20/10/2011 East Midlands Today

A tonight a judge rules against Britain's biggest coal producer.

They admit serious safety breaches. A sporting student slips up in

quarter, at a cost to �100,000. Plus how one of the army's and most

injured soldiers is back on his feet. Find out why a six-year-old

George has donated hundreds of thousands of pounds to this

hospital. The good evening, welcome to the

programme. First tonight, a fine levied

against Britain's biggest coal producer. The judge said this was

due to the company's struggling finances. UK Coal admitted it was

facing a pretty serious situation. Four of the miners who died were

from the East Midlands. They were killed in separate accidents.

Our reporter joins us from Wellbeck Colliery. There is not much left of

this colliery, as you can see behind me. Back in 2007, the mind

was open, a miner was killed when the roof of a minor collapse on top

of him. UK Coal has admitted breaking safety rules in that case.

Also in the case of three other miners, at a colliery in Coventry.

They were killed in at three separate incidents. And least four

cases have been brought together in one prosecution at such -- at

Sheffield Crown Court. What was said in court today? Lawyers acting

for UK Coal told the court that the company is under intense economic

pressure at the moment. They are facing a very tough for state of

affairs. They are embarking on a programme of survival as they put

it. The judge was urged to take that into account. If he said he

would take that into account, offering a more lenient sentence.

Sitting in court had to hear that were the family of a man killed.

They travelled up to Sheffield to hear the court hearing. The charge

told him that he hoped they would understand that the level of fines

were -- would be less than they hoped. The judge said he would take

into account that almost �1 million has already been spent to bring

this case to court. It will be almost into November until we here

the level of fines that UK Coal have to pay. To thank you very much.

We have a busy sports bulletin on the way. All the action from

Leicester City's victory over Next tonight, a young rugby player

faces a bill of over �100,000 after a court case when Stich -- went

against him. Jack Sutton had been given a �54,000 in compensation

after he injured his knee in a game. Today the High Court ruled that he

should return that money, and paid a legal bill estimated at �50,000.

What happened here in July 2007 has proved costly by Jack Sutton. He

was 16 at the time. He injured his knee in a training game. The injury

took months to heal. Although he is playing rugby again, apparently he

is unable to take part fully, because he's thinking about what

happened. Jack was heard by a sharp stab sticking out of the ground. It

was about one inch and a half. He sued the club, citing a naked --

negligent failure. He was awarded �54,000 in damages. Roll forward

seven months, at the Court of Appeal in London, that decision has

been reversed. I think it is very important for rugby clubs across

the country. They are going to have to make sure that their pitches are

reasonable. It does indicate that going down on your hands and knees

will be a little more than expected. He will have to pay back the

damages, and legal bills estimated at �50,000. I do not think there

are any victories in this. We had an injured player, I feel sorry

they him. It is common sense, that has prevailed. The BBC tried to

contact Jack about the decision. Business leaders in the East

Midlands say that to make -- too many school leavers lack the basic

skills to make them employable. It seems that some do not turn up on

time, and some do not communicate properly. The Chamber of Commerce

said te many do not have won it takes to get a job.

At this industrial units, Malcolm Hall checks the latest batch of

goods coming into the warehouse. He owns a business selling work

clothes in over 70 countries. He has 70 members of staff, and could

do with more, but says they are hard to find. We have had some

people trying to do their jobs. He in some situations they have not

had the right attitude or work ethic. He was attending a meeting

at the Derbyshire Chamber of Commerce. He was listening to a

message from the incoming President. There are over 180,000 people

unemployed in that region, there are over 27,000 vacancies. The

businesses say it is hard to recruit adequate staff. There are

many people who have technical skills, but they do not have the

communication skills, and actually the right attitude. There are steps

being made to address this. This school are examples are ones with

specific business links and training for students. There are

lots of ways in which we are responding to the rates of industry

with an increased dialogue. We are looking for employers and colleges

to we talk to each other more and more often. We need to match what

requires are looking for. Malcolm says that he will offer training.

