:00:00. > :00:00.independent Scotland. That is all from the News at six,
:00:07. > :00:11.This is East Midlands Today, with Anne Davies and Dominic Heale.
:00:12. > :00:44.Tonight. A ` the first port of call for the frail and elderly.
:00:45. > :00:51.Reports that jewellery thieves are decreasing in the Golden Mile. And a
:00:52. > :00:56.win for Leicester City. Good evening, and welcome to Wednesday's
:00:57. > :01:00.programme. Further evidence tonight of the huge strain that our
:01:01. > :01:04.hospitals are under. Latest figures have revealed a big increase in the
:01:05. > :01:09.number of elderly people being taken to Accident and Emergency
:01:10. > :01:12.departments by ambulance. All day there's been a war of words between
:01:13. > :01:18.the politicians about who's to blame for the pressures which now confront
:01:19. > :01:23.front line NHS staff. Our health correspondent Rob Sissons is at one
:01:24. > :01:32.of those hospitals now. Rob, what do these new statistics tell us? They
:01:33. > :01:36.are from the health and social care information Centre, gathered over
:01:37. > :01:41.three years, and show a massive increase in the number of elderly
:01:42. > :01:47.people being put through these doors at Nottingham's Queens medical
:01:48. > :01:56.Centre and other units. Across the East Midlands, in the over 70s it
:01:57. > :02:00.has gone up over 28%, with over 70s patients going to a nearby
:02:01. > :02:03.ambulance, and for the over 90s, 56%, nearly 0
:02:04. > :02:07.ambulance, and for the over 90s, 56%, nearly eight thousand patients
:02:08. > :02:13.in that category, a lot of them with very complex health needs that need
:02:14. > :02:21.longer stays in hospital. You are better than when you came in. Water
:02:22. > :02:26.is 92, a retired miner who suffers chronic breathing problems. It has
:02:27. > :02:32.been an anxious week for his family. He was rushed to hospital with a bad
:02:33. > :02:40.chest infection. It is in the buffers, you might say, in a bad
:02:41. > :02:48.way. I am a better now, but what I have got is bubbly a lasting
:02:49. > :02:53.problem. At Nottingham's medical centre, the number of patients being
:02:54. > :02:58.brought in by ambulance aged over 70 has gone up by a third in three
:02:59. > :03:03.years. The unit was not designed for this number. The head of the
:03:04. > :03:09.department says more investment in social care is needed. We have less
:03:10. > :03:15.committee beds available, so we have to did a patient and we think we can
:03:16. > :03:19.discharge that person, but community bed availability is less than it
:03:20. > :03:25.needs to be, so we find it harder to discharge that patient and carry on
:03:26. > :03:28.the care package. In the control room at East Midlands Amazon
:03:29. > :03:35.service, they handle more calls each year. Many cases involve the frail
:03:36. > :03:41.and elderly can be time`consuming and complex to sort out. They
:03:42. > :03:45.require a patience and careful handling by paramedic staff,
:03:46. > :03:50.sometimes using specialist equipment, which many ambience is
:03:51. > :03:55.now carry with them. Preventing more elderly people going into accident
:03:56. > :03:59.and emergency is one of the biggest challenges as an ageing population
:04:00. > :04:04.is expected to get larger. What, if anything, can be done to stop this
:04:05. > :04:09.trend of more people going to emergency departments that is what
:04:10. > :04:15.the politicians have had a lot to say about today. Some blamed GP
:04:16. > :04:18.contracts, the Conservatives saying it was Labour's fault, and labour
:04:19. > :04:24.says there should be more investment in social care. Meanwhile posters
:04:25. > :04:29.like this tell people only to use A when they need to, trying to
:04:30. > :04:32.ease the pressure which is going up year`on`year.
