Leicester cabbies have accused council bosses of not doing enough to enforce rules on how fares are picked up.

The Leicester branch of the Rail Maritime Transport (RMT) union, says officials are ignoring the issue of "flimping" or "touting" where private hire vehicles illegally pick up passengers.

Under current rules only black hackney cabs are allowed to collect passengers on the street without pre-booking.

However the RMT, which represents 210 of the 325 registered hackney cab drivers in the city, says the rules are being regularly flouted.

The union says Leicester City Council, which licenses cabs, is turning a blind eye to the issue.

A union spokesman said: "They know it is happening because our members are reporting it to them and giving them evidence.

"They don't do anything though.

"It is a serious safety issue because sometimes there are cars without plates picking people up.

"They won't have had any safety checks done on them. They may not even be roadworthy or insured to carry passengers."

Flimpers often undercut the fares of hackney cab drivers.

The RMT is also complaining that the council has not provided enough ranks for taxis.

It has threatened to stage protests if the council does not crack down on flimping and bring in more ranks in busy areas like Braunstone Gate.

It has declined to say what those protest may involve.

RMT acting general secretary Mick Cash said: "The licensed black taxi trade in Leicester is furious at what RMT perceives to a campaign to undermine and harass our members, a campaign which can be tracked all the way to the front door of the city council.

"The level of anger amongst the black cab drivers is unprecedented and RMT is launching a campaign to end the abuse of the plying for hire regulations, the proliferation of bogus mini-cab touts and the shocking lack of ranking provisions for the legal and licensed trade which encourages the dangerous abuses of the system.

"RMT is looking at staging protests in Leicester if the council continue to fail to take our members concerns seriously."

Assistant city mayor Piara Singh Gill said: "I meet the taxi drivers on a regular basis so I am very surprised to hear that the RMT members feel the city council isn't taking their concerns seriously.

"The city council carries out regular exercises to crack down on flimping – the illegal pick-ups made by private hire mini-cabs – and where there is sufficient evidence, we do prosecute. Our experience, however, suggests that the practice is not as widespread as the black cab drivers perceive it to be.

"Following consultation with the licensed taxi trade, we have retained the restriction on the number of licensed hackney carriages on the road, relaxed our policy on vehicle age from eight years to 11 years, increased controlled fares, and set up a council-run vehicle testing station.

"We have also told the drivers of another benefit we intend to launch, which would see taxi marshals on the street as part of the business improvement district initiative.

"These ideas have emerged during our discussions with the drivers."

He added: "Over the last 18 months, we have created more than 60 additional spaces at ranks across the city centre and commissioned a review of the city's taxi ranks to help identify areas where new ranks could be provided.

"We have also considered all of the suggestions for new ranks that have been put to us by the taxi drivers, but clearly any new rank has to be in a suitable location and must not be an obstruction to other road users, emergency vehicles or pedestrians."

An elderly couple died when their microlight aircraft crashed to the ground, as their son looked on in horror.

An inquest in Loughborough today was told the tragedy was likely to have occurred after the 76-year-old pilot, Robert Moulton, mistook a mown grass area for an airfield.

He realised his mistake and tried to correct it, but it was too late and the machine crashed into the ground, killing him and his 84-year-old wife, Lillian.

The couple, from Ashby, died of multiple injuries in the accident, which happened near Stoke Golding airfield on July 14 last year.

The inquest heard that the couple were in one of three aircraft flying to Stoke Golding, near Hinckley, from a farm in Measham where the aircraft were stored - a journey of about 10 minutes.

The couple's son, Michael, also an experienced pilot, and a friend flew off in front of the couple, and both landed safely at Stoke Golding airfield.

But they and other witnesses watched in horror as the aircraft piloted by Mr Moulton senior stalled before crashing to the ground behind trees.

Michael Moulton was among the first on the scene of the crash where the couple died instantly, the inquest heard.

Wing Commander Graham Maidment, head of aviation pathology at the RAF, who carried out the post mortem examinations on the couple, said both had died of multiple injuries.

