Kevin Stanley
Reporter, BBC Radio Nottingham

Highways England has invested more than £125m upgrading a section of the M1 to a smart motorway.

It allows variable speed limits to be used on the section between Junctions 23a and Junction 25, which helps to adjust the flow of traffic to ease congestion.

Sensors by the side of the road work out when vehicles are slowing down, and signs above the carriageway change the mandatory speed limits accordingly.

Highways England monitors motorways and trunk roads from a series of regional control centres. Its operators can trigger various aspects of the smart motorway, including “Red X” instructions, which close one or more lanes at a time.

East Midlands Today

Funding for the phase of HS2 which is due to cut through parts of the East Midlands could be at risk.

The House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee said it believed the costs were out of control - and if it were to overrun on the first phase of the project, there could be insufficient funding for the rest of it.

The current plans would see a hub station built at Toton as part of the project's second phase. The committee's now calling for a major rethink on the high speed line.

Image source, HS2

The government said it "fundamentally disagreed" with the report.

East Midlands Today

Derby County are going to Wembley and are one win away from the Premier League.

There were incredible scenes at Elland Road last night as the Rams pulled off an amazing comeback against Leeds.

They were two goals down over the two legs- but came back to win 4-2 on the night and 4-3 on aggregate. Derby will now face Aston Villa on Bank Holiday Monday for a place in the top division.

Image source, Reuters

David Pittam
BBC News Online

Good morning, it's myself, Gavin Bevis and Amy Woodfield today, bringing you the latest news, sport and travel from across the region.