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From Saturday 27th March
- Friday 2nd April 2004
(days
in reverse order)
Friday
2nd April 2004
Islanders debate tortoise's move The
Handley family from Nantwich in south Cheshire are waiting on top
level talks which are taking place on St Helena in the South Atlantic over whether
their pet tortoise, named Blitzen, can move with them to the island. See
full story from BBC News
Thursday
1st April 2004
Officer stationed at university Staffordshire University is to get its
own police officer. The police say students are often more vulnerable to crime
and sometimes are not as careful when it comes to security. The university has
helped to fund the new recruit who will act as a dedicated contact if students
are the victim of a crime or need advice.
Ann back The Conservatives leadership has restored the whip to
the Congleton MP Ann Winterton. She was expelled from the Conservative Parliamentary
Party after making a joke about the deaths of cocklers at Morecambe Bay. Ann Winterton
insists that the incident five weeks ago was reported inaccurately and out of
context - but has now apologised unreservedly to the Tory leader Michael Howard.
Staffs Regiment to lose identity? Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon
today refused to rule out the prospect that some infantry regiments could be merged
- or axed altogether - as part of the "re-balancing" of the Armed Forces. There
has been speculation that the changes will mean some regiments could be cut or
merged - including The Black Watch, The Royal Scots and The King's Own Scottish
Borderers in Scotland as well as the Staffordshire Regiment. Pressed by MPs for
an assurance that there would be no cuts or mergers, Mr Hoon bluntly refused.
It's no April Fool Elvis fans are supporting the
landlord of the Jolly Potter pub in Newcastle
today. Tony Bibby is donning the white jumpsuit and flexing his vocals for a sixty
hour, Elvis singathon. He's raising money for the Special Care Baby Unit at the
University Hospital of North Staffordshire.
Mystery over tyre
slashing spree Residents in Stafford wake up to find more than 150 cars have
had their tyres slashed on five roads in the city. See
full story from BBC News
Wednesday
31st March 2004
Rail to get £14m a day to improve Network Rail says
it will double the track along the Lichfield Trent Valley line as one of the projects
aimed at improving the running times of trains across the country. See
full story from BBC News
Man arrested over street murder A 20-year-old man is arrested in connection
with the death of a restaurant owner Ray Mo who was found stabbed outside his
business. See
full story from BBC News
Postman injured in gas explosion A postman is lucky to be alive after a
massive explosion at the Air Products depot in Stoke on Trent destroys the van
he was sitting in. See
full story from BBC News
Couple jailed for fatal shop fire A husband and wife,
Cinar and Sibel Kemelzade, are jailed after Colin Salt was killed in an explosion
at a newsagent's in Stoke-on-Trent. See
full story from BBC News
Tuesday
30th March 2004
Police seize large ecstasy haul A 25-year-old man appears in court after
officers seize £30,000 worth of ecstasy tablets in Stoke on Trent. See
full story from BBC News
Murder
victim is named by police A 57-year-old man found dead behind the Arch Chinese
restaurant is named as Ray Mo, the owner. See
full story from BBC News
Labour
rebels 57 Labour MPs rebelled against the Government over its plans for higher
student tuition fees. They included Gwyneth Dunwoody (Crewe & Nantwich) and Mark
Fisher (Stoke-on-Trent Central).
Lottery cash saves playground
An adventure playground in Staffordshire used by hundreds of children with special
needs has been saved by a last minute grant from the National Lottery. The £125,000
donation from the Community Fund will fund the playground, in Stanier Street,
Newcastle-under-Lyme, for the next two years. Bosses say it will give them more
time to convince local authorities of their case for funding.
Bridget Speirs,
the playground manager, said they breathed a sigh of relief when they secured
the grant.
New camera vans to watch speeders
Motorists in Staffordshire are targeted by more £30,000 mobile speed camera vans.
See
full story from BBC News
Monday
29th March 2004
Body find sparks murder inquiry Staffordshire Police have launched a murder
inquiry after a man's body was found behind a Chinese restaurant in Newcastle-under-Lyme.
The discovery was made near the Arch Restaurant in Brunswick Street, shortly after
0300 in the early hours of Sunday morning. See
full story from BBC News
Zoo
denies keeper death charges Zoo boss Professor Gordon Reid has denied breaking
safety laws after the death of a zoo keeper. Richard Hughes of Stoke-on-Trent
died nine days after being struck by cow elephant Kumara at Chester Zoo on 8 February,
2001. See
full story from BBC News
Digger
firm's factory milestone Digger firm JCB is celebrating after its 500,000th
machine rolled off its Staffordshire production line. See
full story from BBC News
Ingestre
re-opens A 17th Century church designed by Sir Christopher Wren has reopened
nearly four years after being closed by an infestation of death watch beetles.
Parishioners returned to The Church of St Mary in Ingestre, Staffordshire, yesterday
following a £580,000 repair programme. The Grade One-listed building is
thought to be the only church outside London designed by Wren.
Its doors
were closed in April 2000 after a report into the state of the roof beams concluded
that they could collapse due to the damage wrought by the beetles, whose larvae
live in and feed on timber. Oak timbers were replaced by steel reinforcements
and the ornate ceiling plaster was also restored.
Sunday
28th March 2004
Cancer deceit footballer in clear The
former Tamworth Football Club player Nick Colley,
who raised thousands of pounds in donations after falsely claiming he had cancer,
will not be prosecuted for his actions. See
full story from BBC News
Saturday
27th March 2004
Hednesford lead Hednesford Town produced a terrific performance to claim
a two goal first leg lead against a team 35 places above them in the non-league
pyramid. Aldershot Town were strong favourites to take a big lead into next Saturday's
second leg at Keys Park, but were stunned when the Pitmen won 0-2.
Charlotte
is top of the pops Fourteen
finalists lined up at the Victoria Hall in Stoke-on-Trent all wanting to be Staffordshire
Popstar 2004
, but it was Charlotte Dunn who walked
away with the title. See
Full Story
Just a match away Defending champions Cannock snatched
back the English Hockey Premier Division lead in the penultimate match of the
season, defeating previous incumbents Reading 4-3 at home. However, as the difference
between the top two sides is only a point, the title race will go down to the
final day of the season on April 17th when Cannock go to Old Loughtonians and
Reading host Hampstead & Westminster.
Wireless internet for bookworms
Staffordshire libraries could soon be lending laptops so visitors can browse
the internet, as well as the bookshelves. See
full story from BBC News
East Staffs
boat race Rowers in Burton held their own version of the 150th Oxford and
Cambridge boat race today. Members of the Burton Leander Rowing Club which is
more than 155 years old are rowing for 24 hours to raise money for a major re-vamp
of the Boathouse costing £160,000.
FULL
ARCHIVE OF 2002, 2003 & 2004 STORIES - CLICK
HERE
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