:00:06. > :00:15.This is East Midlands Today with Dominic Heale and me, Anne Davies.
:00:15. > :00:19.Our top story tonight - hundreds of soldiers return from Afghanistan.
:00:19. > :00:25.An emotional homecoming for the Mercians after months of gun
:00:25. > :00:32.battles with the Taliban. We were getting three or four a-day F1
:00:32. > :00:36.stage. And I'm live at 200 metre exclusion
:00:36. > :00:41.zone because of fears of gas cylinders in a house behind me
:00:41. > :00:45.could explode. We may be in recession but we are
:00:45. > :00:51.reporting on this famous Leicestershire company where
:00:51. > :00:54.business is booming. And I'm here Carsington Water to
:00:54. > :01:04.spot one of the only wildlife species where the parents looked
:01:04. > :01:06.
:01:06. > :01:10.nothing like their kids. That is it the sun decides to shine!
:01:10. > :01:12.Good evening. Welcome to Thursday's programme. First tonight - hundreds
:01:12. > :01:17.of soldiers from the East Midlands' largest army regiment have returned
:01:17. > :01:19.from Afghanistan. The Mercians Second battalion fought several
:01:19. > :01:27.hundred gun battles during their six month tour of duty, but
:01:27. > :01:30.commanders say they've made huge progress. The final contingent of
:01:31. > :01:40.troops have arrived at their barracks in Belfast. Our Social
:01:40. > :01:43.Affairs Correspondent, Jeremy Ball, was there.
:01:43. > :01:51.Together again after six long months. It was always going to be
:01:51. > :01:58.emotional. Very relieved. This is my job done because they just want
:01:58. > :02:03.their father! These soldiers first spoke to us before the tour started.
:02:03. > :02:08.They took cameras and came back with powerful video footage. The
:02:08. > :02:14.troops fought more than 130 gun battles to drive the Taliban out of
:02:14. > :02:19.a small part of Helmand that the Afghan government did not control.
:02:19. > :02:26.There were crazy contacts every day, just coming under fire, we took
:02:27. > :02:33.casualties straight away. Before the first round comes over your
:02:33. > :02:37.head you're not a soldier, you're just a normal bloke. But then when
:02:37. > :02:43.they start flying, you're just a businessman. In the first four
:02:43. > :02:53.months we had a lot of engagements with the enemy. After that we just
:02:53. > :03:01.secured the road and cleared it of explosives. We literally drove the
:03:01. > :03:06.Taliban out of there. Generally I think people are happy. But two of
:03:06. > :03:16.their comrades lost their lives. Private Matthew hassled and died
:03:16. > :03:17.
:03:17. > :03:22.when his patrol came under in five. -- under gunfire. You walk away and
:03:22. > :03:28.say it does not affect you but of course it does. If you had seen
:03:28. > :03:32.what the potential that country has, how much the British Army has
:03:32. > :03:39.achieved, then absolutely, everything we have done has been
:03:39. > :03:40.worth it. This is the official end of the
:03:40. > :03:44.battalion's force deployment de Helmand province and soon there
:03:44. > :03:49.will be providing Security much closer to home for the Olympic
:03:49. > :03:57.Games. But for now they're just looking forward to spending time
:03:57. > :04:00.with their families. And tomorrow, why one
:04:00. > :04:03.Nottinghamshire soldier left the army, and took his family to live
:04:03. > :04:05.in Afghanistan. Police have set up an exclusion
:04:05. > :04:13.zone and evacuated dozens of houses in a Derbyshire village, because of
:04:13. > :04:17.fears of an explosion. A house caught fire at Willington and the
:04:17. > :04:19.emergency services say there are dangerous cylinders inside. Fire
:04:19. > :04:22.crews were called to Willington earlier this afternoon and began
:04:22. > :04:32.moving out families close to the scene. Our reporter Jo Healey is
:04:32. > :04:36.there and can tell us more. I am at Willington Community Centre,
:04:36. > :04:41.a special centre of which has been set up for people living inside
:04:41. > :04:49.that exclusion zone for cannot go home. The house caught fire at
:04:49. > :04:55.lunchtime today. How serious was it? Well when we arrived we found
:04:55. > :04:59.that the fire involved a much of Michael by the side of the house.
