:00:01. > :00:04.This is East Midlands Today with Anne Davies and me, Dominic Heale.
:00:04. > :00:14.Our top story tonight - the childless couples facing agonising
:00:14. > :00:14.
:00:14. > :00:20.delays in getting fertility treatment. A shortage of funds
:00:20. > :00:25.could threaten their charts is of getting a baby through IVF. After
:00:25. > :00:29.five years of trying, naturally, IVF was our only hope. It Farhad
:00:29. > :00:39.way today longer, I would have been stressed more about our chances of
:00:39. > :00:42.
:00:42. > :00:52.Memorials, park benches, even Benn's. The scourge of metal theft.
:00:52. > :00:55.
:00:55. > :01:05.Belts tightening at the Town Hall. After a very wet and windy day,
:01:05. > :01:09.
:01:09. > :01:12.will the stormy conditions Good evening. First tonight we can
:01:12. > :01:15.reveal childless couples are facing delays of around two months for
:01:15. > :01:17.fertility treatment on the NHS because of a shortage of funding.
:01:17. > :01:20.The health service says there's been an unexpected increase in
:01:20. > :01:24.demand for IVF treatment. But the annual budget is fixed. At one
:01:24. > :01:26.clinic most NHS patients will now have to wait until at least mid-
:01:26. > :01:36.February to begin treatment. Our Health Correspondent Rob Sissons
:01:36. > :01:54.
:01:54. > :01:59.The miracle of life. Created by a This woman had successful NHS
:01:59. > :02:06.treatment. We certainly would have not had the baby without it. It
:02:06. > :02:09.took a while for the ITF system to come -- kick in. When it did, it
:02:09. > :02:15.was the first attempt, which is great. In Nottinghamshire -- in
:02:15. > :02:21.Nottinghamshire, you only get one pundits got us -- cycle on the NHS.
:02:21. > :02:26.Here she is! But the weights are getting longer. NHS funding in
:02:26. > :02:30.Nottingham is now so tight, there are delays of two months. They have
:02:30. > :02:34.been waiting a long time to get their funding. This is now another
:02:34. > :02:40.delay on top, and they have to hope that this is the only delay. For
:02:41. > :02:46.these patients, coming to the end of their reproductive life, every
:02:46. > :02:52.month is very important for them. Across the city at the Queen's
:02:52. > :02:58.Medical Centre, they have also seen demand go up, back NHS funding has
:02:58. > :03:03.not kept up. The success rates are up to 50 % in a our NHS patients
:03:03. > :03:08.coming in for treatment at the moment on the contracts. Advances
:03:08. > :03:13.in IVF have meant that more babies are being born and treatment is far
:03:13. > :03:21.more successful. Even before the latest delays, there are barriers
:03:21. > :03:30.to overcome to get NHS funding. Women in the East Midlands me to be
:03:30. > :03:35.between 23 and 39, and have a body mass in set -- index of 19 --
:03:36. > :03:39.between 19 and 30. If you are currently undergoing treatment,
:03:39. > :03:45.don't worry. If you are a new referral, this is where the delays
:03:45. > :03:49.will kick in. It is because the money is ring-fenced. There's only
:03:49. > :03:56.so much money to go round. Is it true that in some parts of the
:03:56. > :04:00.country, there is no IVF on the NHS a tall? That is true, and is his
:04:00. > :04:06.controversial whether the NHS should fund IVF. In places like
:04:06. > :04:10.York and Warrington, because of the pressure on NHS budgets, they have
:04:10. > :04:15.suspended treatment altogether -- funding for the treatment
:04:15. > :04:25.altogether. There is no plans to do that in the East Midlands. They did
:04:25. > :04:27.
:04:27. > :04:30.It's costing one of our councils almost �1,000 a week - the theft of
:04:30. > :04:33.metal street furniture like benches, litter bins and even drain covers.