His report, read at the inquest, said that, while the couple were wearing harnesses, the crash force would have been beyond human tolerance and that death would have been essentially instantaneous.

Andrew Robinson, a senior air accident inspector with the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB), said the aircraft, which had a valid airworthiness certificate, had struck the ground at an angle of 70 or 80 degrees before flipping upside down.

He said: "It suggested an aerodynamic stall at low altitude with a low speed but steep impact."

Mr Robinson added that the aircraft was in good order mechanically.

Timothy Atkinson, also a senior aircraft accident inspector with the AAIB, said the aircraft had gone into an "incipient spin" which sent it into a "rolling, yawing, pitching" motion.

He said: "We concluded the pilot may have mistaken a mown grass strip for the runway and tried to correct it by going round, causing it to stall.

"The pilot's attempt to land on the grass area was perfectly normal and routine, but he was not at Stoke Golding - he was somewhere else.

"The realisation that he was not approaching the runway caused the pilot to sharply reconsider his options."

Mr Moulton junior told the inquest: "Identifying Stoke Golding from the air can be very difficult.

"My father was an experienced pilot, as I am, with several visits there. But at altitudes below 1,500 feet it can be extremely difficult to spot the field due to the topography and hedgerows. It is possible he may have mistaken the runway."

Mr Atkinson responded there were a number of similar incidents reported each year, not just by pilots landing at small, private airfields.

Trevor Kirkman, senior coroner for Rutland and North Leicestershire, said: "There is no mechanical reason that caused or contributed directly to the incident.

"I am satisfied that on the balance of probabilities Mr Moulton mistook the mown strip north of Fenn Lane for the runway and was approaching that."

He recorded verdicts of accidental death on the couple.

After the hearing Mr Moulton said: "It was a tragic accident. They died together, doing something they loved."

A father and daughter died minutes after taking off from a rural landing slip as he tried to return to land, probably as a result of an engine problem, an inquest has heard.

David Newton, 56, from Cropwell Bishop, and his daughter Rebecca Newton, 21, of Gunthorpe, both Nottinghamshire, died when the plane he co-owned came down in a field near Wymeswold, on August 21 last year.

The inquest, in Loughborough, heard Mr Newton, an experienced pilot with 460 hours flying experience, took off from Common Farm, Wymeswold, about lunchtime.

He told another pilot he planned to fly to East Anglia and carried out pre-flight checks and taxied to the end of the runway for take off.

Andrew Blackie, a senior operations inspector with the Air Accident Investigations Branch, said another pilot at the airfield told crash investigators that as the pair took off at lunchtime, after fuelling and pre-flight checks, the aircraft was seen to roll sharply to the left at about 70 degrees.

He added: "It recovered to a wings-level attitude heading downwind. The witness left the airfield unaware of the accident which was discovered later in the day.

"A 70-degree roll almost immediately after taking off is highly unusual. It suggests the aircraft was temporarily out of control, although it was recovered."

He added that the aircraft then flew parallel to the runway but in the opposite direction from take-off and was "very gently" climbing.

He added: "It was very low, unusually so, and unusually close to the airfield. It appears he successfully recovered from the roll, but continued with relatively low speed doing a turn.

"It appears he neither accelerated nor climbed away, suggesting he had limited power or the pilot chose not to use the power available.

"After a short distance he started to turn back to the runway.He was close to the runway and lower than expected.

" The aircraft rolled sharply and struck the ground.There was very little time indeed to initiate a recovery."

John Macmillan, a senior air accident inspector with the AAIB said the propeller and engine had struck the ground "almost vertically".

He said the Europa two-seater plane was fitted with a Flydat system, which recorded among other things engine speed and cylinder head temperature.

He said: ""From the data, I am confident the cylinder head and engine speed alarms were flashing."

Pathologist Dr Michael Biggs said Mr Newton and his daughter died of head and chest injuries.

