:00:00. > :00:00.other news on the BBC News Channel, and on our website, but that is all
:00:00. > :00:15.On the programme tonight: for now. It is
:00:16. > :00:25.The ups and downs of A`level results day. There are more university
:00:26. > :00:36.places than ever before but not all are taking that path. To get one
:00:37. > :00:41.like that is a dream come true. Also tonight: Support for a shopkeeper
:00:42. > :00:47.who are earned himself to fight off thieves. He did not deserve it, the
:00:48. > :00:54.guy who came in, it serves him right. And thousands of children of
:00:55. > :00:58.nasal sprays to help combat winter flu will stop and the pupils turning
:00:59. > :01:10.wristbands into remembrance poppies. On the programme tonight:
:01:11. > :01:13.Welcome to Thursday's programme. First tonight, there are more
:01:14. > :01:16.university places than ever before. Half a million are available
:01:17. > :01:18.and that's good news for young people across the East Midlands.
:01:19. > :01:21.This morning thousands of school leavers got their A Level results.
:01:22. > :01:24.There was a fall in the number of top grades for the first time
:01:25. > :01:27.in three decades but there was still plenty of joy and relief `
:01:28. > :01:30.and that was just the parents. Well, Tom Brown is at the University
:01:31. > :01:32.of Derby for this evening. Tom, we've seen those familiar
:01:33. > :01:34.images of celebrations and commiserations haven't we?
:01:35. > :01:37.Yes, I'm sure many of us can remember going into school
:01:38. > :01:39.one August morning, being handed that sealed envelope and finally
:01:40. > :01:42.knowing whether all that revision and hard work had been worth it.
:01:43. > :01:46.Well this morning, for many young students in the region, it was `
:01:47. > :01:48.as despite the overall pass rate going down slightly, a record number
:01:49. > :01:51.of university places were on offer. Here at the University of Derby,
:01:52. > :01:54.for example, they had 4,000 places, as opposed to 3,600 last year.
:01:55. > :01:56.So what was this morning like for the students, well,
:01:57. > :01:58.I was at Loughborough College, bright and early, as they opened
:01:59. > :02:29.those all important envelopes. ??PREVSUB ??NEWSUB the wait was
:02:30. > :02:37.almost over, weeks of excitement and worry where about to come to an end.
:02:38. > :02:51.In this boy's on below what exactly what she needed. I cannot describe
:02:52. > :02:58.how I feel right now. For this boy it is astrophysics and physics at
:02:59. > :03:04.Leicester University. Over the moon. I am so proud of him. Even some of
:03:05. > :03:16.those who did not get what they wanted were still able to celebrate.
:03:17. > :03:25.My offer was for the C C but I got four these and buy some stroke of
:03:26. > :03:30.luck I have got through. We want to make sure as many students as
:03:31. > :03:34.possible who want to go to university can do. I think that is
:03:35. > :03:43.good news for the country in general. This space engineering
:03:44. > :03:47.student is going to do an apprenticeship at the bus. To get
:03:48. > :03:53.something like that is just a dream come true. While others are
:03:54. > :04:03.appealing to enter the world of work. I am going to try to get a
:04:04. > :04:10.job. Students here were murdered across the region including
:04:11. > :04:16.Nottingham. The final visit to college and the corpse of hundreds
:04:17. > :04:28.resting on a single piece of paper. How are you feeling? Nervous. But I
:04:29. > :04:39.will give it a go. Good luck. Yes! I got see, D and D but I got into
:04:40. > :04:45.university so I am happy. Loughborough University welcomed
:04:46. > :04:51.students for the last time to discuss the results which could
:04:52. > :04:59.shape the future is. I have got into my apprenticeship at Rolls`Royce. I
:05:00. > :05:06.am just relieved now. I did not have a back`up plan. I was counting on
:05:07. > :05:16.these results! I am pretty chuffed with mine. I am getting a job and
:05:17. > :05:21.then university the year after. The exams in January peak even more
:05:22. > :05:42.pressure on young people. For me it is awesome. So it is tension, tears
