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From Saturday 28th Feb - Friday
5th March
2004
(days in
reverse order)
Friday
5th March 2004
Town
centre site becomes nature reserve An area of marshland in Stafford town centre
has been awarded the status of a nature reserve. Kingsmead Marsh runs parallel
to the Queensway dual carriageway. It is a large wetland area and boasts a wide
variety of wildlife. The marsh is first of five areas in Staffordshire that are
to become nature reserves and benefit from extra protection as a result.
Elderly
woman attacked and robbed An 85-year-old woman is recovering in hospital after
she was injured in a "vicious" and "cowardly" attack in Burslem in Stoke-on-Trent.
Read
the full story from BBC News
First
for faiths A prison chaplain at Dovegate prison in East Staffordshire has
been recognised for his work developing better relationships between inmates from
different faiths. Hanif Khan is the first Islamic head chaplain of a British prison.
He'll travel to Buckingham Palace later this month to pick up a Butlers Trust
Award for his work.
Warning of slower fire response times The Fire
Brigades Union is criticising government plans to set up a single control room
for the five fire services covering the region. The merger would mean around 900,000
calls a year would go through to the new centre. The FBU is warning that response
times in Warwickshire, the West Midlands, Shropshire Staffordshire, Hereford and
Worcester, may become longer.
Uncertain future for adventure playground
The future of a north Staffordshire playground for children and young people
with special needs is at risk because of a lack of funding, according to its manager.
The announcement came on the day The Special Adventure Playground in Newcastle-under-Lyme
celebrates the 21st anniversary of its launch. The playground provides support,
education and has clubs for more than 200 children and young people each week.
Although it gets local authority grants and donations from organisations and businesses
the team say more money is needed for it to survive.
Thursday
4th March 2004
Seven
charged after police raids Staffordshire police charge seven men with violent
disorder following a clash between Stoke City fans and Sheffield Wednesday supporters.
Read
the full story from BBC News
Arms factory explosions Several homes in part of Alsager in South
Cheshire were rocked by an explosion last night. Six kilos of gunpowder in a vacuum
extraction system exploded just after 11pmin an annexe at the back of the main
building of the Royal Ordnance ammunition factory at Radway Green. The annexe
was all but destroyed and local people said the blast could be felt up to two
miles away.
Beckhams give wheelchair to girl
David and Victoria Beckham pay for a new electric wheelchair for a 16-year-old
Nicola Haigh, from Leek. Read
the full story from BBC News
Wednesday
3rd March 2004
GMC probes
Munchausen's doctor Consultant
paediatrician Professor David Southall, of North Staffordshire Hospital
faces investigation into allegations he wrongly diagnosed child abuse, BBC News
has learned. Read
the full story from BBC News
Woman sexually assaulted in park A 19-year-old woman has been seriously
sexually assaulted
as she walked in Hanley Park between the pavilion and The Parkway
about 1620 GMT on Wednesday. Read
the full story from BBC News
Dog poo mess - solved? Maurice Garbett,
from Burntwood has invented a new device called the Pooch Seven Stick which
collects dog waste in a funnel attached to an adjustable walking stick. The biodegradable
funnel, which will cost thirty five pence, is then thrown away and a new one fitted.
The inventor already has his first order - for an exhibitor at Crufts.
Tuesday 2nd March 2004
Hednesford
through Nearly seven hundred fans turned out on a cold night to watch as Hednesford
Town's unexpected Cup run went on: they defeated Hornchurch in the FA
Trophy Sixth Round with goals from Danks,
Brindley and McGhee. Final score was 3-1 and sees them through to the semi-finals.
The match had been postponed from the weekend because of the Town's frozen pitch.
Unusual home for rent Knoll Tower in Weston Park in Staffordshire
is the last of four projects to be restored on the estate. It's now been extended
to accommodate modern day living in a building dating back to 1883. The tower
has views to Wales, and costs just £600 a month.
