Latest updates: East Midlands Live Thursday 21 February

Summary

Updates for Thursday 21 February
Derby Labour councillor quits party
Call for Broxtowe by-election
Derbyshire council spent £218k on award ceremonies
Debris closes M1 overnight
Train delays between the East Midlands and London

Live Reporting

Nick Smith, Gavin Bevis and Amy Woodfield

More Labour councillors thinking about exitpublished at 08:10 Greenwich Mean Time 22 February 2019
Chris Doidge
BBC Radio Derby, political reporter
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Tory chairman: No chance of Alan Duncan defectionpublished at 08:08 Greenwich Mean Time 22 February 2019
Tim Parker
BBC Radio Leicester reporter
Resignations of MPs and councillors seem to be cropping up all over the place but one person who's not worried is Rutland and Melton Conservative Association chairman, Byron Rhodes.
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Weather: Misty start gives way to sunny afternoonpublished at 08:08 Greenwich Mean Time 22 February 2019
Alex Hamilton
BBC Weather
We can expect another unseasonably mild day across the East Midlands today, as warm air continues to rise from the south.
There will be a misty start but that will change meaning lots of sunshine in the afternoon once again.
Here's Alex with the weather.
Latest updates: East Midlands Livepublished at 08:02 Greenwich Mean Time 22 February 2019
The latest news, sport, travel and weather for the East Midlands.
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Our live coverage across the daypublished at 17:59 Greenwich Mean Time 21 February 2019
The East Midlands Live page has now finished for the day however some posts linking to BBC articles may continue to appear.
Full live coverage will continue at 08:00 on Friday.
M1 lane closure as crane blows tyrepublished at 17:57 Greenwich Mean Time 21 February 2019
Amy Woodfield
BBC News
Oh dear - this might affect your journey if you're heading north this evening.
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Weather: Foggy start to Fridaypublished at 17:50 Greenwich Mean Time 21 February 2019
Alex Hamilton
BBC Weather
Tonight will start off dry with mainly clear skies, although mist and fog is likely to develop and could be dense in places. It should remain dry through.
The mist and fog will be slow to clear on Friday but it when it does it will become a fine and bright day with plenty of hazy sunshine.
It'll feel mild again with gentle southerly winds.
Council tax on the up across Leicestershirepublished at 17:33 Greenwich Mean Time 21 February 2019
East Midlands Today
Council tax increases have been given the go-ahead in Leicester and Leicestershire.
The county council approved an increase of just under 4% yesterday, while the city council voted for a rise of just under 3%.
Leicestershire said its increase will allow an additional £94m to be spent on services including special educational needs and disability support.
Chris Leslie - 'Labour will make me pay'published at 17:01 Greenwich Mean Time 21 February 2019
BBC Radio Nottingham
The Nottingham East MP, who left Labour on Monday, said he could not see himself returning to the party.
Image source, AFP/Getty Images
Chris Leslie told Radio Nottingham he left because of more than just Jeremy Corbyn, pointing to the team around him and the influence of Momentum.
"[Leaving] may be at a cost, I am sure Labour will make me pay a heavy price but at least I can say I did my best for the country," the now independent MP added.
He added his constituents have taken the news of his defection "surprisingly well" and had a lot of questions.
Cannabis growing equipment given to collegepublished at 16:51 Greenwich Mean Time 21 February 2019
Amy Woodfield
BBC News
Police have given some seized equipment used to grow cannabis to a college in Melton Mowbray.
Image source, Leicestershire Police
Items like fans, a growing tent, heat lamps, bulbs, growing medium and transformers have been donated to the horticultural team at Brooksby Melton College.
They'll be used to teach students how to grow vegetables and plants in regulated and variable conditions.
Car window smashed to retrieve childpublished at 16:26 Greenwich Mean Time 21 February 2019
David Pittam
BBC News Online
Police smashed their way in to a car to retrieve a child after they were called by a member of the public.
Officers said the child, who was checked by paramedics, turned out to be "completely fine".
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It happened in Bulwell, Nottingham, earlier.
Appeal after man punched and kicked by grouppublished at 16:20 Greenwich Mean Time 21 February 2019
Amy Woodfield
BBC News
Police investigating an assault in Ashby-de-la-Zouch are appealing to speak to the four people seen in these pictures.
Image source, Leicestershire Police
A 35-year-old man was punched and kicked by a number of people in Market Street at about 01:00 on Saturday 26 January.
The victim suffered a number of injuries and received some hospital treatment.
Nottingham man missing for a weekpublished at 15:57 Greenwich Mean Time 21 February 2019
