Nottingham students are among the first in the UK to return to face-to-face classes since lockdown.

Samantha Noble
BBC News Online

There were long delays on the M1 in Leicestershire this morning due to a lorry fire.

Three of four lanes between junctions 21A and 21 southbound were closed near to Leicester Forest East Services and reopened just before 08:00.

Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service were at the scene as well as traffic officers.

Image source, Highways England

BBC Weather

One or two early morning showers are expected, and there is more of a north-westerly breeze with us today.

There will also be a fair bit of a cloud around, as well as a bit of brightness.

Graves of the men killed when a bomb detonated on 27 July 1940 will be the focus of the ceremony.

Andrew Jackson’s body was found on an allotment in Shirebrook, Derbyshire in January.

Samantha Noble
BBC News Online

Holidaymakers returning to the East Midlands from Spain said they are "frustrated" at the new restrictions meaning they have to quarantine for two weeks.

Peter Robinson (right), from Oakwood, Derby arrived back from Benidorm with his partner Paul Smith today.

Image source, Peter Robinson

He said having to quarantine was very frustrating, especially as it came "out of the blue" whereas with the face mask rule people had more than a week to prepare.

"We were hoping everything was going back to normal... but suddenly you come off holiday and have to stay in the house," he said.

Mr Robinson added he's supposed to be back at work tomorrow and cannot work from home so is waiting to hear whether he will have to take the next couple of weeks as annual leave.

Image source, Becca Samandi

Liz Samandi, 52, a business owner from Market Harborough, Leicestershire, is one of thousands of Brits currently on a family break in Spain and is due to return from Majorca on Thursday.

She told PA news agency: "I just feel a bit angry actually that they've done this and not considered the people that are already here.

"It's the blanket approach which I think is wrong, it should have been a more targeted area I think."

Junior health minister Helen Whately defended the quarantine imposed at the weekend.

Ms Whately told the BBC that after all the "sacrifices" made during the lockdown, the UK could not take the risk of going back to a situation of rising virus rates across the country.

The Lake District challenge saw her take on 42 fells and smash the woman's record by 50 minutes.

Sonia Kataria
BBC News

A woman says she is "thrilled" after two bronze Buddha statues which contained her father's ashes were returned to her after being stolen.

Police said the items were taken from a garden in Maplestead Avenue in Wilford, Nottingham, on 23 June.

The garden ornaments were handed into Radford Road police station on Saturday after being bought by a woman.

"She said she had been hassled by people to buy the ornaments on her way home," PC Chris Lee said.

"She gave them a fiver to get rid of them, but later her daughter showed her the force's Facebook post and she realised they were the ones.

"I spoke to the lady who had them and she'd lost her own father a year or so ago and was just as happy to be able to return them."

Image source, Nottinghamshire Police

The owner of the statues said she was "absolutely thrilled" to have the "very special" ornaments returned.

The 48-year-old, who did not want to be named, told police: "I'd like to thank the lady from the bottom of my heart. She wouldn't accept any money for her honesty, so I took her some flowers.

"I really miss my dad since his passing 14 years ago. They have huge sentimental value to me and my family.

"I certainly won't be leaving these items outside overnight again."

Image source, Nottinghamshire Police

PC Lee added the force was still appealing for information in tracing the man in the above CCTV image as he "might be able to help with our inquiries".

Anyone with any information is asked to contact the force on 101.

Damian Hall beats the previous record by more than three hours.

Police launched a murder inquiry following the death of the 32-year-old woman.

Before the lockdown, Henry Townsley would still take himself off to the local pub for a pint.

Amy Orton
Local Democracy Reporter

Leicester's seven-day infection rate has significantly dropped again – less than a week before a decision on the local lockdown is due.

It still has the second highest rate in the country, but it has seen a decrease in cases in the week before 24 July.

The city's rate has dropped from 77.7 per 100,000 people in the week before 17 July to 58.6.

The current rate is less than half of what it was when the lockdown was extended at the end of June, when the 135 cases per 100,000 people seven-day rate saw Health Secretary Matt Hancock put the city and some surrounding areas into a localised lockdown.

A total of 208 cases were confirmed in the week before 24 July, in comparison to 276 in the seven days up to 17 July.

In Leicestershire, which includes the locked-down Oadby and Wigston, the seven-day infection rate is 11 per 100,000 people, with 63 new cases identified in the week before 24 July.

Image source, Reuters

The figures come from the NHS Digital Progression dashboard which uses data collected from NHS 111 and Public Health England to calculate the seven-day interval infection rate.

The seven-day rate, rather than the cumulative figure, has been used when justifying decisions on the local lockdown and in discussions on progress made since extra restrictions were placed on the area.

The next review of Leicester's local lockdown must take place before this Saturday.

BBC Radio Leicester

The mother of an 11-year-old girl who uses a ventilator to breathe said shortages of equipment during the coronavirus pandemic has been a "massive worry".

Lidia Sherwood's daughter Maddison, from Loughborough, has spinal muscular atrophy and is dependent on a ventilator.

