06/07/2011 East Midlands Today

This is East Midlands Today with Dominic Heale and me, Anne Davies.

Our top story tonight: The care worker accused of

mistreating elderly residents. Dawn Denise Heaney is accused of ill-

treating people in their 80s and 90s at this Leicestershire care

home. Also tonight, a despicable crime.

The street where a woman was burgled as she lay dying upstairs.

Plus, made in the East Midlands. The surprising truth about our

And after the sun, the rain. But are the prospects any brighter for

our farmers? Noah Kayto. The rain is no use. It will just be a

Good evening and welcome to Wednesday's programme.

Dawn Denise Heaney should have been caring for the people in her care

but a court's been told she slapped one 93-year-old woman in a

wheelchair and forced chocolate into the mouth of an another

elderly patient. She's accused of ill-treating pensioners at a

residential care home in Loughborough, charges she denies.

Jo Healey reports from Leicester Crown Court.

It is claimed Dawn Denise Heaney, a senior care worker insulted of

residents call up --, calling one moment a witch, and a larger lady,

Moby Dick. The care home manager at the time told the jury called one

male resident who had a disabled back the Hunchback of Notre Dharm

and insulted another elderly lady crews incontinence pads needed

changing. Dawn Denise Heaney is accused of ill-treating three

people at this care home in the Leicestershire village of Wymeswold

between August 2009 and March last year when she was suspended. She

denied all the charges. She said I would never do that. She denied

slapping a male Alzheimer's patient who has done -- described as

challenging and said that he had stabbed his knife near her finger

and torn her glove. She was shocked and frightened, but she said she

wasn't angry. She also denied forcing chocolate into the mouth of

and 81-year-old woman with dementia. She said, if I had tried putting

chocolate in her mouth, she would have picked my fingers and I would

probably have had a kick. She denied slapping a 93-year-old woman

on the head and said the headrest of the wheelchair came up to here.

A my accusations are that she put vinegar and excessive sugar into

tea. The defence claimed the allegations were part of a witch

hunt by other staff and the trial continues.

Next this evening, police are hunting a callous burglar who broke

into the home of a dying woman to steal whatever he could. Officers

have described it as a sickening crime which has left the family

extremely shocked. Our reporter James Roberson has been following

the story and joins us now from Braunstone in Leicester.

Good evening. Good evening. The burglary took

place in one of the houses here in Braunstone. That was in the early

hours of last Saturday morning. The police say the Berkeley victim, an

elderly woman, had been ill for some time and on the night of the

incident, her relatives were with her as she was not expected to live

through the night. At about 12:20PM, a burglar or burglars broke into

the house and while the relatives were upstairs, the burglars took

various items from downstairs, including car keys, and Apple iPad

computer, some cash, a flat-screen TV, and another Powell book laptop

computer. Just after the elderly lady passed away, the relatives

came downstairs in their grief, to find they had also been burgled.

They were absolutely distraught and their grief was compounded by this

burglary. And, of course, the lady died shortly after this. That's

correct. Therefore, we appealed for anybody that knows anything, that

was in the area of the night of the incident, and if anyone has been

offered any property, the property I have mentioned, if they could

come forward, we help - what we hope people can help us because it

has been a devastating crime. police cannot say whether the

elderly victim was deliberately targeted returns have made it was

opportunistic, but if people have information, people should ring

Thank you. James Robison, batting at the rain.

Still to come in the programme: An exclusive chat with departing

Nottingham Forest talisman Robert Earnshaw.

And the wheels of industry keep turning. We uncover some positive

Two men who sold tickets for the Beijing Olympic Games, tickets that

didn't actually exist, have been told they face jail after being

found guilty of a �5 million scam. 10,000 people paid up to 48 times

the ticket price on a fake website, but not a single ticket was sent

out. Among the victims were the parents of the swimmer Rebecca

Adlington. Quentin Rayner reports. Standing up to salute a Great

Britain balls new heroin... It was a double Olympic moment that her

parents were robbed of seeing, almost. They saw her winning the

800 metres freestyle through the help of a journalist after they'd

been scanned in their original ticket application. I was a

inconsolable, I think. Then it turns to anger. Because you want to

know why they have had your money. Six months have gone by. Had they

rocked us -- will rob us of not being able to see it, my feelings

would have been stronger. They paid in advance through a website. They

had sold �2 million worth of tickets which it failed to supply

or provide refunds for, citing the collapse of a ticket supplier. The

money was used to fund the extravagant lifestyle of those

behind the scare. This is the warning for other people that might

want to buy tickets off websites. The authorities will go after these

people. They should be sufficient protection for people like that.

