Hundreds of bikers roared out of Leicestershire today to show their support for the armed forces.

About 300 riders assembled at Leicester Forest East northbound M1 services before setting off on the annual Ride to the Wall, to the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire.

The ride, the seventh annual event, is to be followed by a service of remembrance.

Leicester Forest East is one of 11 official starting points around the country. Bikers from the continent are also due to join in.

Thousands of bikers are expected to congregate at the arboretum while many more thousands, not on bikes, are also due to attend.

The event raises money for the arboretum, home to the memorials to the armed forces, including a recently unveiled sculpture dedicated to the Royal Leicestershire Regiment.

Ride to the Wall is the only event of its kind in the country that gives motorcyclists the opportunity to show their support for the Armed Forces with a dedicated service of remembrance.

At the arboretum, the Military Wives Choir will perform on the steps of the main memorial and a Tiger Moth biplane will drop poppy petals.

The memorial's walls are engraved with the names of more than 16,000 service men and women who have been killed while on duty or by terrorist action since the end of the Second World War.

TV football pundit Paul Merson has predicted a 3-0 win for Leicetser against Burnley today.

The former England and Arsenal player told Sky Sports that he fancies the Foxes to have too much teeth for the Clarets.

 Merson said: "Will Burnley score a goal? Will Burnley win a game? I'm sorry, but I've definitely got to go for a home win here.

"Leicester play with a lot of power and a lot of pace and if they can go anywhere near the performance they showed against Man United, which is their benchmark now, they should win.

"Burnley needed to nick as many points as they could early on and it's a shame both of their main strikers got injured.

"Look at how Liverpool are struggling without Sturridge and Suarez and that's a big club - so Burnley are always going to struggle without their main forwards."

If you can't tell the smell of a rose from a fish you could be dead in five years.

That's the finding in a recent piece of research carried out in America.

In the first study of its kind, more than 3,000 men and women aged between 57 and 85 took part in a three-minute smell test.

The smells used were peppermint, fish, orange, rose and leather.

The researchers said that while the dulling of the sense does not directly cause death, it provides 'early warning that something has gone badly wrong'.

The cells in our heads which detect smell are constantly renewed and when they stop replenishing themselves it could mean the body is beginning to break down.

The research showed that people who could not distinguish the smells in the test where six times more likely to be dead within five years.

University of Chicago researcher Jayant Pinto said: "Of all the human senses, smell is the most undervalued and underappreciated – until it's gone."

Leicester Tigers were forced into a late reshuffle ahead of today's Aviva Premiership game away at Gloucester.

Seremaia Bai failed to recover from a calf injury in time for kick off and Owen Williams was shifted from fly-half to outside centre to accommodate.

That meant former Gloucester man, Freddie Burns came up from the bench to start at fly-half against the club he left last summer.

Leicester also gave debuts to Italian prop Michele Rizzo and former All Black World Cup winner, Brad Thorn, in the second row.

Two former Tigers were in Gloucester's midfield as Billy Twelvetrees and Henry Purdy lined up against their old team mates.

It may only be week five of this year's competition but with Gloucester seventh and Leicester down in eighth, this fixture took on extra importance.

Tigers: Tait, Scully, Goneva, Williams, Benjamin; Burns, Youngs ©; Rizzo, Ghiraldini, Balmain, Thorn, Kitchener, Gibson, Salvi, Barbieri.

Reps: Briggs, Bristow, Pasquali, de Chaves, Crane, Mele, Harrison, Smith.

Ref: Andrew Small

Christmas came early at one of the largest regional food festivals in the country today.

Christmas cake fudge was on offer and being snapped up by hungry visitors at the 11th annual Melton Mowbray Food Festival.

Set in the cattle market in the heart of the town – the self-proclaimed Rural Capital of Food – the festival saw more than 150 exhibitors showcasing their produce.

Anne Gray, of family business Harkers Fudge of Lutterworth, was the brains behind the Christmas cake fudge.

She said: "It was my idea. I thought it would be fun and could taste lovely."

The Christmas cake fudge is just one of 20 different varieties on offer at her stall.

"The most popular varieties are liquorice and salted caramel but the Christmas cake fudge is proving a big hit.

"It is the fourth year we have been at the festival and we are having a good time. As usual it is very busy and the footfall is high."