:04:59. > :05:05.Does - a motor vehicle. We were able to quickly extinguished the
:05:05. > :05:12.fire but in the vicinity was an acetylene cylinder which had been
:05:12. > :05:17.exposed to the heat. You are now calling those cylinders? We have a
:05:18. > :05:25.policy that when such a cylinder it is involved in the fire it becomes
:05:25. > :05:30.an explosive risk. So we can pull it for 24 hours. About an hour or
:05:30. > :05:35.so ago people were coming home only to be told by police what was
:05:35. > :05:42.happening. And earlier today children at Willington Primary
:05:42. > :05:46.School were kept indoors. Here at the community centre people allowed
:05:46. > :05:53.deciding what they're going to be doing overnight. What happened to
:05:53. > :05:57.you? I was at work and got a phone call from my son. What are you
:05:57. > :06:05.going to be doing tonight? We might be staying with friends, I'm not
:06:05. > :06:14.quite sure. Basically I came home from shopping and I had just been
:06:14. > :06:18.to pick up my youngest child. I came home to disruption, the area
:06:18. > :06:25.was all cordoned off by fire engines and police cars. I did not
:06:25. > :06:29.know what was happening. You are staying with family tonight? And
:06:29. > :06:34.you're certainly not alone. Derbyshire County Council are co-
:06:34. > :06:39.ordinating this. Tell me what exactly is the council doing?
:06:39. > :06:44.have opened this centre for people who have been evacuated. Quite a
:06:44. > :06:48.few are still returning home from work so we're trying to get contact
:06:48. > :06:54.details. Quite a few are going to stay with friends and relatives so
:06:54. > :06:58.we need to get details to be able to update them. People are coming
:06:58. > :07:05.here to get advice and this could yet go on for a few more hours. It
:07:05. > :07:08.may not all be over until lunchtime tomorrow.
:07:08. > :07:16.Still to come on the programme - flood alerts in the middle of a
:07:16. > :07:21.drought. After a very wet April and in spite of drought restrictions,
:07:21. > :07:27.we have five flood alerts in force. All the details and your full
:07:27. > :07:32.forecast later. Police say the scourge of dangerous
:07:32. > :07:34.driving in the East Midlands has reached unprecedented levels.
:07:34. > :07:39.A crackdown in Nottinghamshire resulted in 300 prosecutions in
:07:39. > :07:42.just one week. And today police calculated that every three minutes,
:07:42. > :07:52.drivers were being stopped for using mobile phones or not wearing
:07:52. > :07:55.
:07:55. > :07:59.seatbelts. Carolyn Moses reports. Rush hour for drivers and a rush
:07:59. > :08:04.for police keeping up with those of flouting the rules of the road.
:08:04. > :08:09.Incredibly today on this road in Nottingham, at least 40 cars and
:08:09. > :08:13.lorries were stopped in two hours. That is one every three minutes.
:08:13. > :08:19.This is one road coming into Nottingham and how many roads are
:08:19. > :08:24.their? It tells you the scale of the problem. It is sad to see it,
:08:24. > :08:29.drivers being given fixed penalties, but this is about stopping road
:08:29. > :08:33.deaths and casualties. And there is pressure on the police. Last year
:08:33. > :08:39.saw the number of people killed or Sisley injured on the roads here go
:08:39. > :08:42.up by almost 10%. So now after years of warnings, officers are
:08:42. > :08:46.dropping the softly-softly approach. Drivers are going to be pulled over
:08:46. > :08:51.at roadside checks and you can see the kind of numbers we're dealing
:08:51. > :08:56.with. But it is the only way to get the message across. People use
:08:56. > :09:03.their phones, they do not wear their seatbelts, that his habitual
:09:03. > :09:09.behaviour. I think it is a good idea and is making the roads safer.