:05:43. > :05:48.and triumphant. The full spectrum of human emotion. Due in Derby they
:05:49. > :05:53.have had almost 3000 calls. What does all this mean? Let us have a
:05:54. > :05:57.chat with the Deputy Vice Chancellor. We have heard you have
:05:58. > :06:01.all these extra places, we have heard of students getting in on
:06:02. > :06:08.lower grades but is getting into university easier these days? There
:06:09. > :06:11.are able more places available at universities will get is more
:06:12. > :06:16.opportunity but I think the students themselves will have told you it
:06:17. > :06:22.does not feel like it has got any easier. We have heard stories of
:06:23. > :06:33.people getting in with Wendy had been told they would need be and
:06:34. > :06:39.see. `` when they had been told. The universities have to discount some
:06:40. > :06:48.results slightly when it comes to cleaning. There will be some people
:06:49. > :06:52.who will be disappointed, what is your advice to people who might have
:06:53. > :07:00.narrowly missed the grades but have not yet had a firm offer? Do not
:07:01. > :07:06.panic. It is a likelihood that you will get the right course at the
:07:07. > :07:11.late university. Take a chance and talk to cleaning. The stress of
:07:12. > :07:16.exams and the nervous wait is all over. Congratulations to everyone
:07:17. > :07:17.involved at to not panic if you are having to go through something like
:07:18. > :07:30.this. those all important envelopes.
:07:31. > :07:33.Three more people have been arrested in connection with the death of a
:07:34. > :07:36.seven year old girl in Nottingham. The body of Shanay Walker was
:07:37. > :07:38.discovered at a house in Bestwood Park a fortnight ago.
:07:39. > :07:42.She'd died from a head injury. Two women, aged 21 and 53 and
:07:43. > :07:43.a 22`year`old man were arrested on suspicion of murder earlier today.
:07:44. > :07:45.Shanay's aunt Kay`Ann Morris has already been
:07:46. > :07:53.charged with her murder. Monarch Airlines has announced that
:07:54. > :07:55.it's to stop flying from East Midlands Airport.
:07:56. > :07:57.The company says the decision to pull out of
:07:58. > :07:59.Castle Donington follows a strategic review of its short`haul operation.
:08:00. > :08:02.Monarch started operating flights from East Midlands two years ago
:08:03. > :08:04.after low`cost airline BMI Baby ceased trading.
:08:05. > :08:11.The final Monarch flight will take place at the end of April next year.
:08:12. > :08:16.Grantham has unveiled its first new council homes for a decade.
:08:17. > :08:19.The four two`bedroom flats on Sandon Road mark the start
:08:20. > :08:21.of a ?3 million investment by South Kesteven District Council.
:08:22. > :08:23.It's planning to build 33 new council homes over
:08:24. > :08:33.the next two years ` offering more variety to tenants.
:08:34. > :08:36.Still to come: Cutting edge surgery at the vets.
:08:37. > :08:39.Holly's about to be spayed, but thanks to keyhole surgery
:08:40. > :08:51.the experience will be a lot less painful for her and her owners.
:08:52. > :08:53.Next tonight: A shopkeeper says he's been forced
:08:54. > :08:56.to use weapons to defend his store against petty thieves.
:08:57. > :08:57.Ali Nowroozi has chased away several shoplifters from his corner shop
:08:58. > :09:01.in Derby. He says some have even agreed to
:09:02. > :09:02.hand back the goods they stole. Our Social Affairs Correspondent,
:09:03. > :09:16.Jeremy Ball, reports. ??PREVSUB ??NEWSUB a thief caught on
:09:17. > :09:21.camera as he dabs a bottle and runs for it. Ali tries to stop him by
:09:22. > :09:28.throwing another bottle then grabbing a wooden bar and chasing
:09:29. > :09:37.the shoplifter out. I said give me my money, I will not make money ``
:09:38. > :09:45.trouble for you. So, what do his regular customers think? He is
:09:46. > :09:52.right, he is doing something for the community as well. Stopping it. He
:09:53. > :10:01.did not expect it, the guy who came in, it serves him right. His very
:10:02. > :10:08.direct approach to protecting his business might raise some eyebrows.
