Lee Thomas
Newsreader, BBC Radio Stoke

Cheshire Police's share of council tax is to increase by 1.99%. , external

The move is set to add more than £1m to the force's budget, which will stand at £193m from April.

Cheshire's Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), David Keane, says the tax increase has strong local support. 

However the PCC says it still leaves the force needing to make savings of more than £5m this year, allowing for inflation and changes in funding.

Lee Blakeman
Port Vale commentator, BBC Radio Stoke

Leonardo Fasan is set to become the first Italian player to pull on a shirt for Port Vale. 

Image source, Port Vale FC

The goalkeeper, who has joined on loan from Celtic, is in line for his debut at home to Peterborough tomorrow.

Lee Thomas
Newsreader, BBC Radio Stoke

The Nantwich company that saw its landmark sculpture burnt down last night are asking for local residents' help, external to "rebuild the rabbit". 

The fire which destroyed Snugbury Ice Cream's 38ft (11.6m) high straw Peter Rabbit attraction is being treated by Cheshire Police as suspected arson., external

The firm say they've been "overwhelmed" by the support they've had since the blaze.

Sarah Robertson
Producer, BBC Radio Stoke

Plans for £2m savings at two colleges in Staffordshire would have a "devastating impact" on educational opportunities in the county, two unions say. 

Yesterday, the Newcastle and Stafford Colleges Group (NSCG) said funding cuts and lower student numbers in Stafford meant savings were needed, putting about 100 jobs "at risk".

Image source, Google

Unison and the University and College Union say in a statement they believe most of the redundancies would affect staff at the Stafford site, claiming as many as 25% could lose their jobs.

NSCG's principal and chief executive Karen Dobson has said "difficult decisions" have to be made and that they were working to make sure "the effect on front-line teaching staff is minimal".

BBC Travel

The A38 in Weeford near Lichfield is partially blocked northbound between Weeford Island and Swinfen Island due to an accident.

Tamworth Herald

A Canwell resident leading the fight to change a "dangerous" junction layout has criticised authorities for a lack of communication in recent weeks., external

Image source, Tamworth Herald

Allen Cook
BBC Local Live

A pollutant that's got into a brook near Stafford may have entered the River Trent.

Image source, Environment Agency

The Environment Agency says the pollutant, which they've found is wood preservative, has mainly been kept in the Pasturefields Brook in Hixon.

But they say they believe some of it has got into the River Trent.

They add that they've put two new dams along the brook and pumped the diluted substance into tankers as they continue to monitor the water., external

Emma Thomas
Political reporter, BBC Radio Stoke

The Labour Party is today calling for UKIP leader Paul Nuttall to stand down as a candidate in the Stoke-Central by-election. 

It came on the same day former UKIP leader Nigel Farage visited Stoke-on-Trent to support the party's bid.  

Staffordshire Police are investigating allegations of electoral fraud regarding the address in the city which Mr Nuttall used on nomination paperwork.

Mr Nuttall has told BBC Radio Stoke he was registered at the house in Penkhull before the nomination deadline, signing on to the electoral roll on 27 January and first stayed overnight there on 1 February.

The by-election, following the resignation of Labour's Tristram Hunt, will be held on 23 February. 

You can read a full list of candidates who are standing here on the BBC website.

Lee Thomas
Newsreader, BBC Radio Stoke

A last look at our headlines for Friday:

- A detective said he never thought he'd see a convicted rapist who fled the country end up behind bars

- Two men arrested after a severe blaze at an Amazon distribution centre have been told they will not face criminal charges  

- The Nantwich company that saw its landmark sculpture burnt down last night are asking for local residents' help, external to "rebuild the rabbit"  

Chris King
Reporter, BBC Radio Stoke

More organisations in Stoke-on-Trent are being urged to sign up to a scheme that offers support to vulnerable adults.  

Around 150 groups in the city have signed up to the Safer Places campaign. , external

Julie Bagnall, part of the city council's outreach team, says it offers places for people with a learning disability or dementia to go if they feel scared or confused so that they can calm down. 