:09:09. > :09:15.I should not be using my mobile phones sold McFerran a. If it helps
:09:15. > :09:24.to cut down on accidents it is a good thing. -- so fair enough.
:09:24. > :09:27.puts into perspective. We knew where it from now on? Yes. Police
:09:27. > :09:33.say there will now be regular crackdowns across the county to
:09:33. > :09:35.make sure that drivers do get the message, one way or another.
:09:35. > :09:40.Portuguese police have refused to reopen the inquiry into the
:09:40. > :09:42.disappearance of Madeleine McCann from Rothley in Leicestershire.
:09:42. > :09:47.It comes after Scotland Yard released a new "age-progressed"
:09:47. > :09:49.image showing what she might look like as a nine-year-old. It's now
:09:49. > :09:54.almost five years since Madeleine disappeared and British detectives
:09:54. > :09:59.believe she could still be alive. Portuguese police insist there is
:09:59. > :10:01.no evidence to justify relaunching the search.
:10:01. > :10:07.The Nottingham-based bike maker, Raleigh, has been sold to a Dutch
:10:07. > :10:12.rival in a deal worth more than �60 million. The 125-year-old company
:10:12. > :10:16.started life in a workshop on Raleigh Street. Last year the firm
:10:16. > :10:24.sold 850,000 bikes worldwide. Raleigh bikes are still designed in
:10:24. > :10:30.Nottingham although manufacturing has moved to the Far East.
:10:30. > :10:35.This is 100% good news for the company, the brand and the
:10:35. > :10:40.employees. There will be no job losses as a result of his
:10:40. > :10:42.acquisition. And in fact we will be recruiting to aid our expansion
:10:42. > :10:44.plans. The owners of a sheep farm in
:10:44. > :10:50.Leicestershire say they've been left devastated after a dog killed
:10:50. > :10:53.nine of their new lambs. The attack happened in a field near
:10:53. > :10:57.Lutterworth. The lambs that were attacked were all rare breeds and
:10:57. > :11:04.would have been exhibited in shows over the summer. Tom Brown has this
:11:04. > :11:07.report, and you may find some of the images distressing.
:11:07. > :11:12.The sight of a dead lamb is something no sheep farmer wants to
:11:12. > :11:18.see. But this farm or recently found nine of her lambs slaughtered
:11:18. > :11:23.in one of her field. Initially I just felt sick. That was just
:11:23. > :11:32.inside the field gate, Al-Ahram dead with its guts out and it was
:11:32. > :11:38.the most horrific sight. -- at Lamb. Caffrey runs the farm with her
:11:38. > :11:42.father-in-law, Brian. He brought the first she appeared more than 20
:11:42. > :11:46.years ago but has never seen a killing spree as bad as this.
:11:46. > :11:52.are used to life and death as farmers but to have something like
:11:52. > :11:57.this reduce preventable, which is just something that comes out of
:11:57. > :12:04.the balloon, totally unexpected, it is quite devastating. This is one
:12:04. > :12:10.of more than 400 lambs on this farm but the line but were killed last
:12:10. > :12:14.week for sadly some of the best. These are the show stop and to have
:12:14. > :12:18.lost nine of them from Championship animals that have won numerous
:12:18. > :12:25.prizes, the impact of losing those particular animals is even greater
:12:25. > :12:31.than it would be. I do not blame the dog because it's instinct took
:12:31. > :12:36.over, it is the people who will not control their animals. And his dog
:12:36. > :12:43.cost more than �1,000 to farmers. The police are investigating but
:12:43. > :12:45.the damage to this blog has already been done. -- this clock.
:12:45. > :12:48.Two men will appear in court this week, charged in connection with
:12:48. > :12:50.the stabbing of a man in Nottingham City Centre before Christmas. The
:12:50. > :12:55.35-year-old was seriously injured after being attacked on Pilchergate
:12:55. > :12:57.on the 18th of December last year. 30-year-old Mujo Lamaj from
:12:57. > :13:04.Nottingham, and 32-year-old Haleem Saeed from Bramcote, are both
:13:04. > :13:09.charged with the attempted murder. The owners of a pub restaurant have
:13:09. > :13:11.been fined after inspectors found filthy conditions in the kitchen.
