:00:05. > :00:11.This is East Midlands Today with Anne Davies and Dominic Heale. Out
:00:11. > :00:14.top story tonight. Our mother is clear of killing her baby. Jodie
:00:14. > :00:22.Pick solved as a jury acquitted her of deliberately shaking her
:00:22. > :00:25.daughter to death. The last six months has been the worst period.
:00:25. > :00:29.Plus justice catches up with the paedophile who went on the run for
:00:29. > :00:33.13 years. Also, how the government hopes to
:00:33. > :00:37.get our children more active this summer.
:00:37. > :00:47.And from cooking to boxing - the new contender promising a sweet
:00:47. > :00:53.
:00:53. > :00:58.victory. I am going to knock him out.
:00:58. > :01:02.A very good evening. Welcome to Thursday's programme. We start
:01:02. > :01:07.tonight with the news that police are investigating allegations of
:01:07. > :01:10.physical and sexual abuse at a Children's home in Nottinghamshire.
:01:10. > :01:15.Former residents have taken legal advice after making claims that
:01:15. > :01:21.they were abused by staff and other residents during the 80s and early
:01:21. > :01:26.90s. Our reporter at Geeta Pendse is here now.
:01:26. > :01:30.What information do we have? Police have confirmed they are
:01:30. > :01:34.investigating six allegations of physical and sexual abuse at the
:01:34. > :01:39.former beechwood Children's home in Mapperley. They are alleged to have
:01:39. > :01:44.taken place in the 80s and 90s. Police were contacted by a firm of
:01:44. > :01:47.solicitors acting on behalf of the complainers. Uppal Taylor
:01:47. > :01:52.Solicitors saved 11 former residents have approached them for
:01:52. > :01:57.legal advice in the last year. They claim whilst staying at the care
:01:57. > :02:04.home, they suffered abuse ranging from bullying, maltreatment and
:02:04. > :02:07.sexual violence. We understand their home has closed in 2006, and
:02:07. > :02:12.Nottinghamshire City Council are working with other agencies to
:02:12. > :02:16.insure a full investigation is undertaken. Police say they are in
:02:16. > :02:20.the alleys stages of the inquiry and no arrests have been made.
:02:20. > :02:26.A mother has been found not guilty of the manslaughter of her baby
:02:26. > :02:30.daughter. Jodie Pick from Leicester worked as the verdict was announced.
:02:30. > :02:36.She has described the last 26 months as the worst of her life.
:02:36. > :02:42.Helen Astle was in court today. Good evening, Helen. It is now more
:02:42. > :02:47.than two years since Courtenay died, but today after a lengthy trial we
:02:47. > :02:54.now have answers. The baby was born prematurely aged just seven weeks,
:02:54. > :02:59.and was not deliberately shaken to death by her mother. It has been an
:02:59. > :03:05.emotional and very sad trial. At the heart of the case, a baby dead
:03:05. > :03:13.at the age of seven weeks. Her mother, 24-year-old Jodie Pick,
:03:13. > :03:18.admitted shaking had, but did she do it deliberately? Miss Pick cried
:03:18. > :03:23.as she told the jury that Courtney was accidentally strangled by her
:03:23. > :03:30.bid. Upon finding hair, she said she shook her to try to revive her.
:03:30. > :03:35.Miss Pick's harrowing 999 call was played to the court. She told the
:03:35. > :03:41.operator, my baby is dead. Today after deliberating for more than
:03:41. > :03:47.six hours, the jury accepted Jody's version of events, and she was
:03:47. > :03:52.found not guilty. As the verdict was read out, she held her head in
:03:52. > :03:58.her hands and sobbed. Afterwards, and a barrister spoke on her behalf.
:03:58. > :04:03.The last 26 months has been the worst period of her life. Not only
:04:03. > :04:08.has Jodi had to face criminal proceedings, but for many months
:04:08. > :04:12.she could not make court need to rest. Subsequently she has had to
:04:12. > :04:18.deal with the knowledge that her child, and the body of her child,
:04:18. > :04:24.has undergone repeated examination. During this whole period, Jodie has
:04:24. > :04:29.been unable to grieve or to come to terms with her loss. Well that
:04:29. > :04:37.statement was being read out, Jodi clutched a photograph album. She
:04:37. > :04:40.has now asked to be left alone to grieve in peace.