As well as the traditional Melton Mowbray pork pies and Stilton cheese, visitors were trying a range of food and drink, including new alcoholic ice creams, artisan cheeses, gold-infused bubbly, steamed puddings, chocolate kebabs, gourmet British game and local ales.

Celebrity chefs, regional cooks, bakers and bread makers including Rachel Green, Linda Hewitt, Joe Hunt, Stephen Hallam and Jo Pratt were on hand to demonstrate a range of recipes in the festival theatre.

Uniquely this year, to commemorate the start of the First World War in 1914, the Women's Institute organised displays on a war theme.

A family food and fun area helped keep the kids entertained as well as teaching them about food in a fun and interactive way.

Laura Medhurst, of Broughton Bakery, in Nether Broughton, which became the 100th exhibitor to sign up for the show, said: "I am looking forward to seeing what local producers have to offer."

Melton Promotions were taking a stand and giving out free vouchers and discounts available in the town.

They range from free cupcakes at Coco's to 10 per cent off at the Crown Inn.

Melton Town Centre manager Lisa Brown said: "We will also be launching the Dine before Nine campaign which will run from today through to Saturday, October 18, inclusive, where there will be special offers and discounts from Amici's, Thai Sabai, the Crown and Jasmine House."

There will also be an opportunity to enter a free prize draw, with prizes including a Taste of Melton hamper, a family admission to Rockingham Castle and gifts from T1 Skate Park.

The festival is organised by the Melton Mowbray Food Partnership, with support from Samworth Brothers, NFU Mutual, Bouverie Lodge and Melton Borough Council.

Tickets for the event, which runs from 10am to 4pm tomorrow, are £6 on the day or £5 in advance online at www.goleicestershire.com/foodfestival

For more details, visit:

www.meltonmowbray foodfestival.co.uk

l

The family of murdered Islamic State hostage Alan Henning has released a statement saying they are "numb with grief".

The family of 47-year-old the Salford taxi driver spoke out to the BBC after a video was released last night showing Mr Henning being beheaded.

The statement says: "Alan my husband, and father of Lucy and Adam, was kidnapped in Syria last year. Last night we received news of his murder by ISIL.

"It is the news we hoped we would never hear. As a family we are devastated by the news of his death. there are few words to describe how we feel at this moment.

"Myself, Lucy and Adam and all of Alan's family and friends are numb with grief.

"During this ordeal we have relied heavily on the support of many people.

"That support from the government, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Greater Manchester Police has been there from the start and has mean that we were able to get through the most awful of times.

"We always knew that Alan was in the most dangerous of situations but we hoped that he would return home to us. That is not to be.

"On behalf of the entire family, I want to thank everyone who campaigned for Alan's release, who held vigils to pray for his safe return and who condemned those who took him.

"Your efforts were a great support to us, and we take comfort in knowing how many people stood beside us in hoping for the best.

"Alan was a decent, caring human being. His interest was in the welfare of others. He will be remembered for this and we as a family are extremely proud of him and what he achieved and the people he helped.

"We now need time to come to terms with our loss. We would there fore be grateful if our privacy could be respected at this time."    

Our story began in a seaside town called Braunstone. You may be thinking, Braunstone isn't a seaside town; it's in the East Midlands, and you would be correct, yet in our story, somebody left the tap on, so the South of England, from Leicester downwards, got flooded, leaving Braunstone by the sea.

Our story features a geek or two who do all their homework before it's even due.

"Plenty of seagulls squawk! squawk! squawk!''

"And the dreaded suckers.''

They are the local bullies, named so because they suck the joy out of everything.

"We're mean and we're never keen about anything, we bully all the geeks and take the smile off their faces. Resistance is futile.''

Our story also features our main man, Puff Pastry Daddy, he's the dude, his pies are pukka. He bakes the best pastries and pies that will appetise and surprise all the pie-eating guys in Leicester.

The Puff Pastry

Daddy Wrap... rap

He's Puff Pastry Daddy and he's here to say: "Custard tarts are on sale today!''

His sausage rolls are out of control

His steak pie will bring a tear to your eye

Chicken or steak whatever your taste

Just thank Puff Pastry Daddy for the pies he bakes.

It was a seemingly ordinary Thursday at Braunstone on Sea. The sun was shining brightly in the clear blue sky. The birds were tweeting. Squawk! Squawk! Squawk!

