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Quiet day in the office? In need of some inspiration to fill that slot on the features page? Check out our story ideas here and see if you can take news developments from around the UK and localise them for your patch.

If you would like to share a story idea with our readers, you can email us at [email protected] and we will upload it to the site.

Aggressive children and stressed out teachers

The behaviour of primary school children is becoming more aggressive while a quarter of teachers are suffering mental health problems as a result. These and other startling findings are the result of research conducted by the Association of Teachers and

Making diagnosis a bit smarter

Paramedics and ambulance staff in America are to be given smartphones to speed up medical diagnosis. The phones are fitted with imaging software which enables staff to take pictures of internal organs and transmit them to hospital doctors. While “rural

Pawnbroker is far from broke

No-one takes glee in tales of financial misery affecting individuals during a recession but (perhaps) it would be difficult to have too much sympathy for the super rich. A pawnbroker from Oxford appears to be swamped with sports cars, fancy

No-one exempt from stop and search

Police stop and searches on ten-year-old children has doubled in the past year in the capital, new stats suggest. A total of 755 children were stopped by police during the 2008-09 financial year which is a record. Some more facts

A cautionary tale about cautions

Tens of thousands of criminals are receiving several cautions a year. And new figures suggest that, during 2008, 3,013 got four or more cautions in a single year while in general there’s a rise in the number of people receiving

Punish the parents playing with the truth

Up to 3,500 parents make fraudulent or misleading claims on applications in order to get their kids into popular schools. Tougher action is needed to curb the trend, says the chief adjudicator Ian Craig – read about it here. Mr

Clocking the rise of accidents

It’s that time of year again when the clocks go back and British Summer Time becomes a distant memory. The arguments about its merits will rage on every year but a new study has waded in with figures relating to

Peaking populations on your patch?

Population growth and immigration has been high up the news agenda during 2009 and the Office of National Statistics now believes the UK could hit the 71m mark by 2033. This is less than half the time it took for

Passing up paternity potential

There are many things which could make someone fearful of harming their career prospects – abusing the office internet, “getting to know” the boss’ daughter……and paternity leave. A new report suggests that around half of all new dads are refusing

Where's the training for domestic matters?

Police in around 75pc of forces get no specialist training in dealing with domestic violence cases, new figures suggest. But what does your local force say? They might let you take part in training initiatives or meet victims of domestic

Mapping crime gets interactive

A new interactive online map allows users to compare crime rates across different towns in England and Wales. It colour codes areas based on levels of reporting crime and gives rates for burglaries and robberies among other offences. The service

Sometimes the cap doesn't fit

Around 30,000 students are said to have missed out on a university place in the 2009/10 academic year because of a capping system imposed by the government. So how has this manifested itself in the working world? Have your local

Remembering Berlin 20 years on

9 November 2009 is the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Not exactly a “hyperlocal” story but that doesn’t mean to say newspapers shouldn’t mark it. Have a look back through your archives to see how your

Helping staff avoid 'sole survivor' syndrome

Local papers across the country have been reporting mass-scale redundancies while websites like HoldtheFrontPage have turned the spotlight on job losses in our industry. But what happens to the staff and companies which are left behind? Business psychologists say that

Staying at home to handle debt

Regular readers of the stories ideas page may remember the ‘Neets’ – those pesky young people ‘not in education, employment nor training’. Well it seems that The Ministry of Silly Acronyms have now come up with a new one: the

Take aim for some artistry

Guns are used for a host of activities – from war to catching your dinner. But one sharp-shooter from Alabama is using his nation’s “right to bear arms” to get in touch with his creative side. Walton Crell picked up