They shouldn't be allowed to do... The huge numbers, it is despicable.

Because they paid with a credit card, they got their money back and

they also have the comfort of knowing they have definitely got

the tickets for the 800 metres final in 2012.

The spokesman for the parents of Madeleine McCann says he's spoken

to detectives investigating the phone hacking scandal because he

believes his mobile phone may well have been targeted by national

newspaper journalists. Clarence Mitchell says he believes his

mobile may have been accessed in 2008, when there was huge media

interest in the McCanns, who are from Rothley in Leicestershire.

Their daughter went missing in Portugal in 2007. Mr Mitchell says

he may have been a victim. Kate and Gerry McCann haven't been targeted.

It was happening at the height of the story. I have to assume, I

would be naive if I didn't, but who it was or what paper, I have no

idea and I am not pointing the finger at anybody.

A man has been jailed for life for the murder of a Loughborough man.

Andrew Smith, who's 39 and from the town, assaulted Nitu Babu Das, also

from Loughborough, following a row on the street where Smith lived.

Smith will have to serve a minimum of 22 years.

300 knives have been stolen from an outdoor equipment company in

Nottinghamshire. The blades, which included survival, military,

hunting and fishing knives, were taken from Kids Camo Kit in

Mansfield Woodhouse at some point between Monday evening and

yesterday morning. They're worth around �12,000.

Next tonight, a new twist in the saga over the future of Britain's

last train-builder. A trade union is claiming that the German company,

which beat Bombardier in Derby to a lucrative government contract, is

now trying to recruit some of its staff. Meanwhile, the Prime

Minister has said there is no chance of a U-turn over the

Thameslink deal. Simon Hare reports. Work goes on at Bombardier in Derby.

Even though the long-term future looks bleak. Yesterday came news of

1,400 job losses after Siemens beat it to the Thameslink contract for

1,200 new carriages. And, today, one of the main unions at the plant

claimed that Siemens has made approaches to try and recruit

Bombardier staff. My concern about it has to be it is the 21st century

equivalent of the brain drain. These people ought pre-tax in this

country, and provide to the growth estimates -- gross domestic product

to this country. Siemens declined to comment on the claims, but did

confirm it does currently have vacancies for skilled engineers.

During Prime Minister's Questions today, the Derby South MP Margaret

Beckett called on David Cameron to support Bombardier's bid to set up

a new academy in the UK to train the workers needed for the next

generation of high-speed trains. But he ruled out a U-turn on the

Thameslink contract. procurement process was designed

and initiated by the government of which she was a part. I have to say,

we are bound by the criteria they set out amount we have to continue

with the decision made according to that criteria. Separately, we are

setting up to ask the question, what more can we do with in the

current rules to make sure we boost manufacturing in our country?

with hopes of a re-think fading, fears of even more job losses at

Yesterday's announcement from Bombardier may give the impression

that there's no hope for manufacturing here in the East

Midlands. But that's far from the truth. According to the Office of

National Statistics, the value of the region's economic output was

�77 billion in 2009. And about 16%, or �12 billion, a year of that came

from manufacturing. But just like every other part of the country,

the largest contribution to the economy comes from property,

renting and business industries. World class products flight out of

this region. In the case of Raul Royce air engines, quite literally.