:04:33. > :04:36.In fact, since January, 200 drain covers and 26 metal bins have been
:04:36. > :04:45.stolen from Nottingham. Now it's hoped that by marking items with
:04:45. > :04:50.dye the thieves will think twice. Paul Bradshaw reports. Brushing up
:04:50. > :04:56.on security. This memorial plaque on Nottingham's Embankment has been
:04:56. > :05:00.permanently marked with smart water. The city council is a response to a
:05:00. > :05:07.surge in metal thefts. The it has doubled in the last year. �50,000
:05:07. > :05:12.worth of metal has been set up -- stolen in the last month alone. All
:05:12. > :05:19.precious metal has been taken out of the city. This is a fight back
:05:19. > :05:29.to protect our heritage. This bench may be made of hard metal, but it
:05:29. > :05:31.
:05:32. > :05:37.is seen as a soft touch. We do taking very seriously, so we are
:05:37. > :05:45.talking to scrap metal merchants, and we are marking the metal. If
:05:45. > :05:49.you get caught, you will be punished. Metal theft is an all too
:05:49. > :05:56.familiar story. Only three months ago, I reported on a police
:05:56. > :06:02.operation which uncovered stolen lead that had been smart watered.
:06:02. > :06:07.The lead had come from this church. They are now having to replace the
:06:07. > :06:10.lead with clay tiles costing thousands of pounds. The loss of
:06:10. > :06:17.the lead was significant, because our insurers have been suspended.
:06:17. > :06:24.We had to raise the money for the replacement materials. The fact it
:06:24. > :06:32.has been recovered is terrific, but -- because we have had led stolen
:06:32. > :06:39.in the past. The smart watering has paid off. The water contains a
:06:39. > :06:49.fingerprint that proves irrefutable proof of ownership. It is hoped the
:06:49. > :06:50.
:06:50. > :06:53.A A man with homes in Derbyshire has been sentenced for tax evasion
:06:53. > :06:55.of �290,000. Michael Keena carried out roofing work around Derbyshire.
:06:55. > :06:59.He failed to declare earnings of one point seventeen million pounds
:06:59. > :07:04.over seven years and failed to pay the income tax, VAT and national
:07:04. > :07:07.insurance. He's required to pay the money or face jail. It's emerged
:07:07. > :07:10.that East Midlands Trains made a loss of more than �25 million over
:07:10. > :07:13.six months. Figures from Stagecoach who own the train franchise show
:07:13. > :07:15.East Midlands Trains made the loss between April and October this year.
:07:15. > :07:23.Whilst more people are using the service passenger revenues were
:07:23. > :07:26.lower then expected. The company expects to be in profit next year.
:07:26. > :07:28.Still to come on the programme - more good news for engineering in
:07:28. > :07:38.our region. Leicestershire-based Caterpillar follow Rolls Royce and
:07:38. > :07:44.
:07:44. > :07:47.JCB in announcing a much-needed Nottinghamshire police are warning
:07:47. > :07:50.anyone tempted to make up an allegation of rape to think again.
:07:50. > :07:52.For the accused - and the accuser - the consequences can be devastating.
:07:52. > :07:55.They've told us that several well publicised accusations over the
:07:55. > :08:05.past year turned out to be completely false. Here's Sarah
:08:05. > :08:09.
:08:09. > :08:14.Three crime of rape is one of the most difficult for the police to
:08:14. > :08:19.investigate. Had to prove an allegation with one person against
:08:19. > :08:26.another when only one person is true? Since last November, they are
:08:26. > :08:34.asking 300 allegations of rape. 60 % -- 16 % turned out to be false.
:08:34. > :08:38.It is a concern to the senior police officer. Superintendent
:08:38. > :08:45.Helen Chamberlain says in some circumstances, they will prosecute.
:08:45. > :08:50.Their actions will cause a lot of work for the police. We will treat
:08:50. > :09:00.it seriously in terms of considering them for an offence.
:09:00. > :09:03.
:09:03. > :09:11.They have wasted police time. June, 19-year-old student was
:09:11. > :09:21.jailed for two years for perverting the course of justice. The forces
:09:21. > :09:32.
