Dave Wade
BBC News

A drunk man who smashed a guitar over the head of a man who appeared to be under the influence of drugs has been spared jail.

Simon Groves, 30, was caught on CCTV assaulting a man who was slumped on a bench in Portland Square, Sutton-in-Ashfield, Mansfield Magistrates' Court heard.

Image source, Google

Prosecutor Neil Hollett told the court Groves described himself to police as being very drunk on 4 August when he became "riled" to see two men "off their barnetts with kids hanging around".

Groves then took the guitar from one of the men and smashed it over the side of the head of the other "like a baseball bat", Mr Hollet said.

"The guitar breaks on impact and the victim was woken at that point."

When he was arrested he said: "You’re arresting me for hitting a mamba-head", Mr Collet said. “'He deserved it."

Groves, of Healdswood Street, admitted one count of assault by beating yesterday and was sentenced to 24 weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months.

He was also ordered to attend 30 days of the Cobaid (Control of Violent Behaviour in Angry Drinkers) programme.

Rebecca Williams, defending, said: "He... felt gutted about what he has done. He feels like he has let his girlfriend and his daughter down with his actions."

Nick Smith
BBC News Online

A hospital trust director said "with hindsight" there could have been greater consultation on the moving of services away from the General Hospital.

However Andrew Furlong, the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust's medical director, said it was important people realised the service move was part of a bigger plan.

Dr Janet Underwood, from the health policy research unit at De Montfort University said the NHS needed to "formally consult" with the public about why they were relocating intensive care and kidney dialysis away from the hospital.

“In that way people can add their views, bring their own expertise and experiences so they end up with a hospital service which is fit for purpose," she said.

The relocation is part of a plan to go from three hospitals to two.

Hayley Compton
Reporter, BBC Radio Nottingham

A former Raleigh worker has been reminiscing about her time at the old headquarters on Lenton Boulevard.

The Howitt building has recently been given listed status and Barbara Miller from Stapleford started working there when she was 15.

It was her first time back at her old offices since the 1960s.

One of the features of the 1930s building is the ballroom and Barbara remembers going to dances there once a month on a Friday evening.

Gavin Bevis
BBC News

Police have released photos, external of three men they want to speak to about two burglaries in Nottinghamshire.

The first involved cash being taken from offices at an industrial estate in Hamilton Road, Sutton-in-Ashfield, on 21 June.

A short time later, the same people are thought to have broken into offices at Oakham Business Park in Mansfield but left empty-handed.

Anyone who recognises their faces has been asked to call 101.

Image source, Nottinghamshire Police

Image source, Nottinghamshire Police

Gavin Bevis
BBC News

Good news for those of you planning to head south on the M1.

Gavin Bevis
BBC News

The leader of Nottingham City Council is due to set off on a 267-mile charity walk tomorrow, external.

Jon Collins will be walking the Pennine Way from Edale in Derbyshire to Kirk Yeltholm in Scotland to raise money for the Dolly Parton Imagination Library.

Mr Collins, who will be averaging 26 miles a day for ten days, hopes to raise more than £5,000 for the charity, which provides children with a free book every month from birth to the age of five.

Image source, Nottingham City Council

He said: "It’s going to be tough - I’ll be walking the equivalent of over a marathon every day."

Nick Smith
BBC News Online

Motorists parking on Derby pavements is making life "dangerous" for blind people and inconveniencing those with a pushchair or wheelchair, the city council says.

The problem, in Chellaston, has got so bad the authority has placed notices around the area reminding residents they could be fined up to £1,000 if prosecuted.

Image source, Google

Parkway is one of the main streets affected by the problem.

Kate, a mother with a baby and a young son, said they regularly have to split up to get past the cars.

She said: “If [my son] was a little bit younger and I wanted to hold his hand it would be quite impossible because we'd have been squished against the cars."

Amy Woodfield
BBC News

Thousands of teenagers are collecting their GCSE results today - among them is Aliyah Nadim.

The 16-year-old from Derby sat all her exams while undergoing treatment for cancer.

She missed out on a year of education at Bemrose School because of the illness.

Today she picked up her grades - among them were three grade 4s, two grade 5s and two grade 6s. She hopes it will be enough to get her into sixth form.

Ahead of results day the school's headteacher presented her with an award for commitment, caring and contribution.

Leicester Mercury

A pub customer who knocked a fellow drinker unconscious, causing two bleeds on the brain, has been jailed for 16 months, external.

East Midlands Today

Part of Nottingham's tram network will be suspended for the next eleven days for essential maintenance work.

Worn rails are being changed between Wilkinson Street and The Forest - with a replacement bus service running instead.

NET, the tram operator, said the work would improve safety and give passengers a more comfortable, less noisy journey.

