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From Saturday 10th
- Friday 16th April 2004
(days
in reverse order)
Friday
16th April 2004
Reward offered to catch
bus vandals A bus enthusiast from Leek whose coach has been vandalised is
offering a reward to find those responsible. Chris Hadley has been renovating
the coach for the past few months and was hoping to have it ready by August. But
paint has been splashed all over the side and the back window smashed. Mr Hadley
says he does not understand why people would want to cause damage.
Council
officer defended Stoke on Trent's elected Mayor has defended a senior council
officer who withheld information about the closure of Royal Doulton's Nile Street
factory. The shutdown will cost more than five hundred jobs. Bob Collins was told
by the company about the potential closure two weeks beforehand, but was sworn
to secrecy because of commercial sensitivity. The Conservative leader, Roger Ibbs,
criticised Mr Collins at a council meeting yesterday. But the Mayor, Mike Wolfe,
says there's no way he could have released such information.
Thursday
15th April 2004
Seven
held over £35m drugs haul Three men from Staffordshire are among those arrested
by police investigating the discovery of 7.2 tons of cannabis. See
full story from BBC News
Banned
driver caused double fatal A coroner calls for inquiry after a motorist with
dementia was allowed to continue driving, killing himself and Alex Dunkley, 30,
from Stafford. See
full story from BBC News
Motorcycle
injuries at all time high More people are being injured in motorcycle accidents
in Stoke-on-Trent than ever before according to the city council. The authority
has launched a campaign designed to make both bike riders and drivers more aware
of the dangers. It says young people on low-powered bikes are the biggest casualties,
largely due to their inexperience.
Power cut hits homes Thousands of homes across parts of Staffordshire were
left in the dark after electricity supplies were cut. The latest blackout in Cannock
is one of many in the area over the last six weeks. Last night's power cut affected
5,675 homes in Cannock, Hednesford, Heath Hayes and Hazelslade. Although many
supplies were lost only for a second, some which went off at 10.35pm did not return
until 12.40am today.
Family's holiday a VIP occasion
Melissa Ayres, from Meir in Stoke-on-Trent gets the red carpet treatment
after becoming Tenerife's 150 millionth holiday visitor. See
full story from BBC News
Wednesday
14th April 2004
More delays for drivers on the M6
Drivers using the M6 in Staffordshire are warned emergency resurfacing work
could cause further delays. See
full story from BBC News
Jobs hope
at pet superstore The UK's largest chain of pet shops, Cheshire-based Pets
at Home, is planning to open new stores with the creation of 500 jobs. See
full story from BBC News
New survey
could help doomed station A new survey could help to save a railway station
in Stoke-on-Trent from closing. The Strategic Rail Authority wants to close Etruria
Station but transport campaigners and the city council are fighting to keep it
open. Stoke-on-Trent City Council has commissioned its own survey to find out
how many people use it and how it could be improved. The council said a positive
response will strengthen its campaign to save the station
Tuesday 13th April 2004
 Crying
over spilt ... paint Motorists faced lengthy delays after a lorry shed its
load of paint near Stoke-on-Trent. The Central Motorway Police Group (CPMG) said
the accident had forced officers to close the southbound M6 at junction 16 for
safety reasons. Diversions linking junction 16 with junction 15 were set
up after the spillage, which happened at about 0900 BST.
The closure
forced traffic onto the nearby A500 and A34 but the junction of the two roads
at the Hanchurch Island saw a lorry load of 16,000 loaves of bread overturned
there at lunchtime, and both roads came to a virtual standstill until late evening.
Were you in it all? Want
to make a comment?
Hospital wants to reduce 'long weekends'
Staff at a Staffordshire hospital are taking more Fridays or Mondays off sick
than any other weekday according to their latest figures. The human resources
department at University Hospital of North Staffordshire, who conducted the report,
says the results are "striking." It says days being taken off for short term sickness
- three days or less -are before or after weekends. The hospital says it has a
lot of work to do to improve the situation.
