Leicester Tigers sign Australian defence coach Phil Blake
Hard graft for Leicestershire batsmen as they take on Gloucestershire in LV County Championship
Fire causes severe damage to Wigston Swimming Pool
Man's body found at flat near Narborough Road
Parks Primary School, Leicester, forced to shut after copper pipes are stolen
Leicester City duo sign new contracts
Thurmaston street attack: Trio jailed for nine years each
Highfields landlord fined almost £35,000 for breaches of multiple occupation law
A landlord has been ordered to pay almost £35,000 in fines after admitting failing to obtain a licence for shared houses he rented out.
Harishbhai Rambhai Patel was prosecuted by Leicester City Council for not getting the authority's permission to run three houses in multiple occupancy (HMOs).
Patel (56), of Southernhay Road, Stoneygate, Leicester, pleaded guilty to 12 offences under the Housing Act 2004 relating to the three unlicensed houses in Highfields – two in Evington Street and one in Gopsall Street.
By law, landlords must apply for a licence for any property with three storeys or more and occupied by five or more people forming at least two households.
The regulations are in place to ensure shared accommodation is safe to live in.
At the hearing on Friday, Leicester magistrates fined Patel £10,000 for each of the three houses.
He was also fined £500 for failing to produce necessary documents and a further £4,000 for eight breaches of the Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (England) Regulations 2006.
Magistrates further ordered Patel to pay £4,124.15 in legal costs, along with a £120 victim surcharge.
In total, he will have to pay £38,744.15.
Both properties in Evington Street are three-storey houses containing a combination of self-contained flats and bedsits, occupied by five or more people.
Environmental health officers from the council visited the properties following a fire at 11 Evington Street in May last year.
They discovered neither house met the fire safety standards needed.
Both properties Patel owned in the street have remained empty since the fire.
Officers visited the property in Gopsall Street in September following a complaint.
They found it had a faulty fire detection system, damaged fire doors, torn carpets, cracked plaster and broken windows.
Ten people were living there at the time.
The council said Patel had since carried out repairs to bring the property up to the correct standard and officials are in the course of dealing with his application to get a licence for the house.
Leicester assistant mayor for neighbourhood services Councillor Sarah Russell said: "Proper licensing for HMOs is there to ensure the safety of residents and landlords who fail to do so are putting tenants at risk.
"As this case shows, landlords face prosecution and heavy fines if they fail to comply with the laws – laws which have been put in place for good reason, to ensure that multiple-occupancy homes are in a fit state."
Cricket: O'Brien hits 88 to rescue Leicestershire from early slump against Gloucestershire
Leicester City owners know money does not guarantee success
Leicester City's owners have learned spending huge amounts of money does not guarantee success, says the club's vice-chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha.
City's owners are estimated to have spent more than £150million since taking over the club from Milan Mandaric in 2010, including the conversion of £103m of loans from themselves into equity and the £17m purchase of the King Power Stadium.
After initially huge amounts of investment did not bring success on the field, Aiyawatt, known as Top, said they had to show patience as it has taken four years to gain promotion.
"We came with ambition and tried to find a way to make the team a success, but you can't take anything for granted in football," he said.
"We can make the team strong but we couldn't predict when it would happen. We have learned that since we came here. We want to build the team and do everything we can to prepare the team."
Top acknowledged the huge investment but insisted he and father Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha had been driven by a love of football.
"I know we have invested quite a lot but we love football and we love the club," he said.
"We try to do everything to support them. We commit everything.
"We didn't have a timeline but now we are there and a success, I am very pleased what we have invested makes people happy in Leicester and makes everyone proud in Thailand.
"It makes King Power the owner of a Premier League team. It is something money can't buy.
"I feel English football is great to watch. To own a club is magnificent for me."
City development squad duo Jacob Blyth and James Pearson have signed new contracts.
Striker Blyth, who had a loan spell at Northampton Town last season, has signed a two-year contract, while defender Pearson, son of City boss Nigel, has signed a one-year deal.
Big Ron hails Leicester City boss Nigel Pearson as his 'best ever captain'
Leicester City's Nigel Pearson is a natural leader who was destined to manage at the top level, his former boss Ron Atkinson has said.
Pearson was Sheffield Wednesday captain under Atkinson in 1991 when the Owls lifted the League Cup and clinched promotion back to the top flight.
He was being groomed to take on the reins at Hillsborough, Atkinson revealed.
