Oliver Brown had been accused of causing Stephen Walsh's death in Nottingham.

Alex Thorp
BBC News

Motorists driving through part of Nottinghamshire have been told to watch out for crossing swans.

The RSPCA was called to a stretch of the Grantham Canal in West Bridgford last Sunday after a passer-by spotted a swan struggling in the water.

It's thought the bird had been hit by a car in Radcliffe Road and had suffered a broken leg.

An RSPCA spokeswoman said the swan was "in a really bad way" and had to be put to sleep.

She added the charity was liaising with the council and the Canal and River Trust in a bid to have signage installed to warn drivers of crossing swans.

Janice Simons, who is on a zero-hour contract, applied for a support payment while self-isolating.

Greig Watson
Reporter, BBC News Online

It would not be unreasonable to keep Nottingham out of the highest Covid-19 alert level, the leader of the city council has said.

David Mellen has written to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to emphasise the "huge effort" made to cut rates in the city.

An announcement is expected tomorrow on the new tier system which will come into force when the current lockdown ends on 2 December.

Before the lockdown, the city and county was placed into tier three, the highest tier of Covid risk, which if renewed would stop any households mixing indoors and would see most hospitality venues closed.

Image source, Nottingham City Council

At one point in October, Nottingham had the highest coronavirus infection rate in the UK and registered the highest rate in England for a number of days.

It currently has a rate of 207.6 in the week up to 20 November, down from 266.1 the week before, with 691 confirmed cases, down from 886 in the previous seven days.

Mr Mellen said: "While we will never be complacent about the ongoing threat of this virus, we are now below the national average because everyone has pulled together, followed the rules and looked out for each other.

"We feel that people in Nottingham have worked hard to bring down the rate of Covid-19 in our communities and among our older population - and we feel our position in the tier system should reflect this."

Nottinghamshire's Ben Duckett extends his contract with the county until 2023, after helping them win the T20 Blast.

David Pittam
BBC News Online

A woman is in intensive care in hospital after a "serious violent assault by a man", police have said.

Nottinghamshire Police said they were called at about 23:50 last night after neighbours in Tunnel Road, Retford, heard a woman screaming in pain.

They found a woman who had suffered "serious and extensive injuries" to her face.

She was taken to hospital where she remains.

Image source, Google

Officers arrested a 30-year-old man on suspicion of grievous bodily harm and aggravated burglary. He remains in custody.

"We believe the people involved are known to each other and we believe this is an isolated incident, with no danger to the rest of the community," a force spokesman said.

"A scene remains at the place today, with a large police presence in the area as we work to establish the full circumstances of what happened."

Amy Woodfield
BBC News

Police have released an image of a man they want to speak to after a woman reported being touched inappropriately in a Leicester alleyway.

The 21-year-old told officers it happened when she was passing through Hydra Walk at about 14:15 on Wednesday 28 October.

Image source, Leicestershire Police

A man then walked off in the direction of the Highfields Centre.

Police said the woman was left "shaken and distressed".

The force said the man in the picture may have information about what happened.

East Midlands Today

A Leicestershire MP will hold a debate at Westminster this afternoon over the effectiveness and transparency of the Parole Board.

It comes ahead of an upcoming hearing for convicted murderer Colin Pitchfork, who will make a new bid for his release from custody.

Pitchfork was jailed for life in 1988 for the murders of two women in the county and was last refused parole in 2018.

He has been staying in an open prison since then and in accordance with the law, the Parole Board must review cases every two years.

Image source, Leicestershire Police

South Leicestershire MP Alberto Costa said many of his constituents still have concerns over Pitchfork's potential release.

"In most instances, the Parole Board is the final barrier between offenders and the wider public, and as a result, their responsibilities are of the upmost importance," he said.

"In previous years, the parole process has been a rather closed-off affair, however I am pleased that in recent times further changes have been made to allow victims and their families to have a greater say in the prospective release of offenders, and it has also allowed members of the public to be made aware of the rationale behind certain decisions."

Mr Costa said he hoped the debate would "shine a light" on the processes in place for high-profile, violent offenders and how they arrive at decisions.

