29/07/2013 East Midlands Today

Anne Davies and me, Dominic Heale. Tonight - a Derbyshire schoolboy

drowns on a family holiday to France. Tributes have been paid to

16-year-old Kieran Knight, described by his family as our much loved son

and happy, lovely young man. Also tonight, three men go in trial

in Leicester accused of paying for sex with a child.

Plus, the grandfather who was diagnosed with testicular cancer at

the age of 27. And the root of the problem, how

fungus felled tree and almost flattened house.

Good evening. Welcome to Monday's programme. First tonight - a family

have paid tribute to their "much loved son" who drowned after

swimming off the coast of south west France on a summer holiday.

16-year-old Kieran Knight from Derbyshire disappeared after getting

into difficulty swimming with his father. Sarah Teale reports.

The Knight family had been enjoying a holiday on the Atlantic coast of

south west France. It's believed 16-year-old Kieran had been swimming

in the sea with his father near the town of Messanges when he got into

difficulties and couldn't get back to shore. A patrol boat and three

helicopters were scrambled in the search for him, but couldn't rescue

him. Kieran, from Newhall in South Derbyshire, had just finished his

last year at the William Allitt Secondary School. I have spoken to

teachers this morning, and they are devastated by this news. It is

dreadful for them actually, just to lose a child like that. Tell me what

Kieran was like. He was very popular, and a good student.

Tributes have also been paid to Kieran on social network sites, one

calling him one of life's good guys, are bright, lovely young man who

will be missed. Today, the foreign office issued a statement on behalf

of Kieran's family -- Kieran's Kieran went missing last Wednesday.

Rescue teams spent several days searching for him. The foreign

office confirmed that his body was found on Saturday. They said they

were offering his family all the help they needed at this difficult

time. Three men have gone on trial accused

of paying for sex with a child. The 16-year-old Sikh girl from Leicester

was described as very damaged and vulnerable.

The three men deny 22 counts against the teenager. The charges also

include trafficking and child prostitution. Let's cross to our

Chief News reporter Quentin Rayner, who's in Leicester.

Tell us about the background to this case. This goes back to a two-month

period between November last year and January of this year. A chance

meeting between one of the defendants and the-year-old girl at

a festival led to her having sex with up to six men and being paid.

Three of men -- three of them deny 22 counts. They are accused of

paying sex -- paying for sex with a child, and two of the men with

trafficking had to several locations and introducing her for sex with

others. What form did the exportation take? The men would

arrange to meet her, and she would be driven to various locations

around Leicester including public parts, -- parks, flats and

bed-and-breakfast. She would be given alcohol and cannabis before

being paid �20 for sex. On one occasion one of the men told her, if

you keep me happy, I will keep you happy. Afterwards, she was driven

back to her college, but she also began to get bombarded with calls

and texts from men she did not know. What the court hear about the girl

in this case? The jury was told, and she was described to them is very

damaged girl who self harmed and took cannabis. But prior to meeting

these men, the court was told she was offering sex to boys at her

college for �20. The jury was told the teenager made it abundantly

clear to the men what her age was. She also made it plain that she was

a prostitute, and that she had told them she had entered a business

relationship with them. How did the police become involved? By January

of this year, both the family -- her family and the Sikh community became

increasingly concerned. A group attacked a local restaurant where

the 16-year-old girl had had sex with some of the men at a flat

there. That brought the police in, and the full extent of what is

alleged to have happened came to light. Three other men have already

pleaded guilty to related charges, and this trial is expected to last

up to three weeks. A council is to check big trees near

houses, after an ash fell and damaged a couple's home. The owners

of the house in Melton Mowbray say they could have been killed if

they'd been in their garden. The council's requested a report from a

tree surgeon to establish exactly why it came down. Carol Hinds

reports. It's the unexpected feature that has

left Wayne and Sharon Kimberlin unharmed but shocked. The ash tree

which had stood on neighbouring council land came crashing into

their garden in the early hours of Saturday morning. There was a

rumbling noise, I shut the tap and a rumbling continued, following by a

large crash. Things could have been so much different if it had happened

a couple of hours later. We could have been outside in the garden, and

first instinct was -- would be to run towards the house for safety

which would have been the worst thing to have done. We sell -- row

we have something like 8,000 trees in the borough. In any one year we

would expect 250 to 700 trees individually and group. This tree

was inspected in 2011, and it was our plan to be inspected this year.

