Staffordshire Police are currently searching for missing man, David, 44, from Stafford.He was last seen in the Marston area yesterday (Monday 29 June) between 11am and 3pm.David is described as being around 6ft tall and of a slim build. He could have been wearing shorts and a t-shirt when he was last seen, with both either being black or grey. He may have also been wearing a baseball cap. David usually spends time in Stafford and Stoke-on-Trent.Anyone with information should call 101 or use Live Chat on the Staffordshire Police website, quoting incident 352 of 30 June.
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Food delivery man punched outside Burger King as CCTV image released
Police have released a CCTV image of a man they believe could have information following the attack in Liverpool city centrePolice believe the man pictured may have information that could help with their enquiries(Image: Merseyside Police)Police have released a CCTV image of a man they want to speak to after a food delivery rider was assaulted during an attempted robbery in Liverpool city centre. The incident happened outside the Burger King restaurant on Lord Street on the morning of Tuesday, June 9.Merseyside Police said the delivery rider was sitting outside the fast food restaurant when he was approached by two men. Officers say one of the suspects picked up his bike while the other took hold of his delivery bag before the pair tried to walk away.The victim chased after the men in an attempt to recover his belongings but was punched twice in the face during the confrontation. He suffered minor injuries.Following a search of the area, officers arrested a 41-year-old man, formerly from Whiston and of no fixed address, on suspicion of attempted robbery. He has since been released on conditional bail while enquiries continue.Detectives have carried out extensive CCTV and witness enquiries and have now released an image of a man they believe could help with the investigation.Detective Inspector Lee Egerton said: “This was a disgraceful and unprovoked attack on an innocent man who was out working, trying to earn money.Police believe the man pictured may have information that could help with their enquiries(Image: Merseyside Police)“I would like to speak to anyone who witnessed what happened who has not already spoken to the police or who has CCTV footage of the incident to assist in the investigation.“I am appealing to the man featured in this image, or anyone who recognises him to come forward. We believe they could hold information that could be vital to our continuing enquiries.”Anyone who recognises the man in the image or has information on the incident should contact the Merseyside Police social media desk @MerPolCC on X and Facebook quoting reference 26000457908.You can also report information via the force’s website: https://www.merseyside.police.uk/ro/report/ocr/af/how-to-report-a-crime/ or call 101.”Alternatively, contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111, or via their website here: https://crimestoppers-uk.org/give-information/forms/give-information-anonymously.For the latest news and breaking news visit liverpoolecho.co.uk/newsGet all the big headlines, pictures, analysis, opinion and video on the stories that matter to you by signing up to our daily and breaking newsletter.Sign up to our breaking news newsletter here.Follow us on Twitter @LivECHONews – the official Liverpool ECHO Twitter account – real news in real time.We’re also on Facebook/theliverpoolecho – your must-see news, features, videos and pictures throughout the day from the Liverpool ECHO.
