As I walk into Coleman Primary School, I'm greeted by a sea of pupils donning green caps.

They wear them proudly and a quick chat with head teacher Nigel Bruen reveals why.

"The Green Hat scheme, as it's known, isn't new. In fact, it's been going for the past 10 years, ever since I became head teacher," says Mr Bruen.

"It was an easy way for pupils with extra responsibility to be seen by others – far better than a sticker or a badge and I found they really enjoyed wearing them."

What is new are some of the responsibilities which go with it. The school, in Gwendolen Road, Evington, Leicester, is working towards the city council's anti-bullying community award and the green hats will go part-way to achieving it.

"They're worn by certain year six pupils who have shown they are capable of looking after others and have the desire to do so.

"It means that at playtimes other children know who to go to if they have a problem and they don't immediately want to speak to an adult.

"Green hat pupils keep an eye out for others and if they spot a problem are happy to help.

"It could be something as simple as making sure someone's not on their own at break time."

Year six teacher Nick Lowe said: "Our school doesn't have a problem with bullying per se, but we recognise it's important they know what to do if they have an issue – particularly as we're a large school with more than 600 children on roll.

"Communication is key to what we do and if children can't bring themselves to talk to an adult, then who better than their fellow peers."

Now green hat pupils are being trained to buddy up with others, particularly new students who might need a bit of extra help to settle in with school life.

"We're teaching everyone what constitutes bullying because we find that sometimes it can be misinterpreted.

The city council's mantra Several Times On Purpose (STOP) really helps, says Mr Bruen, and that is what they are now embedding throughout the school.

With more than 25 languages spoken and 96 per cent of Coleman's pupils coming from an ethnic minority background, respect and tolerance are also key themes throughout the school.

While many might see this as a challenge, Mr Bruen believes it is a huge strength.

"I think our pupils are better placed than most to succeed in whatever setting they're put in and that's what many employers will be looking for in the future," he said. "If they can see that individual working alongside others and fitting in, as well as having the academic background, then they're ahead of the pack.

"We have links with St Joseph's Catholic Primary, in the city, and Redmile Church of England Primary, in the Vale of Belvoir, where pupils regularly exchange visits and get to learn about one another in a different environment. We also have links with a school in Namibia, among others.

"Our diversity is what shines through and the children's ability to socialise well.

"Literacy and numeracy are very important, but our pupils' social and moral code is equally so."

County campaigners are among hundreds opposing plans for a wind farm on the site of a First World War battlefield where tens of thousands of young British soldiers died.

French firm InnoVent wants to put up 10 turbines, each twice the height of Big Ben, on the site of the 1915 Battle of Loos, in France.

The Leicester Regiment was deeply involved in the battle, losing more than 500 men in just a week.

Regimental historian Richard Lane said the scheme would ruin the setting of a number of war cemeteries in the area.

"I believe the people behind the scheme may have been acting out of ignorance," he said. "They were probably unaware that the land is honeycombed with tunnels and there are likely to be the remains of those who died that could be disturbed by the windfarm."

The plan was put forward last year, however, it was put on hold until next year following a public meeting last week.

The final decision lies with of the Prefect of the department of Nord Pas de Calais.

Mr Lane said: "We understand the project has been put on hold. We welcome that, but we will be keeping a close eye on what will happen next."

Bob Allan, chairman of the regiment's Royal Tigers Association, said: "We would oppose anything that would impinge on the tranquility and setting of the cemeteries in the area of the battlefield."

French conservationist Bruno Schmit said in a blog that InnoVent had "taken no account of the historical past of the site".

He said the turbines, if approved, would be sited close to important battlefield landmarks.

He said: "For the moment, the project is paused.

"We want the prefect to declare this zone unbuildable. That is our goal."

InnoVent spokesman Clement Prouvost said the firm was aware of the sensitive nature of the locality and was looking at the suitability of sites. He said: "We don't know where exactly the turbines will be built and the numbers of turbines.

"We are studying different scenarios according to the distance from cemeteries.

"We have decided to keep a distance of 500 meters minimum between turbines and cemeteries."

He said the company would pay for archeological excavations around the site in advance of any development, to comply with French law.

An inmate who attacked two prison officers and tried to throttle a healthcare worker has been jailed for another five years.

Paul Anthony Carpenter gripped the health worker's T-shirt so tightly around his neck his colleagues had to rip it off so he could breathe.

