17/05/2017 East Midlands Today

It's almost 6.30pm - you're watching East Midlands Today.

Tonight - Labour's upbeat message to voters in rain-swept Derby.

Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell says that despite the polls, Labour

is growing. It is moving of its own accord and polls have been wrong in

the past. Plus, from a hole in the ground, to this. How a

Nottinghamshire stately home is being turned into a national rehab

centre. And could this electric racing car is by the engineers of

the future? If kids had the vote, who would they choose, as Prime

Minister? I would want either Antic or Decker.

Welcome to Wednesday's programme with Geeta Pendse

First tonight - Derby will be a big beneficiary

from Labour's manifesto, according to Labour's Shadow

He arrived in the Labour target seat of Derby North this afternoon

Mr McDonnell also told a crowd of supporters that a movement

of support was building up despite the opinion polls which show

the party trailing well behind the Conservatives.

Our political editor Tony Roe was there.

You could say this was the few for the many, the few Labour Party

members braving the rain, waiting for the Shadow Chancellor,

waiting for a bus which was an hour late.

Yesterday's manifesto launch had nailed Labour's very different

manifesto to the mast and supporters here are happy.

for the people of Britain, where we could really establish

the welfare state, even in the face of really serious austerity.

Tuition fees, scrapping those is a massive bonus to this country.

All our utility companies are foreign controlled.

We have got to do something. I think Labour is the way forward.

This is a Labour target seat, it has had a Tory majority of 41

at the last election, but they believe here,

this seat will be a test for Jeremy Corbyn's policies.

I'm so pleased you've stuck around despite the elements themselves.

Derby is of course a railway city and Labour promised to electrify

the Midland Mainline and nationalise the railways.

Places like Derby, not only will we increase the conductivity,

but in addition to that, Bombardier will be one

of the companies, obviously, that will be providing a lot

of the railway stock that we will be needing in the new system,

so for Derby, I think this manifesto, you could have almost

And the claim also from the Shadow Chancellor about why

The mismanagement of the economy now is affecting all people.

I think that's why Theresa May called the general election.

I think she called it now because she realised

that the economy was on a downward spiral.

We've got three weeks to turn that movement into electoral success.

Labour don't believe the election will be a damp squib

for the party's fortunes, things are picking up,

they say, and polls have been wrong in the past.

So the polls are wrong or will prove to be wrong.

John McDonnell today told his damp supporters that they should be

invigorated by the polls. He says, we are reporting the fact there is

movement in the polls towards Labour. I think they take heart from

what happened in America with Donald Trump and what happened in Canada

with Justin Trudeau, where young people were not taken account of and

the vote made a difference. I would say that any history of general

election polling, there hasn't been a poll which has been more wrong

than 6% and Labour need a lot more than 6% to overturn this deficit in

the opinion polls at the moment. Thank you.

Later in the programme we'll be reporting from Downing Street -

Plus - we wanted rain. And we got it.

Well, we certainly had lots of the wet stuff today.

This was the picture at 11am and then pretty much the same

picture at 2pm and then the same picture again at 5pm.

Will we need our wellies again tomorrow?

I will have the full forecast late in the programme.

Police in Leicestershire are continuing to question two men

on suspicion of murdering a 16-year-old girl.

Megan Bannister was found dead after a car crash

in Enderby on Sunday. Detectives say they believe

her injuries weren't caused by the collision.

They've been searching homes in the Braunstone area

Two Leicester men - aged 27 and 28 - have been arrested.

A man has died after being hit by a train in Nottinghamshire.

British Transport Police were called to the Meadow Lane level crossing

in Attenborough at around 11.20am this morning.

It caused disruption to trains travelling

between Nottingham and London, Leicester, Derby and Newark.

Rail Accident Investigators have been called in.

Next tonight, dozens of military veterans have been recruited to help

build the new national rehabilitation centre

Stanford Hall's now a vast construction site, that's eventually

going to replace the outdated Headley Court in Surrey.

Our social affairs correspondent, Jeremy Ball, reports.

This is how Stanford Hall is being transformed.

Into a place that will rebuild shattered lives.

From this vantage point, you can see how they are restoring the old roof,

just one small part of a site that now employs 700

You can see our heritage contractors relaying the reclaimed slate.

