:00:00. > :00:13.That is all from us. There is a first look
:00:14. > :00:16.And now the news for the East Midlands, I'm Anne Davies.
:00:17. > :00:18.First tonight ` 0 Midlands, I'm Anne Davies.
:00:19. > :00:20.First tonight ` a faster rail service between the region and
:00:21. > :00:23.London that should have saved commuters' time has left passengers
:00:24. > :00:27.furious at what they call 'broken promises'. East Midlands Trains
:00:28. > :00:28.announced the quicker times last year but it made those 0
:00:29. > :00:30.announced the quicker times last year but it made those promises
:00:31. > :00:39.knowing it may not be able to deliver. Jo Healey's been
:00:40. > :00:45.investigating. Two months ago in December at Derby
:00:46. > :00:49.station there was quite a fanfare. The Transport Secretary announced
:00:50. > :00:55.the new faster link to London, trains travelling at 125 miles an
:00:56. > :01:01.hour knocking minutes off the journeys from the East Midlands. Two
:01:02. > :01:06.weeks before the announcement, East Midlands Trains knew that network
:01:07. > :01:12.rail had not completed critical work on the lines which could have slowed
:01:13. > :01:17.the trains at times. Last week East Midlands Trains talked of network
:01:18. > :01:22.rail failing to deliver the promised line speed improvements on time.
:01:23. > :01:28.They say they underestimated the scale of the work and it was, they
:01:29. > :01:35.said, completely unacceptable and has meant some delays. This is what
:01:36. > :01:39.some passengers said. My last few journeys have been late which is an
:01:40. > :01:45.issue if you have connections. Every day I come to get the train,
:01:46. > :01:50.it is always ten minutes late. It is normally on time and also
:01:51. > :01:53.coming back. It is annoying because I had to
:01:54. > :02:00.catch a connecting bus in Leicester to get to work on time. There was a
:02:01. > :02:02.more united front from the companies apologising for the delays insisting
:02:03. > :02:09.they are small. But look at this, a record, one
:02:10. > :02:12.passenger kept it in January logging the delays she 0 0
:02:13. > :02:12.passenger kept it in January logging the delays she has 0 0
:02:13. > :02:14.passenger kept it in January logging the delays she has experienced
:02:15. > :02:21.between East Midlands and London. Trains were cancelled, many trains
:02:22. > :02:26.were late and in one case there was a half hour delay. She is furious,
:02:27. > :02:30.passengers were told in December there will be faster links even
:02:31. > :02:35.though East Midlands Trains and Network Rail knew they may not be
:02:36. > :02:39.able to deliver them. Today, East Midlands Trains told me they went
:02:40. > :02:43.ahead with the announcement in December thinking they could
:02:44. > :02:50.mitigate some of the delays but were caught out by problems like bad
:02:51. > :02:54.weather. They say work should now be completed by April after that the
:02:55. > :02:57.timetable they promised in December will finally be up and running.
:02:58. > :03:00.16 people have been arrested during a series of drugs raids in Derby.
:03:01. > :03:04.Officers from the National Crime Agency helped Derbyshire police with
:03:05. > :03:08.the operation. A total of 12 homes were raided in the Peartree area and
:03:09. > :03:10.suspected Class A and B drugs were seized. Four dogs, thought to be
:03:11. > :03:11.banned under 0 seized. Four dogs, thought to be
:03:12. > :03:15.banned under the Dangerous Dogs Act, were also recovered. It's part of an
:03:16. > :03:22.investigation into an organised crime gang and follows complaints
:03:23. > :03:22.about drug dealing. The 0
:03:23. > :03:29.about drug dealing. The impact has been unbearable for
:03:30. > :03:33.them and frustrating from their point of view. I understand the
:03:34. > :03:35.frustration because they see the drug dealing going 0
:03:36. > :03:39.frustration because they see the drug dealing going on daily and
:03:40. > :03:42.wonder what the police are doing. Today is to show we have been doing
:03:43. > :03:46.stuff in the background. There's anger at a decision to spend
:03:47. > :03:48.sixty five thousand pounds of public money sending Nottingham City
:03:49. > :03:50.Council delegates to the French Riviera. Council representatives are
:03:51. > :03:54.attending the Annual International Property Fair in Cannes. They say
:03:55. > :03:58.it's an opportunity to attract investment. But the Tax Payers'
:03:59. > :04:02.Alliance argue it's a waste of money, at a time of budget cuts. For
:04:03. > :04:04.the past three years, the cost of the trip's been met by private
:04:05. > :04:07.backers. Elsewhere cutting the number of
:04:08. > :04:10.councillors and merging councils could save ?30 million a year on
:04:11. > :04:14.running costs according to an independent report. The shake`up
:04:15. > :04:18.proposed for Leicestershire would create one single big authority but
:04:19. > :04:29.it could reduce council tax and help balance the budget. Our Political
:04:30. > :04:31.Editor John Hess reports. Emptying the bins is one of 0
:04:32. > :04:34.Editor John Hess reports. Emptying the bins is one of the most
:04:35. > :04:41.valued of services but is it time to tidy up the councils? In
:04:42. > :04:42.Leicestershire there are seven councils and County Council.