...TWEETING! Tweet, Tweet, Tweet, and everything was calm, until... the school bell rang and out spilled a thousand teenagers looking for adventure. "Let's go and find some kids who are playing and having the time of their lives, then suck the fun out of everyone.''

The Suckers were living up to their reputation and in search of some fun to thoroughly spoil. They sucked so much fun out of the day that the sun went away, behind some grey clouds.

Meanwhile, Puff Pastry Daddy was busy baking his pastries and pies when his attention was drawn to some kids cowering in the corner.

"What's wrong with you lot,'' he said.

"We're scared of the bullies,'' the geeks told him. "They scare us and suck out the fun from everyone.''

"Don't let them win,'' said Puff Pastry Daddy. "Life is for living and you gotta have fun.

"Come and bake some tasty treats with me, then you'll see how pukka pies can be.''

So they baked lots of cakes and ate and ate until they couldn't eat any more.

"Take the rest home,'' said Puff Pastry Daddy.

"We had so much fun, thank you.''

The geeks began to walk home but along the way they were made prey by the gruesome gang of Suckers.

They stole their cakes and gobbled the lot and the geeks ran off as quick as a shot.

Now here's where our plot becomes a bit bizarre. You see, Puff Pastry Daddy had watched this occurrence and made a plan to scam those bullies and stop them pestering the whole town. He baked a pie, the biggest of them all.

"I just know those Suckers are gonna fall for my trick.''

He picked up a seagull off Braunstone Lane East; it had been sadly hit by a beast of a truck – an Eddie Stobbart lorry, in fact. "Road kill,'' he said. "I'll show those rotten bullies.''

And he added the dead seagull as the main ingredient to his enormous pie and gave it to the geeks to take home and try, knowing the bullies would be waiting to pounce.

He watched as the pie was leaving his house. It only made it half-way down the sea front before the Suckers took it from the geeks and the little runts devoured the whole pie, without taking a breath... just making a few grunts.

The geeks were scared, but Puff Pastry Daddy shared his secret plan and they laughed and waited for the seagull to land inside the bullies' tummies.

Once the Suckers had digested the stolen pie they felt a bit strange, one even began to cry.

"Why can I not speak,'' they all thought and, as they opened their mouths, they began to squawk.

Squawk! Squawk! Squawk!

The seagull pie had made their speech sound like seagulls squawking on a beach.

The spell lasted a week, so the geeks got some peace. The big bullies – the Suckers – had finally learnt their lesson.

And the whole seaside town turned its frown upside down and continued to have tonnes of fun in the sun.

Gloucester 33 Leicester Tigers 16

A dreadful first-half showing condemned Leicester Tigers to a 33-16 defeat by Gloucester at Kingsholm.

They conceded three tries in 16 minutes with their defence all over the place as the Cherry & Whites went in 30-9 ahead.

Tigers made far too many individual errors and their woeful kicking from hand in the first half just welcomed wave after wave of Gloucester attacks upon an already stretched defence.

The visitors showed some real guts after the break to win the second half 7-3 having been down to 14 men for 10 minutes when Niki Goneva was sin-binned. But it was too little, too late to stop a third consecutive defeat.

Leicester were forced into a late change when Fijian centre Seremaia Bai was ruled out with an ankle injury and Owen Williams was switched from fly-half to inside centre.

That meant former Gloucester fly-half Freddie Burns was brought up from the bench to the starting line-up against the side he left in the summer.

Referee Andrew Small's whistle dominated the opening quarter as penalty after penalty truncated the action.

It was mainly Tigers on the receiving end and they were pinged four times in the opening 11 minutes.

But they still came out of the first 20 minutes 9-6 down after Owen Williams' two kicks kept it tight against Greg Laidlaw's three penalties at the other end.

The game fell apart for Tigers in a hurry though on the back of some poor defending and some absolutely woeful kicking out of hand, which welcomed the hosts back on to them time and time again.

Firstly, Burns' clearance kick under pressure was blocked by Tom Savage and he flicked the ball up to prop Nick Wood who dived over the line.

Worse was to follow on 26 minutes as Charlie Sharples took advantage of a big chink in the visitors' defence to dart between Niki Goneva and Blaine Scully to score. Laidlaw's conversion made it 23-6.

Gloucester smelt blood and were now all over Leicester who were scrambling from one side of the pitch to another averting threat after threat.