The borough council say that when the ash was last expected Royal

Wolverhampton NHS Trust inspected, there was nothing to suggest a

problem with the tree. A tree surgeon has been at this morning,

and we have asked for a full report. The Kimberlins say they're just

looking forward to getting their garden back to normal.

But nothing can be done until the ash is removed, and that may still

take a few days, as the council has been told a crane will be needed to

remove it. The borough council says it now

plans a review of similar trees in similar locations, to see if any

more may be vulnerable. Still to come - any more storms on

the horizon? Kaye's on downpour duty. I have my eyes fixed to the

radar image. We have had some nasty storms across parts of

Leicestershire today, and we still have a yellow weather warning in

force. All the details later in the programme.

Two men have been charged in connection with the murder of a man

who was discovered at a house in Grantham at the weekend.

30-year old Daniel Walsh was found at Edinburgh Road in the early hours

of Sunday morning. He died later in Grantham Hospital. Two men aged 24

and 21, who are both from Barrowby, have been remanded in custody.

Mairead Philpott and Paul Mosley have been told their appeals against

the length of their prison sentence have been thrown out.

Mairead Philpott was jailed for 17 years in April for her part in the

manslaughter of her six children in a fire in Derby. Paul Mosley, a

family friend, was given the same sentence. A judge at the Court of

Appeal has refused permission for the application from the pair to go

forward. Mairead's husband Mick was given a 30-year life sentence.

Cab drivers have criticised the planning of Nottingham's five-week

railway station close-down. They say customers can't find their new

temporary taxi rank - and that's contributing to a huge drop in

income. The City Council says new signs will be put up this week, and

insists the short-term disruption will be worth it in the long run.

Mike O'Sullivan has this report. Taxi drivers say their custom has

dropped dramatically since the disruption started just over a week

ago at Nottingham railway station. It's being closed for five weeks for

�100 million of engineering work, and replacement buses laid on. Some

taxi drivers say this is a hugely difficult period for them. They are

not coming to the train station because they know it is closed. That

is the problem. They told the people in advance, don't bother coming to

the station because of the work, and people are not coming. The customers

do not know where we are, and we are overcrowding because there are not

many spaces we can park. The hackney cabbies say they used to

have around 60 parking spots on Station Street. Now, they have

around 20 on Station Street and another dozen or so on Queen's Road.

One taxi driver took me to the Queen's Road rank - claiming many

passengers don't know it's there. See how far away from the exit, and

there are no signs whatsoever telling passengers that taxes are

waiting on the left-hand side for you. Well, surely they can see there

a taxi service here. But people still do not know. -- most people

still do not know. East Midlands Parkway near Kegworth

has become the hub for Nottingham's London services. But the Nottingham

station taxi drivers can't base themselves at the Parkway because of

their licensing conditions. The City Council says they have

ambassadors around to direct members of the public to a taxi. It's also

agreed to provide additional signing to the taxi rank on Queens Road.

Police want people to contact them with information after a teenage

girl was sexually assaulted. Tichfield Park in Mansfield was

cordoned off at the weekend. A 15-year-old told police she was

attacked there late on Friday night. She's given officers a description

of her attacker. Detectives want anyone who saw anything suspicious

to contact them. A record number of parks in the East Midlands have been

recognised by their -- row for their quality. They have been given a

coveted greenfly award. The University of Nottingham's Jubilee

campus is among the first time winners. Keep Britain tidy say they

are delighted that the region still boasts so many World Cup public

spaces. Still to come, a full round-up of the weekend's sport, and

find out what our twin towns have ever done for us. Next - the latest

figures show the most common cancer in men is now survived by nearly all

who have it. 160 men a year in this region are diagnosed with testicular

cancer. But only around half a dozen of them will now die. Navtej Johal

reports. This is a scene that Tim Parkes thought he might never see.

