:00:00. > 3:59:59on the BBC News Channel, and I'll be back with the late news. Now on BBC
:00:00. > :00:16.One it's time for the With your news now for the East
:00:17. > :00:20.Midlands, I'm Maurice Flynn. First tonight, police are hunting
:00:21. > :00:24.for a hit`and`run driver who left a man seriously injured in Derbyshire.
:00:25. > :00:28.It happened on Station Road at Stanley, near Ilkeston, at around
:00:29. > :00:31.11PM last night. Police say the vehicle was silver and drove off
:00:32. > :00:34.leaving the pedestrian badly injured in the road. They are appealing for
:00:35. > :00:38.witnesses. Fire crews have only this afternoon
:00:39. > :00:41.finished tackling a major blaze at a recycling centre in Grantham ` the
:00:42. > :00:46.second one there this year. It started overnight at the Environcom
:00:47. > :00:48.plant on Great North Road. The smoke could be seen for miles. Around
:00:49. > :00:53.fifty firefighters brought it under control, although the plant has been
:00:54. > :00:58.severely damaged. The cause is not yet known.
:00:59. > :01:01.A veteran from Nottingham says his life has been transformed now he is
:01:02. > :01:05.able to paint again. Eric Radford had given up on his hobby after
:01:06. > :01:08.losing the majority of his sight. But a charity has helped him
:01:09. > :01:12.re`explore his passion for art. Geeta Pendse reports.
:01:13. > :01:15.I can see there. I can see right deep down. I could never see it
:01:16. > :01:20.ordinarily. Equipment that is enabling Eric to paint for the first
:01:21. > :01:22.time in years. The former RAF serviceman from Nottingham gave up
:01:23. > :01:28.after being diagnosed with age`related macular degeneration.
:01:29. > :01:32.But the 93`year`old is now full of enthusiasm after a visit to a blind
:01:33. > :01:41.veterans' centre in Wales last Christmas. Before I knew it, I was
:01:42. > :01:46.doing arts and crafts. I would like to thank them for providing me with
:01:47. > :01:54.this and that. I am astounded. I am a different person, everyone will
:01:55. > :01:57.tell you. Eric was an armourer with the RAF from 1941 to 1946 and his
:01:58. > :02:01.sense of adventure has followed him through life. But he says that in
:02:02. > :02:08.recent years he had lost his sense of purpose. I was thinking two years
:02:09. > :02:12.and that is my life done. I never thought I would get... I probably
:02:13. > :02:18.still only have two years, but I will enjoy it now. I have got
:02:19. > :02:22.something to do. Blind Veterans UK provided Eric with the equipment for
:02:23. > :02:26.his makeshift studio. The charity estimates there are around 70,000
:02:27. > :02:34.veterans who could also benefit. Geeta Pendse, East Midlands Today.
:02:35. > :02:36.Now this weekend marks the anniversary of the Dambuster raid `
:02:37. > :02:40.seventy`one years since more than 130 airmen set off from RAF Scampton
:02:41. > :02:44.in Lincolnshire on one of the most daring bombing raids of World War
:02:45. > :02:49.Two to destroy the dam on the Ruhr. Some of the airmen are local people.
:02:50. > :02:52.Bolitho was a son of Nottingham. There are local connections. The
:02:53. > :02:57.raid was mounted here. It took off just over the county border in
:02:58. > :03:02.Lincolnshire. It is something that resonates with the people around
:03:03. > :03:06.here. Now if you have lived in the region
:03:07. > :03:09.a little while you may remember Nottinghamshire's rocket man, Frank
:03:10. > :03:12.Sharman. He repeatedly attempted to set world records launching homemade
:03:13. > :03:16.rockets. Well, after a ten year break, he is back having re`ignited
:03:17. > :03:20.his love of explosive engineering. Navtej Johal reports.
:03:21. > :03:24.The return of the rocket man. I realised that this year it will be
:03:25. > :03:28.ten years since the last launch and I thought, that is a long while. A
:03:29. > :03:32.decade ago, Frank Sharman attempted to launch Britain's biggest rocket.
:03:33. > :03:36.He may have failed, but he was all set to try again when his wife
:03:37. > :03:41.passed away a year later. At the end of the year, she had an accident and
:03:42. > :03:45.fell and died when she came out of hospital. So I just did not feel
:03:46. > :03:49.like doing it any more. As Elton John once said, it has been a long,
:03:50. > :03:53.long time since Frank last launched a rocket. Today he hopes he still
:03:54. > :03:54.has what it takes to make this rocket fly.
:03:55. > :04:09.MUSIC PLAYS I was fascinated when he was doing
:04:10. > :04:17.them ten years ago so 10/10. I am very proud. I think he is very happy
:04:18. > :04:20.and he has enjoyed it. I think I am pretty happy actually to see them
:04:21. > :04:24.fly again after all this time. Is there going to be another world
:04:25. > :04:29.record attempt for you? Yes. I do want to launch Britain's biggest
:04:30. > :04:35.rocket. And who would bet against the 60`year`old? The rocket man may
:04:36. > :04:42.yet fly again. Navtej Johal, BBC East Midlands Today.
:04:43. > :04:44.It has been an incredible day for the Downie sisters from Nottingham
:04:45. > :04:47.at the European Championships in Bulgaria. After helping Great
:04:48. > :04:50.Britain to a team silver yesterday, Becky Downie's performance today on
:04:51. > :04:55.the uneven bars made her the European Champion ` winning gold
:04:56. > :04:58.ahead of the Russian favourite. Meanwhile, younger sister Ellie also
:04:59. > :05:04.took gold this morning, and the European junior title, on the vault!
:05:05. > :05:08.A good weekend for the Downie's in Bulgaria and not a bad weekend for
:05:09. > :05:10.most of us here weather wise. Kaye has the latest on what is coming
:05:11. > :05:25.next. There is a fine evening to come. It
:05:26. > :05:35.will stay clear overnight will stop we will see some cloud in the early
:05:36. > :05:43.hours of the morning. Temperatures, 13`14 Celsius. Tomorrow, there will
:05:44. > :05:51.be some sunshine. There will be long spells of sunshine. Temperatures, 23
:05:52. > :05:52.Celsius. More unsettled from Tuesday on words.
:05:53. > :06:13.More for you at 10:15PM. Goodbye. St James Park and Sheffield both hit
:06:14. > :06:18.25 Celsius this afternoon. That gives us our warmest day in nearly
:06:19. > :06:22.nine months, since 5th September 2013. It goes without saying that it
:06:23. > :06:26.is going to be a warm night. Look out for some showers clipping into
:06:27. > :06:31.eastern Scotland. Some of those could be heavy. Still some patchy
:06:32. > :06:33.rain for western Scotland. More persistent rain returning to
:06:34. > :06:35.Northern Ireland by the end of the