Some superb defending by Julian Salvi on his own 22 won his side a much-needed penalty. And Williams third kick of the day cut the gap to 23-9.

More poor defending on the exposed right flank allowed the Cherry & Whites to run in a third score before the interval. Scully was again painfully exposed and Jonny May dived over the corner.

Laidlaw's superb conversion made it a 30-9 half-time scoreline that sent shockwaves through a delighted Kingsholm.

Leicester started the second half well. Ben Youngs had a sniping break from nowhere, the scrum looked solid and they kicked to the corner turning down three points after winning a penalty.

They took the line-out well but debutant Brad Thorn knocked the ball on five metres short of the line and another attack came to nothing.

Leicester remained on top after the re-start winning a couple of penalties at scrum time. And they showed their confidence had not been hit too much after a dreadful first half by turning down kicks at goal to attack the corners.

But mistakes continued to haunt them the in the opposition's 22 and they struggled to convert some decent pressure into points.

Gloucester surprisingly took a kick at goal on the hour with a penalty 10 metres out to make it 33-9 and they stuttered their way through the rest of the game.

Such was their dominance in the first half, they will be kicking themselves at not picking up a bonus point. Their frustration exemplified when Charlie Sharples knocked on with the line begging in the 76^th minute.

And a lovely break in the final minute by Scully, allowed Salvi to set up Mele for a clear run-in and a consolation try that was converted by Williams.

Leicester City manager Nigel Pearson expressed his disappointment after Ross Wallace's dramatic late free-kick held his side to a 2-2 draw with Burnley.

Pearson said his side should have won the contest at the King Power Stadium, which he described as feeling "like a Championship game".

City twice took the lead, first through Jeff Schlupp, before Riyad Mahrez restored their advantage just seconds after Michael Kightly had equalised for the visitors.

But, in the 96^th minute, Wallace curled his 20-yard free-kick past Kasper Schmeichel to earn the Clarets a draw.

"It is disappointing to drop two points because we should have won the game," said Pearson. "I don't think they caused us many problems all day.

"It felt like a Championship game. There was not a great deal of fluidity to it. It was a scrappy game. They didn't come here to play any fluid football. They came here to be difficult to beat and they were. Having said that, we probably didn't do enough with the ball when we had it.

"I think we are better than we were last season, I don't think they are as good as they were last year on today's performance but what they do have is spirit.

"We should have seen the game out, we gave too many silly free-kicks away, we did enough to win the game but we came away with a point. That's how it is, we move on."

While Pearson questioned the decision to give the crucial free-kick, he was primarily frustrated by the prolonged delay, which led the seven minutes of stoppage time, when Burnley full-back Kieran Trippier received treatment by the corner flag before being stretchered off.

"What irritates me more than anything is that a player goes down injured six inches from the edge of the pitch and it takes him six minutes to get him off the field," he said.

Burnley manager Sean Dyche said his side "absolutely" deserved a point.

"I thought we were terrific today from start to finish. We had sloppy moments, Leicester's second goal particular but, other than that I thought we were excellent," he said.

Leicester City were denied a second home victory of the season as Ross Wallace's 96th-minute free-kick held them to a 2-2 draw with Burnley.

Nigel Pearson's men twice took the lead at the King Power Stadium but failed to kill off the side bottom of the Premier League at the start of the day.

It was Jeff Schlupp who gave City the lead after a scrappy opening half-hour mark, sweeping home a neat first-time finish after strong work from Riyad Mahrez.

Burnley had not scored in the league in nearly 11 hours of football but it took them just six minutes to respond when Michael Kightly reacted quickest to Lukas Jutkiewicz's knock down to prod home the equaliser.

But, like so often this season, it took City less than a minute to hit back. Provider turned goalscorer as Mahrez raced in at the back post to head Jamie Vardy's deflected cross into the net.

That was how things looked likely to finish but until deep into injury time when Wallace curled a 20-yard free-kick past Kasper Schmeichel to secure the dramatic equaliser.

Pearson made two changes to the side that suffered the defeat at Crystal Palace last weekend, with both goalscorers Schlupp and Mahrez coming in for David Nugent, who dropped to the bench, and Esteban Cambiasso as he reverted to 4-4-2.