The now retired grandfather was diagnosed with testicular cancer

aged just 27. That was back in 1984 when survival rates were

significantly lower. On the ward you make friends, and you get quite

close to people in there. And then you see those people around you

dying. Today, thanks to more advanced research and improvements

to treatment, 96% of men survived testicular cancer, an increase of

30% in the last 40 years. In the East Midlands, around 160 men are

diagnosed every year, and one former surgeon says the national figures

are reflected in our region as well. Survival rates in the East

Midlands have really improved, and it is very uncommon for people to

die from testicular cancer now. Pete -- patients to present earlier, and

it is uncommon for them to present with really big lumps now, and the

effectiveness of changing drug regimes has helped. Testicular

cancer is still the most common cancer among young men. Tim Parkes

wants to make sure more of them keep beating the disease. If you do not

go to the doctors, you will be one of the 4%, it is better being one of

the 96% who has gone early, and you might not even need the drugs.

Next tonight, the first of three special reports on civic twinning.

Yes - your town or village is probably twinned with somewhere,

probably in Europe. The idea's been around for decades - but what do we

get from it? And can we still afford it? Derby, for example, spends

�35,000 a year on its twinning arrangements with a German city. A

lot of money. In his first report, Tom Brown travelled to Germany to

find out if it's worth it. The signs are there. In parks,

streets and even Nottingham station. But how much do we actually know

about our twin towns? Have you ever heard of Derby? No, I have not.

Why do they have to spend a lot of money anyway? I think it is an

excellent idea. I am visiting the three German partners of our cities.

My journey begins at the top of the church tower, a group visiting from

Derby are being given a birds eye view of their German twin.

You can see the house where I live from here. Followed by a reception

at the hostel at town Hall. This trip has been arranged by the two

envoys of the time. Rob has been sent here to promote

Derby as part of the city Council's annual twinning budget of �35,000.

These houses... Anti-Morsi's council pays marina to

come to Derby. But does having an envoy to value for money? It is an

expense that is worth it and pays for itself. It brings so much money

into the economy from private tourists. We do not want to be a

useless expense, we want to bring money in.

But despite the envoys, the real benefits of twinning have not always

been easy to find. There is the odd name on a sign, and the occasional

council gift. Three years ago, the relationship almost came to an end.

Right back row with budget cuts beginning to bite, the city Council

in Derby was contemplating cutting the envoys system and ending almost

four decades of twinning, but under pressure from here in anti-Morsi,

they decided to keep it and both time-saver twinning is as strong as

ever. Part of the envoys role is to

attract students to do work placements in Derby. Derby City

Council says the money the students spent alone pays for almost all of

its twinning budget. At first I contacted lots of times and they

said no, and she helped me to find the place here. So you are both here

because of the twinning links? It is money that would not be spent

in Derby. -- would have been spent in Derby. The envoys say they help

boost tourism, attract trade, and give people the chance to experience

a whole new culture. You will find plenty of people who say twinning is

worth the money. For the friendship between England and Germany.

Tomorrow, Tom is in Leicester's German twin town of Krefeld.

And we must mention Andy Mayer - the cameraman on this series - for

without him there would be no pictures! Time now for the sport.

First, Derby County have confirmed the signing of Tottenham Hotspur

defender Adam Smith on a season-long loan. The 22-year-old replaces John

Brayford at right-back, after he left Derby for Cardiff last week.

Smith, who's an England under-21 international, already has over 100

Football League appearances to his name. Today there was a signing

session in the club shop. Hundreds of fans turned out to see them.

Derby fans have high hopes about the new campaign. Hopefully a top six

finish. I am really excited about it. Hopefully we will get at least

in the play-offs. The pre-season has been helpful. Hopefully we will do

it this time. Well, five days to go now until the

big kick off and we are counting down to the season with features on

all our teams. Starting tonight with Leicester City, who in preparation

for Saturday played a pre-season friendly with Monaco at the weekend.

