Samantha Noble
BBC News Online

A dog which was taken from a farm has been returned to its owner after police pursued the suspects through three counties.

Lupin the springer spaniel was stolen from the Hallaton area of Leicestershire at about 22:15 GMT on Wednesday.

Police said the suspects were traced in a vehicle but failed to stop for a Lincolnshire firearms unit.

They were pursued and the vehicle was followed through Newark before being abandoned in Besthorpe, Nottinghamshire.

The stolen dog was found nearby unharmed and a thorough search of the area was carried out but the offenders were not located, said Nottinghamshire Police.

Image source, Nottinghamshire Police

Ch Spt Rob Griffin, from Nottinghamshire Police, said: "We're taking dog thefts extremely seriously, especially at this current time when there appears to have been a rise in these crimes nationally.

"I'm glad the dog was unharmed and that we were able to return him safely to his owner within two hours of being stolen."

Leicestershire Police is investigating the theft.

Image source, Lincolnshire Police

Greig Watson
Reporter, BBC News Online

North West Leicestershire now has England's highest coronavirus infection rate, the latest figures show.

The area's rate in the seven days up to 28 February was 197.9 per 100,000, according to Public Health England data.

Image source, PA Media

And while the figure has fallen, it was only by 2% - when many other places saw falls of more than 20%.

Leicester is still third with a rate of 188.0 and Ashfield is seventh with a rate of 169.6.

Other areas in the region with high rates are: Mansfield in eighth (164.7), South Derbyshire in ninth (164.1) and the borough of Oadby and Wigston in 14th (164.9).

Overall, seven of the top 20 locations are in Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Leicestershire.

The East Midlands has the highest rate (122.8) of any region in England, which has a national average of 81.3.

Samantha Noble
BBC News Online

A glimpse of the Northern Lights has been seen through a camera phone's lens by a woman in Leicestershire.

Dr Erin Dooley, who works in the University of Bristol's engineering department and is passionate about space, said the Aurora Borealis can sometimes be seen through a phone's lens but not with the human eye.

She said this was because newer phones have very sensitive light detectors and sensors, and by holding your phone's camera at the sky at the right time, you may see the light display.

Dr Dooley said "it's very hard to predict when they'll happen" but on 1 March there was a solar storm and following this there is still "activity", meaning the Northern Lights can be seen further south than usual, and this may continue until the weekend.

She captured greenish and orange glows on Tuesday evening near her home in Market Harborough after being alerted about solar activity by an app.

The app told her the lights might be visible to the naked eye in Scotland and the north of England but that it would also be possible to see them through a camera phone lens here in the Midlands.

Image source, Dr Erin Dooley

She said: "Then there was a period for about an hour that the sky was a little bit greenish, a little bit bright, but as soon as you hold your smartphone up with the detectors and sensors, the colours come alive.

"I captured a weird green glow, an orange glow that after about half an hour the activity settled down.

"So it wasn't that experience of being in Iceland or on the beach in Norway with the undulating colours you can see with the naked eye but I do feel for citizen scientists and kids, if there is a chance they too can capture a little bit of magic, that would be fantastic," she said.

Image source, Dr Erin Dooley

Eddie Bisknell
Local Democracy Reporter

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has criticised Chancellor Rishi Sunak over long-term investment in businesses during a visit to Derby.

Mr Starmer was touring train manufacturer Alstom and said Wednesday's Budget had "papered over the cracks" instead of making more fundamental changes.

Image source, Labour Party

"What they want to see is long-term sustainable investment and that is what the country is crying out for and what was missing from the Budget," he said.

"What they [Alstom] are concerned about is being successful in the future.

"They are confident about their own future but what they need is long-term investment and sustainability, not stop-start investment, not stop-start production."

The Treasury has been approached for comment.

Amy Woodfield
BBC News

Hundreds of trees have been damaged and ripped up in a series of vandalism and thefts in Loughborough.

The 560 trees, donated by a conservation charity, were planted at Charnwood Water last year.

Image source, Charnwood Borough Council

Charnwood Borough Council said most of the trees had gone to waste but about 200 have been saved and will now be replanted at different locations.

Image source, Charnwood Borough Council

Councillor Jenny Bokor, from the authority, said: “This is incredibly disappointing.

“Regardless of whether people agree with the trees being there or not, there is no justification for this mindless vandalism."

Errol Graham was found dead in his flat eight months after his benefits were withdrawn.

Pakistan's Mohammad Abbas will not join Notts this season as planned, but the club hope to re-sign him in the future.

Gavin Bevis
BBC News

A team of engineers from Loughborough University have designed and built a low-cost, non-electric ventilator, external in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The ShiVent system was created to allow non-specialised workers to treat patients with coronavirus.

The team said it can be produced at a fraction of the cost of a standard ventilator, it uses less oxygen and requires about 30 minutes of training.

