Lee Thomas
Newsreader, BBC Radio Stoke

This evening, our final batch of headlines include:

- A man found guilty of attempted murder after he deliberately ran over a man in Burton in a dispute has today been jailed for 18 years

- The RSPCA is telling people on a Kidsgrove street to keep their cats indoors, after 10 went missing in a week

- A Stoke-on-Trent MP has raised a stink in parliament after threatening to bring a batch of dead animals to Westminster

A man is jailed for 18 years for deliberately driving into a man, putting him in a coma from which he has never recovered, as part of a dispute between two families.

Stoke City boss Mark Hughes says Joe Allen was "compromised" on Wales duty after he picked up a hamstring injury.

Chris King
Reporter, BBC Radio Stoke

Plans are being drawn up which could see raised rails installed around Wolstanton Marsh in Newcastle-under-Lyme.

The borough council says it wants to stop stop travellers setting up camp on the park, which has happened three times already this year., external

A Labour councillor's holding a meeting this evening at Wolstanton High Street Club to discuss the issue.

The authority says it recognises traveller camps can cause tension in local communities.

BBC Radio Stoke has tried to get a spokesman from the travelling community to respond to the concerns, but we have yet to receive a reply.

Matt Sandoz
BBC Radio Stoke Sport

Stoke-on-Trent-based snooker player Liam Highfield is out of the English Open.

After beating the world number one Mark Selby yesterday, he lost his last-32 match against Ryan Day 4-1 in Manchester., external

Nick Triggle
Health Correspondent

Hospitals experienced record delays in discharging patients in August, new figures show.

There were the equivalent of more than 188,000 days of delays, external - a 30% rise on the same month a year ago.

These delays were due to a lack of services available in the community to care for frail patients on release, the Care Quality Commission watchdog said. 

Image source, Getty Images

In Staffordshire the biggest rise was 255% at the University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust with 3814 days of delays in August 2016, compared to 1,072 for the same month in 2015.

Also in the county, the Burton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust saw a fall in their discharge delays.

Allen Cook
BBC Local Live

A man found guilty of attempted murder after he deliberately ran over a man in Burton in a dispute has today been jailed for 18 years. 

Mohammed Aziz, 50, was walking along Shobnall Street in Burton upon Trent in July when a silver Mondeo swerved across the road, mounted the pavement and hit him. 

He remains in hospital in a coma almost a year on, police said. 

Image source, Staffordshire Police

Today at Stafford Crown Court, Nadeem Akhtar (pictured, left), 37, from Shobnall Street, was jailed after being convicted in June. , external

Also sentenced today was Mohammed Zufeer, 27, of Horninglow Road North, Burton who was given a four-year prison term after being found guilty of assisting an offender. 

Police said the incident stemmed from an ongoing dispute between the families which had previously involved numerous altercations, and erupted in disorder in the town.  

Phil McCann
Cheshire Political Reporter, BBC News

It's been revealed a major high speed rail HS2 maintenance depot will no longer be developed in Crewe, after an intervention from Cheshire East Council. 

HS2's infrastructure maintenance depot was due to be built just south of Crewe station at Basford.  

Image source, HS2

The plan was an example of how "exceptionally well placed" Crewe is to use the high speed line to boost jobs and businesses, according to the former leader of Cheshire East Council. 

But now the authority says in a statement that more jobs would be created by developing new employment sites and housing on the land instead. 

So HS2 Limited says it wants to move the depot to a site next to the M6 between Stone and Yarnfield instead.

Staffordshire County Council has previously "championed" the area to try and get any benefits from HS2 and they're certain to be interested in HS2 Limited's new proposals.

Express and Star

Firefighter roles will be lost across Stafford and Cannock, external as part of cuts to save £480,000.

Ten cats go missing from the same street in Staffordshire in a week, prompting an RSPCA investigation.

Lee Thomas
Newsreader, BBC Radio Stoke

A large dumped load of cement powder is causing a dust cloud on the A53 outside Leek as drivers pass by, police say. 

Staffordshire Police say it fell off a lorry near Blackshaw Moor at around 13:00. 

They say officers are waiting on a specialist company to arrive to clear it up.

Image source, Google

Lee Thomas
Newsreader, BBC Radio Stoke

Our main stories this afternoon include:

- A man found guilty of attempted murder after he deliberately ran over a man in Burton in a dispute has today been jailed for 18 years

- The mother of a two-year-old girl found dead in a house has appeared in court accused of her murder

- The "sheer scale" of child deaths in the UK is an "injustice" which must be tackled, MPs have heard from a Cheshire MP

Lee Blakeman
Newsreader, BBC Radio Stoke

The number of reports of child abuse referred by the NSPCC to police and councils in Staffordshire has risen by more than 50% in the past three years, external, according to the charity. 

It said its latest figures showed operators referred 458 calls to the police and social services in 2015-2016.

Referred calls have risen by 53% in the past three years, up from 300 in 2012-2013.   

Image source, Thinkstock

The NSPCC said it had seen referrals because of neglect and emotional abuse and, in one case, said a contact to its helpline had led to a referral over child slavery concerns.

The charity said the rise showed the public was increasingly unwilling to turn a blind eye to potential abuse or neglect of children, following high-profile abuse scandals.

Lucy King
News Editor, BBC Radio Stoke

The "sheer scale" of child deaths in the UK is an "injustice" which must be tackled, MPs have heard.

Cheshire Conservative MP Antoinette Sandbach, who lost her five-day-old son in 2009, described this as the "most devastating" event a parent can suffer.

She and fellow Tory MP Will Quince, who has also lost a child, brought the landmark House of Commons debate on the issue.

Ministers say they are aiming for a 20% reduction in stillbirths by 2020.

BBC Travel

Some relief for drivers on the M6 this afternoon near Stafford as the entry slip road at junction 13 has reopened.

One lane's still shut between junctions 13 and 12.

Staffordshire Newsletter

Green space on Stone's Westbridge Park could be managed by a committee of volunteers, external, it has been suggested.

Khia Lewis-Todd
BBC News Online

Tesco has stopped selling household brands including Marmite and other goods sold by manufacturing giant Unilever because of a dispute with the company.  

Image source, BEN STANSALL/AFP/Getty Images

Created in Burton, Marmite has been a popular product for decades, but famously has the ability to divide households up and down the country.   

Read more about Marmite's history and connection to Staffordshire in this BBC website article, including how it was invented by accident and it has inspired a sculpture.

Caroline Gall
BBC News Online

We've had a further update from Staffordshire Police in terms of their murder investigation on Packett Street in Stoke-on-Trent. 

They say a 22-year-old man arrested in connection with the death and subsequently bailed had been released from bail without charge and was no longer part of the investigation.

Lee Thomas
Newsreader, BBC Radio Stoke

Our top stories this lunchtime:

- A mother from Stoke-on-Trent has been remanded in custody after appearing in court this morning charged with the murder of her two-year-old daughter 

- Part of the M6 in Staffordshire is going to stay closed until at least 22:00, external tonight following an oil spillage, Highways England says 

- The owner of a cat from Kidsgrove, one of 10 to have gone missing from the same street in a week, external, is appealing for anybody with information to come forward

BBC Midlands Today
Hilary McConnell, Producer

We’ll be hearing from Aston Villa’s new manager Steve Bruce as he faces the media for the first time since his appointment. 

Find out more about the mystery of the 10 cats that have gone missing from one street in Staffordshire in one week.

Plus, we investigate how robot research at the University of Birmingham is helping stroke patients recover.