The family is being supported by the charity WellChild, who said the lives of more than 3,000 seriously ill children who rely on ventilators is potentially at risk due to supplies running "dangerously low" across the UK.

The charity said to address the shortage, some parents have been told to re-use equipment for sometimes twice as long than previously recommended, and called on the government to ring-fence future supplies to ensure families get what they need.

Image source, WellChild

Ms Sherwood said: "Not having the right supplies to look after her at home has been a massive worry for me and her dad.

"I don't feel confident being told to extend the use of these consumables when all this time we've been told to change them weekly."

Image source, WellChild

During the pandemic, Ms Sherwood said she felt like her family had been "forgotten" and that children like Maddison "don't matter".

She added: "Our biggest concern is if we do get a second wave and things aren't put in place now and it happens again.

"It's just not fair on all the families - it's life-threatening - if we don't get the supplies, children like Maddison will take up hospital beds again."

The Department of Health and Social Care said Covid-19 has "caused a significant increase in demand for clinical consumables and disrupted international supply chains".

"We have put in place a range of measures to address these challenges, including making it easier for clinicians to report shortages and identifying opportunities to open up new supply options and using additional brands," a spokesperson added.

PA Media

The Leicester North branch of Sainsbury's is trialling a virtual queuing system which will allow customers to wait their turn to enter the store from their car, a nearby cafe or home.

Customers will be able to join the line and monitor their position using a smartphone app, and will be notified when they reach the front.

This store is one of five nationwide to test the app from today.

Customers without smartphones can be added to the queue by staff.

Image source, Google

The supermarket chain said the initiative, which will run until mid-August, will also be piloted at the Uxbridge, Pimlico, Dome Roundabout in Watford, and Newham Royal Wharf stores.

The motorcyclist, a woman in her 40s, died at the scene of the crash in the Peak District.

Samantha Noble
BBC News Online

The house at Chatsworth has reopened its doors for the first time since lockdown.

The garden has been open since early June but Chatsworth House remained closed until today.

Image source, Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

All visits must be booked online and people will need to bring a face covering, as the exit is through a shop.

The route around the house is one-way and the guest bedrooms are still closed in order to ensure safe social distancing.

Other changes made to meet government guidelines include the installation new hand washing stations and portable toilets. Other toilet facilities are closed except for at the estate farm shop and Cavendish restaurant.

Acrylic screens have also been put up at the tills, and visitors are asked to use contactless cards to make any payments.

Samantha Noble
BBC News Online

Police have sent an elderly woman flowers after her late husband's wedding ring was "forcibly stolen" from her finger in Nottingham.

Nottinghamshire Police said the 82-year-old victim, who wants to remain anonymous, was walking in Charles Avenue in Radford at about 14:30 on 14 July when a woman approached her and said that it was her birthday.

The ring was then stolen from the victim's finger while she was distracted, police added.

The offender then handed the victim a package which later turned out to be full of stones, the force said, before putting a plastic chain around the victim's neck and then removing the woman's own St Christopher chain.

Police said the suspect also tried to take the victim's wedding ring from her other finger but was unsuccessful and ran off.

Image source, Nottinghamshire Police

After police were called, officers from the Radford response team sent the victim flowers, police autographs and a card, which made her "very emotional".

The suspect is described as being slim, in her 40s, and about 5ft 4in tall with long dark brown hair, a thin face and smooth skin.

She was wearing a brown top and a loose-fitting long skirt, both of which had multi-coloured spots over it, and a lighter brown open cardigan.

Insp Paul Hennessy said it was "a horrible incident where the offender has really preyed on the vulnerability and kindness of an elderly lady" and urged anyone with information to get in touch.

BBC Radio Derby

A pub has had to close its dining area after a car crashed into a wall on the building.

Spencer Slater, who runs the White Lion at Starkholmes near Matlock with his husband Chris Linley, said the collision happened on Friday evening when the pub was busy with people drinking outside.

Police said the 80-year-old driver was taken to hospital as a precaution and they are not investigating.

Mr Slater said: "He shot forward and demolished a neighbour's wall and then reversed straight back into the pub. We don't really know what happened," he said.

"It hit the pub not the garden area, otherwise it would have been a very different story."

Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service said they were called to the scene at 19:47 and helped to stabilise the building.

Image source, White Lion

Mr Slater said: "We have lost half the pub straight away – it's basically our dining end. We are left with the bar end.

"Unless the weather is good and people can go outside, there is not enough area to make it viable."

He said a building surveyor was happy the wall won't fall down, but the damaged section will need rebuilding, which could take months.

Image source, White Lion

Liam Barnes
BBC News

A senior police officer has praised emergency workers after a spate of attacks.

Nottinghamshire Police said several officers suffered injuries in the line of duty on Sunday, with six officers "physically assaulted" and two police cars damaged in Langold, while one man in Newark allegedly coughed in the face of an officer claiming to have coronavirus.

Assistant chief constable Steve Cooper said the number of incidents was "unusual" for one night, but said it is not uncommon for officers to "come under attack in this way".

Image source, AFP

The VC10 is said to be the last "live" aircraft linked to the British Overseas Airways Corporation.