Our live coverage across the daypublished at 18:00 British Summer Time 7 July 2017
We'll be back with our usual mix of news, sport, travel and weather from 08:00 on Monday, but keep an eye out here for more updates this evening.
Summary
Girl dies in school trip crash
Drugs gang jailed for more than 21 years
Arrest after reports boy, 4, 'grabbed' as sat in car
Updates on Friday 7 July 2017
Our live coverage across the daypublished at 18:00 British Summer Time 7 July 2017
Girl, 14, dies in school trip crashpublished at 17:58 British Summer Time 7 July 2017
The pupils had been going on a school art trip when their minibus was involved in the crash with a bin lorry.
Read MoreDog-walker thanks nurses for saving her lifepublished at 17:57 British Summer Time 7 July 2017
Allen Cook
BBC Local LiveTwo off-duty nurses have been thanked by a woman who says they helped save her life in Stoke-on-Trent. , external
The University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust (UHNM) says Joyce Edge and her husband were dog-walking in Trentham last month when she suffered a cardiac arrest.
Image source, UHNMTwo nurses, Sarah Reece and Karen Dowden, were separately walking in the park and ran to help give CPR until paramedics arrived.
The UHNM says Joyce has now recovered and thanked the pair, who have both been given an award by the trust for their quick thinking and efforts to keep her alive.
Football: Two heads better than one for Port Vale strikerpublished at 17:54 British Summer Time 7 July 2017
Lee Blakeman
Port Vale commentator, BBC Radio StokeThe Port Vale striker Tom Pope tells BBC Radio Stoke he believes he can form a strong partnership with new signing Tyrone Barnett.
Image source, Port Vale FCVale confirmed the arrival of Barnett on a two-year deal yesterday and Pope says he believes the pair's height will work to their advantage.
'Beautiful, loving daughter' will be 'sorely missed'published at 17:51 British Summer Time 7 July 2017
Allen Cook
BBC Local LiveA woman who was found dead at her home in Cannock had a "bubbly personality" and will be "sorely missed".
When Kerry Cast's body was found on Saturday, Staffordshire Police said they were treating her death as unexplained.
Image source, Staffordshire PoliceThe force says initial post-mortem examination results proved inconclusive, external and more tests will be carried out.
In a statement, her mother Kathleen Weaver, external said she was a "bright, beautiful, loving daughter".
Officers say Kerry had only moved back to Cannock around three months ago from Crawley, West Sussex and they want to hear from people there who knew her or who may have visited her in Staffordshire.
On Midlands Today from 18:30: Celebrating city's Caribbean culturepublished at 17:47 British Summer Time 7 July 2017
Nick Owen
Presenter, BBC Midlands TodayBig crowds are expected at Stoke-on-Trent's biggest free event this weekend.
On Sunday, the soundtracks and costumes of the Caribbean will take centre stage in Hanley Park at this year's Six Towns One City Carnival. , external
Tonight, Midlands Today will come live from the park with a special programme celebrating the culture and community spirit behind the event.
You can see that from 18:30 on BBC One.
Police investigating seat belt use in school trip crashpublished at 17:45 British Summer Time 7 July 2017
Police are investigating whether or not the 21 children involved in a fatal minibus crash while on a school trip were wearing seat belts.
Central Motorway Police Group said earlier it was unable to confirm which was the case.
Emergency services were called at 09:00 to the scene in Castle Vale, Birmingham, where a 14-year-old pupil of John Taylor High School in Barton-under-Needwood, Staffordshire, died.
Another pupil was taken to hospital with superficial injuries.
They were accompanied by three teachers.
Land buying for £35m Stafford access road 'could take 18 months'published at 17:43 British Summer Time 7 July 2017
Allen Cook
BBC Local LiveIt could take up to 18 months for all the land to be bought for the route of a new £35m access road for Stafford.
Image source, Staffordshire County CouncilThe county council agreed to the 1km (0.6 mile) route Western Access Route in 2015 but says it had only now started buying the land.
It says it'll ease congestion in Stafford town centre, external but it could be the end of next year before all the land's bought and main construction work gets under way.
The council now expects it to be finished in 2021.
Arrest after reports boy, 4, 'grabbed' as sat in carpublished at 17:41 British Summer Time 7 July 2017
Lee Thomas
Newsreader, BBC Radio StokePolice investigating reports a four-year-old boy was grabbed by the arm as he sat in a car in Burslem have made an arrest. , external
The force says a man in his 80s from Stoke-on-Trent is being held on suspicion of assault.
Officers say the incident happened on May Street on Wednesday evening.
Drugs gang jailedpublished at 17:37 British Summer Time 7 July 2017
Allen Cook
BBC Local LiveA Stoke-on-Trent cocaine dealer who police say once complained of poor sales after Christmas , externalhas been jailed for eight years.
Nathan Henshall, 26, from Frodingham Road was among five men who had previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A and Class B drugs including cocaine, amphetamine and MCAT.
Today Henshall, who Staffordshire Police say was the organiser of the supply, was sentenced at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court.
In their investigation, the force says they seized thousands of pounds worth of drugs along with cash.
Officers also revealed text messages sent between Henshall and other members of the gang in which he agreed sales of drugs "will go slow after new year".
