Arnold Baxter has a year added to his kidnapping sentence after more than 6,500 images were found.

A Jaguar Land Rover garage says no-one was hurt in a blaze overnight because of how fast firefighters contained the fire. , external

More then 30 firefighters were sent to the dealership off Mustang Drive, Stafford, yesterday evening and battled it into the night.

Image source, @RoadtransportUK

The fire service said the fire involved two cars in a workshop, and about a third of the building was damaged.

The firm says it's closed today but aims to reopen tomorrow, with its workshop likely to be out of action until next week.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Plans to build a new £5m fire station in Chester have been turned down after councillors said the site was too close to a planned apartment block.

Image source, Cheshire Fire Service

Cheshire Fire Authority wanted to demolish the current station, in St Anne Street, and build a smaller, more energy efficient replacement with space for one fire engine and including a two-storey office block.

Cheshire West and Chester planning committee, which received 24 objections to the scheme, voted by five votes to two to reject it.

A statement from council leader Samantha Dixon raised concerns about the new station’s proximity to neighbouring properties, especially a block of 35 apartments which are due to be built.

Councillor Peter Rooney added that there needed to be consistency following the same committee’s decision to reject a new neo-natal unit at Countess of Chester Hospital last month because it would have obstructed the view of one resident.

BBC Weather Watchers

A double rainbow's been adding a splash of colour to skies over Stafford and Wolverhampton this morning, according to our BBC Weather Watchers.

These three are from users Rain Man Rich, Harry Mountain and Mom Nugg:

Image source, Rain Man Rich

Image source, Harry Mountain

Image source, Mom Nugg

Crewe Chronicle

A few of the stories today from the Crewe Chronicle:

• Crewe couple thank community support after devastating cancer diagnosis, external
• Police crackdown on Crewe yobs causing mayhem in Congleton, external
• Developer will transform anti-social hotspot into shopping district, external

The family of Ann Marie Pomphret said she "loved nothing more" than looking after her horses.

Allen Cook
BBC News

A man who was jailed last year for abducting a child has now been given an extra 12-month prison term for making thousands of indecent images of children.

Image source, Staffordshire Police

Police say they took away three van-loads of material,, external including VHS cassettes, after searching Arnold Baxter's address in Rugby, Warwickshire, in 2016 when they arrested him for the kidnap.

The 73-year-old was sentenced last year after pleading guilty to charges of kidnap and indecent assault of the six-year-old girl in Barton-under-Needwood in 2001.

Officers say they then examined the items they'd seized, found a total of more than 6,500 images and charged Baxter with three counts of making indecent or pseudo images of children.

He pleaded guilty to all the offences and, at Warwick Crown Court this week, was given an additional 12 months to serve in prison, made the subject of a sexual offences prevention order and a destruction order issued for the equipment.

Local Democracy Reporting Service
Kerry Ashdown

Councillors have approved spending an extra £1.2m funding major projects - including buying two new plots of land.

Image source, Google

South Staffordshire District Council had already approved a budget of £13.4m, but councillors were told the chance had come up to buy the two sites.

They are at Hilton Cross Business Park, Featherstone, and Brianolf, Station Road, Four Ashes.

The council says it'll now be drawing up plans for the business park site while a planning application has already been submitted for the Four Ashes one for new industrial units.

Stoke-on-Trent Live

A few of the stories making the early headlines on the Stoke-on-Trent Live website:

• Family slams NHS after 'cry for help' 90 minutes before this devastating fire, external
• Investigation after 'traumatised' girl struck in face by firework at Stoke-on-Trent display, external
• Cultural events 'will continue' in Stoke-on-Trent – despite £100k budget cut, external

Sophie Calvert
Political Reporter, BBC Radio Stoke

Bosses at the Royal Stoke University Hospital have told BBC Radio Stoke they believe they are prepared for winter pressures this season.

But they admit they are still not expecting to meet waiting time targets, despite 64 new beds due to come into use at the start of 2019 thanks to £8.82m from the government.

Last winter there were long delays, and Dr Richard Fawcett, from the hospital, apologised via Twitter for "third world conditions" in his hospital department.

At the time, University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust responded by saying it had been under "severe and sustained pressure over the Christmas period" and this had "continued into the new year".

Firefighters spent about 10 hours tackling the fire on Mustang Drive.

Alex Hamilton
BBC Weather

Today will see early rain giving way to sunny intervals and showers, some heavy with the chance of thunder.

Showers may merge back into some longer spells of rain later in the day. Rather windy.

Express and Star

The Express and Star is covering these stories this morning:

• Green belt scrapyard boss told to pay back £150k, external
• How Wolverhampton doctor faced first ever gas attack in First World War, external
• Tributes paid to ‘inspirational’ Walsall woman with 'heart of gold', external

Lee Thomas
Newsreader, BBC Radio Stoke

More than 30 firefighters have battled a blaze at a workshop overnight.

Image source, Staffordshire Fire Service

They were called to a Jaguar Land Rover site on Mustang Driver, Stafford, just before 20:00 yesterday evening. , external

The fire service says the fire involved two cars in the workshop and damaged around a third of the building, although no-one's been hurt.

Alex Hamilton
BBC Weather

It's started off cloudy and rainy for much of the West Midlands today but that could change later on, here's the full forecast for today:

If you want a latest weather forecast for your area at any other time, head to the BBC Weather website.

Samuel Kelly sentenced to seven years after punching Liam Roche in McDonald's disorder.

Rich Davis
BBC Weather presenter

Rain is expected to work its way in from the west through tonight, with a few heavy bursts of rain and lows of 11C (52F).

A man has been found guilty of manslaughter after his victim later died of brain injuries following a confrontation at a McDonald's in Tamworth.

Samuel Kelly, 25, from Coventry Road, Kingsbury, was convicted by a jury after a trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court.

Image source, Staffordshire Police

Staffordshire Police said Kelly had been described as "drunk and angry at everyone" by one witness at the takeaway on Ventura Park in Tamworth on 22 January.

His victim, Liam Roche, died of head injuries in hospital 11 days after being punched in the head by Kelly.

Kelly was sentenced yesterday.

A children's home worker accused of sexually assaulting boys used his connections with Manchester United to "buy a form of silence", a court heard.

Image source, PA

Bruce McLean, 62, was friends with footballers in the 1970s and 1980s and would take his alleged victims to the club's training ground "as a treat", Chester Crown Court was told.

The alleged abuse happened when he worked at care homes in Whaley Bridge, Derbyshire, and Knutsford, Cheshire.

Mr McLean, of Moore, Cheshire, is charged with indecent assault, buggery and attempted buggery.

He denies 33 offences against boys aged seven to 14 between 1974 and 1991.

The trial continues.

Reindeer are seen being kicked, abused and neglected in undercover footage shot at centres across the country.