23/11/2011 East Midlands Today

This is East Midlands Today with Dominic Heale and me, Anne Davies.

Our top story tonight: Seven days to one of the biggest

strikes in decades. Workers from scores of different professions

prepare to walk out over planned pension changes.

Also, Kate and Gerry McCann accused the press of hampering the search

for their daughter. It is important to emphasise we have experienced

long-lasting damage as a result of the headlines and media coverage.

Past... Behind enemy lines. The soldiers targeting the Taliban's

bomb factories. You can hear the bullets come past year, and you can

hear the crack in your ear and see the dust on the floor. And you know

it was closer. How the royal wedding is helping to

save what is left of our lace Good evening. Welcome to

Wednesday's programme. With just a week to go before one of the

country's biggest public sector strikes, tonight we look at the

effect it could have here in the East Midlands.

Councils are warning schools are likely to close, disrupting lessons

for thousands of children, as the three main teaching unions support

the action. It's a national day of action by unions angry at

Government plans to change their pensions. Workers from a diverse

range of industries and professions are taking part. Senior civil

servants are joining probation officers and physiotherapists,

builders and railway workers, engineers and scientists in the

walk-out. In theory, in seven day's time, there could be almost three

million people on strike. Let's find out more from our

Political Editor John Hess who's in Westminster.

This proposed strike is over big changes to the pensions of many in

the public sector. But according to the Prime Minister today, the

planned stoppage a week today is "the height of irresponsibility".

I'll have political reaction shortly, but first union members in

Nottinghamshire have been on the streets of Mansfield to explain the

reasons for the strike. Here's Quentin Rayner. Can I talk to you

about the campaign? Dressed as greedy bankers, daylight Robbie --

daylight robbery was the theme and Mansfield's market place to drum up

support for the strike. Have you heard about it? Yes. It is a

national day of action. Thank you for your time. Unison is one of 28

unions backing the walk out by 3 million public sector workers and

they claim that people will have to work longer, receive more for their

pensions. In Mansfield, support was solid. These people need to sit and

live with that the common man and they will understand on why people

are actually standing for what they believe in because they live in a

different world to us. government is taking too many

liberties on the common people. It is as simple as that. What more can

you say on the matter? They are robbing us blind and it is time we

made a stand and said enough is enough. People have worked all

their lives. And just because they say so, those people in these suits,

everything has to change. What about people's lives and children

and families? Give them what they want. They deserve it. So they

should strike? 100%. Unison says the Pied is bodies and pensions in

both private and public sectors. have been out to council buildings

and the hospitals. We seem to be getting quite good signs there will

be picket lines at those venues. Those are places we don't normally

have to get lines. Unison maintains that a concrete offer by the

Government could avert the strike. Hundreds of schools will close for

the day as classroom staff and head teachers support the stoppage. Some

unions staging the first strike in their history. There is always a

knock-on for parents. We asked a group collecting their children

from a primary school in Leicester for their views.

I do agree with what the teachers are doing, definitely. I know it is

a really difficult decision for them because it is their pensions.

It shouldn't affect the children, though. There should be other

measures to accommodate their pay rises, but it shouldn't affect

kids' education. Teachers go through the system, go to

university, and it is a hard enough job as it is and at the end of I

think they do deserve a decent pension. I suppose they have got to

do what they have got to do. There have been too many cutbacks, so,

yes, not fairness. I will back the teachers. It is important for the

teachers to think about their pensions and their future. It is

good for them to stand up for their rights. A lot of parents will be

put out. A lot. A lot of parents have to work. So, I know that a lot

of mums and dads are going to find it difficult but the children are

not going to be bothered! So, what's the political reaction

here at Westminster? In the Commons, the issue of school closures and

child care was put to the Prime Minister by an East Midlands MP.

Will the Prime Minister acknowledged that one of the most

disruptive impact of next week's strikes will be our mums and dads

with children in school? Will my honourable friend join me in

encouraging parents to bring children into schools? The strike

will be harmful. Nobody wants the strike and it will be harmful to

ordinary people that will use public services. At the same time,

I think public service workers have a right to voice their opinion and

I think strike action isn't necessarily the way to do that.

