Our live coverage across the daypublished at 18:00 British Summer Time 8 July 2016
Live updates for Staffordshire and Cheshire have finished for the day but we'll be back from 08:00 Monday with the latest news, sport, travel and weather.
Summary
Updates on Thursday 16 June 2016
News, sport, travel and weather updates to resume at 08:00 on Friday
Our live coverage across the daypublished at 18:00 British Summer Time 8 July 2016
Watch: Latest weather for West Midlandspublished at 17:59 British Summer Time 8 July 2016
Rebecca Wood
BBC WeatherLooking to tonight, any showers should ease leaving a fine end to the day. Thickening cloud and outbreaks of rain will spread in from the west overnight, with freshening winds.
Tomorrow is mainly wet, with bands of cloud and rain, heavy at times, moving northeastwards with perhaps some drier and brighter interludes. It'll feel warm and humid.
Media caption, Weather for the West Midlands
Fine for Stafford landlordpublished at 17:56 British Summer Time 8 July 2016
Sarah Robertson
Producer, BBC Radio StokeA landlord has been told he must pay more than £14,000 in fines and costs within the next month for failing to keep a home he rented out in Stafford in good order.
Chee Keon Wong from Vauxhall Grove in London was taken to court by Stafford Borough Council for failing to comply with a range of housing regulations.
They related to a property on Marston Grove. He was found guilty in his absence.
Football: Stoke City players given extra time offpublished at 17:45 British Summer Time 8 July 2016
Matt Sandoz
Stoke City commentator, BBC Radio StokeStoke City's international players have been given extra time off to recover from the European Championships and the Copa America.
The squad is set to head off to Australia soon for a pre-season training camp.
Perhaps surprisingly, the Potters won't be playing any matches during the Australia trip.
Will the TV news be on time?published at 17:39 British Summer Time 8 July 2016
Andy Murray's Wimbledon semi-final against Tomas Berdych is under way on BBC One.
If Murray's last match is anything to go by, Midlands Today could be on a little later then 18:30.
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End of twitter postFootball: New signings could be in pre-season action todaypublished at 17:36 British Summer Time 8 July 2016
Graham McGarry
Crewe Alexandra commentator, BBC Radio StokeCrewe Alexandra fans travelling to the first pre-season fixture against Buxton tonight could get to see the club's new signings.
The Alex have added strikers Ryan Lowe and Chris Dagnall to their squad.
Davis says he'll take a squad of 22 players during this evening's match, but will assess the condition of his new signing Dagnall.
Image source, EmpMan jailed for life after admitting sex offencespublished at 17:17 British Summer Time 8 July 2016
Lucy King
News Editor, BBC Radio StokeA Stoke-on-Trent man has been jailed for life for sex offences against six women in the city over a 27-year period.
Clive Brown, 43, of Greenhead Street in Burslem was today told he would serve a minimum of 13 years and six months in prison, after pleading guilty in May.
The offences included rape and encouraging women into prostitution. His victims were mostly in their late teens and early 20s, but he also admitted an indecent assault against a child.
Image source, Staffordshire PoliceLatest: Life sentence for Stoke sex offender; M6 problems affect Talke; Crew Alex to get cash windfallpublished at 17:02 British Summer Time 8 July 2016
Lee Thomas
Newsreader, BBC Radio StokeThis afternoon's headlines for Staffordshire and Cheshire include:
- Stoke-on-Trent man given life sentence for sex offences
- Talke councillor says village roads can't cope with M6 problems
- Crewe Alexandra are set to get an unexpected cash windfall believed to around £500,000
Stoke-on-Trent man arrested for drug supply offencespublished at 16:40 British Summer Time 8 July 2016
Officers have arrested a 25-year-old man from Stoke-on-Trent on suspicion of drug supply offences.
At around 08:45 this morning, officers attended an address in the Dresden area at around found a significant amount of cash and some cannabis vegetation, external.
An investigation is under way and the suspect remains on police bail.
Your pictures: Sunny Staffordshirepublished at 16:18 British Summer Time 8 July 2016
You can't beat a great rainbow picture, this one has come in from the lonely tree and was taken in Tatenhill, Staffordshire.
If you would like to become a BBC Weather Watcher, you can sign up here.
Image source, The lonely treeWeather for the West Midlandspublished at 16:13 British Summer Time 8 July 2016
Weather for the West Midlands
Football: Familiar opponents for Port Valepublished at 16:01 British Summer Time 8 July 2016
Lee Blakeman
Port Vale commentator, BBC Radio StokePort Vale are preparing to start their pre-season fixtures against a familiar face.
