:00:16. > :00:21.Tonight, tears and fun and the funeral of a cross channel swimmer.
:00:21. > :00:28.A purple coffin for the charity fundraiser. It was her favourite
:00:28. > :00:35.colour. It was just a wonderful service and full of on which you
:00:35. > :00:45.would expect for someone like her. Now the family of a soldier killed
:00:45. > :00:47.
:00:47. > :00:52.in Iraq sue the MOD. The TiVo being played by an East Midlands MP to
:00:52. > :00:59.prevent this city sliding back into violence. And chimps stage as
:00:59. > :01:03.stand-off at Twycross zoo. Good evening and welcome to Thursday's
:01:04. > :01:08.programme. First, hundreds of people paid their final respects at moving
:01:08. > :01:15.thanksgiving service to young swimmer Susan Taylor. The
:01:15. > :01:18.34-year-old had been trying to cross the English Channel for charity. She
:01:18. > :01:21.collapsed less than a mile from the French coast. The congregation was
:01:21. > :01:31.told she had been an accomplished swimmer who was always prepared to
:01:31. > :01:35.
:01:35. > :01:40.try new and exciting things. Sarah Teale was there. She was wrought to
:01:40. > :01:45.church in a horse-drawn carriage, a poignant gesture to symbolise the
:01:45. > :01:51.same way she had arrived at Saint Mary's church eight years ago for
:01:51. > :01:56.her wedding. This time her family and friends had come to pay the
:01:56. > :02:02.final respects at her thanks giving service in Leicestershire. Her
:02:02. > :02:05.coffin was purple, her favourite colour. Her family asked all
:02:05. > :02:13.mourners to Wear clothes in the same colour. The service taking place
:02:13. > :02:16.inside right now is very much a celebration of her life. Her special
:02:16. > :02:22.songs are being played and her family have asked the congregation
:02:22. > :02:29.to join in, dancing and clapping, to reflect her personality. The usual
:02:29. > :02:33.EJ speaks of a kind and caring woman who was determined. -- the eulogy.
:02:33. > :02:42.She collapsed and died 14 hours into an attempt to swim the English
:02:42. > :02:47.Channel. She had trained with this long-distance swimmer. I have lots
:02:47. > :02:55.of photographs and videos. She was always smiling and a joy to be
:02:55. > :02:59.around. She was raising money for charity. As the servers drew to a
:02:59. > :03:06.close and the coffin was auto ear was applause from the entire
:03:06. > :03:12.congregation. The church itself was absolutely ruled -- fool, now
:03:12. > :03:16.standing room at all. We had so many magnificent stories of things she
:03:16. > :03:21.had done since she was five, she had slammed the Miles said she was five
:03:21. > :03:31.and she has an odd to do many other things, she scorched and supported
:03:31. > :03:40.
:03:40. > :03:47.the Rainbows. -- she scorched. -- call should. Her family say the
:03:47. > :03:51.charity money which is now standing at �66,000 was a fitting tribute.
:03:51. > :03:55.Coming up: A group of bikers thunder through our so-called Thankful
:03:55. > :04:00.Villages. They were called Thankful Villages because all their men
:04:00. > :04:09.returned home from the First World War. Now plaques are being presented
:04:09. > :04:13.to mark their good fortune. The family of an East Midlands soldier
:04:13. > :04:19.murdered in Iraq ten years ago is suing the Ministry Of Defence for
:04:19. > :04:26.negligence. Corporal Russell Aston from South Derbyshire was one of six
:04:26. > :04:30.Military Police officers killed by a 400-strong mob. For the past decade
:04:30. > :04:35.his father has sought an explanation as to how his death was allowed to
:04:35. > :04:45.happen. Now, as Carolyn Moses reports, the fight for answers is
:04:45. > :04:46.
