The Sentinel
SCHOOL’S IN!
A TODDLER who was placed on the urgent transplant list having been diagnosed with a life-threatening heart condition is now thriving at school after coming on in ‘leaps and bounds’. In 2023, one-year-old Lola Plimmer was diagnosed with dilated...
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FAMILIES PLAN ‘TILES’ TRIBUTE TO COVID VICTIMS
BEREAVED city families who lost loved-ones during the covid pandemic are creating tiles for a new memorial bench. Renowned Potteries artist Philip Hardaker will create the bench, fitted with dozens of the hand-crafted tributes. It will be installed at...
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‘URGENT’ NHS CARE WORSENS AS NEW CENTRE OPENS IN CITY
URGENT and emergency care performance worsened at Royal Stoke University Hospital last month – but a new centre is now treating patients with non-life-threatening conditions. The Urgent Treatment Centre aims to offer faster access to care for adults...
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79 ARRESTS TO STOP VIOLENCE AGAINST GIRLS AND WOMEN
ALMOST 80 suspects have been arrested as part of a county-wide operation to combat violence against women and girls. The Staffordshire police operation has seen a total of 79 arrests with 13 people being charged and 53 suspects given bail conditions...
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AIRPORT AND AIRLINE BLAMING EACH OTHER OVER CARE OF BOY, 9, WITH BROKEN ANKLE
A SINGLE mum has hit out at Manchester Airport after her injured son received ‘better disability support’ in a Turkish airport. Donna Gerrard and her nine-year-old son, Mason Whittaker, flew to Türkiye for a week-long holiday. But Mason fractured his...
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DAD ‘WHO COULDN’T GET AN AMBULANCE’ HAD CARDIAC ARREST ON WAY TO HOSPITAL
AN inquest has been opened and adjourned into the death of a dadof-two who was told ‘no ambulances were available’. A 999 call requesting an ambulance was made on June 27 after Craig Chapman, of Biddulph, complained of chest pain. But it has emerged...
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OCADO TO CREATE HUNDREDS OF JOBS AT CITY WAREHOUSE
ONLINE grocer Ocado is opening a Stoke-on-trent warehouse. The firm has snapped up the final unit on Indurent Park Stoke Central within Etruria Valley. Ocado has agreed a 15-year lease. It is hoped that the warehouse will be operational in...
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The real people who make the products you love
When you make that muchneeded cup of Nescafé, pour out a breakfast bowlful of Shreddies or enjoy a midmorning Kitkat treat, do you ever stop to think about where they came from? You probably know that these well-loved brands are all made by Nestlé....
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TIP TAP! #localandproud
A BEARTOWN Brewery taproom and an Italian restaurant are the latest businesses set to open in Stoke’s Goods Yard development. Beartown Brewery will operate a bar, café and taproom on the ground floor of the signal box. The Italian restaurant operator,...
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THUGS JAILED FOR TOTAL OF 24 YEARS AFTER BATTERING TWO EX-COPS
THREE men have been jailed for a total of 24 years after carrying out a vicious assault on two retired senior police officers. James Hopper, John Martin, and Adam Wright, above from left, reacted after the victims confronted Martin who had tried to...
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WHERE’S THE £120 MILLION TO HELP CITY POTBANKS?
POTTERY giant Portmeirion is predicted to ‘return to growth’ in 2027. Latest data shows revenue has fallen by 1.9 per cent to £36.4 million. It comes as pre-tax losses have grown further from £2.8 million to £4.5 million. Overhead costs have also...
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‘IT FEELS LIKE SOME OF THE NURSES DON’T CARE ABOUT DRUG ADDICTS’
A FORMER prison officer who uses monkey dust has accused the NHS of ‘discriminating’ against drug addicts. Sarah Rowlinson says she was denied food following an emergency admission to the Royal Stoke University Hospital. The 37-year-old was taken to...
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ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS CAUGHT RED-HANDED SELLING DRUGS
TWO illegal immigrants have been jailed for dealing drugs. Venancio Amorim and Wesley Da Silva Paiva were caught red-handed on April 27. Stoke-on-trent Crown Court heard the pair were caught selling cocaine in Newcastle and Stoke...
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340 JOBS ARE SET TO GO AT BET365
GAMBLING giant bet365 has announced around 340 job cuts across its European hubs. The shock news comes against a backdrop of the Festival Park-based company facing increased regulatory and tax related costs. bet365 has been hit by an increase in...