We are more than happy to train people, what is key to any business,

is the right work ethic, that is key. If someone comes along with

that, they have a job with you? Definitely. Tonight, good news for

one new member of staff. They were taken on. We plans to double their

business, they would like to help more people into work.

We will have more on that later on. Other news, at a publication of a

major report on undercover policing has been delayed after allegations

that a police officer took part in a criminal trial under a false name.

The review was ordered after the case of PC Mark Kennedy. It was

said that he and a -- that he infiltrated a group are protesters

trying to your portrait Ratcliffe power station. It is understood

that another officer gave a false name when he appeared at court.

At a killer who shot a man outside a nightclub in Nottingham has

failed in appeal to get his conviction overturned. Anthony

Tirado appeared in court with two other men, and said he had been

wrongly identified as the killer Bernard Langton. He must then the

28 years in prison before applying proper role. The judge said the

evidence against him was compelling. Derbyshire residents are being

asked what they think about plans to cut street lighting. The council

says that hundreds of thousands of pounds could be saved by switching

off lights. Areas such as the main roads, and town centres would

retain lighting. Trading Standards officers have

made the biggest seizure of illegal cigarettes and tobacco. After a

tip-off, they found more than 20,000 cigarettes, and 10 kilos of

rolling tobacco at a residential property in Mansfield. Some of the

tobacco had even started to go mouldy. These products are totally

unregulated. They do not go through the same quality checks. People who

are buying these have no idea what they are smoking. One of the tell-

tale signs is the price of the product, considerably cheaper. The

warnings on the back do not appear on these counter-productive.

Now, if you ever -- the Verdi wanted to be inspired. When lance

Bombardier Ben Parkinson was flown home from Afghanistan, his family

were told he could not possibly live. His injuries were so

appalling. Today, he is described as the most injured soldier ever to

be rehabilitated. Much of that we have has been done in

Leicestershire. -- rehab. Stepping out other life Batty for

the had lost. This is a major achievement, how does it make him

feel? You have been through a lot? Had by? In my body had been crew

l'art. Do you feel like you have? No. Is there more to achieve? A lot

more? The that is the attitude that has

seen him through this. Five years ago his vehicle was hit by a

Taliban bomb. His injuries were horrendous, he lost his legs,

severely damaged his brain, and his back was broken. Doctors said there

was no hope. Heartbreaking. You do not think he's going to get better.

The initial thing that you look at is the legs, he is never going to

walk again. In his case it was the head injury. It has been a long

haul, the MoD has funded visits for intensive physio here. He should

not be here. He should be lying in a bed, not quite in a vegetative

state, but he did not read the book. He does not give up. Absolutely

brilliant? He's doing things that people said would not be possible.

He could have been sitting in a bed for the rest of his life.

Using taxis to ferry patients around is not new, ambulance

services have always used them in non-emergency cases. The but it is

the amount of money involved that has put East Midlands Ambulance

Service into the spotlight. It has emerged from a freedom of

information request that the services has spent more than �1.3

million on taxis in the last financial year. Brian Brewster is

the director of finance and performance at EMAS.

The quantity -- quality of care and patience safeguarding is the main

consideration. We assess the patient's needs before we put

transport, and then provide the appropriate transport. I can assure

you that when we use a non NHS transport capability, it has been

checked for appropriate this for the patient needs.

The use of taxis has been rising steeply. Two years ago, the trust

about 29,000 journeys. This rose to 50,000 in the coming year. The

question is, why? The main advantage is the

flexibility it gives us. We have unpredictable demand on our

services, even on patient transport rather than emergencies. What we

can do is bring in additional resources to the capacity of each

day. Bottom Line, it is just better

value for money. Next tonight, a new page has opened

in a newspaper's history, with the first weekly edition of the

Lincolnshire Echo going on sale. The final daily edition rolled off

the presses last Friday, after 118 years. The changes needed to secure

the paper's long-term future. It is four times larger, but will

be published once instead of six times a week. The new Lincolnshire

Echo went on sale today for the first time.

