02/12/2011 East Midlands Today

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

Our top story tonight: A council relents after sending a

bill for grave maintenance to the mother of a dead soldier. Teresa

would son was killed two years ago fighting in Afghanistan. Absolutely

horrified they would charge for a fallen soldier. He gave his life

for this country and he should have had that.

Also, gang members handing knives after getting a letter from the

police. Plus, the three warning signs of a

stroke. Is there speech slurred? But, are two other symptoms being a

overlooked? This Christmas very is more than 80

years old but is the oldest decoration in the whole East

Midlands? -- it this Christmas fairy.

Good evening. First tonight, the mother of a fallen soldier has

forced a council to withdraw a bill for hundreds of pounds to maintain

her son's grave. Teresa Woods is now urging all councils to drop

cemetery bills for soldiers killed in action. Tonight, Downing Street

told us it's pleased the council's relented. Helen Astle reports.

Corporal Marcin Wojtak, a corporal in the RAF, he died in 2009 whilst

serving in Afghanistan. He was 24 years old. He isn't buried in

Melton Mowbray and the family chose not have a smaller military

headstone, which would not have incurred military charges, because

they wanted to list his tours of duty so everyone could see where he

had so it. He said to me, if I ever die in Afghanistan, will people

remember me? And I promised him that he would be totally remembered

and I would do everything in my power. And this is my -- one of my

last things I could do for him. family received a bill totalling

�458, a one-off charge for maintenance fees at the ceremony --

cemetery. Absolutely horrified they would charge for a fallen soldier.

I mean, he gave his life for this country and he should have had that

completely free. To research is calling for cemetery fees for all

service personnel to be waived. said to David Cameron, make sure

that all council officers actually wave every single charge and have a

set policy for military families. Of those boys do an extremely

important job and this is the last thing you can do for these families,

not give them the hassle we are having to go through, and not have

to battle, and he can do that by just sending an e-mail to all the

council officers and say, weighed every single charge. A drop done.

Today, the family met the leader of the council, the council that

originally built her. You shouldn't have to be battling for the rights

of your son. It wasn't picked up earlier and I am sorry. The policy

is there, and I am responsible for the fact it wasn't picked up

earlier. As soon as it was spotted, we rectified the situation.

Downing Street spokesman said, we welcome the decision to not charge

Theresa Woods. Teresa is now going to donate �458 to the Royal British

Legion. A little earlier I spoke to Patrick

Mercer MP, a former army officer, who agreed with the council's

decision to waive the fee. Yes, I do. I think this is sensible.

It is not a unique case but it is a most unusual case. And I think the

council have acted with great foresight and sensitive that the.

Do you think there should be a national policy in regards to this?

I don't. I don't think this is something for national government.

When these cases come up, they need to be dealt with on their own

merits and not... There is not one piece of legislation that will fit

all of this. What I would say is the council involved has set a very

good example to follow. Is there a concern, where do you draw the

line? There were other people that give up their lives for this

country, not necessary soldiers. course of their Ara, but I think

the armed forces who volunteered to put themselves in danger and to

accept death as part of the contract, I do think a special case

can be made for them. That is not to say that police officers,

firemen etc, all of them of course should be respected and honoured,

and neither of this category is go out to seek battle, as soldiers,

and airmen. Thank you. A man who almost died after being

stabbed has called on the courts to hand out tougher sentences for

those who carry knives. New figures show that fewer people are being

jailed for possessing an offensive weapon. And as Simon Hare reports,

the police in Derby have just recovered almost 500 knives during

a month-long amnesty. Off the streets and out of harm's

way. Police show of the 483 weapons including swords and machete is

recovered by operation Jagger. It is twice as many as the total

recovered during a similar amnesty to make years ago. -- two years ago.

This man knows more than most about the threat of a knife crime. He

almost died after being stabbed. He had been a bouncer at this pub when

he was attacked by a man he had earlier turned away. 500 knives is

a good result but it is the wrong people that are handing these notes

in. These are young people that are displaying these knives above the

fireplaces. The actually -- the low-life scumbags, the ones that

need to be target, the ones that carry knives, because it is part of

their lives, need to be target it. Some of the home-made knives did

have a sinister purpose. They are used to create violence or injury

to people and I would say to people that if you have got them, there is

no excuse to have this on your person or in your house, because

what would you use them for? They use is for crime and crime and loan.

