23/01/2017 East Midlands Today

Tonight, two brothers are jailed for exploiting

They trafficked 18 vulnerable men from Poland and treated them

Plus, the vet who's demanding action after more

horses are found dead, dumped in a field.

Also tonight: A guarded welcome here for the PM's post

We have slight concerns it pushes to technology and not manufacturing.

The company were very pro-Brexit and we feel it will eventually

And do you have what it takes to be a lock keeper?

Find out why there's a big push for more volunteers.

Good evening and welcome to another week on East Midlands Today,

with Anne Davies and me, Dominic Heale.

First tonight: Two Polish brothers have been jailed for exploiting

Nottingham Crown Court was told that Sports Direct unwittingly

employed "modern slaves" at its warehouse in Shirebrook.

Our Social Affairs Correspondent, Jeremy Ball, has been

They destroyed people's lives, according to the judge

18 men in all were trafficked over from Poland.

They were recruited because they were vulnerable - easy to control.

And they were lured here to work on false promises.

Tonight, Erwin and Krystian Markowski are

beginning six year prison sentences, after they admitted

"exploiting" those workers under the Modern Slavery Act.

We heard they sent the men to work at Sports Direct,

But they kept most of the wages those workers

And over a year, they effectively stole at least ?35,000.

Essentially through threats and violence.

When one man complained, he was beaten up and made homeless.

We heard about filthy living conditions, and we also heard how

they controlled the men's bank accounts, and withdrew their wages

Tonight Nottinghamshire's Police Commissioner told us he's horrified.

These men were abused, other people have been abused.

They've been held as victims, kept as slaves and treated terribly.

I hope this message sends out a strong message that

Nottinghamshire Police and the courts aren't

It ended when one of the victims walked into a police station,

and said he was one of 11 men sharing a house in Nottingham.

He said they were being controlled and living in fear.

We have had a statement from Sports Direct.

It sends a clear message this won't be tolerated.

Next, both the RSPCA and a local vet

are demanding action to stop what they call the 'crisis'

In the latest case on Saturday, a mare was tied up and left for dead

overnight in the frost, suffering 'horrific' injuries.

Now animal charities want to know why the law to get

horses microchipped, so their owners can be traced, isn't

The actions of these people - it's a hideous crime.

Two months ago, a young horse was dumped with rubbish

That was still alive the following morning,

On a scale of 1-10 I think that's a ten for suffering.

Two weeks ago, a grey mare, thought to have been in labour,

And now this - on Wednesday evening, a mare, her foal and another young

horse were found dead in a field near here in Derbyshire.

What do you want to see done about this?

I'd like Trading Standards to enforce the law out there.

Microchipping horses under passport regulations.

Once these guys are chipped, they are a traceable commodity.

So when they get dumped by the side of the road, wherever,

there is a traceability of where the horse has come from.

It says it's seeing more and more horses dumped because people don't

want to pay the cost of disposing of the body properly.

It wants the government to take urgent action...

So what do Trading Standards, the enforcers, say about that?

It's not having the desired effect that was what

A grey area, in terms of what the RSPCA and other agencies can do.

Meanwhile, another day, another appeal for witnesses.

A horse was dumped on Saturday night in Leicestershire,

her back leg tied to railings so she fell and suffered

It's time to get tough say campaigners, to end the cruelty.

Before we came on air, I spoke to Roly Ouers,

who is the Chief Executive of international charity

I asked him what was behind this rising problem of dead and dying

It's happening because of all sorts of reasons, really.

People can't afford to look after their animals,

people don't want to look after their animals and it's been

relatively easy to get away with, because we have an identification

It is growing, we don't have exact numbers but we do think

Are there simply too many horses for people

We do believe since 2012 we've been warning government,

working with other welfare agencies, to say we have an oversupply

of poorly bred animals and as a result not enough homes

because the quality is simply not there.

We know with dogs, owners are asked to have pets microchipped.

Every animal since 2009 needs a microchip.

We are saying to government, because horses can live for 20,

30 years, we need to change that and make that all animals over

the course of the year to be microchipped.

And we need much better enforcement of the identification system -

part of that is having a central database, which the government

But unless local authorities take seriously and are able,

through fixed penalty notices, to enforce regulations,

then we are not going to get out of this problem any time soon.

A man is recovering in hospital after he was seriously injured

in a hit and run collision in a Leicestershire

It happened on this stretch of Kirkby Road in Barwell.

The silver car was later found burnt out on a farm

Two cars were also damaged in the collision.

A 22-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of causing grievous

bodily harm and drink-driving and has been bailed

Tributes are being paid to a young cyclist from Derbyshire

15-year-old Charlie Craig was a rider at apprentice level

with the GB Cycling Team's Rider Route.