:04:40. > :04:45.Two social workers in Leicestershire have been dismissed
:04:45. > :04:51.after a series of errors made in the care of a baby girl attacked by
:04:51. > :04:56.her father. The child was injured by Izaak Whitlock -- Zak Whitlock,
:04:56. > :05:01.who had a history of domestic violence. REVIEW by the county
:05:01. > :05:05.council find he had been allowed to return to the family home despite
:05:05. > :05:10.warnings he was a risk. Two social workers have been dismissed and
:05:10. > :05:16.another given a formal warning. A number of workers at British
:05:16. > :05:21.Sugar in the yet are to be balloted over industrial action. The night
:05:21. > :05:25.union has rejected a pay offer for 3.5%. A British Sugar spokesman
:05:25. > :05:31.said the company had worked hard for what it said was a fair and
:05:31. > :05:37.reasonable offer. Members of the GMB have already accepted 3.5%.
:05:37. > :05:42.Still to come. Useful keep their fate advice or another example of
:05:42. > :05:45.the nanny state? These children are following the government's
:05:45. > :05:50.Change4Life programme. We will be asking the Health Secretary what
:05:50. > :06:00.our livestock is to do with him. And it is all downhill for the
:06:00. > :06:02.
:06:02. > :06:06.weekend, with heavy rain and strong winds.
:06:06. > :06:10.Before all that, a sharp drop in crime figures across the East
:06:10. > :06:14.Midlands. The latest Home Office figures are good news for
:06:14. > :06:19.Nottinghamshire. The county has been tackling one of
:06:19. > :06:27.the country's highest crime rates, but now the force's figures are
:06:27. > :06:32.improving faster than anywhere else. Crime figures have been a touchy
:06:32. > :06:37.subject in Nottinghamshire four years. It used to beat the burglary
:06:37. > :06:42.hotspot, and the force's record has been criticised. Things are turning
:06:42. > :06:48.round. Nottinghamshire police had that
:06:48. > :06:54.country's largest drop in crime last year. That all important
:06:54. > :06:58.burglary federalists down by 19% it is now lower than nine other areas.
:06:58. > :07:01.This is confirmed by separate figures from the British crime
:07:01. > :07:06.Survey. The police think this is what has
:07:06. > :07:11.made the difference - an operation targeting drug dealers in
:07:11. > :07:16.Nottinghamshire. Those arrests and confiscations have prompted an
:07:16. > :07:20.increase in drug offences. We are resting far more people in
:07:20. > :07:25.possession of good quantities of Class A drugs. Not just cannabis.
:07:26. > :07:30.There is an absolute link between drug arrests and seizures going up,
:07:30. > :07:36.and crime going down. We are reducing the opportunity to steal
:07:36. > :07:40.property, turn it into drug money and buy drugs.
:07:40. > :07:45.Nottinghamshire police say there are not complacent. The crime rate
:07:45. > :07:51.is still above the national average. But today's figures are powerful
:07:51. > :07:55.evidence things are moving in the right direction.
:07:55. > :07:59.A grandfather who went on the run for 13 years to evade child
:07:59. > :08:03.pornography charges was finally jailed today.
:08:03. > :08:07.David Taylor was sentenced to three years after admitting possessing
:08:07. > :08:14.thousands of indecent images of young children. Sarah Teale is at
:08:14. > :08:18.Leicester Crown Court. Good evening. Taylor thought that
:08:18. > :08:24.by fleeing thousands of miles away he was out of the sight and mind of
:08:24. > :08:28.Leicestershire police. He changed his identity, and continued his
:08:28. > :08:34.criminal activity. But he could not avoid facing the consequences of
:08:34. > :08:40.his actions for ever. David Taylor evaded justice for 13
:08:40. > :08:44.years. But today, it caught up with him. He skipped bail and fled to
:08:44. > :08:53.Thailand after being arrested for back in 1998. Police have raided
:08:53. > :08:59.his home and it found thousands of indecent images of children,
:08:59. > :09:04.ranging in age from 18 months to 12 years. Police officers who worked
:09:04. > :09:10.on the case received a letter from him saying he could not come back,
:09:10. > :09:14.because the stress would kill his elderly mother. Whilst in Thailand
:09:14. > :09:18.he assumed another identity. I believe he found employment
:09:18. > :09:24.teaching and he continued to consumer and a quiet child abuse
:09:24. > :09:31.imagery. In that period we have never given up looking for him.