Rich left the army with post-traumatic stress disorder.

He used to build bases in Afghanistan.

Now, he's recruiting other veterans to help build here at the defence

Whilst it may take a little bit of time to bring

a service leaver up to speed, service personnel have got

discipline and they have those logistical, planning challenges

that they faced on large operations. They bring leadership.

They will be there on time and they are reliable.

There are many former forces on this site,

as a result of the draw of what this project is all about,

It means so much because it will revolutionise rehab treatment

for men and women in the forces who have been wounded.

A rehab service that is currently based at the outdated

The replacement they are building here at Stamford hall is due to be

handed over to the Ministry of Defence in the

What you can see behind me is going to be everything

from complex trauma wards to hydrotherapy pools.

And accommodation for up to 300 injured service personnel.

And from the air, a bird's eye view that shows just how vast

it is and how rapidly the grounds of Stamford hall have been

This must be the biggest construction project in the East

Midlands at the moment. This is one of the gymnasium is where most of

the rehabilitation will take place. This is four size of the former

site. We have got six tower cranes and two mobile cranes to actually

feed the materials we need to build. There is still a lot more work to

do, when it is finished, they hope this will be a lifeline for the next

70 to 80 years. In just over three weeks' time,

we'll find out who's won the race to Downing Street.

That's three weeks for people to decide which are the most

important issues in the election. Well, Ed Collard has been talking

to voters who've something particular in common with the Prime

Minister. So, what do they

will have in common? Well, they all share one of the most

famous addresses in the world - And as Theresa May goes

through the rather arduous job application to hold onto her gaffe

in SW1, it's the likes of Maureen and Morris

in the Downing Street in South Normanton, and Jordan

in his in Bulwell So what do they want the election

on June the 8th to be about? I listen to what is in

the news and in the media and wrote a few notes.

Sometimes, your mind goes blank. And her vote is very

much still up for grabs. The National Health Service,

we want to review. So, I like what the Lib

Dems have been saying. Hospital car park charges,

which Labour have mentioned. Ukip, migration, which is another

thing we talk about, isn't it? The Conservatives, mental health

issues, yes, there are a lot In Bulwell, health is

also on Jordan's mind. What is important in this

general election would be privatisation of the NHS

and other public services. All agree that money

is too tight to mention. All agree that money is too

tight not to mention. There is such a vast difference

between the higher rates The national living wage does

need to be increased. And where Theresa May can always

find a policeman when she wants one, in South Normanton, Maureen's

not so sure. Police, the cuts for the police,

little things like, we've got a speed hump outside and it doesn't

slow things down outside our gate. We have talked to dozens of other

people on our Downing Streets, which also include one

in Sutton-in-Ashfield. But in every case, one subject

was surprisingly absent. Brexit is not important

to me in this election. Brexit, I mean, personally,

it isn't one of the biggest Ed Collard, BBC East Midlands Today,

In the build-up to the general election we thought it would be

interesting to see what young children think about it all.

So, we visited Scalford primary school in Leicestershire

You're in the camera. You are in the camera as well.

I'm not. Yes, you are.

And if you'd like to see that again, then catch it on our Facebook page.

A Leicestershire road has re-opened after a building partially

Emergency services were called to the two storey

building at Long Street in Wigston yesterday evening.

Specialist equipment was used overnight to demolish the property.

The Fire Service says it's not yet sure what caused the collapse.

A charity has put in a bid for ?6 million to transform

a disused viaduct which connects Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire.

The Bennerley Viaduct is a listed structure and one of only two

Sustrans is applying for cash from The Heritage Lottery Fund

to turn it into a cycling and walking route, in the hope

Miles of canal have been adopted by groups

of volunteers in Derbyshire. The Canal and River Trust has

been asking for help to maintain the waterways.

So far, groups in Long Eaton, Cromford, Findern and

the Erewash Canal Preservation and Development Association have

Now, believe it or not, the Royal Academy of Engineering

reckons this country will need 1 million new engineers and

So one group of Derbyshire schoolchildren have taken

this challenge on board, and have built themselves

an electric racing car. In fact, Class five at Aston

on Trent Primary plan to race the car over the next two months.

James Roberson's been to see them test driving the Aston Arrow.

