10/05/2017 East Midlands Today

think about some real work. And down on the farm, the sprinklers are on.

It may still only be spring, but already the farmers are desperate

for rain. Good evening, and welcome

to Wednesday's East Midlands Today, with Maurice Flynn,

and me, Dominic Heale. First - the 11-year-old girl

from Leicester who died at a theme She fell from a water ride

at Drayton Manor yesterday. Her family say they've been

"torn apart" by the news. A tribute today from

Evha Jannath's family. Yesterday, the 11-year-old

from Leicester should have had a fun day out at Drayton Manor theme park,

but instead she lost her life, Staff got her out of the water,

but despite medical treatment, she died while being airlifted

to Birmingham Children's Hospital. Today, a neighbour of Evha's family

spoke about what happened. shock, because I had only

seen her the night before. And then, you cannot

miss her smile anywhere, you see her first thing in the morning

and then in the evening when she is walking home with her

sister and her mum. It is like, "Wow,

she has really gone." It does not sink in,

it is a heartbreaking situation. The school headteacher

gave a statement As a school and a community,

we are trying to make Our thoughts and our

prayers are with Evha's family at this

difficult time. This girl has a younger sister

who goes to the school and was on What we really want

is for our family to What we really want

is for her family to grieve, because there are nasty

comments going around saying that it is the child's fault,

she should not have been getting It does not matter

what the cause is, a family member has been ripped out

from their family now. Islamic leaders say that people

from the faith are rallying We have had e-mails

that have come through from various parts of the country,

and of course worldwide, And within the Muslim

community, because we believe that the whole Muslim community

as one, prayers are being said Simon is outside the school that

Evha went to in Leicester. This must have come as a shock to the whole

community. There has been a sense of horror as to what happened. The

school as you can see behind me has been closed all day, just one or two

members of staff have come in, and we heard from the headteacher there.

It is an event that most families get involved in, going to a theme

park on a school trip, and it is normally a great day out. It has

been more than a decade since the last fatality at a UK theme park. As

the family said yesterday, our family was torn apart by her

daughter and sister losing her life in tragic circumstances. We are

devastated we will not see our beautiful daughter again. Do we know

any more about the investigation into this accident? We know that the

police and also the Health and Safety Executive are carrying out an

investigation. There is no official word as to what the cause may have

been, so that will take its course now. We can also say that there were

special prayers at the nearby mosque last night for the girl and her

family, and those messages from the Islamic world across the UK and

around the world have been coming into the mosque here in Leicester

when Solidarity with what happened here. The school is due to open

tomorrow, and pupils will get special emotional support to come to

terms with the loss. Thank you, Simon.

The Prime Minister was back in the East Midlands to formally

launch the region's Conservative candidates for next

Four of them found out today they wouldn't be prosecuted

after an investigation into election expenses at the last election.

And it was no coincidence that the two places she visited

in Nottinghamshire are Labour seats the Tories are hoping to win.

Our political editor Tony Roe has again been on the election trail.

Foxhill Road the day after the Prime Minister said she was in favour of

fox hunting. East Midlands Conservative candidates, four of

them believed that no charges are being brought over expenses at the

last general election. The expenses were properly declared and the

candidates have done nothing wrong. What will be Prime Minister

addressed the faithful,, those who could not be bothered with

politicians were next door in the bar. I will not vote for any of them

because we saw on the news today what has happened with expenses.