Supermarket police hold suspect A man is arrested at a Tunstall, Stoke-on-Trent
supermarket where a police road show was being staged. Read
the full story from BBC News
Appeal in hunt for sex offender
Police issue a photo as they try to trace a sex offender who has been working
in Tamworth under the name "Gordon Milton". Read
the full story from BBC News
Council launches text message scheme
A new scheme has been launched by Stoke-on-Trent city council to make it easier
for people to get in touch. Residents can now contact the council by text. People
in the area will be able to use the service for simple questions about anything
from roadworks to council tax. The text team will try to answer the inquiry within
an hour and it will mean anyone with a mobile phone can access the council at
the touch of a button.
Do
you want smoking? People in East Staffordshire are being asked if they'd like
to see smoking banned in public places. The survey, which covers the whole of
the East Midlands is thought to be one of the first of its kind in the country
as part of The Big Smoke Debate.
Meanwhile the Staffordshire-born
rock star Joe Jackson says he's returning to Britain after living in the USA.
He says the ban on smoking in bars in America was the final straw which made up
his mind. Jackson, who was born in Burton, has recorded a song outlining his protest
at what he's decribed as an attack on liberty. He says the case for any ill-health
caused by inhaling other people's smoke is not proven.
Monday 1st March 2004
Meeting
organised to save train station Campaigners hoping to save a train station
in Stoke-on-Trent from closure are meeting to discuss a plan of action. Central
Trains, which runs Etruria station, want to close it because it claims not enough
people use it. The company is being supported by the Strategic Rail Authority.
But Transport 2000, which has organised the meeting at the Dudson Centre in Hanley,
said not enough was being done to encourage passenger numbers.
Labour
rebels 35 Labour MPs voted against the Government over plans to allow just
one appeal for failed asylum seekers. They included Gwyneth Dunwoody (Crewe &
Nantwich), and Mark Fisher (Stoke-on-Trent Central).
Britain's fattest areas revealed Stoke-on-Trent
is the eighth chubbiest area in Britain, an obesity league table reveals. Read
the full story from BBC News
Sunday
29th February 2004
Vicar's wedding trial
idea Father Richard Grigson from St Saviour's Smallthorne Church, Stoke-on-Trent,
is giving couples the chance to experience walking down the aisle in a bid to
halt the decline in church weddings. Read
the full story from BBC News
Wren church reopens One of the finest churches in the Midlands is reopening
today after being ravaged by insects. Deathwatch beetles were found at St Mary
the Virgin in Ingestre, a Wren church, four years ago. Parishioners raised half
a million pounds to help pay for a new roof.
Two
year restoration project ends An 17th century birdhouse at Ford Green
Hall in Stoke-on-Trent has been restored after £14,000 was spent on improvements
over a two year period. Read
the full story from BBC News
Restaurant
leaps at it One restaurant in
Stoke on Trent was helping
Cupid along today as today, the 29th of February, is traditionally
the day when - once every four years - women can propose to men. Denry's restaurant
in Burslem was reserving tables for women who want to ask their men the ultimate
question.
Prepare for rail misery Thousands of West Midlands train
passengers are being warned to brace themselves for weeks of misery as huge chunks
of the main line to London close down for crucial upgrading. But Network Rail,
which is responsible for the £8 billion upgrade of the problem-plagued line,
today put a brave face on the chaos to come. The company said the long-term gain
would be faster journey times and more frequent services.
The West Coast Line
will come to a virtual standstill during the Easter break with a swathe of track
between Stafford and Rugby being upgraded.
Saturday
28th February 2004
Euro hope dashed One Staffordshire
man saw his hopes of Euro-glory dashed, as a band from London failed to win the
British heat for the Eurovision Song contest. John Pickering from Stoke on Trent
wrote the song Leading Me On which was sung by contestants Hyrise.
See all
about Hyrise on BBC Eurovision Song
FULL
ARCHIVE OF 2002, 2003 & 2004 STORIES - CLICK
HERE
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Stoke and Staffordshire
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Stoke-on-Trent
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