:10:09. > :10:12.After being targeted 20 times into UCC is no alternative and he says
:10:13. > :10:19.three shoplifters have returned stolen goods after he chased them
:10:20. > :10:28.with a weapon. Of course I am angry, I pay tax and everything. The
:10:29. > :10:32.Derbyshire force recorded almost 6000 offences of shop theft last
:10:33. > :10:42.year but many instances are not reported. The police say companies
:10:43. > :10:47.need to do much more to protect themselves. Of course, they do not
:10:48. > :10:51.advise protecting businesses like this but traders to take on
:10:52. > :10:54.shoplifters are putting their own safety at risk. That is unlikely to
:10:55. > :11:07.deter this shopkeeper. Jeremy Ball, reports.
:11:08. > :11:10.Last winter the nasal spray was given to primary
:11:11. > :11:12.school children in Leicester city people East Leicestershire including
:11:13. > :11:14.people in Melton area and Rutland. This winter the whole
:11:15. > :11:16.of Leicestershire will be covered not just primary school children 12
:11:17. > :11:19.and 13`year`olds too. Now Lincolnshire will be joining in
:11:20. > :11:21.too this winter for the first time. There 16,000 12
:11:22. > :11:24.and 13`year`olds will be targeted. The success of this will depend
:11:25. > :11:28.on the take up. And there is work to do there?
:11:29. > :11:34.We have some pictures of children getting the spray during the last
:11:35. > :11:44.time. A badge of honour for the brave youngsters to. This year's
:11:45. > :11:50.pilot will be better than ever. The idea is that ultimately children
:11:51. > :11:56.will be offered the vaccine from age to to 17 every year. The pilot is
:11:57. > :12:04.about how best do we organise that? It is given intranasally, a squirt
:12:05. > :12:15.into the nose, no needles. Very easy to have. Who gets the spree? They
:12:16. > :12:20.will be living in certain areas. You can see that last year it was over
:12:21. > :12:25.in Leicester City where people were given it. Primary schoolchildren and
:12:26. > :12:32.as well as part of Leicestershire was the neighbouring counterplay of
:12:33. > :12:37.Rutland. The whole of Leicestershire will be covered, that includes
:12:38. > :12:42.Caldwell and Lincolnshire will join in. We will see secondary school
:12:43. > :12:51.children for the first time also given it. I suppose the success will
:12:52. > :12:58.depend on the take`up. It is going to parents at the end of the day.
:12:59. > :13:04.Last year the take`up was 52% saw quite a week to go.
:13:05. > :13:06.And there is work to do there? The Queen has bought one
:13:07. > :13:08.of the biggest retail parks in the East Midlands.
:13:09. > :13:11.Fosse Park in Leicester has been sold to the Crown Estate
:13:12. > :13:13.for just over ?345 million. The estate, which looks
:13:14. > :13:16.after a range of properties for the monarch, said the deal was
:13:17. > :13:19.the largest in its history. Fosse Park is home to 40 stores
:13:20. > :13:29.and attracts eight million customers a year.
:13:30. > :13:31.Nottingham`based Raleigh has released a new model of its famous
:13:32. > :13:34.Chopper bike. The original mark 1 Chopper bike. The original mark 1
:13:35. > :13:37.and mark 2 Choppers proved to be massive hits in the 1970's. There
:13:38. > :13:40.have been some limited editions released since then. But the company
:13:41. > :13:47.says it?s now created a black and gold 2015 version ` inspired by the
:13:48. > :13:50.world of motor racing. A swimmer from Leicestershire has
:13:51. > :13:52.abandoned a world record attempt in the Lake District.