He added: "At the point of impact they suffered severe injuries which would have induced loss of consciousness and death to follow extremely rapidly. Their injuries were unsurvivable."

Recording verdicts of accidental death Trevor Kirkman, senior coroner for Rutland and North Leicestershire told the family: "The flying community is fairly small and there will be many friends who will mourn their loss - but no-one can mourn their loss as the family do."

It has been a bad week all around with the County Championship loss down at Hampshire and the news that our bright young talent Shiv Thakor has decided to move to Derbyshire.

I was very surprised by the news as I hoped Shiv would help form the basis for a revival within the team and the club.

He has had a couple of lean seasons due to injury sustained while playing for England Under-19s, so it's a shame I didn't get to see as much as I would have liked, but I know Derbyshire are getting a very talented, young ambitious cricketer.

I didn't fare too well down at the Ageas Bowl, making some costly mistakes behind the sticks which was really disappointing.I pride myself on leading by example in the field and it was one of those days when I made some errors and we paid the price.

It's a tough job being a keeper as people expect you to catch everything. But sometimes human error comes into play and, believe me, it hurts. I have learned that you can't play well everyday and I know my team-mates accept that I do work hard on all aspects of my game.

We played well on day one to post 300 and I was thrilled to be in the middle when Angus Robson scored his maiden first-class 100.

It has been coming, as he has passed 50 plenty of times, but it's always tricky if you have missed out time after time. Full credit to Robbo – who did predict he would get one this week – for going out there and playing the innings which he did.

Skipper Josh Cobb played well for 50 in each dig but, all in all, it was a poor performance by the majority of the team.

We have three more games to salvage something from this season starting away at Gloucestershire next week.

They will be without their skipper Michael Klinger, who has been a thorn in our side for the last two seasons, so although confidence is dented we can go there and win.

We need to put up bigger totals with the bat and bowl tighter more disciplined lines and lengths.

Another player who is leaving us is Ant Ireland, and it is sad that we say goodbye to such a hard working pro.

Ant has been our best bowler in the limited overs formats for the last two seasons and will be missed. He is a good lad around the sheds and a player that gives his all on the park.

While we have been struggling, so have England.

I have been catching up on the highlights and I must say they make grim viewing for England fans.

I think the line-up is totally wrong and they need to look past some of the current team – get people like Surrey's Jason Roy in when they are in form for a series rather than a token one-off T20 game.

There is too much pressure on Eoin Morgan and Jos Buttler to deliver high-tempo runs.

Alex Hales up front is perfect but there is not enough firepower in the top four if you play Alastair Cook, Joe Root, Gary Ballance and Ian Bell. It is great to see Moeen Ali play so well, but how they can leave out James Tredwell is beyond me.

Niall O'Brien's column is sponsored by Clifton Packaging.

Leicestershire are hopeful they will be in a position to strengthen their ranks for next season before the current campaign ends later this month.

Director of cricket Phil Whitticase said he has been in negotiations with a couple of players and is "optimistic" about the outcome of talks.

"They are good quality players who would make a difference to us," he said.

"One of them is an overseas player. I've spoken to the players and their representatives.

"Those discussions are on-going but I'm optimistic we could have something by the end of the month."

In the wake of Shiv Thakor's move to Derbyshire and speculation linking pace bowler Nathan Buck with Lancashire, County supporters will want to know sooner rather than later what the prospects are of a stronger side lining up next season.

Josh Cobb, Ned Eckersley and Greg Smith have also been offered new deals at the club and, while they have yet to commit, there is the real danger that County could be left with more holes to fill in their squad.

One of the keys, then, is for the club to sign a high-calibre overseas player as quickly as they can. County thought they had that in Ramnaresh Sarwan and his first season, 2012, was a productive one.

However, international and Caribbean Premier League calls saw his influence reduced in 2013 and this season has been ravaged by injury to such a degree that the West Indian figured in just five Championship matches with a paltry aggregate of 184 runs.

Simply, County need more from whoever slots into the overseas berth.