One of the prison officers suffered permanently impaired sight in one eye and another was stabbed in the arm with a pencil.

Leicester Crown Court was told Carpenter (23) presented a substantial risk of harm to public sector workers.

The judge in the case added an extra five years to his licence period.

Philip Gibbs, prosecuting, said Carpenter carried out the first attack on January 5, 2011, within a few days of arriving at Glen Parva Young Offenders' Institute.

He had just been told he was being reported to the Governor for earlier threatening behaviour towards the guard, when he "launched himself at him".

Mr Gibbs said: "The defendant punched him three or four times to the head, stunning him, and got him in a head lock."

Carpenter thrust his thumb into the guard's left eye, causing it to drip with blood.

In another incident, at Leicester Prison on June 13 last year, a senior officer was trying to stop Carpenter from self-harming with a pencil, which he was pushing into a wound on his arm.

Carpenter, of no fixed address, was shouting: "If you come closer, I'll stab you."

Mr Gibbs said: "He took the pencil out of the wound in his arm and swung at the prison officer, who received a puncture wound, with all the associated health risks involved."

Pieces of the pencil were embedded in the officer's arm, which was left scarred.

On August 22, the defendant was at Leicester's Arnold Lodge psychiatric hospital, and resisting being taken to a seclusion area.

He lay flat and rigid on the bed, shouting at staff, refusing to move.

A male healthcare support worker was assisting staff when the defendant hit him twice on the back of his head.

He then twisted the victim's T-shirt around his neck, "restricting his breathing and ignoring all warnings to stop," said Mr Gibbs.

He told the court: "It was after 30 seconds, staff members ripped the T-shirt off him, freeing his airway.

"He suffered bruising and swelling to his neck and right shoulder and couldn't move his neck, causing him to be off work for three weeks."

Carpenter admitted three counts of causing actual bodily harm.

The court heard in 2010 he was jailed for 30 months for arson, later committing a public order offence and assaulting a police officer.

Judge Simon Hammond said: "The aggravating factors are these were three serious acts of violence.

"He appears to be remorseless and presents a serious risk of danger to other public sector workers."

Although suffering from a personality disorder, Carpenter was not said to be mentally ill to the extent he was suitable for treatment.

He refused to co-operate with a Rampton Secure Hospital psychiatric assessment – and there was no place available there for him.

Christine Luckock, mitigating, said there were "substantial delays" bringing the case to court, and it was a year before he was charged with the first offence.

Miss Luckock said Carpenter's personality disorder manifested itself with self-harming and in his violent reactions to those in authority.

A city school severely damaged by fire will be rebuilt at a cost of £3.6 million.

Work on Catherine Junior School will start as soon as possible, Leicester City Council announced yesterday.

The existing structure will be stripped back to its original steel frame and rebuilt on the existing foundations.

Some £2.4 million of the cost will come from the council's insurance settlement, and the rest from its Basic Need Fund – cash provided by the Government to help councils ensure there are enough school places.

Pupils from the fire-hit school are learning in temporary buildings on a playing field at Abbey Primary, in Belgrave, Leicester, less than a mile from their old site in Brandon Street. Assistant city mayor Councillor Vi Dempster said: "I'm delighted we've now got a way forward, after what has been a difficult few months since the fire."

A number of options were being considered by the council, including removing damaged cladding and refurbishing the building, the cost of which would have been met entirely by the insurance settlement.

Another option was to rebuild Catherine Junior on a larger scale and develop it into a primary school to incorporate the infants and juniors.

Catherine Infants School is on a separate site near the juniors, in Ulverscroft Road.

However, this option would have cost the council between £6.2 million and £9.2 million extra on top of the insurance payment.

Now the way forward has been decided, site clearance and design work will start soon and the building should be completed by April 2014.

Pupils will relocate to their former site upon completion, and Abbey School playing fields will be restored to their former condition.

The council is keen for work to start as soon as possible as the temporary buildings at Abbey Primary are rented and will only be paid for by the insurers until February. Each additional week beyond that will cost the council £15,000.

The fire, in October, was caused accidentally by workers fixing the school's roof. It destroyed the gym and left the rest of the building smoke-logged.

Harmful asbestos was also released into the air when the blaze took hold.

Pupils were initially spread across several schools in the city until a temporary solution was found using land at Abbey Primary.

