Amy Woodfield
BBC News

Turkey might be on the menu this festive season, but if your plans also involve travelling by plane, you're being asked to leave the cooked meat at home.

East Midlands Airport said it has been known for passengers to check in a cooked turkey so they can have a traditional Christmas dinner when they arrive at their holiday destination.

Image source, Getty Images

A statement from the airport said: "Airport bosses advise against it, especially if the turkey travels in the belly-hold of a plane which is not compatible with a pleasant culinary experience."

Passengers are also being told to check with their airline before packing Christmas crackers and to leave gifts unwrapped if they're carried in hand luggage.

Neil Heath
BBC News Online

A prisoner who was jailed for robbery and aggravated burglary has absconded from HMP Sudbury in Derbyshire.

Police said Daniel Russell, 28, from Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset, left the open prison on Wednesday.

He is described as having hazel-coloured eyes and brown hair, and has the word "Dan" tattooed on his left arm and a scar on his lower left forearm.

He has links to Cardiff, Watford, the West Midlands and Staffordshire.

The force said the public should not approach Russell, who was convicted at Bristol Crown Court in October 2014 and sentenced to 13 years and 10 months.

Image source, Derbyshire Police

Highways England

Two lanes of the M1 are currently closed between junction 29A and 30 on the southbound carriageway after a crash and a spillage involving a lorry.

Traffic is reported to be heavy, and motorists are advised to allow extra time if using the road.

Image source, Highways England

Image source, Highways England

The baby boy died two days after being airlifted to hospital with head injuries.

BBC Radio 4

The newly-elected MP for Leicester East has defended her comments saying the Labour party had "cause to celebrate" last week's general election, in which they won their lowest number of seats since 1935.

Claudia Webbe, an ally of leader Jeremy Corbyn, told the Today programme that while the result was "a big blow", the "huge increase" in the number of women in Parliament and greater diversity represented progress.

She also claimed policies from the Labour manifesto were "popular" with the public and "met the needs of the kinds of inequality and poverty we were facing".

Image source, PA Media

Amy Woodfield
BBC News

Plans are in place to bring a 27ft anti-knife crime statue, which has been touring the UK, to Leicester next year.

The so-called Knife Angel is made of 100,000 knives which were either confiscated or surrendered to police.

The National Monument against Violence and Aggression, as it's officially named, visited Derby in October but was snubbed by Nottingham.

Leicester Cathedral has said it wants the statue to be positioned there in May 2020.

It said it is working with the city council, Leicester City FC and the police but needs more help.

The Very Rev David Monteith, Dean of Leicester, said: “We really want this to happen but we need to appeal for help to make this possible. Other cities have done it, I’m sure we can too.”

There is no hire charge but there are other costs associated with bringing it to the city - for example it would be Leicester’s responsibility to transport it to the next host city.

Leicestershire Police's Chief Constable Simon Cole tweeted earlier asking for help to bring the statue to the city.

Gavin Bevis
BBC News

A new footbridge is taking shape, external next to the A52 in Derby.

Over the past few weeks, engineers have been piecing together 23 sections for the new walkway, which connects Chaddesden and the Wyvern retail park.

Derby City Council said the bridge is due to be moved into position over the dual carriageway in April and should open to the public in July.

Image source, Derby City Council

The large crane required to lift it into place will itself take five days to build.

The authority described the arrival of the bridge as a "significant milestone" in its A52 improvement project.

BBC Radio Derby

The cost of erecting and dismantling the Christmas lights in Derby city centre has risen to £131,000, a Freedom of Information request to the city council has revealed.

This is £37,000 more than in 2018, which itself was up from a total of £55,000 in 2017.

In 2016 it cost £31,000, so this year's figure is a six-figure increase compared to three years ago.

Derby City Council said the higher costs are because of "additional and repaired festive lights".

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Plans have been approved for a huge bottling plant in Foston to serve supermarket giant Lidl.

The water processing, bottling and distribution site at Dove Valley Park near the A50 is expected to create 163 jobs.

Image source, Stride Treglown

The application has been approved by South Derbyshire District Council's planners, with council leader Martyn Ford calling it "the largest single investment in South Derbyshire since Toyota".

Lidl aims to have the site operational by the end of next year.

Gavin Bevis
BBC News

The A38 northbound is currently down to one lane in Ripley due to a broken down crane.

Work to recover the vehicle is under way - although someone might want to offer this officer a hand.

Image source, Derbyshire Police

Liam Barnes
BBC News

A 16-year-old from Sutton-in-Ashfield says he is delighted after scooping the top prize in his category of the RSPCA's Young Photographer Awards.

Thomas Meynell's snap of a family of great crested grebes at his local pond impressed the judges, who gave him first place in the 16-18 category.

He said the family's reflections in the water give the shot "a much more vibrant look", adding it was "a huge bonus" to catch the younger grebes in the water.

Image source, Thomas Meynell

East Midlands Today

Many farmers say they have struggled with the effects of flooding, as crops have not been planted, footfall in farm shops has declined and cattle have been stuck inside for longer after their fields became flooded.

Ben Stanley from Park Farm in Melbourne said the flooding was "unprecedented" in his lifetime.

"Never before in our farming systems have we not been able to get anything at all in the autumn... so it has been incredibly challenging," he said.

East Midlands Today

As the clean-up continues in parts of Derbyshire after November's floods, the county council has revealed all the repairs are expected to cost about £20m.

Continuous heavy rain last month caused damage to several of the county's roads, bridges and structures.

The surface of one of the main roads into the village of Abney was completely swept away, meaning residents still face a 26-mile detour.

Simon Spencer, deputy leader of Derbyshire County Council, said the authority is hoping the government will step in to provide financial help.

He said the council's annual budget for highways maintenance was usually £17.5m.

"You can see what impact [this] will have on the taxpayers of Derbyshire," he added.

BBC Weather

A wet and windy start to the day but there could be a few bright spots before another band of rain appears in the afternoon.

Temperatures are back into double figures though and a mild evening lies ahead.

Jamie Slack gives talks to schoolchildren about being homeless after he fell out with his father aged 16.

Drug dealer Ayoub Majdouline repeatedly stabbed Jaden Moodie, 14, in a targeted attack in London.

Police say the length of time the body remained undiscovered made their investigation "more complex".

David Pittam
BBC News Online

A pedestrian who was hit by a car in Leicester has died in hospital.

Colin Stuart Watts, also known as Stuart, 79, was hit by a grey Mercedes in Hinckley Road, near the junction with Kingswood Avenue, at about 6:00 on 10 December.

He died in Nottingham's Queen's Medical Centre on Sunday.

Police are investigating what happened and are now appealing for witnesses.

Image source, Google

The graphic video on social media apparently shows a fox killed by a pack of hounds near Matlock.

David Pittam
BBC News Online

Loughborough University is investigating allegations that their women's hockey team made freshers eat dead maggots and tricked them in to almost eating a live centipede.

Student newspaper The Tab was sent notes alleging this took place during a "brutal" initiation on 6 December, external.

The notes and WhatsApp messages claim every girl "vommed at least once" and had to pass "gone-off" soup from one to the other by mouth.

Image source, Loughborough University

A spokeswoman for Loughborough University said: "These allegations suggest behaviour that falls below the high standards expected of Loughborough Sport athletes.

"The club’s committee has been suspended whilst we carry out an investigation."