27/10/2011 East Midlands Today

Dominic Heale and Anne Davies. Tonight, our councils in the dock.

They're accused of lavishing money on air travel. The TaxPayers'

Alliance calls it shocking that council chiefs say they can justify

every penny. I am absolutely against junketing. Most flights are

for social workers to go abroad to speak to families or accompany

children being returned to their Farm is. Also -- families. Also did

a lack of funding help contribute to the death of this vulnerable

man? Unfortunately, lack of funding, these instances have become more

frequent. Plus, Chinese investors look at taking over AstraZeneca.

And I will find out who has been letting off his frustration and

using this as a multi- gym at Calke Good evening. First tonight, a

pressure group that campaigns for lower taxes has criticised councils

in our region for spending more than �100,000 on flights abroad.

The TaxPayers' Alliance says it believes many trips aren't

necessary and local authorities should be more responsible with

their budgets. But councils have vigorously defended their spending.

Sarah Teale's been looking behind the statistics. Several councils in

the East Midlands are accused of being sky high spenders on flights

overseas. But council leaders say there have not been any jolly is

abroad and they are spending justified amounts. The tax payers

alliance say Leicestershire County Council are the third highest

spending in the Midlands. In the past two years, they spent more

than �26,000 on air travel. Most of it went on sending two children

with extremely severe dyslexia to a special school in Newcastle,

another �900 went towards sending young carers who look after their

parents on a trip to Paris. Parents have parental choice and also we

have to think what is in the best interests of children who need

special care. As long as it is not hideously expensive, we do have a

duty to care for children in our care. We are not referred to as

corporate parents. It is not generosity in my view, it is

necessary. Nottingham City Council was also a big spender, coming 4th

in the table. �4,000 was spent on a trip to Boston and �2,000 on a trip

to Shanghai. But the council says most overall travel has been to

boost the city's economy. They say they have been supporting

Nottingham firms looking to win contracts abroad and they have been

promoting the City, to encourage investment here.

Or so on the defensive was Nottinghamshire County Council

which spent a total of �16,000 including nearly �3,000 on flights

to Albania but that was a visit for the nine young people are helping

deliver aid. I am absolutely against junketing.

Most flights are social workers going abroad to either speak to

families or accompany children returning to their families. I

think it is important and well worth spending money on for of the

TaxPayers' Alliance said Rutland county council had spent �10,000 on

a flight to Ghana. The council told us that they had never spent the

money. In fact the council said it was

part of a youth volunteering Project to improve schools for the

community there and it was funded completely by a government grant.

Joining us now from the Taxpayers' Alliance is Emma Boon, its

campaigns director. Good evening. Did the Taxpayers' Alliance realise

much of the most expensive air travel was legally necessary under

councils' obligations to care for children? We asked all councils

across the Midlands what they were spending on flight, not for reasons

for those and in some instances, councils provided that extra

information. What we were trying to do is highlight that a lot of

councils are spending money on flights and some are not. We up

putting the data out for council tax payers to decide whether they

think it is good value. I think you're a director speaks about

council officers jetting around the world enjoying business class.

in some instances, we did see there was a Premium economy and business

class travel. Lincolnshire councils have said that and it is hard to

justify that when you are looking at some examples. Some councils in

the Midlands spent nothing on air travel so it is up to local

taxpayers to decide if they think it was value-for-money. We are not

saying that councils should not spend any money on any flight and

your reporter looked into some of those which are justified but we

are asking if they are really needed. You say that 29 councils

did not spend anything but these are the smaller councils to do not

have a duty as the other councils I believe it was Herefordshire

Council who did not spend any money and that is a larger council.

Largely speaking, they were smaller but let's be clear that not all of

these flights that we have cited in our research work for caring for

children or anything to do with that. You mentioned one in your

report which was apparently to do with helping to boost the local

economy. If you are trying to do that, why are you travelling abroad

to do it? The to go back to the case we raised about the child, two

children with dyslexia flown to specialist schools in Newcastle,

there is nothing profligate about that, his there? This specific

example... If that is the right treatment for those two children, I

do not know the particulars of that case, that is something the council

must look at to decide if it is the best value and choice for those

children. Is it there another way they could do things? This is

putting information into the public domain and it is the only way that

tax payers can look at this and ask if this is the right choice for of

Next tonight, it's emerged that Chinese investors are in talks to

take over AstraZeneca. The Loughborough-based pharmaceutical

giant is closing down production at the plant by the end of the year

with the loss of 1,300 jobs. With the region's economy set to lose

�45 million from the closure, hopes are high that new investors can be

Loughborough, like many towns and cities, is struggling following the

economic downturn. It came as a blow when one of the town's biggest

employers, AstraZeneca, announced it was close with the loss of over

1,000 jobs. -- it was too close. But there may be a glimmer of hope.