There is no body empowered I would vote for at the moment, and I have

been a Labour voter all of my life. Linney is a digital marketing

company that began as a book shop three generations ago. 850 people

were cured today, and some had questions. Will you rule out any

further disability benefit cuts in the next Parliament? And what about

those who cannot be classed as ordinary working people? Mansfield

has a very high level of economic weight in active people, half of

them long-term sick. Of course we have concerns for people who are

unable to get into the workplace, and it is important we have a system

to support these people, but what we have been doing and will continue to

do is to provide support to try to ensure that where people can, they

do get into the workplace and are able to get into the workplace. Last

week, Labour lost for county council seats in this town to a group of

independence. Today, those independents went on to a coalition

with the Conservatives so they run at Nottingham county council

together. For Labour to lose Mansfield in the general election,

those independent voters will have to switch again, this time, to the

Conservatives. Toy, clearly the Conservatives think they can win

Mansfield, don't they. -- tourney. Not since the 1920s has there been a

Conservative MP in Mansfield, so it is a huge task and you can guarantee

that Labour campaigners will be out on the doorsteps time to get their

traditional support out. But as we have heard in recent weeks, that

traditional supporters wavering because some of the people we have

spoken to maybe do not like the Labour leader even though they like

some of the Labour policies. Is Theresa May's plan to target

marginal seats in the East Midlands and elsewhere? That is what the

Conservatives are definitely doing, they are confident that they can

sweep away some of these Labour seats which Labour have been

clinging on to. But it may again not be as easy as the Conservatives

think. If you go back to kick last week's county council elections,

Labour retained seats that the Conservatives may have hoped to take

to have overall control of the county council, but they did not.

Thank you very much, Tony. A singer and entertainer

from Leicestershire has pleaded guilty to several counts of indecent

assaults against children. 36-year-old Robin Maughan

formerly of Western Avenue in Market Harborough pleaded guilty

to a total of 18 counts including taking indecent

photographs of a child. He'll be sentenced

at the end of June. Maughan is currently serving a

12-year prison sentence for offences including grooming and sexually

abusing two teenagers. A camera near Grantham

in Lincolnshire has caught the highest number of speeding

drivers of any camera in the UK. More than 6,000 motorists a year

were snapped as they drove The equipment was replaced last

summer with average speed cameras. The county's road partnership says

it's too early to say whether they're helping to reduce

accidents on that stretch of road. Still to come - after a drier

than average winter and spring, could we soon be facing

a water shortage? We'll be talking live

to a Nottinghamshire farmer as concerns grow about a possible

drought later in the year. Derbyshire's Chief Constable has

told this programme that some children are being abused

by their own parents, Mick Creedon was speaking

in wide-ranging interview He has also been talking about his

time as a detective in Leicestershire when he solved some

notorious crimes. The bright new Ripley headquarters

where Mick Creedon's police force after 37 years in the career

he never expected. I remember applying for one

job, I applied to be I wrote a CV to Lancaster Gate

and they rejected me, so I had What could be a better job

than protecting the good people Now, Mick Creedon is in charge

of officers who have to deal These new body worn cameras

are used to gather evidence, but the technology is helping

criminals too, and he says the biggest challenge is not

policing the streets, We have had people who abuse

their children, and had others who then watch this happening

through live streaming. We have had people who are taking

the worst imagery of their children We are sadly seeing on the internet

some of the most depraved One of the lines of inquiry we're

following is mistaken identity... As a detective, he solved several

murders in Leicestershire, his proudest achievement,

bringing this man to justice. Gary Davies was jailed after causing

the death of his girlfriend's four-year-old child. Another man was

convicted of a murder. I remember the outpouring of emotion in the

Crown Court and afterwards. I remember thinking, this is what it

is all about. Frank Beck ran several children's

homes where youngsters That started with a single

complaint, and really we then stumbled into this enormous inquiry,

which involved hundreds I look back on it and I think

that was an unreal experience that should have changed

things, but didn't. And he has invested some

extraordinary crimes, among them this doesn't break your market

harboured off which used a stolen helicopter. -- investigated some

extraordinary crimes. A man pulled out a gun and build the captain into

the middle of the exercise yard, and to category a prisoners jumped on

that. It was a remarkable job. And there have been some lighter moments

of his long policing career. There has been one celebration where Mick

and his colleagues got more than the bargained for. A stripper gram came

into the pub, and it seemed like a very authentic police uniform. It

transpired that she was a special constable doing this as a sideline,

and if you do is later, she had resigned. -- a few days later.

Mick Creedon is going to finish his policing job with a charity bike

His advice to the next Chief Constable?

Enjoy it, and that will breed success.

Scientists in Nottingham are asking people to look out for an unwelcome

species of worm which could put crops at risk.

The New Zealand Flatworm eats native earthworms which help

Now people in the East Midlands are being asked

to check their gardens for the invader.

