise money for treatmentpublished at 15:50 British Summer Time 11 July 2016

    Phil Bowers
    Journalist, BBC Radio Stoke

    The mum of a Newcastle-under-Lyme boy needing private treatment after a life-changing operation says she's still struggling to raise money. 

    Amy Baddeley's son Ben had a privately paid for operation in 2014 to address his cerebral palsy, external after NHS bosses pulled their funding. 

    Ben Baddeley

    The family have since met with health service officials about funding part of his physiotherapy and she says it's becoming hard to continue paying for it themselves.  

    Quote Message

    I've got to try and find the money for the very last week of this month and the beginning of August. The company we use are very understanding of our situation.

    Amy Baddeley, Ben's mother

  11. Closed Crewe swimming pool floodedpublished at 15:41 British Summer Time 11 July 2016

    Lamont Howie
    Reporter, BBC Radio Stoke

    A disused former swimming has been flooded - as attempts were made to fill it.

    The flood happened yesterday evening at the now closed pool in Flag Lane, Crewe.

    Swimming Baths Flag LaneImage source, Cheshire East Council

    The Cheshire pool shut earlier this year as a new purpose-built "lifestyle centre" opened nearby. 

    Three fire engines were sent, because it was thought there were chemicals present, which turned out not to be the case. 

    Police are appealing for witnesses.

  12. HS2 build 'will start next year'published at 15:04 British Summer Time 11 July 2016

    Bob Hockenhull
    BBC Midlands Today

    Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin has told a conference in Birmingham that building work on HS2 will definitely begin next year.

    He was responding to speculation that the £56bn project could be in trouble economically because of the decision to leave the EU. 

    The tone of the High Speed Rail conference at Millennium Point, though, is it's very much business as usual and the rail line is more vital than ever to Britain's economy.

    The transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin speaking in Birmingham
  13. Metal theft probe at mill blast sitepublished at 14:58 British Summer Time 11 July 2016

    Police launch an investigation into the suspected theft of scrap metal at a mill where four people died in an explosion last year.

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  14. Kidsgrove man bailed after Bosley break-inpublished at 14:43 British Summer Time 11 July 2016

    Lucy King
    News Editor, BBC Radio Stoke

    A 32-year old man from Kidsgrove has been released on bail, after being arrested last night on suspicion of stealing scrap metal at the Bosley Wood mill site. 

  15. Teenager denies attacking father as he played football with children in parkpublished at 14:25 British Summer Time 11 July 2016

    Chris King
    Reporter, BBC Radio Stoke

    A teenager has denied attacking a man while he played football with his children in a park in Stoke-on-Trent.

    At the city's Crown court, Badr Rayan, 19, pleaded not guilty to one count of aggravated racial assault, one charge of assaulting a police officer and one of carrying a bladed weapon.

    He admitted one count of assault against a police officer and being in possession of Stanley knife.   

    The alleged victim suffered slash wounds to his face during the incident in Hanley Forest Park on 5 June. 

    The defendant was remanded in custody until his trial, at a date to be set.

  16. MEP expenses case 'long and complex', say policepublished at 14:23 British Summer Time 11 July 2016

    West Midlands Police says the expenses case against ex-UKIP MEP Nikki Sinclaire has been "long and complex".

    Outside Birmingham Crown Court earlier, after being cleared of fiddling travel expenses, the 47-year-old claimed £1.5m of public money had been spent to build a case against her - a figure as yet unsubstantiated.

    Superintendent Maria Fox said: "This long, complex inquiry has been investigated in a diligent and professional manner."

    Quote Message

    It resulted in extensive evidence being presented to the Crown Prosecution Service which they accepted as significant enough to charge Nikki Sinclaire. Our criminal justice system quite rightly demands a very high standard of proof and we acknowledge the verdict from the jury today."

    Maria Fox, Superintendent, West Midlands Police

  17. MEP criticises '£1.5m' spend on case against herpublished at 14:07 British Summer Time 11 July 2016

    Ex-UKIP MEP Nikki Sinclaire has criticised what she claims has been a public spend of £1.5m on the case against her.

    She was cleared by a jury earlier of fiddling travel expense claims while in office and laundering the cash.

    Nikki Sinclaire outside court

    She criticised West Midlands Police's handling of the criminal inquiry, saying that the 10 claims upon which the Crown's case rested - and of which she was cleared - were now nearly "seven years old", dating to October 2009.

    The force defended its handling of the investigation and has declined to say how much the inquiry cost.

  18. Moment strongman breaks lifting recordpublished at 14:07 British Summer Time 11 July 2016

    Strongman Eddie Hall, from Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, has become the first man ever to deadlift 500kg (80 stone). The 28-year-old father of two had nose bleeds and passed out briefly after breaking the world record. He said: "A lot of people laughed and said it wasn't possible. I love to prove people wrong." But that's not stopping him from his ultimate aim: "Today pulling the 500kg, making history, it's great... but my life ambition is to be the world's strongest man."