Social care plans 'cost Conservatives a lot of support' - Stafford MP
Neck-and-neck Newcastle-under-Lyme race settled by 30 votes
Masked men attack homeowner after breaking in
Tokyo 2020: Mixed events would add 'fun' element to Olympics – Adam Peaty
Updates from Friday 9 June 2017
BBC Radio Stoke Sport
Both Port Vale and Crewe Alexandra will face Championship opposition in the first round of next season's League Cup, external.
Image source, Carabao CupThe Vale travel to Leeds United, while The Alex host Bolton Wanderers.
Meanwhile Burton Albion are away at Oldham Athletic - all ties will be played the week starting 7 August.
Sunderland will travel to Bury in the EFL Cup first round following their relegation from the Premier League.
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Allen Cook
BBC Local Live
The southern part of Staffordshire gets well featured in today's pick of pictures you've sent in of the county.
If you want to send in one of your photos, drop us an email or use Instagram, external (adding #bbcstoke to show you agree to share it).
Your pictures
A Burton resident who has hit out at "dangerous potholes" which are blighting the lives of drivers in the town has told the Burton Mail he has been, external "inundated with comments and requests" since he highlighted the issue.
Image source, Burton Mail
Matt Sandoz
Stoke City commentator, BBC Radio Stoke
Stoke City have ruled themselves out of signing the former England captain and Manchester United player Wayne Rooney.
Image source, Laurence Griffiths/Getty ImageThe Potters have been heavily linked in the national media, external with the 31-year-old striker, with some bookmakers slashing the odds on Rooney becoming a Stoke player.
However the club's chief executive Tony Scholes told BBC Radio Stoke there hasn't been any contact with Rooney or his representatives.
Quote MessageWayne Rooney's been one of the best players of his generation. He has been and still is a great football player but there have been no conversations whatsoever about Wayne Rooney coming to Stoke."
Tony Scholes, Stoke City's chief executive
Nick Hope
BBC Sport Olympic sports reporter
Uttoxeter swimmer and Rio gold medallist Adam Peaty says the International Olympic Committee (IOC) made a mistake by not including three new 50m sprint events for Tokyo 2020.
Image source, Getty ImagesThe IOC said last week that men's 800m and women's 1500m freestyle races would be added to the swimming programme.
Peaty, who won 100m breaststroke gold at last summer's Olympics, was in favour of including 50m races in breaststroke, backstroke and butterfly.
Quote MessageSprints engage people more than distance events. I don't like that there's another distance event and I don't think that's what's needed. I'm a bit disappointed."
Adam Peaty, Uttoxeter swimmer
Liz Ellis
Presenter, BBC Radio Stoke
Stoke-on-Trent-born rock music legend Lemmy would have "loved" getting a blue plaque in the city, according to his friend, Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi.
Blue plaque unveiled for Lemmy
The tribute was unveiled last night at Port Vale FC as part of BBC Music Day and saw fans turn out to witness the unveiling.
Hazel Morgan
Journalist, BBC Radio Stoke
A football fan who's set about reconstructing all 92 Premier League and English Football League grounds out of Lego says he almost finished Stoke City's. , external
Image source, Brick StadiumsJulian Richards started earlier this year and told the BBC he was surfing the internet one day, found nobody else had already done it so decided to start himself.
He said this week he's done three sides of the Stoke City stadium, external and the club says it loves his work., external
Lucy King
News Editor, BBC Radio Stoke
Alcohol and perfumes are thought to have been taken in a burglary at a Stoke-on-Trent city centre store.
Staffordshire Police says the break-in happened early this morning at the B&M shop on Old Hall Street, Hanley.
They say the thief or thieves got in through the main entrance.
A former IT teacher at the Burton Borough School in Newport who hugged one of the students has been suspended from teaching indefinitely., external
The National College for Teaching and Leadership found 30-year old Jennifer Cann had "failed to maintain professional boundaries" and engaged in an "inappropriate relationship" with the pupil, who she met outside school on a number of occasions to tutor them.
While she admitted hugging the pupil, the panel said there was "no suggestion that there was any sexual element to this".
Image source, GoogleMs Cann also admitted giving pupils answers to two test questions.