The other four sentenced were:
- Rod Boyd, 29, from St Margarets Court, Stoke-on-Trent was jailed for three years
- Michael Gerrity, 30, of Wellfield Rd, Stoke-on-Trent was jailed for three years and six months
- Ashley Pace, 28, of Dorchester Walk, Stoke-on-Trent was jailed for four years and six months
- John Jeffers, 59, of Greenway Close, Liverpool was jailed for two years and three months
Five fantastic pictures of Staffordshire and Cheshirepublished at 17:33 British Summer Time 7 July 2017
Allen Cook
BBC Local LiveTo end the week of showcasing your pictures, here are five more - ranging from the Peak District to Sandbach via Cannock Chase.
You can send your photos of the area in on email or post them on Instagram, adding #bbcstoke, external to show you agree to share it.
Media caption, Audience photos
Weather: A cloudy weekend aheadpublished at 17:30 British Summer Time 7 July 2017
Rebecca Wood
BBC Midlands TodayIt's going to be cloudy and a little cooler over the weekend, with the chance of a few showers.
Temperatures should reach 23C (74F).
Media caption, Rebecca Wood has your forecast
Fatal school trip crash - recap in videopublished at 17:29 British Summer Time 7 July 2017
It's more than eight hours since emergency services were called to a crash between a minibus and a bin lorry in which a 14-year-old girl on a school trip was killed.
The teenager, from John Taylor High School in Barton-under-Needwood, was declared dead at the scene of the crash in Castle Vale, Birmingham.
Here's the background in video:
Media caption, Girl dies in school trip crash on A38 in Birmingham
And police have been sharing information about the forensics investigation of the circumstances surrounding the fatal collision.
Media caption, Police tests at Birmingham crash site after girl 14, dies
Upset as landmark tree cut down 'without warning'published at 17:26 British Summer Time 7 July 2017
Jennie Aitken
Reporter, BBC Radio StokePeople in part of Leek have told BBC Radio Stoke they are upset about a maple tree being cut down "without any warning" by the council.
The tree, which stood on Stockwell Street for around 70 years in a conservation area, was chopped down last week.
Image source, Sarah Dornford-MayStaffordshire Moorlands District Council says, during electricity work, it found the tree had no roots on two sides.
They say, as a result, it was declared immediately dangerous and had to be made safe.
Former policeman's Second Boer War photos foundpublished at 17:20 British Summer Time 7 July 2017
BBC News EnglandDozens of previously unpublished photographs from the Second Boer War, taken by a former Staffordshire Police officer, that show battle scenes from the conflict have been found in a house in Derbyshire.
The collection of images, along with medals and badges, will go on auction later in July.
Image source, Hanson's AuctioneersThe find "is like a time capsule that sheds new light on the war", auctioneer Charles Hanson said.
The photos were taken by Robert Oliver, who survived the 1899-1902 war.
Quote MessageRobert Oliver was quite a rogue in his youth. At the age of 16, he ran away, ending up on a ship to Canada where he found work as a lumberjack. He later joined Staffordshire Police and was considered… funny but firm and strict."
Charles Hanson, Auctioneer
Sense of shock in close knit communitypublished at 17:10 British Summer Time 7 July 2017
Elizabeth Glinka
BBC Midlands TodayI'm outside John Taylor High School in Barton-under-Needwood, Staffordshire, where we've seen children coming out of the school with their parents, clearly very distressed by what's happened.
It's a school which today lost a student when a minibus of pupils on a trip crashed with a bin lorry. It was a 14-year-old girl who died.
This is a closeknit community, a rural community, and there's a profound sense of shock.
Image source, GoogleWe know the rest of the children were brought back to the school after the crash and since then have been collected by parents.
Crewe and Nantwich women raise £175k in Midnight Walkpublished at 17:00 British Summer Time 7 July 2017
Hundreds of Crewe and Nantwich women helped raise a staggering £175,000 when they took part in St Luke’s Midnight Walk. , external
Image source, Nantwich NewsForensic investigation of fatal school trip crashpublished at 16:50 British Summer Time 7 July 2017
A detailed forensic examination is under way to try to piece together how a school minibus crashed with a bin lorry, killing a 14-year-old girl.
Twenty-one pupils and three teachers from John Taylor High School in Staffordshire were on a school trip when the collision happened in Castle Vale, Birmingham.
Officers have been carrying out skid tests and taking distance markings on a dual carriageway.
Image source, @SnapperskFirm and director fined over unsafe motorbike helmetspublished at 16:47 British Summer Time 7 July 2017
Lee Thomas
Newsreader, BBC Radio StokeA company director from Cheshire and his vehicle parts firm have been fined a total of more than £66,000 for selling unsafe motorcycle helmets.
Cheshire East Council says its trading standards team started investigating after a customer complained her Quads Inn helmet shattered on impact in a low-speed scooter crash. , external
Roydon Wiggins, 59, of Wybunbury and his company Quads Inn, which also trades as Hough Mill Developments, each pleaded guilty to three counts of selling unsafe goods at South Cheshire Magistrates' Court.
Cheshire East Council says the helmets have been taken off sale.
Councillor Ainsley Arnold, in charge of trading standards, said the firm had shown "utter contempt for the welfare of people".
Council leader 'shocked and saddened'published at 16:31 British Summer Time 7 July 2017
A Birmingham City Council bin lorry was involved in the crash with a minibus of students in which a girl, 14, was killed.
The leader of the authority, Councillor John Clancy, tweeted he , externalwas "shocked and saddened" by her death.
She was a pupil at John Taylor High School in Barton-under-Needwood, Staffordshire.
