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From Saturday 1st
- Friday 7th May 2004
(days
in reverse order)
Friday
7th May 2004
Man found dead in building named
Police have named the man whose body was discovered in a derelict building in
Stoke-on-Trent. 26-year-old Matthew Lawrence Payne was found at an address in
York Street, Hanley on Tuesday. Full
Story from BBC News
Six charged over officer's death Police
charge six people with a variety of offences over the death of 38-year-old father
of three John Needham, an off-duty officer who was struck by a lorry.
Full
Story from BBC News
Rodents leave bad taste in mouth The corpses
of two squirrels are found in the water tank of Christine and Bert Dean's home
in Stoke-on-Trent. Full
Story from BBC News
JCB fight to
keep house JCB is to make a new attempt to keep a house which it built without
planning permission.
Permission was originally granted to convert a barn on
the site near Denstone but JCB built a new house instead.
East Staffordshire
Borough Council told the company to knock it downand
have ordered immediate enforcement action which means they could move their own
team in to demolish the house without the owners consent.
Teacher jailed
for hooligan activities A schoolteacher from Stafford who was at the head
of a network of football hooligans was jailed today after conducting a violent
pre-planned brawl along a platform of a busy railway station. Dave Walker, head
of year at a Birmingham boys' school, dubbed himself "Three Lions" and played
a vital role in orchestrating fighting at Maze Hill, south east London, in April
2002. Walker, 37, posted messages on internet forums setting up the confrontation,
which left three men in hospital. Walker, of Stafford, was jailed for two years
and three months and the court was told the history teacher, who works at Turves
Green Boys' Technology College, is likely to lose his job.
Charges
over death of police officer Five people from Stoke-on-Trent and one from
Derbyshire have been charged over the death of a policeman when he was out cycling.
Father-of three John Needham was a detective constable with Derbyshire police,
but was off duty on August 3rd last year and was taking part in a cycling time
trial on the A50 when a lorry hit him. Now six people have been charged over his
death including a lorry driver from Stoke-on-Trent who is accused of causing death
by dangerous driving and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.The six have
all been bailed to appear at Derby Magistrates' Court on June 14th.
Titanic
memorabilia goes on show An exhibition of artefacts, photographs and plans
from the world's most famous liner will be on display in Stoke-on-Trent. The Titanic
World Class Collection will be at the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery throughout
May. The touring exhibition has chosen Hanley because it was the birthplace of
the ship's captain. Chairman of the exhibition, Sir Rodney Walker, says the collectors
have tried to paint the complete picture, from the liner's very beginning through
to its fateful end. See Full
Story
Thursday 6th May 2004
Lorry hijack gang e-fit released Police issue an e-fit of two men who abducted
a lorry driver near Lichfield last Wednesday and left him tied up at the side
of a road. Full
Story from BBC News
Probe launched into slurry spill The Environment
Agency considers whether action will be taken after slurry leaked into a river
near Rudyard in north Staffordshire. Full
Story from BBC News
Sex shop plan for Crewe? Just months after
a controversial proposal for a new sex shop in Crewe was withdrawn, licensing
bosses are being asked to consider another one. Some church leaders and residents
in Crewe campaigned against last year's licence application for a sex shop on
Market Street, but the proposal was withdrawn. Now Andrew Berry from A and M supplies
in Saddleworth plans to sell sex aids and pornography from Nantwich Road, one
of Crewe's main shopping areas. People have around three weeks to object if they
so wish, but a licence can only be refused if there are already too many sex shops
in the area or if the premises or applicant is unsuitable.
Dead man
named Police have named a man found dead in a derelict building in Stoke-on-Trent
as a twenty six year-old who had been living in Hanley. Matthew Lawrence Payne's
body was found by paramedics in the former Tulips Bar on York Street in Hanley
on Tuesday afternoon. He was originally from Buckinghamshire. A man who had been
arrested was released on bail yesterday.
Staying good A pioneering
scheme to stop young people in Staffordshire re-offending is proving a success.
The Delayed Final Warning Scheme, run by Stoke on Trent's Youth Offending Service
and Staffordshire police is one of only a handful in the country.
The scheme
was launched in January last year and works with under 17s who've committed a
second offence. They're visited by an officer from the Youth Offending Team, who
offers them a number of different options. These range from meeting their victim,
writing them a letter of apology, doing a course on the dangers of their crime
or help with drink or drug problems they might have. In its first year, the scheme
has brought re-offending rates down from 57% to less than 32%.
Wednesday
5th May 2004
Body found in derelict building
Police arrest a man in connection with the discovery of a man's body in a derelict
building in Stoke-on-Trent. Full
Story from BBC News
Double death crash youth jailed 17-year-old
Daniel Tombs, who was racing a stolen car near Lichfield, is sentenced to five
years for causing the deaths of two people in a head-on car crash. Full
Story from BBC News
County flower
chosen The latest list of county flowers, as selected by Plantlife International,
the Wild-Plant conservation charity, has been published. The Staffordshire plant,
rather surprsingly, is.. Heather
See Staffordshire's
County Flower
Bad heroin around Police in Stoke-on-Trent
are warning that a batch of contaminated heroin is on sale in the city. Officers
say in the last 24 hours there has been four cases where users seem to have overdosed.
Officers dealt with 4 cases where users seemed to have overdosed or where suffering
severe after effects.
