BBC News UK

The former Crewe Alexandra football coach Barry Bennell, who's pleaded not guilty to eight charges of sexual assault against a boy under 16, has been remanded into custody until 20 March.

Mr Bennell, 63, wearing a blue polo neck shirt and appearing via videolink from HMP Woodhill, in Milton Keynes, answered "not guilty" to all the charges as they were put to him.

The charges all relate to allegations of abuse between 1981 and 1986.

The ex-coach also worked at Manchester City, Stoke City and junior teams in north-west England and the Midlands

Owen Edwards, prosecuting, told the court the alleged victim "preserves his anonymity".

The Sentinel

Residents are "shocked but not surprised" that a 16-year-old girl was knocked down by a car on, external a "dangerous" city road.

Image source, The Sentinel

Jodie Looker
Newsreader, BBC Radio Stoke

A life-size bronze statue of Cilla Black is being unveiled outside the Cavern Club in Liverpool today.  

Image source, PA

The bronze sculpture, made by Staffordshire artist Andy Edwards, will depict her performing one of her early songs.  

The singer and TV presenter worked at the club as a cloakroom girl in the 1960s.  

Her son Robert said the family decided to back the idea after being moved by the response from the city following Cilla's death in August 2015.

BBC News UK

The former Crewe Alexandra football coach Barry Bennell has today pleaded not guilty to eight child sex offences in an appearance at Chester Crown Court. 

The 63-year-old, of no fixed abode, has been charged with five counts of indecent assault on a boy, two counts of inciting a boy to commit an act of gross indecency and one count of assault with intent to commit buggery. 

All of the alleged offences relate to the same victim, who was under 15. They were alleged to have happened between 1981 and 1985.

The inquests into the deaths of 30 British tourists killed at a Tunisian resort in June 2015 are to open later.

The hearings at London's Royal Courts of Justice are expected to take seven weeks.

Live TV feeds of the proceedings will be shown in courts in Cardiff and Stirling to allow survivors and relatives to follow them.  

Jodie Looker
Newsreader, BBC Radio Stoke

Our headlines this morning include:

- The inquests into the deaths of 30 British tourists, including a Staffordshire mother, in a terror attack on a beach in Tunisia open today

- Jeremy Corbyn has brushed off concerns that the resignations of two of his MPs in recent weeks, including Stoke-on-Trent's Tristram Hunt, could damage him

- A couple whose baby was born in the back of a police car, external have been reunited with the officers who came to their aid

BBC Midlands Today

A couple whose baby was born in the back of a police car, external have been reunited with the officers who came to their aid.   

Emily McBride was in labour on her way to the Royal Stoke University Hospital with her partner Thomas Carson, when they hit a traffic jam caused by snow.

They managed to flag down the officers who got them to the hospital using their blue lights. 

But, before the expectant mum could get out of the car, little Darcey had to be delivered on the back seat - a happy and healthy six pounds and eight ounces.  

Jodie Looker
Newsreader, BBC Radio Stoke

Our first look at today's top stories and they include:

- The inquests into the deaths of 30 British tourists, including a mother from Tamworth, killed at a Tunisian resort in June 2015 are to open later 

- Jeremy Corbyn has brushed off concerns that the resignations of two of his MPs in recent weeks, including Stoke-on-Trent's Tristram Hunt, could damage him

- A £500,000 unit for people detained by police under the mental health act opens in Stafford today, as part of a plan to cut the number of vulnerable people kept in custody cells, external

A baby makes a surprise arrival when she is born in a police car outside a hospital.

Allen Cook
BBC Local Live

Two flood alerts have been issued for Staffordshire by the Environment Agency after the heavy rain yesterday and this morning.

Image source, Google

The organisation says there's a chance of flooding from the rivers Churnet and Tean in the Moorlands. , external

They say it could also happen around the Sow and Penk in the Stafford area, external.

BBC Travel

There's been an accident on the A34 Stone Road in Hanford, at the Hanford Interchange.

Charlie Slater
BBC Weather presenter

A wet start and here's a look at if that'll continue all morning.

You can also get up-to-date forecasts from the BBC Weather website.

BBC Midlands Today

The inquests into the deaths of 30 British tourists in a terror attack on a beach in Tunisia open today. 

Thirty-eight people lost their lives when a gunman opened fire on tourists staying in the popular resort of Port El Kantaoui, just north of Sousse in Tunisia in June 2015.

Joel Richards, his uncle Adrian Evans and grandfather Patrick Evans from Wednesbury were all killed. Sue Davey from Tamworth died alongside her partner Scott Chalkley

Staffordshire woman Alison Caine (pictured) was among those to survive.

BBC Travel

A lane is blocked on the A518 eastbound between Uttoxeter and Stafford in Stowe-by-Chartley at the Station Road junction, due to a broken-down vehicle.

Allen Cook
BBC Local Live

It's a wet, cold start to the week in Stoke-on-Trent - this was near the BBC Stoke headquarters in Hanley just around 07:30.

Charlie Slater will fill us in shortly with this morning's weather forecast and I'll round up updates on the day's news, sport, travel and more through the next few hours.

I'm also after more of your photos of Staffordshire and Cheshire - send them in on email or, if you use Instagram, put them on there with the tag #bbcstoke, if you agree to share., external