Amy Woodfield
BBC News

Leicester City fans will be offered free beer, water and cupcakes at the King Power Stadium this weekend to mark the club's late chairman's 61st birthday.

Image source, Getty Images

Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha died in a helicopter crash outside the stadium in October last year.

He was known for his generosity, having previously given away beer, breakfast and scarves to fans.

The football club said this was a tradition the Srivaddhanaprabha family wanted to continue.

Image source, Getty Images

Foxes fans, with a ticket for the match against Bournemouth on Saturday, will be entitled to one free drink and one cake.

Johnny O'Shea
BBC News Online

A man has been found guilty of murdering a 22-month-old toddler in Cornwall.

Thomas Curd will be sentenced on Friday after killing Eve Leatherland in Liskeard in October 2017.

Eve’s mother Abigail Leatherland has been found guilty of causing or allowing the death of a child and acquitted of manslaughter.

She had moved to Cornwall from Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, earlier in 2017.

Image source, FACEBOOK

Nick Smith
BBC News Online

A man who fire a gun three times in a Leicester street has been found guilty of attempted murder.

Ahmed Hussein, 23, fired the gun at another man in York Street in the early hours of 8 July last year.

Image source, Google

Police said Hussein was spotted on CCTV at 02:10 walking towards a white BMW, the occupant of which had been involved in an earlier confrontation with the victim.

Hussein then walked up York Street and fired three times at the victim.

CCTV showed Hussein running away from the scene before leaving on a motorbike.

Nobody was injured in the shooting but witnesses said they were forced to hide behind a car.

Hussein, of no fixed address, was today found guilty of attempted murder, possession of a firearm and possession of ammunition without a certificate following a trial at Stafford Crown Court.

He will be sentenced on 3 April.

Press Association

Footballer Fernando Forestieri has been acquitted of racially aggravated harassment after a friendly against Mansfield Town ended in a brawl.

Image source, PA

The 29-year-old Sheffield Wednesday striker (pictured top) was accused of racially abusing the opposing team's captain Krystian Pearce in a pre-season friendly on July 24 last year.

The prosecution alleged this sparked a mass brawl.

The Argentinian, of Chambers Grove, Sheffield, strongly denied using the term and said Mr Pearce, who is a Barbados international, must have misheard him.

District Judge Jonathan Taffe ruled at Mansfield Magistrates Court that Mr Pearce may have been mistaken in what he heard as "it was very loud" at the ground.

Image source, PA

Sandish Shoker
BBC News

Police have confirmed a woman in her 50s has died after a house fire in Leicester yesterday afternoon.

The fire in Saffron Lane started shortly before 17:00 yesterday.

Image source, Google

Leicestershire Police said no-one else was injured and a cordon remains in place at the house while investigations into the cause of the fire continue.

Press Association

A footballer sparked a mass brawl after using a racist slur against a Mansfield Town player, a court has heard.

Sheffield Wednesday striker Fernando Forestieri, 29, allegedly abused Mansfield Town defender Krystian Pearce during a pre-season friendly in Mansfield on 24 July last year.

The prosecution at Mansfield Magistrates' Court claimed Mr Forestieri, who is Argentinian, was speaking mainly in Spanish but at one point used a racist English term.

Image source, PA

Mr Forestieri said he "swore on his son's life" he did not racially abuse the Barbados international, claiming he must have been mistaken.

Mr Forestieri, of Chambers Grove, Sheffield, denies racially aggravated harassment and using threatening words or behaviour.

The trial continues.

Sandish Shoker
BBC News

Work has started to repair Nottingham's Robin Hood statue after it was vandalised last year.

The bow and arrow, which has been broken off several times in the past, has been awaiting repair since it was last damaged in July.

Specialists will now spend today and tomorrow restoring Nottingham's famous outlaw and say the latest work should ensure a more permanent fix.

Hugh White from the city council said: "The Robin Hood statue is the main attraction for visitors coming to our city and with the castle closed at the moment, it's our major showpiece."

The statue was gifted to the city in 1952 by local businessman, Philip E F Clay.

David Pittam
BBC News Online

Police are searching for this 47-year-old after she went missing from Mansfield Woodhouse yesterday.

Teresa Dent is described as slim, 5ft 1 tall with blue eyes and auburn shoulder-length straight hair. Officers do not know what she is wearing.

Image source, Nottinghamshire Police

Nick Smith
BBC News Online

David Pittam
BBC News Online

A knife has been found under a climbing frame in a Nottinghamshire children's park.