"It is massive to get in an overseas player who will be a good man in the changing room but will also lead by the level of his performance on the field," said Whitticase.

"If they go out and perform on the field then they will get the respect, and I felt that happened with Ramnaresh in his first season with us.

"Because of West Indies calls, which we didn't anticipate, and injuries we haven't had that since."

If Whitticase can bring in the right face, coupled with another experienced hand, it would be a major step forward and would put just a touch of gloss on what has been another difficult year at Grace Road.

Blaby & Whetstone Athletic face the first of two important cup games in the space of three days on Saturday when they visit Radford in an FA Vase first-round qualifying tie.

Athletic then face Leicester City on Monday evening in the County FA's Westerby Cup Winners' Cup at Holmes Park.

They go into Saturday's tie on the back of a good 2-0 victory at Stapenhill, where goals from Stu Verrall and Lee Barrett took them into fourth place in the East Midlands Counties League.

Thurnby Nirvana also had a good midweek win as they prepare for Vase action. 

They beat Long Buckby 3-1 with Liam Canavan netting twice, a win which leaves Thurnby neatly in mid-table in the UCL Premier. They host Greenwood Meadows on Saturday.

Kirby Muxloe have had mixed fortunes in the Midland Football League to date and, while they search for consistency, they switch their focus to the Vase with a home tie against Stafford Town.

Loughborough University have to travel as they face Cleethorpes Town, and Hinckley AFC are also on the road as they visit Tipton Town.

Bardon Hill Sports have clicked into gear after a slow start in the East Midlands Counties League.

They have won their last three, banging in 16 goals in the process with Steve Hart and Rich Hanslow to the fore. They visit Cadbury Athletic in the Vase on Saturday.

After their struggles last season, Aylestone Park have made steady progress this term under new boss Gaz Franks.

They have a couple of league wins to boost confidence ahead of Saturday's Vase trip to Northern Counties East League side Louth Town.

Harborough Town entertain EMCL leaders Holbrook in what will be a tough test for the home side, who have won just once so far this term in the UCL Premier. Neither Holwell Sports nor Anstey Nomads have made a great start to the season and they both sit below midway in the EMCL ahead of their Vase tie at Welby Road.

Newcastle Falcons will have to end one of the most dismal losing records in the history of the Aviva Premiership if they are to surprise anyone at Welford Road on Saturday.

It is easy to forget, after a long summer break and some good recruitment from director of rugby Dean Richards, that the visitors lost the last 16 games of a 22-game season during the 2013-14 campaign.

Only Worcester's near winless season saved Newcastle from the drop to the Championship, and it will take a major effort from the Falcons to avoid that unwanted record stretching to 17 games on Saturday.

Former Tigers winger Alesana Tuilagi will front up that charge with brother Andy in the mix and Italian international lock Josh Furno as another name to watch.

Prop Kieran Brookes will still have a point to prove after he resurrected his career last season under Richards following a forgettable two years at Leicester.

Fellow Falcons prop Scott Wilson said an opening-day fixture at the 2013 champions holds no fears for him.

"Leicester away is just fine for me, and you might as well start with a bang," he told the Newcastle Chronicle. "We will just get straight into it, and we are confident about what we are doing."

Leicester will be well prepared themselves. Although, as director of rugby Richard Cockerill explained, pre-season could have gone a bit better.

"We will be ready for Newcastle, although it has not been as smooth as I would have liked it to be," he said.

"Geoff Parling got a bang on the head against Edinburgh and has played little rugby, while guys like Ant Allen have not done a full pre-season.

"We have inherited some other injuries too. Ed Slater and Louis Deacon will not start the season, along with props Dan Cole and Michele Rizzo, so we need to have a look at that back five. 

"Tom Youngs has had a slight hamstring strain which has cleared up now, and Brad Thorn will come into the squad over the next few weeks too.