:13:11. > :13:16.The company that runs the Toby Carvery at Enderby in Leicester
:13:16. > :13:20.admitted breaching food safety regulations. Inspectors found raw
:13:20. > :13:27.meat and dried blood stuck to fridge shelving. They also found
:13:27. > :13:30.dirty pots and pans on the floor during the visit in 2010.
:13:30. > :13:35.Still to come on the programme - how crisps survived the credit
:13:35. > :13:37.crunch. A rare event - our cameras are allowed inside Leicester's
:13:37. > :13:47.giant Walkers factory, as the firm announces it's taking on over 100
:13:47. > :13:48.
:13:49. > :13:53.more staff. A graduate returned to his former
:13:53. > :13:58.university today bearing gifts. In fact, the biggest corporate gift
:13:58. > :14:00.it's ever received. The chief executive of Glaxo-Smith-Kline
:14:00. > :14:05.pledged �12 million to help pay for a new chemistry laboratory at the
:14:05. > :14:14.University of Nottingham. A laboratory that will be the first
:14:14. > :14:18.of its kind in the world. Quentin Rayner reports.
:14:18. > :14:25.Today at top chief Executive officer and graduate of the
:14:25. > :14:32.University of nudging him in front of an important audience set out
:14:32. > :14:36.his simple aim. I want to make people understand the working in
:14:36. > :14:45.Science and Industry is a cool thing to do. The company is to pay
:14:45. > :14:49.much of the cost of the centre of excellence. The carbon neutral
:14:49. > :14:54.building generates all of its energy from renewable sources.
:14:54. > :14:59.Where does this put the University of Nottingham globally in terms of
:14:59. > :15:03.research? The kind of work we are talking about puts Nottingham at
:15:03. > :15:10.the leading edge. It will be one of the world centres in his critical
:15:10. > :15:13.field. Glaxo SmithKline takes on more graduates from the University
:15:13. > :15:18.of Nottingham and from anywhere else. And the company had a
:15:18. > :15:24.surprise in store, announcing it would also pay for a new Chair of
:15:24. > :15:30.chemistry. What a rabbit out of the hat at the end to offer up a new
:15:30. > :15:37.professorship. Just wonderful. Building will start next year and
:15:37. > :15:39.the low for a tree will open in 2014. -- the Laboratory.
:15:39. > :15:42.Britain may have officially gone back into recession, but for one
:15:42. > :15:44.East Midlands company, business is booming. PepsiCo, the firm which
:15:44. > :15:49.owns Walkers Crisps, is investing millions of pounds in its Leicester
:15:49. > :15:51.factory which in turn is creating 110 new jobs. Cameras are very
:15:51. > :15:57.rarely allowed inside the factory which turns out millions of packets
:15:57. > :16:05.of crisps every single day. But today, ours were. Here's our
:16:05. > :16:10.reporter, Sarah Teale. Everywhere you look, crisps coming
:16:10. > :16:16.off the production line. It is like this 24 hours a day, seven days a
:16:16. > :16:20.week. Henry Walker started making the snacks after the Second World
:16:20. > :16:23.War when meeting rationing saw his butchery business fall. Now the
:16:23. > :16:28.site is one of the largest production plants in the world and
:16:28. > :16:32.it is about to get bigger. PepsiCo which now owns Walkers crisps is
:16:32. > :16:38.investing more than �15 million in a new production line. It will mean
:16:38. > :16:44.the creation of 110 jobs. Britain has just gone back into recession,
:16:44. > :16:48.so how good is the news for the economy? It is very good news.
