Death probed after Stoke hospital fire
Hospital trust suffers 'cyber incident'
Man who 'drove at traffic marshal to miss queue' avoids jail
Road closures warning for Staffordshire triathlon
Updates from Friday 16 June 2017
Lee Thomas
Newsreader, BBC Radio Stoke
A man has been taken to hospital after a crash on the A500 near Crewe this morning left a van on its side.
Cheshire Police says a truck and van collided before 07:30 at the Weston Gate roundabout.
They say the man in the van suffered arm and back injuries.
Allen Cook
BBC Local Live
Fake golf equipment that could have sold for thousands of pounds has been seized in Kidsgrove.
Trading standards teams from Staffordshire County Council and Stoke-on-Trent City Council, along with Staffordshire Police, external, raided a house in the town yesterday.
Image source, Staffordshire PoliceThe county council says it seized fake goods included over 600 golf club head covers and around 150 polo shirts which, if they'd been legitimate, could have sold for £35,000.
No arrests have been made, but the authority says it is investigating those involved, following the raid.
Matt Sandoz
Stoke City commentator, BBC Radio Stoke
Stoke City's managing director, Richard Smith, says their stadium is going through its biggest changes since it was built 20 years ago.
Stoke City's stadium this week
This summer the club will spend £7m on improvements, including the development of a new south east corner and multiple viewing platforms for people with disabilities.
They say the work will add 1,800 seats,, external boosting the capacity to over 30,000.
BBC Radio Stoke
Market stalls in the middle of Stoke-on-Trent are struggling to attract customers, according to the manager of Hanley Market.
The market has seen a drop of 10,000 visitors a week over the past few years, with market stall owners telling BBC Radio Stoke that business is suffering as a result.
The city council says it hopes a planned return of buses to the market via Town Road will help to increase footfall.
Quote MessageWe're still getting 20,000 people a week in this market. That isn't insignificant, that's a large number of people. The fact that we used to have 30,000 is a concern and a worry and we've got to do whatever we can to make it increase again."
Rob Nixon, Markets manager, Stoke-on-Trent City Council
Joan Cummins
Midlands Today reporter
On Midlands Today this lunchtime, we'll have more on the news that the BBC has learnt the M6 Toll has been sold.
The 27-mile route between Cannock and Coleshill in the West Midlands opened in 2003 but has always lost money.
I'll have more on this story from 13:30 on BBC One.
Allen Cook
BBC Local Live
Cattle could be allowed to graze over Cannock Chase, external in the future as a way of maintaining the area.
The county council has spent the past few months looking at ways to care for the site and its natural habitats.
Image source, Staffordshire County CouncilIt says discussions led to people who use the site suggesting cattle grazing as an option and the authority is now consulting on the issue. , external
It's not the first time cows have been allowed on the Chase - two years ago they were re-introduced to heathland near the White House, external after a reported absence of around 100 years., external
Allen Cook
BBC Local Live
A fire at an abandoned warehouse in Lichfield had less of an impact on the surrounding area because the fire service says it had already visited and risk assessed the site., external
Staffordshire Fire Service say the blaze at the former GKN site at the Crossfield Industrial Estate, which involved around 500 tonnes of waste, was arson.
Image source, Staffordshire Fire ServiceThey say it's the fourth such large fire involving illegal waste in the county in the last year.
But they say they were able to minimise its impact because, having previously checked the site, they had a plan in place they used to tackle it.
Quote MessageThanks to our planning work with partner agencies we were able to put our robust multi-agency plans into action and limiting the scale and impact the fire had on the surrounding community and transport network."
Bob Preston, Station Manager, Staffordshire Fire Service
Chris Doidge
BBC Radio Derby, political reporter
Government reshuffle news...
South Derbyshire MP Heather Wheeler (pictured) has been promoted to government whip - from assistant government whip - and Burton's Andrew Griffiths has retained his government whip role.
It means both will have the title Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury.
Lee Thomas
Newsreader, BBC Radio Stoke
A swan, which had been shot and appears to have been attacked by another animal, is being cared for, external at a Nantwich RSPCA centre.
The charity says the bird, nickname Mabel, is well known to people on the River Weaver, but they were called earlier this month after concerns about her behaviour.
Image source, RSPCAWhen they examined her, staff at the Stapeley Grange Wildlife Centre found she'd been shot at some time and had high lead levels in her blood, which could have come from littered fishing tackle.
The RSPCA says it's also urging owners to keep dogs on their leads as they think Mabel could have been attacked by one.