Atkinson has also had the likes of England and Manchester United's 'Captain Marvel' Bryan Robson as his on-field lieutenant, but he rates Pearson as the best skipper he ever had and said it was always obvious he would be a successful manager.
Atkinson's judgement has been proven right as Pearson, who is understood to be close to signing a new three-year contract, has guided City back to the Premier League.
"I have been lucky in football that I have always had great captains, like John Wile at West Brom, Bryan Robson at Manchester United and Kevin Richardson at Aston Villa," said Atkinson.
"But I have always said Nigel is the best captain I have ever had, and that is no disrespect to the others.
"He was a great leader of men. He commanded respect from all the players around him and he has taken that on into his managerial career. I definitely knew he would be a good manager.
"Sometimes there are people who surprise you and go on to be successful managers, but there was no doubt about Pearson.
"In fact, there was one occasion when I had gone back to Sheffield Wednesday for a second time and we had a plan in place where I was the manager but I was going to take Nigel on board with me and groom him for the position for a couple of years before he took over.
"Circumstances went against that, and to this day, we don't know what they were.
"So he had to go back and work his way through the circuit again and he has done it brilliantly."
Newly-promoted sides are often tipped for an immediate return to the Championship but Atkinson believes City are well equipped to survive in the Premier League under Pearson's guidance.
Atkinson believes Hull, who finished four points above the drop-zone in their first season back in the Premier League and reached the FA Cup final, are an example for how City should approach their first campaign back in the top flight for a decade.
"After the disappointments of last season it would have been easy to fall away from things, as happened to Watford," said 'Big Ron'.
"Nigel is a strong character and that makes him more resilient. He has done a brilliant job this season.
"A few years ago, it was a safe bet that two of the three teams that were promoted to the Premier League would come straight back down. Now it is only one.
"You look at the job Steve Bruce has done at Hull and that would be the example for Nigel at Leicester.
"He will give the boys who have got them up a chance and he will bring some new bodies in, players who have perhaps got a bit more experience of the Premier League.
"Leicester is a club which can command decent gates, so I can see them doing quite well next season."
Family tell of desperate wait for news of John Preston, missing for three weeks
A family is still desperately awaiting news of a husband and father who went missing from home three weeks ago.
John Preston was last seen at his home in Glenfield at noon on Monday, May 12.
Since then, his wife, Lindsey, and children, Georgia, 20, and Will, 19, along with family friends have been helping police in the search.
John, 59, and his family had moved to Glenfield from his lifelong home of Markfield only a couple of weeks before he went missing.
He has suffered depression for the past year, after losing his job.
Lindsey said: "We just want him home.
"We're beginning to see Father's Day being advertised in the shops and it hurts.
"There's no news at the moment and it feels worse every day.
"I know I'm not on my own. Everyone is rallying around and trying to help me find him.
"The police are working hard to find him and they are in contact with me each day.
"I have been to the police station a couple of times to look at CCTV of possible sightings, but it hasn't been him, so the search goes on."
Mrs Preston said her husband had been ill for about a year.
"It came out of the blue after he'd been made redundant and hadn't been able to find work," she said.
"He'd been told he wouldn't be able to find a job at the age of 59 and I think he began to feel he was a failure and that he felt he'd let his family down.
"We love him very much and we just want him back.
"He loved to take his dogs for walks in the area and I'm just hoping that other dog walkers will recognise him from the photograph and help us look for him."
Police are growing increasingly concerned for John's welfare.
They have searched a wide area, circulated photographs and have urged people to report any sightings immediately.
Pc Penny Smith, of the police's missing from home team, said: "This is an extremely distressing time for the family and we are supporting them and actively following up any leads identified.
"However, we would urge anyone who has any information about John's whereabouts to contact us immediately and not to delay the call to the police."
Mr Preston is white, 5ft 7in, slim and has closely-shaven, dark grey hair.
He occasionally wears glasses and when last seen was wearing a red Vortex coat, dark tracksuit bottoms and brown walking boots. Anyone with information is asked to contact the missing from home team on 101, or the national missing persons helpline, on 116 000.
Ten Siberian husky puppies reunited with mum Misty on their first birthday
Ten Siberian husky puppies have been reunited for a first birthday party.
Mum Misty welcomed back her pups Mishka, Ziko, Bella, Keiko, Duke, Polar, Max, Zuko, Dakota and Loki for the celebration at her home in South Wigston.
