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World Transplant Games competitor 'didn't expect to be here'
Updates from Friday 23 June 2017
A brave brother and sister from Burntwood proved the heroes of the hour after discovering their mum unconscious at home., external
Image source, Lichfield Mercury
Ged Scott
BBC Sport
Stoke City's chief executive says they are still trying to agree a permanent deal with FC Porto for defender Bruno Martins Indi.
Martins Indi spent last term on loan from the Portuguese side.
Image source, Gareth Copley/Getty ImagesThe Netherlands international did not miss a league game for Stoke in 2016-17 after making his debut in the 4-0 home defeat by Tottenham in early September.
He's said he'd like to stay permanently but the club says it has to have discussions with all the parties involved.
Quote MessageIt's not just us, not just Bruno and his agent, there's Porto as well. Everything has to fall into place before a deal gets done."
Tony Scholes, Stoke City chief executive
Lucy King
News Editor, BBC Radio Stoke
A man set fire to wooden fencing and children's garden toys by pouring petrol on to a barbecue he was struggling to light. , external
Staffordshire Fire Service says they put out the blaze in Sandyford last night before it could spread to the man's house.
Image source, Staffordshire Fire ServiceFire crews also had to put out a fire caused by a barbecue on Gainsborough Road, Newcastle-Under-Lyme on Saturday, as it had spread to eight metres of nearby conifers.
The services says, with the heatwave continuing, they want people to be extra careful when using barbecues.
Allen Cook
BBC Local Live
Following the latest terrorist attack in London, police and council leaders are going to meet in Staffordshire this week to check how prepared they are.
The county's police and crime commissioner Matthew Ellis has called the get-together for Wednesday.
London fire: Footage shows the extent of damage
He says he wants to discuss how prepared the county is for a possible terrorist attack and also for a major incident, following the Grenfell tower block fire in London last week.
Mary Rhodes
Presenter, BBC Midlands Today
On Midlands Today this evening, I've been talking with Staffordshire's new Chief Constable about the challenges he faces in the job.
Image source, Staffordshire PoliceGareth Morgan, who started the job today, has been talking about the need to review millions of pounds of cuts.
Hear more from 18:30 on BBC One.
Charlie Slater
BBC Weather presenter
It's been "hot, hot, hot" for us today across the region but will it be pleasant to sleep in and what's ahead tomorrow? Here's the latest.
You can also keep up-to-date with the BBC Weather website.
Charlie Slater
Allen Cook
BBC Local Live
Water levels at reservoirs serving Staffordshire are at a healthy level, external, water firm Severn Trent says, despite the current heatwave hitting the country.
Image source, GoogleThe company's given no indication of needing to restrict what people use, despite saying that they had a "very dry winter".
However Severn Trent is still urging people in Staffordshire to save water were possible, taking showers instead of baths and using water butts to collect rainwater.
The sister of one of the alleged Three Musketeer terrorists has described her brother in court as a "quiet, humble person".
Naweed Ali, 29, is among four men from the West Midlands on trial at the Old Bailey for allegedly preparing to strike an unknown target on British soil.
Image source, JULIA QUENZLERNaweed Ali, Khobaib Hussain, Mohibur Rahman and Tahir Aziz (l to r) deny preparing terrorist acts
They were arrested on August 26 last year after a partially constructed pipe bomb, hatchet and imitation gun were discovered by security services inside a JD Sports bag in Ali's car.
Ali's defence team have claimed an undercover officer planted incriminating evidence in the car before MI5 arrived to bug it.
Giving evidence for the defence, Ali's older sister Shakila Mahmood said he was quiet and humble and never expressed violent thoughts.
Ali and Khobaib Hussain, 25, both of Sparkhill, Birmingham, plus Mohibur Rahman, 32, and Tahir Aziz, 38, of Stoke-on-Trent, deny preparing terrorist acts. The trial continues.
Lee Thomas
Newsreader, BBC Radio Stoke
Part of a railway line in Stoke-on-Trent's seen a string of dangerous incidents, police say, including a train hitting a shopping trolley that had been placed on the line. , external
British Transport Police says there have been three cases of obstruction and trespass in two weeks in the Meir Tunnel area.