Cycling Weekly is reporting Charlie's father as saying

the family's world has "fallen apart".

British Cycling's programmes director Andy Harrison said

the organisation was "devastated by the news".

It's not yet known what caused the teenager's death.

Still to come this evening: The perfect job for those who enjoy

The hunt's on to find more volunteers to act as lock keepers

Number Ten's come up with a ten point plan to shape

Britain's industrial strategy and the post-Brexit economy.

It wants to back business by assuming a more active role.

Sectors the Government wants to encourage include smart energy,

It also wants an overhaul of technical education

Quentin Rayner has been finding out how the PM's strategy has gone down

A1 Flue Systems is the type of medium-sized manufacturer

Family run for over 40 years, it employs 140 workers and has

As a company, it wanted Brexit and is broadly encouraged

We have slight concerns it leans to technology and not manufacturing.

The company were very pro-Brexit and we feel it will eventually

The company has to do all its own training,

It's delighted the government is pledging ?170 million to overhaul

technical education, to bridge what's been described

We do struggle with skills, and school leavers aren't

We can't get everybody straight out of college.

After the regional cabinet meeting in the north west,

the Education Secretary visited a train making company in Derby.

It's currently enjoying healthy order books.

She met highly trained apprenticeships.

We know Germany produces around three times as many technically

skilled people coming into the workforce as the UK.

We can plug the gap, we're giving a whole

range of young people fantastic, improved education.

The biggest business group in the East Midlands

Clearly the first indication the PM has listened

to what members have asked for - businesses are forefront

How does it play out, practically on a local level.

Like many other companies, A1 wants business rates reviewed.

But it says since the referendum, it's already seeing more

A Derbyshire couple who claim their two young sons should never

have been taken away eight years ago and adopted say they're seeking

Their new lawyer says they may have suffered the most appalling

injustice and there could be other families in a similar situation.

Back in 2008, the couple - who we've chosen not to name,

to protect the children - took their nine-month-old son to

They say he had a swelling on his head, and after some

confusion were told he had a skull fracture.

They asked me, do you know what happened?

After a private family court hearing, their baby

and their three-year-old son were taken into care

The police said there was no criminal case to answer.

The mother used her legal right to obtain medical records.

One said there was no skull fracture - another

I couldn't believe what I was reading.

A fissure is a natural variant, a deep grove than a skull fracture.

Their new solicitor represented Angela Cannings, whose convictions

for murdering two of her babies were overturned in a high profile

He finds this case just as concerning.

It may be there were never any fractures in the first place.

The parents may well have suffered the most appalling injustice.

Derby County Council aren't commenting but provided us

with details of the private court hearing.

Due to legal restrictions, we're not allowed to report them.

Meanwhile, the mother has now been diagnosed with a genetic condition,

Her children could have inherited ehlers-danlos syndrome.

Bill Bache knows of other families in similar situations,

I believe there are a lot of cases where this connection may be

very important to the resolution of what actually happened

He believes nothing can be done about the adoption

in the short-term, but it may be possible to review the facts

in a previous court hearing to help the couple.

You can see Sarah's full report on Inside Out this evening.

In the depths of winter, it's hard to imagine cruising along

But when the seasons change, our waterways become a popular

Key to keeping things flowing are the volunteer lock keepers.

Now the Canal and River Trusts are appealing for more people

Geeta Pendse has been down to the River Trent to see

Emerging from the mist, a rare sight at this time of year...

But at Gunthorpe in Nottinghamshire, Nick, a volunteer lock keeper,

He's one of 100 across the region's waterways.

Press those, they come up, the water out, boat to drop.

As soon as the water reaches its level, we can open

the gates and the boat can go on its way.

What made you decide to become a volunteer lock keeper?

Open air, meeting people and apart from manning the locks we can

These weather conditions in the winter months make it very

rare to see a narrow boat through Gunthorpe, but in the summer

time, peak season, you can see up to 60 narrow boats over the bank

So for any volunteer lock keeper here, it can be a very busy time.

Now the Canal and River Trust is appealing for more

We want people who are enthusiastic, friendly, who like spending time

in the great outdoors, getting involved in practical jobs.

Anybody over the age of 18, who has got time they can give regularly.

I've lived beside it all my life and I suppose

The hours vary, depending on the season, but it's clear that

Beautiful! Emerging from the mist with the sport...

Coming up, protests at Forest and punishment for Leicester Tigers,

but we start with Leicester City, who look like a team in need

Their defeat at Southampton was widely regarded

as the worst Foxes' performance for quite some time.

We're well in 2017 now - and the champions of England

This was the result, first James Ward-Prowse and then

Jay Rodriguez carrying the hosts to a 2-0 half-time lead.