Footy-mad gnomes A Staffordshire company
is hoping to score a winner with sports fans after launching a range of garden
gnomes wearing the strips of top football clubs. The Uttoxeter-based company electrical
contracting firm D&T UK Ltd is expecting orders to flood in for the hand-painted
gnomes once word gets around; and is preparing for a busy summer with an England
gnome planned to coincide with Euro 2004.
McPhee sweeps the board
 Port
Vale's Player of the Year Award was dominated by one player: Steve McPhee. The
club's top scorer picked up three awards, the Away Travel, the Executive Travelling
Valiants, and the Player of the Year title itself, beating off competition from
George Pilkington and Michael Cummins to win the title. Billy Paynter picked up
the Young Player of the Year Award, while Danny Holes was given the Youth Player
of the Year accolade. There were also honours for Chairman Bill Bratt, who won
the Supporters Trust Supporter of the Year, groundsman Steve Speed, who was given
a special award by the Chairman himself, and club physio Andy Jackson, who was
awarded Clubman of the Year. Other winners included ex goalkeeper John Poole,
voluntary worker Joan Stanway and MP Joan Whalley for her work during the club's
administration.
Stoke City are champs Walsall's reserves drew
one-all at Sheffield United and so handed the Pontins Premier Division title to
Stoke City's title chasing reserve side. Stoke and Tranmere also played and both
won this afternoon, meaning Stoke are champions.
Universities team
up to ease skill shortages Staffordshire and Keele Universities are working
on a new project to encourage more people into university education.
The
universities are teaming up with further education colleges and the development
agency Advantage West Midlands for the "Full Circle" project. The plan is to set
up more hands-on degrees designed to ease skill shortages in Staffordshire. It
will also encourage graduates to take up jobs with local companies.
Tuesday
4th May 2004
£20m plan for valley regeneration
A £20m project which has the potential to create nearly 5,000 jobs at the Chatterley
Valley, near Tunstall in north Staffordshire, is to be submitted to planners this
month. See Full
Story from BBC News
Trial about to begin A jury is being selected
today to try a New York man accused of killing his British-born wife and trying
to cover his tracks by saying it was suicide. Eric Rose, 45, is accused of shooting
his 52-year-old wife Wendy in the head. Police initially believed that Mrs Rose,
from Kidsgrove, North Staffordshire, had killed herself. But forensic tests revealed
that she had three bullet wounds - one to her back and two to the head, including
the one which killed her. Financial planner Rose, who lived with his wife on New
York's Long Island, was charged with second degree murder.
Teachers
face sack More than 100 redundancy notices have been issued by Staffordshire's
education authority to teachers and support staff. Falling rolls in the county
schools have led to the 107 notices being issued. But Staffordshire County Council
anticipates that only a small percentage of them will be acted on.
Monday
3rd May 2004
Saudi killing 'devastates' family
The partner of Michael McGillen, of Stoke-on-Trent, who was killed by militants
in Saudi Arabia says she is devastated at his death. See Full
Story from BBC News
County gears up for postal votes Two south
Cheshire councils, Crewe & Nantwich and Congleton Borough, are chosen as pilot
areas for postal elections in the Euro and local elections next month. See Full
Story from BBC News
Woman dies on M6 Toll A woman who caused the partial closure of
the M6 Toll road after falling from a bridge has been named. Angela Paine, aged
65, from Broad Lane in Essington, near Wolverhampton, died after falling from
a bridge onto the M6 Toll motorway near junction T6 at Burntwood. It happened
shortly before 4am, forcing police to close the road for more than three hours
while an investigation was launched. Officers are not treating Mrs Paine's death
as suspicious.
Man dies in house fire A 32-year-old man has died
in a fire at a house in Stoke-on-Trent. The incident happened in the early hours
of Monday in the Hanley area of the city. Fire crews found the man, who has not
been named, in a bedroom of the house, in Hazelhurst Street. Firefighters carried
out emergency first aid, and he was taken to hospital, but he was pronounced dead
on arrival there. The cause of the fire is being investigated
Sunday
2nd May 2004
Handful of arrests at dance event
A dance music festival at a Staffordshire stately home passed off peacefully,
according to police. Nearly 10,000 people attended the Wild in the Country event
at Shugborough Hall, near Rugeley, on Saturday. Two people were arrested on suspicion
of supplying controlled substances, while about 30 people were cautioned after
being caught with drugs. Staffordshire Police said there were no reported incidents
of nuisance, public disorder or drunkenness. Officers maintained a visible presence
on the estate and in surrounding villages. A force spokesperson said two people
would be brought before the courts in connection with the supply of drugs.
Saturday 1st May 2004
 BRAG
hits cameras Vandals have attacked a row of eight speed cameras in Staffordshire,
blacking out the lenses. The cameras lining the A51 between Sandon and Rugeley
have been daubed with spray paint and show the initials BRAG (see right).
The initials have not been identified.
This comes as figures out this week
show the number of drivers caught on camera in England and Wales during 2002 went
up by 41% to one-and-a-half million.
The police in Staffordshire say they're
surprised by the actions, and have said it will be difficult to catch the offenders.
See this site's Speed
Camera Pages
V Festival gig in Top Five A live performance
by Radiohead has been voted the greatest gig of all time, with the Staffordshire
V2003 Coldplay appearance also coming in the top five. The poll was compiled by
Q magazine.
The record for Britain's biggest rock concert is held by Robbie
Williams last year when he played to a total audience of 375,000 at the same venue
last year, but Robbie's concerts do not make the top 20.
FULL
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