Image source, RAEng/HollisPhotographyUK

Following tests at Leicester Royal Infirmary and Glenfield Hospital, the system is due to be shipped out to Lagos in Nigeria next month.

Ventilators are also due to be delivered to Pune in India at a later date and opportunities to ship it to South America are being explored.

Team member Yusuf Bilesanmi said: "ShiVent is designed for under-resourced areas where mechanical ventilators are scarce and expensive, with unreliable electricity supply and limited specialist knowledge.

"Nigeria has as few as 288 mechanical ventilators serving almost 200m people."

Sandish Shoker
BBC News

A furloughed bartender and a student nurse are celebrating a big lottery win after what has been a challenging year.

Jonny and Heather Wright, from Quorn, Leicestershire, won £100,000 on a scratchcard.

The 40-year-olds said they were looking forward to taking their two children on their first holiday abroad when travel allows, but were first spending some of the winnings on new carpets for their house.

Image source, National Lottery

"Add in periods of home-schooling and 2020 hadn’t been kind," said Mr Wright. "However, this is a great gift as we hopefully start to come out of lockdown.

“I’m really looking forward to going back to work and our children will be back with their friends at school very soon - things are definitely looking up.

"To win now, after what has happened, just feels great, especially for the kids.”

Theatre practitioner Lloyd Balatongan penned the ditty to encourage more people to get their jabs.

Amy Woodfield
BBC News

A 25-year-old man has been charged with five counts of assaulting emergency workers at an illegal music event in Rutland.

Image source, Leicestershire Police

Leicestershire Police said the event took place at a field in Pickworth on 19 July with about 300 people in attendance.

None of the officers involved were injured, the force added.

The man, from King's Lynn, Norfolk, has also been charged with criminal damage, failing to leave land used in a rave and using threatening or abusive or insulting words or behaviour with intent to cause fear of or provoke unlawful violence.

He is due to appear at Leicester Magistrates’ Court on Friday.

Amy Woodfield
BBC News

Police handed out £200 fines to 35 people at "large gatherings" in Leicester over the weekend.

Image source, Leicestershire Police

A force spokesperson said between 00:15 and 02:50 on Saturday, officers received calls from members of the public reporting the gatherings at properties on Tudor Road, Dover Street and Marquis Street.

The fines - totalling £7,000 - were issued for breaches of Covid regulations.

Aldershot Town's next two National League matches are postponed after positive Covid-19 tests.

Four people are arrested and 10 fined for Covid breaches after police break up an illegal gathering.

Seven police officers were injured while dispersing an "unacceptable" house party in Nottingham.

Liam Barnes
BBC News

Police are asking the public for their help after a veteran's military medals were stolen during a burglary in Selston.

Nottinghamshire Police said officers were called after a reported break-in at a property on Church Lane between 04:30 and 06:30 on 9 December last year.

The South Atlantic Medal, which is awarded to veterans of the Falklands War, was among a number of items stolen, along with 24 Falklands War coins.

Image source, Nottinghamshire Police

Sandish Shoker
BBC News

A man who sexually assaulted a woman and then harassed her with hundreds of phone calls and messages has been jailed.

Wayne Lewis, 48, appeared at Leicester Crown Court on Monday after pleading guilty to sexual assault and a charge of continuously engaging in behaviour which was controlling or coercive.

Leicestershire Police said Lewis, of Perth Avenue, Leicester, sexually assaulted the woman, then over six days, he sent her more than 100 messages, made 30 phone calls and secretly filmed her through a window at her home.

The force said a month later, he made a further 200 calls and sent several messages to the woman on social media over a two-week period.

Image source, Leicestershire Police

Lewis was ordered to serve five years and two months in prison, and told after that, he will serve four years and 10 months on extended licence.

He was also issued with a 10-year restraining order in relation to the victim and made subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Investigator Emma Bailey said Lewis had "caused a lot of fear and distress" to his victim.

She added: "My thanks go to the victim for her bravery and co-operation during this investigation which helped us to bring this case to court and I hope this does now allow her to continue moving forward in her life."

Gavin Bevis
BBC News

North West Leicestershire has England's second highest coronavirus infection rate, latest figures show.

The area's rate in the week up to 27 February was 205.6, according to Public Health England data.

Leicester is third with a rate of 197.1 and Ashfield is sixth with a rate of 181.4.

Further down, Mansfield is 12th (168.3), Gedling 15th (162), the borough of Oadby and Wigston is 18th (159.6), and Nottingham is 20th (157.7).

Overall, seven of the top 20 locations are in Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire, but all saw drops in their infection rate as national lockdown measures continue.

Image source, PA Media

The England average for the same weekly period was 86.3.

BBC Weather Watchers

The clouds aren't likely to shift today, but there'll be a slight breeze and top temperatures of about 7C.

Today's BBC Weather Watchers picture comes via Helen Earth in Cropwell Bishop.

Image source, Helen Earth

The man went into the home for two weeks of respite care, but was left there for five months.