05/03/2012 East Midlands Today

This is East Midlands Today. Tonight: Does your partner have a

violent past? Now you can find out. Knowing the truth could have saved

her life. Now Clare's law is coming to the East Midlands.

Per Test in it Nottingham about council cuts that will see 200 jobs

go and a rise in council tasks -- attacks.

Plus, keeping the Queen safe in Leicester.

And by royal appointment, the school choir getting ready to sing

for the Queen on Thursday. Welcome to Monday's programme.

First tonight, could a check on a partner's history help to protect

women and men from domestic violence? A scheme that allows

people to check for relevant convictions is to be tried in

Nottinghamshire. It is one of four police force areas taking part in a

pilot scheme. It is being called Clare's Law after a woman who was

killed by her former boyfriend in Manchester. But there have been

similar cases here. This woman was beaten to death by

her former boyfriend. Her murder prompted huge changes in the way

the police to deal with violent partners. But in the last year they

have dealt with five more killings related to domestic violence. Now

be forced has volunteered to test a radical new approach. It is going

to start releasing information about the violent partners. It will

enable victims to make an application to the police and then

the police can make a disclosure where appropriate. Once the victim

has the information that they would not normally have, they can make an

informed decision. The head of Nottingham's Women's Aid centres is

happy but is cautious. Not all perpetrators of domestic violence

are known to the police. The largest majority of them are not.

It might give a sense of false security. Be please get around 500

complaints -- the police get around 500 complaints about domestic

violence in Nottinghamshire. Sometimes it is just about noise

but sometimes it is over serious crimes. The police are hoping these

new regulations will make a serious difference.

Thousands of people and dozens of businesses in a Derbyshire town

have been severely affected by a water shortage today. Severn Trent

says a faulty ball valve at a reservoir caused the problems that

have affected Long Eaton all day. The signs say it all. Businesses

and schools have had to close today in Long Eaton after a fault

developed in a reservoir that feeds much of the town. I went to see the

reservoir, an underground storage facility. There was some flooding

of a golf course which meant that engineers had to initially shut out

the output. During the night we had a problem with the ball valve.

big would that be? It is bigger than the one in the toilet. It is

the size of a football. It operates in a very serious way -- a similar

way. Once the water gets to a certain level, the valve

automatically start to fill the reservoir. Unfortunately it did not

in this instance and it began to flag. Thousands of properties have

been affected in long even today. So have businesses small and large.

All I can do is apologise for the inconvenience. Severn Trent says

that what a surprise in Long Eaton should be getting back to normal

about now. -- water supplies. Still to come on the programme:

Swimmer Rebecca Adlington qualifies in the 200 metres. All eyes are on

the 800 now. She was overcome with emotion when she won the race, but

Rebecca Adlington has booked horse but -- her spot in London 2012.

This evening Nottingham City Council will have set its budget

for the coming year. A budget that includes a �20 million cut in

spending. It will mean nearly 200 job losses and a rise in council

tax. As councillors mulled the figures inside the debating chamber,

protestors outside voiced their anger. They say council services

are being cut to the bone. Their message was loud and clear.

Fight the cuts. These protesters were demonstrating outside

Nottingham's Town Hall, where inside, councillors were agreeing

to �20 million of cuts to the overall �277 million budget. One of

the coolest cat is the proposal to close -- one of the cruellest cuts

is to close two old people homes. Imagine if your mother and father

could not spend their days in a home like that. That is shocking.

The campaigners protesting today say that the spending cuts are

avoidable. But inside the council house, the Budget will be rubber-

stamped, and that means that 200 jobs will go and not the them city

residents will see their council tax go up. -- Nottingham City.

believe they could freeze the council tax this year and we also

feel that there are a number of savings in the next few years that

would enable the council tax to be frozen in subsequent years as well.

Next year there will be a big hole in the Budget if we do not put the

council tax up this year. That will mean double the number of cuts in

next year. We are talking about compassionate conservatism. Not a

gum City Council says that it is being unfairly penalised. -- and

Nottingham City Council. It warns that more cuts will come. There

will be a total of �24 million in cuts over the next two years.