"With Slater and Deacon out, we are a bit short in the second-row but Seb De Chaves has done well in pre-season, Graham Kitchener had 80 minutes against Cardiff and Parling is back now. Tom Croft can also play there. We have had a couple of good work-outs and got a couple of wins, but the real stuff starts now."

Tigers have won their last nine games against Newcastle.

The Falcons' only previous victory at Welford Road in the Premiership was a 25-19 win on December 30, 1997 – the last game that Dean Richards played for Leicester.

Leicester City will continue to adopt a positive approach to the Premier League, manager Nigel Pearson has vowed.

City may have faced three of last season's top five sides so far in an intensely difficult opening schedule.

The challenges keep coming too, with a trip to Stoke up next before the visit of a Manchester United side that has invested £150million in new players this summer.

But Pearson said while his side have had to accept they will not be able to dominate possession as they did en route to the Championship title, they would continue to adopt a positive approach and look to take the games to their opponents.

While many teams in the Premier League play with just one striker, City have utilised an attacking 4-4-2 formation with David Nugent partnering Leonardo Ulloa.

Pearson said they will always look to win games rather than just contain teams.

"So far, they have been three good games of football," he said. "We have been positive in all three games. We haven't had a negative mentality.

"We have tried to attack when possible, but we have to understand the types of games we have got.

"We have had a game-plan for all three games against very good sides.

"We realise that we can't possibly outplay them at their own games, so we have to be ourselves but the players have acquitted themselves very well."

Pearson admits City have been helped by the fact that no one outside his group has been expecting his side to get anything from their tough start.

However, he admits the pressure will return when they face clubs perceived to be their rivals for survival.

"People tell me how hard the start is but really there isn't the pressure on the players, because no one expects us to do anything in those opening fixtures," he said.

"When pressure does come on the players is when people make the assumption that we should win games.

"Well, I am afraid at this level, as last weekend's results proved, there are no easy games. We have to make sure that how we judge our own players is based on the standards we set for ourselves."

Leicester Tigers' South Sea Island contingent will unleash their full force on Newcastle Falcons at Welford Road on Saturday.

Tigers have compiled a fearsome group of Samoans, Fijians and Tongans to provide the power to spark their bid for Aviva Premiership glory.

Although one of Leicester's favourite sons is set to return to Welford Road in the form of Alesana Tuilagi, he will be met by some serious beef in the Tigers ranks too.

With Andy Tuilagi having also joined the Falcons in the summer, there could be some colossal collisions in the league opener.

Props Logovi'i Mulipola and new signing Aniseko Sio bring 36 stones of Samoan meat to director of rugby Richard Cockerill's list of front-row options.

Manu Tuilagi grew up in Samoa and is one of the most destructive midfield runners and tacklers in world rugby.

Christian Loamanu is a Tongan-born centre of similar ilk to Tuilagi, while Seremaia Bai and Niki Goneva are Fijian internationals with pace, guile and power.

Cockerill said their skill, power and attitude will be invaluable to the squad this season.

"Their genetics are pretty good, that's for sure," he said. "They are big and powerful men and they are good people. 

"We know all about Manu because he has been here a long time, and Niki showed that he is a match-winner last season.

"Bai has been good and Loamanu is fit now after a slight groin problem. He will potentially be in the 23 this weekend and then have some game-time for the second team on Monday.

"Aniseko is young and inexperienced and he is working on a few things he needs to sharpen up on.

"He will work hard, he is still a young man and there is a lot of development to come in him."

One of Cockerill's six big-hitters could go face to face with his two brothers on opposite sides of the field.

Manu Tuilagi could go up against Alesana and Andy, who both signed for the Falcons this summer.

"I will just treat it like any other game," said Manu.

His brother, Alesana, now 33, said he was looking forward to going back to his old ground.

"The jetlag is the main thing at the moment, but other than that, I feel good to go," he told the Newcastle Chronicle.

"This is a new challenge, and I want to test myself as well as helping the team achieve the success they are striving for.

"People know my style of rugby so it is no great secret.