:04:46. > :04:54.passing to a whole new generation. Russell Aston, a father, brother and
:04:54. > :04:59.soldier. In 2003 in an armed patrol in Iraq key and five others were
:04:59. > :05:04.attacked by a mob. He had been sent into this town and were cornered and
:05:04. > :05:10.killed in the police station. His father has campaigned ever since to
:05:10. > :05:15.find out why. Now a new Supreme Court ruling last month means the
:05:15. > :05:21.MOD can be sued for negligence over alleged breaches of human rights
:05:21. > :05:25.during operations abroad. It is played his sisters have taken on.
:05:25. > :05:29.Dell macro I have seen my dad over the years fighting to find out the
:05:29. > :05:33.truth of what happened to my brother. He should not even have
:05:33. > :05:43.been in that town. This has given me the last final attempt to get the
:05:43. > :05:45.
:05:45. > :05:52.truth. The claim is that he was left to down vulnerable. He did not have
:05:52. > :05:57.the right to mind of ammunition. The satellite phones were denied. The
:05:57. > :06:04.vehicles were not roadworthy to go on operations. It is errors which
:06:04. > :06:08.led to his death. This is why I want the truth to come out. It is thought
:06:08. > :06:13.the families of the five other soldiers will follow suit. Meanwhile
:06:13. > :06:22.the MOD says it would be difficult to comment but its thoughts are with
:06:22. > :06:26.the families involved. If it was me who had in killed in those
:06:26. > :06:31.circumstances he would have fought to the bitter end to get justice for
:06:31. > :06:37.me. He would not have let anything go for a member of his family and I
:06:37. > :06:39.feel I should do the same for him. Next tonight: Three men from
:06:39. > :06:43.Leicester are facing prison sentences after pleading guilty to
:06:43. > :06:47.paying for sex with a child. The sixteen-year-old had been due to
:06:47. > :06:52.give evidence today at their trial at Leicester Crown Court. Jurors had
:06:52. > :06:56.heard that the girl told the men she was a prostitute. She said she
:06:56. > :07:05.needed to make money because her parents had threatened to throw her
:07:05. > :07:09.out. Helen Astle reports. This has been a difficult and distressing
:07:09. > :07:13.case. Over the last few days the court heard how the men met up with
:07:13. > :07:18.the 16-year-old child from Leicester. It was a chance meeting
:07:18. > :07:27.between the girl and one of the men at a festival last year that led to
:07:27. > :07:34.her being paid for sex. The three men, shown here, had denied 22
:07:34. > :07:39.counts of sexual offences against a child. At the trial this morning, a
:07:39. > :07:45.change in plea. The key admitted five counts of paying for sex with a
:07:45. > :07:49.child. Two of them also admitted counts of child prostitution. The
:07:49. > :07:54.court was told how the men would drive the girl to BDS locations
:07:54. > :08:00.around Leicester, including parks, flats and Bed & Breakfasts. There
:08:00. > :08:06.she would be given alcohol and cannabis before being paid �20 for
:08:06. > :08:10.sex. It only came to light when a group attack this restaurant earlier
:08:10. > :08:15.this year where the 16-year-old had sex with some of the men in an
:08:15. > :08:20.adjacent flat. The teenager said she had been told she was not the other
:08:20. > :08:23.girl, there are other seat girl. That is the thing that worries her
:08:24. > :08:30.most comic she after the trial the police said they would try to find
:08:30. > :08:35.other Vic is. We will try to identify if there are any other Vic
:08:35. > :08:41.Timms. Those we are concerned about we have personally visited but now
:08:41. > :08:47.one has made any disclosure to us to see they have to do. The family have
:08:47. > :08:52.in very supported, the community is being supported. God willing that
:08:52. > :08:56.everything falls into place and a few years down the line she will be
:08:56. > :09:02.able to understand what she has in food and call with it and have a
:09:02. > :09:06.normal and perfect life. The girl who has been described as very
:09:06. > :09:12.damaged and very vulnerable is recovering. The three men will be
:09:12. > :09:15.sentenced at the end of the month. A paranoid schizophrenic who stabbed
:09:15. > :09:20.his father to death after an argument has been detained in a
:09:20. > :09:24.secure hospital. 68-year-old Giuseppe Difina was stabbed at a