I wanted to change the shape of my team, and the two last

matches, against Chelsea, I played with three in the back.

My players didn't understand my idea very well.

It was back to what Leicester knew best in the second half but a team

low on confidence would always struggle to fight back.

Game sealed with a penalty four minutes from time.

Derby County are back on track after two defeats

But their win over Reading wasn't without a scare.

It was the first goal Derby have conceded at home since September.

But Derby pulled themselves out of a stodgy start.

It began with a tenth goal of the season for Tom Ince.

And then the points seemed secured when Will Hughes pounced

Another goal for Reading made it a nervous last 15 minutes.

At Nottingham Forest, the search for a new manager

Protests off the pitch, and a beauty of a goal on it.

After the apparent collapse of the sale of the club,

the fans' patience with owner Fawaz Al-Hasawi has finally,

And one of the youngest was leading the charge.

The whole thing, it has to be said, not welcomed by everyone.

We have to put up with what we've got.

Until somebody comes along with money, ambition,

But most fans seemed to have reached breaking point.

Casting a celebrity shadow on the whole affair was former

striker Stan Collymore, hoping to pedal some

I'm not here today to say Fawaz out, Fawaz in, I'm actually

going to have a meeting, go through the doors of the club,

Well, there is actually a match to be played this afternoon,

The question becomes, how does all this lot going on outside...

Affect this lot who have to do it inside.

Did you know he had that in his locker?

Obviously I know Ben is a good player, bright future,

You've got to applaud him just for trying it.

Back with the fans, a performance to cheer them up!

We've got the points in the bag, and I'm looking forward

But the situation continues to distress.

So the protests aren't going anywhere?

The banners are coming out next week.

Meanwhile in League Two, Mansfield Town got an impressive win.

Mansfield, in the white, were a goal down at Cambridge

within eight minutes - but this debut goal

from Shaquile Coulthirst gave them a 3-1 victory.

At the other end of the table Notts County, in the pink,

Turning to rugby, and the worst performance by the Leicester Tigers

They didn't register a point at home for the first time since 1978

and suffered a humiliating 43-0 defeat by Glasgow.

300 games as a player, three decades as a commentator,

Well I've been commentating for BBC Radio Leicester

for the last 30 years, professional era 20 years,

and no doubt about it, it's the worst performance I've seen

from a Leicester Tigers team in those years.

Since the turn of the century, this team have won the European Cup

Tigers used to be the Man Utd of rugby.

They used to win European Championships,

It used to be an annual pilgrimage for the Tigers to go to Twickenham.

Glasgow scored at will on Saturday, at a Welford Road ground that

It left fans leaving early, venting frustration.

Tigers used to bully teams, especially up

I think the Tigers are on a crossroads.

If they don't get it right I think it could take years to get back

They sacked their head coach earlier this month,

but Belddyn believes it's deeper than that, with one thing

at the top of the list - player recruitment.

When they have injuries, there isn't that strength that they need.

And finally, injury hit Nottingham Panthers may have brought

back the Continental Cup but were able to take just one

point from the weekend's two elite league games.

Last night they twice took the lead against Fife but the visitors

eventually forced the draw and then took the extra point on penalties.

In for the semi finals. Thank you. Mixed bulletin!

A Second World War veteran has praised a new memorial to airmen

who suffered disfiguring injuries in the conflict - describing it

Sandy Saunders, who was badly burned in a crash in 1945,

is a member of the Guinea Pig Club, so called because its members agreed

to undergo surgery that had never been tried before.

His story is told on Inside Out tonight.

And you can see the full story on Inside Out at 7:30

That short film is on our Leicester online news page.

Watch it again! Sunny shots in that. But none today?

A few! But for most, grey. Take some extra care on the roads. We saw a

hint of brightness. But lots of mist and fog. And it is going to stay

with us. Still the chance for some brightness tomorrow. High-pressure

in charge. But changes in the air, squeezing together so we are

expecting things to the breezier. Looking at the detail across

tonight, it is looking damp. -2. And particularly at the early hours, fog

patches thickening up. We have lots of fog. Ice scrapers at the ready!

But later, expecting some sunny spells. Do not be surprised if we

continue to hang onto some of that fog. Five the high. Looking to

Wednesday, it is going to be more of the same. Highs of five. But

Wednesday, Thursday, it is going to be getting chillier. Whatever you

are doing over the next few days, make sure that you wrap up. I think

you should also have some fog lights on your head! Bad news for Tigers!

If anybody can do it, they can. We will be back

To break someone physically... Agh! ..is not a problem.

Nectar of the gods, I'm telling you. Thank you, Colonel.

He's definitely battling some demons.

If they have a fear of water, God help them.

Tom Jones, obviously. Winston Churchill.