:04:33. > :04:35.There appears to be good news for people looking for work in the
:04:36. > :04:39.construction industry. As many as 10,000 jobs could be created in the
:04:40. > :04:42.region's building trade over the next five years. Industry experts
:04:43. > :04:52.say the number of homes being built is on the up, and it will continue
:04:53. > :04:57.to rise, as Carolyn Moses explains. Building a stronger economy. That is
:04:58. > :05:03.the hope on the forecast from the construction industry training
:05:04. > :05:08.board. The work last year was worth around ?7 billion to the East
:05:09. > :05:12.Midlands economy and the board believes that will grow. It says the
:05:13. > :05:15.building of private homes will go up by more than 4% a 0
:05:16. > :05:27.building of private homes will go up by more than 4% a year until 2018,
:05:28. > :05:30.and public sector I more than 1.5%. We are talking about just under
:05:31. > :05:33.10,000 jobs, sustainable opportunities over the next four to
:05:34. > :05:35.five years. That is hugely encouraging. It will offer
:05:36. > :05:39.opportunities, employment, skills to the local community and the region
:05:40. > :05:44.as a whole. Plans on paper from developers are now more often
:05:45. > :05:48.translate into successful schemes. `` are more often being turned into
:05:49. > :05:51.successful schemes on the ground. The sites we are standing at today
:05:52. > :05:54.are not short`term projects. They are going onto 2017. This is
:05:55. > :06:02.sustained employment for the operatives, staff and local people
:06:03. > :06:09.we engage with. But business leaders say keeping hold of these long`term
:06:10. > :06:14.projects won't be enough itself. In terms of construction itself, that
:06:15. > :06:14.is not sustainable. It has to be a much broader 0
:06:15. > :06:18.is not sustainable. It has to be a much broader based recovery in all
:06:19. > :06:23.sectors, especially sectors like ourselves, manufacturers and
:06:24. > :06:28.exporters to generate the wealth that believed to house building.
:06:29. > :06:32.There are some other notes of caution as well. The Federation of
:06:33. > :06:40.Master Builders is warning smaller construction companies may have to
:06:41. > :06:43.increase prices. Staying with the economy, the government's promising
:06:44. > :06:50.more money to build and improve enterprise zones in Nottingham. The
:06:51. > :06:53.city's to get up to ?5.5 million. It will be used to redevelop its
:06:54. > :06:56.current enterprise zone on the Boots site. A new health science centre
:06:57. > :06:59.there could create 900 jobs. Meanwhile, Nottingham's universities
:07:00. > :07:08.can apply for a share of 15 million to build a new enterprise zone.
:07:09. > :07:10.There is a huge potential and a huge knock`on effect. Subsidiary
:07:11. > :07:14.businesses will support these, the local economy gains from it. There
:07:15. > :07:18.is a snowball effect. A small amount of money, huge private sector
:07:19. > :07:21.investment, 900 jobs on`site. I think as we have seen right across
:07:22. > :07:29.the enterprise zones, there is huge potential there for the wider
:07:30. > :07:35.community. In other news, an inquest has heard
:07:36. > :07:38.that a father found dead near his daughter's body had said they
:07:39. > :07:41.wouldn't be able to cope without his partner, who'd drowned a few days
:07:42. > :07:44.earlier. Pauline Barker was being treated for depression. In April
:07:45. > :07:48.2012 her body was found near Colwick, together with a note. 11
:07:49. > :07:51.days later, the bodies of Archie McKelvie and Corrin Barker were
:07:52. > :07:54.discovered in a house in West Bridgford. They'd both died from
:07:55. > :08:01.gunshot wounds. The inquest continues.
:08:02. > :08:06.You are watching East Midlands Today. Business owners in Leicester
:08:07. > :08:09.say there's been a huge fall in the number of raids on jewellery shops.
