Updates for Thursday 21 April 2016
More news, sport, travel and weather from 08:00 on Friday
Amy Woodfield
BBC Local Live
A veterinary nurse says the sad case of the abandoned dog show why microchipping is so important.
Louisa Dovey says had the dog been chipped, they might have been able to track down those responsible.
She describes the condition the dog was in when she was brought her to the surgery...
Amy Woodfield
BBC Local Live
A sad one now, especially for anyone like me who loves dogs...
Image source, OtherThis poor Bull Mastiff was discovered in a ditch in Thurmaston last week. She was paralysed and suffering from hypothermia and had to be put down by a vet.
Nearly 30 food joints in Hinckley and Bosworth have been told to improve their hygiene following poor inspections., external
Amy Woodfield
BBC Local Live
The fallen branch on St Augustine Road caused traffic to build up on Leicester's inner ring road earlier - it seems to have settled a bit more now.
Amy Woodfield
BBC Local Live
Workmen are in the process of removing the branch blocking St Augustine Road.
The road has been closed off making traffic around St Nicholas Circle much busier that usual.
Police say the large branch fell gradually and didn't land on a car. The driver nearest stopped and used his hazard lights to alert others.
Dry, bright and sunny with a some cloud building on an otherwise bright afternoon.
Highs of 15C (59F).
Amy Woodfield
BBC Local Live
Here's a picture of that fallen tree causing some problems on the roads around St Nicholas Circle...
Amy Woodfield
BBC Local Live
Leicester College have told us they will be "backing the blues" with us next Friday.
It's a campaign by BBC Leicester and the Leicester Mercury to show support from Leicester City who are just a few games away from potentially winning the Premier League.
Image source, OtherThe college is planning to release 800 blue balloons across its three city campuses on 29 April.
BBC Travel
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Amy Woodfield
BBC Local Live
A 23-year-old man from Leicester has been charged by police after a canister was set off at a McDonald’s in Stafford.
Twelve people inside the restaurant at the time had to be examined by paramedics after "suffering varying degrees of respiratory and stomach irritation". Two teenage girls had to go to hospital.
Image source, West Midlands Ambulance ServiceSpencer Benham, from Wilberforce Road in Leicester, will appear before a magistrates this morning along with another man.
Helen McCarthy
BBC Radio Leicester Reporter
For more than a decade the people of Melton have wanted a bypass for the town.
Now they have a chance with a developer offering £4.5m towards it in return for planning permission to build 520 houses on land outside the town.
I spoke to Stephen Hallam who's MD of Dickinson and Morris Pork Pies and chairman of Melton Promotions.
He firmly believes this is an opportunity the town can't miss. A chance to relieve the inner ring road of traffic which clogs it up.
BBC Leicester Sport
Leicester City and Jamie Vardy have until 18:00 this evening to respond to charges brought about by the FA on Monday.
Vardy was charged with improper conduct for his behaviour towards the referee, Jon Moss, after he was given a red card in Sunday's 2-2 draw with West Ham.
Image source, Getty ImagesThe club have also been charged for failing to control their player when West Ham won an 83rd-minute penalty.
Amy Woodfield
BBC Local Live
More now on those development plans for Melton Mowbray that are being discussed tonight.
The application is for 520 "new dwellings" in the South-West of Melton. These will mainly be homes but will also include a convenient shop and a play area.
One of the key elements of the development though is the opportunity for a new bypass. The developers have offered to help fund the road if the housing development is approved.
Image source, GoogleStephen Hallam is from the town's famous Old Pork Pie Shop, and says: "The group travel industry and coach operators sometimes shudder at the impact of how long it's going to take them to travel through Melton that nothing can be run to a timetable because we do get so much congestion.
"It's got to happen - the sooner the better."
BBC Leicester Sport
Roy Hodgson is now wading in on the dispute between Jamie Vardy and the FA.
The England Manager has shown his support for the Leicester City striker.
He says he felt the referee's decision to give Vardy two yellow cards and a sending off in the game against West Ham last weekend was harsh.
Image source, Getty ImagesHodgson told media: "I will go out on a limb. I don't see that as a dive. I don't think it was a penalty either.
"There was a very slight contact with the defender. He (Vardy) went down because he was unbalanced. I don't think he was trying to dive. I sympathise with him. He was very, very unlucky."
A woman was taken to hospital with serious leg injuries follow a collision involving a van in Measham., external
Amy Woodfield
BBC Local Live
Fire fighters have been in Loughborough this morning where there was a fire involving an acetylene cylinder.
It was at a factory unit on Falcon Industrial Park.
A specialist hazmat officer had to be there because it involved a toxic chemical.
It's thought the fire was caused by a spark from a grinder.
Amy Woodfield
BBC Local Live
Amy Woodfield
BBC Local Live
Today could be a huge day for people in the Melton area as plans for 520 new homes could get approved tonight.
Image source, Gladman Developments LtdAs well as the new homes, this would mean the borough council gets money towards a bypass to go around the town.
Charlie Slater
BBC Weather presenter
