A man has been charged over an explosion at New Ferry, Wirral, which seriously injured two people and hurt 31 others on 25 March last year.

Pascal Blasio, 56, of Gillingham, Kent, has been charged with causing an explosion likely to endanger life. He has been released on bail and is due to appear at Wirral Magistrates' Court on 4 April.

Contract Natural Gas Limited, an independent gas supplier to business customers, has also been charged with an offence under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

The company is accused of failing to ensure a redundant live gas service was disconnected between 22 August 2012 and 25 March of last year after a meter was removed.

France's president vows to prevent another camp as hundreds of migrants continue to gather in Calais.

Jo Meeke planned a home birth but ended up "really scared" in hospital as complications arose.

Lizzie Massey
BBC Live reporter

A plan to put up 12 miles (20km) of electricity pylons from Richborough to Canterbury in Kent is still going ahead despite construction firm Carillion going into liquidation.

The Richborough Connection Project, being delivered by the construction firm, is a cross-Channel power link.

A spokesman for the National Grid said it has "contingency plans in place for all its projects with Carillion".

It will use alternative suppliers if necessary "to keep any disruption to a minimum".

A man is being sought by police after an elderly woman using a mobility scooter had her handbag snatched.

The 81-year-old was in Church Street, in Steyning, West Sussex, when the man ran towards her and grabbed the bag from a basket on the front of the scooter.

It happened just before midday on 10 January while the victim was outside The Model Bakery.

Afterwards, the suspect ran off towards Jarvis Lane via an alleyway passing through Steyning Grammar School.

The light blue handbag was later found dumped in a garden in Jarvis Lane with £125 cash missing.

Sussex Police said the man was described as white, aged 18 to 20, between 5ft 10in and 6ft 1in tall, and of thin build.

He was wearing a grey hooded top, with the hood raised, and grey jeans.

Bob Dale
BBC Live reporter

There's concern for a 15-year-old girl who went missing from Eastbourne at the weekend.

Yasmin Price hasn't been seen since 17:30 GMT on 13 January, when she left her home in Harold Drive.

Police say she often spends time in large supermarkets and could have travelled to Brighton.

Image source, Sussex Police

Sue Nicholson
BBC News

Image source, PA

Drug users have been warned about taking a strong club drug which forms part of an ecstasy pill after a man collapsed in West Sussex at the weekend.

The 22-year-old had taken a pill, believed to be MDMA, in Petworth, and was taken ill in Market Square early on Sunday morning.

Sussex Police said he was taken to hospital in a serious condition, but he had since improved and was recovering.

Det Con Andrea Watts said the pill was an orange 'Tesla' tablet.

MDMA is the base that ecstasy is made from before it is mixed with other chemicals to form a tablet.

A 23-year-old man and a 17-year-old boy were arrested in connection with the supply of the drug, and were later released under investigation.

More technology is being considered at a Sussex crossing, but residents say it is still not safe enough.

Bob Dale
BBC Live reporter

Are you considering a mid-life career change? There's an educational charity recruiting in Sussex that would love to hear from you.

Bob Dale
BBC Live reporter

A member of staff at Mascalls Academy in Paddock Wood is in hospital with meningitis and septicaemia.

The school says it has notified the authorities, but because the bacterial form of the condition is generally only passed to immediate family, the academy will continue to operate as normal.

However, parents are being warned to watch out for symptoms including fever, vomiting, drowsiness or severe headache or muscle pain.

It also says any parents with concerns should get in touch.

Ben Weisz
Political reporter, BBC Sussex

A former Tory councillor on Lewes District Council has been forced to apologise for behaving in a disrespectful and intimidating way.

In September at a meeting of Telscombe Town Council it was claimed Councillor David Neave had used obscene language towards the Conservative leader Andy Smith in an email.

Mr Neave resigned from the party and joined the Independents, creating a hung council at Lewes.

At a meeting of the standards panel Mr Neave accepted his comments were inappropriate.

His punishment is to write a letter apologising, and if he feels angry in a future council meeting, he should give himself time out until he has calmed down.

It is worth noting the district council does not have powers to ask for anything tougher than that letter.

Melissa Bird Ednie says her anxiety and depression completely disappear when she takes photos.

Yasmine Djadoudi
BBC Live reporter

The daughter of a woman killed in a house fire last week in Broadstairs says she's still struggling to believe her mother has gone.

Image source, Getty Images

The Argus, external: ‘I was hounded for months over benefits’

Kent Online, external: Southeastern and Southern trains voted among worst services in Britain

Surrey Mirror, external: Bare-knuckle fighter armed with samurai sword and mallet among 435 people listed as potential risks to Surrey County Council staff

Hastings Observer, external: Sussex people urged to buy a band and support World Cancer Day

Mid Sussex Times, external: Employee forced into fridge-freezer during armed robbery at golf club

Worthing Herald, external: Man hit by train at Durrington railway station

Chichester Observer, external: Missing Bosham man found

Kent Live, external: Kent County Council is set to increase bills by the maximum allowed - here's how much more you'll have to pay

Brighton and Hove News, external: Crash blamed for bigger rush-hour jam than usual in Woodingdean while roadworks clog up Hove

Eastbourne Herald, external: Eastbourne MP calls for inquiry into Carillion as thousands of jobs put at risk

West Sussex County Times, external: Village Jaguar garage targeted by thieves

Brighton and Hove Independent, external: Police investigate alleged sexual assaults on New Year’s Eve

The man was hit over the head, then forced into an industrial fridge-freezer and tied up.

Bob Dale
BBC Live reporter

A member of staff at a golf club needed hospital treatment after being attacked by armed robbers and locked in an industrial freezer.

The 55-year-old was hit over the head and put in the industrial unit by three men, wearing hoodies, at Hassocks Golf Club.

The gang, who were all carrying weapons including a hammer, had demanded to know where the safe was, and broke into the office, but only escaped with the man's wallet and mobile phone.

Image source, Google

The man managed to escape using the freezer's release button, and was treated in hospital for a cut to his head.

It happened at 20:15 GMT on 13 January.

Julia Brown was unable to escape from her three-storey home in Broadstairs.

Emma Shirley sued King's College Hospital after she suffered brain damage following surgery.

Image source, PA

A woman who suffered brain damage after contracting an infection following surgery has been awarded a £1.6m NHS payout.

Emma Shirley, 42, from Dover, had an operation to remove a brain tumour at King's College Hospital, London, in 2010.

But, following the surgery, she suffered headaches and scans revealed she had an abscess and fluid on her brain.

She later suffered a seizure and has been left with epilepsy, weakness on her right side and cognitive, memory and language impairment.

She sued King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, which agreed to settle her claim, and the settlement was approved by Judge Patrick Curran QC at the High Court on Monday.

Hamish Mureddu-Reid
BBC News Online, South East

The Bishop of Chichester, the Right Reverend Martin Warner, has taken his seat in the House of Lords.

Bishop Warner was formally introduced to the house at the start of business.

He said: "I look forward to joining others from Sussex who serve in both houses at Westminster, and to sharing in the Church of England’s contribution to the national life through parliament.”

In December Bishop Warner apologised for the way the church had investigated child abuse claims against former Bishop of Chichester George Bell, who died in 1958.

A report, external into the handling of the case criticised the Church's actions, describing its process as "deficient".

Image source, Diocese of Chichester