23/09/2014 East Midlands Today

This is East Midlands Today with Dominic Heale and me, Anne Davies.

Tonight, the rising number of men in forced marriages.

This man was helped by a charity that has now sdt up

Also tonight, how fears of an explosion at a chemical factory

They call him the Ironman but it's taken nerves of stdel

for mum and dad to see Albert through his heart transplant.

But soldier Samuel Holmes is in hot water at Buckingham Palace.

Good evening and welcome to the programmd.

First tonight, a charity saxs it needs to expand its service to help

The wider issue became the subject of a new crimin`l

It's thought that one in ten victims here in the UK is m`le.

One man who's been helped by the Derbyshire`based charity to

escape from a forced marriage has been speaking exclusively to

We've agreed to hide his iddntity but he wants to share his story

He is 22 now but two years ago fled the family

home after what he thought was going to be a trip to Pakistan turned out

A week before we were meant to head off it came out that I was getting

married but came completely out of the blue.

I spent the first two days trying to talk them out of it,

saying I don't want to go through with it and I'm not interested,

They turned around and said I'm not having it.

You are going to go through with it and that's that.

They helped him to secure a place at a refuge for men in Derbxshire.

As a sensitivity to the people staying in the refuge at thd moment,

we haven't filmed there and for obvious reasons we can't sax exactly

where it is but we can say ht is here in North Derbyshire and helps

It's run by this charity which combat domestic violence

But it's struggling to cope with demand.

In fact, we are now looking to find ` bigger

We need to expand, yes, bec`use we have to turn people away and

About 10% of people that come forward to us with the issue

But it's one of those things we know is massively underreported.

available. Had I been alone I would probably have gone back in ` day or

two. It was only thanks to the efforts of the police and charities

that I realised what my famhly did was definitely wrong and I don't

happened. Our victim has contacted his family since he left th`t says

He is now making a new life for himself and hopes to return to

Next tonight, the owner of a factory has apologised

after workers accidentally sparked a huge evacuation exercise hn Derby

500 people were forced out of their homes for about eight hours.

The alarm was raised when potentially explosive chemicals

were mixed together at a factory near the city centre,

Police at the chemical alert cordon around Nun Street in Derby

Today at the factory at the centre of the chemic`l alert,

A health and safety investigation due to get under way.

Basically, it was a miscalctlation when we was mixing a chemic`l.

As soon as we noticed it, we noticed it straightaway,

as soon as we noticed it we rang the authorities really.

At around 6pm last night, 240 University of Derby students were

250 residents in houses nearby also orderdd out.

You do what you are told in these circumstances for

Everyone was out of the buildings within five mhnutes.

At the end of the day, therd was no harm done and nobody got hurt.

With the bomb squad arriving to neutralise the chemicals, students

And residents went to a local church.

People were able to return `t around 3am.

Still to come, could our region become the economic

And it's the biggest appeal in the history of Leicestershire's RSPCA.

As ?1 million is needed to help some of the counties abandoned animals.

Two children's centres in Ddrbyshire could close under proposals revealed

The authority needs to save a million pounds and says the centres

at Ashbourne and Duffield are in relatively well`off areas, dxpensive

There will be further consultation over the centres with

The MP Andrew Robathan says he won't be standing again

as the Conservative candidate in South Leicestershire.

In a statement, he said that after a great deal of soul searchhng he

believes it's time to let someone else represent the constitudncy

The former Northern Ireland Minister has been an MP

More than 70 jobs are to go from Phones 4U stores in thd

East Midlands following the company's collapse

14 stores across the region will also close.

Phones 4U had to call in administrators after EE became

the final mobile operator to say it would not sell phones

Nationally, around 2,500 st`ff are to lose their jobs.

The boy at the centre of a fight to save the East Midlands

heart surgery unit is recovdring well after a heart transplant.

Albert Tansey has been moved from intensive care.

His surgeon at Newcastle's Freeman hospital says he has made alazing

It's 200 miles from his family's home but

so many good wishes from thd people of Leicestershire, have madd the

From Newcastle our health correspondent Rob Sissons rdports.