Experts say they need to track their movements to keep our

Theere is a killer on the loose, and it is after one of the UK's most

silent and seemingly innocuous creatures,

The New Zealand Flatworm can grow up to

15 centimetres long, and coils itself around its curvier rival,

Now, though, scientists are hoping to spring to the

The New Zealand Flatworms are a problem. We do not know exactly

because we don't have a clear picture how far they have spread,

but the fact that they can eat our earthworms and therefore affect our

soil quality is a big concern, and we want to do our best to limit

But scientists are still not sure how far this

slippery species have spread since they were first introduced in error

in the '60s, so now they want people here to spending a few

There were a couple of recorded sightings here years ago,

Back in the '90s, there were a few reports

in the areas between Nottingham and Derby, but as far as we know,

Within this survey, they have been found in

a couple of isolated spots, but again, because we have so few

records, do not know if that is one or two isolated gardens

or if it is a bigger problem, so we really need results

Not only saying if you have found them, but also saying if

The survey will then be used to plan how to keep our

earthworms underground and protected.

The Conservative Party and Mansfield Independent Forum have

entered into a coalition to lead Nottinghamshire County Council.

The Conservatives won 31 of the 66 seats at last week's local election

making them the largest group, but three short of

The Mansfield Independent Forum won four seats.

The two groups will now work together.

Nearly 100 letters have been sent to Derby City Council objecting

The company Enviro Fusion has applied for a temporary permit

to test the thermal process of its plant at

Local residents are worried it might emit toxic fumes.

The firm says it'll be subject to "rigorous" emissions standards.

As we see the prospect of temperatures rising,

and more sunny weather ahead - apart from this Friday -

most people are glad this cooler weather we've been having may

But not farmers - they're keen for warm weather too,

but what they're desperate for is rain!

It's actually been the driest October to March period for 21

years, with last month, April, seeing less than a third

of the usual rain levels in some places in the country.

James Roberson is at a farm in Nottinghamshire tonight.

James, the sprinklers are on, so it looks like they need rain, too.

Absolutely, yes. I am on an arable farm, and the sprinklers are on for

the carrots, that is not would you normally expect in spring, but

because we have had so little rain in the last six months, that is why

the location is needed. Last month's rainfall, the average amount of

April rainfall is nearly two inches, but last month the figure was down,

only 8.6 millimetres. One ray of sunshine is that despite the lack of

rain, the reservoirs across our region are over 80% full, but

farmers are not worried about reservoirs, they want rain, and with

me is James Thomas. James, how dry has it been? How bad? Desperately

dry, but we are now starting to see that crops we have established

earlier are no showing signs of drought stress. We are seeing very

uneven emergence, if any emergence at all, which is quite concerning.

It has also been cold, but at least hopefully we will get some rain on

Friday. It has been cold and also very windy, and eight young crop

does not like that. Rain this weekend, potentially, although it

looks as though it is diminishing all the time. We need a good inch of

rain to make a difference. If you do not get that, what is the plan? Our

irrigation need to stretch further across a wider range of crops, it is

why we need to maintain our permits. On heavier ground, it is more

difficult because we do not have irrigation. Thank you, James, and

you are hoping it does not end up like 1976, the driest summer for 150

years. I remember it well! I was born then.

Sport and weather still to come before 7:00.

And a preview of the last musical written by Ravi Shankar,the musician

who inspired The Beatles' love of the Sitar.

Time now to get an update on the sport.

The English Football League, the EFL, have told the BBC

that the takeover of Nottingham Forest by the Greek

tycoon Evangelos Marinakis is still being assessed

Current owner Fawaz Al Hasawi is selling, but the deal

has yet to be ratified. The EFT won't put a timescale on it,

but we understand there is a board meeting this week.

Changes are happening at Mansfield Town.

They've announced today they're allowing 11

players to leave the club. And they've made a signing -

the former Leicester keeper, Conrad Logan.

It's been a lovely day for cricket, and there have been plenty of runs

in the 50 overs One Day Cup in Derby.

Then Slater made 82, and a moment ago it finished with Derbyshire

winning 296-6 with two balls to spare.

And the weather looks fine for the day/night

matches this week - tomorrow, Trent Bridge

And on Friday, Leicestershire host neighbours, Northants.

Now, our latest world champion, and what it's taken to get there.

James Shaw is 21, from Ruddington in Nottingham.

But he's doing some remarkable things as he moves up the world

I've spent today with him in Loughborough.