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PROPOSAL FOR NORTH STAFFS ‘SUPER COUNCIL’ PUT ON HOLD
THE Government will pause and review the planned overhaul of local councils in Staffordshire. All 10 councils in Stoke-on-trent and Staffordshire were due to be abolished and replaced with two new unitary authorities under local government...
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TRIBUTES TO ‘WONDERFUL SON’ STABBED IN STREET
A MAN who died after he was found with stab wounds in a Newcastle street has been named as Jamie Evans. His family say the 20-year-old, from Stone, was ‘a wonderful son, loving brother and doting uncle’. He was found by paramedics after the Ford...
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‘HE CAN’T READ OR WRITE & HAS BEEN LET DOWN BY THE SYSTEM’
DESPERATE mum Rebecca Rutter is accusing a council of ‘failing’ her child, who has had no formal education for nearly two years. Thirteen-year-old Dylan has not attended school since November 2024. He is unable to read or write due to learning...
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HARRIET, 19, ‘HAS LEFT A LEGACY OF KINDNESS’
GRIEVING relatives have paid tribute to an ‘exceptionally bright and determined’ teenager who died days after a smash. Harriet Boyles, from Stoke-ontrent, was a passenger in car that hit a tree in Lichfield. The 19-year-old, who has been described as...
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AND ON CRACK – NOW I HELP SOLVE THE UK’S FOOD WASTE CRISIS’
A FORMER crack cocaine user who spent more than a year sleeping rough has become one of the beating hearts of an organisation tackling the UK’S food waste crisis. Teresa Kemp, of Newcastle, is a Food Waste Hero for Olio, a money-saving app that...
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‘I was a teenage waitress at this pub 36 years ago – now I’m running it!
SHE was working as a waitress in a Newcastle pub – and 36 years later she’s in charge of it. Sarah Clarke is delighted to have taken over the town’s Cherry Tree, in London Road, where she worked as a teenager – especially as it’s had a big...
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Sam’s going global!
A Mum-of-four who left school with no GCSES and now ships products across the world has opened a stall in Hanley market. Sam Johnson – who describes herself as a ‘naughty kid’ – started Raynes Bubblez four years ago, selling online and promoting her...
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FAMILY OF HERO FIREFIGHTER WHO CHEATED DEATH IN PLEA AFTER BLAZE
A HERO firefighter who cheated death when hurt tackling a blaze that ripped through city homes has been discharged from hospital. The firefighter was left fighting for his life for a week before being moved from critical care. He was discharged on...
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COPS ARREST 35 IN OP TO TARGET DRUGS MENACE BLIGHTING CITY
POLICE have made 35 arrests in their latest crackdown on the monkey dust menace plaguing the streets of Stoke-on-trent. It comes as Staffordshire Police have seized 25 kilograms of the drug as well as firearms, weapons, and cash over a six month...
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COPS HUNTING 3 MASKED MEN WHO BURST INTO HOME OF MOTHER AND CHILD
DETECTIVES are hunting three men after a masked gang burst into a Potteries home and threatened a woman and child. Officers want to hear from anyone with CCTV following the early morning incident in Milton. Staffordshire Police say they had been...
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FIRESTARTERS TO BLAME FOR 2 MORE HUGE BLAZES IN CITY
DETECTIVES are hunting arsonists after two more huge fires were started in Stoke-on-trent. The Sentinel revealed on Saturday that an investigation is underway after a former nightclub on Hanley’s Trinity Street. Fire chiefs have now revealed it was...
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AMBULANCE HANDOVER DELAYS LINKED TO HEATWAVE
THIS summer’s heatwaves have hampered efforts to reduce ambulance handover delays in Staffordshire, hospital managers say. University Hospitals of North Midlands saw increased waits at A&E in June, with ambulances taking an average of one hour 22...
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POLICE IN APPEAL AS INQUIRY LAUNCHED INTO HUGE FIRE
FIVE fire crews battled flames and smoke after a ‘large’ blaze broke out at the home of a former city centre nightclub. Police cordoned off roads around Trinity Street, Hanley, as emergency crews dealt with the inferno at Trinity House. Now officers...
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FREE BUS TRAVEL BAN FOR U15S
BUS bosses have imposed restrictions on children travelling alone on buses operating to and from Hanley Bus Station. The move by First Bus – which will see under 15s having to travel with an adult after 6pm – has been sanctioned after talks with...
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TEEN STABBED AS ‘GROUP OF YOUNG PEOPLE FIGHT’ TO IN CITY CENTRE
A TEENAGE boy was taken to hospital with ‘potentially serious injuries’ after a city centre stabbing. Police were called to reports of ‘a fight involving a group of young people’ near Old Town Road, Hanley. A dispersal order was put in place and a...