Mahrez was impressive throughout and it was the Algeria international who provided the first real test for Burnley keeper Tom Heaton, dancing his way through the heart of the defence before firing low towards the corner.

Liam Moore then went close, reacting quickest to the rebound after his central-defensive partner Wes Morgan had a header blocked on the line.

Burnley thought they should have had a penalty on the half-hour mark when Ashley Barnes went down in the area but referee Phil Dowd, instead, gave the free-kick to City.

To make it worse for Sean Dyche's side, City went straight down the other end and scored. Mahrez was at the heart of it, putting the ball into the area from the right where Schlupp was on hand to sweep the ball into the top corner with his right foot.

City's lead would last just six minutes, though. Liam Moore got caught under Scott Arfield's high ball into the City area, Jutkiewicz nodded it down and Kightly beat both Kasper Schmeichel and Paul Konchesky to the ball to score.

But, for the fourth time this season, it took City less that two minutes to respond. Schlupp fed Jamie Vardy, whose deflected cross found the head of Mahrez at the back post.

Burnley took charge after the break, as Jutkiewicz twice went close, and City were unable to put the visitors under as much pressure as they had in the first, as they struggled to keep hold of the ball and squandered possession all too frequently.

There was a long delay, too, when Kieran Trippier went down under a challenge from the already-booked Schlupp right by the corner flag. The full-back received treatment on the pitch before being stretchered off, leading to seven minutes of added time at the end of the game.

And that's when it came. Matty James was penalised for a tackle on Arfield and up stepped substitute Wallace to provide the dramatic conclusion.

Teams:

Leicester City: (4-4-2) Schmeichel; De Laet, Morgan (c), Moore, Konchesky; Mahrez (Knockaert – 72'), Drinkwater, Hammond (James – 78'), Schupp; Vardy, Ulloa (Nugent – 63')

Unused Subs: Hamer, Wasilewski, King, Wood

Yellow cards: Schlupp, Nugent

Burnley: Heaton; Trippier (Keane – 86'), Shackell (c), Duff, Mee; Kightly (Wallace – 79'), Arfield, Boyd (Sordell – 67'), Ward; Barnes, Jutkiewicz

Subs: Gilks, Lafferty, Long, Hewitt.

Yellow Cards: Arfield, Ward

Referee: Phil Dowd

Attendance: 31,448

Again and again we have problems highlighted by the general public about the design of Jubilee Square.

While I have no doubt the square will be a very pleasant area when the contractors have finally finished, there are problems which will not go away.

Previously I have highlighted the problem with the workmanship, which I doubt will be rectified. I find this totally unacceptable.

Why should we, the people of Leicester, accept anything but the best workmanship for our money, especially considering it was not cheap to build.

I suggest that at least the final payment to the contractor is withheld until the paving and levels are constructed to the industry recognised standards.

The faults are obvious and plain to see. I even witnessed a traffic warden tripping on the uneven paving.

Then there is the problem with the overall safety of the design. The indistinguishable motor vehicle access from St Nicholas' Circle and the "bench", (highlighted in the Leicester Mercury on September 20) are problematic.

I understand there has already been accidents caused by the "bench". A fall from that height could be fatal, especially for a small child.

The unmarked motor vehicle access is an accident waiting to happen. Even the contractors see the problem and have erected two temporary signs to warn drivers and pedestrians alike. What happens when they are removed?

Why does our Mayor have to consult his access officer (never heard of such a position)? I suggest he try a safety officer or create a position of common sense officer as there is obviously a distinct lack of it in our council .

If the defaults are obvious to the general public why can't anyone on the council see them?

The Mayor says he constantly listens to the people of Leicester but listening is one thing, action is another.

All I can say is the council have been warned, but why worry, any compensation payments which may result from the poor safety designs of the area, will only come from the city purse?

As usual, I doubt anyone will actually be held personally responsible?

John Startin, Aylestone.

Today:

A cold, clear start to the morning will be followed by a dry day with sunny spells. A moderate southerly breeze will develop by the afternoon. Maximum Temperature 15C.

Tonight:

Thickening cloud will bring rain, heavy at times, to the west late in the overnight period. The rain accompanied by strong winds, with gales over the hills. Minimum Temperature 7C.

Monday:

A wet and windy morning, with rain persisting into the afternoon, before clearer conditions follow from the west towards evening. Strong winds becoming confined to coasts, but feeling cool. Maximum Temperature 13C.

