04/10/2013 East Midlands Today

This is East Midlands Today with Anne Davies and Maurice Flynn.

Tonight, could historic phone records help find Madeleine McCann?

Six years after she disappeared, investigators examine thousands of

mobile phone records from the location at the time. Detectives

clearly believe that this could hold the key to solving the case. Those

charged with murdering a football coach and four members of the same

family in Leicester appear in court.

Plus months after floods forced them from their homes, the pensioners who

feel they are the forgotten victims. Some people have gone into homes and

some with relatives but we have had bungalows that have been trying out

for about five weeks and nothing has been done to them. And the everyday

arguido that could give our Olympic swimmers an extra edge. —— the

everyday moss. They will not have the fatigue as quickly that they get

even though they are elite swimmers. Good evening and welcome to Friday's

programme. First tonight, detectives from Scotland Yard believe that

analysing phone records may hold the key to finding out what happened to

Madeleine McCann. Investigators looking for the youngster from

Rothley in Leicestershire say their enquiries are "gathering momentum"

and that they're now looking at 41 so—called persons of interest. There

will also be an appeal on the BBC's Crimewatch programme later this

month that promises "fresh and substantive" new information.

Her face has rarely been out of the headlines but what happens to

Madeleine McCann remains unsold. It is appearance in the Portuguese

resort of Praia da Luz in 2007 sparked worldwide interest that

despite a tireless campaign led by her parents, Kate and Gerry, six

years on there is still no answer. Tonight, fresh hope from Scotland

Yard. A briefing to select a journalist revealed that they will

be analysing thousands of mobile phone records belonging to people

thought to be in the same resort the night she disappeared. Detectives

clearly believe that this could hold the key to solving the case. They

believe that there is a vast amount of material wished must be analysed

and will give them a complete picture as to who was in the area at

the time —— which must be analysed. Kate and Gerry describe this as a

huge step forward, the case had been dropped by the Portuguese

authorities back in 2008. Then there were claims in a book by a former

police chief that mother Lynne was dead and her parents had lied. The

McCanns denied it and are seeking libel damages. Later this month, the

family will feature alongside detectives in the BBC's Crimewatch

programme which promises fresh and substantive new information.

Together with the results of the phone records, it should offer new

hope for the Leicestershire parents still determined to find their

missing daughter. So, detectives believe that careful

examination of mobile phone records could unlock the mystery of

Madeleine's disappearance. But how exactly will this help them? We're

joined now by a former police chief superintendent and now senior

lecturer in criminology at the University of Derby, Nick Howe. Good

evening. Thanks for joining us. First, how significant is this news

today? I think it is very significant but we should not

underestimate the job at the police will still have to do. What I would

say is that it is disappointing that we are six years on and this

particular aspect of the investigation has not been conducted

deviously, I am surprised. You mentioned the six years —— conducted

previously. Will this have been affected by the time—lapse? People

get rid of phones on a fairly frequent basis so it adds a level of

complexity that will be detrimental to the investigation but I am still

confident that it will now be thorough. It is fairly unhelpful

that this was not done six years ago. Yes, I am surprised by that.

Only the Portuguese police can answer for why they did or did not

do what they did. They captured some data but from what we are hearing

from the media and announcements from the Metropolitan Police, this

will now be a full—scale thorough investigation involving over 30

countries where the data and phone details will be examined thoroughly

which has to be excellent news for the investigation. It is a vast

amount of information, do you have any information about how long this

will take to get through? I suspect it will take a long time and will

also cost a lot of money. Phone providers do not provide data free

of charge generally and the bureaucracy in dealing with 30

countries against the backdrop of how long data has been kept for it

would compete matters for the investigators. Do you think this

could hold the key to finding out what happened to Madeleine? Had this

been a British enquiry occurring in the UK, I have to say that this

would have been a major line of enquiry and it is a tried and tested

method of certainly adding more information for investigators to

either substantiate or negate who was present at the scene and follow

lines of enquiry like these suspected people. We will keep our

fingers crossed. Thanks for speaking to us.

