We all love it when the weather gets warmer. But did you know that you might need to think harder about food safety in the summer months?

New research indicates that people in the West Midlands could be putting themselves and their families at risk of food poisoning through lack of knowledge of the 4Cs of food hygiene: Chilling, Cooking, Cleaning and cross-contamination.

The Food Standards Agency’s Food and You Survey, which collects information on food safety through 3,118 interviews across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, found that in the West Midlands:

Cannock Council’s Cabinet approved free leisure concessions for serving members of the armed forces, who are resident in the District, at its meeting last night.

The concession scheme was first introduced in June 2012 and currently has 150 members.  Council’s Cabinet have approved the leisure concession scheme for a further 12 months.

This scheme aims to recognise the commitment made by armed forces men and women to this country in their service throughout the world.

This year, the District will celebrate Armed Forces Day with an official flag raising ceremony and a free community fun day.

Billy Warburton aged 12 from Brereton was presented with the award for his incredible commitment to volunteering in Brereton.

Billy was among the dozens of young people who were nominated for the award.  The Youth Endeavour Award aims to recognise the achievements of 11-18 year olds across the District, who have made an outstanding contribution to their community, shown great bravery or helped others in some way.

Councillor Alan Dudson was named as Chairman for 2017/18 at the Council’s Annual Meeting on 24 May, with the Brereton and Ravenhill Councillor taking the chains of office from Councillor Zaphne Stretton.

This is the first time that Councillor Dudson has been Chairman of the Council, he was Vice Chairman last year and prior to that was a member of Cabinet.

Councillor Dudson was elected on to the Council in May 2012 and has held a seat for Brereton and Ravenhill since this time.

The Live Well Community Cafés will provide, fun, entertainment, advice and guidance to anyone living in south Staffordshire that has been diagnosed with or cares for someone with an illness or condition that has changed the way they live, whether that be diabetes, heart disease, dementia, Parkinson disease, fibromyalgia, arthritis, depression & anxiety, …… the list is endless.

Rugeley based food business POE Limited and its Director Calin Poenariu have been ordered to pay £44,000 in fines and costs following a successful prosecution brought by Cannock Chase Council.

POE Limited of Anglesey Court, Towers Business Park and Mr Poenariu appeared in Cannock Magistrates’ Court on 16 May 2017.  Each pleaded guilty to three offences under the Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013, including the illegal production and placing on the market of meat based foods, from premises which had not been approved by the Council.

There will be a vigil at 7 pm this evening at the top Bandstand in Cannock Town Centre, as mark of respect following the Manchester Bombing yesterday evening.

The vigil will be lead by Chairman of Cannock Chase Council, Zaphne Stretton and members of the local clergy will also be in attendance.

Local shoppers are being encouraged to go along to the relaunch event of Cannock Indoor Market Hall this Friday 19 May between 9am and 5pm.

Over the last few months, a number of improvements have been made to the market hall as well as increasing trading hours; these include making the old Hallmark shop a new entrance, four new market stalls will be constructed inside and the main market office has moved.

Residents and businesses across Cannock Chase District are being urged to help in the fight against illicit waste.

The call comes from a Staffordshire wide group, set up to address the issue of illicit waste, after a number of high risk sites were identified in the county. The group is made up of representatives from all of the local authorities, Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service, Staffordshire Police, the Environment Agency, the DVSA and Highways England.