Monaco have spent �200 million on international stars, as James

Championship season. But on Saturday it was all about Leicester versus

Monaco. A mammoth task lay ahead. Logic says we will get destroyed,

but you always believe, don't you? You'd think, we can do this. It is

going to be 3-1. I think it will be 2-2. Monaco's manager fielded a

strong side with many of his big hitters starting the game.

City started the game the brighter of the two teams. Eight minutes put

the visitors won - nil up. -- one goal up.

The margin of victory did not flatter Leicester. I don't think we

created enough opportunities today to make it competitive enough, which

I would have expected us to do, but having said that it has still been a

worthwhile exercise. This season is about to start. Not quite the result

Leicester City wanted, but Nigel Pearson's men cannot be too down on

themselves. In cricket, Nottinghamshire batsman

James Taylor looks ever more likely to play for England in the third

Ashes test against Australia. He hit an unbeaten 121 against Australia

while on loan at Sussex. Taylor is likely to replace Kevin Pietersen,

who's carrying an injury. Taylor's regular team mates at Notts

were doing him proud in his absence - they booked a home T20

quarterfinal with a demolition of Lancashire Lightning. In the clash

of the North Group's top two the Outlaws got off to the best possible

start, with some huge hitting and a brilliant 82 from the previously out

of form Alex Hales. They set Lightning a big total to chase, and

the visitors never really got close - undone by a personal best

five-wicket haul from Graeme White, and some top notch fielding too.

This piece of brilliance from Steven Mullaney. Opponents and date to be

confirmed later in the week. Leicestershire finished their T20

campaign on a high - thrashing Yorkshire. They finished fourth in

the group. But Derbyshire, after hauling themselves into quarterfinal

contention at one point, finished a disappointing fifth. They were

beaten at Durham yesterday. Our Paralympic athletes Richard

Whitehead, Libby Clegg and Dan Greaves all made triumphant returns

to the Olympic Stadium in the Anniversary Games. But

Loughborough's Jonnie Peacock now knows he faces real competition over

the next few years. It was a brief return to the glory

days of last summer, the anniversary games giving Richard Whitehead

another chance to tease us all with a slow start before charging to

victory. Another packed crowd, with Libby Clegg claiming victory. As for

Jonnie Peacock, he was never going to win this. The man who finished

second, Richard Brown, is his competitor, and he broke the world

record for his class. It is a rivalry that will run all the way to

real. -- Rio de Janeiro. The football season is approaching

fast, so we have all those pieces this week.

I cant believe it! It is still some time.

Something else that is unbelievable Something else that is unbelievable

is the weather. We were on course for one of the

driest July months on record, but this week has put a stop to that. We

have footage of some flash flooding, on the Nottingham Road last week. We

have had lots of reports of flooding this week, and similar pictures

across the East Midlands. We have made up for that drives start of the

month, but we have had exceptional rainfall amounts over four inches of

rain have fallen. 106 millimetres in a week in market Bosworth, and we

are not done just yet. We have a daisy chain of weather fronts in the

Atlantic, sweeping in over the next few days. Tomorrow we are going to

see some lively downpours again, heavy rain through Wednesday as

well. But there will be some sunshine in between those showers,

and it is warming up once again for the end of the week. It has been all

about the thunderstorms today, and nasty band across the Leicestershire

area this afternoon, and we are not done yet. We still have a yellow

warning in force for Leicestershire and parts of Derbyshire and

Nottinghamshire. The next couple of hours will see some further heavy

downpours. They will fade away tonight, we will have clear skies,

but a bit cooler and fresher than recently. We are looking at lows of

down to 12 or 13 degrees. Tomorrow morning it is a promising start to

the day, some brightness early on, but the shares quickly develop

through the morning, and there will be quite a rush of them into the

afternoon. That rain could be persistent in southern areas, but in

between the showers there will be sunshine and temperatures on a par

with today. For Wednesday, we have an area of more persistent rain

moving in, so it will start of drier, but then it will become more

persistent rain in the afternoon. Again, temperatures into the 20s.

But that rain is linked to a weather front. It is warm front, and it will

be drawing up warm air from the South during the latter half of this

week. Towards the end of the week it looks drier and brighter, warming up

by Thursday again. A real tropical feel in the air,