Next tonight, eight of the nine people accused of five murders in

two separate incidents in Leicester have all appeared in court. Two are

accused of killing the football coach Antoin Akpom. The other seven

are accused of the deaths of four members of the same family who died

in a house fire. Our chief news reporter Quentin Rayner has been in

court. The brief hearing is at Leicester

Crown Court set out a timetable for a trial date. The parents of Antoin

Akpom attended. First to appear was 19—year—old Hussein Hussein, a video

link with another 19—year—old Abdul Hakim failed so he did not appear

during this hearing. Both are accused of the murder of the

20—year—old football coach Antoin Akpom on the 12th of September who

died from a single stab wound. They were both remanded into custody. The

doc was then filled with six men and one youth charged with four counts

of murder. They are all aged between 16—24. Shawn Carter, Jackson

Powell, Nathaniel Mullings, a youth who cannot be named because of his

age, Eireann web, Hakim Jeffers and chemo Porter were all remanded into

custody. There was no application for bail. They are all accuse of the

V murder of four members of the same family. Three teenage children and

the mother died in a house fire at their home in the Wood Hill area of

Leicester. Police working on the presumption of both cases which are

linked. We were told that the trial will be heard in front of a High

Court judge and is expected to last at least eight weeks. It should be

dealt with by March next year. Plenty still to come on the

programme tonight, including: can you guess what's driving these

regulars at one pub so crazy? Pensioners who were forced out of

their homes by severe floods this summer, say they feel like the

forgotten victims of the deluge. Back in July, three inches of rain

fell in just a few hours at Southwell in Nottinghamshire. Three

months on, and the repair work is yet to start.

With an overnight forecast of heavy rain again, on this road in

Southwell, the sandbags were out in case and not surprisingly. In July

after heavy rain, the dyke running through the town rose from a trickle

to a torrent. We walked into the kitchen and we noticed there was

water coming through the door. Walk further into the hall and it was

coming through the front door like a river. This family are one of only

four households out of 17 still in situ. They are living on concrete

floors with the constant noise of the humidifiers. Across the road,

Des is now living temporarily in this flat. He managed to salvage his

medals from the Navy from the flood but he's not sure when he will get

back to his bungalow. I cannot see people going back as yet. Not for a

long time. We have been working in the properties since the day after

the floods. So we started work drying out the floods immediately

afterwards. We will start work on the site on the 14th of October and

we are doing everything we can to make sure people can return. But

people still believe that they are not going fast enough. We were given

a date a fortnight away roughly and nothing has been done. And now we

are getting to the winter. We feel like we were left to it and this is

the son who have come to this opinion, elderly people down here

that we are not being looked after. We have got in touch with tenants on

a day to day basis and spent most of the first week on site. We have

absolutely maintained really high levels of contact with tenants, kept

them informed of what we are doing and we will continue to do so until

they get back in. It is hoped the work will finish for the residents

to be back in time for Christmas. A controversial free school, shut by

Ofsted on the first day of its inspection, says it will reopen on

Monday. The Muslim Al—Madinah School in Derby was shut for health and

safety reasons on Tuesday. The school says these issues have now

been addressed. A football fan who ran onto the

pitch and pushed former Derby County boss Nigel Clough has been banned

from football matches for three years. 28—year—old Kaleb Morley from

Surrey can be seen here running past stunned players shortly after the

attack during last month's game between Derby and Millwall. Today he

admitted "encroaching on the field of play". He told Bromley

magistrates he'd been frustrated Millwall were losing.

It's a name that has legendary status in the African—Caribbean

community. Marcus Garvey, an influential human rights activist,

who died back in 1940. Today his son visited the Nottingham centre named

after his father. Dr Julius Garvey arrived from his home in New York to

meet members of the community and attend a civic reception. He's

touring the UK to talk about the continuing impact of his father's

legacy. Statesman—like and with a touch of

celebrity status, Dr Julius Garvey arrived in the Nottingham centre

named after his father. Marcus Garvey was an activist who

influenced the civil rights movement. It is wonderful, I did not

know the centre was here and I had never seen it and I can see what it

is doing in terms of supporting seniors. It provides daycare for

senior members of the African Caribbean community. To shake his

son's hand, it is marvellous. I am proud to know I have met his son and

to know he is such a humble person. # Marcus Garvey come to town.

He was born in Jamaica and travelled in Central and South America, he

formed an association to advance the cause of black people urging them to

take pride in their African roots. Marcus Garvey moved to New York in

1916 where his organisation grew. He died in London in 1940 and, 24 years

later, his body was returned to Jamaica where he was declared the

country's first national hero. APPLAUSE.

Today his son, himself a heart surgeon in New York, was given a

civic reception by the lord mayor of Nottingham ahead of other community

events. He is an historical figure that we all read about, the work he

has done for black people over the years and to see his son carrying on

the same work, it is really important. He is seen as a vital

living link to his father's legacy. The promotion of human rights. You

jumped up there, hello Daphne. What a great occasion.