She is banned from teaching in schools or children's homes, but can apply to have the prohibition order set aside in two years' time.
Jane Sawyers joined Staffordshire Police in 1984 and was given the top job 30 years later.
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Phil McCann
Cheshire Political Reporter, BBC News
The new Labour MP for Crewe and Nantwich says she will be listening to and acting for her constituents - although she admits being elected hasn't yet sunk in.
Laura Smith, who's only been involved in politics for four months, unseated Conservative Edward Timpson at last week's general election.
She's now stepped foot inside the Palace of Westminster for the first time since then and says she's still getting used to her new role.
Quote MessageI think when you are surrounded by history like this and, as a little bit of a history geek myself, no it hasn't sunk in and I don't think I'll ever stop being amazed at seeing these beautiful surroundings."
Laura Smith, New Labour MP for Crewe and Nantwich
The outgoing chief constable of Staffordshire Police says mistakes were made in the investigation of the 2002 murder of Kevin Nunes, a suspected drugs dealer from Wolverhampton.
Jane Sawyers is retiring today after more than 30 years in the force.
She was the head of professional standards there when 20-year-old Mr Nunes was killed in a suspected gangland shooting in Pattingham, Staffordshire. Five men were convicted of his murder but were later cleared.
Image source, Staffordshire PoliceShe said "it is terrible that mistakes were made and no one has been brought to justice".
Quote MessageThe mistakes were around disclosure and there was certain national rules that were not in place, those same mistakes would not happen again not because of the case but because things have moved on significantly."
Jane Sawyers, Outgoing chief constable
In 2017, a report highlighted concerns about officers in relation to looking after protected witnesses.
Families have won their fight for a popular children's play area to undergo a £20,000 makeover., external
Image source, The Sentinel
BBC News Travel
Drivers heading southbound through Staffordshire today are being warned to take care between junctions 12a and 11 due to barrier repairs.
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Gavin Bevis
BBC Local Live
The chief constable of Staffordshire Police is retiring today after 33 years with the force, external.
Jane Sawyers joined the profession straight after leaving school and early shifts were spent policing the Miners' Strike in 1984.
She has been Staffordshire's chief constable since 2014.
Her replacement, Gareth Morgan, will start work on Monday, external.
BBC Sport
Burton Albion's Ben Turner has lost his appeal against a Football Association racial abuse charge and will miss the first five games of next season.
Turner was charged after an incident involving Brentford's Nico Yennaris in the Championship match in December.
Image source, Rex FeaturesAn independent panel found the 29-year-old defender guilty as his language "included a reference to ethnic origin and/or race and/or nationality".
Turner will also have to attend an education course and pay a £8,000 fine.
He had "strongly denied" the charge and the club were "extremely disappointed" by the commission's original decision.
Ben Sidwell
BBC Midlands Today
A crowd of heavy metal and rock fans turned out last night for BBC Radio Stoke's unveiling of a blue plaque for the Motörhead founder and frontman Ian Fraser "Lemmy" Kilmister.
He was born in Burslem in 1945 and went on to become a legendary figure within the music industry.
Tony Iommi unveils plaque to Lemmy
For BBC Music Day, a blue plaque was unveiled at Port Vale as the club has adopted Motorhead's song Ace of Spades as its unofficial anthem.
The unveiling honours went to Lemmy's friend, Birmingham-born Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi.
Burton's Ben Turner loses his appeal against a FA racial abuse charge and will miss the first five games of the season.
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Jennie Aitken
Reporter, BBC Radio Stoke
The Stoke-on-Trent North MP Ruth Smeeth wants to create a memorial garden in Tunstall to her murdered friend MP Jo Cox.
It comes ahead of a weekend of events to celebrate the life of the Yorkshire MP, including in Staffordshire and Cheshire.
The 41-year-old was shot and stabbed in Birstall, in her Yorkshire constituency of Batley and Spen, on 16 June 2016.
Ms Smeeth told BBC Radio Stoke it's been a very emotional week for her.
Quote MessageTo have lost her was heartbreaking and now we've got to make sure that everything that we do going forward is a celebration of who she was and what she did. But this week's been really, really difficult."
Ruth Smeeth, Stoke-on-Trent North MP