So close - but so far Cannock
Hockey Club had to settle for silver in the European Cup-Winners' Cup after their
hopes were dashed late on in Holland.
The Staffordshire side were leading
2-1 with 40 seconds to go when Eindhoven's host club Oranje Zwart equalised after
a succession of debatable decisions had allowed them to maintain possession around
the circle. With no extra-time to be played the match went straight to penalty
strokes and the current English Premier Division leaders missed their first two
and eventually lost 4-2.
Earlier, having trailed 1-0 at half-time, set-piece
specialist Simon Ramsden scored two penalty corners within seven minutes midway
through the second half to put Cannock in control.
No cunning plan
The television presenter and actor Tony Robinson says he has absolutely no
intention to stand as a Labour MP in Stoke-on-Trent. Newspaper reports over the
weekend suggest the former Blackadder star is planning to put himself forward
as a candidate in Stoke-on-Trent South. Speaking to BBC Radio Stoke, he said he
has no cunning plan...
Monday
12th April 2004
Chief Constable opens up his
home The Chief Constable of Staffordshire is giving people a guided tour of
his home. John Giffard's family owns Chillington Hall near Brewood. It stands
in thousands of acres and the park and lake which was landscaped by Capability
Brown. Mr Giffard said it was steeped in history.
Bank
Holiday blaze Fire crews worked through the day and night as flames engulfed
50 tonnes of straw in Lichfield. The fire, in a field off Gravelly Lane, Lower
Stonnall, was finally brought under control after four hours.
Sunday
11th April 2004
Passion misinterpreted
The Bishop of Lichfield has used his first ever internet Easter message to
say that the Jews weren't to blame for the death of Jesus. The Right Reverend
Jonathan Gledhill's used his online message to talk about the new Mel Gibson film
The Passion of The Christ. The Bishop says some Christians misunderstand what
happened.
Ray runs A paramedic from Staffordshire ambulance
service is preparing to run a marathon a day for nearly three weeks to raise money
for charity. Ray Edensor begins by running the Paris marathon this weekend. He'll
then run back to Blackpool, via London, carrying a rucksack weighing thirty pounds.
He says it's going to be exhausting but he hopes to raise fifty thousand pounds
for terminally ill children. See full
story
Toby to stand? There's speculation that a man known
for his costumed role in one of the BBCs most famous comedies could become an
MP in Stoke on Trent. A Sunday Newspaper has claimed Tony Robinson - who played
Baldrick in the TV comedy Blackadder - wants to succeed George Stevenson who's
standing down at the next general election. But Mr Stevenson, the outgoing MP
for Stoke-on-Trent South says he hopes his constituents won't have a new candidate
forced upon them.
Saturday 10th
April 2004
Man charged with conspiracy Colin Colley
from Stoke-on-Trent has been charged with conspiracy to cause grievous bodily
harm to Derbyshire riding instructor, Tania Moore, who was killed in March.
See
full story from BBC News
Bus company criticised Bus passengers
could find services in Staffordshire and Cheshire are disrupted after the operator
First was stripped of some of its licences. The transport commissioner's decided
the company hasn't been maintaining its fleet properly. First is now in talks
with Stoke-on-Trent City and Staffordshire County Councils about how to limit
the problems.
Cannock in Europe Cannock's hockey team has
guaranteed its first-ever European medals after victories today put them
into the finals of the Cup-Winners' Cup in Holland. The Staffordshire side beat
Germany's Crefelder 1-0 in Eindhoven thanks to Great Britain international Martin
Jones' 62nd-minute strike and will face hosts Oranje Zwart in the final.
Appeal after indecent exposure A man indecently exposed himself
and made lewd comments to a 59 year old woman as she walked along King Street,
in Kidsgrove at 0530 BST on Friday 9th April 2004. See
full story from BBC News
Tenants to vote on housing bosses More
than 6,000 council house tenants are being asked to vote on who runs the housing
stock in Stafford. See
full story from BBC News
FULL
ARCHIVE OF 2002, 2003 & 2004 STORIES - CLICK
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