This is not where you would expect to find a tennis player...

I have doubted myself before, but in the

end I have been able to do it, so I am sure I can do this.

..especially one who is unable to walk.

It is a bit tough, but I just need to believe that I can do it and

keep going, because the quicker I do it, the easier it is.

But taking himself out of his comfort zone is

I was born with my condition, which is

cerebral palsy, which is a brain condition and affects all four of my

limbs. As a kid, it was quite tough.

I kind of realised that I did not fit in with other people, and I did

not really see any other people in wheelchairs with my condition.

James has been playing since he was seven.

But things got serious at the time of the

In 2012, I went to watch wheelchair tennis at London 2012, and I got

to watch the able-bodied tennis at Wimbledon,

and I thought, "This is amazing, I really want

"to do this," so I put all my effort into it, and

James is just back from helping Britain win the

wheelchair equivalent of the Davis Cup, so now,

It means a lot to me, we are number ones in the world, we are world

It is amazing to even get picked for a Great Britain team that I

know it is difficult to be involved with,

but to win it and beat our seeding is just amazing.

This afternoon, he has been testing out a

new chair, looking for every possible way to improve his game and

add to his proud collection of medals.

Tennis takes up most of his life, but he

has started to visit local schools to talk to kids who have to overcome

their own issues in life, and show them what he has managed to achieve.

I have been told many times that I cannot do

something because I am in

a wheelchair, but proving them wrong every day.

I now train as if I have not got my condition, and push the

boundaries and push myself as hard as I can.

So impressive watching him close up, and I can't tell you how incredible

it was seeing him get out of his chair and

He's hoping to be a medal winner at the Tokyo Paralympics.

He inspired The Beatles, and spread the popularity of the sitar

Now, one of Ravi Shankar's last works is to get a posthumous

Tickets have all but sold out for his opera, Sukanya,

a work he didn't live to see performed.

It's been produced by the Royal Opera,

the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Leicester's Curve theatre.

Our reporter, Helen Astle, has had a preview.

Final rehearsals are underway in Leicester for Sukanya, the first

ever opera produced here. Ravi Shankar started writing the opera

when he was 90, and he died in 2012. It was his daughter and his friend

who helped to finish the composition. I spent thousands of

hours in his company, working on PCs, absorbing Indian music, and it

still feels as though he is they are helping. Ravi Shankar is perhaps

best known for bringing the sitar to the western stage and for his

collaboration with the Beatles. This story is about music and mist

meeting dance. It is the world premiere of a gift left by one of

the greatest composers who ever lived. It is one of the most

incredible mixtures of talents from all over the world here for the

first time, in Leicester. It is a story of love and love conquering

everything. If people want a feel-good night out, it starts

beautifully, it gets darker with some drama, and ends with a

fantastic uplifting finality. For this soloist, he has come from

America to perform it is my first time in the UK, my wife has joined

me, and she is now out doing a bit of shopping! The opera premiers on

Friday, and tickets have nearly sold out. It will then tour the country

before finishing in London. The beautiful sound of the seater, like

the beautiful sound of rain falling on our gardens. Any chance?

Wall-to-wall sunshine across the east Midlands, and our weather

watchers have captured blue skies across the region, so thank you for

sending those in. Now, looking at the tail for tomorrow, we are

expecting some sunny spells but not quite as sunny as today, with the

chance of a few showers later. We have got this pressure clinging on

for the next 24 hours, with low pressure moving up from the south,

bringing more unsettled conditions for Friday and Saturday. Earlier

today, this satellite picture was taken, glorious sunshine but none of

that rain that the gardeners are looking for. So, looking at the

detail over tonight, temperatures will fall away, lows in towns and

cities of around five Celsius and in further out areas we could see some

frost. A chilly start tomorrow, but some bright spells first thing, up

towards Mansfield particularly, the cloud will then increase over the

course of the day. Highs of around 20 Celsius, so it will feel pleasant

in the sunshine. On Friday, the chance of some under the showers,

low pressure starting to take charge of our weather in the next few days.

Here is the outlook, sunshine and showers over the weekend, the best

of the brightness will be tomorrow morning. Thank you very much, even

for the frost! Apologies for the sound problems earlier.

We'll have another update just before 8:00 and the evening