When you are ten, it is good to be a racing driver and that's what these

youngsters in Derbyshire are being. They won a competition run by a

national organisation called the advanced propulsion centre, to build

a lightweight electric kit car, all designed to encourage the young

engineers of the future. There is a statistic that by 2020, we will be

short of a million engineers in the UK. We wanted a fun project to show

students what they learn in the classroom can be translated into a

fun project. The chassis and motor are standard. The body, though, is

special to each school. These year five schoolchildren have been help

from an engineering company by Matt -- from Melbourne. You should see

the kids faces when we turn up. It is like, we're going to play with

cars now. It has been a fantastic opportunity for them to build a car

and race it. That was the whole reason for doing it, the principles

behind the competition in the first place. The pupils are enthusiastic.

We learned how to use a spanner to tighten them properly. So they would

keep things in place. It's been really fun. I feel like I wanted to

do some more and get into engineering. I have learned how to

use gears to make more power. How to wire up a circuit correctly. What is

it like to drive? It was really fun but scary at the same time! And it

is scary! The aim is to join other schools and all compete together.

The Aston Arrow has had input from aeronautical engineers at

Loughborough university. If it goes fast enough, it would almost be able

to fly around the course. After practice at school, it is next

practice at Donington park, race in June, Stafford will hope to win at

the big one, Rockingham, in July. That looks great fun. I'm handy with

a spanner? I can assemble furniture

occasionally. That's more than most of us can!

The sport's coming up - along with, hopefully,

a drier and brighter weather forecast.

And they may say slow and steady wins the race, but sadly, not for

Thwarted in his million to one chance of love.

Time now for the sport. Here is Matthew.

First we start with Nottingham Forest and we understand the meeting

between Olympiakos owner Evangelos Marinakis and the Football

League has taken place - and the Greek take-over

The club's manager Mark Warburton says he expects the new owners to be

aggressively ambitious and is looking forward

Manager Mark Warburton's faced a turbulent eight

He says Nottingham Forest now need strong foundations and thinks

the new potential Greek owner, Evangelos Marinakis,

They are football people, proven football people.

And they have done a magnificent job at the club.

And they've really developed an outstanding club,

so I'm sure the aspirations for the club will be

equally as positive, equally as aggressive.

The deal by the Greek shipping magnate is nearly complete.

A meeting with the English Football League Executive to see if he passes

the Owners and Directors Test has taken place.

Marinakis is facing accusations of match fixing back home.

He denies the allegations and is waiting to find out

Of course, it is great seeing a quick fix but there is no quick

fix by going to spend X amount of money at the club

What we have to do is make sure the club is abiding

by the regulations, is on firm ground.

Warburton wants five or six players in the summer

Keeping Forest up this season giving him sleepless nights at times.

But the former City banker says the pressures

I took the old Brentford players in to see the trading floor

and they realised those guys get in at 6am and they are still there

at 7pm and they are taking phone calls through the night

It is all about teamwork, communication, desire, hunger,

commitment, so it's not just football, far from it.

It is 14 years now since he left the world of banking without any

After success with Brentford and Rangers, his unconventional

route into the game is now driving him on here.

Basically, I thought, either do it now, or I'm

never going to do it, as corny as that may sound.

So it was that and it was taking the plunge,

taking a significant pay cut, much to the wife's disgust!

And I worked hard and I had some money put aside

and you eat into that and just try to develop your football career.

I'm very fortunate how it all turned out.

Very few English bosses manage in the Premier League,

but that's his ambition and he believes under

the new ownership, he can do it with Forest.

Do you feel excited now about the future for yourself

It's never about me personally, but to answer your question, yes.

24 clubs report back in June and will be

saying, this is our year. That's the nature of every league.

What we have to do is make sure it is Forest's turn.

Lovely interview with Mark Warburton.

Leicester City's manager Craig Shakespeare says he's been

looking at possible summer transfer targets - even though there's

no guarantee he'll be in charge of the club.

Leicester face Tottenham in their penultimate game

Shakespeare's future still hasn't been decided.

But he revealed today he's making plans for the squad for next season.

And he says it won't be long before he has talks with the owners

We've got two games left now. It will come to a conclusion.