Very close to those deliberations. Nottingham City Council is to begin

legal proceedings to remove a group of protestors from the Old Market

Square. The authority will go to court tomorrow after the anti-

capitalist campaigners ignored an eviction notice that was served on

them a week ago. Officials will apply for the powers to remove all

the tents from the site. Newark police station is to house a

regional one stop shop in the fight against metal thefts. The crime is

costing the region hundreds of thousands of pounds. Thieves have

stolen lead from churches, train lines and even war memorials. Now

police officers from the East Midlands will work with other

You are watching East Midlands today.

According to charities helping the homeless it is a very bad time to

be out on the streets. But that is where more and more people are

finding themselves. There has been a sharp increase in the number of

rough sleepers in the East Midlands. And yet, many of the organisations

and services which offer support have problems of their own. It is

one of the issues featuring on tonight's Inside Out for the East

Midlands. For almost a year, the woods next

to an old quarry in Mansfield has been where Martin sleeps, rather

than the town centre. If I sleep in town I get kicked in the back or

urinated on or sometimes you get a glass bottle thrown at you. This is

the Beacon Centre. They provide food and somewhere to wash. But

from April, funding has been caught. One person in for food today has

her own bad news. Teresa got a housing association place in

September which meant she could stop sleeping rough. But she has

now got an eviction notice because of cuts to the supporting people

budget. Tonight on Meet The Author, see the human consequences of the

cuts, Agassi -- and see why the cuts have led to losses of hundreds

of pounds a month. That's Inside Out, at 7:30pm here

on BBC One. It's going to be one of the biggest

days in Leicester for years so preparations are well underway. If

you did not already know, the Queen, Prince Philip and the Duchess of

Cambridge will all be visiting the city on Thursday. Locals, shop

owners and the Mayor cannot wait. With just three days to go and tell

the royal visit, excitement is mounting. Flags and bunting and

even the China are flying off of the shelves. I think it is really

nice. It is a really nice picture of her. We cannot get enough of it.

We have sold the lot of flags. Hundreds of flights are with the

Union Jack and with the Queen's picture. We are hoping to sell

thousands of them before she comes. Over at the cathedral, hundreds of

flowers have been arriving. At the city centre, police have been

making security checks. We have been checking the street furniture

and drains and those kinds of things to make sure that things are

nice and Secure and ready for a Thursday. The royal party will come

here to the clock tower after a visit to a university. People in

Leicester are very excited. We are looking forward to it. It is a

great opportunity for the city. represents independence and

democracy and all of that. It will be good. It will brighten up the

place. It is going to be amazing. I am really excited about! We have

10,000 Union Flags for people to wait on the day. It will be red,

white and blue on Thursday. Leicester might be the first stop

in the Queen's tour of the country, but people here are hoping it will

be one she will never forget. Young people will very much be at

the heart of the city's welcome to Her Majesty and the other Royal

guests. Two groups have been busy getting their acts together. We

have been to see how they are getting on.

At one end of Leicester, they are singing their hearts out. At

another, they are slugging it out. Both groups have a royal

appointment to keep on Thursday. The Churchill Junior School Choir

was chosen by Leicester Cathedral to perform at a special service for

the royal party. This song is an adaptation of a hem, and is a

celebration of anniversaries. not think it can get any better

than this. It is a delight. For the children to say that they have sung

before the Queen is something that I will never forget. I feel really

happy and really proud that we have been chosen. You are you looking

forward to seeing the most? Duke of Edinburgh. Why? Because

there are lots of songs about him and I would like to meet him.

Middleton might as well be the future Queen. I am really proud for

our school because we are going to sing to them as well. At New

College, it is robot war. Students are priming their machines to

impress the Duke of Edinburgh. He has taken interest in the

university's idea to offer its expertise to 40 projects in a

square mile of the inner-city. can take some of our expertise and

research and take it out into the local community for its benefit.

am excited to meet them. I am scared. The Diamond Jubilee is just

around the corner, and Leicester is No a lot of practising going on.