:09:31. > :09:38.fact, Taylor admitted possessing another 3,700 images of children
:09:38. > :09:42.during his time in Thailand. For 66 -- the 66-year-old was arrested
:09:42. > :09:47.last December and spent three months in a Thai prison before
:09:47. > :09:52.being extradited back to England this March. The message is clear.
:09:52. > :09:57.We would encourage people to seek help. If they do not, we will seek
:09:57. > :10:03.them out. No matter how long it takes. Mr Taylor thought he would
:10:03. > :10:11.escape justice. We find him and to be brought him back to book. Taylor
:10:11. > :10:15.admitted 45 counts involving 7,500 indecent images, and he asked for
:10:15. > :10:20.another five counts involving almost more than 4,000 images to be
:10:20. > :10:25.taken into account. Taylor's defence solicitor said any remorse
:10:25. > :10:30.he felt was more to do with the fight he had ended up in custody
:10:30. > :10:35.rather than because of the consequences for his victims. The
:10:35. > :10:41.judge told him that the offences were so serious, if only way of
:10:41. > :10:43.dealing him -- dealing with him was by punishing him. He sentenced him
:10:43. > :10:50.to three months -- three years in prison for.
:10:50. > :10:56.A cleaning products from has been ordered to pay fines and costs
:10:56. > :11:01.totalling �23,000 after a stacker truck fall foul on an employee. He
:11:01. > :11:06.suffered a fractured cheekbone in the incident and Unic International.
:11:06. > :11:09.He was in hospital for ten days and off-white for three months. The
:11:10. > :11:14.Health and Safety Executive prosecuted the company for
:11:14. > :11:19.breaching regulations. Police are investigating thefts at
:11:19. > :11:23.a war memorial at Victoria Park in Leicester. Flowers have been stolen
:11:23. > :11:29.or vandalised of the past few weeks. The council is having to replace
:11:29. > :11:37.them. Over the last few weeks we have had the plants pulled up,
:11:37. > :11:41.damaged, and stolen from this area. It is a sacred area for the war
:11:41. > :11:46.dead on the park, so it is upsetting for people who come in
:11:46. > :11:49.and spend some time and think about their relatives. These plants have
:11:49. > :11:55.been pulled up wantonly for no reason.
:11:55. > :11:59.The Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Chamber of, say the loss of jobs at
:11:59. > :12:03.Bombardier a could cost the economy more than �1 billion. The train
:12:03. > :12:07.maker missed out on a contract to build carriages for Thameslink. The
:12:08. > :12:12.Chamber of Commerce is predicting the cutting of 14,000 jobs at the
:12:12. > :12:17.factory could lead to that loss. They are calling on the Transport
:12:17. > :12:21.Secretary to prove how the decision is best value for taxpayers.
:12:21. > :12:26.Yesterday the government said the decision could not be reversed.
:12:26. > :12:32.costs which have been announced by Bombardier in terms of the loss of
:12:32. > :12:38.jobs probably will cost the economy at least �1 billion. So the net
:12:38. > :12:43.figure is a cost to the taxpayer of �400 million to start off with.
:12:43. > :12:47.You are watching East Midlands Today. A government campaign to get
:12:47. > :12:53.children more active this summer has begun here in the East Midlands.
:12:53. > :12:58.The latest change for -- the Change4Life campaign aims to
:12:58. > :13:08.promote sporting -- sport in schools. The mission is to combat
:13:08. > :13:14.obesity by getting youngsters We believe that prevention is
:13:14. > :13:18.better than cure... A message from the top. Launching this summer's
:13:18. > :13:23.Change4Life campaign. They say it is not about the nanny state and
:13:23. > :13:28.Baltic -- bossing people about. It is about giving people the facts to
:13:28. > :13:33.make good choices. If you want to do things like buy is more
:13:33. > :13:37.trampoline or switch to low-fat foods, that is pretty simple, and
:13:37. > :13:42.through the voucher books, people will be able to do that. They will
:13:42. > :13:46.be able to improve their diet and save money. Inspectors dropped in
:13:46. > :13:51.for the first sports games to get children more active. I have never
:13:51. > :13:56.really been that into sport but am now. We have not won any yet but we
:13:56. > :14:02.have got better and better. Change for Life campaigns have survived
:14:02. > :14:05.government cuts. I met one teacher who is worried about changes to the
:14:05. > :14:09.way sport is being delivered in schools. Primary schools have been
:14:09. > :14:12.able to liaise with secondary schools roost -- Sports
:14:12. > :14:18.partnerships and we have had funding for that to happen, but as
:14:18. > :14:21.from now, July, that funding is going and School Sports
:14:21. > :14:26.partnerships in their present form will know longer exist. If an
:14:26. > :14:29.Olympic gold medallist was on hand to inspire and with a confession.
