Stoke & Staffordshire

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Watch our pick of standout clips from Stoke and Staffordshire

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  1. Two piles of brown-coloured offal on a main road, just before a traffic-light controlled pedestrian crossing. Cars can be seen manoeuvring

  2. Stoke name Higgins as new academy director

    Jack Higgins leans on a metal fence. He is wearing a grey T-shirt. There is a brick building behind him in the backgroundStoke City

    Stoke City have appointed Jack Higgins as the club's new academy director.

    The 34-year-old is a former head of education at Burnley and joins the Potters after spending the past six years as manager of the academy at League Two Fleetwood Town.

    In his time with the Cod Army, Higgins oversaw the development of their academy to Category Two status in 2023.

    Stoke sporting director Jonathan Walters said Higgins' experience of "building productive environments, developing players and connecting academy and first-team football" made him the "ideal person" for the job.

    "Over the last few months, we have taken time to look closely at our academy structure and how we can better support the development of young players throughout the club," Walters added.

    "We all recognise that the step from academy football to first-team football has become increasingly challenging in the modern game.

    "Our responsibility is to make that pathway as clear and consistent as possible."

    The club have also announced Sam Stockley will become head of professional development phase and take charge of the under-21 side.

    Stockley has been with Stoke for the past year having spent 14 years working in youth football in the USA.

  3. A woman with brown hair is wearing a yellow jumper and is pointing a control at a white air conditioned unit on a wall.

  4. A lightening bolt in the sky over Wombourne, Staffordshire

  5. Lowri Wright holds a trophy in one hand and a rosette and certificate in the other. She has long brown hair and is standing in front of signage saying Cheese Dairy Expo

  6. Ozzy Osbourne

  7. Tamworth sign Handley and Fogarty

    Tamworth have further bolstered their squad with the signings of defenders Tom Handley and Tommy Fogarty.

    Handley, 25, has arrived from Merthyr Town - he scored seven goals in 44 appearances for the National League North club last season.

    Fogarty, 21, was recently released by Birmingham City. He ended last season on loan at Morecambe.

    The arrivals take the number of Tamworth summer signings so far to six.

  8. Tommy Simkin, wearing a red Stoke City warm-up top, claps his hands together with goalkeeping gloves on before a game for the Potters.

  9. Djibril Soumare points at the camera with both hands and is wearing a black Stoke City hoodie

  10. A yellow gritting lorry at a depot

  11. A stock image of a classroom with chairs and tables with a blackboard in the background

  12. A hospital with ambulances parked outside it. The hospital building is several storeys high, and has red and yellow cladding on the lower part.

  13. Matthew Craig in action for Barnsley.

  14. A police car is parked on the road alongside a grassed hill. There are two large blocks of flats in the background.

  15. An artist impression of the planned development shows the homes surrounded by green fields with trees and bushes

  16. Tamworth sign duo Dyson and Bailey

    Oliver Dyson in action for Spennymoor TownGetty Images

    Oliver Dyson made 41 appearances for Spennymoor Town in National League North last season

    Tamworth have signed midfielder Oliver Dyson and left-back Joshua Bailey.

    Dyson, 26, who has previously featured for York City and Barrow, joins the National League side from Spennymoor Town.

    Bailey, 20, started his professional career with Shrewsbury Town and has joined Tamworth after an impressive season with Worcester City, where he scooped the players' player, supporters' player and young player of the season awards.

  17. New Stoke crest installed at bet365 Stadium

    A picture of Stoke City's new club crest. A shield showing a Staffordshire knot, the club's foundation date of 1863, their red and white stripes, and a kiln.Stoke City

    Stoke City have announced the club's new crest has been installed at bet365 Stadium.

    The Potters adopted a new design last summer following several months of consultation with fans and revealed a "phased" introduction at their home ground with similar updates to be made at their Clayton Wood training complex "over the coming seasons".

    At the time the club said the idea was to produce a crest "that is truly synonymous with Stoke City Football Club and the city of Stoke-on-Trent" and offered a choice between staying with the current one or adopting a new one.

    The alternative - a shield depicting a Staffordshire knot, the club's foundation date of 1863, their famous red and white stripes, and a kiln, in a nod to the area's link to the ceramic industry - received 68% of the vote.

    Stoke owner and chair John Coates said the new crest showed the "history, traditions, work ethic and togetherness" of the club and the city.

    "We can all look at the club crest and reflect that it truly represents what it means to be Stoke City," he said.

    "We are determined that our new crest will come to represent a new and successful era on and off the field.

    "Our supporters can be assured that, as the 2026-27 season approaches, we are all working relentlessly towards that aim."

    A picture of the outside of Stoke's home ground the bet365 Stadium showing the new badge in two locations on the wall.Stoke City

  18. A woman with long blonde hair and wearing a grey top, smiles as she sits at a table in a restaurant.

  19. Gordon Shovlin wears a navy blue vest with Great Britain written on the front in white lettering. He is bald with a white beard. He is pictured standing in a sports hall while other men play basketball behind him.

  20. Bishop of Northampton David James Oakley. He is wearing a black clerical gown and a pink skull cap.

  21. A police mugshot of Robert Alexander in a grey prison sweatshirt

  22. A woman with blonde hair and sunglasses in a white top holding a hand fan

  23. A police car with its boot open is parked across a road behind blue and white police tape. Police officers are talking to each other and inspecting the scene, by a pedestrian crossing with traffic lights. Other vehicles can be seen parked in the background.

  24. Kyle John in action for Port Vale. He is wearing the club's yellow and black striped away shirt