:09:24. > :09:28.house in Carlton in Nottinghamshire last year. His son, 40-year-old Vito
:09:28. > :09:31.Difina was convicted of manslaughter. A restriction means he
:09:31. > :09:35.could only leave hospital with permission from the Ministry of
:09:35. > :09:40.Justice. Several hundred soldiers from Leicestershire's two local
:09:40. > :09:42.regiments will be deployed to Afghanistan this Autumn. The Royal
:09:42. > :09:47.Anglians' Second Battalion are preparing to begin their first tour
:09:47. > :09:51.of duty in Helmand province. They'll be joined by troops from the
:09:51. > :09:54.9th/12th Royal Lancers, who also recruit in Derbyshire. Both
:09:54. > :10:00.regiments will spend at least six months in Afghanistan, as Britain
:10:00. > :10:03.hands over control to local security forces. The chief constable of
:10:03. > :10:05.Northern Ireland has expressed his personal thanks to the police of the
:10:06. > :10:13.East Midlands for sending reinforcements during last month's
:10:13. > :10:16.disturbances in Belfast and the G8 economic summit. Matt Baggott went
:10:16. > :10:19.public with his gratitude during a visit to Belfast by the Gedling MP
:10:19. > :10:29.Vernon Coaker, who's also the Shadow Secretary of State for Northern
:10:29. > :10:31.
:10:31. > :10:35.Ireland. From Belfast, here's our Political Editor John Hess. One year
:10:36. > :10:44.since its opening the Titanic Centre has just notched up its 1,000,000th
:10:44. > :10:49.visitor. The new Museum celebrates Belfast's industrial heritage. The
:10:49. > :10:53.city has another heritage that can give it a very different reputation.
:10:53. > :10:59.The annual 12th of July parades barked disturbances surprising many
:10:59. > :11:03.who thought the old conflicts had been resolved. That's why the
:11:03. > :11:10.Gedling MP is in Belfast. He needs to find out if the process is really
:11:10. > :11:17.secure. He is being shown the walls that still divides loyalist and
:11:17. > :11:23.nationalist communities in North Belfast. His tour guides are former
:11:23. > :11:30.loyalist paramilitaries. Both communities access through this gate
:11:30. > :11:36.is a sign of progress. The old suspicions remain. You have to
:11:36. > :11:40.understand the anger. We asked young people and in any of the areas they
:11:41. > :11:49.will tell you that Sinn Fein are getting it all there own way. The
:11:49. > :11:54.travel through the city to a Sinn Fein stronghold. It is important
:11:54. > :11:59.people here know that we need about what is happening, we understand
:11:59. > :12:05.what is happening and we want to learn more about it and we are part
:12:05. > :12:11.in getting over the issues. This Sinn Fein man points to the root of
:12:11. > :12:15.recent loyalist march. Gerry Kelly is a convicted that I had a former
:12:15. > :12:20.but now as a junior minister in Northern Ireland. As a city
:12:20. > :12:28.representative I am seeing let's go back, turn the page over, let's sit
:12:28. > :12:34.down and talk. In Northern Ireland you are dealing with the people who
:12:34. > :12:38.represent different communities. These people are alike that, the
:12:38. > :12:44.community representatives. The whole point of the Good Friday agreement
:12:44. > :12:46.was to move on from the violence and difficulties of the past. The former
:12:47. > :12:53.chief constable of Leicestershire now runs the police in Northern
:12:53. > :12:56.Ireland and has needed to call in a few favours. We had good support
:12:56. > :13:01.from the East Midlands, my old colleagues from Leicestershire came
:13:01. > :13:08.over and have been training with us. We deploy them on the streets here.
:13:08. > :13:14.It is not something we want to do all the time. It was great demand on
:13:14. > :13:16.the 12th of July, they did a great job and were hugely dependable. Some
:13:16. > :13:23.say the answer has to be further dialogue between the two
:13:23. > :13:29.communities. You have to know your history and the context in which
:13:29. > :13:35.these things are happening. Some are anxious it is a lesson we hear and
:13:35. > :13:38.do not forget. An NHS Trust which was put into special measures by the
:13:38. > :13:42.government two weeks ago, says it's already completed some of the urgent
:13:42. > :13:46.action required. Sherwood Forest Hospitals was one of 14 Trusts
:13:46. > :13:50.identified by the Keogh report as having unusually high death rates.