They could be more canny and find a way to persuade the public to lobby

the government mac. My mother was the children's nurse for 40 years

so I do understand the pressures of a public sector job, so we are

still at the negotiating table and working through, and the government

might have made some sensible suggestions, and I am worried to

the disruption in error wash, and elderly people, its services are

not available. The Government says it's offered

concessions. The unions say those concessions don't address their

concerns on pensions. In this game of political poker, who's going to

blink first? Who knows.

Coming up later in the programme: Behind enemy lines in Afghanistan.

We get a troop's eye-view of the battle from soldiers targeting the

12 months after a schoolgirl was attacked in Nottingham, police have

renewed their appeal for witnesses. They're asking people to try and

remember what they were doing on November 23rd, 2010. Carolyn Moses

reports. A year ago today, several things

were happening. Catherine Middleton announced her wedding date. Chelsea

won a vital Champions League clash. Also, and eight-year-old girl was

attacked in Bulwell. One year on, officers hope to jog people's

memory by linking it to those events. This is CCTV footage of a

man seen at the Aaron -- in the area at the time. At 6:30pm,

Tuesday, 23rd November, the girl was led on to rocks street and then

Polly Park where she was assaulted, leaving her shocked and badly

bruised. But to local people remember? I do. The mums around

here have banned the kids from that Park. We just have to keep an eye

on them. We have to watch our kids more and they do not come out.

is horrible because my daughter could go and play on there. You

don't want your kids in an unsafe environment. Police believe that

somebody may have been protecting the attack at the time, but that

could now have changed. The key thing that it -- about anything

that goes on for more than a year, loyalties may have become different,

and it is important that if people are hesitant of coming forward,

they should understand that we are positive and we want to find the

person responsible because we want closure. Police brought in a

professional profiler to build up the picture of a man. They say he

is almost certainly local. The girl describes him as white, under 5 ft

9 and in his late teens, late -- early 20s. Police say it is vital

they catch shrimp before he strikes again. -- they catch him before he

strikes again. A police officer from Nottingham

has appeared before magistrates charged with rape. 46-year-old

Trevor Gray, seen here in the green and black coat and with his face

covered, is accused of rape, attempted rape and sexually

touching a 43-year-old woman in July. Nottinghamshire Police has

suspended the detective sergeant whilst an investigation is carried

out. He's due to appear at Derby crown court in December.

A man has been arrested in connection with an attack at a

Leicester pub which left two men injured. The victims both suffered

serious burns at the Rainbow and Dove pub on Charles Street a month

ago. One of them, Russell Banks, is still in hospital. A 21-year-old

man was arrested in London this morning. This is East Midlands

Today. Kate and Gerry McCann have

described how lies about Madeleine's disappearance and

stories implying that she was dead hampered the search for her. The

couple from Rothley in Leicestershire were giving evidence

at the Leveson Inquiry, which is looking into press standards. They

revealed that they felt violated and at times were hounded by

photographers. Helen Astle reports. We were desperately shouting out

internally, please stop what you are doing. He was stopping our

chances of finding her. Kate and Gerry McCann told of their

experiences of the media. At times, the couple felt the press had been

helpful, particularly when launching appeals, but there were

other times and many headlines which they felt were critical. Kate

recalls some of the lurid stories hitting the papers soon after their

daughter went missing, most notably that they had been involved in

their daughter's disappearance and they had hidden her body in their

hire car. A corpse in the car? I don't know how many times I read

body fluids in the car, but there were no body fluids. We were being

tried by the media. We were unable to defend present -- defend

ourselves of a stop Kate discovered that her personal diaries, written

weeks after Madeleine's disappearance and while they were

still in Portugal, had been published in the News of the World

without her consent. I felt totally violated. It was my only way of

communicating with Madeleine and, for me, there was no respect shown

for me as a grieving mother or as a human being or my daughter. They

describe how their children had been are terrified by photographer

is. There were several occasions when they would bang on the windows

with camera lenses. My children would say they are scared to.

important to emphasise that we have experienced long-lasting damage as

a result of the headlines and media coverage, including recent trips to

Holland and Spain where a taxi driver said, oh, you are the

parents are accused of killing your own daughter, what happens?