Mrs Dempster said: "I've been really impressed by Catherine Junior and all the other schools which pulled together to help minimise the disruption for pupils."

A mobile classroom on the site will be retained – a decision which was criticised by councillors on the children and young people scrutiny committee at a meeting last month. Committee chairman Ross Willmott said the option to rebuild the school seemed sensible but he would like there to be enough classroom space to enable the mobile to be disposed of.

Joy Denning, head teacher of Catherine Junior School, was not available yesterday to comment on the proposals.

A tomb designed by the Richard III Society does not meet Leicester Cathedral's criteria for a lasting memorial, members of the group said yesterday.

The University of Leicester, which holds the exhumation certificate for the king, nominated the cathedral as the place of interment following the discovery of his body underneath a city car park in August.

Philippa Langley, who launched the search, had hoped the society's design for a 7ft limestone casket would hold the former King of England's remains.

However, it is understood memorial designers will be asked to create a less conspicuous monument, such as a slab or tablet – similar to the cathedral's existing memorial stone to the monarch.

A spokeswoman for the cathedral said the architect's brief for how the memorial should look would be revealed tomorrow, and "no firm plans" were in place yet.

However, Philippa said she was given a copy of the brief in advance and the guidelines rule out the society's £30,000 sarcophagus – which designers had been working on since 2010.

Funds for the tomb have already been raised and more cash is available for building work and installation.

"I'm a shocked and deeply saddened," Philippa said. "We've had money absolutely pouring in, the tomb is all paid for.

"It can all be given back, but it would be such a shame."

David Potter, committee member for the Leicestershire branch of the Richard III Society, said: "We've not had a chance to consider any other designs.

"It seemed the tomb had been very well received.

"I think now it would be interesting to see whether the readers would prefer a tomb or a slab."

The body will be reinterred at some time in the first half of next year, but a date has not yet been set.

All memorial proposals will be submitted to the Cathedrals Fabrics Commission for England, a national body which oversees work and offers advice on matters relating to architecture, archaeology, art and history of cathedrals.

The Leicester Cathedral spokeswoman said: "The ideas presented by the Richard III Society have been included in the architect's brief, and will be considered within the context of the need for a scheme which will work within the cathedral.

"There are no firm plans yet for any particular memorial."

How do you think Richard III should be remembered at the cathedral?

Have your say at:

www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk

Loughborough Students edged a step closer to securing their National One status as they overturned a 15-3 deficit to beat rivals Tynedale 19-18.

Students started the day 12 points clear of the bottom three, but Macclesfield are only in the final relegation position because of a deduction.

Macclesfield's form is anything but that of a struggler as a 17-15 verdict at Richmond represented a fourth success on the trot.

Fourth-bottom Wharfedale also landed a crucial 22-8 win against Cinderford.

Tynedale could have leapfrogged Students and dragged them back into a relegation scrap, so the pressure was on to deliver a result.

Loughborough duly delivered and moved seven points clear of their rivals while maintaining their cushion over Macclesfield.

Fly-half Stuart Hall kicked an early penalty for Students but Tynedale were 8-3 ahead after 23 minutes as Dave Cherry crossed and Matthew Outsen slotted a penalty.

Students hooker John Collister saw yellow and Tynedale took advantage as Ben Frankland scored their second try. Outsen converted to put the visitors in control.

Hall reduced the deficit with a second penalty before half-time and two more three-pointers brought them back to 15-12 down after 48 minutes.

Students piled on the pressure and that led to Frankland being sent to the sin-bin.

Tynedale survived that 10-minute period but fell behind as prop Tom Crozier crossed and Hall converted with 13 minutes to go.

George Cullen kicked a 71st-minute penalty to narrow the gap to a solitary point but Students held firm to take the spoils.

Leicester Lions knew they were in for a tough afternoon at National Two North leaders Stourbridge.

Their opponents had lost just two games all season and Lions had only a Jon Boden penalty to show for their efforts in a 41-3 setback.

Syston landed an impressive 8-7 win against Newport (Salop) to all but secure their place in National Three Midlands for another season.

Dave Torr scored and Warren Coles slotted the winning penalty.

Hinckley bounced back from a narrow derby defeat at Nuneaton to register a single-point victory. They beat Longton 19-18 at Leicester Road thanks to tries from Phil Brocken and Ben Ashfield, and penalties from Josh Smith (2) and Ryan Oakes.