New figures show that the proportion of people jailed for

carrying a knife has fallen to its lowest level for almost three years.

Just over a 5th of those convicted of possessing a knife or presents

if -- offensive weapon went to prison. People need to get bigger

sentences. It is out of control at the moment.

A paramedic caught breathing in gas and air while on duty for East

Midlands Ambulance Service has been suspended for a year by the Health

Professionals Council. Nigel Moore, who was based in Derbyshire, was

seen using the anaesthetic gas, Entonox, in a fast response vehicle

last September. He told the hearing he'd taken to the gas to relieve

stress. Moore resigned from the service earlier this year. East

Midlands Ambulance Service declined to comment.

Six people have been arrested following a protest at a proposed

nuclear waste site near Stamford. Plans to put low level radioactive

waste at the Kings Cliffe landfill site were given the go-ahead

earlier this year. This morning more than 20 demonstrators gathered

there. Police then moved in to disperse them. Several protestors

had to be cut free after chaining themselves to concrete-filled

barrels. Leicestershire Police say a non-

emergency number introduced last month is already being widely used.

The 101 telephone number is designed to make it easier for

people to report minor crimes and discuss non-urgent matters. The

service is currently dealing with around a fifth of all non-emergency

calls. Officers expect that figure to rise.

Medical researchers in the East Midlands have discovered many

people don't know all the key warning symptoms of a stroke,

Britain's third biggest killer. A Government advertising campaign has

increased knowledge of three signs to look out for, but there are

others that people just don't seem to be aware of. Our Health

Correspondent Rob Sissons has more details.

At the Leicester Royal Infirmary, they have done research into what

people know about strokes. They have found there are two classics

this -- symptoms that a lot of people don't know about. Frank had

one of them but the 71-year-old ignored temporary loss of vision

until he was taken into hospital with abdominal pains, and further

tests revealed a narrowed artery causing sight problems, a site of

many strokes for its doublet was that intermittent and short-lived,

it was a matter of split seconds that your eyesight was distorted.

Sometimes you thought, have I imagined it? Loss of vision is like

a shutter coming down and lifting again. It can be a single episode

or multiple. This professor says it is not just loss of vision that is

a warning sign. Weakness in the leg. I don't mean pain it or pins and

needles. All this sudden, you cannot wait bear on one of your

legs, your leg comes out the way. This at campaign seems to have

raised awareness of classic symptoms. There is also increasing

understanding not only among patients but also the NHS of other

warning signs. The East Midlands Ambulance Service did not triage

patience as -- with leg weakness as patience that would have had

strokes. They have now changed ambulance control and publicity,

and people with leg weaknesses may be treated as having had a strict.

Picking up minor symptoms could prevent a major stroke later.

Officials in the Peak Park say they want to spend extra money trying to

boost local jobs despite having to make massive budget cuts. The Peak

District National Park Authority has to save almost �2 million over

four years. But it says it'll still spend �440,000 creating 50

apprenticeships across the area, protecting planning jobs, and

employing a business advisor for small firms.

A survey of the Derby Hippodrome has found that it hasn't been

seriously affected by last weekend's fire. Firefighters were

called to the Grade II listed building in the early hours of

Saturday morning. The site had been left derelict after being badly

damaged three years ago. A structural survey says that no real

concerns have been raised about the building's stability.

Next year's Summer Sundae music festival in Leicester will be

taking place a week later. It's been put back because of the London

Olympics. The three-day festival at de Montfort Hall will now take

place from 17th-19th August. Last year, it attracted more than 7,000

people. Make a note of it in your diary.

I think that is called a boutique festival - small but perfectly

formed, rather like you. I am going to keep that complement.

A charity says it's so desperate for money it's had to open a shop

to help boost funds. Derby City free advice on debt, benefits and

housing, says it's taken this step because of cuts in council and

Government funding. James Roberson reports.

In the centre of Derby, this charity shop has just opened, and

is run by Derby City Mission, a Christian organisation which helps

addicts and the homeless, but also provides advice on debts, benefits

and housing. The charity says that it has found its former funding

from local authorities has been reduced while central Government is

asking Chad is to are together and bid jointly for funds but often

this bid still failed despite the time and effort put into them.

is the pinch charities are finding. The Government is asking them to do

more as part of the "big society" with less and it is getting

difficult to do that so we are having to diversify. The mission so

is the shop as a way of creating a direct stream of money to keep

their advice service go ing. Money is a bit more scarce. Charities

have to do this to get funding, it is a shame, but they are

resourceful people and it is wonderful to see that kind of

effort into the can unity. charity shop, however, in a crowded

place. There are lots more near this one. Also nearby, businesses

offering finance. The mission hopes their shop can compete for

donations in these times. We hope to have a constant stream of income.