Birmingham City set to make key coaching appointment with Rangers swoop
Birmingham City have been looking to recruit a set piece coach since the start of the year11:36, 30 Jun 2026Updated 11:38, 30 Jun 2026Scott Fry during his time as Rangers set piece coachHighly-rated Rangers set piece coach Scott Fry is set to join Birmingham City.Fry is poised to leave Rangers and take up the post at Blues in pre-season after a lengthy recruitment process.The 33-year-old only joined Rangers last November after an extremely successful spell leading set pieces for Lincoln City.Rangers’ set piece output improved after Fry’s appointment – only Hearts bettered Rangers’ tally of 19 goals from set pieces in the Scottish Premiership last season.FOLLOW ON FACEBOOK! All the latest Blues news on Birmingham Live’s Birmingham City FC Facebook pageLincoln have topped League One for set piece goals in each of the last two seasons and it played a part in their promotion to the Championship under Michael Skubala.Fry moved to Lincoln in 2022 after a long spell coaching in Wolverhampton Wanderers’ academy.He started out as a goalkeeping coach and that was initially his role in Lincoln’s set-up before he took on set piece duties in 2024.Blues supporters will remember Lincoln scoring from a long throw-in inside 60 seconds of their 3-1 victory at Sincil Bank in October 2024.Blues have been searching for a set piece coach since the start of the year after posting average statistics in the Championship last season.Set pieces have never been more important to a team’s success with all four champions in England’s professional leagues last season boasting the best set piece records in their respective league.How to follow our Birmingham City coverageAlex Dicken, Birmingham City writerWith the transfer window now open, our BirminghamLive Blues writers Alex Dicken and Brian Dick – will be bringing you the news as it happens and giving their opinions on the stories that matter.Sign up for our free Blues newsletter hereYou can follow Alex on X here and Brian here – and when the season starts they will follow Blues around the country to offer you comprehensive coverage from matchdays, press conferences and everything that happens in between.WhatsApp: You can also get all your favourite content from BirminghamLive’s Blues team on WhatsApp. Click here to sign up for breaking updates about the biggest stories and insight from in and around the club.Social Media: You can also get all the latest updates by following us on Facebook and Twitter.If you prefer reading our Blues stories on your phone, consider downloading the BirminghamLive app, in which you can personalise the content you see by selecting Villa as one of your designated topics. You can get it from Apple here and for Android here.Podcast: Our weekly Birmingham City podcast, Keep Right On, is also available to watch and listen on all major streaming services. You can subscribe to the YouTube channel here, while you can access the podcast on Spotify here and via Apple here.
Maternity changes ‘taking too long’, says grieving grandmother
The Amos report also heard from staff across the trust, who said shortages across midwifery, medical, nursing and support roles “affected their wellbeing and the care they could provide”.It said: “They described starting shifts short-staffed, missing breaks, working beyond their contracted hours and struggling to protect training time, which contributed to exhaustion, sickness absence and difficulties in staff retention.While Holland said she was “absolutely” concerned to hear about staffing pressures, she felt it could “be easy to be hoodwinked slightly” into the narrative that problems with maternity services in Leicester were “all about” insufficient staffing levels.Holland felt hospital bosses did not learn from cases where babies had died or suffered harm and that learning bulletins given to staff were often “inadequate”.”It’s half-page, there is no measuring whether staff have read it and staff have reflective conversations,” she said.”That is absolutely inadequate, that is inappropriate when you have caused in some way the death of a child.”Julie Hogg, chief nurse at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, said: “We have made important progress in recent years to improve our maternity and neonatal services, including strengthening how we listen to families, increasing staffing, improving triage and introducing digital systems to support safer care.”We know there is more to do, and we are continuing to work closely with partners to ensure women, babies and families experience these improvements consistently in the day-to-day care.”We will continue to listen to families and colleagues, act on what we hear, and ensure learning translates into meaningful and lasting change.”
Crash shuts A11 in Cambridgeshire – AOL
Tue, June 30, 2026 at 6:01 AM UTCA blue police accident sign on the road. Behind it there is some blue and white police tape and part of a police car is visible.Part of the A11 in Cambridgeshire has been closed after a vehicle crashed through the central reservation.The road is closed in both directions between the A1301 at Stump Cross and the A1307 at Babraham after the crash which happened at about 03:00 BST, National Highways said.Cambridgeshire Police and National Highways teams have been at the scene.Delays were building in the area and traffic has been diverted through local routes, the roads agency said.Do you have a story suggestion for Cambridgeshire? Contact us below.Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.More stories of interestRelated internet links
‘Putting two fingers up to MND’ – the extraordinary Welsh marathon runner refusing to back down | InYourArea
An extraordinary man who refuses to let a devastating diagnosis define him is capturing hearts across the country as he aims to raise a staggering £100,000 for the Motor Neurone Disease (MND) Association.Matt Cox, who was diagnosed with the progressive disease just 12 months ago, has already seen his mobility heavily impacted.Today, he relies on a dedicated support team and his incredibly loving family to push him in a wheelchair for the majority of his gruelling fundraising challenges.Yet, despite his rapidly fading physical strength, Matt’s mental grit is stronger than ever. This Sunday, he is determined to leave his wheelchair behind and walk the final four miles of the high-profile Wales marathon between Tenby and Pembroke.For Matt, every step is a personal victory and a chance to, in his own words, “put two fingers up to MND.”Matt’s fundraising journey has been nothing short of legendary. In April, he tackled the iconic London Marathon, emotional footage of which showed him courageously walking the final mile across the finish line. Weeks later in Leeds, he doubled it – walking the final two miles.
