BBC World Service

The anniversary of the discovery of the Staffordshire Hoard in a field in the county in July 2009 has been marked this week by a BBC programme and podcast.

The BBC World Service's Witness show looked at how the find came about and what happened after it was revealed to archaeologists and then the wider public.

They've been speaking to Terry Herbert who found the treasure and archaeologist Dr Kevin Leahy who examined the hoard.

Mike Donoghue, the principal of Staffordshire's John Taylor High School which has today lost a pupil in a minibus crash, has written to all parents about the grief their children might be feeling.

Image source, John Taylor High School

Matt Sandoz
Stoke City commentator, BBC Radio Stoke

Stoke City's manager Mark Hughes has confirmed they've made an offer to sign midfielder Fabian Delph on loan from Manchester City.

Image source, GEOFF CADDICK/AFP/Getty Images

The 27-year-old played just 13 times in all competitions for Pep Guardiola's team last season.

Stoke have been linked with a move for Delph over the summer and Hughes says they are interested.

BBC News Travel

A reminder from Highways England, with rush hour approaching, that one lane's still shut northbound on the A38 near Burton, after the fatal crash last night.

BBC News Travel

There are heavy delays on the M6 northbound near Stafford this afternoon after an earlier crash which Highways England says involved at least two cars, external.

Officers carry out skid tests where a minibus and bin lorry crashed on the A38 in Birmingham.

Hazel Morgan
Journalist, BBC Radio Stoke

Motorists travelling between Stoke-on-Trent and Uttoxeter this weekend will have to find an alternative route to the A50.

Staffordshire County Council is closing it from 20:00 tonight until 05:30 on Monday from the A521 roundabout at Blythe Bridge to the B5030 junction at Uttoxeter., external

Image source, Staffordshire County Council

It's being done because the authority's using a huge crane to lift six 47m (154 feet) long steel beams into position for a new bridge.

The council says diversions will be flagged up from the wider road network by Highways England, including notices on the M6 and M1.

Supt Dean Hatton, head of the Central Motorway Police Group, has been addressing the media in the wake of what he called "an extremely tragic incident".

Speaking to reporters at the scene, he said: "We've been in close contact with our colleagues at Staffordshire Police and been liaising with the headteacher at the John Taylor High School and all relevant support is being provided by the school and by our colleagues."

Asked if the pupils were wearing seat-belts, he replied: "That will be part of our investigation and, at the moment, I can't confirm either way whether or not pupils were wearing seat-belts or otherwise."

He said he would not speculate on the cause of the collision.

Allen Cook
BBC Local Live

The role of women in the war effort has been marked at the National Memorial Arboretum today and the site's tweeted photos from the event, external.

It says people have heard stories ranging from Bletchley Park codebreakers to the first recipient of the Military Cross., external

The Women's Army Auxiliary Corps was formed exactly 100 years ago, allowing women to enrol in the British army for the first time.

Image source, National Memorial Arboretum

Image source, National Memorial Arboretum

Image source, National Memorial Arboretum

Birmingham City Council has issued a statement following a fatal collision between one of its bin lorries and a minibus of pupils on a school trip in which a teenager died.

A 14-year-old girl from Staffordshire died in the crash in Kingsbury Road, Castle Vale, Birmingham to which emergency services were called at 09:00.

The statement from the authority said: "We are deeply saddened by the death of a teenage girl this morning on Kingsbury Road and our thoughts are with her family, friends and all those affected.

"As a City Council trade waste vehicle was involved in the incident we will be fully co-operating with all investigations.

"We ask for drivers’ patience while we work with the police to deal with the highways implications in this very sensitive situation."

Liz Ellis
Presenter, BBC Radio Stoke

Investors across the world are already showing interest in a planned £500m revamp of part of Stafford, according to the leader of the borough council.

Last night, the authority's cabinet approved proposals , externalwhich could see a hotel, office space, 650 apartments and 150 houses added near to the railway station.

Image source, Stafford Borough Council

The report to councillors said Stafford was a hub station for HS2 and the Stafford Gateway Masterplan has been planned on the back of the high-speed rail project.

Now they've been approved, the authority says the next stage is to draw up more detailed proposals as part of their overall plan for the county town.

Monica Rimmer
Journalist, BBC Online

A 14-year-old girl has died in a crash involving a minibus of 21 pupils going on a school trip.

Here's a reminder of the events:

• Emergency services are called to Kingsbury Road in Castle Vale, Birmingham, at about 09:00
• West Midlands Police say the road is closed and local diversions in place
• West Midlands Ambulance Service says it is in attendance at a serious road traffic accident

Image source, PA

• John Taylor High School in Barton-under-Needwood, Staffordshire, says on its website, external some of its students have been involved in a crash

• The ambulance service confirms a teenage girl has died and there are 26 patients
• West Midlands Police says the girl is 14
• The force adds the crash is between a minibus and a bin lorry and confirms the school's pupils are involved
• The school community is said to be "devastated"

Image source, Google

The pupils, from John Taylor High School in Barton-under-Needwood, were going on an art trip.

Lichfield MP Michael Fabricant has tweeted that he is heartbroken over the death of a teenager killed in a crash between a school minibus and bin lorry.

He also said, external the Staffordshire school which the girl attended - John Taylor High School in Barton-under-Needwood - was "outstanding".

Emergency crews were called to the scene in Castle Vale, Birmingham, at 09:00.

The pupils - 21 in all, plus three teachers - were on a school trip.

Express and Star

Up to 9,000 lorries, cars and vans will travel to and from the proposed 700-acre interchange every day., external

Image source, Express and Star

A 14-year-old girl has died after a school bus crashed with a bin lorry in Kingsbury Road, Castle Vale, Birmingham.

Machine worker Stephen Jones, 38, who works near the scene, said: "I heard a big bang at 9am this morning - a massive bang.

"I came over and had a look and the police were here with the sirens and they'd shut [the road].

"I saw the coroner's ambulance and I heard a girl had passed away."

He added: "There are a lot of accidents here all the time, it's a busy road."

The arrested man had been in a van with the woman just before she was struck by a car.

According to the calendar of the school, external that has today lost a pupil in a crash in Birmingham, this evening was the date for its prom.

The girl - a 14-year-old student at Staffordshire's John Taylor High School - was declared dead at the scene in Castle Vale. She was on a school trip with 20 other pupils when a minibus crashed with a bin lorry.

The school's calendar suggests the group was on an arts trip.

A schoolgirl from Staffordshire has died in a crash while on a school trip in Birmingham.

She was 14, attended John Taylor High School in Barton-under-Needwood, Staffordshire, and her family has been informed.

West Midlands Ambulance Service was called at 09:00 to Kingsbury Road in Castle Vale where a mini bus crashed with a bin lorry.

It said it attended 26 patients - the drivers of each vehicle, three teachers, the dead girl and 20 other pupils, one of whom was taken to hospital with "superficial injuries".

Five adults - the teachers and drivers - plus 19 children were discharged from the scene.

The family of a 14-year-old girl who died in a crash between a mini bus and bin lorry in Castle Vale has been informed.

She was among the pupils from John Taylor High School in Barton-under-Needwood, Staffordshire, who were on a trip when the collision happened at about 09:00 on Kingsbury Road.

Superintendent Dean Hatton, head of Central Motorway Police Group, said: "We are also in contact with the school and our colleagues at Staffordshire Police, who are understandably devastated as this occurred while their students were on a school trip."

Image source, Google