Greig Watson
Reporter, BBC News Online

Nottingham's main shopping centre has officially dropped the name of its former owner.

The Victoria Centre has removed Intu from all its branding, five months after the retail company went into administration.

In October Global Mutual became the new asset manager, while Savills took over as property manager.

Image source, Savills

Nigel Wheatley, centre director at Victoria Centre, said: "For many in Nottingham, we have always been simply Victoria Centre, so it only seemed right to be known as that going forwards.

"We know that 2020 has seen shoppers seeking comfort in the familiar, with brands and the products they love, so we were very conscious about making any big changes."

The centre is named after Victoria railway station, which stood on the site until the 1960s.

A 24-year-old man remains in hospital after being stabbed in the back and face.

The former MP and broadcaster said John Jones died from cancer earlier this month.

Amy Woodfield
BBC News

Police are looking for a 22-year-old man who has absconded from HMP Sudbury.

Hashim Ajmal left the Derbyshire open prison yesterday.

Image source, Derbyshire Police

Police said he was convicted in 2019 for possession of heroin with intent to supply and has connections to the Dudley and Cradley Heath areas.

He is described as an Asian male, 6ft tall and of slim build with brown eyes and brown hair.

Anyone who sees him, or knows where he is, has been asked to contact police.

BBC Weather

This morning will be a dull and wet start for most as a cold front brings outbreaks of rain.

It will clear by this afternoon, leaving clear skies and allowing sunny spells to break through later.

Daniel Walsh denies killing Graham Snell, whose remains were discarded "like rubbish" around a town.

Amazon says the driver will no longer deliver parcels for them after being caught on dashcam.

Two goals from Junior Stanislas give second-placed Bournemouth a solid home Championship victory over Nottingham Forest.

T20 Blast winners Nottinghamshire - and captain Dan Christian - get suspended sanctions following a succession of disciplinary breaches.

Gavin Bevis
BBC News

Coronavirus infection rates have continued to slide across the East Midlands.

Leicester's seven-day rate for the week to 20 November was 413 per 100,000 people - down from 428 - while Derby's rate fell from 312 to 297.

Nottingham's rate for the same period had also reduced from 225 to 207.

Image source, PA Media

Leicester's figure puts it 14th in the England rankings, behind the borough of Oadby and Wigston, which sits 11th with a rate of 424 - the highest in the East Midlands.

The average seven-day coronavirus infection rate for England was 217.6.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Health bosses in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire have provisionally scheduled 9 December as the start date for the mass roll-out of Covid-19 vaccinations.

However, that date is dependent on a vaccine being approved by regulators.

Sarah Carter, executive incident director at Nottingham and Nottinghamshire's clinical commissioning group, told a public council meeting that staff and volunteers were being recruited to help with the "unprecedented" scale of the roll-out.

Image source, Reuters

She said: "We are moving forward at pace. We are aiming to have everything in place by Tuesday, December 1, as per the national steer, and we would aim to go live, we believe, by Wednesday, December 9 should a vaccine be available, and the whole system is poised to move this forward."

Vaccines developed by Pfizer, Moderna and the University of Oxford/Astra Zeneca are the front-runners in the race to be granted approval by the regulatory bodies.

Gavin Bevis
BBC News

A collection of intricately crafted model fairground rides which had been kept in a garage for nearly 20 years have sold for a combined total of £4,380.

The handmade replicas took the late Patrick Burton two or three years to build, according to his family from Chaddesden, Derby.

Auction firm Hansons said the items sparked a fierce battle between online and phone bidders.

They said a Noah's Art caterpillar ride was the most fiercely contested item, selling for £1,900 – more than double its £700 to £1,000 estimate.

A chair-o-plane ride reached £1,000 and a cake walk sold for £600 while a further lot consisting of fairground trucks and an organ sold for £880.

Steve Fulford, toy valuer at Hansons, said: "I'm delighted the models have been snapped up by keen buyers because they are extraordinary. We had really strong interest in them and deservedly so.

"I just couldn't get over the detail. Each ride has hundreds of individual components and he made every one of them and then painted his creations by hand."