:09:32. > :09:41.Dow said that three claims were the most -- emotionally vulnerable
:09:42. > :09:47.had made a false claim against a stranger. It cost �250,000 if and
:09:47. > :09:48.rape investigation reaches court. rape investigation reaches court.
:09:48. > :09:53.Police do not want to deter genuine Police do not want to deter genuine
:09:53. > :10:03.race -- rape victims to Concorde. People to worry about the support
:10:03. > :10:04.
:10:04. > :10:11.they get. Only 13 % of rape allegations in Nottinghamshire
:10:11. > :10:17.result in convictions. But there are can be -- successes. This man
:10:17. > :10:23.was jailed for 17 years after raping his victim in front of her
:10:23. > :10:33.boyfriend on New Year's Day. We take -- the police say they take
:10:33. > :10:36.
:10:36. > :10:39.The leader of the Labour party has been telling workers at an East
:10:39. > :10:42.Midlands firm that HIS party will help local businesses grow. Ed
:10:42. > :10:44.Miliband was visiting Tioga in Derby, which makes circuit boards
:10:44. > :10:47.for the electronics industry. Tioga is taking on apprentices, despite
:10:47. > :10:51.the current economic conditions. Mr Milliband told staff similar growth
:10:51. > :10:54.is needed in all businesses. We are going to all parts of the country
:10:54. > :10:59.talking to businesses about what they need from the economy. What
:10:59. > :11:04.most businesses are saying is that they need growth in the economy,
:11:05. > :11:09.because flat mining is not going to work. This business is doing OK
:11:09. > :11:14.thanks to their efforts. We need a government that is going to support
:11:14. > :11:16.of businesses like this one. there's been another major
:11:16. > :11:19.announcement on the jobs front today. The digger-maker Caterpillar
:11:19. > :11:22.is doubling production at its Leicestershire plant. The move is
:11:22. > :11:32.likely to lead to hundreds of extra jobs at the firm which already
:11:32. > :11:42.employs two thousand people. Here's This is the visitors' centre here
:11:42. > :11:48.
:11:48. > :11:57.The firm has just announced a �50 million investment. Let's hear it
:11:57. > :12:06.from the MD of Caterpillar. We are going to increase our capacity in
:12:06. > :12:14.the UK. We are going to be doubling it. We are bullish about the future
:12:14. > :12:21.and our plans. It will continue like that. The markets around --
:12:21. > :12:29.outside Europe are particularly doing well. There's a lot of demand
:12:29. > :12:33.for these. We have proved to be an excellent export base for the world.
:12:33. > :12:38.We do not know the numbers, but we will certainly increase from now.
:12:38. > :12:44.We will start an apprentice programme. We have 200 this year,
:12:44. > :12:50.we had to have 200 next year and to you -- 200 the year after. We will
:12:50. > :12:56.be continuing with that. Doubling apprentices each year. That is good
:12:57. > :13:02.news for Caterpillar. I like everyone else, 2009 is the year we
:13:02. > :13:08.would want to forget, but we have come out of it very well. Many
:13:08. > :13:16.thanks, and this is just the latest announcement of major investment by
:13:16. > :13:19.major manufacturers here in the East Midlands. Going to the
:13:19. > :13:22.pictures has never been more popular. A chance to indulge in a
:13:22. > :13:25.bit of harmless escapism. But for some people with disabilities,
:13:25. > :13:27.watching a film can be a drama in itself. Today campaigner Vivek
:13:27. > :13:30.Gohill from Leicestershire met the bosses of Britain's major cinema
:13:30. > :13:40.chains to talk about a lack of facilities for disabled people.
:13:40. > :13:48.