Yesterday, a group of Chinese investors accompanied by members of

the Chinese Government came to look at the site. I think this is a

serious intention to probably purchase the site off AstraZeneca.

There is an opportunity to bring some serious development back to

the town. With the recession, finances are very tight. The fact

we have now got a consortium of Anglo British investors is to be

welcomed and I think there is a real opportunity to bring this site

back to fruition and use it to drive economic development in the

airy. With a workforce of over 1,300 people, AstraZeneca is the

second biggest employer in town but it is said to close before the end

of the year. Local people believe the impact will be massive. I think

the firm is very important to Loughborough but I would like to

see local jobs staying in the local economy. If that is the case, and

they keep the business in the area and employ local people, that would

certainly make a difference. employs a lot of people at and it

would be a loss to the town if it goes. It would be a lot of people

who are skilled and extremely skilled and it is important we keep

that facility in Loughborough. faces competition from a rival site

in Kent but it is hoped a decision on the future of the left beside

will be secured soon. -- on the Still to come on the programme. A

whole day's rain - a rare event, but is there more to come?

outlook is cloudy and windy but the biggest problem tonight could be

the fog. I will have more details later.

A housing association says that the death of a man in Mansfield was a

tragedy waiting to happen. The man, whose body was found on Tuesday,

was John Paul Johnson. The organisation that was housing him

says a lack of funding from the district council meant vulnerable

people were put at risk. The council says funding had nothing to

do with Mr Johnson's tragic death. James Roberson reports. The police

were called to a house next to a takeaway on Chesterfield Road South

in Mansfield on Tuesday morning. Forensic examinations have been

extensive. The police confirmed today that the dead man was 42-

year-old John Paul Johnson who died from chest injuries. The house

occupied by a number of vulnerable people was run by a Medway Housing,

an organisation specialising in helping such clients. They run

other similar properties in Mansfield. They say they have had a

two year dispute with the council which have left clients without the

full support from care workers. They say they have had problems

before with clients. I have got to be honest and I have to say it was

looking like an accident waiting to happen. We used to put night staff

on on a regular basis but with the lack of funding, these instances

have become more frequent. Mansfield council reviewed the

claim and say it will be used to pay for rent, not support workers.

The police say two people arrested in connection with Mr Johnson's

murder have been released without charge. A further three people have

been released on bail while another three men aged 19, 24 and 29 are

still being questioned. A serial killer who left the bodies

of three schoolgirls in the East Midlands has been found guilty of a

fourth murder, in Northern Ireland. Robert Black was at large for

several years during the 1980s and 1990s. He's already been convicted

of murdering Susan Maxwell, Caroline Hogg and Sarah Harper.

Caroline was only five when Black dumped her body in this

Leicestershire layby. Three years later, Sarah Harper was found dead

in the River Trent in Nottingham. Police are looking for two men who

sexually assaulted a 12-year-old girl. It happened on Maws Lane at

Kimberley in Nottinghamshire at about 10:30 last night. Officers

are trying to trace two teenagers who were both wearing bandanas. One

also has a tattoo on his neck. The Joseph Wright Gallery at Derby

Museum is to close for four months for refurbishment. Work starts next

week on the gallery so that it'll be able to display more of its

collection of paintings and drawings by the artist who was born

in Derby. The gallery's due to re- open towards the end of February.

Next tonight, a screening programme which has helped save lives is set

to be rolled out across the country. The Leicester Royal Infirmary was

one of the first hospitals to offer abdominal aortic aneurysm screening.

Now the Health Secretary has announced a major roll-out is under

Frank Greaves chat to the Health Secretary about how the screening

programme saved his life. Frank from Leicester was one of the first

people to be treated under the national scheme, the condition

which often has no symptoms can be fatal if untreated. I was shocked.