Throughout giving evidence, the couple said that legal action was

always a last resort, and the more important battle was binding

Madeleine. Four years on, the hunt continues.

Next, a soldier's eye-view of the heat of battle in Afghanistan. It's

from an elite unit of troops who were dropped behind enemy lines.

The Brigade Reconnaissance Force came under heavy gunfire as it

targeted Taliban bomb factories. Our Social Affairs Correspondent,

Jeremy Ball, reports. Flying into enemy territory and

ready for battle. All and a day's work for the Brigade Reconnaissance

Force. -- all in a day's work. These two guys spent the summer

going on missions like this one several times a week. You know they

are close when you can hear the crack. Getting shot at, farm at the

start, but when it keeps happening, it is like, you wonder when your

luck is going to run out. These helicopter assaults I used to reach

targets surrounded by improvised bombs. Sometimes, the enemy opened

fire before they touch down. There was times when we did get shot at

coming off the helicopter. Sometimes we would land on the

floor and wouldn't have contact all day. You could be stuck for an hour

All these pictures were filmed by All these pictures were filmed by

the Brigade Reconnaissance Force. The soldier had a camera on his

helmet. This is you, isn't it? is me. You have to make sure you

hit them! This is how they destroyed an enemy weapons factory.

We got a lot of weapons off the ground. A lot of drugs off the

ground. We found an explosive. That was blown up where it was found.

Tomorrow, they will be heading into much more hostile Territt -- much

less hostile territory as they marched through the streets of

Leicester to get a former -- a formal welcome home.

Police are investigating reports of gunshot in Nottingham. Officers

were called to Old Basford last night. They have search the area

and have not been able to confirm if shots were fired. They're going

to check images from year by security cameras.

Police in Leicester are marking copper gas pipes with SmartWater.

It comes after theft in the city. More than 20 houses in the Hinckley

area had live gas pipes and ripped out. Officers say that the thefts

are potentially life-threatening. Now then - remember the dress? No

one could forget that, the wedding of the year. Adorning that wedding

gown was lace made right here in the Midlands.

Apparently, she had requested English lace. She would not have

been spoiled for choice, as the once-proud lace-making industry has

dwindled to one factory. As part of our series on heritage,

we asked if there are still a market for the least that was once

famous around the world. This is the machine that Kate's

lace was made on and this was the man that made his - except he

didn't know it! I did not know until the following week and I

found out and it was great! That was put on the bride's train.

he did not know what was going to be used? Eyes sort of guest. -- I

guessed. It has been made like this for over a hundred years. But lace

has gone out of fashion and there is an uncertain future. That was

until the royal wedding. We had more business in the UK than we had

ever had before. Not a lot, but it was growing. It is late for the

bridal train for this year but we're expecting it to be busier

next year and the bridal market. One wedding dress designer is

getting ahead of the game. She's making gowns using original

Nottingham lace which was left over when one of the nearby factories

closed. So these would have been for ladies to put round the collar?

That's right, yes. We use it to create a living affect. -- a

layering effect. They are made with love, almost. Most places now

created outside Great Britain but the Nottingham legacy remains.

There will be, in parts of the world, Nottingham lace making

machines. Nottingham will still be on it could because it is pressed

into the metal. It has had a huge influence on the global industry.

Some designers choose to go back to where it originated. The recently

made lace for Ralph Lauren. How beautiful!

You might have had to dig out your eyes scrapers this morning to clean

your car windows. A but what about tomorrow, I hear

you say? And why this theatre has turned

I said at least wasn't, at the forefront of fashion, Natalie

The start with Derby County. They are said to sign Tamas Priskin on

loan from Ipswich. He has scored 32 goals in 163 games since coming to

England five years ago. Staying with that ball, and heartbreak for

Hinckley United as they crashed out of the FA Cup last night at

Tamworth. A stoppage time goal clinched the win for the Conference

Premier side and Hinckley are out and Tamworth into the second round.