:16:48. > :16:53.Walkers has been in the Leicester area at since the 1940s and we have
:16:53. > :16:59.seen sustained growth. Anything that keeps British production going
:16:59. > :17:03.has got be great news. The company is supplied by 350 different
:17:03. > :17:09.British potato farmers. Once a potato or rides are the factory is
:17:09. > :17:15.peeled, sliced, backed, weighed and boxed up. The process which takes
:17:15. > :17:19.just 20 minutes from start to finish. This factory gets through
:17:19. > :17:25.800 tons of potatoes every single day. It is no surprise when you
:17:25. > :17:34.think that each of these machines reduces 120 packets of crisps every
:17:34. > :17:38.single minute. The factory has witnessed how technology has
:17:38. > :17:48.improved production. This worker has been here an astonishing 37
:17:48. > :17:49.
:17:49. > :17:53.years. I enjoy it here, everyone is friendly. In the last month, 27
:17:53. > :17:59.people have retired, clocking up between them some 800 years of
:17:59. > :18:09.service. The company says it hopes the 110 years - it is recruiting
:18:09. > :18:12.
:18:12. > :18:16.will have similarly long careers. Time now for the sport.
:18:16. > :18:20.So Nottingham Forest's future in the championship is secure. But
:18:20. > :18:23.that's about all they know for certain at the city ground just now.
:18:23. > :18:29.The Club is up for sale and with no word yet on potential buyers, it's
:18:29. > :18:33.looking like there could be big changes come the summer.
:18:33. > :18:40.The season began with high hopes. Steve McLaren at the helm and a
:18:40. > :18:46.handful of new signings. But within months, McLaren was out and the
:18:46. > :18:53.battle against relegation was on. Those times were tough and that is
:18:53. > :18:58.when you need the support. Challenge on the pitch, a tragedy
:18:58. > :19:04.off bid. The club was plunged into mourning and a decision to put the
:19:04. > :19:11.club up for sale rings their future is far from certain. It has been a
:19:11. > :19:19.terrible and tragic season. It has caused a lot of change which we are
:19:19. > :19:25.still coming to terms with. We are aware that fans are eager to hear
:19:25. > :19:35.what the future holds for the club. A late rally has secured
:19:35. > :19:44.Championship status. But change is inevitable.
:19:44. > :19:53.The loan players will go back to their parent clubs. Some players
:19:53. > :19:57.will not be staying. Some by choice, but we just have to wait and see
:19:57. > :20:01.what the future holds. This has been one of the most dramatic in
:20:01. > :20:11.turbine seasons they have every year -- ever seen here at the City
:20:11. > :20:15.
:20:16. > :20:17.Ground. The summer of uncertainty lies ahead.
:20:18. > :20:19.Ice hockey, and there's been some surprise news from Nottingham
:20:19. > :20:22.Panthers. They've axed Captain Danny Meyers, despite him leading
:20:22. > :20:25.them to another cup double this year. Meyers has been at the club
:20:25. > :20:26.for six years in all, becoming a firm fans' favourite in that time.
:20:27. > :20:29.Big disappointment for Leicester's world number one snooker player,
:20:29. > :20:31.Mark Selby. He's been knocked out of the world championships in the
:20:31. > :20:34.first round. He was beaten 10-3 by qualifier Barry Hawkins. Selby has
:20:34. > :20:37.a good excuse though, he's had a neck injury that's meant he's
:20:37. > :20:43.hardly been able to practice for the past month. But it means Selby
:20:43. > :20:47.is now at risk of losing his number one status. Elite cycling comes to
:20:47. > :20:49.the East Midlands this weekend with the Rutland to Melton Cycle Classic.
:20:49. > :20:52.Now in it's eighth year, the 114 mile race around Leicestershire and
:20:52. > :20:59.Rutland is bigger and better than ever with 34 teams and 162
:20:59. > :21:04.competitors taking part from around the world. Paul Bradshaw has more.
:21:04. > :21:09.The cycle race passes through this sleepy village in Leicestershire no
:21:09. > :21:15.less than six times and locals are looking forward to another vintage
:21:15. > :21:21.contest. This event along with many other activities are making cycling
:21:21. > :21:26.and increasingly popular sport and leisure activity. A mixed terrain
:21:26. > :21:31.on offer makes a good draw for competitors and with 34 teams and
:21:31. > :21:38.162 riders from around the world taking part, the race is growing in
:21:38. > :21:45.international stature. Once we get into the small lanes around here
:21:45. > :21:49.some of the crimes are not long but they, sharp and they take a toll.