One it may be true that manufacturing industries have

declined, the all-important research and development aspects

often remain right hip in the East Midlands. With the recent opening

of the high-tech centre by Speedo with hundreds of people in

Nottingham. Our companies keep a low profile often as they take, the

competition. Take this company, since 1831, they have been making

high quality materials. It now designs technical textiles for a

range of high-performance markets, including the aerospace, military

and automotive industries. And the sweet sound of success continues to

ring for film-makers John Taylor which has been operating the

largest bell foundry and the world in Loughborough for more than 200

years. Here is another manufacturing success story. A firm

from Nottinghamshire that is a giant in the world of what is

called tear tape. It is a company that is celebrating its one

They call this tear tape. They make and sell a lot of it here. Enough

in a year to go around the world's circumfrence 700 times. It's used

to help you open things like packets of buscuits. I asked Simon

Wildash from the company to explain. This is one of our more standard

tapes of which we produce many millions of kilometres a year. You

will see it on a lot of packaging. Here we have a new product which we

are just sold to Brazil. They like their crackers in Brazil say this

is a wide we take which is used for promotions. It means the brand

owner does not have to replace their packaging and can put it on a

variety of different products. made here by Payne at Gilbrook in

Nottinghamshire, by a firm that was started 100 years ago. Other uses

of the tear tape include anti- counterfeit security. It's a

business with a turnover of �50 million a year. Although this is a

success story, on the shop floor there's a feeling that some parts

of the manufacturing sector need a boost. We are probably the

exception to the rule. We have been treated very well here. We

fortunately have a product which seems to work really well. I think

this last couple of weeks, especially with the situation, the

government is not helping whatsoever. These companies are

striving to battle on to get through. The company designs its

own products on site and has won a Queen's Award for enterprise for

inovation and international trade. It exports 95 per cent of what it

makes. We may have had a few showers over

the last 24 hours, but they've done little to help farmers who are

struggling to cope with a water shortage. In parts of Lincolnshire,

a drought declared by the Environment Agency remains in place.

We've been back to a farm near Grantham where, a month on, the

situation is looking even worse. Carol Hinds reports.

We first met Richard Coney last month. He farms a variety of crops

and livestock near Grantham. Lincolnshire remains in drought and

so the Environment Agency has told him that he can't draw water from

the nearby Honington Beck to help irrigate his crops. The water is

running low so where we normally take it out of the river, six weeks

early we have been stopped from extracting. What little rain there

has been has simply disrupted the growth of this year's barley.

Through June, we got about 45 mm of rain. The damage has been done in

March, April and May. The crops could not grow properly. After the

drought of 1976, they built a small reservoir which holds 9 million

gallons of water. They've already had to use it to water their carrot

crops and there's a real fear that without more rain, it'll be dry by

August. We are already down to the last 3 million, which was about

twice round the carrots. By the beginning of August, we will be dry.

So August, September, we will struggle to have any water to

irrigate. The forecast for a return to dry weather in July will add

further pressure on water resources for farmers like Richard Coney.

Little wonder that he's praying for rain and lots of it.

Well, let us go to and at her with a desk to explain why Richard's

Farm is suffering. The reason why farmers like Richard

Coney are concerned is that after the driest spring in more than 20

years, we have also started the summer on a dry note. Across the

East Midlands, Derbyshire has faired the best with a rainfall

total of 73% of what is the average for June, Leicestershire had 67%

If we look at Met Office readings for Cranwell weather station, which

is closest to Richard Coney's farm in Grantham, they had 39.2mm of

rainfall during June. The average is 57mm, so 68% of what is expected.

Although we have taken a turn to more unsettled conditions this week

and we have some rain on the way, we are yet to see anything of

significance forecast for the time All the details coming up with your

weather later in the programme. Still to come on the programme -

does an army really march on its stomach? We'll be finding out, as

one of our radio presenters cooks Time for sport and we have an

exclusive chat with a special guest with us tonight.

Yes, Welsh international Robert Earnshaw joins us tonight to say

thank you and goodbye to Nottingham Forest. Earnie's spent three great

years in Nottingham and has scored some truly memorable goals but

tomorrow he'll return to Cardiff City, his home town club. We'll

chat to Earnie in just a minute, but first let's take a look back at

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 61 seconds

Some great memories there. Why are you leaving eyes? To be honest,

looking back, I don't know why! Listen, I have enjoyed my time. At

the end of the day, for me, it is just time to go home. Go play for a

good club at home. But thank you, Nottingham Forest, because the past

few years I have had great feelings. When I look back on my career, I

had such a good time. So I can be thankful for that. Even some of the

well wishing from Forest fans in the last few hours since the

signing, it has been lovely. have had a lot of tweets recently.