Now, as the marathon arrives on Welsh soil, Matt is doubling the stakes yet again.“I am absolutely determined to raise £100,000 to support the MND Association, a charity which continues to do so much to not only support me, but the 5,000 others who are living with MND in the UK right now,” Matt said.“The last few weeks have been really tough. I know MND is slowly taking away my mobility, but that makes me want to do even more.“In London I walked for the last mile, in Leeds I walked for the last two, so I’m doubling it to walk four in Wales.”
“My next challenge will be the Great North Run in September where I will walk for the last eight miles. “I’m so grateful to everyone who has supported me so far, including the MND community which has been incredible. Every penny we raise will make a huge difference.”Behind every great athlete is an incredible team, and Matt is no exception. His family and close friends have remained firmly by his side through every unimaginable challenge over the past year, acting as his literal and emotional pillars of strength.With his sight firmly set on hitting that massive £100,000 milestone, Matt’s defiance in the face of adversity is proving to be a true beacon of hope for the entire MND community.How to support MattShow your support for Matt along the marathon route this Sunday between Tenby and Pembroke.To learn more about his journey, share his story, or make a vital donation to his £100,000 goal, visit the MND Association.
Police plea over ‘false claims’ as Central Forest Park rape probe continues
Detectives say officers are ‘working round the clock’Central Forest ParkDetectives investigating a report of rape at city beauty spot have warned ‘false online claims’ could cause ‘significant damage’ to the probe. It comes as Staffordshire Police has said there have been claims online accusing the force of ‘deliberately withholding information over the possible ethnicity of the suspect’ over the Central Forest Park attack investigation.Today officers have said such claims are ‘completely false’. Now detectives have said the ‘false online claims’ could hinder the investigation.Officers had been called to the beauty spot – which sits between Sneyd Green and Hanley – at 12pm on June 17 where a woman in her 20s reported that she’d been raped. Police say the full description of the suspect, as they currently know it, is, it’s a man, around 6ft 2in tall, and of stocky build. He was wearing dark clothing including a dark hoodie – and was masked.A spokesperson for the constabulary said: “We are continuing to progress our enquiries into a report of a rape at Central Forest Park. Over the weekend, we have seen lots of commentary on social media suggesting that further descriptions of the suspect have been given to us, including the possible ethnicity.”This is not true. From the outset of this investigation, we have included as much information as we know in order to help us progress our enquiries. Claims suggesting we are deliberately withholding information over the possible ethnicity of the suspect are completely false.”Senior officers have urged witnesses to come forward and say detectives are ‘working round the clock’. Superintendent David Kelsall said: “Officers are continuing to work around the clock to investigate this report and to support the victim.“False claims online are not helping and can cause significant damage to the integrity of our investigation. I’d like to reassure local communities that we will use every tactic at our disposal to identify those suspected of sexual offences, no matter who they are.“If you haven’t already spoken to officers and you have information that can help, I’d urge you to get in touch.”Anyone with information should call 101 and quote incident 325 of June 17.Get daily headlines and breaking news emailed to you – it’s FREEEnsure our latest headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search
WhatsApp will allow users to go by usernames instead of phone numbers, closing a privacy blind spot
LONDON (AP) — WhatsApp users will soon get the option of going by usernames instead of phone numbers, the company said Monday, announcing plans to address a privacy blind spot.The app said it has started allowing users to reserve unique usernames, which can be used to contact WhatsApp users when the feature is launched later this year.WhatsApp, which says it has more than 3 billion users globally, has until now allowed users to be contacted by anyone who has their phone number.The app, owned by Meta Platforms, said in a blog post that over the “coming months” users will get the option to be found and contacted only by their username, and not their number. It wasn’t more specific about the timeline.“We have designed this as a core privacy feature,” Alice Newton-Rex, WhatsApp’s vice president of product, told reporters.There won’t be a directory of usernames on the app, and the app won’t suggest names as you type.