"Knowing Dean Richards and John Wells (Newcastle coaching staff) from my time at Leicester is definitely a bonus. That is why I have come.

"I was delighted when I saw Leicester away was the first Premiership game to come out for us."

Schools minister Lord Nash has agreed to meet with the trustees of a new Sikh free school which was due to open this week.

The agreement was reached following a meeting between Leicester East MP Keith Vaz and the minister this morning.

Falcons Primary, as it is known, was supposed to open on Wednesday for the first time in £1 million new premises in Gipsy Lane.

However, its funding agreement from the Department for Education (DfE) was terminated at the end of last week because of a significant breakdown in the relationship between the Akaal Education Trust, and partnership organisation, the Affinity Teaching School Alliance, based in Kibworth.

A petition was immediately launched by concerned parents whose children were supposed to be attending the school and other members of the Sikh Community. It called on the trustees, who make up the Akaal Education Trust, to have their funding reinstated.

Following the meeting Mr Vaz said: "It was a very positive meeting and I'm very grateful to the minister for having set it up with the urgency it required due to huge concerns from the community.

"Lord Nash wants to see a Sikh school open in Leicester. The building now exists, the demand is there and there is a shortage of local places.

"In a week's time the Sikh trustees will present proposals and the changes they have made including to the school's governing body. "At the moment the government's timetable is to open the school next September, but the trustees have said they can do so much quicker than that so it's a question of convincing the department that this can be done sooner rather than later."

Akaal Education Trust was granted permission by the DfE last year to open the school.

Parent Kartar Singh, whose children were due to attend the school, accompanied Mr Vaz to the meeting.

He said he was very grateful to the Leicester MP for doing so and for paving the way forward.

A 28-year-old man has been charged with murder following an incident in Leicester 11 years ago.

The man has been charged with the murder of 45-year-old Ivan Barrs.

Mr Barrs was involved in an incident in which he suffered serious injuries in Northampton Street, in the city centre, on May 13, 2003.

He died in hospital on March 28 this year.

The accused, who has not been named by police, will appear before Leicester magistrates tomorrow.

A home insulation firm is set to axe up to 670 jobs after blaming a slump in trade on a change to Government policy.

Mark Group, of Beaumont Leys, has announced plans to cut more than a quarter of its 2,500-strong UK workforce after a shake-up to a Government grants scheme.

The company, which employs 600 people in Leicester, said there were likely to be job cuts in the city.

The policy change, which took place in April, has seen the amount of home insulation being installed through the Energy Companies Obligation scheme reduce by a third.

The change to the grants scheme was part of a push by ministers to slash domestic energy bills by up to £50 a year by cutting "green taxes".

Bill Rumble, Mark Group's chief commercial officer, said: "This was an abrupt policy change by the Government.

"This scheme has been going for a number of years. It's a fairly modest saving in energy bills we are talking about – £35 a year. If you have cavity wall insulation you could save £150 a year. The only way to reduce bills in the long-term is to make homes more energy efficient."

The company is to hold a 45-day consultation with the affected workers.

Liz Kendall, MP for Leicester West, whose constituency covers Mark Group's head office in Boston Road, Beaumont Leys, said: "These redundancies are a direct result of choices made by David Cameron and George Osborne, who cut the amount of money that energy companies are obliged to put into insulation and energy efficiency."

Dave Sowden, chief executive of the Sustainable Energy Association, said the job cuts were "a direct result of short term changes in Government policy, driven by hasty politics".

The Cottingham family, who own Mark Group, are estimated to be worth £102 million in the Sunday Times Rich List

Two bogus charity collecters were jailed today for conning money out of members of the public.

Ashley Elliott and Daniel Carter were both sent to prison for 14 months after collecting money at supermarkets in Leicestershire while dressed in official Age UK T-shirts and using some of the charity's collecting jars.

Carter posted an advert on the community Facebook site "Spotted Leicester" telling people they could earn £20 by collecting cash for Age UK.