:13:50. > :14:00.The Trust has also decided to open up all of its Board meetings to the
:14:00. > :14:00.
:14:00. > :14:06.public. Here's our Chief News reporter Quentin Rayner. The newly
:14:06. > :14:13.appointed chairman told the meeting the Trust had nothing to hide. From
:14:13. > :14:17.today all meetings are open to the public. The Trust wants to be open
:14:17. > :14:22.and transparent, that is what we are all about and this is a step in the
:14:22. > :14:30.right direction. In the event only one member of the public attended
:14:30. > :14:35.the opening. Last month the report identified 13 issues requiring
:14:35. > :14:40.urgent action. At the top of the list was a three-year backlog of
:14:40. > :14:43.complaints and understaffing. important thing is that we
:14:43. > :14:48.understand why we got into that situation and make sure it never
:14:48. > :14:54.happens again. In terms of the nursing ratio, the Queen trained and
:14:54. > :14:58.non-trained, I think there is enough staff on the wards. We have to make
:14:58. > :15:05.sure issues are dealt with appropriately at we will have to
:15:05. > :15:10.have a review in October. Some more complex operations have been
:15:10. > :15:17.transferred while the safety of surgery is reviewed. Did always will
:15:17. > :15:22.be doctor cover 24/7. There have been cases where no shows have given
:15:22. > :15:27.us a problem for short periods of time but we will never be in the
:15:27. > :15:32.situation where there is no doctor cover available. The review will
:15:32. > :15:37.take place on October at it plans to have addressed all the issues
:15:37. > :15:42.highlighted by the report in the next six months. The chairman says
:15:42. > :15:45.it is all to play for to make a great future for the Trust. A group
:15:45. > :15:49.of motorcyclists roared through the East Midlands today, visiting what's
:15:49. > :15:54.known as the Thankful Villages. They're so-named, because all their
:15:54. > :15:58.men survived the First World War and returned home. The bikers travelled
:15:58. > :16:00.through Leicestershire and Rutland yesterday. This morning they set off
:16:00. > :16:10.from Wysall in Nottinghamshire before making their way to
:16:10. > :16:11.
:16:11. > :16:16.Derbyshire and back. Paul Bradshaw put on his leathers to meet them. It
:16:16. > :16:25.is a modern deep Elber image of thanks. 2500 miles around Britain in
:16:25. > :16:31.nine days, stopping at 51 villages today is �51,000 for charity.
:16:31. > :16:37.charity is the Royal British Legion ex-forces. We are trying to raise
:16:37. > :16:44.51,000 for them to return the pocket and to do good with it which I know
:16:44. > :16:51.they will. In Weisel 12 men went off to war and against the odds all 12
:16:51. > :16:56.returned to their lives year after the Armistice in 1918. Today a
:16:56. > :17:06.plaque was presented to the village to mark this great fortune. It gives
:17:06. > :17:09.
:17:09. > :17:19.me great pleasure to hand over their supply to the community.
:17:19. > :17:25.
:17:25. > :17:35.children should know about the hoarders that went on and what these
:17:35. > :17:42.
:17:42. > :17:52.men experienced which they never expressed and kept to themselves.
:17:52. > :18:05.
:18:05. > :18:15.This is one way of helping to tell the young people about what
:18:15. > :18:20.
:18:20. > :18:30.happened. The great War two the lives of nearly a million military
:18:30. > :18:34.
:18:34. > :18:44.personnel, most of them young men. These writers remember the lucky
:18:44. > :18:52.
:18:52. > :19:02.ones which came back. Might have been a bit hot in those leathers.
:19:02. > :19:11.
:19:11. > :19:21.Now time for the sport. First, cricket. Nottinghamshire's Trent
:19:21. > :19:24.