:04:43. > :04:44.Accountants suggest 0 councils and County Council.
:04:45. > :04:50.Accountants suggest replacing them all one powerful authority, the
:04:51. > :04:55.report was commissioned by a politician, the leader of
:04:56. > :04:55.Conservative run Leicestershire. If you 0 0
:04:56. > :04:59.Conservative run Leicestershire. If you believe the Chancellor going
:05:00. > :05:03.forward, in the next ten years the savings will get greater.
:05:04. > :05:08.Maybe the time has come for a sensible debate about local
:05:09. > :05:13.government. The report target duplication, eight chief executives
:05:14. > :05:19.and 19 council directors, merging those could save ?15 million.
:05:20. > :05:26.Merging the districts and County would save ?31.4 million annually.
:05:27. > :05:32.Setting up a new council would cost ?13 million, says the report but the
:05:33. > :05:38.move would cut council tax. The number of councillors would be cut
:05:39. > :05:42.from 316 to 100. Even if Leicestershire opted for the new
:05:43. > :05:47.council, the chamber here would have to be expanded to take more
:05:48. > :05:52.councillors to ensure there was fair representation. For the district
:05:53. > :06:01.councils, are the recommendations are cut too far? This leader of one
:06:02. > :06:06.of the smallest councils says this. You end up with less representation
:06:07. > :06:11.and less ability to connect. Tories say it isn't a grab for cash or
:06:12. > :06:15.power but it may take more than a chocolate cake as a sweetener for
:06:16. > :06:16.this District Council leader. Onto football and tonight's results
:06:17. > :06:16.In 0 0 0 Onto football and tonight's results
:06:17. > :06:18.In the 0 0 Onto football and tonight's results
:06:19. > :06:20.In the Championship it was Huddersfield zero Nottingham Forest
:06:21. > :06:24.three which means Forest extend their unbeaten run to 16 games. And
:06:25. > :06:33.in League Two Mansfield's game with Bury was called off because of a
:06:34. > :06:38.water`logged pitch. That is the picture across the
:06:39. > :06:44.country. Goodbye. A lot of whether going on, we saw
:06:45. > :06:48.some snow today but now the attention is focused back on the
:06:49. > :06:53.wind and rain. Another area of low pressure pushing in. There is the
:06:54. > :06:57.chance of snow tonight, a few showers around and we can see some
:06:58. > :07:07.pushing in in the Airlie hours of the morning. Temperatures below
:07:08. > :07:11.freezing. The snow replaced tomorrow with the rain, the rain started off
:07:12. > :07:17.quite liked and patchy but you will see more persistent and heavy rain
:07:18. > :07:24.from the middle part of the day. It eases off but as the rain eases off,
:07:25. > :07:28.the wind will pick up. Gusty winds tomorrow evening, gusts of 50 or 60
:07:29. > :07:31.miles an hour. Another wet and windy when, I leave you with the Outlook.
:07:32. > :07:39.That is when the wind is going to pick up. Thursday looks like a
:07:40. > :07:43.quieter day. Good evening, a roller-coaster ride
:07:44. > :07:49.of weather continues across the British Isles. We want to get off,
:07:50. > :07:54.but unfortunately we have got more white knuckle rides to come. This
:07:55. > :08:00.area of low pressure is bringing wet and extremely windy weather. It
:08:01. > :08:04.happens again on Friday with another deep low moving in from the
:08:05. > :08:10.south-west. That means that potentially over the next five days
:08:11. > :08:16.we could see as much a 60 - 80 millimetres of rainfall, among's
:08:17. > :08:22.worth in just five days. Before that there are lots of tricky conditions
:08:23. > :08:25.out there at the moment. We have got snow across Scotland and Northern
:08:26. > :08:31.Ireland. As these showers pushed further inland and temperatures fall
:08:32. > :08:35.away, we could see snow at lower levels as well. It is a similar
:08:36. > :08:41.story for South Yorkshire and into Derbyshire and perhaps the Midlands.
:08:42. > :08:46.Even if we do not get the snow, and we keep the showers, it will be a
:08:47. > :08:52.cold night, so that could lead to icy stretches on the roads. That
:08:53. > :08:56.will pale into insignificance because the wind is already picking
:08:57. > :09:02.up and an intense band of rain continues to push in across the
:09:03. > :09:07.country. This time it will be a bit more prolonged for tomorrow. The
:09:08. > :09:14.wins either significant feature There is an amber warning for the
:09:15. > :09:19.gusts of wind. Let's look at the afternoon. In the Northern Isles and
:09:20. > :09:25.the far north of Scotland it is quite quiet. Snow continues across
:09:26. > :09:30.the mountains and sharp showers in northern Ireland and northern
:09:31. > :09:36.England. The winds pick up into the North West and the South of Wales.
:09:37. > :09:42.The band of rain is still clinging on to East Anglia and the Essex and
:09:43. > :09:49.Kent coasts. Blizzard conditions are possible overnight in Scotland and
:09:50. > :09:54.on the higher ground. By Thursday things potentially get a little
:09:55. > :09:59.quieter. There will be some showers around, but wet and windy weather
:10:00. > :10:01.set to return as we move towards Friday.