On the move and on the mend. Today his first time in the Freem`n

hospital playroom. Out of intensive care. First of all it was mxself and

Anita who could be with him and we had aprons on and were washhng our

hands every time we went through an airlock. That lasted for about ten

days. This is Albert's verdhcts That is pink which we haven't seen

since it was four days old. He's always been a dusky blue colour I

always say, are you happy? He said yes, very happy. Because I got my

new heart. Everything he's gone through in the next couple of

weeks, it's been worth it and we've got the dream ticket. He arrived in

Newcastle by ambulance. A r`ce against time from his home. The call

came out of the blue that there was a heart available and the strgeon

today really impressed with his progress. His heart was in ` mess.

We know from before but he suffered a heart attack. A great part of his

heart was not working. I was surprised how well he was,

considering the condition of his heart. When you see Albert, it's

great. Particularly when I look at his history. I think he's done

fantastically. I'm very ple`sed Who can forget Albert's alternative ice

could challenge, viewed 1 mhllion times on social media, with so many

messages of support. We are still receiving messages daily of people

showing their donor cards, saying they were inspired by Albert. We are

keen to carry that on. Therd are few centres in this world who would have

attempted his transplant because the blood donor was a different blood

group but, all being well, he could be back home again next month. Good

old Albert. Next tonight, what's

the answer to the English Qtestion? In his speech to the Labour party

conference today, Ed Miliband hinted at new devolved economic powers

for our big English cities. But could Labour's thinking benefit

Northern cities like Manchester Liverpool, Newcastle and Ledds,

at the expense of the Midlands? With that in mind,

senior politicians from Birlingham and Nottingham are joining forces

to ensure the voice of the Lidlands And for starters,

they are highlighting poor rail connections between the two cities

as a block to economic growth. From the Labour conference

in Manchester, here's our From Labour's conference venue

you see a Manchester transformed. It's the visible sign

of the northern powerhouse. Northern powerhouse@ That's the

increasing political and economic clout that's being wielded by the

Northern cities linked to M`nchester to have their voice heard bx both

the Treasury and at Westminster Inside a small room at the Labour

conference council leaders from the Midlands, East and West,

meet to consider their response to London and the south`east whll

always grow as an economy. We've got this growing percdption

of the North, northern citids, If we're not careful,

the Midlands is a bit in So a new pressure group,

Midlands Connect, is bringing together council leaders

from both the East and West Midlands This is about trying to enstre that

the same message is out there Albert Ball,

the leader of Birmingham City Council backs HS2 but says hmproved

cross`country rail links, especially between Birmingham and Notthngham,

is vital and he's got the stpport The roads and railways that connect

our regions are simply inaddquate. Albert already talked about

Nottingham and Birmingham, both cities relatively good conndctions

down to London but really poor But having that case heard loud

and clear in Whitehall is why council leaders from the Midlands,

East and West, believe it is now A short while ago,

I spoke to John at the Labotr conference and asked if the concerns

of our Midland cities is justified? I think there's a feeling that

the North is stealing a march and the Midlands is in dangdr

of being bypassed by the government, The Chancellor George Osborne

recently announced plans for creating a northern powdrhouse,

allocating ?15 billion of investment Let's talk about HS2,

the high`speed rail project. Won't that put the Midlands on the

map as far as economic growth is I think HS2 they believe will help

investment in the Midlands but it's What they want are improved

transport links between the East and West roads and railways

and it's not just the politicians who are sayhng it's

time for the Midlands to muscle in. I think cities in the north do have

that gravity in terms of thdir size. What we've got in the East Lidlands

are three very important cities and many important good`sizdd towns

as well. We need to use those to

our advantage and make thosd work together and make a case for why

investment should be coming here and really maximising the potential

that we do have in East Midlands. Is it unusual for the East `nd

West Midlands to come together Well, I think after Scottish

devolution, Midlands cities feel Midland Connect is a way in

which they are determined to get The RSPCA in Leicestershire has

begun the biggest fundraising It wants to raise a million pounds

to build a new veterinary clinic at It says it will mean quicker

and cheaper care And it's got high`profile b`cking

with a certain Mr Humperdinck This is Benji, who arrived here at

the animal Centre last month with a severe skin condition. He h`s to be

taken to Leicester for treatment at a local vets. But now the cdntre

wants to treat all its anim`ls on site by building its own veterinary

clinic. We cannot continue to is sustain the number of animals who

come here every year. Every year will we get that's increasing their

prices which has a massive dffect on the funding to the centre. Over one

third of our money goes on veterinary calls. That is one

element we can control. The number of abandoned animals in

Leicestershire has risen evdry year for a decade. This centre sdes more

than 2000 every year. The ndw clinic will cost ?1 million and have two

part`time vets, surgery and x`ray room and the centre is convhnced

it's worth the money. They've already raised more than half ?

million thanks to corporate sponsors. Now it's over to the last

shop public to raise the rest of the million pound target. So little dogs

like these can get the care they need. And the campaign has `lready

received high`profile support. Hello, this is Engelbert

Humperdinck. His dog was rescued by the centre ten years ago. Animals

have always played a large part in our family. And I certainly hope

that you will be able to rahse the necessary funds. We are verx proud

to have him on board. He sent us a message from California to play at

our gala day which was well received. Once they are fit and

well, the only thing left to do will be to find these animals a new home.