:13:48. > :13:52.This woman has muscular -- this man has muscular dystrophy. He is
:13:52. > :13:57.saying that people with disabilities should have better
:13:57. > :14:03.views of the big screen. If you're sitting at the front of the
:14:03. > :14:08.auditorium, you have to crane your neck to see the screen. It is quite
:14:08. > :14:13.painful after a while. That is one of the problems. Another problem is
:14:13. > :14:17.the will chair seats. There's not enough space to sit in the group
:14:17. > :14:26.when you're with your friends. muscular dystrophy Campaign has
:14:26. > :14:31.made a campaign -- a trailer. should always be universal access.
:14:31. > :14:37.I would support everything they are doing to change that. Everyone has
:14:37. > :14:43.the right to go and see a good movie. I am quite positive that
:14:43. > :14:50.changes are going to be made. The cinema industry will have to listen
:14:50. > :14:54.to these changes. It just adds more pressure on them. This morning, he
:14:54. > :15:02.joined other campaigners to present a petition at Downing Street which
:15:02. > :15:12.they hope will make the move is a - - movie industry pay attention.
:15:12. > :15:19.hope the Co op's of cinema -- C O of cinema as to listen.
:15:19. > :15:28.government says it is committed to improving it for all disabled
:15:28. > :15:31.The civil rights campaigner Reverend Jesse Jackson is to
:15:31. > :15:33.receive an honorary degree from De Montfort University. Reverend
:15:33. > :15:36.Jackson visited Leicester in 2007 to meet the city's minority
:15:36. > :15:38.communities. Next week he'll be back in Leicester to receive the
:15:38. > :15:41.honorary degree and attend a conference on the threat of
:15:41. > :15:43.terrorism in the UK. Now, one lucky person in
:15:43. > :15:46.Nottinghamshire could be holding on to a lottery ticket worth over
:15:46. > :15:51.�300,000. The National Lottery announced there is an unclaimed
:15:51. > :15:54.ticket belonging to someone living in Rushcliffe. The ticket dates
:15:54. > :16:04.back to the 19th of November and comprised five winning numbers and
:16:04. > :16:07.
:16:07. > :16:10.a bonus ball. I will check mine in the cart, immediately.
:16:10. > :16:13.Now, with their ceremonial robes and gold chain, there's a certain
:16:13. > :16:16.amount of splendour associated with the office of mayor or Lord Mayor.
:16:16. > :16:19.But how much do some of our councils spend on cars for their
:16:19. > :16:23.civic representatives? Today the mayor of Leicester, Sir Peter
:16:23. > :16:27.Soulsby, promised to get rid of one of the Lord Mayor's two luxury cars.
:16:27. > :16:36.Whilst in Loughborough the Lord Mayor of Charnwood now uses a Skoda.
:16:36. > :16:41.Tom Brown reports. A touch of elegance in a time of
:16:41. > :16:46.austerity. These two cars used by Leicester's Lord Mayor cost nearly
:16:46. > :16:51.�18,000 a year to run. What price to for the personalised number
:16:51. > :16:56.plates? By looking to save �70 million over the next three years,
:16:56. > :17:01.today the mayor promised to get rid of not one, but both. The second
:17:01. > :17:08.car is a modest saving, but none the less a saving we look to make
:17:08. > :17:15.over the weeks and months ahead. I have no doubt at all that the axe
:17:15. > :17:22.will fall on it. The city council also owns two cars, one for the
:17:22. > :17:27.mayor and the sheriff, they were bought for �90,000 and a further
:17:27. > :17:31.�16,000 is needed each year to run them. Replace any vehicles has been
:17:31. > :17:37.all ruled out. In Loughborough the council have decided to change the
:17:37. > :17:44.Meyers car, bringing in this new Skoda over the next four years. The
:17:44. > :17:48.council says it will save them money. The mayor has over 400
:17:48. > :17:53.visits per annum to make and travels around 15,000 miles, he
:17:54. > :18:03.could not do as many engagements as he does in one day without it. It
:18:04. > :18:05.
:18:05. > :18:08.makes sense to have a male role car. We would have had we would have had
:18:08. > :18:16.people complaining if we had gone for a Mercedes or something like
:18:16. > :18:22.that. This has got many people's approval.
:18:22. > :18:25.Now it hopes the rest of the borough will feel the same.