:21:49. > :21:54.What makes this road race a classic is that it features a little
:21:54. > :21:58.everything, taking road bikes over mad, stones, cobbles and down
:21:58. > :22:04.narrow lanes. It is the only international race of its kind in
:22:04. > :22:10.Britain. It is a complex and a gruelling course which doubles back
:22:10. > :22:15.on itself and covers 114 miles of rough roads around the two counties.
:22:15. > :22:22.With wind and rain forecast for Sunday, we could be in for a mighty
:22:22. > :22:27.epic. And finally cricket.
:22:27. > :22:33.Nottinghamshire at the list was a treasure -- up against
:22:33. > :22:36.Worcestershire and a decent day before the visitors.
:22:36. > :22:39.As spring's been a rather grey affair so far, we have sent Sally
:22:39. > :22:41.in search of something more colourful. So she went to
:22:41. > :22:51.Carsington Water with the promise of something delicate and bright -
:22:51. > :22:59.
:22:59. > :23:03.something that says spring has I'm here at Carsington Water in
:23:03. > :23:07.Derbyshire where I have been told third 24 species of butterflies to
:23:07. > :23:12.be seen on this site alone. The problem is that butterflies only
:23:12. > :23:17.come out to play in the sunshine. So will we spot one? Volunteers
:23:17. > :23:26.walk around Carsington Water each week to record butterflies. Kent is
:23:26. > :23:33.the Derbyshire butterfly recorder. You have given me my volunteer
:23:33. > :23:37.butterfly record in sheet. We are walking one of the transit winds
:23:37. > :23:44.and we hope that when people come here they will see the butterflies
:23:44. > :23:49.and record what they see. The sun is trying its best to come out.
:23:49. > :23:57.This is quite a suntrap down here. It is, it is sheltered from the
:23:57. > :24:05.wind and ideal habitat for many of the butterflies. The orange tip is
:24:05. > :24:15.that harbinger of spring. We might just be lucky to see one at this
:24:15. > :24:16.
:24:16. > :24:26.time of year. And in a brief moment of sunshine, we managed to spot one.
:24:26. > :24:28.
:24:28. > :24:38.It is on a blade of grass, it is really camouflage. I thought it was
:24:38. > :24:42.
:24:42. > :24:52.a leaf! When it opens its wings is when you see the orange on the tips.
:24:52. > :24:58.
:24:58. > :25:07.That is the harbinger of spring. That was well spotted! My first one.
:25:07. > :25:15.Good stuff. Good stuff.
:25:15. > :25:19.Perseverance pays off. We are staying unsettled for the
:25:19. > :25:24.rest of the week and right through to the end of the weekend. After
:25:24. > :25:29.some significant rainfall in the past couple of days we do have
:25:30. > :25:36.flood alerts in place. The River Trent and a river amber, just parts
:25:36. > :25:42.of those rivers. You can keep an eye on the Environment Agency
:25:42. > :25:46.website for any Updates. This evening we are expecting local
:25:46. > :25:53.heavy downpours in parts of Derbyshire and North
:25:53. > :25:58.Nottinghamshire which will cause localised flooding. And it is all
:25:58. > :26:05.down to this area of rain which has been pretty relentless across the
:26:05. > :26:13.north of the UK today. At the moment, just the scattering of
:26:13. > :26:19.showers in places but those torrential downpours may give us
:26:19. > :26:29.some rumbles of thunder for a time. Staying breezing through the night
:26:29. > :26:31.
:26:31. > :26:35.and we go into Friday with the rain across much of the region.
:26:35. > :26:42.Temperatures struggling throughout Friday. We will not reach double
:26:42. > :26:49.figures. And with a north-easterly airflow you will notice it feeling
:26:49. > :26:56.cooler than what we have been used to. Looking to Saturday, some
:26:56. > :27:01.bright spells around but also scattered showers. On Sunday,