Jeremy Ball
Social affairs correspondent, BBC East Midlands Today

A married couple and one of their brothers have been arrested on suspicion of trafficking Romanian workers to Nottingham, then keeping them as slaves, after police targeted a terraced house in Basford this morning.

One neighbour told me he had called the council after he was concerned about the number of people living there and seen going in and out of the house.

Police were made aware after four people came forward and said they had been lured to Britain with the promise of getting paid work.

Det Sgt Mike Ebbins said: "They were kept in the address, beaten, threatened. They didn't have any beds so had to put boxes together to sleep on, and they didn't have any food to eat so had to find scraps in neighbours' bins in order to survive."

They're now being cared for by the Salvation Army.

Sandish Shoker
BBC News

A memorial service for a popular Big Issue seller known as "Happy Dave" is taking place in Nottingham this afternoon.

Dave Hale, 43, died earlier this month after spending seven years selling the magazine outside Marks and Spencer on St Peter's Square.

Tributes have lined the wall outside the church and today friends, local shop workers and members of the public gathered at St Peter's Church.

Image source, The Big Issue

Image source, The Big Issue

Friend Ash Medley said: "He rallied people round; he encouraged them. Dave's humility shone through."

Another friend, Phillip Davidson, said: "He was such a nice guy. He didn't have a bad word to say about anybody. There were so many people who did him wrong and he still helped them. That's the kind of person he was."

Sandish Shoker
BBC News

A campaign has been launched to track down the relatives of six Nottinghamshire Victoria Cross recipients who were recognised for their bravery during World War One.

The heroes include Sapper William Hackett, from Sneinton, who died trying to help injured comrades escape after an enemy mine explosion in France, Sergeant William Henry Johnson, from Worksop, who single-handedly took out two German machine-gun nests and Captain Albert Ball, a fighter pilot from Lenton, who saw off multiple enemy aircraft alone.

Image source, Nottinghamshire County Council

Nottinghamshire County Council is trying to find descendants of the men, external to help with an exhibition to mark 100 years since the end of the conflict.

Calum McKenzie
BBC News

Leicester Tigers tweets...

Calum McKenzie
BBC News

A man has been jailed for the manslaughter of a 22-year-old father after a fight in Derby city centre.

Image source, Derbyshire Police

Richard Last, 32, attacked Oliver Falivena in the Market Place in August 2016.

Mr Falivena fell to the ground and hit his head, causing brain injuries. He died in hospital days later.

Last, of of Bridgeside Way, Spondon, argued he acted in self-defence, but was found guilty by jurors.

He was handed a three-year prison sentence and told to pay a £170 victim surcharge.

Image source, Derbyshire Police

Det Ch Insp Emlyn Richards said: "Oliver had recently bought a house with his partner, Sophie, for them and their young child.

"Oliver had everything to look forward to and his life has been tragically cut short. My thoughts are with Sophie, Oliver’s parents, siblings and extended family at this very difficult time."

The animal was found with severe burns running from its eyes to the tip of its nose.

Sandish Shoker
BBC News

Councils and charities in Nottinghamshire say they have pledged to increase their spending and provision on homelessness this winter.

Both Nottingham City and Mansfield District councils say they have begun planning how to help people who are sleeping rough or homeless in the winter months.

Image source, Tracy's Street Kitchen

Tracy Dickinson, who was homeless when she was 14 and now runs a street kitchen, said homelessness should be treated as a public health issue.

She said: "We need to understand their needs... so we can help these people move forward."

Calum McKenzie
BBC News

A burst water pipe is causing supply issues in Shepshed, according to Severn Trent., external

The firm said it is looking at the problem and will attempt to get it fixed as quickly as possible.

Calum McKenzie
BBC News

Police would like to speak this man after some meat was stolen from a shop in Darley Dale.

Image source, Derbyshire Police

Police said the steak was taken at around 16:30 from the Co-op on Tuesday 17 April.

Calum McKenzie
BBC News

Dairy firms from across the UK and Ireland are in Melton Mowbray for this year's Artisan cheese awards.

More than 500 entries are competing across 16 categories, with the overall winner taking a £1,000 cash prize.

Matthew O’Callaghan from the Melton Mowbray Food Partnership, said: "I’m really delighted to have so many of Ireland’s incredible cheeses coming over here for the awards and the fair.

"However, there are a lot of award-winning cheeses produced in the UK as well, from the tip of Scotland right down to Cornwall."

Sandish Shoker
BBC News

Unison has welcomed plans by the East Midlands Ambulance Service to recruit 300 more staff if it gets an extra £20m of funding from commissioning groups.

