BBC Politics

Adults without A-levels will be able to attend "boot camps" to boost their skills, the government has said, with Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire among the areas where £8m of funding will be provided to create centres for specialist training in areas such as construction and engineering.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to unveil plans to help people find work in response to the coronavirus pandemic's impact on the jobs market today.

Image source, Getty Images

Greig Watson
Reporter, BBC News Online

A man has been charged over an attack on a taxi driver in Nottinghamshire.

The driver was allegedly put in a headlock, punched, had his phone stolen and keys broken in New Eaton Road, Stapleford, by two men he picked up on Saturday night.

Image source, Google

A 28-year-old man appeared at Nottingham Magistrates' Court on Monday charged with robbery and criminal damage and will appear at the city's crown court in October.

Police said they were carrying out extensive inquiries to locate a second suspect.

Gavin Bevis
BBC News

Rebekah Vardy is the latest celebrity to be announced for the new series of Dancing On Ice.

The 38-year-old wife of Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy will join singers Myleene Klass and Jason Donovan, Olympian Colin Jackson, TV presenter Denise Van Outen and Coronation Street's Faye Brookes on the ITV show.

Vardy - currently involved in a legal dispute with Coleen Rooney over allegations of story leaking - has previously appeared on I'm a A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! and Loose Women.

Dancing On Ice is due to air early next year, presented by Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby.

BBC Weather Watchers

Cloud and any early showers will clear away to leave it largely fine and dry with plenty of sunshine for most under the influence of high pressure overhead.

Today's Weather Watchers photo is by TwoWei and shows autumn clouds over Retford in Nottinghamshire.

Image source, TwoWei

The suspected human remains could be linked to the murder of Kevin Kennedy in 2012, police say.

Jason Mercer and Alexandru Murgeanu died after a three-vehicle collision on the M1 near Sheffield.

Amy Orton
Local Democracy Reporter

Health bosses want to know what people living in Leicestershire think about plans for the future of their hospitals, including making one of the three sites a community healthcare facility for non-urgent services.

Today marks the start of a 12-week consultation period and a massive campaign to find out people's views.

It comes a year after £450m was secured to transform Leicester's hospitals.

The plans outline changes to the way Leicester Royal Infirmary, Glenfield Hospital and Leicester General Hospital are run as well as the midwifery-led unit at St Mary's Hospital in Melton Mowbray.

Warning: Video may include third-party content.

The planned flagship projects are a standalone children's hospital and a dedicated maternity hospital.

The Leicester General Hospital site will become home to a number of services as a "community healthcare campus".

Andrew Furlong, from the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, said: "These proposals will help us to offer the highest quality, state-of-the art healthcare services that patients deserve, fit for future generations."

Work has already started on the LRI site - the Kensington building is being renovated to make space for the East Midlands Congenital Heart Centre, which will move there next April.

A new intensive care unit has recently opened at the Glenfield after extensive building work.

The overall transformation will take between five and seven years, according to Mr Furlong.

Amy Woodfield
BBC News

A student has been suspended from Loughborough University after "offensive remarks of a racist nature" were made on social media.

The university said the comments were "completely unacceptable" and that a full investigation was under way.

Image source, Google

It also said those directly affected have been offered support.

On Twitter the university posted: "Loughborough is committed to being a welcoming, plural and diverse community and racism has no place here."

Amy Woodfield
BBC News

A 36-year-old man has been arrested after police found 150 cannabis plants in Leicester.

Officers searched a property in Lyme Road earlier.

Image source, Leicestershire Police

A man was arrested on suspicion of being concerned in the supply of a controlled drug and remains in police custody.

Amy Woodfield
BBC News

A man has been charged after a woman reported being spat at in a Nottingham street before another woman had her face mask pulled off.

Nottinghamshire Police said they responded to reports that a man spat in a woman's face and mouth on Parliament Street just after 16:00 yesterday.

Image source, Science Photo Library

Minutes later a woman said a man matching the same description had ripped off her face mask on Broad Street.

Officers were told the suspect dropped a passport, which led them to an address in Mapperley Park where an arrest was made.