The game of the day saw third-placed South Leicester host champions-elect Sutton Coldfield, and it was the visitors who won 28-6, despite two Mark Lord penalties.

Toby Flood admits England will have to be much more clinical against Wales than they were against Italy if they are to lift a first Six Nations Grand Slam in a decade.

Stuart Lancaster's side head to the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on Saturday with everything on the line as the home side chase their own Championship hopes.

A Welsh win by eight points would see them retain the title. Anything less would lead to England being crowned champions.

The visitors will arrive unbeaten after their fourth consecutive tournament victory – an 18-11 win over Italy at Twickenham on Sunday.

The Leicester Tigers fly-half kicked all of England's points thanks to a perfect six-from-six record and will now do battle with fit-again Saracens fly-half Owen Farrell for the starting shirt in Cardiff.

England created several chances, especially in the first half, against Italy but poor finishing saw them butcher the lot on their way to a try-less win.

If they are to beat a Welsh side that has won three on the bounce since an opening day defeat by Ireland, Flood says the quality of finishing will have to improve.

"It was a quiet dressing room after the win over Italy," said Flood. "There was a fair amount of disappointment because we couldn't get ourselves into the game in the second half.

"It was a pleasing first 40 minutes in terms of what we created but it was disappointing not to have kicked on and scored some tries because we certainly had the chance to.

"We are going to have fewer chances against Wales and we have to be better at finishing them. Whether we took our foot off the gas in the second half or not, who knows?

"The anxiety factor is an interesting one. It's a young squad and it has not been in this position before.

"There could have been extra nerves out there and a bit of quietness and rash decision-making at times perhaps.

"We will learn from it because this team is always trying to evolve.

"We were also forced into some serious backs-against-the-walls stuff late on and there will be lots of that this weekend. The desire we showed to win was good."

After giving us almost six decades of laughter, it is no surprise Norman Wisdom has been named the ultimate Legend of Comedy.

Throughout this year's Dave's Leicester Comedy Festival, the Mercury asked readers to vote for their favourite of 20 comedy greats who have performed at the event in its 20-year history.

Mercury editor Richard Bettsworth announced the Legend of Comedy winner during the festival's annual awards ceremony last night.

He said: "This was a very popular public vote and I'm very grateful to all our readers who got involved. It's a terrific result because Norman Wisdom was a patron of the Leicester festival from when it started and his comedy is universal.

"His work is loved by people of all ages and appeals to people all over the world, so it's very fitting to be able to honour him in this way."

The late Sir Norman's manager, Johnny Mans, was present at the awards ceremony, which was held at The City Rooms, in the city centre.

Other award recipients included Romesh Ranganathan, who picked up the gong for the best show of the festival.

The former maths teacher, who was chosen by a judging panel, also claimed the title of Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year this year.

Festival organisers have a panel of comedy fans who rated almost 500 shows throughout the two-week event.

The Make Me Happy award went to comedian Rob Gee for his performance at Leicester Central Library on February 20, while the Best New Show award went to Brett Goldstein who performed at the Belmont Hotel in New Walk on February 12.

De Montfort University received a lifetime contribution award, while its radio station, Demon FM, received an award for its contribution.

Festival founder and director Geoff Rowe said: "I was a student at De Montfort University when I put on the first festival in 1994 and the university was very supportive then.

"It's continued to be a sponsor and remains hugely committed to the festival."

The Criterion, in Millstone Lane, was named best small venue, while Just the Tonic, in Granby Street, was named the best big venue.

Geoff said: "Just the Tonic made a good contribution to the festival this year, bringing in people like Johnny Vegas.

"The Criterion had a varied programme and there was always a great atmosphere there."

Quirky singer Paloma Faith has proven there's only one place to go when you want to pick up a top-quality saree.

In her latest pop video, Black and Blue, the star wears an ornate £500 outfit provided by Anokhi House of Sarees, in Leicester's Golden Mile.

Store owner Karan Modha got a phone call out of the blue from the singer's stylist, but it was several days before he realised he was working for such a famous customer.

He said: "Her stylist gave me a call last month because he had been round London and Birmingham looking for a saree and someone who knew me had suggested he ring me up.

"He said he wanted something earthy because that's the kind of person Paloma is and I sent him some pictures of sarees we have in stock.