Image source, Google

Captain and opening batsman Billy Godleman signs a new contract to remain with Derbyshire until the end of the 2021 season.

Gavin Bevis
BBC News

School pupils across the country are receiving their GCSE results this morning.

These students at Bemrose School in Derby certainly seem happy with what they got. They're being filmed by BBC East Midlands Today.

Gavin Bevis
BBC News

Derbyshire captain Billy Godleman has signed a new three-year contract with the club, external.

The 29-year-old batsman arrived at the County Ground in 2013 and has been skipper for the past two years.

Image source, Derbyshire CCC

Chief executive Simon Storey said Godleman "plays an integral part in our cricket strategy".

Godleman said he wanted to continue to help develop young talent to allow the club to compete for major honours.

Dave Wade
BBC News

Highways England said traffic is currently held up on the southbound side of the M1 between J26 and J27 while they deal with an overturned car.

Image source, Highways England

Fire, police and ambulance are at the scene.

Nottinghamshire Police said it happened around 09:45 and the collision involved two cars.

Nick Smith
BBC News Online

Five patients in the East Midlands waited more than 16 hours for an ambulance.

One 95-year-old woman who had a fall waited more than 17 hours for a crew to arrive.

The figures come from a BBC report into ambulance waiting times between June 2017 and June 2018.

East Midlands Ambulance Service said those who were left waiting were not classed as serious or life-threatening and the bad weather in March caused further delays.

They added they're now hiring more staff and more ambulances to improve responses.

In May, the the service requested £20m to help hit response time targets.

Gavin Bevis
BBC News

Highways England is estimating things should be back to normal by 11:15.

Amy Woodfield
BBC News

It's GCSE results day and for the first time most of the GCSEs in England are being graded from 9 to 1.

About 4% of entries received the top grade 9 - one was Nicole Lander from Tupton Hall School in Chesterfield.

The young artist got the top grade for this piece of artwork.

Image source, Nicole Lander

Gavin Bevis
BBC News

A magnet fisher from Sandiacre has defended the increasingly popular hobby after it was criticised by the Canal and Rivers Trust.

As the name suggests, the unusual pastime involves dunking magnets into waterways to see what metal junk can be pulled from the depths.

The trust has branded the hobby "dangerous" due to the risk of discovering volatile items like old grenades and firearms and has banned it from all of its canals and rivers.

Despite this, it still spent £1.3m last year clearing up discarded junk left on towpaths by magnet fishers.

Jon Wright, who goes magnet fishing at Erewash Canal, said he had pulled out an estimated six-and-a-half tonnes of metal - all of which he had organised to be recycled.

He told BBC Radio Derby: "I've pulled out all sorts of things - coins, safes, swords, air rifles, road signs, scaffold poles - and about 40 bikes.

"It upsets me [magnet fishers not disposing of junk] because part of this is to clean up the canal, so if you can't take it away, at least move it right to the edge of the canal or ring a local scrap dealer to collect it.

"Otherwise there's no point. If you take it out the canal, all you're doing is moving the problem from inside the canal to the towpath where it's probably even more dangerous."

Gavin Bevis
BBC News

A man has been arrested on suspicion of posting graphic photos of Monday's fatal crash in Chellaston on social media.

Lizzy Keenan, 30, died when the Vauxhall Corsa in which she was a passenger crashed in Derby Road in the early hours.

Police said a 44-year-old man was detained under the Malicious Communications Act after photographs posted on Facebook during the aftermath "caused distress to members of the public".

Image source, Derbyshire Police/Family photo

Gavin Bevis
BBC News

A major collection of items spanning the history of space exploration is to go under the hammer in Derbyshire.

The 200-strong haul includes Apollo spacecraft parts, space shuttle cables and a space suit worn on the Mir space station.

It also includes autographs from American and Russian astronauts, including Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin.

The collection is being sold by Phill Parker, an award-winning spaceflight writer and lecturer from Newcastle-under-Lyme.

The 71-year-old, pictured meeting Buzz Aldrin, said he had amassed the memorabilia from contacts he had made during several decades of researching and writing about space.

Image source, Hansons

Image source, Phill Parker

He said: "I’ve written dozens of major spaceflight articles for magazines and journals including covering the historic Apollo Man-on-the-Moon project in the mid-1960s to early 1970s and the early space station programmes.

“I’ve interviewed most of the Apollo Moon astronauts including Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, Gene Cernan, Charlie Duke and many others.

"As I approach my 72nd birthday, I believe it’s time to ensure my collection of historic spaceflight hardware items and paper documents will continue to be utilised to record the first golden age of space exploration by auctioning to interested parties."

The collection will go on sale at Hansons Auctioneers in Etwall on 3 September.