Greig Watson
Reporter, BBC News Online

It could have been the final straw for police in Derbyshire when a lorry carrying bales got stuck under a bridge.

Officers were called to the A6 Buxton Road, near Whaley Bridge, just after 13:20 and found traffic stacked behind the obstruction.

Image source, Derbyshire Police

The busy route had to be closed completely for about 30 minutes while the load was removed.

The road fully reopened at 16:15 but officers said they were not looking forward to "ploughing through the paperwork".

Greig Watson
Reporter, BBC News Online

The latest figures show Nottingham still has the highest rate of coronavirus infection in England, at 892.1 per 100,000 people in the week up to 11 October.

This is up from 880.4 in the week to 10 October and significantly higher than last week, when the rate was 609.4.

Image source, PA Media

It is the seventh day in a row Nottingham has had the highest rate in England, which has an average rate of 156.

The second placed area in England is still Knowsley on Merseyside, which has a rate of 667.5.

Nottingham is only behind the Derry City and Strabane council area in Northern Ireland, which has rate of 992 per 100,000.

Nottingham City Council leader David Mellen has already said the city may go into Tier 3 of infection restrictions if the rate is not brought down.

Eddie Bisknell
Local Democracy Reporter

Nearly 3,000 people face waiting a year for NHS hospital treatment or operations in Chesterfield, Burton and Derby.

The huge increase - from 45 in March - has been caused by operations being cancelled in lockdown, Derby City Council was told at a meeting.

Image source, Getty Images

Zara Jones, planning lead for Joined-Up Care Derbyshire, which oversees all NHS services in the county and city, said such waits were rare before the pandemic.

She said the main area affected was elective surgeries in orthopaedics - including hip and knee operations - but cancer treatments continue to be prioritised.

Figures show 2,509 people waiting 52 weeks for treatment at the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust as of the week ending 2 October.

At the Chesterfield Royal Hospital the figure was 298 patients.

Ms Jones also highlighted an "unidentified need" of people believed "not to have presented for health care" - avoiding NHS services due to Covid-19 concerns.

Roy Whiting was stabbed with makeshift weapons in his cell at Wakefield jail in 2018.

Eddie Bisknell
Local Democracy Reporter

Derby is about to open a new coronavirus testing centre - but could get more, according to health officials.

Morleston Day Centre, near Osmaston Road, is aimed at residents without access to transport.

Dr Robyn Dewis, Derby City Council's public health director, told the council's adult health scrutiny committee work on the site was "well progressed".

Image source, Reuters

She added: "We are working with Deloitte and the Department of Health and Social Care to enable some other local testing sites as well.

"This will mean that individuals who don't have access to a car can book into those sites and can walk for their test."

The rate of confirmed cases in Derby has tripled from 33 per 100,000 people in the week to 29 September, to 109 up to 10 October.

Dr Dewis said this increase was expected continue through winter.

Cases in Glossopdale are more than double the national average and residents are now on high alert.

Sonia Kataria
BBC News

Partying students from both Nottingham universities have been fined for breaching coronavirus rules ahead of tougher restrictions coming in for the city and county.

Nottinghamshire Police said eight students were fined £200 each and a further 26 were warned after officers were called to properties in the city.

The parties, which police say broke the rule of six, took place at an apartment on Marco Island, in Brook Street, at an apartment in the Litmus Building, on Huntingdon Street, and at a house on Johnson Road, in Radford, between 01:30 and 03:00 on Tuesday.

It comes as Nottingham - which has the country's highest coronavirus infection rate - and Nottinghamshire are placed into "tier two" measures under the government's new three-tier system.

This bans households mixing indoors and the rule of six will now apply outdoors from today.

Image source, The University of Nottingham

Both universities said they were investigating the breaches and have threatened disciplinary action in addition to the fines handed out by police.

Image source, Google

Assistant chief constable Kate Meynell said both the city and county has seen an "exponential" rise in cases.

"The seriousness of this situation cannot be underestimated," she said.

"Clearly, those who choose to blatantly ignore the legislation will be fined."

Clubs in the North West Counties League will consider suspending their season until the end of October.

University students self-isolating in the UK criticise the cost and quality of food parcels on campus.

Gavin Bevis
BBC News

A van driver has been killed in a crash with a lorry on the A42 in Leicestershire.

Police said the collision happened on the northbound carriageway in Packington between junctions 12 and 13 at about 02:45.

Leicestershire Police said the driver died at the scene. Nobody else was injured.