:14:29. > :14:34.That he virtually stopped exercising for six years after
:14:34. > :14:39.retiring. In terms of the survey, would not have qualified as an
:14:39. > :14:44.active person, which has a bit embarrassing. I played golf, but it
:14:44. > :14:54.does not really count. With the holidays just around the corner, it
:14:54. > :14:57.
:14:57. > :15:01.is a timely advice. A Leicester man has found a novel
:15:01. > :15:08.way of cleaning the environment while making some money. Adrian
:15:08. > :15:12.Ablett scours Leicester and he picks up cans which she then
:15:12. > :15:18.recycles at his local supermarket. As you can see, there has been
:15:18. > :15:24.quite a bit of drinking down here. Midi Adrian Ablett. He is a
:15:24. > :15:29.definition of can do. -- meet Adrian Abbott. I come home from
:15:29. > :15:35.work, get changed and collect my adapted wheelie bin. I go out and
:15:35. > :15:41.have a walk around and collect cans normally for about three hours in
:15:41. > :15:45.an evening. He has adapted his been to collect the cans and realising
:15:45. > :15:51.there is money in metal, he cashes them in and get points on his
:15:51. > :15:56.loyalty card at his supermarket. saw a way of earning myself a bit
:15:56. > :16:01.of extra money and trying to clean up my local area as well. As a one-
:16:01. > :16:06.man band I go round during the evening after I have finished my
:16:06. > :16:13.normal paid job. Normal people are really impressed with what he is
:16:13. > :16:17.doing. I think it is very commendable. I am surprised more
:16:17. > :16:23.people don't get involved. I think the majority of people want to do
:16:23. > :16:27.their bit. Sometimes they don't know how. Adrian got off his feet
:16:27. > :16:31.and took it a stage further and went out there of his own accord.
:16:31. > :16:36.He knows it makes a difference and that is why he is so enthusiastic
:16:36. > :16:43.about it. He aims to collect 20,000 cans in the next few months and has
:16:43. > :16:47.even bigger plans in the next year. There are some good people out
:16:47. > :16:52.there! Doing worthwhile stuff. used to be able to get money for
:16:52. > :17:02.the lemonade bottles. You don't get them any more, do you? Money for
:17:02. > :17:05.
:17:05. > :17:10.cancer, money for bottles. Money for old rope! -- money for cans.
:17:10. > :17:13.The first, the news Nottingham Forest have been waiting for. We
:17:13. > :17:19.understand Fulham midfielder, Jonathan Greening, is about to
:17:19. > :17:23.undergo a medical for the Reds. The 32-year-old worked with new boss
:17:23. > :17:27.Steve McLaren at Manchester United, who followed him when he took
:17:27. > :17:32.charge at Middlesbrough. No deal has been done yet but it looks like
:17:32. > :17:35.it will happen tomorrow. The news will come as a relief to many
:17:36. > :17:38.Forest supporters, who were worried about the lack of transfer activity
:17:38. > :17:41.at the City Ground ahead of the new season.
:17:41. > :17:48.Leicester Tigers have completed the signing of former Sale centre
:17:48. > :17:52.Mathew Tait. In 2005, he became England's second youngest post-war
:17:52. > :17:57.player, behind a certain Jonny Wilkinson. But he is arriving in
:17:57. > :18:03.Leicester with a real point to prove.