"It was only later when I Googled Paloma Faith that I realised she was a really big star and I knew a few of her songs.

"You don't expect stars like her to be buying things from your store. I feel honoured and I think it's going to be very good for business."

The Indian-made saree Paloma wears in the video is an elaborate wedding outfit made from silk, decorated with Swarovski crystals and hand-embroidered with gold, using the zardosi technique, to sew metal thread into the fabric. Paloma, whose hits include Picking Up The Pieces, Stone Cold Sober and a cover version of the INXS song Never Tear Us Apart, used in a John Lewis Christmas advert last year, appears in the video sporting dark dyed hair, painted nails and an Indian bindi marking on her forehead.

Karan said: "The video has done my outfit justice and she looks fantastic in it.

"She pulls it off really well."

Karan said he hoped the video would lead to sarees becoming popular with more non-Indian people.

"In the old days, only Indian women ever bought sarees but with marriage between cultures now we do see a lot of non-Indian men and women coming in to buy our clothes for Indian weddings," he said.

"This new video is not only good because it publicises Indian culture to the rest of the world, but I hope it also could lead to more people wearing sarees, because it shouldn't matter what race or colour you are."

To see pictures from Paloma's concert at De Montfort Hall last month, visit:

www.thisisleicester shire.co.uk

Part of a grade II-listed Georgian building is being converted into £134,000 living quarters for De Montfort University's vice-chancellor.

Work has started on creating an apartment suite for Professor Dominic Shellard in the property known as 1 Mill Lane, in the heart of the university's city centre campus.

It will provide rent-free accommodation for him and any successive vice-chancellors.

The University and College Union (UCU) says it is concerned the vice-chancellor is being provided with new accommodation at a time of staff reductions.

The university has vice-chancellors' accommodation in its Trinity House building, but says it is "not fit for purpose".

Prof Shellard lives in private accommodation elsewhere in the city centre but will have access to a three-bedroom apartment, across the first and second floors of the building, when work is completed in September.

His living space will be above a new £225,000 hospitality suite, for entertaining VIP guests, who would currently be hosted in hired marquees on campus or at external venues.

Ian Blatchford, chairman of the board of governors, said: "The board of governors felt it was essential to bring DMU into line with other universities to help attract and retain the very best leadership.

"We looked at a number of alternatives and it was clear the most cost-effective option was to take the opportunity of the refurbishment of 1 Mill Lane."

The building is home to the Leicestershire Chamber of Commerce offices, but is largely disused.

The overall budget for the building's conversion stands at £1.3 million – most of which, £950,000, will be spent on new offices and classrooms.

It is part of a wider £100 million refurbishment of the city centre campus.

De Montfort's UCU branch chairman Alan Ryan said: "We do find it hard to understand why providing vice-chancellor's accommodation is a priority at this time."

A lecturer at the university, who did not want to be named, told the Mercury: "There is quite a lot of anger about this.

"Why are we using this money to provide a nest for the vice-chancellor.

"It is being paid for by the bond the university has taken out – which is effectively a mortgage.

"In the future, the interest on that will be funded by students' course fees so the vice-chancellor can have a cushy place to live right now.

"Imagine the outrage there would be if a big flat was built for Sir Peter Soulsby in the city centre.

"This is the same thing."

The plans for the conversion, approved by Leicester City Council, show a new lift and staircase will be installed in the building.

The first floor of the vice-chancellor's apartment will have a hall, a lounge, a kitchen, library and study.

Above that will be the master suite, with a dressing room and en suite bathroom, two guest rooms and a meeting room.

The university says the vice-chancellor will contribute to the cost of utility bills and that no decisions have been made yet about how the flat will be furnished.

The number of councillors in Leicester could be cut in a move that would save taxpayers' cash.

Councillors will meet tonight to discuss the political shake-up.

The city has 54 council members representing 22 wards, but that figure is to be reviewed by officials from the Local Government Boundary Commission for England.

It is the first time in 10 years any changes to the city's political map have been proposed.

The commission could decide Leicester City Council has too many elected members, or it could decide it has too few – although the latter is far less likely.

A report by the council's political governance director Miranda Cannon has revealed that this year's budget for councillors' allowances is set at £1.17 million, with a further £1.28 million for council officials who support them in their roles.

Her report said other councils facing financial pressures had looked to make savings by cutting councillor numbers and support staff.

