A petition backing the Sentinel's call for a referendum on a directly-elected mayor has been handed to Stoke-on-Trent City Council.

The Sentinel's campaign ran in parallel with a petition launched by the Mayor 4 Stoke group and together they have gathered 9,835 signatures - enough to trigger the referendum.

The council now has a month to validate the petition, during which time signatures will still be collected to allow for any names which are invalid because they are not on the electoral register or not in Stoke-on-Trent's boundaries.

Sentinel editor Sean Dooley said: "There is no hidden agenda to the Sentinel's Right to Choose campaign.

"We are not campaigning for an elected mayor, we are simply campaigning for the voters of Stoke-on-Trent to be allowed to make an informed choice about the way they're governed for the next generation."

City council leader Barry Stockley said: "If the petition is valid, we will make arrangements to hold a referendum and the council will implement whatever system the electorate decides."