:18:25. > :18:35.Still to come on the programme, a hobby for the nimble fingered. We
:18:35. > :18:36.
:18:37. > :18:39.meet the collector who's big on First tonight, for a long time it
:18:39. > :18:49.has been a taboo subject, but Derbyshire cricket captain Luke
:18:49. > :18:54.
:18:54. > :18:58.Sutton has announced he is retiring from the game because of depression.
:18:58. > :19:00.The 35 year old, who has made 176 first class appearances, said in a
:19:00. > :19:06.statement that as a professional sportsman he felt it was extremely
:19:06. > :19:10.embarrassing to admit to a weakness. But, he says, he was proud to have
:19:10. > :19:14.found the strength to have sought treatment. His replacement will be
:19:14. > :19:17.announced in the next few days. We wish him well.
:19:17. > :19:20.Onto football and Nottingham Forest have reported losses of more than
:19:20. > :19:23.�11m for last year, despite an increase in turnover. It comes as
:19:23. > :19:27.chairman Nigel Doughty has stepped down from his role but will
:19:27. > :19:36.continue with his financial support. But Reds boss Steve Cotterill says
:19:36. > :19:45.he's not at all concerned by the finances. I am not responsible for
:19:45. > :19:51.that, I can't really worry about to -- it's too much. I have not done
:19:51. > :19:55.an accountancy course, I will leave that to the people in charge. It is
:19:55. > :20:02.obviously a blow, but when you have been in charge of a football club
:20:02. > :20:05.which is �120 million in debt, then I can handle this.
:20:05. > :20:08.It may have escaped your attention but England's netball team have
:20:08. > :20:11.just won their first ever world title. For whatever reason the
:20:11. > :20:14.sport tends to go under the radar in this country. That's all about
:20:14. > :20:20.to change for one of Loughborough's England stars though. Kirsty
:20:20. > :20:24.Edwards reports. It has been a whirlwind couple of
:20:24. > :20:28.weeks, capping England took an historic win in the world netball
:20:28. > :20:32.series, and now getting ready to leave her Loughborough lining team-
:20:32. > :20:42.mates behind and jet off to play in the biggest netball leak in the
:20:42. > :20:48.
:20:48. > :20:52.It is a joint league between Australia and New Zealand, trying
:20:52. > :20:58.to put your whole life into one piece of luggage. It is going to be
:20:58. > :21:03.quite scary, but at the same time a great opportunity. You will have
:21:03. > :21:10.300 people watching games here in Loughborough, in New Zealand they
:21:10. > :21:16.are paid to play in front of thousands. That is why she is
:21:16. > :21:20.heading Down Under, just like her coach did 12 years ago. I went out
:21:20. > :21:26.there and is a similar thing, some of the girls are superstars in New
:21:26. > :21:31.Zealand and I am sure she will love the limelight. The game may be huge
:21:31. > :21:35.Down Under but it has a long way to go elsewhere. We will see
:21:35. > :21:40.basketball at the Olympics but still no place for netball.
:21:41. > :21:47.trained as much as any armour athlete, so I think it would be our
:21:47. > :21:53.dream to get it in the Olympics. minutes in an action-packed game
:21:54. > :22:00.where you have bodies everywhere, 120 goals potentially, it is a
:22:00. > :22:05.great spectacle. She sells the game well and after England success on
:22:05. > :22:13.the world stage, it is hoped that more people will start buying into
:22:13. > :22:16.Congratulations to Leicestershire cyclist Lucy Garner. She has made
:22:16. > :22:19.the final 3 for the BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year
:22:19. > :22:21.award. Little wonder after the 12 months she has had, she became the
:22:21. > :22:25.junior road race world champion making her Britain's first
:22:25. > :22:27.medallist in the event for more than a decade. She also became the
:22:27. > :22:36.Youth Commonwealth Games road race champion and team time trial
:22:36. > :22:42.champion this year. Fingers crossed for the big night on December 22nd.