We hope it works. There is more and more need in this area. More people

are finding themselves in debt, more people need benefits, and the

poor are getting more squeezed. When even one of the Three Kings

needs funds, Derby City Mission hopes its shop will last beyond

Christmas. Still to come on the programme:

The fairy that's a festive fixture. In over 80 years, she's never not

been at the top of the tree. Is I suspect she will tell us, too.

He's been described as one of the world's leading artists with some

of his work being sold for over a million pounds. Now, as part of a

touring exhibition, Nottingham Castle is showcasing the sculptures

of Anish Kapoor, a man who's already made a mark on the city.

Whether it is a sculpture designed for the Olympics or Nottingham's

very own Sky Mirror, the artist Anish Kapoor has become famous for

his larger-than-life pieces that play with the was imagination and

perspective. The exhibition at Nottingham Castle is looking back

on his 30 year career, from early pigment pieces inspired by market

stalls to sculptures in unusual shapes and sizes. He is creating

optical illusions, really, which he wants you to explore and discover

for yourself, so it is giving the game away a bit, but a piece like

this when he is working with the architect of the building, you are

not sure. Ins that is best he has carved in the ball or something

protruding out of the space? It changes, and the way you changes --

the way you read it changes as you move around it. Just like the Sky

Mirror, Anish Kapoor loves playing with the idea of mirrors and

reflections. In his world, the image is always distorted and quite

surreal, so that you have no sense of space and perspective. They are

concave forms and they have a focus. As you move, as a viewer, as you

move in and out of that point, it is a mystical point in the middle

of space somewhere, you are almost captivated by the objects and how

it operates in the room. It is 10 years since the Sky Mirror was

installed in Nottingham, creating a well-loved and smart. Now staff

hope visitors will enjoy a spectrum of his work so far. That is great

stuff, isn't it? I love that Sky Mirror.

Grey it talent to. -- great talent.

The Politics Show this Sunday explores a radical proposal to

launch the first co-operative school in the East Midlands. Here's

Chris Doidge. From January, De Vinci Community College will be

part-owned by parents and the wider community. And pupils will get a

seat on the board that runs the school. How will that work and how

do those involved view about the idea?

Will find out. Join Marie Ashby for the Politics

Show from twelve noon on Sunday. All the weekend's football previews

to come, including Derby's game tonight but the big atmosphere will

be at the rugby, Leicester Tigers against Northampton. The big local

derby and not a ticket to be had at Oh, yes. Welford Road will be sold

out. It has been for weeks. Excellent news for the club. When

they build this stadium, they didn't think there was going to be

enough support to keep it going. It has not panned out that way. Every

soldered fixture is a chance to spread Tiger's message. When you

get the fixture list, you look at Northampton. So it is the one that

players look forward to and especially the fans. Times are hard

for everybody and people choose to spend their money elsewhere. But

loyal supporters turn out week in and week out. There are a lot of

season-ticket holders and we appreciate everybody that turns up.

So, it will be full for Tigers first is Saints. It hardly ever

lacks drama. Take the Premiership semi-final at the end of last

season. A punch by manager Lennie and has since defeat, so will they

be thinking revenge? They will have their own motivations and we've got

our The Faith Machine, and we will see how it comes to get the.

that history is a massive thing. The players come through here and

wait with the crowd right above the heads which means they can feel the

energy of the fans as they wind themselves up. You wait in the

changing room and they start banging their feet, clapping, and

you come out and they are roaring. You come down those stairs, 100

years old, it has got that old feel. This is a special thing. When they

arrive on that pitch, they know they are in for a rough encounter.

They always are. It is Tiger's first is Saints.

-- Tigers first is Saints. Nigel Clough's looking to avoid an

unwanted record tonight, a sixth straight defeat, which would be his

worst League run as Derby County manager. In less than an hour, the

Rams kick off at Crystal Palace, who beat Manchester United in

midweek. At least the players are keeping positive.

It is so tight, still. One win and you jump back up there. Two wins

and you are in the play-offs. We try to look forward instead of

putting doom and gloom on the Games. You have got to take the positive

out of it. And you can hear full commentary of

the Rams game tonight on BBC Radio Derby. Their coverage gets underway

in a few minutes' time. We'll have the goals in our late news.