:19:24. > :19:34.Bridge says Ashes Fever has meant they've had their busiest month
:19:34. > :19:41.
:19:41. > :19:51.ever. Over 125,000 people visited the ground in July, thanks to the
:19:51. > :19:58.
:19:58. > :20:08.warm weather and the success of England and Notts. Onto football and
:20:08. > :20:13.
:20:13. > :20:23.at Derby County striker Callum Ball has joined League Two Torquay on a
:20:23. > :20:36.
:20:36. > :20:46.two-month loan deal. Now, the big kick-off is just one day away and
:20:46. > :20:52.
:20:52. > :21:02.tomorrow night Notts County start the Football League campaign with
:21:02. > :21:10.
:21:11. > :21:20.their first game, away at Sheffield United. For Notts manager Chris
:21:21. > :21:29.
:21:29. > :21:39.Kiwomya it's his first full season in charge, so as part of our preview
:21:39. > :21:56.
:21:56. > :22:06.of the new season, Colin has been to Meadow Lane. Chatting to Dean, he
:22:06. > :22:15.
:22:15. > :22:25.described you as a chilled out dude, is that the description you
:22:25. > :22:35.
:22:35. > :22:45.are happy to embrace? All we can do is prepare the players as well we
:22:45. > :23:05.
:23:05. > :23:15.can -- as best we can and it is up to them to go out and do what they
:23:15. > :23:18.
:23:18. > :23:28.can. And Notts signed a 22-year-old striker today, former Chelsea
:23:28. > :23:31.
:23:31. > :23:41.scholar Adam Coombes. In rugby a total of seven Leicester Tigers
:23:41. > :23:49.
:23:49. > :23:59.players have been named in the England Senior Elite Player Squad by
:23:59. > :24:04.
:24:04. > :24:14.head coach Stuart Lancaster. They are: Dan Cole, Tom Croft, Geoff
:24:14. > :24:21.
:24:21. > :24:26.Parling, Tom Youngs, Toby Flood, Manu Tuilagi and Ben Youngs. And
:24:26. > :24:36.finally from me good luck to Leon Haslam this weekend in the World
:24:36. > :24:40.
:24:40. > :24:44.Superbikes at Silverstone. Leon from Derbyshire won the most prestigious
:24:44. > :24:47.race in Japan at the weekend, the Suzuka eight Hours. It's a huge
:24:47. > :24:57.achievement, made greater by the fact that he broke his leg at the
:24:57. > :25:09.
:25:09. > :25:14.end of April. We recorded 31 Celsius today. It has been a hot and humid
:25:14. > :25:23.day. As we work our way throughout the next few hours it is going to
:25:23. > :25:33.start to change a little bit. The cold front will come in from the
:25:33. > :25:39.
:25:39. > :25:49.West which will start to alter the temperatures are time tomorrow
:25:49. > :26:02.
:26:02. > :26:12.afternoon. It is a change on the Wii. Through the early part of this
:26:12. > :26:16.
:26:16. > :26:19.evening it is remaining dry with some fair weather quite helping.
:26:19. > :26:25.Night-time temperatures tonight in the region of 17 Celsius. It is
:26:25. > :26:26.going to feel very humid and even as the weather front moves in tomorrow
:26:26. > :26:29.the cloud will increase and there will be some showers during the
:26:29. > :26:39.early part of the day. Bush hours could be heavy and fund a day at
:26:39. > :26:43.
:26:43. > :26:50.times. -- those showers could the heavy and under the act times. Some
:26:50. > :26:58.chimps try to escape from Twycross zoo today. The wearer tempted back
:26:58. > :27:05.into their cages by ice creams. These eight naughty little chairman
:27:05. > :27:09.of the guilty ones. We were serving breakfast when they managed to
:27:09. > :27:15.escape into the keeper corder easier. We did offer them ice cream
:27:15. > :27:19.and managed to entice five of them through quite quickly. They them
:27:19. > :27:25.held out for an extra ice cream. They were still contained within the
:27:25. > :27:31.main building. We did not open the zoo for an extra hour while we made