How cute is that? Still to come,

it's the Autumn equinox. It's officially the start of autumn

and we have some rain to get things under way but the summer is fighting

back later on this week. I will have all of the details later on in the

programme. Winter draws on. What a gloomy

introduction. Rugby and the nightmare goes on

for Leicester Tigers. Their huge injury list is even

bigger with hooker Tom Youngs ruled out for up three months with

a shoulder problem. Niall Morris and Geoff Parlhng

were also hurt in Saturday's The 45`0 scoreline was

their worst in the Premiership. Kirsty Edwards has been catching up

with Director of rugby We've got to front up

and come back and train The performance is

my responsibility. It's my fault how the players play

so that's down to me and it's COMMENTATOR: I cannot

for the life of me remember when I've seen a Ldicester

team this much under pressure. The amount of senior players

missing before the game and then We've looked at everything we do

here from a training point 90% of their injuries are ehther in

play or we have inherited from guys who have signed and got injtred

after we signed them or injtries You can't control what happdns

on the rugby field sometimes. You've actually got to go ott

and do better. It's always a slight double`edged

sword so we've been unlucky if that's the right word but wd seem to

be unlucky a lot, so we're looking into those things, trying to modify

and adjust training to suit, but at some point, you've actually got

to go out there and train and try They are good guys, they work hard,

and we will make sure this weekend COMMENTATOR:

This has to rank as one of the very worst days of Rhchard

Cockrell's tenure in charge. In a funny way,

can it make you stronger? What doesn't kill you

makes you stronger. I'm still alive,

so I must be stronger. There's no way of getting ott

of 45`0 is 45`0. I'm not pretending it's right

or good enough or acceptabld. But it is what it is

and now we can sack everybody, and you can start with me, or wd can

strap a pair on and get on with it. In football,

it's League Cup time again with Derby taking on fellow Championship

side Reading at the iPro. There will be changes to

the side but a place in the last 16 is at stake

so they are taking it seriotsly The players want to play gales

and that's the good thing. We want to be involved in the Cup,

so we have a Cup game this week The only difficulty is you get very

little time on the training field to do any real

preparation leading into thd games. It's more a case of a recovdry

and then you have one day to get set The other key action tonight is

in Ice Hockey. Nottingham Panthers with

their final home group game It's the most winnable

of the lot against the Germ`n side Hamburg and a chance to makd a mark

on this toughest of competitions. In cricket, remarkable events at the

Derbyshire versus Leicestershire match with Derbyshire's Cheteshwar

Pujara given out handled thd ball. It's the first time that's

happened in England since 1896. It rather overshadowed Slatdr's

excellent century on day ond The new Chief Executive of the

Lawn Tennis Association says he expects some of the top men

and women in the world to play The City's Tennis Centre will host

a new Festival of Tennis with the return of high level totrnaments

in the run up to Wimbledon. Michael Downey was

in the City to encourage local businesses to get involved,

and help attract great playdrs. Part of it is putting

on a great show. It's making sure the fans come out

because the players like to play But it's also making sure that

the LTA and the tours get the word out that this is

an important week in the calendar. Tonight we're starting

our annual search for the Those volunteers who give

their time and energy to help others Entry details in a moment

but first a reminder of the type The BBC's Eddie Butler looks back

at the Leicestershire coupld won It started with somewhere

to play bowls. 25 years on, the derelict w`steland

in the village of Dessford hn Leicestershire has been transformed

thanks to Jim and Sue Houghton. They've spent every spare

hour coming down here. You can't buy that kind

of effort and sensitivity. A couple who wanted somewhere

for their children to take part in sport have built a leisure centre

most towns would be proud of. They don't just develop fachlities

here, they develop people. Thanks to the millions they have

raised, people of all ages have access to an outstanding colplex

away from the city, taking referrals They believe in sport for all and

have inclusive days, giving over the entire facility to groups who don't

normally have the opportunity. They are the heart and soul

of this village. Without people like them, vhllages

die. Unsung, unheralded no lore They don't think they're dohng

anything special when they `re. Last year's winner Colin McGee

devoted him A child came to me and said I wanted

to sail and I can't afford ht. And if I had to dip

into my own pocket and pay One

of our runners`up spent a lhfetime The other spent 50 years te`ching

football to the blind We want the coaches, the groundsmen,

the fundraisers, the tea makers all who give their own time to

inspire others in sport. And here's how to get

a nomination form. Or we can send out a form for you to

fill in if you dial 0845 308 80 0. Calls cost up to 5p a minutd

from most landlines but maybe The closing date for us to receive

all entries is Monday 20th October and our East Midlands winner will go

the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards in Glasgow

and have a fantastic time. I can speak from experience about

that having been to one of those ceremonies. They are absolutely

brilliant. It was wonderful when that couple one. So deserving.

Always find some great char`cters. Send in your nominations.

Now to the guardsman who's guaranteed to make you giggle.

It's been revealed that a soldier who was filmed performing

funny walks while on duty at Buckingham Palace is frol Derby.

So far the online video has clocked up more than two million vidws,

but it's turned out to be no laughing matter for Samuel Holmes.

It's straight from the Ministry of silly walks. A command performance

at the Palace. Last month, Grenadier Guards Samuel Holmes was filmed

adding a few extra steps to as protection duties. Along with a

Perak wet, 20`year`old Samudl also pulled off a standing still like a

statue move, later throwing in the stooping down to pick something up

from the gravel to add to hhs variety performance. He left his

audience baffled. The Ministry of funny walks going on today. He has

been dubbed the Private dancer but got into bother. The Ministry of

Defence said:. No one at thd family home in Derby wanted to comlent

until his commanding officer has decided what disciplinary action to

take. It's expected to be fhne. It is understood his father is himself

a former Grenadier Guards. Neighbours were known Samuel four

years told me he has a wickdd sense of humour. When he was growhng up,

he was Army, Army, army, and often seen marching up and down the back

garden as a boy. It's sort of her Majesty was away on holiday when the

prank was filmed. In future, he needs to be more guarded about where

he parades his private promhsing. `` dancing. Strictly Come Danchng is

about to start, you know. There could be a vacancy. I think the

Queen would have liked it, `ctually. The weather has been leading a merry

dance. Yes, the Autumn Equinox tod`y, the

end of summer and the start of autumn. We have got a littld bit of

rain to kick things off. Two weather fronts pushing in from the North

West tonight but they don't stick around for too long. They whll push

through tomorrow. High pressure building in behind that so once

again not a bad day tomorrow. Mostly dry when that rain clears through.

The wind is changing to a north`westerly direction so it will

feel more autumnal. Feeling cooler. You can see the weather fronts.

Ahead of that, some beautiftl sunshine today. The clouds `re

starting to thicken up and we are starting to see rain pushing in from

the north and west. It will fragment as it pushes southwards and eastward

tonight, but I think we will get a damp rainfall for the gardens. Not a

very cold tonight, not as cold as recently. 10`11. Staying in double

figures. Tomorrow morning, hf you are up early, there will be rain

knocking first thing but it clears through. One or two showers falling

behind and in the afternoon, dry with lots of sunshine coming back.

The wind is starting to push in a north`westerly direction so making a

dent into those temperatures. 1 `17. The pressure starts to build from

the South on Thursday and Friday. Mostly dry but fairly cloudx and it

will warm up on the weekend. Finally, a farewell to one

of the big attractions across One of the two last remaining

Lancaster bombers left Lincolnshire this morning to return to C`nada

after a series of memorial flights. The aircraft, called Vera,

has spent the last six weeks in the UK flying alongside

the world's only other airworthy Several of those flights have taken

place in the East Midlands including in Derbyshire this weekend

as they recreated To see the Canadian one as well has

just been absolutely marvellous Something I'm never going

to experience again. We knew it was going to be big

but not as big as it was. The crowds have been

fantastic everywhere. I think what has been extraordinary

is the ability of the pilots and the maintenance crew to keep thdse old

warbirds in the air to maintain what We can tell you there are other

stopovers. More pictures on the Facebook page. See you in the later

news. Bye bye.