Former Vale player, Robin Van Der Laan, is back in his coaching role at Newcastle Town after his illness and are Vale's first pre-season opponents tomorrow.
Van Der Laan told BBC Radio Stoke it's a fixture with a lot of tradition.
Quote MessageThere's always a good crowd, hopefully we can expect 2,000 plus with the new manager, new players coming in, it's a very exciting time."
Robin Van Der Laan, Newcastle Town coach
Lichfield microbrewery toasts success as its ales are stocked by Central England Co-operativepublished at 15:24 British Summer Time 8 July 2016
A microbrewery near Lichfield is raising a glass or two to the news that its real ales are being stocked by Central England Co-operative, external.
Image source, Lichfield MercuryWatch: Talke councillor says village roads can't cope with M6 problemspublished at 15:09 British Summer Time 8 July 2016
Chris King
Reporter, BBC Radio StokeAll three lanes have now reopened following the earlier crash on the M6 northbound.
The driver is said to be in a serious condition and is being treated in Wythenshawe hospital.
The crash highlighted problems in nearby Talke, with one councillor warning that the village just cannot cope with the traffic whenever there are nearby problems on the M6.
Mike Stubbs, a Labour councillor for Talke, told me the road layout could not cope with either large vehicles or the sheer volume of traffic involved.
Media caption, Talke councillor Mike Stubbs says surrounding roads can't cope with M6 traffic
Charities bid for Newcastle-under-Lyme community spacepublished at 14:51 British Summer Time 8 July 2016
James Bovill
Staffordshire Political Reporter, BBC NewsA charity set up in the wake of the closure of the North Staffs Adventure Playground in Newcastle, has put in a bid to take over the premises.
Newcastle under Lyme Borough Council, external advertised for new tenants for the building back in May. It's listed as an asset of community value.
The adventure playground helped hundreds of disabled children for 30 years but closed last December because of funding problems. Former staff and parents set up the new charity Our Space and have now bid to take over the building.
The new charity says it thinks it's got a strong case, but I understand at least one other charity has put in a bid as well. The deadline for bids was last Friday - a council panel will meet to discuss the applications in due course.
Football: Stoke players return to trainingpublished at 14:19 British Summer Time 8 July 2016
Matt Sandoz
Stoke City commentator, BBC Radio StokeStoke City have shared a video of their players in training. They have returned to their training ground following international games.
The new season starts on Saturday 13 August when the Potters travel to newly promoted Middlesborough.
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End of twitter postJCB named high up on list of top UK companiespublished at 14:02 British Summer Time 8 July 2016
JCB has been named in a respected list of the top-performing 100 companies in the UK, external.
Image source, Uttoxeter AdvertiserHefty fine for cigarette dropper in Staffordpublished at 13:43 British Summer Time 8 July 2016
A man who dropped a cigarette on a street in Stafford, external has been ordered to pay almost £400.
The defendant was spotted dropping a cigarette butt on to the ground in Market Square, Stafford – and was handed a £75 fixed penalty fine.
Magistrates in Stafford heard on Wednesday that the fine had not been paid, which was why the case was brought to court by the borough council, external.
Shahid Hussain, of St Aidan’s Street, Stoke-on-Trent, was found guilty in his absence of an offence of littering in February and was given a fine, costs and victim surcharge totalling £384.15.
Your pictures: Clear skies in Market Draytonpublished at 13:17 British Summer Time 8 July 2016
BBC Weather Watcher Forestgump sent in this brilliant photo, they commented that it's been a "lovely morning in Market Drayton" and that the "crops are looking really well".
We love seeing your photos, if you have any you would like to share, you can send them in via email, Facebook, external, Twitter, external and use the hashtag #bbcradiostoke for Instagram.
Image source, ForestgumpFootball: Half a million windfall expected for Crewepublished at 12:50 British Summer Time 8 July 2016
Graham McGarry
Crewe Alexandra commentator, BBC Radio StokeCrewe Alexandra are set to get an unexpected cash windfall believed to around £500,000.
It's because of the expected transfer of Blackburn Rovers captain Grant Hanley to Newcastle United for a fee we understand to be around £6m.
Crewe inserted a sell-on clause when Hanley left the Alex aged 16 to join Blackburn's academy.
Image source, Empics
