A story about the local council that has spent £222k gagging its staff from speaking to the press is among my six of the best from the regional press this week.
You can watch me talk about these stories, and more, here:
Six of the best from the regional press round-up
Good in-depth coverage from the Birmingham Mail about a US Shakespeare scholar who was forcibly deported from the UK after over-staying his visa:
The Express and Star reveals how Stafford Council has spent £222,000 on gagging orders preventing former staff speaking to the press:
And it has a hard-hitting leader comment on why this is a preposterous mis-use of public money:#
The Leicester Mercury reveals that gods are showing themselves in surprising places around the county, namely: A log of wood, a potato, an aubergine and an egg:
Good coverage from the Northern Echo on how central government cuts are having dramatic consequences on the level of services the local council can provide.
Some excellent in-depth coverage from Martin Shipton for Wales Online about how the Kids Company scandal had a parallel in Wales four years ago with a charity called Aweema.
Reporters like Shipton are the folk memory of their communities and it so incredibly important that we have journalists like this who know where the mataphorical the bodies are buried:
Finally the Bath Chronicle has chapter and verse on the tale of a Wetherspoons customer who had a rat run up his trouster leg and steal a chip. Good on-the-ground reporting about an incident that was so serious they had to close the pub (for half an hour!):
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