You have probably heard of blue plaques marking locations where a

famous person lived or worked. Now there are Red Wheels that are

awarded to places linked to the history of transport. A

surprisingly, there are quite a few around the East Midlands, more so

than in any other region in the country. The latest one has been

unveiled in AGM and by our very own Kylie Pentelow.

In its heyday in the mid- 19th century, this was the place to

begin your journey to London. Now the people in it are going nowhere

fast but using the London Road station as their GM. The building

has now been awarded a Red wheel, which with a bit of muscle power, I

unveiled. Why has a gym been given a will? It is quite fun messed

about with and so it shows what a railway station of that era looked

like. When this was billed, many of the things Victorians did was not

by halves. They said, we are here and important. When I was young

this sort of thing was on the go and used by railways. We were all

well spotters. The youth of today will not recognise this for what

it's worth. It was vandalised by juveniles. This is British heritage.

Another equally impressive side has been awarded Red Wheels in the East

Midlands. Many in Derbyshire like the Derby round House, the canal

port, the National Tramway Museum. And in Leicestershire, Foxton Locks

has been given a red will. None of those have been converted into

swimming pools and housing one in an old railway station comes with

its own challenges. We do have some issues with maintenance or the

building features because there is limited work you can do with it but

they are all challengers and I would not change it. Training might

have replaced the trains but it has still worked out the best way to

knock this building into shape. A lovely old building that has not

been demolished. Lovely! Still to come: after a perfect start to the

week, what does the weather hold for the next four days?

I am with Amy-Lou who is getting Time now for the sport. We are

going to start with the British Olympic swimming trials because

already five East Midlanders have qualified to the games. The Bill

story has been Mansfield Becky Adlington. A brilliant performance

in the 400 metres last night but she pulled out of the 200 metres

freestyle. We found out why. It is here where you can sense the

emotion and what it means to people to make London 2012 even someone as

seasoned as Rebecca Adlington. She was due to compete this morning but

she pulled out for emotional reasons and physical ones. She got

a rapturous reception as she took to the simple to compete in the 400

metres. She led from start to finish but she admitted she was

terribly nervous. She had four years of thinking of reaching

London 2012 and when she finally got there, the emotion was too much.

I do not want to cry again but I am so happy, relieved, excited! So

much love for Joe as well. I know we can come here and stand there

strong and proud of to be British and work together. A tearful

Rebecca Adlington talking about her colleague and friend Jo Jackson.

What about the rest of those simmers?

Four others are, Joe ejection did qualify it as well as Fran Halsall

who rather strangely, her goggles snapped on the start-line. She had

to borrow a pair and she just sneak in under the Lion. Five East

Midlands winners of two London 2012. Before a ball was kicked, Leicester

were favourites for promotion but things have not gone to plan so far

this season. Inconsistent form has left them trailing the leading pack

in the championship and with games running out, the and 69 Derby

against Coventry is the perfect place to pick up some points.

on Leicester! War paint at the ready, the big question was whether

Leicester had left it too late. have not had back-to-back wins. We

are waiting for a run of games. the best of starts for the home

team. Just six minutes in and a chance to go ahead when the Foxes

were awarded a penalty but Neil Danns failed to find the net. They

kept the pressure on and eventually it paid off. Jermaine Beckford's

shot was saved but Dave Nugent was there for the rebound. Chances

galore came and went for a Leicester team desperate for points

to close the gap on the leading pack and Beckford combined with

Nugent again to double the home side's lead. But Coventry were not

done yet. They were handed a lifeline when Wes Morgan was judged

to have fouled outside the box. They ended the game with 10 men

when a red card was awarded for a dangerous tackle but this was all

about victory and three valuable championship points. Back-to-back

wins for Leicester for the first time. They push for the play-offs

is on. The with the number of games left in the league we are running

out of time, but it just keeps us in the race and that is the

important thing. A good day for Leicester. And a decent weekend for

other teams to. Draws for Derby and Forest and another win for Notts

County. Derby County must have feared the

worst when they went 2-0 down to Birmingham. They doubled their lead

after the break but Derby's fightback began with a Stephen

Davies header. It was his first start since fracturing his skull

and the fightback was complete thanks to this goal from the

Robinson. Coming here shows what team spirit we have got. We do not

fear coming to any place. We are a team, a young gang of lads who

loved playing football. No pot of gold at the end of the rainbow for

Forest but at least they grabbed another point. Gareth McCleary but

the Reds in front. Barnsley were a different side after the break and

got their equaliser. Forest always -- almost grabbed a late winner

towards the end but it was saved. Four points of the relegation zone.

