30/12/2011 East Midlands Today

With your news now for the East Midlands, I'm Maurice Flynn.

First this evening, the police inspector who's recovering well

after receiving a potentially life saving bone marrow transplant on

Christmas Eve. Rik Basra is seriously ill with leukaemia but

now, thanks to a near perfect bone marrow match, his family are daring

to look forward to the future. Helen Astle reports.

It is now a week since Rik Basra had the bone marrow transplant. It

was completed in the early hours of Christmas Eve. He is still in

hospital but doing well. I have not seen him smile so much and we are

being cautious because they have warned us it is a bit of a journey.

But very happy and he talked to the girls for the first time yesterday

which was absolutely lovely. family has campaigned to raise

awareness about the lack of Asian donors on the Anthony Nolan

register. They organise sessions in Leicester for people to sign up. A

match was eventually found in Germany and although it is early

days, the future is looking good. Fabulous, really great. We are

feeling just over the moon. The children are happy and it's like

we've got a future now which we didn't have a few weeks ago. We

have not dared to think of the future. Christmas, it means so much

to his family. It has been absolutely euphoric. For the Basras,

they cannot thank the donor enough. We don't know who this person is

but for us, it is almost like a member of our family... So special.

Someone has saved his life and that is what they have done. The family

hope that, all being well, Rik can come home in the next few weeks.

A man charged with the murder of a pensioner was too ill to appear in

court today - but was remanded into custody. Jeffrey Burton, who's 60

and from Pearl Close in Rainworth, is accused of killing 70-year-old

Harry Raymond Tindall, also of Pearl Close. Mr Tindall was found

collapsed on Boxing Day. He died from a stab wound to the chest.

Jeffrey Burton is set to appear at Nottingham Crown Court on January

11th. Churches in Rutland are trying to

defeat thieves who steal metal, especially the lead from their

roofs. The problem's getting worse and costing the Church thousands of

pounds in damage. Jo Healey reports. It is called ChurchWatch and

started up because roofs had been stripped bare. It is devastating.

These are very small, rural, church communities and obviously the large

bill to replace the lead is a great strain. Also, they love this

building and they feel that it has been desecrated. It was targeted

twice in four months, landing it with a �30,000 bill. We are going

to be visiting all of the local houses which surround the church. I

feel that if they are aware that there are lead thieves in the area,

they are more likely to report suspicious activity. All 54

parishes have signed up to the campaign, in the hope they can beat

the lead thieves. Patients in Nottingham will soon be

able to choose which GP they want, under a new trial announced by the

Department of Health. It means people will be able to register

with a GP near where they work, or keep the same family doctor if they

move. The trials in Nottingham, London and Manchester will start in

April. This is a pilot project. It is a one-year project, happening in

three areas, and people will be have to look at how it works, how

it affects patients, how much it costs, how much it affects primary

care, and then decided it is can be rolled out over the country.

Volunteers who help the ambulance service treat casualties in remote

parts of the East Midlands are looking for more people to train as

First Responders. The volunteers attended 14,000 emergency calls

across Lincolnshire last year. Now they're looking for new recruits in

towns and villages near Grantham. All volunteers undergo three days

of first aid training. A Derbyshire company says a big

investment at its factory has created the largest recycling

centre for plastic window frames in the country. It will also lead to

15 new jobs. Mike O'Sullivan has this report.

It looks like a graveyard for window frames. But there is life

here, as the material is recycled. This is Merrick Plastics in

Ilkeston, where 15 jobs are being created. The factory is being

extended at a cost of �3 million, becoming the largest and most

advanced plant in the country for recycling frames made out of PVCU.

For many years wood was considered the only sustainable material. The

average life of windows is between 25 and 30 years and you can recycle

that 10 times so you can use the same piece of PVC for the next 250

years. The metal and rubber are taken out. In the end, a new

product is formed, used to insulate the window, increasing its thermal

efficiency, made out of material that could have ended up in

landfill sites. A Derbyshire woman trying to ski to

the South Pole has made it past the halfway mark. Bryony Balen has now

completed well over half of her 700 mile trek. She and her four team-

mates reached the mile-stone having successfully crossed a rugged

mountain range. They have been on the ice for five weeks, and are

hoping to finish the trip in three weeks time.

On to sport and in football, managers are bracing themselves for

the opening of the January transfer window. Ahead of the final game of

this year, deals are already being done. Here's Angela Rafferty.

Six games, no wins and no goals for Forest could this be the solution

to their problem? Striker Marlon Harewood has agreed a four month

deal with the Reds. The wheeler dealing has begin in earnest at the

City Ground. Two bids for Welsh international Chris Gunter have

been turned down so far. Until it ever got to a stage where we feel

as though the money would be too good to turn down, there is not a

decision to make. Buoyed by their Boxing Day win over fierce rivals

Leeds, Derby face high fliers West Ham. Arguably the biggest side in

league since they just got relegated last season. We just want

the lads to share the same kind of endeavour as they did against Leeds

and we are inwith a chance. Leicester will be looking to end

2011 with a victory Portsmouth their opposition in front of the

home fans. We have to find the formula of winning more

consistently and that is something that has been very elusive for us

this season so far. And in League One, Notts County will be hoping

for a change in fortunes when they face Oldham.

If you're heading to a home match this weekend, out for New Year's

Eve or heading to the sales - let's see what's in store weatherwise

It is slightly milder tomorrow but we have a lot of cloud remaining

with us over the weekend. The band of rain is quite slow moving and

working eastwards but stay with us until the early hours of tomorrow

morning. Temperatures increasing tonight. We will finish at around

eight Celsius. First thing tomorrow, a lot of cloud and some patchy rain.