12/02/2014 East Midlands Today

heavy rain is causing more misery as flood waters are on the rise.

Now the news for the East Midlands, I'm Dominic Heale.

First tonight, the ongoing fears over the future of Leicester's world

famous intensive care unit, ECMO. Today experts from Japan toured the

centre to learn lessons on improving survival rates. But the unit remains

under threat because of a long`running review into children's

heart surgery across the country. Rob Sissons reports.

Kirsty owes her life to the hospital and the artificial lung machine,

ECMO. Her father was told what no parent ever want to hear. My family

was told I had two days to live. I was on the ECMO for 13 weeks.

Without that, I would not be here today. Not many people know what it

is all about, but it saves lives. These experts know what ECMO is, and

have flown from Japan to discover the secrets behind White Leicester

has survival rates twice as good for ECMO as in their own country. It is

why we came here, to find out what makes the English system so good.

Leicester is a good place, and we have learnt a lot. It is tomorrow

they worry about here, a seemingly never`ending NHS review could still

see children's heart surgery stopped in Leicester and ECMO and here too.

You could set up a new ECMO unit in any hospital, and Birmingham has a

new cardiac unit which does very good work, at this unit would take

many years to replicate in a new hospital. I am just so grateful to

be here. The ECMO saved my life. I really think they should keep it

open because it will save a lot of lives. The future of ECMO is still

up in the air, but for now, it is business as usual for the

life`saving team. The man accused of the attempted

murder of a Sikh spiritual leader in Leicester has told a court he bought

an axe intending to frighten his victim. Harjit Singh`Toor from Oadby

denies harbouring any intention to kill the man, described by his

followers as a "living guru". But he does admit wounding him. Eleanor

Garnier reports. It was last August and his Holiness

was visiting Leicester from the Punjab. This Sikh Temple in the city

was packed, and it is here the defendant, 27`year`old Harjit

Singh`Toor, from Oadby, and orthodox M2 macro brought a three foot axe,

intending to frighten his victim. He admits grievous bodily harm, but

denies attempted murder. The prosecution alleges that Harjit

Singh`Toor was motivated by religious hatred, and that he

claimed he was abused as a child by the religious leader back in the

1990s in India. Earlier, his Holiness said allegations that he

had sexually abused Harjit Singh`Toor were absurd. Giving

evidence on the third day of his trial at Birmingham Crown Court,

Harjit Singh`Toor told the jury, "my emotions just erupted. I just

remember 0 emotions just erupted. I just

remember wanting to hurt his hands. That is when I charged up onto the

stage and swung the axe will stop I intended to hurt him. I wanted to

harm him. It is probably the biggest mistake I have ever made in my

life". The trial continues. In other news tonight, two men have

been arrested as part of a Serious Fraud Office investigation into the

Derby aero`engine maker, Rolls Royce. A formal investigation into

the firm was launched last year, over concerns of possible bribery

and corruption in Asia. Some of the allegations date back more than 20

years. Officers have searched several properties in London today.

The company's declined to comment. A Derbyshire man arrested after

offensive tweets were posted online about a missing boy has been charged

with sending malicious communications. Darren Shepstone was

arrested on suspicion of posting the messages on Twitter, after

three`year`old Mikaeel Kular disappeared in Scotland last month.

His body was found days later. The 26`year`old from Langley Mill, will

appear before Derbyshire Magistrates later this month.

Next, one of the oldest railway lines in the world is to have its

architectural heritage protected. 30 railway bridges, viaducts and

tunnels along the Midland Mainline, almost all of them in Derbyshire,

have now been listed by the Government. It comes as the route

from London through the East Midlands prepares for

electrification. James Roberson reports.

In motorised in bronze in Derbyshire, George Stephenson's

heritage is largely remembered for the ground`breaking locomotives he

and his son Robert Bildt, like the Rocket. Unlikely Rocket,

Stephenson's other great heritage does live on today. 175 years after

they were built, the bridges, viaducts and tunnels in Derbyshire

are still in constant use. With so many original station is gone,

English Heritage is keen that remaining structures are preserved.