Amy Woodfield
BBC News
Police looking for a missing Nottingham man have said no-one has heard from him for a week.
Image source, Nottinghamshire Police
Michael Perry's last known contact was on his mobile phone in the Pride Park area of Derby on 14 February. He had been reported missing from the Strelley area the previous morning.
Nottinghamshire Police have said concern is increasing for his safety and they would like to hear from anyone with information on his whereabouts.
Victorian warehouse development approvedpublished at 15:55 Greenwich Mean Time 21 February 2019
BBC Radio Nottingham
Plans for 150 new apartments on the site of a derelict Victorian warehouse in Nottingham have been approved by councillors.
Image source, Google
Planning bosses praised the design for the new building, between the London Road Fire Station and the Hicking Building.
A gym and car park will also be built on site. It's hoped construction will start in late spring and finish in June next year.
Sex offender jailed after trying to cover trackspublished at 15:52 Greenwich Mean Time 21 February 2019
David Pittam
BBC News Online
A "manipulative and controlling" sex offender faked witness statements in a bid to get officers to drop a case against him.
Scott Simpson, 27, breached a sexual offences order by having unsupervised contact with a seven-year-old girl, police said.
He sent an email to officers containing falsified witness accounts and asked a friend to submit a statement he had actually written, all in an attempt to get the case dropped.
Image source, Nottinghamshire Police
Simpson pleaded guilty to two charges of attempting to pervert the course of justice, one breach of a sexual harm order and one breach of a restraining order.
He was sentenced at Nottingham Crown Court to three years and two months.
Teen pleads guilty after bus hits housepublished at 15:47 Greenwich Mean Time 21 February 2019
Some of the 15 people on the bus were injured in the late-night crash.
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Fears HS2 could fail to reach Midlandspublished at 15:43 Greenwich Mean Time 21 February 2019
Kit Sandeman
Local Democracy Reporter
The multi-billion pound HS2 rail line may never get to Nottinghamshire, the leader of Nottingham City Council has warned.
The current plan is for the line from London and Birmingham to stop at Toton, before heading further north to Sheffield and Leeds.
Image source, Nottinghamshire County Council
But there are concerns the plans could run well over budget, and recent high-profile reports have suggested senior government figures think the scheme past Birmingham should be scrapped altogether.
The piece of law required for the Notts part of the HS2 line was delayed by a year in 2018, and is now expected in 2020.
HS2 bosses have insisted the whole scheme will go ahead, and the transport secretary Chris Grayling said scrapping the scheme past Birmingham would be a 'betrayal' of the North and Midlands.
Man jailed for Christmas burglarypublished at 15:31 Greenwich Mean Time 21 February 2019
Nick Smith
BBC News Online
A burglar who broke into a flat above a city centre pub over Christmas has been jailed for two years and four months.
Image source, Nottinghamshire Police
Police say Adrian Perry smashed a window to get into the flat above The Dragon in Long Row, Nottingham, between 22:00 on Christmas Eve and 15:30 on Christmas Day, while the occupants were out.
Blood samples found at the flat by police were a DNA match for Perry, 50, and on searching his Sandon Street home, they found a Guernsey bank note which was confirmed by the victim to be one of the notes stolen from their flat.
Perry pleaded guilty to burglary at Nottingham Crown Court.
Boss pays tribute to fundraising firefighterpublished at 14:56 Greenwich Mean Time 21 February 2019
Amy Woodfield
BBC News
Nottinghamshire's chief fire officer has paid tribute to a firefighter and mother-of-five who died of breast cancer earlier this week.
Karen Land found out she had the illness shortly after joining Retford Fire Station as an on-call firefighter in 2017.
Her mother, Susan Harvey, wrote a Facebook post on Tuesday to share news her daughter had "lost her fight with cancer".
Image source, Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service
John Buckley, of Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service (NFRS), said: "I know that Karen was very proud to have completed her training for her dream job as an on-call firefighter and we are proud to call her one of our own.
"My thoughts are very much with Karen’s family, friends and colleagues at what is an incredibly sad time for NFRS."
Woman in serious condition after A46 crashpublished at 14:52 Greenwich Mean Time 21 February 2019
Nick Smith
BBC News Online
A woman in her 70s is in a serious condition in hospital after her car left the road on the A46 last night.
Leicestershire Police were called at 23:50 to reports of a car seen on the side of the A46 southbound, close to the Beaumont Leys/Anstey exit.
Officers have appealed for witnesses.
Image source, Google