Lee Blakeman
Port Vale commentator, BBC Radio Stoke

Port Vale were left further away from safety in League One as they lost 2-1 at Northampton Town. 

Image source, Pete Norton/Getty Images

The Vale's JJ Hooper had cancelled out Aaron Phillips' opener for the hosts, but Matt Taylor hit the winner for the Cobblers.

The loss leaves Port Vale five points from safety with 11 matches to play. 

Lucy King
News Editor, BBC Radio Stoke

Work is finally due to start on a shopping development in Stafford by the end of the month, BBC Radio Stoke has exclusively revealed. 

The Kingsmead site, just off the ring-road, has been closed for almost 11 months after a deal to bring a Morrisons supermarket to the site collapsed.  , external

Image source, Google

Private investor Triple Jersey, the firm that owns the site, says it has now got planning permission to split the development into three.

In a statement to BBC Radio Stoke it says work will begin on 20 March, finish by mid-July but it couldn't confirm when the scheme would finally open. 

The company says it is close to agreeing the first lease for the site. 

The Sentinel

Drunken James Mountford bit a doorman on the face after he was thrown out of a town centre bar., external

Image source, The Sentinel

Allen Cook
BBC Local Live

Unemployment in the West Midlands rose by 9,000 to 160,000 in the three months, external to January, official figures show. 

They show the region saw the joint-largest jobless increase compared with the rest of the country - five other areas also saw rises.

Image source, Matt Cardy/Getty Images

It means the current unemployment rate in the West Midlands is 5.6%, the Office for National Statistics said.

That compares with the UK unemployment rate falling to 4.7%, its lowest rate in 41 years in the three months to January.

Phil Bowers
Journalist, BBC Radio Stoke

An appeal's been launched to raise £2m to build a memorial in Staffordshire to commemorate police officers , external who have been killed on duty. 

Staffordshire Police say the names of more than 1,800 officers and police staff are to be inscribed on the landmark at the National Memorial Arboretum at Alrewas. 

Image source, PA

The force says £2m has already been raised but they need the same amount again to get the memorial built. 

As well as the memorial, Staffordshire Police say there'll also be an interactive digital feature about the personal stories of the officers remembered.

BBC News Travel

Train operator London Midlands says services between Hednesford and Tame Bridge Parkway are delayed this morning due to "animals on the railway".

Graham McGarry
Crewe Alexandra commentator, BBC Radio Stoke

Crewe eased their relegation fears with a convincing victory at Crawley to send Dermot Drummy's men crashing to a fifth defeat in their last six home games.  

Image source, crewealex.net

The visitors deservedly went ahead when James Jones fired in his eighth league goal of the season from the penalty spot, after Josh Lelan brought down Ben Nugent.  

Crewe got firmly on top by scoring twice in two minutes at the start of the second half, with goals from Jordan Bowery and Chris Dagnall.  

BBC News Travel

There are delays on trains between Redditch and Lichfield after an earlier incident.

Operator London Midlands warned, external trains may be delayed by more than 30 minutes, or cancelled.

Gavin Bevis
BBC Local Live

A cat is recovering after being put in a box, tied in a bag and dumped in a field in Burton.

The female feline was found next to Walton Road in Drakelow by a passer-by who heard a loud meow.

Thankfully she was physically unharmed and is now being looked after by RSPCA staff, who have named her Bagpuss.

Image source, RSPCA

RSPCA inspector Laura Bryant said: “Apart from wetting herself, luckily the cat was unharmed so we presume that she had only been there for a short while.

“It is a quiet country road and Bagpuss is extremely lucky she was found.

"It is concerning that whoever abandoned her like this did so with the intention of leaving her to die, as she was dumped in a quiet place where she could quite possibly not have been found inside her box."

The Rugby Football Union's decision to not include Lichfield in a new Women's Premiership , external is being criticised by the city's MP. 

Michael Fabricant has joined the calls for the club - which has several England internationals - to get a place in the 10-team league. , external

A petition has been launched, external calling for the RFU to review the decision and has more than 5,000 signatures.

Ed Dawes
BBC Radio Derby Sport

Burton Albion boss Nigel Clough has been taking questions from the media at a news conference ahead of Saturday's home game against Brentford.

He said his squad was in good shape fitness-wise going into the final stretch of the season and he was "delighted" to see Gary Rowett handed the reins of Derby County.

Allen Cook
BBC Local Live

A main route through Cheshire's blocked near Knutsford this morning after the road collapsed. 

Cheshire East Council say there was heavy traffic in the area around the A50 , external at Toft yesterday and is urging drivers to avoid it today.

Phil Bowers
Journalist, BBC Radio Stoke

West Midlands Ambulance Service has confirmed its Twitter account was hacked this morning. 

The tweet which went up at around 07:00 carried text supporting the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who is in a feud with Germany and the Netherlands.

The post was deleted shortly afterwards.

Image source, Twitter

The ambulance service says it's now removed the post and changed its passwords and security settings. 

Other Twitter accounts also appeared to have been hacked overnight, external including the BBC North America account which tweeted at 07:39, external : "Hi everyone - we temporarily lost control of this account, but normal service has resumed. Thanks."

Image source, Twitter

A man and woman who were arrested in connection with the death of a five-year-old boy  have been bailed by police.

Image source, Family handout

Charlie Dunn, from Tamworth, died in hospital after being found submerged in a lake at Bosworth Water Park in Leicestershire on 23 July.

The couple were arrested on suspicion of manslaughter by gross negligence and child neglect.

The man is aged in his 30s and the woman is in her 20s. They were arrested in Staffordshire.

An inquest into Charlie's death was opened and adjourned until April.

Sara Blizzard
BBC Weather

Skies will be partly cloudy today with some sunny spells at times. 

It will stay dry through the day and it will feel mild in the sunshine and light winds - highs of 16C (61F).

Allen Cook
BBC Local Live

Morning everyone, the sun is streaming into BBC Stoke's HQ in Stoke-on-Trent and it looks like being a good day on the weather front.

This picture of a misty start over Kingswinford's come from BBC Weather Watcher MeliBear.

Image source, MeliBear

We'll have a full look at the rest of today's weather shortly and there'll be updates on the day's news, sport, travel and more throughout Wednesday.

I'll also feature more of your pictures of the area so keep sending those in on email or, if you use Instagram, put them there, external and add the tag #bbcstoke to show you agree to share them.

Matt Taylor scores from 30 yards late on to give Northampton Town victory over Port Vale in League One.

Crewe ease their relegation fears with a convincing victory at Crawley, who have lost five of their last six home games.

The man and woman were arrested on suspicion of manslaughter by gross negligence

We'll be back with our usual mix of news, sport, travel and weather from 08:00 tomorrow, but keep an eye out here for more updates this evening and into the morning.