Over the weekend, there's plenty of intrigue for the rest of the East

Midlands. There are games at the top and bottom of the Championship,

and Notts County's FA Cup adventure into non-league territory. Here's

Ross Fletcher. Just over a fortnight ago, Nigel

Pearson was wearing the Hull city tracksuit but tomorrow he returns

to the KC Stadium but as manager of Leicester City. The midweek win

over Blackpool propelled them to the play-off places and Pearson is

prepared for a hot reception at Hull. The focus for me is preparing

for the game. And the sub-plots, of course, I am aware of them and the

reason for a potential distraction. A but we will prepare for the gay.

At the other end, Nottingham Forest scrambling out of the relegation

zone after their home humbling by Leeds, it is a trip to the Brighton

seaside. It is not my is being in the bottom three but we have got a

good squad and good players. And I think, you know, we will be fine,

but we need to, as you say, get some confidence back in and get

some points of. There is no panic at Notts County but a tricky FA Cup

second-round tie at Sutton United on Sunday. In front of a national

TV camera. That is what it is all about. I love it. I enjoy it. It is

another game of football, us against them. A big game for this

club. They beat the same opposition three years ago in the first round.

They are now focused on a repeat performance. All the details on

that plus, of course, all the other rugby, ice hockey and everything

else is on Monday. Leicester Riders are in action tonight on basketball.

Now, it's that time of year again. Ding Dong merrily on high. The

Christmas trees are going up, the decorations are coming out. And one

woman in Nottingham reckons she's got the oldest Christmas fairy in

the East Midlands. I suspect that might be it. Tom Brown reports. At

this house in Clifton, Christmas preparations begin like anywhere

else. Decorations come down from the loft. Some have seen better

days. How about this? A Christmas Ferry which is almost 80 years old.

She was my late grand mal's and then she was passed down to my

mother. And, obviously, my mother passed away, so she is mine and my

brother's little ferry. My brother climbs in a raft -- in the loft, so

we can put her on the Christmas tree. But we do not know what to

put the branches because she is so us look -- so small. This has been

going on for You Us. Festival, you've got to get the lights down.

There is somebody up and a loft that breaks the Christmas lights in

the loft! So when we put it at the top, we say, yes, it is time to put

the lights on. It has survived for 80 years, so how much longer can

she go on? She can do another generation. We hope so. I am

treating her like gold. She will even give you a little wave. She is

so cute. A little wave! Was that your little

fairy wave? Yes.

We asked you in our lunchtime programme if you had any other old

decorations from Christmas' past and you didn't disappoint us. This

Santa Claus is 91 years old and sits on the Christmas tree of

Elizabeth Craig from Melton Mowbray. It belonged to her mother and was

bought for her first tree in 1920. This lovely Christmas angel is more

60 years old and belongs to Donna Oliver from Grantham, after it was

handed from her grandmother. And, finally, John Wood from

Leicester sent us this picture of his Father Christmas decoration. It

was bought by his father in the 1950s and is still used today, even

though he says it's a little worse for wear.

I don't think he looks too bad at all.

So, if you have any very old decorations from Christmas past,

then let us know on Twitter, Facebook or email, at these

addresses. And we will try to feature them before Christmas.

Oh, yes, we will. Have a ferret around in your loft.

Father Christmas coming down from the loft to come up for a start up

to you have any? My mum has a schoolmate decoration,

a shuttlecock angel. I will be putting my Christmas

decorations up, but these are the statistics to do with all term

which has just come to an end. It was the second warmest on record.

Records began in 1910. Many areas across the East Midlands have seen

just half the expected rainfall for the period, so, having said that,

we did wake up to a frost this morning across the East Midlands.

Tonight, we will be much milder with blustery showers and those

strong winds. You can send your weather pictures to us as well. We

can see this next area of rain accompanied by winds heading from

the West. On the radar picture, there have been some showers across

that East Midlands. They will continue and wither the patchy

aspects of rain. Under that cloud and rain, temperatures will be mild.

So, we start off Saturday morning with the rain Clearing. It soon

brightens up with good sunny spells. It will be breezy so hang on to

your Christmas shopping bags! Temperature-wise, up to around nine.

On Sunday, it looks like being largely dry for most of the day but

don't rule out the chance of some showers heading our way from the