It was discovered in the park in Mansfield Road in Eastwoood on Saturday and handed into the police.

Officers advise parents to report any similar findings.

Amy Woodfield
BBC News

Who knew gongs could be so therapeutic? Some people in Derby are experiencing a "gong bath" as a form of deep relaxation therapy.

Margit McIntosh experienced her first "gong bath" at a retreat to help her overcome depression.

She said: "I came out of the gong bath a different person. I was uplifted and in a state of bliss and stillness."

Image source, Margit McIntosh

She has since spent several years learning how to teach the therapy to others.

Despite being called a gong "bath" there's no water involved. The class is a bit like yoga but, instead of moving, you lay still with your eyes closed.

Ms McIntosh said the therapy works through vibrations from the gong helping to release tension in the body.

Nick Smith
BBC News Online

A broken rail is causing delays to trains heading south from Leicester.

Delays of 30-40 minutes are expected as trains are diverted through Oakham and Corby and East Midlands Trains services will not be stopping at Market Harborough as a result.

Network Rail staff are expected to be at the site by 13:30.

Tickets will be accepted on London North Eastern Railway, Virgin Trains and Cross Country Services.

Travel advice and information about alternative routes can be found on the East Midlands Trains website., external

Image source, PA

Richard Alderman was charged with sending menacing or grossly offensive messages about Theresa May.

Amy Woodfield
BBC News

Students in the Islamic Society at De Montfort University are holding a prayer to remember those killed in a shooting in New Zealand nearly two weeks ago.

Prayer begun in Hawthorn Square in Leicester a few minutes ago.

Nick Smith
BBC News Online

In the run-up to the hotly-anticipated fifth series of Line of Duty, Nottingham's Quartet statue has been mocked up as mysterious villain "Balaclava Man".

The BBC stunt is taking place in Nottingham, London and Leeds.

If people take a picture of the statue and post on social media using #balaclavamanisback, they will gain access to an exclusive 90-second clip of the show.

The show's Nottingham-born star Vicky McClure was taken aback by the stunt.

Nick Smith
BBC News Online

The A47 is blocked in both directions following a crash between a car and a lorry near Earl Shilton, which has left a person trapped.

Police were called to the junction of the A47 and Dan's Lane at 11:38 and say a person is trapped in the car and the fire and ambulance services have been called.

The person's injuries are not believed to be life-changing or life-threatening.

Image source, Google

Amy Woodfield
BBC News

A 129-year-old instrument to be used in a stage production of Captain Corelli's Mandolin next month has been lost on a train.

The mandolin is thought to have been misplaced earlier this week.

Image source, PA

Alex Mugnaioni, who plays Captain Antonio Corelli in the adaptation, believes it was "mistakenly picked up" and has appealed for its safe return.

The play will preview at the Leicester Curve between 13 and 20 April.

The show's producers have launched an appeal for the return of the mandolin, which they said is vital to the production.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

A disgraced Rutland councillor who made threatening posts about Theresa May on Facebook did not breach the council's code of conduct, an investigation has found.

Richard Alderman called for the Prime Minister to be hanged in six posts between April and July 2018.

Image source, PA

The report into it was made public this week and found Mr Alderman, who resigned in February this year, was not acting in an official capacity at the time, so he didn't break their rules.

But it did find it "would have been a serious breach" if he had been.

Last year Mr Alderman was given a community order and curfew after admitting sending menacing or grossly offensive messages.

Amy Woodfield
BBC News

A new Netflix series called Turn Up Charlie sees Idris Elba become a male nanny - a "manny".

It turns out a "manny" isn't so easy to find in the East Midlands.

Image source, Getty Images

BBC Radio Leicester failed to find any men registered as a nanny in Leicestershire - they did however find a man working at a nursery in Oadby.

Carl Taylor has been in childcare for 14 years and looks after toddlers at Gingerbread Nursery.

Image source, Google

Mr Taylor, a father of four, said the job feels normal to him but he has come across some parents that don't approve of him.

Nursery manager Shobbna Singh said having a man working for them has huge benefits - especially for children needing a male role model.

She said the government should be doing more to encourage men to take up childcare as a profession and that parents' attitudes need to change.

Nick Smith
BBC News Online

A teenager is due in court after being charged with a burgling a house in Nottingham.

The 19-year-old of Dulwich Road, Nottingham, was arrested on Tuesday following a report of a break-in at a home in Radford Road.

He is due to appear at Nottingham Magistrates' Court today.