18/05/2014 East Midlands Today

on the BBC News Channel, and I'll be back with the late news. Now on BBC

One it's time for the With your news now for the East

Midlands, I'm Maurice Flynn. First tonight, police are hunting

for a hit`and`run driver who left a man seriously injured in Derbyshire.

It happened on Station Road at Stanley, near Ilkeston, at around

11PM last night. Police say the vehicle was silver and drove off

leaving the pedestrian badly injured in the road. They are appealing for

witnesses. Fire crews have only this afternoon

finished tackling a major blaze at a recycling centre in Grantham ` the

second one there this year. It started overnight at the Environcom

plant on Great North Road. The smoke could be seen for miles. Around

fifty firefighters brought it under control, although the plant has been

severely damaged. The cause is not yet known.

A veteran from Nottingham says his life has been transformed now he is

able to paint again. Eric Radford had given up on his hobby after

losing the majority of his sight. But a charity has helped him

re`explore his passion for art. Geeta Pendse reports.

I can see there. I can see right deep down. I could never see it

ordinarily. Equipment that is enabling Eric to paint for the first

time in years. The former RAF serviceman from Nottingham gave up

after being diagnosed with age`related macular degeneration.

But the 93`year`old is now full of enthusiasm after a visit to a blind

veterans' centre in Wales last Christmas. Before I knew it, I was

doing arts and crafts. I would like to thank them for providing me with

this and that. I am astounded. I am a different person, everyone will

tell you. Eric was an armourer with the RAF from 1941 to 1946 and his

sense of adventure has followed him through life. But he says that in

recent years he had lost his sense of purpose. I was thinking two years

and that is my life done. I never thought I would get... I probably

still only have two years, but I will enjoy it now. I have got

something to do. Blind Veterans UK provided Eric with the equipment for

his makeshift studio. The charity estimates there are around 70,000

veterans who could also benefit. Geeta Pendse, East Midlands Today.

Now this weekend marks the anniversary of the Dambuster raid `

seventy`one years since more than 130 airmen set off from RAF Scampton

in Lincolnshire on one of the most daring bombing raids of World War

Two to destroy the dam on the Ruhr. Some of the airmen are local people.

Bolitho was a son of Nottingham. There are local connections. The

raid was mounted here. It took off just over the county border in

Lincolnshire. It is something that resonates with the people around

here. Now if you have lived in the region

a little while you may remember Nottinghamshire's rocket man, Frank

Sharman. He repeatedly attempted to set world records launching homemade

rockets. Well, after a ten year break, he is back having re`ignited

his love of explosive engineering. Navtej Johal reports.

The return of the rocket man. I realised that this year it will be

ten years since the last launch and I thought, that is a long while. A

decade ago, Frank Sharman attempted to launch Britain's biggest rocket.

He may have failed, but he was all set to try again when his wife

passed away a year later. At the end of the year, she had an accident and

fell and died when she came out of hospital. So I just did not feel

like doing it any more. As Elton John once said, it has been a long,

long time since Frank last launched a rocket. Today he hopes he still

has what it takes to make this rocket fly.

MUSIC PLAYS I was fascinated when he was doing

them ten years ago so 10/10. I am very proud. I think he is very happy

and he has enjoyed it. I think I am pretty happy actually to see them

fly again after all this time. Is there going to be another world

record attempt for you? Yes. I do want to launch Britain's biggest

rocket. And who would bet against the 60`year`old? The rocket man may

yet fly again. Navtej Johal, BBC East Midlands Today.

It has been an incredible day for the Downie sisters from Nottingham

at the European Championships in Bulgaria. After helping Great

Britain to a team silver yesterday, Becky Downie's performance today on

the uneven bars made her the European Champion ` winning gold

ahead of the Russian favourite. Meanwhile, younger sister Ellie also

took gold this morning, and the European junior title, on the vault!

A good weekend for the Downie's in Bulgaria and not a bad weekend for

most of us here weather wise. Kaye has the latest on what is coming

next. There is a fine evening to come. It

will stay clear overnight will stop we will see some cloud in the early

hours of the morning. Temperatures, 13`14 Celsius. Tomorrow, there will

be some sunshine. There will be long spells of sunshine. Temperatures, 23

Celsius. More unsettled from Tuesday on words.

More for you at 10:15PM. Goodbye. St James Park and Sheffield both hit

25 Celsius this afternoon. That gives us our warmest day in nearly

nine months, since 5th September 2013. It goes without saying that it

is going to be a warm night. Look out for some showers clipping into

eastern Scotland. Some of those could be heavy. Still some patchy

rain for western Scotland. More persistent rain returning to

Northern Ireland by the end of the