:13:53. > :13:53.Julie Bradshaw from Loughborough was leading an international team trying
:13:54. > :13:56.to complete the world?s longest freshwater swim
:13:57. > :13:58.` 14 lengths of Windermere. But one of those taking part
:13:59. > :14:01.fell ill this morning. The attempt had been in memory
:14:02. > :14:17.of Susan Taylor from Leicestershire who died while trying to swim
:14:18. > :14:19.the English Channel last year. We're known as a nation
:14:20. > :14:22.of animal lovers and most of us would do anything for our pets.
:14:23. > :14:24.No wonder then that pioneering keyhole surgery to neuter dogs
:14:25. > :14:27.in Nottinghamshire is proving popular with owners `
:14:28. > :14:29.it reduces pain by up to 65%. Rushcliffe Veterinary Centre is
:14:30. > :14:32.the only practice in the East Midlands carrying out the spaying
:14:33. > :14:35.procedure and it now performs three times as many keyhole ops as it does
:14:36. > :14:37.the traditional type ` despite them costing over ?100 more a time.
:14:38. > :14:51.Amy Harris reports. This golden retriever is on her way
:14:52. > :14:58.for pioneering surgery. Her owner has brought her especially to this
:14:59. > :15:08.vet to be neutered by a keyhole operation, only carried out by 100
:15:09. > :15:12.surgeries in the UK. To have it done microscopically with minimal in
:15:13. > :15:20.sessions I feel is much kinder for her. A short while later in the dog
:15:21. > :15:25.is in the theatre. Using this high`tech camera system he removes
:15:26. > :15:36.her ovaries through two tiny hole is reducing pain and healing time. It
:15:37. > :15:40.is open 65% less painful than the traditional operation. Dogs
:15:41. > :15:48.recovered really quickly, it will go all within three hours of the
:15:49. > :15:54.procedure. These keyhole surgery are proving popular, over the last four
:15:55. > :16:00.years they have carried out 300 of these operations, three times the
:16:01. > :16:04.number of traditional procedures. Despite the higher cost, vets here
:16:05. > :16:09.believe there will be more and more of this type of procedure as their
:16:10. > :16:20.nerdy science keeps up with human surgery.
:16:21. > :16:21.Amy Harris reports. Still to come:
:16:22. > :16:23.Two very different but equally striking ways
:16:24. > :16:26.of marking the centenary of the start of World War One.
:16:27. > :16:28.Children fashion remembrance poppies from the loom bands they'd normally
:16:29. > :16:31.wear on their wrists and the Leicestershire maze that's
:16:32. > :16:50.been designed to resemble a giant field gun.
:16:51. > :16:55.Now the sport. We're going to start with cricket
:16:56. > :16:57.and the smashing of records by Nottinghamshire.
:16:58. > :17:00.Led brilliantly by Alex Hales and then by Captain James Taylor,
:17:01. > :17:04.the Outlaws scored their highest ever List A total in their
:17:05. > :17:07.Royal London Cup game at Middlesex. Their 368 for 2 off just 45 overs
:17:08. > :17:10.including the highest ever county White Ball first wicket stand.
:17:11. > :17:11.All the more remarkable given the pressure of the hunt
:17:12. > :17:25.for a quarter final. Sadly the rain has intervened.
:17:26. > :17:39.Leicester are still in with a quarterfinal chance. There are two
:17:40. > :17:45.days to go now until the Fox's first season in a decade in the Premier
:17:46. > :17:52.league. We have a build`up to their time back in the big time. Many
:17:53. > :18:00.teams are expected to go straight back down so plenty of the questions
:18:01. > :18:04.today where about expectation, it can Leicester stay up? The manager
:18:05. > :18:12.says it will be a steep learning curve but he believes in his team
:18:13. > :18:20.and his striker. We are champions. We were unbeaten in preseason. We
:18:21. > :18:26.are going in confident. I am 100% that we can stay up. Everyone seems
:18:27. > :18:40.to have a good season the first year, we are looking to finish above
:18:41. > :18:51.18. What do the fans think? Can he keep you up? Yes! I reckon so, I am
:18:52. > :19:03.excited. Two CB would be happy with 17th or above is great. Do they have
:19:04. > :19:10.a chance? Two out of three do stay up and recently teams coming up have
:19:11. > :19:20.done well. But what does history tell us? In 2003 they went down and
:19:21. > :19:29.the next time they went up they were ninth backed down the next year. In
:19:30. > :19:35.2004 at the same thing happened. You have only got another one and then
:19:36. > :19:43.you can stay up but I would rather look for a mid`table place. I think
:19:44. > :19:48.they can do it, I am very confident. Leicester are an unknown quantity,
:19:49. > :19:58.it can be used that in the first three games against Everton, Chelsea
:19:59. > :20:01.and Arsenal? News just in that Nottingham Forest announced the
:20:02. > :20:07.signing of midfielder from Hamburg. for a quarter final.