9.25am: There are no major delays to report.

<b>For more local and national travel information and weather updates see the links below:</b>

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An Afghan veteran who has already smashed through his fund raising target to help disabled ex servicemen and women is gearing up for his final challenge.

Rob Tuck, 27, of Hamilton, Leicester completed two duathlons, a triathlon and a 124-mile bike ride earlier this year in aid of the British Limbless Ex Servicemen's Association (Blesma).

Last weekend (Sept 28) he completed his first half marathon - the Robin Hood, in Nottingham.

He's now gearing up for his final of the six challenges he set himself - the Leicester Marathon at the end of this month.

For the first time, running alongside him will be wife Jemma, 24, who will run the half marathon while Rob runs the full 26 miles.

Rob, who works as a chef part time while studying for an accounting and finance degree at Leicester's De Montfort University, completed the half marathon in 1hr 42mins - putting him in around the top 1,000 of the 7,000 runners.

He said: "I was quite happy with that, the best I had managed in training was 1hr 51mins, so I knocked 10 minutes off.

"I felt really good, the start was a bit difficult because there were 14,000 runners in the full and half marathons in Nottingham and I spent the first five miles trying to get past people.

"There were loads of people cheering you on and it was much bigger than any of the other events I've done."

Rob and Jemma, a teacher at Bishop Ellis Primary School, in Thurmaston, are now in training for the Leicester Marathon on Sunday, October 26.

Rob added: "I'm starting to do 15-20-mile training runs and I'll run the full marathon at a slower pace.

"Jemma wanted to get involved and support me so we'll be starting together, running in our BLESMA tee-shirts.

"We've done a few training runs together of about nine or 10 miles.She's relatively new to long distance running, although she's fit because she used to be a dancer. She's looking forward to seeing how she does in the half marathon."

Rob, who served as a Lance Corporal in the Army for four years and spent seven months on the front line in Afghanistan, has so far raised £1,177 on his Just Giving page, beating his £1,000 target.

After leaving the forces in January last year, Rob decided he wanted to raise money for Blesma, a national charity which supports past or present servicemen and women who have lost limbs.

Rob said he chose the charity to help people and give something back to those who had made sacrifices.

To sponsor Rob, visit:

www.justgiving.com/rob-tuck3

.

STEVE WALSH was widely recognised as the life and soul of Leicester City on and off the field during his tumultuous 14 years at Filbert Street.

But he wasn't always the boisterous, fun loving character that has since made him a lifelong hit with a generation of Foxes supporters.

As he explains in his soon-to-be-launched autobiography Walshy's 50 Shades of Blue, the young man, who first arrived at Filbert Street back in 1986 as a £100,000 signing from Wigan, was recognisable only from his early reputation as an injury-prone hard man that quickly followed him to the East Midlands.

Instead he was a shy, introverted character who initially found it difficult to adapt to moving to a First Division club and competing for a place with John O'Neill alongside former England defender Russell Osman in the heart of the City defence.

Nine people were taken to hospital after a two-car crash on a motorway in Leicestershire.

Firefighters were called to the incident at 3.19pm yesterday on the northbound carriageway of the M1 between junctions 22 and 23.

The nine casualties were taken by ambulance to the Queens Medical Centre in Nottingham.

An air ambulance arrived but its services were not required.

Fire crews from Coalville and Loughborough mad the vehicles safe.

Part of the carriageway was closed. The road was fully re-opened at 4.10pm.  

Firefighters tackled a bedroom fire after clothes were left on an oil heater.

Two fire crews from Loughborough put out the blaze in the bedroom of a flat in Morris Close in the town after being called out at 7.12pm yesterday.

The blaze caused 80 percent fire damage to the bedroom and moderate smoke damage to the rest of the flat.

No-one was hurt in the incident.

Firefighters were called out twice in less than an hour today after wheelie-bins were deliberately set on fire.

A fire crew from Central station was called out at 1.54am to a blazing bin at the rear of the Aylestone Leisure Centre in Saffron Lane, Leicester.

The blaze destroyed the bin and badly damaged a door of the building.

At 2.37am another crew from Central station was called out to a blazing wheelie-bin at a property in Knighton Fields Road, West Knighton, Leicester.

The bin was destroyed. The headlight of a nearby parked van was melted by the heat.

