Allen Cook
BBC Local Live

You've been having your say on news that Stoke-on-Trent City Council's putting £4.55m towards the development of a new 140-room hotel in Hanley.  , external

The authority says the Hilton Garden Inn will be built outside the Smithfield buildings to be opened in 2019, creating 50 jobs. 

On the BBC Radio Stoke Facebook page, Dan Walker posted, external : "Great idea, it's a shame there's little to do in the city centre in the way of nightlife to attract these big earners the city intends on reaching." 

Denise Ball wrote, external : "We already have three hotels each within walking distance of one another, is there really need for another, or does the council need something else to throw our money at?" 

Andy Kimberley added, external : "If they can build an hotel then they could build flats to relieve the homeless situation in the whole of Stoke-on-Trent."

And Sarah Clarke commented, external : "Why not make a splash park for kids like at Stafford Park? Another hotel do we really need another?"

Express and Star

Drivers on the M6 were twice brought to a standstill this morning , external after a tanker spilled milk across the motorway.   

Image source, Highways England

Russell Truran
Journalist, BBC Radio Stoke

Concerns have been raised about the number of people taking drugs in part of Stoke-on-Trent.  

Staffordshire Police says it is working to bring down anti-social behaviour in Hanley. 

The concerns came from an incident on Tuesday when people tell BBC Radio Stoke they saw a man supposedly being injected with drugs "in broad daylight" on Piccadilly. 

They included Georgina Stanway, the manager of Klay Pizzeria, who says she wants to see more help to make people feel safe in the city centre and for drug addicts.  

Chanise Evans
BBC Online

Concerns have been raised for a teenage boy who was reported missing three weeks ago, police say., external

Image source, Warwickshire Police

Mohammed Alibegi, 14, was last seen in the Coppice Drive area of Tamworth, Staffordshire, around 09:45 on 7 March and was reported missing later that day.

Warwickshire Police says he may have connections to Coventry and speaks little English.

Allen Cook
BBC Local Live

Another Romanian man has been jailed for his part in jewellery store raids across England, including in Stoke-on-Trent.

Six members of a gang have already been jailed for stealing jewellery worth more than £3m from 11 stores.

Cosmin Moraru, 25, from Spring Grove, Birmingham was today jailed for eight years and two months after pleading guilty to conspiring to burgle and conspiring to commit arson in 2015. 

In the raid in Stoke-on-Trent, jewellery worth £400,000 was stolen from Beaverbooks, Hanley in March 2016. 

Staffordshire Police say the gang set fire to cars and car tyres as well as property to distract emergency services , external and tied industrial cables across roads to block routes.

Allen Cook
BBC Local Live

About 20 wheelie bins have been stolen and set on fire in Staffordshire and people are being warned it's an " increasing trend, external ". 

Staffordshire Police says the areas affected in the last fortnight include Audley, Bignall End, Chesterton and Bradwell.

Officers say they've been visiting the youngsters believed to be involved and speaking to them and their parents.

Allen Cook
BBC Local Live

The photos you take of Staffordshire and Cheshire keep on coming - here are four more I've picked out.

To send your ones in, either email them to me or, if you use Instagram, you can put them there and then add the tag #bbcstoke , external to show you agree to share them.

Liz Ellis
Presenter, BBC Radio Stoke

Stoke-on-Trent City Council has defended its decision to spend £4.55m to help bring a new hotel to Hanley.  , external

The authority's announced the 140-room Hilton Garden Inn will be built outside the Smithfield buildings and should open in two years' time. 

Council leader Dave Conway told BBC Radio Stoke that it's going to be money well spent as "it will create jobs" and is putting the city "on the map".  

Chris King
Reporter, BBC Radio Stoke

Traders will meet with Stone Town Council this evening to discuss problems with the High Street.  , external

Image source, Google

A number of businesses have closed over recent months with the town's Co-op store due to shut later this year. 

The council says tonight's meeting will look at ways of bringing shoppers back to the town. 

Kevin Reide
Midlands Today

On Midlands Today this lunchtime, we'll hear how there's an experiment to try to stop frogs, toads and newts becoming trapped in roadside gullies being carried out in the region. 