:20:08. > :20:10.Derby County striker Jamie Ward has become the latest Rams star
:20:11. > :20:12.to commit his future to the club. The 28`year`old has signed
:20:13. > :20:15.a new two`year deal that will keep him at the Ipro until 2016.
:20:16. > :20:17.And Head Coach Steve McClaren is delighted to have secured a deal
:20:18. > :20:26.for yet another of his squad. He can play in previous positions,
:20:27. > :20:31.right or left. His attitude is great. On and off the field he is
:20:32. > :20:48.infectious to the team. for yet another of his squad.
:20:49. > :20:50.Sheffield United an almighty scare in the Capital One Cup last night.
:20:51. > :20:53.Alex Butler had put United ahead early in the second half.
:20:54. > :20:56.But only four minutes later Alex Fisher pounced to level the scores.
:20:57. > :20:59.The Stags went looking for the winner ` and nearly got it `
:21:00. > :21:02.but just four minutes from the end of the 90, Marc McNulty
:21:03. > :21:08.did the job for the home side. So, Leicester City enter
:21:09. > :21:10.the competition and we have three In Athletics, Loughborough has
:21:11. > :21:13.a new European Champion. James Dasaolu's began paying out
:21:14. > :21:15.on his potential by taking the 100 metre crown in Eindhoven last night
:21:16. > :21:18.` with Loughborough colleague Harry Aikines Aryeetey in third.
:21:19. > :21:25.If he's spared more injury trouble we could be in for a great couple
:21:26. > :21:27.of years from him. In Rugby, huge congratulations to
:21:28. > :21:30.Desford's Emily Scarratt and Hinckley's Vicky Fleetwoodwho are
:21:31. > :21:33.part of the England Rugby team that rampaged its way to the World Cup
:21:34. > :21:34.final by beating Ireland last night. Scarratt one of the try scorers.
:21:35. > :21:46.Fleetwood just delighted. It is my first one so I am just over
:21:47. > :21:53.the moon, it is amazing, I cannot wait. We are going to thrive on them
:21:54. > :21:59.being against ours and we will play our hearts out.
:22:00. > :22:02.Fleetwood just delighted. Finally, we'd like to add our
:22:03. > :22:04.tribute to the many that have poured in for one of Notts County?s
:22:05. > :22:07.greatest supporters ` in every sense. John Mounteney, who died
:22:08. > :22:11.yesterday aged 79, was a club Vice Chairman at Meadow Lane for 24 years
:22:12. > :22:13.and before that one of the leading lights among the supporters. Former
:22:14. > :22:19.players have described him at the club's number one fan.
:22:20. > :22:22.Children in Nottinghamshire have come up with a unique way of
:22:23. > :22:25.commemorating the 100th anniversary of the start of World War One.
:22:26. > :22:28.Youngsters from Radcliffe on Trent are making loom band poppies.
:22:29. > :22:30.Their efforts are all part of BBC Radio Nottingham's Big Poppy Knit.
:22:31. > :22:37.Angelina Socci has been to take a look.