A fire service spokesman said both blazes were started deliberately.

Urgent action is needed to combat a growing shortage of senior family doctors in the city, according to a top GP.

Latest figures show that nearly half of the existing GP partners are due to retire within 10 years and there is growing concern not enough young doctors are coming through to replace them.

Golden hellos could be used to attract more GPs.

But Professor Azhar Farooqi, chairman of the Leicester City clinical commissioning group (CCG) responsible for planning and paying for local health services, said ways will also have to be found to make the workload more family friendly.

Prof Farooqi, a GP in Highfields, warned that it could take at least seven years to turn the numbers round.

He said: "The situation is pretty difficult in primary care.

"Half of the GP partners are due to retire in the next decade and we are not producing enough graduates to take their place.

"In the East Midlands 30 per cent of the training posts have gone unfilled."

Prof Farooqi said that due to changes in hospital working patterns some graduates now found the hours more attractive than in general practice where you did not know from one day to the next how many patients you would see.

He added: "Young doctors don't want partnerships. They prefer to work a locums so they can control their workload.

"And increasingly young GPs are female and won't be working full time so while you have extra doctors you have less GPs."

The CCG is working with NHS England's Leicestershire team to find a solution.

Figures show there are a total of 304 GPs in 62 practices.

Of these 121 are partners, with 60 aged 50 or over.

There are 59 salaried doctors, 77 locums and 47 registrars, which are doctors training to be GPs.

A report, compiled by the CCG and NHS England officials for Leicester City Council's health and well being board, also highlights concern from practices about lack of surgery space to provide new services and a lack of funding for expansion and general improvement.

The report added some practices had encountered problems in the "Lift" buildings - built with private finance - where they claimed "the service costs are very high and there is often a lack of flexibility in discussions with the property company relating to extended opening hours or issues with accommodation."

The report will be discussed by Leicester City Council's health and well being board on Thursday.

Deputy city mayor and chairman of the board, Councillor Rory Palmer, said: "I called for this report as we have been hearing a lot about on going concerns about primary care.

"The issue of recruitment and retention is very serious and there needs to be good and frank discussion and very clear action as to how we are going to address concerns."

He added: "It is the first time we have done something like this, bring patient and GP views together.

"There are also issues for patients such as how they can make an appointment.

"In this day and age there must be more effective ways than just ringing, such as having a on-line system, we must make better us of technologies."

A couple whose wedding plans went up in smoke two days before their nuptials have tied the knot.

Groom Jonathan Cook, 29, and bride Kathryn Plant, 30, of Rothley, faced a race against time following a devastating fire at their wedding venue of Crathorne Hall in North Yorkshire.

The couple were due to get married at the hall last Friday but the building was badly damaged by a blaze on Wednesday.

With little more than 24 hours, and a lot of help from friends and staff at two wedding venues, the couple got married at St Mary Magdalene Church in Yarm, Teesside, on Friday.

The service was followed by a reception at Rudby Hall, near Hutton Rudby, attended by 60 guests.

Jonathan said: "It was big relief to finally walk down the aisle and get married after all the upheaval.

"Kathryn looked beautiful and everything went so well.

"Learning about the fire was a massive shock at first but with the help of a lot of people we managed to save the day.

"We would like to thank everyone who helped re-organise the wedding day. It was fabulous in the end."

He said the original wedding had taken nine months to organise and was set to cost £9000.

Jonathan said: "It was the craziest 24 hours I've ever had. It was terrible to get the call about the fire.

"After the initial shock we realised we just had to get things moving and try to save the wedding. Everyone pulled out all the stops and together we did it.

"The staff at Crathorne Hall worked closely with the staff at the new venue at Rudby Hall and between them they got it sorted for the reception.

"The rector John Ford at St Mary Magdalen Church in Yarm, was brilliant and we were able to get married there.

"We had to contact the photographer, the florist and even the harpist but everyone was able to fit into the new plan."

The couple were due to jet out on honeymoon to Rome today. 

Jonathan said: "We are set for three days in Rome, a cruise for seven days and then back to Rome for a couple of nights.

"After the build up we have had to this wedding it will be nice to relax.

"I just hope everything goes according to plan on the honeymoon. I think we have had enough excitement to last us a life time.

"One thing is for sure, we will not forget our wedding day.

"The whole story will be a tale to tell our children and grandchildren."