Leicester Crown Court heard that others were recruited and some turned up to collect at Morrisons in Freemans Common, Leicester, dressed as and elf, a reindeer and even Santa Claus.

Carter and Elliott were arrested £119 and £210 in loose change and charity paraphernalia was found at their homes.

Prosecutor James Bide-Thomas said that the collecting operation involving the pair had 18 people collecting on a total of 14 days at four supermarkets.

He said supermarket officials calculated that two charity collectors could raise up to £300 between them on one day.

The judge, Recorder Adrian Reynolds, said they had committed a truly despicable crime.

He said: "I have no choice but to send you to prison otherwise I would be doing a complete violence to my public duty.

"Any person who reads this article in the newspaper might think that next time they are at Asda and see someone with a charity tin they will wonder if the money is going to charity or into the back pocket of the collector."

Mr Bide-Thomas said that the pair had even posed for photographs while collecting with staff at supermarkets and conned T-shirts and collecting jars out of Age UK Leicestershire while using their real telephone numbers and e-mails as contacts.

He said the pair collected cash at Morrisons in Coalville from December 9 to 15 last year.

He said the pair collected on their own and with others at Iceland in Leicester city centre on four days - even turning up on Christmas Eve last year.

Mr Bide-Thomas told how the couple brought six other collectors into Morrisons in Freemans Common, Leicester, on four days in December last year.

He said the pair collected again at Asda in Oadby on January 29 when staff became suspicious of the pair.

A call to Age UK revealed that the collectors were fake.

The police were called and both were arrested at the supermarket.

Carter, 24, of Churchgate, Leicester city centre, and Elliott, 25, of Mountcastle Road, West End, Leicester, pleaded guilty to one charge of fraud between November 20 last year and January 30.

They admitted falsely claiming that they were collecting on behalf of Age UK.

Ms Jacqui Callan, defending both, said her clients had met in care and had had troubled upbringings.

She said that both men now had jobs and were trying to put their lives on track.

She said: "For the first time in their lives they have a family unit and are making some progress towards living their lives in a more positive manner."

The judge said: "I hope you can get back into proper work and get back to your families and a proper life."

How to make a donation to the genuine Age UK

A man on board a flight which made an emergency landing at East Midlands Airport when smoke entered the cabin has praised his fellow passengers for staying calm during the incident.

Micheal Sharpe, 23, from East Goscote, was travelling home from Ibiza on the Jet2 flight with his girlfriend, Chanal Connolly, when some people on board smelled burning.

Incoming flights to the Leicestershire airport were cancelled after the emergency was declared, shortly before 8.30pm on Wednesday, so the plane could land.

Mr Sharpe said that for those on board it became clear there was a problem with the plane, but passengers were not briefed on what was happening.

"We were not told anything," he said. "Staff were running up and down the plane, so we knew something wasn't right because when do you ever see them doing that?"

He said that as the plane came into land, the problems began to escalate.

"All the lights went off so we all thought that the power had gone," he said.

"We thought we were coming into land as the plane started circling once and then again and again. We lost count after about seven times."

Mr Sharpe said that as the plane landed, there was visible smoke coming from the back of the plane. The cabin crew then carried out an emergency evacuation.

Once the passengers had disembarked, they were ushered into a room.

Mr Sharpe said: "Children were being sick everywhere because of the shock."

He said he and his girlfriend were both astonished that there were apparently no injuries.

"If it wasn't for the calmness of the people on board then someone would have been seriously hurt," said Mr Sharpe. "I've flown every year of my life since I was a kid and I've never seen anything like it."

Another passenger, Malcolm Yates, said there was no communication between cabin staff and passengers as the incident unfolded.

He told the BBC that as the plane landed, the passengers "saw the fire engines lined up".

"The stewardess kicked the door down up the front," he said.

"I remember her taking a great big lunge for it to smash it down.

"You could smell the burning, a strong electrical burning smell. That's when people started to panic, screaming 'get the kids off!'."