But if you take from that and the fact that my wife also came, was

told that because of its size, I would have been dead in two years.

Across the county, thousands of people are invited to be screened.

There is a high take-up rate. 83% and lives have been saved. We have

picked up 164 people with aneurisms. Out of those, just over 20 so far

have been referred and undergone surgery. These are people that

would have been not detected. And they would have stood very low

chances of survival. The Health Secretary was in town to announce

that the work being done in Leicester would be taken up by

other hospitals having overcome concerns about the programme.

clear that it is worth doing it. The evidence that came from the

work here in Leicester and other places really demonstrated that.

This is a ticking timebomb with a new but in the ultimate, it saves

your life. Without the screening programme, he would not be here.

is hoped that as the work is carried out across the country,

around 3,000 lives per year will be More jobs are under threat after

the owner of one of Nottingham's biggest nightclubs went into

administration. The Luminar group, which owns Oceana, says it's

suffered because its main customers, who are aged 18-24, have been hit

by high levels of unemployment. The company lost almost �200 million

last year. Luminar recently put itself up for sale, but there

weren't any takers. Part of the statue of Saddam

Hussein which was toppled in Iraq failed to reach its reserve price

at an auction in Derby. The bronze piece was obtained eight years ago

by a former SAS officer who smuggled it into the UK. The top

bid was �21,000. It's not known what will happen to the piece now.

Breast cancer patients undergoing reconstructive surgery are now

being offered the finishing touch in Derby. It's tattooing, a new

service that until now meant patients having to travel to

Nottingham to get it done. In the fourth of our series on breast

cancer, our health correspondent Rob Sissons reports on one woman

Nipple tattooing, it does not hurt and does not take long. It is a

finishing touch to this woman's breast reconstruction. Did not hurt

at all because the area is quite normal any way from the

reconstruction, bringing the muscle from the back area. That is one of

the procedures they do. It was brilliant. No Payne, nothing.

medical tattooing. It is to place pigments within the skin around the

reconstruction. We initially pigment the Arizona area of the

nipple and the very last bit is the nipple area itself -- the area

around the nipple. The team can match the pigments to the patient's

skin colour. It can fade but the results should last year's. It is

like back to normal. You feel back to normal.

Liz is very great for and has this message for others fighting breast

cancer of. Don't be frightened of anything because they can do many

things to bring it back to normal and get rid of the cancer you have

got. And the good news, patients like Liz can go home straight after

the procedure that takes about one hour.

Tomorrow night, we meet the cancer survivor offering other patients

with different forms of the disease There is so much care out there, it

is inspiring. For Liz was wonderful to do that as well and help others.

Time for the sport. First tonight, Leicester City are

edging closer to finding a new manager to replace Sven-Goran

Eriksson. But who will it be? This evening it look likes there won't

be an emotional return for a fans' favourite as Natalie Jackson

reports. The newspapers are saying that

Martin O'Neill has ruled himself out of the Leicester job. In the

meantime, the two men in caretaker charge had been preparing the team

for this weekend's game at West Ham. Academy director John Roy Keane and

goalie coach Mike Starr will have been here before. It is like having

your newborn baby and when it is sick, you give it back and say

thank you very much. Fun at times but long-term, it ages you. It is

certainly a pressure job. On Monday, Sven-Goran Eriksson was sacked

after just one year in charge. Sven-Goran Eriksson was terrific

around the football club and it is part and parcel of football clubs.

It is difficult and you see it up and down the country. It is so cut-

throats and we have to now move forward and the most important

thing is getting the right response on Saturday. And what a night to be

looking after. What do we have to say to the players? Not a lot, West

Ham at West Ham. Fantastic games. Leicester City ambassador Alan

Birchall started the club's Poppy Appeal and 20 has seen 22 managers.