Image source, GoogleThey started on 29 May when a group of youngsters were seen walking towards Stalington and, the day after, another group were seen in the same location - in both cases a driver saw them and stopped the train.
Officers say the latest case, on 7 June, saw a passenger train clip a shopping trolley which had been put on the line - no-one was hurt and the train wasn't damaged.
Lee Thomas
Newsreader, BBC Radio Stoke
There'll be more police patrols outside mosques, external in Cheshire following the terror attack near a north London mosque.
One man died and 10 people were left injured after a man drove a van into worshippers close to the Muslim Welfare House in Finsbury Park.
Image source, ReutersCheshire Police's temporary Assistant Chief Constable Nick Bailey called it a "dreadful attack".
He said the force would have a visible police presence across the county with a "particular attention given to mosques".
BBC News Travel
Rail services between Stoke-on-Trent and Stockport are being disrupted due to a broken-down train near Macclesfield.
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Heavy delays are expected in Tamworth after roadworks have begun on two busy roads leading to the town centre, external
Image source, Tamworth HeraldAllen Cook
BBC Local Live
An attack that saw a man kicked so much that he lost consciousness, external, is being probed by police.
Image source, GoogleStaffordshire Police says the victim was assaulted on 3 June in Cannock on Church Street, near a ramp at the back of the Prince of Wales Theatre.
The force says two men attacked him, causing head injuries until he fell to the ground and was then kicked by the pair.
Allen Cook
BBC Local Live
A Stafford man has proposed to his partner on the helipad at Stoke-on-Trent's main hospital. , external
Paul Price was airlifted there after a car crash last week, University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust (UHNM) said.
Image source, UHNMHe was on his way to pick up his son when the collision happened, breaking his wrist, arm and sternum, UHNM said.
He told them it was "wonderful" to propose on the Royal Stoke University Hospital's helipad and, crucially, his partner Lianne Camsell did say yes.
Lee Blakeman
BBC Radio Stoke journalist
A woman who's organised donations from the public in Stoke-on-Trent to help those affected by the London tower fire says they've had an "overwhelming" response.
Donations in Stoke-on-Trent
Soon after the blaze at the Grenfell Tower, Deb Buxton from Carphone Warehouse at Festival Park said on BBC Radio Stoke they would take donations.
Since then, she says they filled one room and part of their warehouse and the first load will arrive in the capital today, having been co-ordinated through their national office.
John Acres
Journalist, BBC Radio Stoke
A Stoke-on-Trent man is urging the city council to install sprinklers in all tower blocks in the city after the fire at Grenfell Tower.
Steven Harvey
Steven Harvey lives in the Forest Court tower block in Hanley and says he's concerned current safety provisions aren't enough if there was a fire.
He told BBC Radio Stoke he wants the local authority to install sprinkler systems in all high-rise residential buildings.
The city council says all their high-rise sites have fire alarm systems that are regularly maintained and tested and they're going to make sure tenants are given up-to-date advice in the future.
Allen Cook
BBC Local Live
Here are five of the latest pictures of Staffordshire which have been sent in by you, our audience.
Keep them coming - you can send yours on email or, if you use Instagram, external, put them there with the tag #bbcstoke to show you agree to share them.
Audience pictures of Staffordshire and Cheshire.
A memorial day in honour of Nantwich baby Johnny Forbes has helped to raise more than £4,000 for Donna Louise Hospice. , external
Image source, Nantwich NewsAllen Cook
BBC Local Live
Three baby kestrels are poised to return to the wild after being found shaking, orphaned and helpless at the bottom of a tree., external
The RSPCA says they were spotted in Doncaster earlier this month and brought to their Stapeley Grange Wildlife Centre in Nantwich.
Image source, RSPCAThe charity says the babies, which are just weeks old, were too young to leave the nest and could have died if they hadn't been seen.
Now the centre says they're putting on weight and, once they're old enough, will be taken out of isolation on the path to returning to the wild.
Events have been held by many councils across the country to mark the start of celebrations building up to Armed Forces Day on 24 June.
Local authorities started off proceedings by raising the Armed Forces Day flag today., external
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