A 24-year-old man has been charged with two counts of assault and is due to appear before Nottingham magistrates on Tuesday.

Joseph Bell was having a driving lesson when his car stopped over a traffic line.

A lorry driver has admitted causing the deaths of two men in a collision on a stretch of smart motorway near Sheffield.

Image source, South Yorkshire Police

Alexandru Murgeanu, 22, and Jason Mercer, 44, from Rotherham, died when a lorry crashed into their vehicles on the M1 near Sheffield on 7 June 2019.

Prezemyslaw Zbigniew Szuba, 40, admitted two counts of causing death by driving without due care and attention when he appeared at Sheffield Magistrates' Court.

He is due be sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court on 19 October.

Mr Mercer's wife, Claire, has mounted a campaign against smart motorways and the case has become a leading example in the ongoing debate over the safety of these roads in the UK.

The court heard how Mr Mercer, and Mr Murgeanu, from Mansfield, were involved in a "minor bump" on the northbound carriageway of the M1 near Sheffield, between junctions 34 and 35, and had stopped in the left-hand lane.

Gavin Bevis
BBC News

Nottinghamshire Police said no fines or fixed penalty notices were given out during the first weekend of the new 22:00 curfew for pubs, bars and restaurants.

The force said it had encountered no issues on Friday and Saturday night, external, with all licensed venues visited by officers found to be complying with Covid-19 laws.

Footage shared online over the weekend showed crowds continuing to enjoy nights out in Nottingham city centre, with varying degrees of social distancing observed.

Ch Insp Kathryn Craner said: "I want to thank the people of Nottingham and Nottinghamshire who abided by the rules, behaved responsibly and sensibly and worked with us to help prevent the spread of Covid-19 to keep everyone safe."

Dave Wade
BBC News

The M1 southbound has reopened after a crash earlier.

All three lanes between junctions 22 and 23 in Leicestershire were closed while highways officers worked to make the scene safe.

Congestion had been back as far as junction 23, Highways England said.

Image source, Highways England

The RSPCA has compared the injuries to those found on dogs used for illegal badger baiting and digging.

Drivers heading to and from Sheffield are being warned to expect a two-week road closure on a popular route near the city next month.

Image source, PA Media

The A57 Snake Pass, between Glossop and Bamford, is to be closed for repairs following landslips, Derbyshire County Council said.

The work is due to take place between 12 October and 25 October, the council added.

Drivers using the road, which connects Sheffield with Manchester, are being advised to use alternative routes during the work.

Greig Watson
Reporter, BBC News Online

A rare watch once owned by a miner could fetch over £200,000 when it goes up for auction.

The Rolex Submariner 5512 was bought by its original owner - a medical attendant at the former Shirebrook Colliery in Mansfield - for about £70 to celebrate his 40th birthday in 1964.

Image source, Gardiner Houlgate

Auctioneers at Wiltshire-based Gardiner Houlgate said it had an "exceptionally rare 3-6-9 dial" which was produced only briefly and often replaced.

A similar Rolex sold in 2016 went for £192,000, they added.

The original owner's family, who still live in the Nottinghamshire area, said they were "in a state of disbelief" over the valuation.

The Rolex will be auctioned on 21 October.

Aiden King-Eeson was overtaking at twice the speed limit when he hit a taxi in the opposite lane.

Dave Wade
BBC News

Traffic has been held on the southbound carriageway of the M1 after a crash in Leicestershire.

Traffic officers are on the scene between junction 23 for Loughborough and junction 22 for Leicester and Coalville.

Image source, Highways England

Highways England said traffic is building on the approach.

Amy Woodfield
BBC News

A 20-year-old man is in a critical condition in hospital after he was assaulted during a party in Witherley.

Leicestershire Police were called to a property on Hunt Lane at 23:15 on Friday where they found the man with "serious head injuries".

Image source, Google

Two men, aged 21 and 18, were arrested in connection with the incident on Sunday and remain in custody.

A 17-year-old boy, who was arrested at the time, has since been released with no further action.

Police have appealed for witnesses.