Colin Copus, professor of local politics at De Montfort University, in Leicester, said: "It's surprising – in many councils across the country the turkeys are actually voting for Christmas and supporting moves to reduce their numbers."

However, Prof Copus said he believed such a move in Leicester, which has an elected mayor, Sir Peter Soulsby, would damage the health of local democracy.

He said: "That is a short-term expedient and, in my view, would be a wrong-headed approach. That is particularly the case in Leicester, where we have a powerful directly elected mayor.

"They [the councillors] have a role to hold him to account, to challenge his ideas.

"Fewer councillors will make that very difficult to achieve."

The councillors themselves will send their views to the commission after debating the issue at tonight's overview select committee meeting.

Councillor Ted Cassidy, chairman of the overview scrutiny committee, said he thought 54 councillors was the right number for Leicester.

"I do not think we need more but I think we just about have it right," he said.

"I think we will take the view that any diminishing of councillor numbers would not be the right step.

"Having a directly elected mayor is a major change for this city.

"It's crucial we have full and considered scrutiny of what he does and inform him about any unintended consequences of what he does. It is a system that works very well."

City mayor Sir Peter said: "The scrutiny role of councillors is essential in helping me but it is not for me to say how many of them there should be. That will be decided by the boundary commission."

The commission will discuss the council's submission on its size in May. There will then be a series of consultations.

Any changes, if approved, will come into force in May 2015.

Do you think Leicester should have fewer councillors? Take part in our online poll at the top of this page.

Leicester City defender Ritchie De Laet has not broken his leg and could even feature in tonight's vital clash with league leaders Cardiff (7.45).

The Belgian right-back was stretchered off in severe pain during City's home defeat to Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday.

He was on the end of a heavy challenge from Jeremy Helan and City feared it was a serious injury.

However, X-rays have revealed there is no break, and a relieved City boss Nigel Pearson said there was even a chance De Laet could feature at the Cardiff City Stadium tonight.

"It looked as though it was a nasty injury at the time, but I didn't feel there was any malice in it," said Pearson.

"It was one of those situations where players come together and he struck through the ball and there was contact afterwards.

"The relief that there is nothing sinister in terms of breaking a bone is good for us because Ritchie has been a consistently good performer this season.

"We will have to see if he has any chance of being involved.

"But the most important thing is whichever side starts tonight, however we line up, the personnel we use are ready for the game.

"It is a case of us making sure any bumps and bruises from the weekend are looked after."

If De Laet is not fit enough to face Cardiff, Sean St Ledger is set to step in at right-back, while Pearson ruled out recalling young defender Liam Moore from his loan stint at Brentford.

"With the youth loan system we could recall him but, for 28 days, he wouldn't be able to play for our first team," said Pearson.

"St Ledger went on at the weekend and did very well, I thought.

"We have Zak Whitbread who is available as well. We have options across the back."

Striker Jeff Schlupp is set to continue to deputise at left-back for Paul Konchesky, who is out with a hamstring injury, while midfielder Matty James is ruled out with a knee injury.

Mum Bhavna Ramji was taken to hospital after nearly being blinded – by her Mother's Day card.

The 40-year-old was rushed to casualty at Leicester Royal Infirmary after her two-year-old son accidentally sliced the inside of her eyelid open with the card.

Mrs Ramji, who lives off Narborough Road, near Fosse Park, said: "I was in agony. I looked like I had been punched in the face.

"I know it sounds funny but I could have been blinded.

"My husband tried to help by getting lotion from the chemist but the pain got so bad I had to go to accident and emergency."

The legal secretary, who is off work sick this week, said she was injured at about 6.30am on Sunday.

She said: "My son Dhruv woke up at 5.30am as usual so I brought him into our bedroom.

"As it was Mother's Day my husband, Ashok, looked after him and they both surprised me with a card and present at about 6.30am.

"Dhruv was on our bed and I opened the card and the present, which was a lovely leather wallet.

"My little boy was so excited he started waving the card about and it was then that it cut me.

"The card must have caught me a glancing blow. I have no idea how it got on to the inside of my eyelid but it did."

Mr Ramji, 52, got lotion from the chemist but he later took his wife to hospital, at about 2pm.

Mrs Ramji said she was seen within an hour by a nurse, who gave her antibiotics and eye drops.

She was still in pain yesterday so she went to see an optician.