I think the club realise, in terms of

forward planning, it's important that everybody knows, and so my

answer is, you won't have to wait long.

And Leicester City's owners, King Power International,

are buying another football club. They're in agreement with OH

Leuven, who are a second tier club in Belgium.

In cricket, Nottinghamshire will play at Somerset in the quarter

Nottinghamshire's game at Northants was rained off last night.

But they still qualified for the next stage.

However, Leicestershire and Derbyshire are out.

And Nottingham Panthers will face Swiss, Czech and Finnish teams

in the Champions League of Ice Hockey.

They earned their place with their Continental Cup win last season.

Panthers are lowest ranked of the 32 teams.

Their toughest opponents, Berne, are fourth.

What a prestigious tournament for them to be in. Panthers fans love

their ice hockey as well. Next, bit of a slow

starter this story - it's about an international love

triangle which hasn't Last year we appealed

for help to find Jeremy, By "leftie" we mean his shell

swirls anti-clockwise, Incredibly, two suitors with

matching swirls were unearthed - one was even flown into Nottingham

from a Spanish island. What happened next though proves,

as ever, that the path of true love never runs smooth.

Jo Healey reports. I'm not going to tell you Jeremy's

story at a snail's pace, I will cut straight to the juicy bit but be

prepared to be shell-shocked. This is what happened when his potential

new mate met. We got them together but unfortunately, the two we got

through the appeal, the two suitors, preferred each other rather than

Jeremy. So, snail mate. We had an appeal on our programme last year

for help. We would love to get the public to help us find another one

of these really rare lefties. What happened after that appeal? We were

lucky, we found two potential mates for Jeremy. Leftie from Ipswich and

one from Majorca, who was found on a snail farm and destined for the pot.

He had a lucky escape and was flown to Nottingham. Now he or she, they

are hermaphrodites, has just had 170 baby snails, and not one of them is

a rare leftie. There is a serious side to all of this. Tell me about

it in a nutshell... Recently, we discovered a gene which makes snails

go one way or the other. It turns out the same gene is also in

ourselves, by studying snails, we can learn a little bit more. Back to

Jeremy's love life and they haven't given up hope yet but in the

meantime, here's happy to play the indulgent uncle.

Poor Jeremy! Aren't baby snails cute?

They are but I think Jeremy would prefer to have some of his own.

Sometimes it is just the way things work out.

Isn't that awful when you're walking down the pavement in weather like

this... I know. It could be a leftie snail!

Alex, how wet has the weather been? A lot of wet weather today, possibly

good for the snails. This Millard does look very happy about the rain.

As we have a look at the rainfall totals for today, a little bit of a

league table. I should say, at least it is good

for the gardens but I think even these pansies are looking a bit

soggy. As we have a look at tomorrow, good news, a mixture of

sunshine and showers on the way. Feeling a bit fresher. This was the

picture earlier on. Quite a lot of cloud around and that wet weather

showing up loud and clear on the radar. We have low pressure in

charge of our weather but the front that has been bringing all the rain

is moving out of the way. We are expecting more of a mix of sunshine

and showers. At the moment, still looks like the Rizzi huge puddle

across the east. Take extra care on the roads, we are expecting quite a

lot of spray and standing water. Fresher feeling tonight. Tomorrow,

we start off on a reasonably bright note. Cloud increasing over the

course of the day. Some showers in the afternoon. As we have a look

ahead to Friday, we're sticking with that fresher feel, a mixture of

sunshine and showers on the way. Highs of around 14 Celsius. As we go

towards the weekend, low pressure still in charge but high pressure

starting to nudge in from the south, settling things down a little bit

but potentially more wet weather on the way. I will leave you with the

outlook. A mixture of sunshine and showers over the next few days.

Top tips for keeping slugs and snails off your flower beds. What do

you think? I don't really know, I need to

learn. After the programme! News at 10:30pm, hope to see you

then. Goodbye. The choice you now face

is all about the future. Whoever wins on the 8th of June

will face one overriding task - to get the best possible deal

for this United Kingdom from Brexit, because making Brexit a success

is central to our national interest and it is central

to your own security and prosperity. Because, while there is enormous

opportunity for Britain if we do not get this right,

the consequences will be serious and they will be felt by ordinary

working people across the country.