This is one of the earliest railway structures in Britain, and indeed in

the world. It was built in the late 1830s. What is so innovative about

it is that it is built at an angle. English Heritage has hunted through

the archives and found original drawings. This was the tunnel them,

hear the plans and the bridge today. Stephenson simply carved through the

town of Belper. The bridges and nine are still in use. They had to keep

the track as level as possible, yet deal with these hills and valleys.

This is what they did fantastically well. While the Midland mainline is

electrified from London to Bedford, it's only now that allege vocation

north to the East Midlands is happening. `` electrification. Now

engineers know where the significant heritage is and now they can

preserve every bit of it. In Bush Heritage says later this year it

will start looking at other buildings associated with the

railway for possible listing, but it is satisfied historic structures on

the line itself are now reserved for the future.

`` preserved. Finally, do you remember the Winter Olympics of

three decades ago? Well, tomorrow we'll be catching up with

Nottinghamshire's own Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean in Sarajevo.

Here's a sneak preview from there tonight as the pair work to recreate

their famous 1984 Gold Medal winning performance of Bolero. We'll

It's goodbye from me, but here's Mel with the weather forecast. It is

amazing. The East Midlands have escaped the

worst of the wind so far. In the Derbyshire Peak district, the gusts

have up and up to 80 mph, which is where the amber warning is still in

place, issued by The Met office. That last until midnight. Across the

East Midlands we have a yellow warning, which lasts until first

thing tomorrow morning. It will remain windy this meet `` this

evening. It will be dry with clear spells for many places, and there

will be the risk of ice first thing in the morning with temperatures

dropping close to or just below freezing in some rural spots.

Tomorrow will be the better day. The wins will still be quite strong

first thing in the morning, with one or two showers around, which may

have a wintry flavour. Certainly, more in the way of dry and bright

spells. Top temperature tomorrow of six Celsius, so it will remain

fairly cool throughout. Into Friday, the respite is short lived. Another

area of low pressure sweeping in, bringing more wet weather and strong

winds. Your national forecast will be here in a moment. Here is the

outlook for the next few days. Good evening. What an incredible day

of weather it has been. We saw gusts of wind up to 108 mph in the West of

Wales. The wind is easing down a notch or two but we still have a

high-level amber warning from the Met Office for the strength of the

wind over the next few hours over quite a large swathe of the UK.

Northern Ireland, northern England and down across Wales, there is

still potential for damaging and disruptive gusts of wind. This huge

curl of cloud is bringing wet and windy weather across much of the

West of Europe. It curls back across the north of the UK and that's the

centre of the area of low pressure with the strongest winds just to the

south of that. Let's focus on the winds over the next few hours. The

ease down by a notch or two but still blustery conditions over most

of Wales. High seas around the coast and gusting up to 70 mph. Easily

around the 80 mph mark across much of northern England. Across the

Pennines this evening and overnight, travelling will be treacherous. Wind

and rain at lower levels will produce a lot of spray. You don t

have to go to high up the Pennines to see that turned to snow. One way

or another, further disruption to travel is more than likely. BBC

local radio will keep you up-to date on where you are and where you are

trying to get to. The centre of the low system moves northwards. Pretty

heavy snow developing across the hills of Scotland with several

centimetres by dawn. A bit of snow for Northern Ireland and wintry

showers drifting across the southern counties. A risk of ice with most

races are seeing the temperatures a degree or so either side of

freezing. A cold, windy start Thursday but I think it be a better

day. No persistent rain to be seen. There should be some spells of

sunshine for many of us, as well. Does it last until the end of the

week? I'm afraid not. It goes downhill on Friday. This low

pressure will head our way. Lots of isobars on the chart later in the

day. Gusts of 60, 70 or 80 mph, with rain spreading northwards.

Significant snow for parts of Northern Ireland and southern

Scotland. Windy into the start of the weekend. Saturday has outbreaks

of rain. On Sunday, something of a respite. The winds will ease down

and it should