So many people are cancelling because it has gone weekly, so it

is half and half at the moment. I have mixed reactions this morning,

a lot of people saying it is old news and they will not bother

buying it, and other people going we have got to buy this, it is the

first edition. It is a new chapter for the company

which never missed a daily edition in more than 100 years. But falling

revenue means it has had to go weekly to secure the paper's long-

term future. We do not focus on one thing. It

does not have to be breaking news or sport. We can now look at

everything, news, sport, entertainment, we can do it all,

and we can do it all well and give it didn't it deserves.

The paper's heavy. Some newspapers -- newsagents say it is too heavy,

so they are only using adults to deliver it. This is what people in

Lincoln think. It seemed silly having won each day.

I think it is better. I will miss the Daily one, I admit.

I used to sit and read that every morning, but everything is in there.

For by the time you get the news once a week, a lot of it -- a lot

of it is old hat. It looked substantial. It needs to

be for �1. Management is hoping it will sell

more in one week than the six weekday editions.

I hope you enjoyed! It will be heavy!

On its way, an extraordinary gift of generosity from a six-year-old.

And Anna, who is slightly older, we have the weather!

You may have needed your scarf and gloves this morning. But the

temperature is feeling on the generous side, and you will not

Whatever the immediate future has in store for us with the weather,

last night it seemed a distant -- distinctly cold. There were even

gritters out on the road. Today, Leicestershire introduced us

to some of the men and women who will be on call to keep the county

moving when the ice and snow really arrived.

Remember the scenes? Last year's went to was the coldest in over 30

years. We may well see similar conditions over the coming months.

Meet the men and women charged with keeping the weather in

Leicestershire at bay. Our drivers are well prepared and

on standby 24 hours a day. If we have also got 18th of volunteer

drivers as well as having in place now snow wardens. So we are well

placed for weather. These volunteers will be on call

around the clock, and can be used for a variety of purposes.

We can be called that by the emergency planning groups and the

NHS, for help transport, or even at helping to recover an ambulance

stuck on a road. And in Nottinghamshire, 5500 tonnes

of crude salt has been stopped. -- regret salt.

We have got 17,000 tonnes in stock at the moment. There is another

five-and-a-half 1000 tonnes behind me. -- 5500 tonnes. We will be OK.

Gritters will set out in force in Derbyshire last night. The council

there has the option of paying farmers to treat roads. As the

nights are drawing, councils are confident they have the grit and

the manpower to keep our region's roads on the move.

I need one of those trucks! Things are hotting up in support.

Plenty of action coming up from the Championship, but first, Nottingham

Forest's new manager Steve Cotterill is urging Nigel Doughty

to reconsider his decision to sell the club. He said on Tuesday he is

looking for a buyer, news which came out of the blue to Steve

Cotterill. I was surprised, but I'm used to

having new owners every six months anyway! IMB bad penny! You never

know, we may get him to fall back in love with the club.

Meanwhile, Leicester City are up to 9th in the Jadeja table after a 2-0

win last night over Watford. After an underwhelming start of the

season, they are now just two points of second place.

Huge investments at the King Power Stadium means fans' it expectations

are high. What is your view on the season so far? Up-and-down.

could have been a bit better. poor start, but we are getting

better. We have to give the players a chance to settle in. A finally,

the strikers are starting to click. Both the goals were scored by new,

expensive recruits. The hard work for the first by defender Paul

Konchesky, he picked out David Nugent, who is this -- whose finish

was precise. Watford were poor, added what -- added if it was not

for their keeper, Leicester could have scored more. One huge bonus

was the second goal, Jermaine Beckford headed it in, and it means

his big-money signing is finally off the mark. The this is his first

goal for the club. In the second half, Darius Vassell could have

done better. The goalkeeper had to be at his agile best four minutes

from time. The win means Leicester have now won or four on the trot at

home. It was absolutely necessary to win

today. Meanwhile, Derby County striker

Nathan Tyson could be sidelined until the middle of November after

another injury setback. He was supposed to play a friendly

yesterday, but had to bat with a groin problem.