Four we were beaten last year, and the year before so it has not been

too much of a happy hunting ground for us. Before the game we might

More on those games plus a feature on Leicester player and web

entrepreneurs Neil Danns on tonight's Late Kick Off on BBC One

at 11:05pm. Not to be messed. Rugby, Leicester Tigers still in the hunt

for a top to finish after their 10th win of the season. At times it

looked like mud wrestling but Leicester mastered the conditions

much better that their opponents cluster. Tiger slid five tries to

keep up their run of form that has seen them climb the table. They are

four points behind second-placed Saracens with Richard Cockerill

praising his players mental status. Any chance Nottingham Panthers

winning the Elite League title came to an end at the weekend. They came

from behind to beat 54-3 on Saturday but defeat by 5-3 at

Coventry yesterday it ended any possibility of a title. And does go

to Belfast for the first leg of their Challenge Cup final. We will

be of to see them from the airport tomorrow.

Thank you, Colin. As we are talking about quite a lot this week, it is

going to be a very busy time for lots of people preparing for that

royal visit. Among them is a Leicestershire girl who has a

really important duty to carry out on the big day. Carol Hinds has

been to meet her. The family have been fouled -- they

are raising to refurbish a children's cancer were that the

Leicester Royal Infirmary since their son died in January. They say

he would have been proud of his sister Amy-Lou who will be

presenting flowers to the Duchess of Cambridge when she visits

Leicester on Thursday. A secret her parents have kept for weeks. Just

before half term, we were asked to keep it quiet for security reasons

and we were careful that we did not say anything to anybody. It is

really exciting. I cannot wait to do it. What would you say to her?

do not know. George loved sport and through him the family from Stoney

Stanton has met a number of celebrities but the duchess will be

the first royal. Very exciting and very -- Amy-Lou is very excited.

had been practising my curtsy. Duchess is recognised as one of the

world's best-dressed women. Amy-Lou will be wearing a new pair of shoes

and sporting a special hairdo when she meets her. I will have my hair

curled with lots of pretty flowers in. Not only will this six year old

be presenting a Posy, she will also be joining the royal party for

lunch. Thursday will be a memorable day.

She is so placed. Lovely! Curls and flowers fit for a princess -

fantastic! Time for the weather. We have seen a bit of a mixture

weather-wise over the last few days. We got away rain yesterday and the

We got away rain yesterday and the weather front is still affecting us

tonight. A lovely picture to show you sent in by Alan of a squirrel.

Keep your pictures coming in. What we have got this evening is low

pressure that brought all the wet weather yesterday still sitting

across the south-east corner and it could start to pep itself out a bit

through the evening. The further west you travel, the temperature

soon starting to drop. A widespread frost and the temperatures within

the towns and cities around one or two Celsius but in rural areas it

could do go down to minus three. The cloud starting to come back in

through the eastern side in the early hours. It will be quite a

bright start, the cloud thinning in the afternoon and lambing a bit of

sunshine across most of the East Midlands. Daytime temperatures of

nine Celsius. We start to lose the cloud overnight, a weather front

working its way down from the north-west. The isobars tightening,

so it will not only be wet overnight on Wednesday but it will

become quite windy. High pressure pushing up from the South, playing

its part towards the end of the week but what we will see on

Wednesday is a once one band of rain goes three, quite a few

showers following behind. Thursday we are left with a lot of cloud

cover, the wind starting to ease. For a daytime temperature of eight

or nine Celsius on Thursday. Towards the end of the week as the

high pressure builds up, we start to see the milder air back in.

Friday could be a bit on the cloudy side but temperatures above