Image source, Highways England

The road between the two junctions remains closed. Highways England said the stretch would reopen later today.

The force has appealed for witnesses and dashcam footage.

Kit Sandeman
Local Democracy Reporter

The remaining demolition of the Broadmarsh shopping centre will now not be finished until March 2022, Nottingham City Council has said.

Work on the development was "paused" at the start of the pandemic, but never got back under way.

Intu, which owned the shopping centre, went into administration in June and transferred full ownership of the site to the Labour-run city council.

The authority said demolition would resume in April 2021 and it had been awarded £8m from the Local Enterprise Partnership towards the cost of the work.

Retail analyst Nelson Blackley said he suspected the postponement was to help the authority source additional funding to complete the demolition.

He added the delay would leave "an enormous eyesore at the key southern entrance to the city centre".

The city council is due to launch a consultation next week to decide what happens to the Broadmarsh site.

Gavin Bevis
BBC News

The borough of Charnwood now has the highest coronavirus infection rate in Leicestershire, according to latest data from Public Health England.

Its seven-day infection rate for the week up to 10 October was 209.8 per 100,000 people - up from 99 the previous week.

Charnwood's rate puts it ahead of Oadby and Wigston (208.7) and Leicester (165.4), which have both been put into "tier two" of the government's new three-tier Covid-19 alert system which comes into effect today.

Mike Sandys, director of public health for Leicestershire, said: "Clearly the student population [at Loughborough University] is going to be a driver but it would be wrong to look at it and say, 'It's all students, it's their fault'. Clearly there's a lot of cases out there anyway."

Jonathan Morgan, leader of Charnwood Borough Council, said: "For us as a community, those figures [from the university] are showing up within the borough's figures as well.

"But all of us have to play our part to try to keep this under control - it's not just about the university."

Kit Sandeman
Local Democracy Reporter

A temporary mortuary is to be set up in Nottingham as the city continues to record the country's highest infection rates.

The exact location of the mortuary has not being disclosed, but is understood to be in the north of the city and will be available until April next year.

In April, Nottinghamshire's local authorities set up a similar site at an industrial unit in Mansfield during the outbreak, which fortunately was not used and has been "decommissioned".

Councillor Sally Longford, the deputy leader of the city council, said: "The Mansfield facility... was deemed too large and costly when thankfully it turned out the government projections for death rates had been overly pessimistic.

"It was therefore agreed to set up a smaller facility... in the event of a second wave coinciding with annual winter pressures resulting in excess deaths."

Image source, Google

The site will also be decommissioned "if the body storage capacity is not under stress over winter", a council report stated.

The plan is set to be voted on next week by the city council.

Gavin Bevis
BBC News

The A42 northbound near Ashby and Coalville is currently closed following a crash in the early hours of this morning.

Highways England said the stretch - between junctions 12 and 13 - is expected to open at about 12:00.

Image source, Highways England

BBC Weather Watchers

Here's a shot of moody skies over Melton Mowbray to start your Wednesday.

Weather-wise, it's set to be an increasingly cloudy day with the chance of some showers in the afternoon.

Image source, Pete

The centre has been processing 100 tests a day since it opened at the start of July.

A stoppage-time goal from Asa Hall earns Torquay a win over Chesterfield in the National League.

Kyle Wootton's stoppage-time goal snatches all three points for Notts County at Sutton in the National League.

A police officer says an investigation into the allegations about Lord Janner involved 46 officers.

BBC Radio Leicester

The new government coronavirus rules might not be strict enough, according to Leicester’s director of public health.

Ivan Browne was asked by BBC Radio Leicester whether he believes the government has done enough to curb the spread of the virus with the new tier system measures.

“I’m not sure they have," he replied.

"Leicester knows what it’s like to have more draconian restrictions placed on us and if you look at our figures at the moment, we’re around the national average and we haven’t seen the exponential growth that we have in lots of other areas.”

Image source, PA Media

The change will bring the city out of local lockdown on Wednesday and into line with some other areas that also currently have restrictions.

The new rules will mean that people can meet family and friends outdoors, while observing the rule of six.

Indoor meet-ups are banned, whatever the setting, unless it is with someone in your support bubble.

Image source, PA Media

A record of SAGE recommendations from September, released last night, revealed scientists advising the government suggested much stricter curbs than the new three-tier system offers.

One of the suggestions was a "circuit breaker" – a short, sharp lockdown.

Mr Browne said: “I certainly sympathise with the points some are making about having something short and meaningful, rather than dragging this out for an inordinate amount of time.”