Ex—soldiers are setting up a recycling service to fund a

cash—strapped veterans' charity. Forces For Their Future works with

former squaddies who are struggling to live on Civvy Street in

Nottingham. Turning rubbish into hard cash, this

is how a veteran's charity is dealing with a funding crisis. They

are raising money by collecting packaging from shops and then

selling it off to a recycling centre. But this is also a wave of

the men they are supported to make a new start. Unfortunately when they

come out of the army, their door is slammed and then the connection with

the forces disappears. It gets them communicating and also raises money

for the charity which enables us to carry on will stop Simon is one of

over 100 veterans turning to the charity. He needed help more than 30

years after leaving the army. I was unemployed and I could not pay the

mortgage. I did lose my health, it has made a difference to me. I have

been able to make new friends, otherwise I would have been lonely

and isolated and not knowing where to turn. They are not just recycling

rubbish here, they are recycling military careers and helping former

squaddies realise they are not on the scrapheap.

Absolutely not. Take a look at this. No, it's not

debris from a bit of Maurice's DIY, crispbread or cereal. It is in fact

dried moss. One of the 300 varieties of sphagnum moss to be precise. I'm

not greenfingered for nothing, and it's grown in New Zealand. I think

it grows in America. Many places. Closer to home, it's being used to

reduce chorine levels in swimming pools. Swimmers are hoping trials of

it in two of our pools will bring all manner of benefits.

Some of Britain's elite swimmers training at Loughborough University.

Also making a splash today, dried moss from New Zealand. Offering

fresh hope that chlorine levels can be reduced here. It absorbs

impurities from the water into the leaf and then they get trapped there

so when you change the moss after a month, they are gone. And it puts

material into the water, natural chemicals like a tea bag. See how

they expand? They are then 20 times their size that we put in there. He

is a retired vascular surgeon from America but his idea of improving

water for swimmers comes from yesterday's men. Nearly 100 years

ago, moss was used to treat war wounds. They found out that in World

War I before antibiotics, that if they made a poultice out of this and

put it over those horrible trench wounds, that the soldiers survived

in higher numbers. Swimming group say they are interested to see how

the trial goes. You can smell that there is a pool in the building at

the moment and we hope that the chlorine is reduced for that reason.

They are also trying it in the hometown of Rebecca Adlington. The

swimmers' hopes RA is that chlorine levels can be reduced. It ruins your

ear —— the swimmers' hopes are that chlorine levels can be reduced. Are

used to get sore eyes from the chlorine. The air quality is very

irritating with the chlorine. It is grown thousands of miles away. The

results of the first European commercial trials are being eagerly

awaited over there. I only knew of it being used in

hanging baskets. We seem to have had quite a lot of pure water ourselves

today. We may have missed the heaviest of

the rain overnight but the showers today have kept umbrellas busy. Find

out if they are here to stay in your full forecast later on in the

programme. It will be great for our swimmers.

Coming up on the spot, or the football on the way. But rugby

first. Leicester Tigers' director of rugby,

Richard Cockerill, has committed himself to the club for the next

five years. He's been at Welford Road as a player and coach since

1992 and has led Tigers to three Premiership titles and a European

runners—up spot. The last Premiership title was won

against tomorrow's opponents Northampton. It was notable for a

clash with the fourth official which has seen Cockerill get a lengthy

ban. Tomorrow at a sold—out Welford Road, he still won't have any

matchday involvement. But a long new contract.

Derby County, who have been making all the football headlines. With

Clough sacked and Steve McClaren back, it's time now to focus on the

football. Angela caught up with new boss ahead of his first match in

charge at Pride Park. What a week it has been for Steve

McClaren, back on familiar territory, fiercely ambitious but

admitting that it will take time. Let's not rush, otherwise you fall

down. We have seen that in the past, that can happen. We don't want that

to happen here so we are all impatient but we must be patient at

this, respect and make sure that what we have, we assess and look at

and come with us. Take them on board and then it will help. Tomorrow

against Leeds is his first official game in charge but he has been down

in the dugout already. The game on Tuesday, a real roller—coaster. I

endured and then enjoyed Tuesday! And that is what a team does in

football, I will probably do the same again against Leeds, a part of

it will be endurance and parts of it will be enjoyment. It is about

getting the results. Helping them is the Derby favourite in the boot

room. We are all looking to go and step up and really make a success of

it with the unbelievable support that this football club can get. We

all hope to be smiling for many years to come. So now it is down to

business, Steve McClaren is back and these players need to deliver.

And we will be there. Nottingham Forest are off to

Brighton for a 5:30pm kick off tomorrow with the deal for winger

Bakary Sako apparently dead in the water, Wolves announcing talks were

over. When I went to see Forest boss Billy Davies earlier today, he said

changes were still likely at the club. But — even though performances

haven't been perfect — he was pleased with the achievement so far.