Now the authority wants more people to be aware of the scheme and for more shops, businesses and organisations to sign up.  

Chris King
Reporter, BBC Radio Stoke

A detective said he never thought he'd see a convicted rapist who fled the country end up behind bars.

Today Muhamed Sheikh Avais, 50, now of no fixed abode but originally from the city, was jailed for 20 years after being convicted of 19 counts of sexual abuse.  

He had been tried and convicted in his absence after fleeing the country in 2015 , externalbut Staffordshire Police say they tracked him down to the United Arab Emirates and extradited him. 

DC Tim Foe (featured in video) from the force says he thought he'd never see Avais end up in prison after he fled.  

Rebecca Wood
BBC Midlands Today

If you want the latest forecasts, head to the BBC Weather website.

Judith Burns
Education reporter

"Urgent attention" must be given to improving education in the north of England, says The Cheshire MP George Osborne's Northern Powerhouse Partnership think tank.

In its first report since being set up last year, the think tank identifies what needs to be done to "build a Northern Powerhouse".

"Many issues have been raised with us," said the authors, "but one challenge stood out: education."

Mr Osborne, the MP for Tatton, said the region was "at a turning point".

Nick Clitheroe
BBC Midlands Today

The Stoke-on-Trent long jumper Jazmin Sawyers says she's moved to train in Birmingham to build on "the season of her life".  

The 22-year-old is linking up there with the Olympic heptathlon bronze medallist Kelly Sotherton who will now coach her. 

This year she reached the Olympic final in Rio, the peak of a summer which also saw her win the British title and European silver. 

Jazmin says her next big test will come in Birmingham later this month when she takes on her main British rivals in one of the highlights of the indoor Grand Prix.  

Follow live text coverage from the Premier League as West Bromwich Albion take on Stoke City.

BBC Travel

There's been a crash on the A500 D Road in Hanford near Stoke-on-Trent near the Hanford Interchange.

Lee Thomas
Newsreader, BBC Radio Stoke

A dog's had to be cut free in Burton after getting its paw stuck in a garden bench. , external

Image source, Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service

Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service say they were called to James Street at 11:10. 

They say they found the elderly female dog "in some distress" and used a specially developed animal mask to calm the West Highland Terrier, while they cut her free with a hacksaw.

Ben Godfrey
BBC Midlands Today

Officials in Staffordshire are looking for more foster carers, to help look after unaccompanied children seeking asylum in the UK.   

There are currently more than 80 asylum seeker children being cared for in the county, as the M6 Corridor is a regular drop point for traffickers.

Among those who's been helped are brothers Fawad and Jawad and their cousin Ahmad who survived a perilous six month journey to Britain from Afghanistan seven years ago. 

Foster parents Jackie and Bob Meredith took the boys in at their home in Tixall and now the cousins have leave to remain in the UK.  

Lee Thomas
Newsreader, BBC Radio Stoke

Our main stories this afternoon include:

- A man originally from Stoke-on-Trent has been jailed for 20 years , externalafter being convicted of 19 counts of rape and sexual assault against a young girl

- Two men arrested after a severe blaze at an Amazon distribution centre have been told they will not face criminal charges

- A fire that saw a 38ft (11.6m) high straw Peter Rabbit sculpture burn to the ground is being treated as arson, police say  

Saido Berahino is due to return to the Hawthorns tomorrow when Stoke take on West Brom.

It comes as Stoke boss Mark Hughes says Berahino served an eight-week suspension before leaving the Baggies. His comments follow newspaper reports the striker was banned after failing an out-of-competition drugs test - a situation about which, when asked, Baggies boss Tony Pulis said "I don't give a damn now".

Before the story broke, Berahino had been talking about his Black Country return, saying it wouldn't make a difference to him if he's booed by Albion fans. That's because, he said, he'd been booed there before.

The striker ended an unhappy 18 months with Albion last month and made his debut for Stoke as a sub in their 1-1 draw with Everton on Wednesday. 

Berahino says there's no reason why he shouldn't be involved in tomorrow's game.