Allen Cook
BBC Local Live

Police are trying to work out how a teenager came to be found with serious head injuries in the middle of a country road , external . 

Image source, Google

Staffordshire Police say the 19-year-old was discovered on Stoney Lane, Cauldon in the Staffordshire Moorlands on Friday. 

Officers say he'd been riding his bike, which was found next to him and he was taken to hospital.

Allen Cook
BBC Local Live

You may well have heard about the UK's new 12-sided £1 coins and now they are getting rolled out across the country from tomorrow. 

But if you're struggling to make heads or tails of the change, here's what you need to know on the BBC website , including what to do with your old coins and what it means for those supermarket trolley key fobs.

Oh and if you want to see BBC Breakfast's Dan Walker lose one of the first new £1 coins down the back of the sofa, here you go:

Allen Cook
BBC Local Live

Parents in Cheshire are being urged to check who their children speak to online, after police say a Crewe man was caught using video chat to contact children and then engaging in sexual activity via a webcam. , external

Obidzans Bobonazarovs, 56, of Rockwood Close, pleaded guilty to 11 counts of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child under 13 and one count of inciting a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity. 

He was given a two-year suspended sentence, ordered to attend a Sex Offender Treatment Programme and placed on the Sex Offenders' Register for 10 years. 

Cheshire Police say the offences relate to 13 children across the country aged between nine and 12 and happened between February and April in 2015. 

The force says Bobonazarovs never met any of the children.

Allen Cook
BBC Local Live

A fire in a storage building in Leek is being treated as arson. , external

Staffordshire Police say the blaze happened at the brick-built site in the grounds of Brough Park on Park Road in Friday evening., external

Staffordshire Newsletter

Traders will be calling on the council to help regenerate Stone's high street at a meeting this week. , external

John Acres
Journalist, BBC Radio Stoke

A brewery in Stoke-on-Trent has had its beer blessed by the Church of England.  

The Brewing Houses on High Street, Tunstall, was blessed by Father John Stather, the vicar of Goldenhill and Tunstall. 

He says it's the first time he's blessed a brewery, but that it follows a church tradition of blessing beer and breweries "dating back to 1614". 

The owner Mark Aston says he asked Father Stather on impulse one day earlier this year when he was passing, to try and "bring some luck".  

Burton Mail

Fly-tipping in Staffordshire has now reached "epidemic levels" and the authorities need to look at whether charging people to get rid of their rubbish is making the problem worse, according to the fire service. , external

Image source, Burton Mail

Joanne Malin
BBC Midlands Today

On Midlands Today this lunchtime, we'll have the unusual story of how a cat which turned up in our region has apparently made the journey from Spain. 

Vets found the animal, nicknamed Slinky, had been reported missing a month ago in mainland Europe.

We'll find out how it's though it happened and what the next step is, on BBC One from 13:30.

Allen Cook
BBC Local Live

East Staffordshire District Council is one of just 22 local authorities in England to freeze council tax.   

Image source, PA

The Press Association's analysed all 353 local authorities in England and found nine out of 10 local authorities are raising their tax from April.

East Staffordshire is among 22 that are freezing tax in 2017-18, with just one authority, East Hampshire, planning to cut the amount. 

The Local Government Association said the increases nationally didn't mean they'd prevent further cutbacks. 

The Department for Communities and Local Government said councils had had almost £200bn over four years and should be keeping bills down.

Lee Blakeman
Port Vale commentator, BBC Radio Stoke

The Port Vale manager Michael Brown says he thinks it would be an unbelievable achievement by his players if they stay in League One.

Image source, Gareth Copley/Getty Images

The Vale are one point from safety with eight games to play after Saturday's 0-0 draw with MK Dons. 

Jodie Looker
Newsreader, BBC Radio Stoke

Books of condolence have been opened in three places in Cheshire , external for the people who lost their lives in the terrorist attack in Westminster last week .

Image source, PA

Cheshire East Council says the books are available for members of the public to sign during office hours. 

The authority says they are at its receptions at the Municipal Offices in Crewe, the council's headquarters in Sandbach and at Macclesfield Town Hall.

Allen Cook
BBC Local Live

You keep sending in great pictures of the area and here are four more that you've shared.

If you've got one to send in, do it via email or, if you are an Instagram user, put it there with the tag #bbcstoke., external

Allen Cook
BBC Local Live

Paul Hand asked, on Your Questions : "How do I locate a family in Stoke-on-Trent?"

Well, outside of the phone directory for current names, the other way would be via the local archive services.

In Stoke-on-Trent they suggest using online services such as The Staffordshire Collection on Findmypast which contains parish registers, marriage bonds , external and more.

The Staffordshire archive service also suggest, apart from their online services, planning a visit to the record office to track down more details. , external

If you've got a question about Stoke-on-Trent or Staffordshire to pose, ask us here .

BBC North West Tonight

A man who was given a kidney by his best friend says he feels "100% better" and is considering a charity skydive.  

Andy Clewes from Crewe had the transplant in Manchester after his friend Helen Crowther from Runcorn agreed to become a donor. 

The 46-year-old suffered chronic kidney disease since birth and was on the verge of needing dialysis treatment. 

Mr Clewes and Ms Crowther, 45, are now planning "a curry and a few beers" to celebrate the successful procedure, which was carried out in January.  

Express and Star

Potholes have cost cash-strapped Staffordshire County Council more than £270,000 in compensation to drivers in the last four years. , external

Image source, Express and Star

Lucy King
News Editor, BBC Radio Stoke

A Stoke-on-Trent school says it's excluded 12 pupils after they refused to do as they were told by staff, following an argument between two pupils. 

In a statement, Birches Head Academy says it happened on Thursday after they'd decided to cut lunch short after the "altercation".

Image source, Google

The school says that, while staff had dealt with that incident, it started to "create sides" between a few students who then refused to listen to staff when the end of lunch bell was rung 20 minutes early. 

Head teacher Kerry Dixon says one teacher was taken to hospital after slipping and suffering a shoulder injury while opening the school doors. 

The 12 students have been excluded from the academy "for varying lengths of time".

BBC Midlands Today

Over 300 tonnes of commercial waste, illegally dumped in Staffordshire countryside, is set to be cleared., external

Image source, Staffordshire County Council

The county council says the waste was dumped in Gladings Wood, Madeley Heath in January, blocking a car park and a right of way. 

Staffordshire Police are investigating, while the authority says it will be co-ordinating the clear-up.

Matt Sandoz
Stoke City commentator, BBC Radio Stoke

The Stoke City goalkeeper Lee Grant says they shouldn't underestimate Leicester City this weekend. 

Image source, Mark Thompson/Getty Images

The Potters are back in action on Saturday after the international break and Grant told BBC Radio Stoke that the players will need to be on top form.

The Sentinel

A derelict piece of land in the city centre has been put up for sale again., external

Image source, The Sentinel

Rebecca Woods
BBC News Online, Journalist

Army veterans, who have taken over the pub their regiment was formed in, say it took just two weeks to raise £65,000 to buy the lease on it. 

It was in 1705 that the Staffordshire Regiment was formed in the King's Head in Lichfield. 

But, when veterans heard the outgoing landlord was retiring and that there were rumours it was going to be turned into a bed and breakfast, they sprang into action. 

Having paid the money, at the weekend they held a procession to mark the opening of the Bird Street-based pub.