Every year, millions of the creatures die this way but now volunteers are installing specially created ladders, which allow them to climb their way back to safety. 

We'll have more from 13:30 on BBC One.

Tamworth Herald

Smiles and excited faces welcomed the arrival of the Duke of Cambridge, as he officially opened the new Remembrance Centre at the National Memorial Arboretum. , external

Image source, Tamworth Herald

More than 1,300 homes are without power this afternoon in Stoke-on-Trent.

Western Power Distribution says it's working to get the electricity back on by 13:30.

Thirteen people have been arrested in raids across the North West, Wales and Staffordshire as part of a police investigation into suspected cannabis farms.

Image source, Merseyside Police

Officers from Titan - the regional organised crime unit - targeted 18 properties in a number of areas, including Merseyside, Cheshire, Staffordshire and west Wales.

The raids are the culmination of a six-month operation.

Image source, Merseyside Police

Burton Mail

A six-year-old and his grandfather from Burton have been reunited with their pet hawk Goldie, after the bird flew off and was missing , external for a week. 

Image source, Burton Mail

Matt Sandoz
Stoke City commentator, BBC Radio Stoke

The former Stoke City defender Gerry Taggart says a point at Leicester City would be a good result for Mark Hughes's team this weekend. 

Image source, Michael Regan/Getty Images

Leicester have won their last four games in a row and scored 11 goals in the process. 

Taggart, who played for both teams, told BBC Radio Stoke the Premier League champions are in good form. 

Allen Cook
BBC Local Live

Since we told you earlier about a spillage of double cream that completely shut the M6 in Staffordshire this morning, external , the puns have come flooding in. 

No-one was hurt in the collision between junctions 10A and 10 and the carriageway reopened in around half an hour. 

Image source, Highways England

Gary Costello tweeted, external : "Why close the motorway and whip up hysteria?" 

Jayne Reece went with this, external on the BBC Radio Stoke Facebook page: "He cream cracker-ed the motorway then." 

While Daniel Williams posted probably the best, external : "How dairy! Should be easy enough to skim off though." 

And David Owen simply offered more help with the clean-up, external : "My cat is on the way to help lap it up."

BBC Sport

A former England rugby union junior winger who grew up in Staffordshire has told the BBC how he came to play senior rugby for Romania.

Image source, PA

Jack Cobden was raised in Lichfield and played alongside current England stars like Ben Youngs, Courtney Lawes and Jamie George in the Under-20 World Cup final in 2009. 

But on the same day that trio helped England retain their Six Nations title  with victory over Scotland , Cobden switched allegiances as he made his debut for adopted country Romania in the Rugby Europe Championship.  

You can read more of his story here on the BBC Sport website.

Allen Cook
BBC Local Live

Part of the M6 in Staffordshire's been shut again, following a spillage of double cream this morning.

Highways England shut it for the first time between junctions 10A and 10 at around 07:00 to treat the spill.

They've shut it again at around 09:45 to sweep the carriageway., external

Image source, Highways England

David Gregory-Kumar
Science correspondent, BBC Midlands Today

Water firm South Staffs Water , external has unveiled a new water treatment plant that uses ultraviolet light to turn water from their reservoir into drinking water.

Image source, South Staffs Water

It means the company can cut back on the amount of traditional chemical treatments like chlorine. 

The firm says the new system will process 26 million litres of water a day for customers in Burton, Tamworth and Cannock.

Russell Truran
Journalist, BBC Radio Stoke

A business owner in the centre of Stoke-on-Trent is calling for more to be done to help drug addicts in the area.

It's after, on Tuesday morning, a man was seen taking his trousers down, on Piccadilly, Hanley, while a woman injected him with what witnesses say they believe was heroin into his groin. 

Onlookers and staff at Klay Pizzeria described the same scene to BBC Radio Stoke and say it's putting people off coming to the area. 

Stoke-on-Trent City Council says it has support services available for people with drug problems and Staffordshire Police says it's working to reduce anti-social behaviour in Hanley.