:18:03. > :18:08.Twenty-five years old, 38 England caps and one World Cup. Mathew Tait
:18:08. > :18:15.is already one of rugby's high- achievers. I have lots of things I
:18:15. > :18:18.want to achieve in my rugby career. A title for the club, and that was
:18:18. > :18:24.the future than about coming to a club like Leicester, so I can help
:18:24. > :18:32.them become a great success as they have been. He spent most of last
:18:32. > :18:39.season injured and lost his place in the England team, though. I have
:18:39. > :18:43.been very fortunate to have played on a few occasions now. Having
:18:43. > :18:49.played on a breakaway and with the loss of form and injuries last year,
:18:49. > :18:53.this is a chance for me to start fresh. He is a young man and
:18:53. > :18:58.everybody forget that. He has had a mixed international career in the
:18:58. > :19:02.way that he has never really cemented down his spot even though
:19:02. > :19:06.he has played many games. We are delighted to have him with us. In
:19:06. > :19:14.December and, we think we can get the best out of him. But you only
:19:14. > :19:19.have to remind yourself of him in an England shirt to see he is a
:19:19. > :19:24.rare talent. The Leicester Tigers might just have a gem.
:19:24. > :19:28.Now, the remarkable story of a boxer escaped the gangs of Jamaica
:19:28. > :19:32.to fight for a British and Commonwealth title. Ovil McKenzie
:19:32. > :19:36.was forced to leave home at 13 and make money selling food on the
:19:36. > :19:41.streets. For the last six years, he has lived in a hotel room in Derby,
:19:41. > :19:50.but says his life experiences have left him hungry for success. Mark
:19:50. > :20:00.Shardlow has been's to meet him. This is what it is like to meet one
:20:00. > :20:03.
:20:03. > :20:10.of Britain's top boxes. But behind this is a tough story. Ovil's Derby
:20:10. > :20:18.home is tiny. Two hotel rooms in the staff quarters. This is more
:20:18. > :20:25.than comfortable for me. Caribbean food, chicken, rice. Any Caribbean
:20:25. > :20:32.food. Ovil got a love of cooking on the streets. By 13, he had to leave
:20:32. > :20:38.home, sleep on floors, earn some money. If I had been going to
:20:38. > :20:42.school, I was by my own uniform and shoes. He cooked in the markets of
:20:42. > :20:46.Kingston in Jamaica. He now uses the hotel banqueting kitchen to
:20:46. > :20:51.make his favourite chicken dish, which he eats every night, and his
:20:51. > :21:01.fame ate carrot juice. He started boxing on the streets, turning his
:21:01. > :21:04.
:21:04. > :21:10.back on gang culture. Every Friday night, somebody came to three of my
:21:10. > :21:13.mates. People watched us tearing each other apart. He patrolled his
:21:13. > :21:18.neighbourhood each night and eventually escaped to move to Great
:21:18. > :21:24.Britain, and six years ago, to Derby. I think maybe I would have
:21:24. > :21:28.been imprisoned or died if I hadn't come here. He supplements his
:21:28. > :21:33.income with boxing and regularly sends gifts home to the Caribbean.
:21:33. > :21:43.From shoes to car parks. This weekend could be his biggest pay-
:21:43. > :21:44.
:21:44. > :21:49.day. Entrance to win the Commonwealth and heavyweight title.
:21:49. > :21:53.We really want him to win after watching that. What an amazing guy.
:21:53. > :21:59.On to golf, and Lee Westwood continues his hunt for his first
:21:59. > :22:03.ever major title. The world number two at teed off just after 2pm this
:22:03. > :22:09.afternoon at the Open championships at Royal St George's. But he had a
:22:09. > :22:15.nightmare start, dropping three shots. Thankfully, he has recovered
:22:15. > :22:21.to one over par with two to play. Finally, cricket, and Alex Hales
:22:21. > :22:25.has been given his county cap. The 22-year-old is a real rise in star.
:22:25. > :22:30.Nottinghamshire have drawn their championship match with Somerset
:22:30. > :22:36.while there was a Wii good win for Derbyshire, beating Glamorgan by
:22:36. > :22:42.186 runs. That is all the sport on the day when we met Ovil McKenzie.
:22:42. > :22:46.What do a guy! Fabulous. A reality TV takes on a bit of it was this
:22:46. > :22:49.evening in a documentary featuring a class of eight and nine-year-olds
:22:49. > :22:53.from Leicester. Humberstone Junior School, after a
:22:53. > :22:57.lot of heart-searching, agreed to allow a Class 4FF, I think that is
:22:57. > :23:01.some of them behind us, to be featured, and everybody agrees the
:23:01. > :23:04.results have been hugely beneficial to not only the parents and
:23:05. > :23:09.teachers, but most especially to the pupils.
