06/03/2017 East Midlands Today

And now the news for the East Midlands.

The last man to be rescued from the Herald of Free Enterprise

joined other survivors today at a service to mark

the 30th anniversary of the Zeebrugge disaster.

Brian Gibbons from Melton Mowbray says he still feels guilt

that he survived when so many others didn't.

193 died when the ferry capsized off the Belgian coast.

Among them, two members of a Nottinghamshire family.

A memorial service was held in Dover to remember those who died

in the worst peacetime British maritime disaster in living memory.

Among the survivors there today, Brian Gibbons from Melton Mowbray.

As I was coming out of the port, I thought it was quite

and something started going drastically wrong.

I was trying to get to sleep and it literally threw me

what was one of the walls and was now the floor.

As the Herald of Free Enterprise left Zeebrugge with

For seven hours, Brian didn't know if he was going to live or die,

but tapping his watch on a pipe alerted rescuers,

Beverly Willows' father, Sudershan Lal Singhal,

and sister, Kiran Devi Parsons, from Mansfield Woodhouse,

They had taken a cut-price day trip offer from a newspaper.

I just remember everybody screaming and crying because we knew

We didn't know anything else, but, just actually knowing

Then, in the early hours of the morning,

my brother-in-law rang to say that he was safe,

but he thought the others had perished.

Sudershan Lal Singhal's body was not found until eight months later,

Beverly can't forget what it was like for families waiting to hear

In the hotel rooms you could hear people crying, and being distraught,

as well as celebrating that they'd found them.

We were the last ones, and it was like we were still

waiting to find ours, and we had to come away

It's been an emotional day for Brian Gibbons too.

I still feel a bit guilty because I survived.

Let's hope ferry travel is a lot safer now, and let's not forget

A teaching assistant's been given a suspended prison sentence

after she admitted stealing thousands of pounds from her

36-year-old Nadine Ledwith was the treasurer of the PTA

Today the school said her actions had "badly let down"

This breach of trust has shocked everyone at Montrose Primary School.

The cash taken by teaching Assistant Nadine Ledwith

was raised by pupils, their families and staff at various

events organised by the Parent-Teacher Association.

She was the treasurer of the PTA, and instead of banking

a total of over ?3,384 between 2013 and 2015,

In a statement, Andy Owens, the headteacher of Montrose Primary

School said many members of the community placed their trust

in Nadine Ledwith and were badly let down by her actions.

She placed herself first and gave no thought for others.

Nadine Ledwith has previously pleaded guilty to the charge

and was today given a 26-week prison sentence, suspended for 18 months.

Leicester magistrates ordered that she pay back

Mrs Ledwith, why did you take the money from the school?

She ran off quickly and covered her face as she left the court.

The school said at a time when all schools are suffering

diminishing budgets, it is particularly upsetting

the money raised for the children in the school has been stolen.

The school relies on a large number of children and adults

The former teaching assistant was in floods of tears

Fauzia Zafar was defending, and said, she's in financial debt

and ashamed of what she's done, she's not coping well,

and wants to pay all the money back to the school.

Simon Ward, BBC East Midlands Today, Leicester.

Police have increased high-visibility patrols

after a member of staff at a Derby school was assaulted

It happened at Littleover Community School on Friday afternoon.

The teacher was punched in the face and neck and pushed to the ground

Police want to hear from anyone who may have seen the incident.

Next tonight, stark warnings have been issued over the dangers

It's estimated that, on average, dirty air shortens lives in the UK

Nottingham has some of the most polluted air in the country,

but it's pioneering ways to try to tackle the problem,

including building the country's first Eco-Expressway.

Work is well underway here in Nottingham to create the country's

Now, the idea is that one lane will be used solely

by public transport, and electric vehicles.

It's all about reducing congestion and improving air quality.

The idea has been welcomed by officials in Norway,

where electric cars are very much the norm.

Congratulations to Nottingham, because that is a very

Actually, we did the same, and I can assure you that this

is a fantastic feeling going in from the suburbs

in the taxi lane, seeing the queue just standing close to you.

Now, Nottingham City Council is committed to creating a low

Carbon city, where public transport is given a priority.