:08:10. > :08:13.In previous years, the Golden Mile was a real target for thieves who
:08:14. > :08:15.stole tens of thousands of pounds of jewellery. Now shopkeepers are
:08:16. > :08:23.claiming that they've pushed the criminals out. Chromatic CCTV
:08:24. > :08:29.footage shows Raiders smashing their way into cabinet to steal gold
:08:30. > :08:32.jewellery. Two years ago seems like this were far too common on
:08:33. > :08:41.Leicester's Golden Mile, but now things are different. The police and
:08:42. > :08:49.juniors meet every six weeks to talk through concerns. It has been
:08:50. > :08:55.difficult. We have been scared to be trading in this line of jewellery.
:08:56. > :08:59.At its peak there was a raid here every seven weeks. Now with the
:09:00. > :09:05.police and the police and juniors working together, there hasn't been
:09:06. > :09:09.a raid for the last 18 months. They have introduced interlocking doors,
:09:10. > :09:14.so you have to get in and be locked before you can go to the next door.
:09:15. > :09:18.They have a smoke device where they feel that there was someone in the
:09:19. > :09:23.strop they don't want they can press a button and it releases harmless
:09:24. > :09:29.smoke, and through these radios jewellers can talk between
:09:30. > :09:33.themselves and also to us. So while rates have gone down in Leicester,
:09:34. > :09:39.police in Nottingham are concerned that homes have been targeted for
:09:40. > :09:45.gold. While away on holiday, this man's home was broken into. They
:09:46. > :09:54.took all the jewellery, my wife's, my sisters, and most importantly my
:09:55. > :10:02.mum's jewellery. Back in Leicester, the extra security in the shop and
:10:03. > :10:05.these patrols have paid off. A lot of jewellers around the UK are
:10:06. > :10:12.looking at what Leicester has done to replicate what we have done here.
:10:13. > :10:15.So the seeds have been pushed out and sparkle is now back on Leicester
:10:16. > :10:18.'s Golden Mile. Next, we can reveal that there's
:10:19. > :10:20.been a large drop in the number of cannabis farms discovered across the
:10:21. > :10:23.East Midlands. Figures we've obtained under the Freedom of
:10:24. > :10:26.Information Act show that so`called commercial grows have fallen sharply
:10:27. > :10:30.in each of our main police force areas. Our social affairs
:10:31. > :10:40.correspondent, Jeremy Ball, can tell us more.
:10:41. > :10:46.A farm in an attic in a suburban home, which is producing illegal
:10:47. > :10:50.drugs. Police discovered this crop in a house on the outskirts of
:10:51. > :10:55.Nottingham. Criminal gangs grow cannabis because it is a way to get
:10:56. > :10:58.rich quick. They are often only discovered because electrics catch
:10:59. > :11:04.fire bust up rooms are killed out with intricate lighting and watering
:11:05. > :11:10.systems and are often hidden. Police have seen an increase in calamus
:11:11. > :11:16.farms. The figure peak in 2011 when they found 372 cannabis grows,
:11:17. > :11:21.roughly one everyday. Now that figure is falling with only 246
:11:22. > :11:27.cannabis farms found by the three forces last year. Each force has
:11:28. > :11:33.seen a similar downward trend. People convicted can face up to 14
:11:34. > :11:37.years in prison but the potential profits means many growers are still
:11:38. > :11:41.prepared to take that risk. Jeremy has joined us in the studio.