Archaeologists are to begin digging at a Penkridge church after a ground survey detected possible traces of a much earlier building at the site., external
Image source, Express and Star
Stuart Ellis
Presenter, BBC Radio Stoke
A Stoke-on-Trent music promoter says a music festival starring Motorhead went ahead after unhappy local residents were offered a day trip to Blackpool.
The story's emerged as the band's frontman Lemmy, who was born in the city and died in 2015, is going to be honoured with a blue plaque at Port Vale FC.
In 1981, over 20,000 fans turned up at the Vale's ground to watch Motorhead and Ozzy Osborne play the Heavy Metal Holocaust Festival., external
But local promoter Mike Lloyd told BBC Radio Stoke this week that local residents had complained ahead of the event and threatened to have it cancelled.
Quote MessageWe didn't know what to do and then one of the team rang me and said I've got an idea - what do you think of the idea of us offering all the people living locally a day trip, on that day, to Blackpool. We'll provide the coaches, true story. And so we went to them, offered the day out to Blackpool and they all accepted it."
Mike Lloyd, Stoke-on-Trent music promoter
Allen Cook
BBC Local Live
A hedgehog that had "blown up like a beach ball" is expected to make a full recovery and return to the wild.
The male hedgehog, which had inflated to twice its normal size, was found wandering around in circles in Doncaster by a member of the public.
The hedgehog after being 'popped'
The unnamed animal was diagnosed with the rare "balloon syndrome", caused by gas collecting under the skin.
He was taken to the RSPCA's Stapeley Grange centre near Nantwich where a needle was inserted to vent the trapped air - effectively, "popping" him, a vet said.
Staff at the centre say the hedgehog is doing well and they're hoping for a full recovery.
More than 500 homes and buildings in the centre of Stoke-on-Trent , externalare without power this morning, including the Intu Potteries shopping centre.
Western Power Distribution says it has engineers working to get electricity reconnected.
Allow Twitter content?
This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.
BBC News England
The way crimes have been recorded by Cheshire Police has been rated "inadequate" by inspectors.
HM Inspectorate of Constabulary looked at incidents between June and November last year, and found more than 11,600 crimes not recorded properly - although 83% were accurately recorded.
Cheshire Police say they've already made changes and improvements.
Quote MessageWhile we agree that there have been some crime recording errors, this does not mean we are failing victims, nor does the report call into question the integrity of officers and staff."
Janette McCormick, Cheshire's Deputy Chief Constable
Highways bosses say they "understand the frustration of motorists and traders" as part of a busy road is expected to be closed for around eight months, external.
Image source, The SentinelThe loss-making road was put up for sale for nearly £2bn last year.
Read More
BBC Sport
Stoke City could be poised to make a surprise move for the Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney, according to some newspapers.
The rumour is among our round-up of the best of the transfer gossip in the newspapers.
Image source, SOREN ANDERSSON/AFP/Getty ImagesApparently betting on Rooney joining Stoke City was suspended by one bookmaker on Tuesday, but the Potters have distanced themselves from a move for the 31-year-old England forward, external, according to the Stoke Sentinel.
If that changes or becomes more official, we'll let you know as soon as we know.
Peter Plisner
BBC Midlands Today
The M6 Toll has been sold to a company called IFM. It already owns Manchester Airports Group, Anglian Water and Arqiva - which run the transmitters used for BBC broadcasts.
Ownership of the M6 Toll has passed from one Australian company to another.
Now it’s a group of pension funds that sees the road as a good investment.
Despite the losses of previous year, IFM sees it not only as a viable asset, but a profitable one too.
Losses of the past happened mainly because of a huge mortgage needed to pay for the construction of the road.
Following restructuring, in recent years, and the latest sale of the road, that mortgage has effectively been wiped away, clearing the way for the M6 Toll to finally make a profit.
Growth in traffic and more roadworks on the Midlands motorways can only add to the profit potential.
Matt Lee
BBC Radio Stoke
We told you yesterday that, for BBC Music Day, BBC Radio Stoke's blue plaque will commemorate the Motörhead founder and frontman Ian Fraser "Lemmy" Kilmister who was born in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent.
Well today we can tell you that the Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi will unveil the plaque at Vale Park today.
You can hear the unveiling during a special programme with Liz Ellis from 18:00 on BBC Radio Stoke.
BBC Midlands Today
An old mile marker has been returned to its original location in Staffordshire, more than 30 years after it was stolen, the county council says.
The local authority says the marker was recovered by Staffordshire Police and the Milestone Society after being seen for sale on an auction website.
Image source, Staffordshire County CouncilThey say it's been put back near Morridge Top on the A53 near Flash.
Markers were introduced as early as the Roman period and the council says this one is now listed.