We reported yesterday that the service is currently failing to reach response time targets and says it can only improve if the funds are released and more front-line staff can be employed.

Scott Kingswood, from the union, said: "The stress levels are high. They've been worked to more than capacity over the winter and I think that's still the case.

"The ambulance service is working very, very hard to meet the demands that are placed on them and our members are feeling it."

Meetings are being held this week to decide whether local health commissioners can meet the request.

BBC Sport

Wasim Khan is to chair a group looking at the structure of county cricket in 2020.

Image source, Getty Images

The committee has been set up after the Professional Cricketers' Association raised concerns about the future of the game when the new 100-ball tournament starts.

Leicestershire chief executive Khan will be joined on the panel by Andrew Strauss and Warwickshire's Ashley Giles, Yorkshire's Martyn Moxon and Keith Greenfield of Sussex.

Sandish Shoker
BBC News

A third man has been charged with human trafficking and running a brothel as part of an investigation into an alleged prostitution ring.

Laszlo Balogh, 57, from Burton upon Trent, has been charged with conspiracy to traffic a person with a view to sexually exploiting them and controlling a brothel for the purpose of prostitution.

Two other men, Geza Horvath, 32, from Station Court, Burton, and Daniel Zemencsik, 27, of Uttoxeter New Road, Derby, have already been charged with the same offences and will appear at Derby Crown Court in May.

Image source, Google

The men were arrested when Derbyshire police raided houses in Uttoxeter New Road and Violet Street, Derby, and Station Court, Burton, last week.

Five women were found at the two Derby houses and police said they suspect they had been exploited and trafficked around the UK.

Sandish Shoker
BBC News

A diamond gold ring found by a woman inside a plastic tub while rummaging through a charity shop is set to fetch up to £8,000 at an auction in Derbyshire this summer.

The woman, who wants to remain anonymous, discovered the ring at a shop in London, paying just £5.50 for the entire tub of jewellery and for months thought it was a fake stone.

The lucky finder said: "My dad looked at it a couple of times and said, ‘I’m not sure if that’s real’ but decided it wasn’t because, like me, he thought the stone was too big.

"I wanted to have an opal pendant valued and only decided to take the ring at the last minute. I didn’t think it could possibly be real."

Image source, Hansons

The ring, featuring a huge 2.30 carat diamond, will now go under the hammer at Hansons Auctioneers in Etwall, Derbyshire, in June.

Jewellery specialist, David Byrne said: "The stone’s a real sparkler. They say diamonds sparkle and this stone genuinely does.”

Calum McKenzie
BBC News

Police say they are cracking down on illegal parking near a Peak District beauty spot.

Image source, Derbyshire Police

Tickets were issued to cars left on the B6521 at Nether Padley, between Grindleford and Longshaw, on Thursday and Friday last week.

PCSO Anthony Boswell said: "This is an issue which tends to happen during the spring and summer period, and during nice weather spells, as more visitors are attracted to the beauty spot."

It is illegal to park in places where there is a solid white line as it forces drivers on to the other side of the road.

Calum McKenzie
BBC News

A well-known bank facade in Matlock has been badly damaged in a car crash.

The colonnade, which is believed to date from around 1904 and is part of the Royal Bank of Scotland building, was hit during a two-car collision on Wednesday.

Police said a 21-year-old man suffered a minor head injury in the crash, which involved a Ford Fiesta and a BMW.

Calum McKenzie
BBC News

Dozens of Gary Barlow fans have been camping out overnight ahead of his gig in Leicester this evening.

The Take That star is performing at De Montfort Hall as part of a UK tour.

Fans said they were queuing in the hope of getting a place in front of the stage at the concert.

Image source, Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images

Liam Barnes
BBC News

The Lord Mayor of Leicester has been cleared by a police investigation into corruption allegations.

Image source, Leicester City Council

A letter sent to Leicester City Council claimed Rashmikant Joshi used his influence to push through planning applications, with payments received by an unnamed employee.

Leicestershire Police said "no criminal offences have been identified".

Peter Soulsby, mayor of Leicester, said he is "pleased" Mr Joshi has been "totally exonerated".

"It was obviously right for these allegations to be properly investigated but those of us who know Rashmi know he would not have acted as was alleged," he said.

Calum McKenzie
BBC News

People who live near the site of a fatal gas explosion are calling for reassurances it will not happen again.

One woman died and two men were injured following the gas leak at a property on Allington Drive, Birstall, in December last year.

A public meeting will be held later where residents can discuss their concerns.

It will be one of the first opportunities for residents to meet since the explosion, as many families were evacuated and moved into temporary accommodation.