:22:38. > :22:43.In many homes across the East Midlands children are doing this,
:22:44. > :22:55.twisting, weaving and creating bracelets, necklaces and things from
:22:56. > :22:59.loom bands. Here a group of children are making poppies. We are making
:23:00. > :23:07.poppies because of the world War, so many people died. We are trying to
:23:08. > :23:14.make 11,000 for the 11,000 who died in World War I. You are one of the
:23:15. > :23:22.Rowan Vine teachers here. How does it work? You pull the bands over
:23:23. > :23:29.every foot and it is almost like in a knot but when they get together
:23:30. > :23:33.they end up looking like a poppy. I think it is fantastic, they are all
:23:34. > :23:42.into the room bands we just cannot keep up with purchasing them. What
:23:43. > :23:47.is this you have here? This is a piece of the newspaper. It is my
:23:48. > :23:54.great grandad and his three brothers in the world War. He was posted for
:23:55. > :24:00.four years in Germany. This was the Battle of the Somme. The children
:24:01. > :24:04.have made dozens of the poppies but they are not stopping here, they
:24:05. > :24:09.plan to create as many as they can by October.
:24:10. > :24:13.a look. And staying with the Great War
:24:14. > :24:16.Centenary, news of a piece of art on a massive scale that takes us right
:24:17. > :24:19.back to the start of the conflict. A field in Leicestershire has been
:24:20. > :24:21.turned into a maze in the shape of an enormous field gun.
:24:22. > :24:29.Paul Bradshaw reports. Now the weather.
:24:30. > :24:40.These children were learning about the war at the great Glen. To mark
:24:41. > :24:47.the centenary of the conflict, this theme and design is a timely
:24:48. > :24:52.reminder. I thought it was important people realise the sacrifices made
:24:53. > :24:56.during that time. We have multiple choice questions on the First World
:24:57. > :25:04.War, it covers everything from the First World War beginning to the
:25:05. > :25:09.effects of shell`shocked. The plan was to use GPS technology, now fully
:25:10. > :25:17.grown the laws of corn have created three miles of pathways and the quiz
:25:18. > :25:21.boards are ahead in along the way. It was interesting finding out
:25:22. > :25:27.different things about the First World War. I have found out things
:25:28. > :25:32.today I did not know happened in the water. It was very good actually
:25:33. > :25:37.finding out all about the history of the First World War. I Cannes it is
:25:38. > :25:45.open to the public until the end of August. That is amazing! It
:25:46. > :25:50.certainly is! As Rob Ogleby will be the weather. We have certainly had
:25:51. > :25:59.some heavy showers around earlier today. Some of you were lucky enough
:26:00. > :26:05.to spot this, the cloud developing around lunch time was spotted around
:26:06. > :26:13.many areas. It is a funnel cloud, a violent and rotating column of year.
:26:14. > :26:19.It did not touch the ground, if it did, that is when it would be
:26:20. > :26:26.classed as a tiny dog. Thank you for your pictures, we could only show a
:26:27. > :26:31.few of them. A good deal of dry weather and some sunny spells
:26:32. > :26:38.tomorrow. We continue to have a few showers reading through this
:26:39. > :26:43.evening. These will die out into the early hours of Friday morning. There
:26:44. > :26:52.will be a dry night with clear spells and mist in places. Tomorrow
:26:53. > :26:57.morning starting fairly dry, some decent spells of sunshine through
:26:58. > :27:01.the morning. Just as we start to head into the afternoon we will see
:27:02. > :27:09.more showers which could be heavy in nature. It will be a largely dry day
:27:10. > :27:17.in many places. The high 20s Celsius in the sunshine. Saturday looks like
:27:18. > :27:22.a dry day. The best sunshine through the morning, cloud increasing
:27:23. > :27:29.through the day. From Sunday on words we have the potential of
:27:30. > :27:34.showers from Sunday. It will also be quite breezy on Sunday. That theme
:27:35. > :27:43.will continue for the new week, the easy with showers around. It is like
:27:44. > :27:48.summer has gone on holiday! I'll need to put the heating on!
:27:49. > :27:49.Fiddlesticks! Goodbye.