Nottingham Forest Legend Stuart Pearce will be leading the British

football team for the London Olympics. He has been in charge of

England Under-21s for the last four years, and has been picked as coach

Ray combined British squad. It will be the first time since 1960 there

has been a British team at the Olympics.

Carl Froch has denied reports that he wants to move to America. He

says his quotes have been taken out of context, and he has got no

intention of moving away from his family and friends. He is heading

to New York next month for a training camp ahead of his world

title fight with Andre Ward, and is hoping his first big fight next

year will be a homecoming event in Nottingham.

Leicester Tigers will welcome back nine internationals for their first

appearances of the season for tomorrow night's Cup tie with

Gloucester. Four England players, including Toby Flood and Manu

Tuilagi, will hope to prevent an unprecedented 4th successive defeat

at Welford Road. We wish them well. Of well done to Nottingham Panthers,

who moved up to second in the Elite League after their win against

bread et -- Braehead. A great start the season.

We will have more football tomorrow night, including a special report.

You do not expect to hear about defeat at Welford Road! Four in a

row. Finally tonight, when George

Edwards was born, his life was saved thanks to a team of doctors

and nurses in Leicester's hospitals. If six years on, George and his

family have gone back to say a big thank you. And it was a very

I can't believe it is six years. Saying thank-you to the staff who

saved her son's life was always going to be emotional. This was the

first time Ruth Edwards had been back to the ward at the Leicester

while Infirmary since six-year-old George was born, and it was his job

to wipe away mum's tears. George was born with a hole in his

diaphragm, meaning his bowel and stomach grew where his lungs should

have been. He spent weeks in a special unit, and months in a

neonatal unit. We have ended up with a boy we

never thought we would have. Without these guys, we would not be

here at all. It is a priceless debt, which

George's parents need -- feel they need to do something to repay.

Instead of gifts, they asked for donations. They have managed to

raise �600 to be shared between the two hospital units.

This unit has changed a lot since George was on it. It had a �10

million revamp a year ago, and now has state-of-the-art facilities,

but bosses say they still rely on fund-raising.

The money that people raised helps us to buy the little things that

make all the difference to the environment and make lives that bit

better for families and children. What is it like we have parents and

children like that? It is fantastic to see them coming

back when they are grown up to see how well they are doing, and to see

George today was amazing. The as George thinks so too.

Was it go to? Road good!. I think Sarah's a bit emotional

upstairs as well. George was so lovely. It is a lovely story. The

weather is weird. It blows hot and It is all changing. If we had a

really chilly start today, but if you spot getting some grass frost.

But don't have the next 24 hours and over the weekend, you will

notice things turning much milder. I have got three photographs for

you tonight. The first looks like a beautiful day. Another gorgeous day

today as well. As we go through today, we also

have quite a rare appearance from this battle fly about lunchtime. --

Butterfly. Thank you all for your pictures. Please do keep sending

them in. This is the address. We had clear skies this morning, which

gave us a chilly start. But as we moved into the afternoon, we

started to see the cloud increasing and turning quite thick. We have

got all that CAC 40 still with us, and that will hold temperatures up

overnight tonight. It may be thick enough to bring some light rain and

drizzle, especially over the Peak District. But there should be

mostly dry. The temperatures are milder. It is a good few degrees

warmer than at the night we have just have. Trying to the afternoon,

we are heading that thick cloud will start to break to give one or

two sunny intervals. A maximum temperature of 14 Celsius, but you

also notice the wind picking up. It is starting to turn fairly breezy,

so on Saturday, another windy day, it should be dry and sunny tonight,

but it will increase. We're starting to keep this weather front