:11:42. > :11:44.This sounds like good news. But do we know why these figures are going
:11:45. > :11:47.down? It does look as though criminals are being deterred from
:11:48. > :11:50.setting up commercial cannabis farms. That might be down to stiffer
:11:51. > :11:51.sentences. It might be also down to policing, with 0
:11:52. > :11:53.sentences. It might be also down to policing, with a new specialist team
:11:54. > :11:56.in Nottinghamshire. But experts tell me there might also be a very
:11:57. > :12:00.different explanation ` that criminal gangs are getting smarter,
:12:01. > :12:06.to avoid being caught. What kind of smart? Derbyshire Police say they're
:12:07. > :12:09.seeing cannabis grows being split between several different
:12:10. > :12:14.properties. For example, they'll spread 100 cannabis plants between
:12:15. > :12:19.ten different houses. That makes them harder to find. But crucially,
:12:20. > :12:22.if the growers get caught, they can avoid a long sentence by claiming
:12:23. > :12:26.it's for personal use. They get a much lighter prison sentence for
:12:27. > :12:30.that. So the upshot of that, fewer cannabis farms, but not necessarily
:12:31. > :12:33.less cannabis. A housing association has apologised
:12:34. > :12:36.to a pensioner from Derbyshire who has been living with a flooded
:12:37. > :12:39.kitchen for a fortnight. 67`year`old John Fowkes from Ripley has been
:12:40. > :12:43.forced to cook on his lounge floor and empty buckets of water every two
:12:44. > :12:46.hours. Today, 15 days after Metropolitan Housing were initially
:12:47. > :12:55.called, work to mend the leak finally got under way. John Fowkes's
:12:56. > :13:04.kitchen is out of action. A leak above has meant water pouring into
:13:05. > :13:10.his flat. The 67`year`old cannot cope. `` cannot cook. His only
:13:11. > :13:16.option is take`aways and ready meals prepared next door on the lounge
:13:17. > :13:19.floor. It is a swimming pool. A ceiling came down. Completely
:13:20. > :13:29.flooded. It is difficult to cope with. This is John's kitchen and the
:13:30. > :13:33.water is still falling through now. John's friend showed me the extent
:13:34. > :13:35.of the damage. He says that despite repeatedly alerting the housing
:13:36. > :13:42.association responsible for the flat, it has taken them until today
:13:43. > :13:46.to fix the upstairs leak. John is a vulnerable adult and the last thing
:13:47. > :13:51.he needs is this level of anxiety. This is supposed to be a safe
:13:52. > :13:56.environment for him. He has been left in this state for 15 days. For
:13:57. > :13:59.the last fortnight, these buckets have needed emptying every two
:14:00. > :14:10.hours, which has meant busy days and sleepless nights. In a statement,
:14:11. > :14:29.metropolitan housing apologised. They say...
:14:30. > :14:35.It's expected that all repairs will be completed in the next week, and
:14:36. > :14:42.the kitchen will be usable again. For John, that cannot come soon
:14:43. > :14:46.enough. It's more than halfway down the road
:14:47. > :14:52.to being completed. But doubts have been raised as to whether it's
:14:53. > :14:57.actually big enough. We are talking about Derby's new velodrome, which
:14:58. > :15:02.has already become a familiar landmark in the city. But now a
:15:03. > :15:05.cross`party panel of councillors has questioned whether it's going to be
:15:06. > :15:12.able to seat enough people when it also hosts live music and comedy
:15:13. > :15:17.events. Derby's new velodrome and multisports Irena continues to take
:15:18. > :15:23.shape at a cost of ?28 million. As well as cycling and other sports, it
:15:24. > :15:27.will be able to host concerts, but now a cross`party committee of city
:15:28. > :15:36.councillors has questioned whether it's 5000 seat capacity is enough. I
:15:37. > :15:42.would like to see it capable of handling 2500 to really make an
:15:43. > :15:50.impact in the East Midlands, and that was the making. I am amazed
:15:51. > :15:55.because the people who raised this, the Conservative leader and deputy
:15:56. > :16:00.leader, agreed the capacity at 5000. They have said nothing about this
:16:01. > :16:03.until the thing is almost dealt, and now they are suggesting we demolish
:16:04. > :16:10.it and make it bigger. It is nonsense. Derby's existing assembly
:16:11. > :16:17.rooms, here hosting civic degree ceremonies this month, can only fit
:16:18. > :16:22.around 1500 people. We have been crying out for a decent sized
:16:23. > :16:26.concert venue for many years. What I think everybody would want in the
:16:27. > :16:27.future is the ability for us to compete with the East Midlands, and
:16:28. > :16:33.even 0 compete with the East Midlands, and
:16:34. > :16:36.even in the UK. We are talking to a promoter about the sort of acts we
:16:37. > :16:42.will get. We are confident we will fill that stage with acts of a wide
:16:43. > :16:46.variety. The velodrome should be finished later this year, and it
:16:47. > :16:59.stores are due to open this time next year. `` its jaws. `` its jaws.