Hard luck there. Boxing world champion Carl Froch

says he is in the best possible shape as he prepares for the

biggest fight of his career. The Nottingham boxer leaves for the

United States this week. For months, Carl Froch has been a

British boxer based in Sheffield, preparing. Now he is heading to the

States. A lion in great shape. I am physically and mentally prepared to

my optimum capabilities. I feel sharp and strong. I cannot see

anyone in the world living with me. I'm too big and strong for 12 stone.

I am a freak of nature. If not a freak, his walk-out have people-

watching in admiration. -- is working out sessions. We are going

at it for 12 rounds. May the best man win but I will do the business

on 17th December in freezing cold Atlantic City. For cities last time

in the UK before crossing. -- the He is the favourite going into the

fight. I am used to that anyway. has waited two-and-a-half years to

get his chance and it is not one he will give up easily.

Cycling now, and the lovely Lucy Garner from Leicestershire has been

shortlisted for the BBC Young Sports personality of the year. She

has already won the East Midlands award.

It has been a remarkable year for Lucy Garner. She has battled to a

superb gold at the cycling world championships in Copenhagen just

days after turning 17. She won the junior road race title with a

sprint finish after a crash earlier on. She was named on a shortlist of

10 for the BBC Young Sports personality of the year. It is

amazing, really, and it makes me feel really proud to be going up

against some of the top-class athletes in the country. Last week,

she won the BBC East Midlands Junior Sports personality of the

year and Loughborough. A I am very pleased for her, because she has

looked to work very hard. That is paying off. She is famous for her

nails, but it is not just those that sparkle. Everyone loves them.

It was the whole race itself, crashing in thinking that that was

it. Going for the Sprint and newly crashing again. When I crossed the

line, all the emotions came out and I could not believe that I had

actually done it. The 2012 Olympics are going to come too soon for Lucy,

but she is a great prospect for Rio de Janeiro and 2016.

Sparkly nails and a sparkly personality. All the chaps in their

studio were cooing over them, when Marks and now the tale of a top

show biz star who has arrived in Nottingham. She is the star of

legally blonde. And we've been to meet him - I mean,

Males, dog? He is one of the stars of legally blonde. The West End hit

musical has opened in Nottingham this week. It tells the story of a

homecoming queen who follows her ex-boyfriend to law school but this

means putting down the credit cards. Arguably the stars of the show at

the dogs. She plays a male character in the show! She kind of

get away with it. We are very acquainted now after spending a few

good months together. Has anything gone wrong? The opening night in

Liverpool, we had an incident with the job -- with the dog, let us

say! But they are trained very well. It is the job of Cindy to teach

that dogs their tricks. In the opening number, she has to run on

to Sophie, who plays Margot, and stop right in front of her and back

at her twice. They have to do a call-and-response routine and then

she jumped into her arms. Whoever said they should not work with

children and animals did not meet this dog!

She has been converted to dogs, I think! For the eagle-eyed among

stew, he is actually a chihuahua crossed with a terrier.

I had to send the wife out to scrape the eyes of our car this

We're starting to see Olla Christmas lights been turned on

across the region. -- all of our Christmas light been turned on.

There was a good turnout in Nottingham this evening. The light

looked quite spectacular to. -- quite spectacular, too. The weather

has been fluctuating with the We have the cloud starting to come

down again from the north overnight. It will thicken up at times. It

will produce a small amount of rain over the Peak District.

Temperatures not quite as low as last night, a minimum of seven

degrees Celsius tonight. A bit of a cloudy start first thing tomorrow

morning. It will become quite breezy as well tomorrow. Some

sunshine will continue into the afternoon. There will be a brisk,

south-westerly wind. A cold front will be working its way towards the

south-east. There is a very nasty area of low pressure affecting

parts of Scotland and the north of the country. But ourselves though,