Phil McCann
Cheshire Political Reporter, BBC News

A new Cheshire East Council executive will be paid over £1,000 a day after emergency powers were used to transfer the legal roles of all three of the authority's most senior managers. 

The chief executive was suspended two weeks ago amid an investigation into officer conduct. 

New staff are taking on the legal roles of the monitoring officer and chief financial officer, with one of them initially earning £1,025 each day.

BBC WM

Residents of a street in Tamworth have told BBC WM how they get on so well, they regularly go on holiday together. 

Image source, Getty Images

Around 50 people living in St. Christopher's Drive recently returned from Eastbourne and are already planning their next group trip.

BBC Sport

At the Premier League of Darts in Birmingham last night, Stoke-on-Trent's Phil Taylor was beaten 7-3 by Peter Wright.

Image source, Harry Trump/Getty Images

Meanwhile, Newcastle-under-Lyme's Adrian Lewis (pictured) played twice - he lost 7-4 to James Wade and 7-0 to Michael Van Gerwen.

Lee Blakeman
Journalist, BBC Radio Stoke

A man's been arrested after police say they had reports of a man with a knife on a street in Biddulph. , external

Staffordshire Police says officers were called this morning to Mayfield Road, adding that a car window was smashed during the incident but no-one was hurt.

Image source, Google

Officers say the 31-year-old was arrested on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon and affray.

The force says there'll now be more patrols in the area to reassure residents.

Sarah Robertson
Journalist, BBC Radio Stoke

Stoke-on-Trent is officially submitting its application today in its bid, external to become UK City of Culture in 2021. 

The 30-page document will then assessed by an independent panel with a shortlist is due to be announced in the summer and the winning city named in December.

Image source, Alamy

Eleven towns and cities have now put their names forward for the honour including fellow West Midlands sites Coventry and Hereford. 

The chosen place will succeed Hull, which is the City of Culture for 2017 and the Heritage Lottery Fund has pledged to give £3m to the winning city.

Lee Blakeman
Port Vale commentator, BBC Radio Stoke

Port Vale caretaker boss Michael Brown says he thinks nerves will play a huge part in their decisive game at Fleetwood on Sunday.

Image source, Pete Norton/Getty Images

Vale need to win to give themselves any hope of surviving in League One, while Fleetwood need the three points to stand a chance of winning promotion to the Championship.

The Sentinel

Council leaders have warned motorists to expect "short-term pain" when one of Stoke-on-Trent's busiest junctions is revamped., external

Image source, The Sentinel

Khia Lewis-Todd
BBC Local Live

Anthony Joshua's sparring partner - Burton's Frazer Clarke - says tomorrow night's heavyweight title bout at Wembley will be one of boxing's biggest ever fights. 

Frazer helped the IBF world champion prepare for his clash with Wladimir Klitschko during practice sessions in Sheffield. 

He says he's backing the British superstar to come out on top.

Image source, Getty Images

"It's not just that he is clever - he has good speed, accuracy and he is ferocious," Frazer told Radio Derby.

Joshua and Klitschko got fans warmed up with an open workout at Wembley ahead of tomorrow's fight.

Daniel Wainwright
Data unit - English regions

More than twice as many people didn't vote in the last general election in part of Stoke-on-Trent than did for the winning candidate, BBC analysis has found.

Ruth Smeeth won in Stoke North thanks to 15,429 votes, but 32,784 people didn't vote, including spoiled ballots. 

The BBC figures reveal the ward is the worst in England for non-voters outnumbering those who voted for the winning party - number two is Stoke-on-Trent Central.

The Electoral Reform Society said many people felt their vote did not count.  

See the figures for your constituency on this interactive map, external.  

Allen Cook
BBC Local Live

Rangers will this weekend patrol the site of a huge woodland fire which burnt over two acres of land in Staffordshire. , external

The blaze on Wednesday took fire crews several hours to put out after Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service says it was called to near Nanny's Rock, Kinver Edge.

Image source, Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service

About 10,000 square meters of bracken and woodland was on fire and the cause is being investigated - the fire service hasn't ruled out arson. 

It says rangers from the National Trust, which owns the site, will patrol the site this weekend to make sure the blaze is fully out.

BBC News England

A 24-hour strike on Northern rail services has begun in a dispute over the role of guards on trains.

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union walked out at 00:01 over changes due to come into service in 2020.

Northern has warned travellers its routes, including from Stoke-on-Trent, external, would be "extremely busy" but said it expected to operate more than 40% of its normal timetable.  

The row is over drivers being in charge of operating the doors, and guards being changed to on-board supervisors.  

Charlie Slater
BBC Weather presenter

A generally dry day with occasional sunny spells and the risk of a couple of isolated showers - highs of 12C (54F).

Allen Cook
BBC Local Live

A wet start to the day over Stoke-on-Trent - this was the scene in Hanley at around 07:30, near the BBC Stoke headquarters:

A full look at this morning's weather forecast will be along shortly and there'll be news, sport, travel and other updates for Staffordshire and Cheshire through today.

You can also send in photos of the area that could be featured today - do that via email or, if you have Instagram, put them there with the tag #bbcstoke, external to show you agree to share them.

More people stayed away from the ballot box than voted for the winning party in Stoke-on-Trent at the last election.

Electoral Reform Society says many people feel their vote does not count.

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. 

Allen Cook
BBC Local Live

As well as turning the A50 and A500 in Stoke-on-Trent into "smart" trunk roads, the city council's plans for the area's transport future include two new link roads and overhauling a key road junction. , external

The "Transport Vision" for Stoke-on-Trent, which will be discussed by the council's cabinet next month, external, draws together a lot of proposals for Stoke-on-Trent's future.

The link roads have already been suggested - work on the £38m Etruria Valley link road's expected to start next year while, in March, the government gave £8.5m towards the proposed Hanley-Bentilee Link Road. , external

Also in the "vision" are remodelling the Cobridge traffic lights road junction, with the A50 and A53 widened to increase capacity.

It's not just roads - the council says it wants to have a "fully connected" high-speed railway station in the city and better local rail services.

Graham McGarry
Crewe Alexandra commentator, BBC Radio Stoke

Crewe Alexandra will again use Billy Bingham as a makeshift central defender for Saturday's game at Plymouth.

Image source, crewealex.net

The 26-year-old is out of contract in the summer and BBC Radio Stoke understand he's yet to be offered a new deal. 

But his manager David Artell says his recent performances are doing him no harm. 

Nick Owen
Presenter, BBC Midlands Today

On Midlands Today this evening, we'll hear about the impact of acid attacks as the BBC's found there were almost 400 in the West Midlands in the last three years. 

And we'll have news of the region's first nightclub event for people with learning difficulties. 

Plus your Midlands sports update and this evening's weather, all on BBC One from 18:30.

Shefali Oza
BBC Midlands Today

It's looking like being a cloudy end to the week, with some showers forecast tomorrow.