:22:42. > :22:45.Can I urge you to watch netball live if you can.
:22:45. > :22:49.And now, back by popular demand, Jeremy and his series all about
:22:49. > :22:59.people who make a hobby out of collecting things. Tonight we meet
:22:59. > :23:01.
:23:01. > :23:09.a lady whose collection is made up from the tools of her trade.
:23:09. > :23:13.Unravelling the bobbins, the often ornate spindles used in lace-making.
:23:13. > :23:19.Louise West has been collecting for years. Most of them on a here are
:23:19. > :23:24.made from bone, they are weighted with a spangle as the bottom. Today
:23:24. > :23:32.that is generally a ring of glass beads. It could have been all sorts
:23:32. > :23:36.of things, beads, buttons, Collins, the lace makers would have been
:23:36. > :23:41.cottage workers, working in poor conditions by candlelight. Most
:23:42. > :23:46.were blind by the time they reach the mid- twenties and were paid a
:23:46. > :23:53.pittance for a luxury product. It is nice to handle the bobbins and
:23:53. > :23:58.feel the history. This was made for somebody called Mary, this one and
:23:58. > :24:04.his birth. This one was made for George, they have tried to make the
:24:04. > :24:08.letters, they were so fed up they missed out the letter G. Bobbins
:24:08. > :24:12.have been used to commemorate moments in history. The public
:24:12. > :24:19.hanging was one which was commemorated here quite a bit on
:24:19. > :24:28.bobbins in the 19th century. lovely souvenir for William Balfe
:24:28. > :24:35.who was hanged for killing a lady. 1871. Louise makes her own souvenir
:24:36. > :24:41.bobbins. I had a bobbin at to commemorate my course at Derby
:24:41. > :24:46.University. We which is the one which would get you bobbing up and
:24:46. > :24:54.down with excitement? One made for Thomas Leicester to give to his
:24:54. > :25:02.best lace makers. To give you an idea of the amount of work involved,
:25:02. > :25:12.there are 120 involved here, and this has taken 150 hours. That is
:25:12. > :25:20.not a wind-up! He was quite taken by the world of
:25:20. > :25:28.bobbins. Well done, you have educated us. A rare event. I am
:25:28. > :25:31.It's been a pretty blustery day here, these turbines filmed near
:25:31. > :25:34.Mansfield this morning were turning in a 35 mile an hour wind, just
:25:34. > :25:37.right for them as they were generating their maximum power
:25:37. > :25:40.output. They're built to withstand a lot more than that and things did
:25:40. > :25:50.turn windier in the afternoon but we've not seen anything like the
:25:50. > :25:56.
:25:56. > :26:02.gales in Scotland. The next morning we have is for ice, to affect
:26:02. > :26:06.Derbyshire, I will tell you more why later on. The winds are still
:26:06. > :26:12.freezing, and it stays windy through the evening. It will be
:26:12. > :26:21.very cold. Most of us have moaned about the wind, but some of us have
:26:21. > :26:27.been enjoying them. Particularly this chap, windsurfing. Let us look
:26:27. > :26:33.then, a cold front, once it has cleared much colder air feeding in.
:26:33. > :26:39.Pretty heavy rain with the scrawly wins. Clearing rain across the East
:26:39. > :26:46.Midlands, one or two remain for a time. Try for most parts, however
:26:46. > :26:50.into the early hours Weise will see some showers. There will be an ice
:26:50. > :26:55.risk with the cold conditions dipping down to two Celsius. A cold
:26:55. > :26:59.start for tomorrow morning, and I see one in parts of north
:26:59. > :27:05.Derbyshire. The warning there until 10am. Please be careful on the
:27:05. > :27:10.roads. Today much, on the roads, plenty of sunshine for most,
:27:10. > :27:15.temperatures down a bit too five Celsius as a maximum tomorrow.
:27:15. > :27:21.Tonight there could be the main shower around, but still try for
:27:21. > :27:25.most. Bitterly cold on Friday, you will need something warm one. A