Tuesday 12th April 2011 Scraptoft Hall in danger of collapse
Scraptoft Hall, a Grade II listed building, is in danger of collapse
according to campaigners in a Leicestershire Village. The 18th Century
mansion has sat empty for some years, falling victim to vandals and
scrap metal thieves. Villagers want to see repairs carried out to halt
the decline of the hall. Development has been delayed due to the
economic downturn. Villagers are worried that if work is not carried
out soon the hall will not be worth saving. Owners of Scraptoft Hall,
AMK PLanning, said: "We are committed to the development and are
looking at the possibility of a joint venture, or even selling the
land to another developer." Leicestershire

Wednesday 9th March 2011 Ancient gold coins found in Leicestershire
Amateur treasure hunter Steve Bestwick has unearthed a stash of gold
coins buried on Leicestershire farmland. The 10 coins, thought to date
back to the Iron Age, were found by Mr Bestwick, who was working with
the aid of a metal detector in agricultural fields somewhere in the
south of the county. The coins are Gallo-Belgic Stater coins that
originated from Belgium. Mr Bestwick, secretary of metal detecting
club Leicester Search Society, said: "The big question is how did the
coins get to Britain and how did they end up in Leicestershire,
because this is as far away from the sea as you can get. You always go
out with hope in your heart and end up with junk in your pocket but
every now and again something nice turns up." Leicestershire

Thursday 17th February 2011 Loughborough tops UK university poll for fifth year
The Times Higher Education Student Experience Survey has once again
named Loughborough as UK’s best university, for the fifth year
running. Universities were ranked on 21 different factors by 13,000
undergraduates. Loughborough was deemed to be the best on a range of
factors including quality of teaching and the social scene on campus.
Sheffield came second with the University of East Anglia in third. Ann
Mroz, editor of Times Higher Education, said: "Our annual survey is
well established as a benchmark of the student experience at each
university.” Leicestershire

Monday 7th February 2011 Man saves mother and baby from River Soar
The brave actions of a young man probably saved the lives of a mother
and baby when he dived into the River Soar to rescue them. The mother
Kate Bennet-Mohan was in Leicester’s Abbey Park feeding ducks with her
daughter Hannah when the wind caught the one-year-old’s pushchair and
dragged it into the River Soar. Mother Kate immediately dived into the
river and got Hannah out of her pushchair but was herself by then in
trouble, stuck in the mud on the riverbed. Passer by Ryan Tarr saw the
pair’s plight and dived in, reaching the baby and getting her to the
bank where his father-in-law Christopher Bancroft-Taylor was on hand
to take care of the baby. Christopher pulled Kate Bennett-Mohan from
the mud and to safety. Mrs Bennett-Mohan’s husband Giles, who arrived
on the scene soon after the rescue as his wife and baby were being
taken to hospital suffering from shock. He later praised the rescuers,
saying: "Hats off to them. They were all fantastic. I want to thank
everyone who helped." A spokeswoman at Leicester Royal Infirmary told
the press that both mother and daughter were doing well and were
expected to be discharged from hospital. Leicestershire

Monday 27th September 2010 Last flight of the Vulcan?
The XH558, owned by Leicestershire-based Vulcan to the Sky Trust, took to the skies at Coventry Airport's Fly-in fundraiser in what could be its last ever flight. Chief executive Dr Robert Pleming said a substantial drop in donations had left the project with a big shortfall. £400,000 is needed by the end of October! The former Cold War bomber requires costly maintenance to ensure it passes safety tests. Built as part of Britain's nuclear deterrent, the Vulcan only saw action during the 1982 Falklands War when its crew bombed Port Stanley Airport to prevent it being used by Argentine aircraft. Dr Pleming said; "The airframe has limited time before it will no longer be possible to renew its Permit to Fly. After that, we hope to develop a museum and educational centre around the plane, funded by conference, leisure and other commercial activities." Leicestershire

Tuesday 31st August 2010 Big turn out in Leicestershire for black saint-to-be
Large crowds gathered on Saturday at a monastery in Leicestershire to
attend a Mass to honour a priest who could become Britain's first
black saint. Nigerian-born Father Cyprian Michael Iwene Tansi was
beatified on 22 March 1998 by Pope John Paul II. 2010 marks the 60th
anniversary of his entrance to Mount Saint Bernard Abbey near
Coalville. The priest subsequently spent the last 14 years of his life
at the abbey. Father Tansi died at the age of 61 in the Leicester
Royal Infirmary on 20 January 1964 and was originally buried in the
monastery grounds. In 1986 his remains returned to his homeland of
Nigeria. Leicestershire

Thursday 1st July 2010 Mayor of Leicester drops his trousers in front of school children
Leicester's lord mayor was forced to issue an embarrassed apology
after his trousers accidentally fell down during an educational event
for schoolchildren. The Mayor, Councillor Colin Hall, was visiting
Southfields library in the city for a Global Education function when
the unfortunate incident took place. When the mayor stood to give a
vote of thanks at Tuesday's event his trousers came loose and fell to
his ankles. A spokesman for Mr Hall said: "The lord mayor has offered
his deepest apologies to those attending the event for any offence
caused by the accident." Mr Hall, who has identified that he has a
weight problem. has now enlisted the help of fitness guru Rosemary
Conley in a bid to lose weight. Leicestershire

Thursday 10th June 2010 Police to tweet at festival
Police are hoping Tweeting at this weekend's Download Festival can
help to cut crime there. Between 80,000 and 120,000 people are
expected at Donington Park over three days and last year more than 300
crimes were reported at the music event. Leicestershire Police
officers already use Facebook to send out crime prevention advice to
festival-goers and now they have decided to also send Twitter
messages. Inspector Chris Brown of Leicestershire Police said: "We can
actually communicate with people who are attending the event. Now the
other advantage with that is that local people can also log on, become
friends on the Facebook account and they can also see what's actually
happening at the event." Leicestershire

Tuesday 27th April 2010 Call from social media networks to save Braunstone Hall
Braunstone Hall is a derelict Georgian house that has been empty, and
a target for vandals, for 14 years. The building, once a school, is
owned by Leicester City Council who have acknowledged that the hall is
a wasted resource. The council say the cost of renovating the building
has put off developers interested in the 125 year lease offered for
sale.

Now social networking sites are being used to organise a campaign to
have the building used for community purposes with both Facebook and
Twitter being used to raise awareness and press the council for
action.

Wendy Clarke, who lives opposite the hall, said: "It is the
centrepiece of Braunstone and you can see it from anywhere in the
park. It is just such a lovely building but it has, in my opinion and
that of many others, been allowed to go to waste, it is just empty It
should be turned into something central, to be used by the whole
community." Leicestershire

Wednesday 31st March 2010 Snow hope for leopards at Twycross Zoo
Twycross Zoo in Leicestershire have received two rare snow leopards
from Tokyo and Sweden as part of an international breeding programme.
The hope is that the two, Irma and Suou will breed when they enter the
new £9m Himalayan-themed enclosure at Twycross Zoo. The animals will
have to first spend a period in quarantine. Visitors to the zoo will
be able to view them from the comfort of zoo's restaurant.

An estimated 7,000 snow leopards survive in the wild, mainly in the
central Asian mountains. Unfortunately the animals are under threat
from human ignorance and habitat loss. Perhaps the recent snow will
make the leopards feel at home enough to mate. Leicestershire