:17:00. > :17:04.It looks amazing, doesn't it? Still to come, easterly winds and an ice
:17:05. > :17:11.warning. You'd almost think it was winter. A brief change is on the
:17:12. > :17:15.way. You can expect to feel chilly tomorrow that link and you'll miss
:17:16. > :17:25.it as a next spell of wet and windy weather arrives on Friday. More
:17:26. > :17:29.details later. It must have been chilly at the football last night.
:17:30. > :17:38.However, Leicester were turning the heat up. Very good!
:17:39. > :17:42.Too hot to handle, Leicester on. Their promotion train rumbles on.
:17:43. > :17:48.Nigel Pearson's team are history`makers after that win at
:17:49. > :17:52.Birmingham last night. They've won eight in a row for the first time,
:17:53. > :17:55.and the bookies have made them odds`on favourites to go up as
:17:56. > :17:58.champions. Leicester look and feel unbeatable at the moment. The
:17:59. > :18:06.chances keep coming and so do the wins. The scoring opened for city,
:18:07. > :18:13.helping the team to a history making eight wins in a row. Never before
:18:14. > :18:13.have Leicester 18 on the bones. They have 0
:18:14. > :18:17.have Leicester 18 on the bones. They have taken 24 point out of 24. Many
:18:18. > :18:23.layers have stood out during this incredible run, but the striker has
:18:24. > :18:28.really caught the eye. This is his 10th of the season. Birmingham got a
:18:29. > :18:33.goal back but it was Leicester's night, and with an 8`point gap at
:18:34. > :18:38.the top and an 11 point cushion to Burnley in third, city have put
:18:39. > :18:44.themselves in a fantastic position with 18 games to go. So Leicester
:18:45. > :18:47.are record`breakers, Derby truly are the comeback kings. 2`0 down at
:18:48. > :18:50.half`time against Yeovil last night and they were beginning to think it
:18:51. > :18:54.wasn't their night. But a dramatic victory was sealed with seconds to
:18:55. > :19:06.go. Kirsty Edwards was there to see the story unfold. Eight cold, rainy
:19:07. > :19:11.night, but there is no dampening the spirit of Derby fans at the moment.
:19:12. > :19:18.A bit of rain would hold me back, especially the way we are doing now.
:19:19. > :19:26.Since Steve came down from Ipswich, it has been phenomenal. Over 23,000
:19:27. > :19:31.turned out, amongst them one of Derby's most famous bands, one
:19:32. > :19:44.direction start now hiring, hoping to be cheered up after a knee
:19:45. > :19:50.operation. `` Nile Horan. Derby were dominating possession and creating
:19:51. > :19:56.some good chances. But as they pushed forward, they became
:19:57. > :20:02.vulnerable at the back. It is a chance for John Lundstram, and that
:20:03. > :20:08.is disappointing. He has to stay on his feet, tried a shot and scores.
:20:09. > :20:13.To nail down at half time, the manager was left scratching his
:20:14. > :20:20.head. I thought they were playing well and cruising chances. We needed
:20:21. > :20:29.to show character and fight and dig deep, and that is what we did. It
:20:30. > :20:36.has been scored by Patrick Bamford. And with three and a half minutes to
:20:37. > :20:47.go, Derby have an equaliser. It goes, and Chris Martin has scored.