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COUNCIL AND NHS SHARING ‘CARE COSTS’ ACROSS CITY
NHS and council officials say they have ‘reset’ their relationship – following disputes over who should fund millions of pounds of care. Stoke-on-trent City Council saw £2.25 million of cost pressures last year due to the NHS cutting continuing...
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NEW CAFE WITH A CAUSE OPENS IN HANLEY PARK
A NEW cafe has opened in Hanley Park – and the profits are going towards a good community cause. The Pavilion Café opened on Saturday, August 8, serving up tea, coffee, ice cream, milkshakes, baps, cakes and more. The new spot is being run by...
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CITY SHOWS ITS SUPPORT FOR 17 FAMILIES HIT BY FIRE HORROR
COUNCIL chiefs have revealed the extent of the destruction caused by a grass fire which ripped through part of Stoke-on-trent. The City Council has released a statement about the fire that devastated a Sandyford estate on Thursday. And it has now...
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TWO ARRESTED AS HOMES DAMAGED IN GRASS FIRE INFERNO
TWO people have been arrested on suspicion of arson after a huge fire damaged four homes in Stoke-on-trent. Police said they received a call from firefighters on Thursday afternoon after they were sent out to a grass fire which was ‘spreading...
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SHEDS GUTTED IN BLAZE THAT FORCED FAMILIES OUT OF HOMES AND SHUT A50
STUNNED neighbours fled their homes as flames from a huge grassland fire torched their gardens. Residents of Mount Pleasant were evacuated as emergency crews lined Nutbrook Avenue and Kemball Avenue to battle Wednesday’s blaze. It also shut the A50...
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TRIBUTES TO ‘LOVED AND ADORED’ TEEN WHO DIED IN CITY CRASH
TRIBUTES have been paid to an 18-year-old killed in a crash on a city road - whose grieving family say was ‘loved and adored’. Emergency services were called to Anchor Road, near Longton, where Oakley Shim was pronounced dead. His family say his...
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CITY MAN, 19 AND HIS DAD FLEECED OAP OUT OF £10K
A 90-YEAR-OLD pensioner was duped into handing over more than £10,000 by father-and-son rogue traders. Danny George Quinn and his son Danny Jo Quinn ‘mercilessly’ fleeced the elderly victim for roof repairs they never carried out. The pair knocked on...
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AGENCIES TOLD TO DO MORE TO TACKLE CHILD SEX ABUSE IN FAMILIES
AGENCIES in Staffordshire have been told to do more to tackle child sexual abuse in family environments. Inspectors found organisations respond in a ‘timely and effective’ way to initial concerns over abuse within families, with practitioners being...
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MAN DIES IN CITY FLATS FIRE
INVESTIGATORS are today trying to figure out the cause of a fire in which a man died. The 75-year-old was confirmed dead after emergency crews were sent to Ridgway Road, Shelton. Four other people were treated for smoke inhalation. One of them, a...
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‘UNIVERSALLY ADORED’
TRIBUTES have been paid to an ‘incredible’ dad and talented musician who died following a collision with a tractor on a busy city road. Nathan Smith’s heartbroken family say he will be ‘missed enormously by so many people’ following the tragedy in...
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999 CREWS COMING FROM HEREFORD TO TREAT POORLY PATIENTS HERE
AMBULANCE crews are having to make 200-mile round trips to reach patients due to handover delays, a senior official has said. Members of North Staffordshire Pensioners’ Convention were told West Midlands Ambulance Service is still experiencing...
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APPEAL AS BIKER KILLED IN CRASH
A TEENAGE biker has died in a crash in Stoke-on-trent. The 18-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene. It followed a collision between the motorbike and a car in Anchor Road, Adderley Green at about 10.10am yesterday. A Staffordshire Police...
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SON, 15, BATTLED IN VAIN TO KEEP HIS MUM, 33, ALIVE
THREE children have been left without their mother following her sudden death. Sophie Whitehurst’s teenage son Connor and neighbour Sophie Berrow battled to save her life at her Meir home, carrying out CPR until paramedics arrived. But crews were...
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ICONIC WADE POTTERY IVY SCULPTURE RECREATED
A MEMBER of one of Stoke-ontrent’s famous ceramics families has recreated an iconic piece to help people suffering from brain cancer. George Wade, whose ancestors founded Wade Ceramics, has launched a new version of the Ivy sculpture. It is the first...
