17/04/2014 East Midlands Today

And now the news for the East Midlands, I'm Dominic Heale.

The East Midlands has experienced a significant earthquake ` the

strongest quake to hit the UK this year. There have been several

tremors in the region in recent years. But this one ` with its

epicentre in Rutland ` was among the biggest ` with a magnitude of 3.2.

Sarah Teale reports. The peace and tranquillity of the

Rutland and Leicestershire countryside was rocked just after

7am. This was the cause, an earthquake measuring magnitude three

point two. Rhian Ivory and her family said it sided like a lorry

had crashed into the bungalow. `` sounded. It sounded like the war

was shaking behind me. It was a sound and vibration as well. My

eldest one thought it might have been a bomb. I heard sort of

rumbling sound, and it shook my bed. The epicentre was at Oakham and

originated 2.5 miles below ground. Many took to social media

afterwards, including Austin Healey retweeted, we have just had an

earthquake, the House was shaking for about ten seconds. Tremors were

felt up to 20 miles away. It felt almost like an explosion, but

without the sound, or something hitting the sound rather as Mac

hating the House rather than like `` rather than rumbling or shaking. It

was a strange sound, I knew it wasn't quite right because in a

quiet location like this you do not hear that sort of thing.

The last significant earthquake hit market raisin in 2008, with the

magnitude of 5.2. That was felt across the East Midlands and caused

damage to many houses. Earthquakes are not that uncommon in

the UK. The British Geological Survey says it has reports of about

three per year in this country, and it says it will be investigating the

cause of this latest one. They occur as a result of the

adjustment `` adjustments `` the adjustments that `` the adjustments

to the wider stresses the UK feels. We experience unlike `` a slight

squeezing as a result of the mid`Atlantic Ridge. There is no way

of predicting when the earth will move for East Midlands as again. ``

East Midlanders. Police searching for a soldier who

went missing as he tried to swim across a river in York have found a

body. 18`year`old Tyler Pearson from

Nottingham was last seen in the River Ouse a fortnight ago.

Signaller Pearson's family has been told of the discovery.

A 47`year`old workman's being treated in hospital after falling

from scaffolding in Derby. Members of the Health and Safety

Executive have been at the scene near The Spot in the city centre.

During the incident this morning, the man ` who's not yet been named `

fell about 15 feet onto a wooden platform. He suffered multiple

injuries. New research has identified a slump

in the economic recovery of one East Midlands city. There's been a big

increase in the number of businesses in Nottingham said to be in

"critical financial distress". As our political editor John Hess

explained earlier, it's the construction industry that's really

struggling. I think many viewers will think this

is a bit of a turn up, because all the recent political rhetoric from

the Prime Minister and the Chancellor has been about the

economic revival, and yet only yesterday we were reporting an

increase in unemployment in the East Midlands, and this survey which

covers the first quarter of this year seems to indicate that

Nottingham's economic recovery is spluttering as well, that is also

against the trend. The problem seems to be in the city's construction

sector, there has been a 16% increase in business is facing

financial problems, four times higher than the rest of the

Midlands. These figures come from a company whose business is to rescue

firms which go bust. In the past, the East Midlands has been a better

performer compared to the rest of the country. Any weakening in the

position can be over exaggerated. As we sit at the moment, I am not

seeing any particular worsening compare to everybody else, although

all figures seem to show that construction has been a problem.

Looking at it from the point of view of maybe being caused by bad

weather, the bad weather's been bad around the country and may be worth

down south. `` worse down south. Last summer there was that ringing

endorsement from the new Governor of the Bank of England about the East

Midlands economy, and its importance to the rest of the country. This is

a real bellwether for the UK economy, and it is in regions such

as this and industries such as those that will determine the course of

this recovery. Tonight the business organisation that's responsible for

economic regeneration, the local enterprise partnership, it accepts

that growth isn't even, and says that inevitably there will be

challenges to overcome. It has actually published a special plan to

help the construction sector. Let us just hope it is waterproof.

The funeral of the Leicester author Sue Townsend will take place at De

Montfort Hall on May second. The creator of the teenage character

Adrian Mole died aged 68 after a short illness. Relatives are asking

for donations to be made to the Rainbows Children's Hospice in

Loughborough, and the stroke wards at Leicester Royal Infirmary.

The Peak District is to become the first national park in the UK ` and

only the third in the world ` to have its trails viewable on the

internet. Walkers will soon be able to see

such sites as the Derwent Dams and the Monsal Head viaduct, along with

some of the famous rock edges popular with climbers. The same

technology was used recently to record an online tour of towpaths

running along the region's canals. running along the region's

That is your news, here's your weather forecast.

It was such a cloudy day today, but we are now trying `` starting to see

this skies clearing, and we are in for another cold night. The

temperatures dropping to a minimum of around three or four Celsius in

the towns and cities. At least a bright start to the day once again,

and it is going to be a fine day for Good Friday. A little bit of cloud

coming in from the North Sea, and it is a north`easterly breeze. A

maximum daytime temperature of 12 Celsius. A decent day in store for

Saturday as well. If you have any plans out doors, Good Friday and

Saturday over two days to go for. Although Saturday, a little bit more

cloud around. itself across southern England, so

we will see wet weather over England. Have a good Easter.

One thing we can be sure about is it won't be as cold as Easter last

year, when we had seems like this, a covering of snow with icicles and

temperatures down to an Easter record of minus 12.5 Celsius. One

year and a couple of weeks on, things look very different. The

first half of the Easter weekend, a lot of dry weather and a lot of warm

and strong sunshine as well. It is the second half of the Easter

weekend when things turn more unsettled, with some rain around. A

few showers today