“People will need to know your exact username to contact you for the first time,” she said.WhatsApp’s current privacy settings are limited to blocking individual users and silencing unknown callers. The app also allows users to add a profile name, but that’s only displayed in chat groups for other people who don’t have the user’s contact info saved.While Americans still prefer text messaging to WhatsApp, the app is widely used in Europe, Asia and much of the rest of the world.Catchy online handles are highly coveted and users will likely scramble to claim a desirable one.“I think a lot of people will go and get usernames and that’s why we decided to open reservations early,” Newton-Rex said.Companies, organizations and creators with existing accounts on Meta’s social media platforms, Instagram and Facebook, will get the chance to claim their usernames on WhatsApp.Usernames need to be between three and 35 characters. To prevent impersonation, WhatsApp will hold back usernames for high-profile people or groups such as celebrities, public figures and government entities.
A428 Black Cat Improvement Reaches Major Milestone as National Highways Confirms Phased Opening
Road users travelling between Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire are set to benefit from significant improvements sooner than expected, with National Highways confirming that the majority of the new A428 Black Cat to Caxton Gibbet scheme will open during spring 2027.The phased opening will allow motorists to begin using much of the upgraded route while the final and most technically demanding element of the project is completed later in the year.Once open, the scheme will provide a new 10-mile dual carriageway linking the Black Cat junction in Bedfordshire with Caxton Gibbet in Cambridgeshire, creating faster, safer and more reliable journeys across one of the region’s busiest transport corridors.Several major pieces of infrastructure will become operational during the first phase, including the new A421 flyover at Black Cat junction, fully upgraded junction arrangements at Caxton Gibbet and new dual carriageway access to the Cambridge Road junction.Together, these improvements are expected to ease congestion and improve connectivity for communities and businesses travelling between Milton Keynes, Bedford, St Neots and Cambridge.The final phase of the programme, scheduled to open in mid-summer 2027, will see the completion of the new A1 underpass at Black Cat junction.National Highways describes the underpass as the most complex engineering element of the entire project.During construction, project teams encountered a greater number of underground utility services than originally anticipated, including water, gas and telecommunications infrastructure that had to be carefully identified and relocated before construction could safely continue.Many of these essential services have been installed over several decades, and in some cases historic records have been incomplete. Protecting supplies to local homes, businesses and communities has therefore required detailed investigation and close collaboration with utility providers before work could progress.Because these specialist diversion works must be undertaken by the individual utility companies, the programme for the underpass has been extended to ensure the work is completed safely and correctly.By adopting a phased opening strategy, National Highways is ensuring that road users begin benefiting from the investment at the earliest possible opportunity rather than waiting for every element of the scheme to be completed.The project represents one of the largest road infrastructure investments currently under construction in the region and is expected to deliver long-term improvements in safety, network resilience and journey reliability while supporting future economic growth across Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire.With the majority of the route due to open next spring, drivers will soon begin experiencing the benefits of a scheme that has been designed to improve connectivity across the East of England for decades to come.
Here’s Fiorentina’s summer schedule
While it may feel as if the endless 2025-2026 season concluded yesterday, I regret to inform you that Fiorentina will be back in our lives sooner than we feared. That’s right, thee preseason calendar has started to take shape ahead of the centenary season. We’ll get our first glimpses of Fabio Grosso and his new look Viola. Here are the key dates.Fiorentina’s first competitive fixture is the Coppa Italia 3rd-round game against Benevento/Ravenna on Friday, 14 August. The Serie A campaign begins on Monday, 24 August, against AS Roma. The club will add a few more friendlies before that and we’ll update this story as they’re announced.
