This Is Leicestershire - Local News

Electrical fault killed sunbather
A woman was electrocuted when she touched a radio which had become highly charged due to an electrical fault.

Louise Ann Marshal-Nichols, 49, was killed when she brushed the set's metal aerial with her thumb while sunbathing ...

I'm not a bad apple, says Apprentice star
She came across as one of the villains of the series - but would-be Apprentice hopeful Jenny Celerier insists she is "not really a baddy."

The 36-year-old, from Western Park, Leicester, was the latest contestant to be told: "You're fired" ...

Mum must pay fine for speeding to bedside of injured son
A mum is angry after receiving a speeding ticket while driving to hospital to see her son who had just been attacked by a dog.

Stephanie Cornwall, 40, was clocked doing 37mph in a 30mph limit on Evington Lane, Leicester, as she ...

Eco-town details revealed
The first details of the controversial plans for a 15,000-home eco-town in Leicestershire were revealed today.

As the developers announced they would start releasing information about their proposals next week, the Leicester ...

Baby on board!
When little Jack Budding is old enough to read his birth certificate he will be in for a big surprise.

That is because it states: "Place of birth, in a car, Hungarton Boulevard, Leicester."

His parents' Renault ...

£6m haul of drugs seized from cannabis 'factories'
Police seized drugs with an estimated street value of more than £6 million in raids on a record number of cannabis "factories" in the past year.

Officers say the factories were run by organised crime groups from outside Leicestershire ...

School's link-up with army causes unease
A school has gone into partnership with the Army to allow youngsters access to a variety of sporting activities.

However, the move has criticised by a teaching union which claims it is a "back-door" recruitment tactic by the forces.

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Train death woman is identified
Officers investigating the death of a 56-year-old woman struck by a high-speed train have said they are not treating the incident as suspicious.

The fatal incident happened shortly after 4.20pm on Wednesday on the railway line ...

Basking in hottest day of the year
Leicestershire basked in high temperatures yesterday - the hottest day of the year so far.

Leicester Mercury weatherman Dave Mutton said Leicestershire reached a high of 23.3C (74F) - higher than temperatures in Barcelona, Athens ...

Maddy chief resigns post
The head of the police force investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann has resigned, Portugal's Ministry of Justice has said.

A spokeswoman confirmed Alipio Ribeiro had quit.

She said: ''Alipio Ribeiro ...

Police seek witnesses following fatal accident
A motorcyclist has died following an accident on a country road.

Robert Edward Latham, of Leicester, died following a collision on the A47 in Belton, Rutland, on Saturday.

The 41-year-old was taken to Leicester ...

Caring mum is top citizen
A mother of three who has dedicated her life to caring for disadvantaged children has been named Leicester's Citizen of the Year.

Carla Armann received her award at a ceremony in the town hall yesterday.

The 43-year-old, ...

Fire victim Kylie is on the mend
A girl hurt in a fire in which two people died is continuing to recover, police said today.

The eight-year-old girl was injured in a devastating house fire in Braunstone.

Kylie Harcourt has been treated for ...

Debt-help texts misleading, says citizen's advice
People are being warned about text messages giving the impression they are from the Citizen's Advice Bureau and offering debt help.

The organisation says it is not behind the texts, and branches across Leicestershire are urging ...

Festival to unite array of talents
A festival on black music and art will unite established artists with local talent.

The B.A.S.S Festival 08 will take place in Leicester, as well as other Midlands cities, and highlights include workshops on hip-hop and visual ...

Centre has help with its revamp
Former homeless young people have helped in the redesign of their supported accommodation.

Young people aged between 15 and 25 came up with ideas for the revamp of their communal living area at the Leicester YMCA's Aylestone Centre, ...

Peter's raring to get in saddle for French trip
A team of 11 men is taking to the road to help raise cash for cancer research. Instead of putting their feet up over the Whitsun Bank Holiday break, they are planning to cycle to Paris.

The team will leave the clock tower in Leicester ...

Woman dies in railway line horror
A woman has died after apparently walking into the path of a high-speed train.

The incident happened at about 4.30pm yesterday on the southbound railway line between Kibworth Beauchamp and East Langton, near Market Harborough.

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Homes evacuated in doorstep bomb scare
Dozens of homes were evacuated after a suspicious package was found in a residential street.

Police were called to Oxford Road, off Howard Road, in Clarendon Park, Leicester, shortly after 1.10pm yesterday after a householder discovered ...

'Jail me - I don't want to stay indoors with mum'
A man has begged a court to jail him - saying he could not stand to be forced to spend every night in with his mum.

Liam Martin was jailed yesterday for three months after breaking a curfew imposed at an earlier hearing.

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Suspended staff bill soars
Hundreds of thousands of pounds in wages have been paid to suspended council staff over the past three years.

Allegations of theft, violence and fraud were among the reasons why the workers were being investigated.

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'My dream is to go into space'
It all started when she was 12, reading children's books about space in the library.

Since then, Tracey Dickens has been telling everyone who would listen she wanted to become an astronaut.

Seventeen years on, that dream could become ...

From donor to good friend
When Stewart North decided to become a bone marrow donor, he never dreamed he would become friends with the man whose life he helped save.

After more than a year-and-a-half of remarkable letters between donor and recipient, Stewart ...

Cash bid seeks to end cycle-lane confusion
It is a problem which has driven cyclists round the bend for years - but now it seems Leicester's confusing cycle lanes could finally be tackled.

Cyclists have long complained that there are gaps which make it impossible to ...

A slip in shopping rankings
Leicester has dropped 11 places in Britain's shopping league table, according to a new report.

The CACI Retail Rankings for 2008 show the city has fallen from 13th place last year to 24th this year.

However, business ...

Pilot escapes as plane hits tree
A pilot had a lucky escape when his single-engine plane crashed into a tree.