A lot of fans had been asking if Forest did enough to keep you.

tried. The new manager has been very good. We sat down a couple of

weeks ago and taught about football and everything. I felt quite good

coming out of the meeting. But at the end of the day it was a case of,

do I want to go home and play football? The answer was yes. At

the end of the day, I would probably say Cardiff wanted me a

helluva lot more. What is your best memory at Forest and a message to

the fans? Message to the fans is easy - thank you very much, I have

had such a great time here enjoying my time. I hope I made a good

impression and they will smile looking back at some of the goals,

the same as me. It is as see you later more than a good buy. Thank

you so much, lovely to see you. So, goodbye to any but hello at

Leicester City to a new striker. David Nugent has been training with

his new team mates today and we'll be talking to him on the programme

tomorrow. Staying with football, and

Nottingham's Sophie Bradley made her first start for England in the

women's World Cup last night. Sophie, who works at a care home in

the city, was part of the team which beat Japan and qualified for

the quarter finals. Cricket now and Nottinghamshire's

Stuart Broad has responded to the critics who wanted him to be

dropped for today's one-day game against Sri Lanka. On his home

ground at Trent Bridge, the England all-rounder's taken his first

wickets of the series to put the tourists in trouble. Here's Ross

Fletcher. A moment of relief for a man under

real pressure. This was Stuart Broad's first one-day wicket since

the World Cup back in March. England have dominated in the field

against Sri Lanka - Broad's fellow Notts teammate Graeme Swann was

almost in the wickets - the closest of reviews going against him. Broad

then took his second wicket of the afternoon to remove Mendis - Sri

Lanka 174 all out with England well set to claim a victory. England and

45 the no wicket after six overs. In county cricket, Adam Voges will

stay with Nottinghamshire as their overseas player. Last night, Notts

booked themselves a home quarter final tie in the T20 with a ten-run

win at Worcestershire. This was the key wicket of Moeen Ali, despite

Chris Read making a bit of a hash of the run out. Notts are the first

team to qualify for the last eight. Leicestershire are also heading for

a home quarter final. A win tonight would virtually seal it.

Derbyshire's position in the quarter finals is in the balance.

That is all the sport on the night we say goodbye to Robert insure.

Goodbye from us as well! And now it's curry with a mission.

Yes, a mission to raise money for Marines. BBC Radio Nottingham's

Richard Spurr has been concocting in the kitchen and the curry he's

come up with will be raising money for our soldiers.

Food is a big passion of mine so I had been trying to come up with

something a bit more special to coincide with the Nottingham the

festival. -- the Nottingham food festival. I have been working with

the nd of the curry house here in Nottingham on a very special menu.

The proceeds will go to the war in -- the Royal Marine Commando find

for Marines who have just returned from active duty in Afghanistan. I

have gone for large chunks of chicken marinated in fresh and

dried spices along with a seafood curry with lobster tails and king

prawns. And my attempt at a fusion dish. Lobster is a very expensive

ingredient so you only use it on a holiday, but this is a special

occasion. We are raising money for some pretty special people. Now,

Lieutenant Chris, you are here representing the Royal Marines.

This is the fruit of our labours. This is the first time I have had

lobster in a curry. I give it 9.5 out of 10. Good enough for me! In

the many will be introduced to customers here tomorrow. -- the new

menu. Well, we can expect some quite

blustery spells overnight. Firstly, thank you to Sarah for this photo.

There is a bit of rain on the way, it is associated with a low

pressure that has been coming towards us for state -- for the day.

Showers turned persistent for a time before the brain it breaks up

and turns Sharif. It is quite breezy with a fresh, southerly wind.

Temperatures are quite bearable, 11 degrees is your minimum. Thursday

morning with sunshine and showers. Some of those showers could turn

heavy and boundary. -- thundery. A top temperature of 21 degrees. Low

pressure is firmly with us again on Friday. Some rain to start the day,

turning showery into the afternoon. But what about the weekend?

Saturday will be fairly dry, just the chance of one or two showers.