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‘2 SKIPS FULL’ OF FLY-TIPPED WASTE FOUND IN CITY BROOK
GATES will be installed to tackle anti-social behaviour at a town’s war memorial. Stoke-on-trent City Council will install the metal gates to enclose the pavilion at Tunstall Garden of Remembrance - to prevent unauthorised access to the building. The...
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MAN ACCUSED OF MURDER APPEARS AT CROWN COURT
MURDER-ACCUSED Qays Mahmood has appeared before a judge at Stoke-ontrent Crown Court. The 25-year-old, of Clarke Street, Shelton, is charged with murdering 44-year-old Christopher Bradbury, above, who was stabbed in Ridgway Road, Shelton, on July...
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PLEA TO PARK FIRESTARTERS
ARSONISTS have struck at one of Stoke-on-trent’s biggest parks for the second time this week. The latest fire at Central Forest Park started at just after 6.30pm on Wednesday. It follows a similar arson attack at the park on Tuesday afternoon. Three...
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JOYRIDER IN STOLEN AMBULANCE LED COPS ON CHASE WITH PATIENT IN THE BACK
A MAN has admitted false imprisonment and aggravated vehicle taking after driving off in an ambulance from outside the Royal Stoke. Joyrider Marshall Leese got into the ambulance – which contained a patient, a paramedic, and another person – at the...
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NEW PLAN TO TRANSFORM HISTORIC SPODE SITE
PADEL courts, a major cultural venue and space for businesses are all included in plans to transform an historic former potbank. Developer Capital & Centric has submitted a planning application for the Grade Ii-listed Spode site in Stoke, which aims...
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THREE ARRESTED AFTER MAN ‘STABBED TO DEATH’
POLICE spent the weekend quizzing three men arrested as part of a murder probe. Police launched Operation Greenman after a man in his 40s was stabbed to death in Ridgway Road, Shelton, at 7.40pm on Thursday. Two police cordons were set up in Ridgway...
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PARK SEALED OFF AS MAN ‘STABBED’
POLICE are investigating following a ‘stabbing’ at a city park. Officers and paramedics were called to Ridgway Road, next to Hanley Park, after reports of a ‘serious assault’ on Thursday night. Part of the road - near Mawson Grove - was taped off...
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FAMILY’S ANGUISH AFTER 2-YEAR-OLD ARCHIE SAVAGED BY DOG
A Two-year-old boy has suffered ‘life-changing injuries’ in a beer garden dog attack. Little Archie has undergone surgery at Royal Stoke University Hospital. It follows the dog attack in the grounds of The Wulstan, in Wolstanton, this month. It is...
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RIOTER WHACKED GOOD SAMARITAN WITH ‘AXE’ AS HE GAVE FIRST AID
A VIOLENT yob has been jailed for his role in the Hanley riots. Sidat Ahmed attacked two bystanders as chaos gripped the city centre on August 3, 2024. One victim had to have his head glued back together after the 22-year-old attacked him,...
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‘ROGUE TRADER’ POCKETED £180K AFTER FLEECING 17 CUSTOMERS
A ROGUE trader pocketed £180,000 to fit kitchens and bathrooms – without ever carrying out the work. Kevin Hayes defrauded 17 victims across Stoke-on-trent and beyond over four years. In a trail of deceit the 48-year-old claimed on four occasions...
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‘IT WAS A BIG STEP’
A FORMER council worker has ditched the office to run her own engineering firm. Nicole Barnett and her stepfather Darren Stanley have finalised a deal to acquire Alpha Engineering Solutions Limited. The business has been operating for 30 years. It...
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‘DEVASTATED’
ALLOTMENTS have been ‘devastated’ in a fire which swept across a recreation ground – not far from a petrol station. Plots at Buxton Street allotments in Sneyd Green were damaged in the blaze on Thursday. Firefighters remained at the scene in Hanley...
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Flick mix!
FILM fans can enjoy some al fresco movie magic as Newcastle town centre is transformed into an open air cinema again this summer. Cinema on the Stones offers free family film screenings and activities to the heart of the town, kicking off on August 2...
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250,000 EXTRA APPOINTMENTS EVERY YEAR TO SEE YOUR GP
PATIENTS across North Staffordshire are set to benefit from around 250,000 extra GP appointments each year after £1.5m was invested to modernise GP surgeries. The Staffordshire and Stoke-ontrent Integrated Care Board (ICB) said 19 GP practices have...
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FINALLY – WAR HERO ALFRED’S SACRIFICE IS RECOGNISED
Campaigners win fight for official war grave headstone for city soldier who died from injuries sustained at Battle of the Somme
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