They are also investing in electric park-and-ride buses,

and trying to encourage the city's hackney cabs to go electric as well.

We need pollution levels to come down.

We need more people to be using public transport.

That is good for current users as well as public transport users.

And we have to invest in a green Nottingham for, you know,

The Eco-Expressway is due to open later this year,

and if it is successful, the council says similar schemes

will be rolled out on key routes in and out of the city.

Sarah Teale, BBC East Midlands Today, Nottingham.

After restrictions to try to combat bird flu were extended in

some areas, one city farm in Nottingham feared it might have

That was because it couldn't afford all the new netting required

But help arrived today, unexpectedly,

Stonebridge City Farm has been giving urban dwellers a slice

of country life for 40 years and attracts thousands of visitors.

Because it is close to the River Trent, it is deemed

to be in a high-risk area for contact from wild birds.

Many of its 150 birds are enclosed under netting, but around a third

have been moved from a barn, and the charity couldn't afford

The reason we haven't got ?1,000 is that we are a charity, and we rely

on donations to keep us going, so we don't have those funds

sloshing around for this sort of project, unfortunately.

With so many birds not enclosed on the farm,

the whole flock faced a possible cull.

Bird flu is highly contagious so chances are if one animal gets it,

they will all get it, so we would have to cull

them if they have it, they would all have to go.

Shortly after your coverage we got a call to the farm,

from a woman who said she would like to donate ?1,000.

I'm absolutely gobsmacked, because it will make

a massive difference to the birds and it will save them.

I said, you have juiced me to tears, and she said, I just want to help.

The farmer has ordered the netting today and it will be in place

The Chief vet's extended restrictions remain in force

until at least the end of next month.

Quentin Rayner, BBC East Midlands Today, Nottingham.

but now let's take a look at the weather.

Good evening. It is that time of the week where we look at the weather

coming up. This week has not got off to do about a start, with lots of

blue skies as we've moved through the day. Some sunny spells in this

photo, sent in by a Weather Watcher. As we move through the rest of this

week, it will be quite an unsettled picture and we will see some

outbreaks of rain at times. Some dry weather mixed in as well. Some

brighter spells with temperatures turning slightly milder into mid

week. Firstly, through tonight, we have one or two showers to for but

it will become increasingly dry into the early hours. A patchy cloud

around, so tempered as Bolton wind overnight low of three or four

Celsius in towns or cities, and cooler in the countryside where you

could see a touch of frost first thing. A cold start to the day

tomorrow, with sunny spells around first thing. Starting to see more in

the way of height cloud rushing in, and sunshine turning increasingly

hazy. Temperature maximum of nine Celsius. Through into the evening,

starting to see more in the way of cloud, courtesy of this weather

front. Some outbreaks of potentially quite heavy rain. Good news is that

it does look like it will largely have cleared by the time we get to

Wednesday morning. Plenty cloud around and 12 patches of rain. Some

uncertainty as to be timing of that, but it looks like at the moment

clearing out as we move into the morning. Most of us seeing a cloudy

day with temperatures at a maximum of 12 self-service. Celsius.

Thursday, breaker intervals and Chiron and a maximum temperature of

12 Celsius. A similar story into Freddy but looks like we will see

some outbreaks of light and patchy rain. Temperatures reaching a

maximum of 12 Celsius. The outlook, unsettled through this week.

well and still rather unsettled with some blustery showers around. That's

the London forecast and now for the National forecast, over to Nick

Miller. North-west France and Plymouth were

miles apart weather-wise. This southern flank in north-west France

there was a wind gusts of 120 mph which we just dodged. That area of

low pressure continues to move quickly south-eastwards so that by

tomorrow it is in Italy on its southern flank, stormy in Sardinia

and around it strong winds blowing through south-east France. We've got

a little bump in the ice bars with lighter winds, a brief ridge of high

pressure, things briefly settled going into tomorrow, overnight there

are some showers around moving through western Scotland and

north-west England and the Midlands, clearing Wales, one or two in the

east, the North Sea tip of high pressure, things briefly settled

going into tomorrow, overnight there are some showers around