This is probably the most points I have taken in the six seasons I have

been involved. Your teams are not renowned for being fast starters. I

am absolutely delighted, the most points I have taken probably in 16

games, I have taken less points than what I have at the moment. So I am

delighted from that point of view. The cop is very much half full, not

half empty. —— the cup. And we are very happy with what we have so far.

The only thing holding Leicester City away from top spot in the

Championship is goal difference. It's been an outstanding start, and

a stable one. Not many changes to the Foxes team selection. That's

meant only the most limited playing time for summer signing Dean

Hammond. But, as I found out, he's willing to wait.

Hammond is used to success. At Southampton, he had back—to—back

emotions and a Johnstone's Paint Trophy to his name. At Leicester, he

is biding his time. We have not changed for a while which is good.

It becomes more difficult to keep the group happy at times because

players want to play. All I can do is train hard, support the players.

They are doing really well at the moment and they deserve to be in the

team because we are winning games. All I can do is work hard and when

my chances come, the ready. It is about winning games as a group. He

has played a big part so far. As far as I am concerned and he will want

to play a bigger part himself on the field. His leadership qualities have

been recognised with captaincy. And his experience is enough to know a

good squad when he sees it. There is real good quality here and good

competition for places which is important because it is a long

season. Team spirit is brilliant but there is real quality in the group

as well. It is about being consistent and that is what we are

at the moment. How do you keep winning now? Keep doing what we do

and don't change. He says that even though no change means that he stays

on the bench. For now. Also in action, Notts County are

looking in a better place and are home to Crewe. Meanwhile Mansfield

manager Paul Cox somehow missed out on the League Two Manager of the

Month award. Still, he may not mind — it's notoriously cursed. The Stags

will try to keep their great run going at home to Hartlepool.

Elsewhere, Nottingham Rugby host Jersey and Notthingham Panthers are

home to Braehead tomorrow night. Plus, all our good wishes go with

Beckie Downie. Nottingham's star gymnast is in the final of the high

bar at the World Championship tomorrow. It is funny you mention

bars! What would drive you to the pub? A

quiz, good food or perhaps a big football match? Well, at the back of

one Nottingham pub is a small room where people scream, shout and enjoy

the thrill of the race. The local — a place to catch up with

friends. Can I have a pint of beer please, a packet of peanuts and the

star ski and Hutch car? Or have a meal. Can I change my Aston Martin

for a Ferrari? What about to raise? In a small room at the rear of the

Dragon in the centre of Nottingham, they hold Scalextric race nights.

With 138 feet of track and Nottingham horizons to race past, up

to six drivers can compete and it is all timed on digital scoreboards.

There is that competitive spirit in most people and also a sense of

absurdity of racing toy cars around a plastic track but it is a fun

thing to do. It is competition that anybody can have a go at. You are

transported back to being your ten—year—old self. This pub is

bucking the trend in terms of dwindling customer numbers as race

nights draw in the crowds. Anything from six people of a 30th birthday

party to 30 or 40 people here for a stag do. They in, behave but the

amount of people that you don't think you can fit in that one small

room... It has been brilliant. It is about having a laugh and you could

win a medal with your pint. It is nice to have real cars rather

than being on a PlayStation. And you can have more sociability as well.

But going on this weekend. How's the weather looking?

Not too bad but we certainly missed most of the heavy rain overnight.

But we have had 20 showers today. You can see the rain tracking its

way north on the radar picture but it left behind a legacy of showers.

Also quite easy as well as the lively showers but despite all of

that, temperatures have done very well feeling quite humid and we have

seen highs of 20 Celsius in Nottinghamshire, widely 19 Celsius

across the region. That is not bad when you consider that 16 Celsius is

average for this time of year. Still a few showers dotted around and they

will gradually start to fizzle out through the evening. Most races

remaining drive perhaps with some spots of rain throughout the Peak

District. Temperatures should not drop to file with lows of 13 Celsius

in towns and cities, possibly into single figures in the countryside.

We may see some patches of mist and fog there in the morning but on the

whole, the weekend is not looking bad, it is looking drier and we will

see some good spells of sunshine. The reason is this ridge of high

pressure which works its way in and helps to settle things down. Any

mist and fog first thing tomorrow will clear away quickly. Some spits

and spots of rain and then skies will brighten. The winds will be

much lighter and temperature still doing well with temperatures up to

17 Celsius. It does turn cooler into tomorrow night and once again,

patches of mist and fog forming as we head into Sunday morning but by

the afternoon, we should start to see some good spells of sunshine and

temperature still doing really well, highs on Saturday and Sunday of 18

Celsius so not bad for October. The summer seems to be going on and

on. It is looking nice and orange at the moment. We will have more per

you tonight. Goodbye.