:20:48. > :20:51.We had 46 shots and I thought, if we had drawn that game or lost it, I
:20:52. > :20:58.would still have said we performed well, we created chances, scored 36
:20:59. > :21:04.shots. You've got to win a football match doing that. Thank you and good
:21:05. > :21:16.night. It is Derby three, you will too. `` Yeovil two. Commentary there
:21:17. > :21:19.from BBC Radio Derby's Ed Dawes. At Nottingham Forest within the past
:21:20. > :21:25.half an hour, the club have confirmed the signing of Algerian
:21:26. > :21:28.striker Rafik Djebbour. The 29`year`old, who has been on loan at
:21:29. > :21:31.a Turkish side from Greek Champions Olympiacos, has signed a
:21:32. > :21:34.two`and`a`half`year deal at The City Ground. In rugby, Leicester Tigers
:21:35. > :21:43.scrum`half Ben Youngs has been left out of England's opening Six Nations
:21:44. > :21:46.match in France. Staying in Leicester, and the Queen's Baton
:21:47. > :21:50.Relay is to visit the City on its way to Glasgow for the Commonwealth
:21:51. > :21:54.Games. More details on that in our late news. Finally from me, cricket,
:21:55. > :21:57.and England have retained the Women's Ashes after beating
:21:58. > :22:03.Australia by nine wickets in Hobart. They now hold an unassailable 10`4
:22:04. > :22:10.lead in the series. England retained the women's Ashes, following a nine
:22:11. > :22:14.wicket victory over Australia in the first 2020 Clash of the series, with
:22:15. > :22:20.captain Charlotte Edwards hitting the winning runs. Nottinghamshire
:22:21. > :22:28.ace Jenny Gunn has played a big part and the English squad includes
:22:29. > :22:38.Loughborough students, including Amy Jones and Lauren Winfield. Look how
:22:39. > :22:42.lovely it look there. Nice to see a positive result in the Ashes for
:22:43. > :22:46.once. I was talking about the weather. Talking of which, it looked
:22:47. > :22:51.grim out there at the moment. weather. Talking of which, it looked
:22:52. > :22:55.grim Little blue sky in my forecast at the moment. Staying and settled,
:22:56. > :23:00.but tomorrow will feel colder than we were used to. There will be a
:23:01. > :23:05.lots of cloud around and showers through the day. Low pressure is
:23:06. > :23:09.with us at the moment sitting across the southern half of the UK,
:23:10. > :23:13.allowing the weather to move in from France, but there is a change on the
:23:14. > :23:19.way on Friday as weather moves in from the Atlantic. Tonight, we have
:23:20. > :23:23.this rain moving into the day. Icy is still with us for the next hour
:23:24. > :23:28.or so before the rain starts to ease, and a lot of cloud remains
:23:29. > :23:31.with us through the night, allowing temperatures to stay just above
:23:32. > :23:34.freezing for most of us. The exception is the north`western
:23:35. > :23:39.corner, so north`western Nottinghamshire, here skies may be
:23:40. > :23:45.clearer allowing temperatures to fog below freezing. This brings the risk
:23:46. > :23:50.of ice and you may also get a little frost, but for the rest of us a
:23:51. > :23:54.frost free night. Still quite cold tomorrow and icy will feel quite
:23:55. > :24:00.chilly. The next area of rain pushes in from the south. Icy is light and
:24:01. > :24:01.patching through the day, maybe a little wintry across Derbyshire and
:24:02. > :24:03.North Nottinghamshire, but 0 little wintry across Derbyshire and
:24:04. > :24:11.North Nottinghamshire, but for the rest icy is falling as rain, peeling
:24:12. > :24:15.chilly in that wind. On Friday, this low pressure will push its way in,
:24:16. > :24:20.giving us a spell of very wet and windy weather. The start Friday
:24:21. > :24:24.promising. Icy is set to arrive in the afternoon and icy is with us
:24:25. > :24:32.well into Saturday, so quite unsettled as we head into the
:24:33. > :24:38.weekend. Sunday is looking like a better day, but before that wet
:24:39. > :24:45.conditions to come. I vote we all go to Hobart and celebrate the winning
:24:46. > :24:51.of the arches either ladies team. So long. Buy. `` the winning of the
:24:52. > :24:56.Ashes by the ladies team.