The accident happened in Hall Lane, a country lane close to Lutterworth, yesterday afternoon.

The aircraft clipped the tree with one ...

Soldiers in tour of duty
Leicestershire's troops have begun their deployment to Iraq.

Last month, the Leicester Mercury revealed the 2nd Battalion, Royal Leicestershire Regiment was taking part in war games in Germany in preparation for a six-month Middle ...

Here comes the sun - and it's here to stay
Forget Barcelona or Rome - temperatures in Leicestershire have soared this week, and it's going to get even hotter.

People with free time made the most of the glorious sunshine yesterday, while Bank Holiday Monday brought the sun-chasers ...

Team hope for third time lucky after Vulcan test flight
Vulcan XH558 took off yesterday in glorious sunshine in a third test that could secure it a permit to fly at airshows.

Two previous flights had to be cut short because of technical problems, but yesterday's was trouble-free.

On ...

Discussion on Burma aid effort
Religious leaders are to hold talks on how their communities should respond to the cyclone which has claimed tens of thousands of lives in Burma.

The death toll from Cyclone Nargis, which hit on Saturday, is now put at 22,000. ...

Custody of children is 'overused'
The leader of a leading children's charity is to attack the "significant and unmerited overuse of custody for children".

Martin Narey, chief executive of Barnardo's and former chief executive of the National Offender Management ...

Extra time sought to comment on eco-town proposal
Council leaders have agreed to ask for an extra six months to reach conclusions about a proposed eco-town.

Leicestershire County Council's cabinet said Co-op had not provided enough detail of its plans for 15,000 homes between ...

Revamped health unit is opened
A mental health unit which has more than doubled in size has been officially opened.

Following £7 million of work, the Herschel Prins Centre, at Glenfield Hospital, can now accommodate women for the first time.

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Foxes' relegation 'will hit the economy'
Business experts today predicted Leicester City's relegation could see a "substantial" loss for the city's economy.

As well as lost revenue at the club, the city itself could see income dropping off through a fall in visitor ...

Group appealing for bus stop ban
A transport group has called on councillors to scrap stops where passengers can get off buses but not on.

The Leicester Campaign for Better Transport is calling on Leicester City Council transport planners to ban the "alighting ...

'Mandaric staying to finish job'
Milan Mandaric is determined that Leicester City will "come back fighting" and he will help the club bounce back, the club's chief executive pledged today.

Paul Aldridge spoke out as it emerged that Mr Mandaric is to lead a top-level ...

Family left in shock as home firebombed
A family have told of their shock after their house was firebombed.

Arsonists had smashed the front window of their terraced home with a brick before hurling a lit bottle full of petrol in after it.

The family - parents Kishore and ...

One baby a week is born as an addict

At least one baby a week is being born in Leicestershire addicted to drugs or alcohol, it emerged today.

In the past six months alone, 37 dependent babies have been born at Leicester's hospitals - an increase on ...

Rubbish-spy bid is trashed
The city council was asked to order binmen to act as spies by searching through people's rubbish to look for Islamic extremist material.

Leicester City Council's former chief executive, Rodney Green, was present at a meeting ...

Revealed: Scandal of vicar jailed for backing the Nazis
Today it is a quiet, sleepy parish, but in the summer of 1940, the tiny village of Teigh was rocked by scandal.

Its then vicar, the Rev Henry Stanley Tibbs, minister to just 72 villagers, was locked up after allegedly calling ...

'We are investing in skills'
Millions of pounds is being spent to help people get more qualifications and improve basic English and maths.

It comes as a Leicester City Council study found two-thirds of people in the city had difficulty reading and writing.

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Dog rescue hero PC to be honoured
A police officer who risked his life to save a drowning puppy is to be given a top award by the RSPCA.

Pc Ian Horsfall leapt into the dark and freezing waters of the Grand Union Canal to retrieve nine-month-old Dalmatian Mason ...

Crash victim left with shattered kneecaps
A young woman has been left with a broken pelvis and shattered kneecaps after she was knocked down by a car being pursued by police.

The crash happened as the 22-year-old victim was walking along Fosse Road South, in Leicester's West End, ...

McCanns hoping to be cleared
Parents of missing Madeleine McCann hope speculation that Portuguese police are set to shelve their investigation will see the couple soon cleared.

Comments by Portugal's attorney-general, Fernando Jose Pinto Monteiro, have been interpreted ...

Police appeal to trace key crash witness
Police have launched a new appeal for key witnesses to a fatal crash that happened a year ago.

The four-car smash happened in Scraptoft Lane at 10.20pm on Saturday, May 5 last year.

Ricky Singh Kler, 20, from ...

Alarm installed in church after raids
Priests are using a motion-sensitive alarm in their church to warn them of potential criminals.

The device has been fitted at St Mary's Catholic Church, in Loughborough, which has been targeted by thieves twice in the past two ...

Honoured citizen to be named
People who have made a difference to their communities will be praised this week.

Lord Mayor of Leicester, Councillor Gary Hunt, is due to name the city's honoured citizen of 2008 tomorrow.

He will choose from ...

Household bins are collected for study
Rubbish has been collected from homes as part of a study into what people throw away.

Leicestershire County Council carried out the survey at 200 houses chosen at random in Melton, Coalville, Narborough, Loughborough and South ...

Property rent looks set to increase as demand soars
Letting agents have warned rents could increase as demand for rented properties soars.

The average cost of renting a property in England and Wales broke through the £1,000 a month barrier in March.

Experts warned ...

Roads closed as fire breaks out
Roads had to be closed as a precaution when fire crews were called out to tackle a fire involving a number of gas cylinders.

Crews attended the fire in Braunstone Lane East, Aylestone, Leicester, at 7.30pm on Saturday.

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