"It's the first time we have had them all back together," said Misty's owner, Val Lynch.
"I always said they would have a first birthday party."
The dogs enjoyed a chicken and liver birthday cake and party bags filled with dog chews, bones and biscuits.
All the puppies live in Leicestershire and Rutland except one whose home is in Burton-upon-Trent.
"A lot of them went to friends, friends of friends and family," Val said.
"We only had to advertise two. They were hand-picked owners. The party has been a great way for all the owners to meet up and catch up on what's going on and to give the dogs a chance to socialise."
Val said all the siblings had a "really gentle and loving nature".
"Some of the boys just had to figure out the social order, though," she said.
Tracy Leftley, of Rutland, the owner of Mishka and Ziko, said seeing the puppies come together for the occasion was an "absolute dream".
"They've all grown to be different shapes and sizes but you can tell them apart by their eyes," she said.
Val said she would definitely be organising a second birthday party.
"If everybody really enjoyed today, we would love to get them all together again," she said.
Leicester Tigers bring in former Australia defence coach
Athena Orchard: Tributes to 12-year-old who has lost her battle with cancer
The mother of a 12-year-old girl who lost her battle with cancer has paid tribute to her "brave" and "beautiful" daughter.
Athena Orchard, of New Parks, Leicester, was diagnosed with osteosarcoma after finding a tiny bump on her head in November.
The first sign that something was seriously wrong came at Christmas, when she blacked out and collapsed at home.
Within months doctors had found a number of tumours, including one which they removed from her spine.
Despite intense treatment, she died at home on Wednesday, surrounded by her family.
Mum Caroline, 37, said her daughter was the bravest person she knew – spending more time worrying about other people than thinking about her own illness.
She said: "She was beautiful. An inspiration to everyone.
"She touched a lot of people's hearts and was only ever worried about everyone else – she would always tell me it was going to be okay.
"Her words still go through my head. She would say, 'if you get upset, I'll smack you'. She didn't like me getting upset, but I can't help it.
"When I wake up in the morning I just wish it was all a dream, but I look at her bed, where she passed away, and it becomes real again and it's horrible."
Athena, who was a keen amateur boxer with Unity Boxing Club, in Beaumont Leys, Leicester, was one of 10 siblings.
Caroline said: "I'll never forget when she said 'I'm glad it was me who got ill and not any of my brothers and sisters'.
"All she did was worry about how everyone else was feeling.
"Her brothers and sisters are devastated and they're being brave, but that's only because Athena's bravery has rubbed off on them.
"The youngest keep asking when she's coming home and I have to tell them 'she's up in the stars with special angels looking after her'.
"But they ask 'when can the angels bring her home?' and it's so hard to explain."
News of Athena's illness prompted people to rally round and raise money.
Unity Boxing Club and Technique and Turn Swimming School, in Thurmaston, collected cash to put towards a family holiday.
Athena, her parents and her nine brothers and sisters spent a week in Torquay thanks to the generosity of the well-wishers.
At the weekend, Leicester City Ladies U13 held a minute's silence and wore black armbands for the game against Narborough.
Athena's funeral will take place at Gilroes cemetery on Thursday, June 12, at 1pm.
For more information about flowers or donations, call Co-operative Funeral Service, on 0116 251 6906.
A special funding page has also been set up to help with the costs.
To donate, visit: www.gofundme.com/9n20so
Athena Orchard: 'I try to put on a brave face for my family'
In March, Athena spoke to the Mercury about her illness.
She described the frustration of losing her hair and the trauma her body suffered as the disease spread.
"I was so close to being paralysed," she said.
"The tumour on my spine was the reason I kept on falling over. It was horrible. I broke down."
Athena was put on a chemotherapy plan, which meant she spent most of her time in hospital.
She said: "I used to cry every night when I was in hospital because I wanted my family with me, but I knew they couldn't do anything about it.
"My family would come to visit and would get upset because they didn't want to leave and I would get upset because I didn't want them to leave.
"I lost all of my hair, which was the worst part. I have a wig now, which looks like my old hair."
Then in April, the 12-year-old began a new chemotherapy programme, which saw her visit hospital once a week as an out-patient.
"It's really good because I get to spend a lot more time with my family," she said at the time.
"The cancer isn't exactly getting better, though. To be honest, I don't know how I've coped. I try to put on a brave face for my family."