"The optician said I need to wear a patch to close the eye," she said. "He said the eye was blinking and keeping the wound open. I think it may have got a little infected, too."

Mrs Ramji said when she rang work to say she was sick, her excuse raised a few eyebrows.

She said: "I had to tell them that I had my eye sliced open by my two-year-old son wielding my Mother's Day card. They did not believe me. When they did they could not stop laughing.

"I have been signed off all week because I need to rest the eye and stop it opening and aggravating the injury.

"My husband feels bad but I am glad my son is too young to know. I would not want him to feel awful."

Last year, Mrs Ramji spent Mother's Day in bed after she got a two-day bout of food poisoning.

She said: "I am hoping next year is a little less eventful and I might get to enjoy being pampered."

I was sent to Mars to find evidence of past habitable environments. Achievement unlocked! [info & images] go.nasa.gov/12MeiIS

— Curiosity Rover (@MarsCuriosity) March 12, 2013

Leicester City were dealt another blow last night as substitute Rudy Gestede grabbed an equaliser for Cardiff in the third minute of added time.

Defender Michael Keane had put City on course for a much-needed victory with a header from close range in the 72nd minute but league leaders Cardiff, who had struggled to create any chances in the second half, snatched an unlikely point through Gestede's header.

The Cardiff City Stadium has not been a great hunting ground for City and inevitably memories always turn to that devastating night when City's promotion dream ended in a penalty shoot-out on Welsh soil nearly three years ago.

A lot has changed since then. Both clubs are now run by mega-rich Asian owners, and the Bluebirds now wear red.

But one thing hasn't changed, both sides are desperate to get into the Premier League.

Once again, City arrived in South Wales trying to keep their promotion dream alive, but with the odds stacked against them.

City were looking to recover after a sequence of one win from seven games, while Cardiff had dropped only 10 home points all season.

Pearson had talked of a crisis of confidence within his camp following their home defeat to Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday and he responded by bringing in old heads Lloyd Dyer and Richie Wellens – the latter making his first league start of the season.

Pearson also changed formation to a 4-2-1-3, with Wellens joining Danny Drinkwater and Andy King in City's engine room, while Dyer and David Nugent supported Chris Wood from the flanks.

City produced an encouraging first- half display, although both sides struggled to create a clear-cut chance.

But City certainly looked more solid and competitive in midfield and were largely untroubled at the back, with Jeff Schlupp getting the better of Craig Noone and looking threatening on the counter-attack.

City stepped it up in the second half and looked the most likely to score, and Wood had a great chance when put through by Nugent, only for the keeper to make a good save.

In contrast, the hosts were struggling to create anything against City's well-drilled defence, marshalled superbly by captain Wes Morgan.

City finally got the goal their performance deserved in the 72nd minute when Michael Keane timed his run superbly to meet Sean St Ledger's cross to head past Marshall for what appeared to be the winner – until Gestede's late intervention.

Leicester City said the changes to their fixture schedule were "unprecedented" and they sympathised with the fans.

City's final home game of the season against promotion rivals Watford scheduled for Saturday, April 27, at 3pm was yesterday moved forward to the Friday night to be shown live on Sky TV.

This is the eighth time this season that a home game scheduled for 3pm on a Saturday has been rescheduled after being selected for live TV coverage.

In fact, only seven of City's 23 home league games this season will have been played at 3pm on a Saturday and only one since December 22 - last weekend's defeat to Sheffield Wednesday.

The club has issued a statement saying that the reschduling of fixtures is out of their control and there is nothing they can do about it.

The statement said: "The club understands that this has caused some inconvenience for supporters and would, therefore, like to clarify its position with regard to the selection of televised games.

"The Football League's central contract for television rights requires all of its member clubs to accommodate changes to the fixture schedule, based on selections made by its broadcast partners.
 
"If a Leicester City fixture is selected for live coverage, the club is obliged to play the game at the rescheduled time.
 
"The club empathises with supporters that have been frustrated by the unprecedented changes to the schedule. With this in mind, we have recently extended a special offer to our loyal season ticket holders, entitling them to a complimentary additional ticket for one of our next three home games against Millwall or Birmingham City or Bolton Wanderers, as a gesture of appreciation for their efforts to accommodate the changes."
 
The club point out that all Watford tickets purchased for the original date will be valid for the rearranged fixture, or can be refunded, in accordance with the terms and conditions of sale.