Allen Cook
BBC Local Live

The government's been urged to scrap a cap on how much the police can ask for from council taxpayers, in order to be prepared for potential future terrorist attacks.

Staffordshire's Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), Matthew Ellis, says ministers should consider removing or raising the current 2% cap.

Following the recent terrorist attacks in London and Manchester, he says it's not realistic to expect current budgets to pay for the increased levels of police required.

It comes as concerns have been raised by police in England and Wales over budget cuts, with a national spokesman saying the "strain is showing" after multiple terror attacks.

The Home Secretary Amber Rudd has admitted that police resources are "very tight" but added that she would not rush to release extra money.

Express and Star

An iconic war memorial will be rededicated next year as extensive work on the site draws to a close., external

Image source, Express and Star

Allen Cook
BBC Local Live

After a break yesterday, here are six of the latest photos of Staffordshire and Cheshire which have been sent in by you.

If you want to send your pictures of the area in you can do that on email or put them on Instagram, adding the tag #bbcstoke, external to the description to show you agree to share them.

BBC News England

A blind veteran says it would make his birthday to get four World War Two medals back which he lost at a motorway service station in Staffordshire.

Alfred Barlow, 95, of Stockport, Greater Manchester, was returning from a pilgrimage to Normandy, France, on 8 June when he noticed they were missing.

Image source, Blind Veterans UK/PA

He was at Norton Canes Services on the M6 Toll but they couldn't be found despite a search.

Mr Barlow, who turns 96 on 25 June, said their loss was "very distressing" and he wanted to pass them on to his grandson "which makes it even more upsetting".

John Acres
Journalist, BBC Radio Stoke

Floral tributes have continued to be laid at the site where a crane crashed in Crewe, killing two men.

Local councils, a union and staff at the nearby Bombardier Transport factory have been among those laying flowers.

Meanwhile Steven Hogben, a Labour councillor on Cheshire East Council, said he drove past the site a few minutes before the accident.

He said he had thought the crane looked "amazingly high".

"It was a tall crane which only appeared a few days ago," he said. "I'm not aware of any concerns having been raised about it."

Allen Cook
BBC Local Live

Image source, Keith Lawson

A man who pleaded for volunteers to help finish setting up a retreat for bereaved families says he's "overwhelmed" at the response he's had.

The Lee Rigby Foundation, set up in memory of the soldier killed outside his barracks in May 2013, is looking to open a first centre in Oakamoor, Staffordshire.

Image source, Facebook

Keith Lawson, from Rugby, Warwickshire posted on Facebook yesterday that he'd visited the site to fit blinds for free, saw they were struggling to finish the place and asked on the social media site for more volunteer help.

His post was then shared around 60,000 times and told the BBC his phone has "been ringing off the hook" with offers to help from tradespeople.

Roz MacDonald, a trustee of the foundation, says it's been tremendous and "the most welcome deluge".

BBC Sport

Stoke City striker Peter Crouch insists he still has a big role to play at the age of 36.

The former England international, who will turn 37 halfway through next season, is the oldest striker playing in the Premier League.

Image source, Press Association

But Crouch is confident that he can go beyond the end of his current two-year deal, which expires in June 2018.

The plea help to finish a refuge for veterans and service families is shared thousands of times.

Port Vale chairman Tony Fradley is to meet with owner Norman Smurthwaite to discuss any potential sale of the club.

Lee Thomas
Newsreader, BBC Radio Stoke

A man's suffered serious injuries to his face after he was attacked by a gang of up to nine men in a park in Crewe.

Image source, Google

Cheshire Police says the 18-year-old was assaulted as he walked with a friend through the Joey the Swan Park in Wistaston on Saturday night.

The force says, as well as his injuries, the victim's been left extremely shaken.

Lee Blakeman
Port Vale commentator, BBC Radio Stoke

The Port Vale chairman Tony Fradley has told BBC Radio Stoke he doesn't know if the football club is still up for sale.

Following relegation last season to League Two, owner Norman Smurthwaite said he would sell to the right buyer.

Last month Staffordshire IT company Synectics Solutions had two bids rejected as was one bid from Manor PC's Kevin Jones.

Mr Smuthwaite has refused to comment to BBC Radio Stoke on the sale situation.

Hazel Morgan
Journalist, BBC Radio Stoke

Campaigners fighting to save Kidsgrove Sports Centre have told BBC Radio Stoke they're determined not to give up.

It's due to close in a week's time, at the end of the month, because Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council says it can't afford to maintain the building, external, which is owned by Staffordshire County Council.

The Save Kidsgrove Sports Centre group held a demonstration yesterday, external at the borough council's offices and handed over a petition, signed by 1,141 people opposing the closure.

BBC Radio Stoke has spoken to both the borough council and the county council and they've said they'll be giving an update about the situation in the next few days.

Image source, Lionel Burch

Allen Cook
BBC Local Live

The teenager who was among two building site workers killed when a crane collapsed in Crewe has been described by his former school as a "young man with his whole life ahead of him".

Today, Cheshire Police named Rhys Barker, 18, from Castleford, as one of the two killed in the incident on Dunwoody Way on Wednesday.

On Facebook, Airedale Academy in Castleford , externalsaid they were "very saddened" to hear the news about their ex-student, saying he was "well liked and will be greatly missed" by friends and staff at the school.

Sarah Robertson
Journalist, BBC Radio Stoke

A Staffordshire inventor will get his jet-powered mobility scooter featured on BBC television tonight.

Tom Bagnall, an amateur engineer from Cheadle, built the vehicle in his garage out of two old turbo units.

It's reached speeds of over 70mph on a North Yorkshire airfield and will be featured in a new programme about aviation innovations.

The Sentinel

A derelict pub plagued by vandals, fly-tippers and arsonists is set to be sold off at auction., external

Image source, The Sentinel

Allen Cook
BBC Local Live

The two men who died when a crane collapsed in Crewe were crushed to death, police say. , external

Cheshire Police has named the pair as David Newall, 36, from Bradford, and Rhys Barker, 18, from Castleford.

The force says they were working at the building site on Dunwoody Way on Wednesday when their crane collapsed.

Officers say a third man, a 45-year-old from Glossop, believed to be the crane driver, who was airlifted to hospital is in a stable condition.

Allen Cook
BBC Local Live

We've just heard from police that the motorbiker involved in the crash on the M6 in Cheshire is not thought to be seriously hurt.

Image source, North West Motorway Police

The motorway was shut northbound between junctions 17 and 18 for around an hour while the air ambulance landed.

North West Motorway Police tweeted, external to say: "Thankfully the casualty is up and talking, not believed to have serious injuries."

BBC News Travel

Allen Cook
BBC Local Live

The crash that shut the M6 northbound in Cheshire this morning involves a motorbike.

Cheshire Police says they were called just after 09:30 to reports the rider had come off his bike between junctions 17 and 18.

They say paramedics are treating the biker at the scene and the air ambulance has been called.

BBC News Travel

A serious crash has forced the closure of the M6 northbound in Cheshire between junctions 17 and 18.