:23:09. > :23:14.Here each year in British primary schools, at least three weeks of
:23:14. > :23:20.teaching time is lost. The reason - the poor behaviour of children in
:23:20. > :23:24.class. Only three years ago, this school
:23:24. > :23:28.was put into special measures. Their next step is to reach
:23:28. > :23:32.outstanding. They have done incredibly well. But everybody here
:23:32. > :23:36.agrees that this project is one of the best things they have ever done.
:23:36. > :23:41.I think everybody who works with children or has got children has
:23:41. > :23:44.got something to learn. We learnt so much about how we work and how
:23:44. > :23:51.children are. I think everybody could watch this and learn
:23:51. > :23:54.something, definitely. This is the very famous Class 4FF. Hello!
:23:54. > :23:58.don't have school uniform one because it is almost the end of
:23:58. > :24:02.term, and we must explain, everybody has been having a bit of
:24:02. > :24:07.a party. But we wanted to speak to you to see how filming was. Who
:24:07. > :24:14.shall we start with? What was it like being filmed all the time?
:24:14. > :24:19.was quite nervous and when they first came in, we were all laughing.
:24:19. > :24:28.You saw the microphones hanging down and you saw the cameras and
:24:28. > :24:33.staff. It was really freaky! It was a bit weird. A bit weird? Yes.
:24:33. > :24:41.is nice to see the children in the cars and how different they are at
:24:41. > :24:45.school. If they did it again next year, yes. It was worth it? Yes.
:24:45. > :24:49.There is editor of the end of the film where they say, would you do
:24:49. > :24:53.it again? And I say that I would do it every year with a different
:24:53. > :24:56.class of children. And I probably would.
:24:57. > :25:06.They were great. Hebden Bridge are so cool. They have so much
:25:06. > :25:10.confidence. -- Class 4FF. It will be a real insight.
:25:10. > :25:15.Let's go to somebody now who I am sure has never been in the naughty
:25:15. > :25:24.corner in her life! I think I have had one a black mark and I think I
:25:24. > :25:28.might get another one when you see I think we lost the sunshine a
:25:28. > :25:37.little bit this afternoon. We have got a lovely picture to show you
:25:37. > :25:42.from Nancy. Thank you for that. Please keep your pictures coming in.
:25:42. > :25:46.We have still got quite a bit of cloud with us at the moment and it
:25:46. > :25:51.could be thick enough at times just to produce the odd light shower
:25:51. > :25:57.this evening. They do it then start to die away. We then hold on to the
:25:57. > :26:02.clearer skies as well. A minimum to and from nine degrees and in towns
:26:02. > :26:06.and cities, more like 11 or 12 degrees overnight. A dry start
:26:06. > :26:10.first thing tomorrow morning and a bit of sunshine. Quite different
:26:10. > :26:15.from this morning. It will start to change by the afternoon and we will
:26:16. > :26:20.start to see the cloud increasing again, and just the odd chance of a
:26:20. > :26:23.rogue shower. But it will be a warmer day. The wind is coming from
:26:23. > :26:29.the south-west and temperatures will reach a maximum of 23 degrees
:26:29. > :26:33.Celsius. The rain is around, a bit delayed coming in, but it will be
:26:33. > :26:37.with us Friday into Saturday. Low- pressure starts to come in across
:26:37. > :26:42.the country as well, so the rain becoming heavier as the second
:26:42. > :26:46.weather front goes through in the first -- in the second part of
:26:46. > :26:52.Saturday morning. As one band clears out of the way, we will be
:26:52. > :27:02.left with very strong winds into Saturday. Sunday will remain
:27:02. > :27:05.blustery as well and we will have a heavy showers. As those winds
:27:05. > :27:10.remain pretty blustery, we have the chance of a few thunderstorms on
:27:10. > :27:14.Monday. But they will move through quite quickly.
:27:14. > :27:21.Crikey! Just before we go, good news for thousands of staff at
:27:21. > :27:26.Derbyshire-based retailer Sports Direct. They have been awarded more
:27:26. > :27:32.than �40,000 each in shares. They hit their targets for a second year