-- and has seen 22 managers. Nottingham Forest manager Steve

Cotterill says it was a major coup to land new left back, Greg

Cunningham. Cunningham has joined the Reds on an emergency loan from

Manchester City and has been training with his new team-mates

this week. And Cotterill believes the Republic of Ireland

international will be a valuable addition to his squad. To get him

in, he had a bad injury at Leicester, we are hoping he will

bring his youthful exuberance to the team. Excellent footballer, a

lovely left-foot. We need to give He may be just 15 but as they say

in football, if you're good enough, you're old enough. Schoolboy

striker Mason Bennett who became Derby's youngest ever player to

start a game at the weekend against Middlesbrough will be included in

the Rams squad to face Portsmouth at Pride Park on Saturday.

Onto ice hockey now, and the Nottingham Panthers returned to

winning ways in the Elite League last night. They managed a

comfortable 6-0 victory against the Dundee Stars. Matt Francis with

this one in the first period and things really got going in the

third. Four goals in as many minutes sets things up nicely for

Panthers' top of the table clash against Belfast this weekend.

Now it's rugby, but not as you know it. Fans could be in for a bit of a

shock when Nottingham take on London Scottish at Meadow Lane on

Sunday. It's Ladies' Day so we sent our own very ladylike Kirsty

Nottingham's players hard at training, looking all began Bauch.

But that is not the word you would use to describe the shirts they

will be wearing. -- big and manly. They are wearing them purely for

research purposes. The boys don't mind wearing them. They do say real

men in wear pink. I quite like it! A bit of a change, makes a big

difference. These shirts are especially for Ladies' Day and will

be auctioned off afterwards for breast cancer care. It is a

fantastic cause and little statements like this go a long way.

The guys are happy about it. We will see how it looks on some day.

Nottingham want to get more women watching, starting with Sunday's

match. When a night watching men walk around with pink shirts on and

little short! And Davies was watching that piece very closely! -

Autumn is that very busy time of the year when most of our wildlife

is either setting off on a mammoth migration to warmer climes or

building up food stores for the winter hibernation. But, as the

Sally Goes Wild team soon discover, some of our East Midlands wildlife

has something else entirely more This time of year, Woodlands Eckert

to the sounds of roaring and grunting. Males showing off their

virility in gladiatorial displays to determine who is the strongest.

But this is no ordinary stag party, this is the deer rut and we are

We are back again with head warden, Dale, who over the years had

witnessed many displays at Calke Abbey. This is the main one who has

repositioned with his group. They have found a tree with acorns

underneath it. He is picking it up to eat it. Tell me, why is it that

you have just got this one who seems to have not much competition.

He is the biggest Stagg at the moment. We did have a couple of

others but they were both killed last year. We are not sure if it

was then fighting with him. The other stags are now younger. It

does not appear as if he has much competition. It is simply based on

Taking his frustration out on the grass. Is that what he is doing?

Quite a bit of damage to this trio, why is that? A lot has fallen down

and the box and stags have a bit of aggression and they get a chance to

fight it. When they are fighting it, Although this may be play fighting

now, in a few years' time, this could be a fight for survival.

The younger stags that we saw over there who are having a bit of a

play fight together, is there and age where they are mature enough?

The ones with the small, pointy antlers are not old enough. They

are nice animals but they are not mature. They think they are, they

It is true, they are show-offs at this time of year.

We have not seen any action today but we have certainly heard them.

Being so close to them has been quite amazing and you too can enjoy

this wildlife spectacle right on your doorstep.

The poor old things surrounding And now for a look at the weather.

We have needed the rain that has been with us since the early hours

of this morning and it seems like a distant past when we saw skies like

this, they were captured at Belton House by Graham, thank you for that

picture. We will see those brighter skies returning but you might have

to wait until the weekend. We have the band of rain with us and it is

travelling north and east through this evening. Still producing some

heavy bursts of rain and then the skies start to Clear and the

temperatures will then start to drop certainly across the north of

the region. A slight frost in rural areas but we also have to contend

with fog if you are travelling first thing tomorrow and it could

be quite dense and it will linger. The winds will remain quite light

through the daytime. The odd fog patch that remains with us into the

afternoon but for most of us, it will be a brighter story by the end

of the afternoon. Daytime temperatures at around 14 Celsius.

A weather front across the south- east corner, that will work its way

up again. We are sandwiched in between a band of rain across the

north-west to the bit in the middle getting the brighter story on

Saturday and on Sunday, we have got low-pressure not very far away and

that will control the winds more on Sunday. It will increase but it is

coming from the south-west so a milder direction and that will help