Daniel Walsh put body parts into a sett in the hope they would be eaten by badgers, the judge said.

Rob Sissons
East Midlands Today Reporter

The new strain of Covid-19 is one of the main concerns for health bosses across the East Midlands.

Across Nottingham, Derby and Leicester the infection rate is rising and sadly the death rate is up.

In the period between Christmas and New Year, 13% of positive tests showed hallmarks of this new more infectious strain.

January and February are always busy months for hospitals as they deal with the impact winter has on our health.

Their concern right now is what household mixing on Christmas Day might have on the infection rate as it can take up to seven days from infection to hospitalisation.

Image source, PA Media

All the stock of the Pfizer vaccine is being used up at our main hospitals. The Oxford vaccine came on stream today, but not in the East Midlands.

That will not happen until the middle of this week at the earliest.

It will go to hospitals with staff members as well as patients receiving it.

Crucially it will go to the wider community via GPs and there are plans for bigger vaccination centres as well later this month.

Samantha Noble
BBC News Online

A yellow weather warning for ice has been issued for the majority of the East Midlands.

The only areas in the region not affected, external include parts of Leicestershire, like Earl Shilton and Lutterworth, and Swadlincote in Derbyshire.

The Met Office said it will be in place from 16:00 today until 11:00 tomorrow and warned that icy stretches were likely to cause difficult travel conditions.

Image source, moss master

Amy Woodfield
BBC News

A man has been charged in connection with a flat fire and stabbing in Leicester.

Police were approached by a man with stab wounds on Eldon Street in St Matthews at about 03:00 on Sunday.

Officers investigating the assault went to an address in Ottawa Road where they discovered a flat on fire.

A man was rescued from inside and a number of flats in the same block were evacuated while the fire was put out by firefighters.

Police said the rescued man was uninjured but three officers were treated in hospital as a precaution for smoke inhalation.

Image source, Google

The man with stab wounds remains in a stable condition in hospital.

A 26-year-old man from Leicester has been charged with attempted wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, arson with intent to endanger life and arson with recklessness as to whether life was endangered.

He is due to appear before Leicester magistrates later.

A 40-year-old man was also arrested but has now been released with no further action.

Amy Woodfield
BBC News

A third hospital ward is being opened for patients with coronavirus in Chesterfield.

Chesterfield Royal Hospital currently has 115 patients with confirmed cases of the virus - 16 of which are in intensive care.

The Trust said it had escalated its response by opening a third ward for Covid-19 care and would expand its critical care capacity if needed after an increase in patient numbers.

Image source, Chesterfield Royal Hospital

It warns these measures could impact routine operations.

The Trust said: "This is an incredibly challenging time. We still have bed capacity in the hospital, but continue to urge everyone to continue to think about using our services wisely.

"Clearly this new strain of Covid-19 is spreading quickly and impacting hospitals across the UK. Your help and support to try and prevent the spread is absolutely appreciated."

Police said the boy was attacked in his bedroom by two masked men.

BBC Weather Watchers

Another chilly day starts off the week and a northeasterly breeze will provide additional wind chill.

It will also be cloudy this morning, with a few scattered showers. The clouds will be patchy in places and if you're lucky enough there might be some bright spells when the cloud breaks.

A yellow warning of ice has been issued for most parts of the region, so take care on icy surfaces. Icy patches may also cause some tricky travel conditions.

Weather Watcher Ben has captured a crow reflecting in an icy pond in Arboretum, Nottingham.

Image source, Ben

Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers says his side can "disrupt the hierarchy" in one of the tightest title races in Premier League history.

Fine goals from James Maddison and Youri Tielemans see off Newcastle and move Leicester to third in the Premier League.

Jordan Bowery scores a hat-trick as Mansfield end a 10-game home winless run with a 4-0 League Two thrashing of Port Vale.

Lewis Grabban ends Preston's three-game winning run and earns Nottingham Forest a sixth Championship victory this season.