A spokeswoman for Jet2 said: "Following a safe arrival at East Midlands Airport, we decided to disembark passengers as quickly as possible as a precautionary safety measure because a minor electrical problem led to some smoke in the cabin.

"All passengers were looked after by our airport team and a full investigation is now underway. The safety of our passengers is of paramount importance."

An East Midlands Airport spokesperson said "The aircraft landed safely and passengers disembarked as quickly as possible as a precautionary safety measure.

"Airport staff were on hand to support passengers once they had vacated the aircraft. Three inbound flights were diverted and operations returned to normal 15 minutes later."

East Midlands Airport was open again yesterday (THUR) morning, with most flight times back to normal.

A spokeswoman for Jet2 said: "Following a safe arrival at East Midlands Airport we decided to disembark passengers as quickly as possible as a precautionary safety measure because a minor electrical problem led to some smoke in the cabin.

"All passengers were looked after by our airport team and a full investigation is now underway. The safety of our passengers is of paramount importance."

Police are appealing for information following the theft of a vehicle number plate which was later used to obtain fuel without paying.

The plate was stolen at about 7pm on Thursday August 21 from a vehicle on Hill Street, Ashby.

Officers believe the number plate was displayed on a vehicle which was used to obtain fuel without paying at a service station on Atherstone Road, Appleby Magna, at about 8.40pm on the same evening.

Two men in a white Peugeot Partner van with three roof bars displaying the stolen number plates, FL52KMK, drove off from the service station without paying for fuel.

A 24-year old man has been arrested in connection with the incidents and released on police bail pending further enquiries.

PCSO 6866 Kieran Bennett, who is investigating, said: "We are keen to speak to anyone who may have information about the theft of the number plates or who witnessed the theft of fuel from the service station.

"We would also like to speak to anyone who may have seen the white van in the area at the time of the theft or has information about the occupants of the van."

Anyone with any information is asked to contact the police on 101.

A 13-year-old schoolboy is gearing up to compete in the final of a national driving competition.

Kennedy Smith, from Ratby, has already been named one of the best young drivers in the region after winning the regional heat of the event.

The youngster had to performing a series of skills and manoeuvres, as well as an interactive online driving simulator which tested his knowledge of the Highway Code.

Now, he will go up against 40 other finalists - chosen from 350 entries - and compete for the title of UK's Best Young Driver at the finals held in Kenilworth, Warwickshire, on September 13.

Kennedy said: "I am really excited to have made it to the final. I think that my lessons will help me to be a better driver and will help when it comes to taking my test as I will have already learnt a lot.

"The instructors are great, especially Danny from Birmingham. I think I will instantly inherit a lot of friends at school if I win – one of the prizes is a Young Driver at School day."

The competition, open to youngsters aged between 11 and 16, has been organised by Young Driver - which provides driving tuition to under-17s.

The challenge judges the ability of the young drivers based on a number of criteria including parallel parking, figures of eight, a turn in the road, steering, judgement and positioning.

Kennedy will take part in the 11 to 13 age category at the final, which will be held at the Prodrive circuit in Kenilworth.

Up for grabs are prizes including 40 pre-and post-17 driving lessons provided by Goodyear, a Young Driver at School session for the winner and their classmates and £500 off a car insurance premium courtesy of Young Driver sponsor Admiral.

Young Driver spokesman Kim Stanton said: "We'd like to say huge congratulations to Kennedy and all of our finalists.

"The standard of entries was extremely high, so it should make for a great final – our judges will really be putting these young drivers to the test.

"Young Driver has now delivered more than 150,000 lessons across our 33 venues, and it's encouraging to see how well so many under 17s can drive.

"We believe it is vital to get youngsters learning to drive at an earlier age, so they can gain more experience and when they're more naturally receptive to safety messages.

"With our past pupils having half the number of accidents within six months of passing their test than the national average, the scheme can only be helping to make the roads a safer place for everyone."

For more information about the challenge, or to book a Young Driver lesson, visit: www.youngdriver.eu or call 0844 371 9010.