A couple with learning difficulties who were separated from their baby daughter for more than a year have won £12,000 in compensation after a judge ruled Leicester City Council had violated their basic human rights.

Judge Clifford Bellamy, of Leicester Family Court, condemned the actions of council social workers who prevented the parents, in their 30s, from taking their daughter home with them following her birth.

The social workers concluded the infant was "at risk of significant harm", and removed her from her mother and father as the couple prepared to take their child home.

Baby H, as the child was referred to in court, was then handed to a foster family while the council went through the motions of assessing the competency of the biological parents.

However, almost a year passed before social workers began the process and sent the infant's parents on a residential course to find out whether they could look after her.

The 12-week assessment was the first time the family had been together since they were split up at the hospital.

Baby H, now aged almost 18 months, was finally returned to her parents in June, and they are caring for her under close supervision.

Passing judgement at the hearing on Wednesday, Judge Bellamy said the couple had been subjected to "unnecessary delay and uncertainty", and awarded them £6,000 each.

He said: "The happy ending must not be allowed to mask or diminish this local authority's serious failings in the way that it has dealt with this case and the impact that has had on these parents."

The council admitted a total of 14 mistakes, including failing to keep the couple properly informed and failing to explain to them why their daughter had been taken against their wishes.

Judge Bellamy said the council had failed to properly consider the couple's lack of understanding of what was happening and their mental capacity to consent to what was being done with their daughter.

He added that the council had admitted that its failures breached the parents' human rights to a fair hearing, and to respect for their privacy and family life.

"The nature and extent of the poor practice admitted by the local authority is such that an adverse impact on these parents was inevitable," said the judge.

"They would have needed great fortitude to be able to take such an experience in their stride.

"Far from having great fortitude, it is clear that these are vulnerable, learning disabled parents who had no-one to speak up for them."

He added: "These parents have suffered a loss of time with their daughter which was both unnecessarily lengthy and deeply distressing."

The foster parents, referred to as Mr and Mrs B, had also suffered appallingly, said Judge Bellamy.

He said they were initially under the impression that Baby H would stay with them for about two weeks.

As the case dragged on, they became attached and developed a powerful emotional bond with the child.

Judge Bellamy said: "One can only feel immense sympathy for the position that Mr and Mrs B find themselves in.

"They have taken H into their home and into their hearts. They have had expectations that have not been fulfilled."

Frances Craven, the city council's strategic director of children's services, said: "We fully accept the judge's findings, and will be apologising in person to both of the families involved.

"When this case was reviewed by senior management, we found that a number of mistakes had been made, and we have already started work to ensure these do not happen again.

"This includes reminding all of our social workers that extra support should be offered to parents with learning difficulties, in recognition of their entitlement to a family life.

"We will be reviewing all of our actions alongside the judgement received today, to see if there are other lessons to be learned which will improve our services in the future.

"It's vital that the parents now receive the right support to enable them to have the family life they deserve, and we will be doing our utmost to provide this."

An ambulance was involved in a crash with another car this morning.

Police were called to the scene of a two-vehicle collision between a Honda Civic and an ambulance shortly before 8.30am today.

The crash happened in Wakerley Road at the junction with Ethel Road in Evington.

The road was blocked while the emergency services dealt with the incident but the police left the scene shortly before 10am.

The front of the ambulance was damaged in the crash.

No-one was injured. 

The hunt to track down an East Midlands Ambulance Service disk containing 42,000 confidential patient records has failed to find the missing information.

Bosses at the service, known as Emas, had been trying to trace the missing computer disk containing the unencrypted records since mid-August.

In a statement today Emas said the "independent external investigation" into the incident had now concluded.

The service said that while no criminal act had been detected, the investigation had found a number of flaws in the way Emas stored the data.

The disk contained electronic copies of scanned handwritten patient report forms which ambulance crews had handed over to hospital staff. The forms included patients' full names, their ages, and details of the injuries or illnesses and treatment given.

The information, which covers reports from September to November 2012, went missing from the Beechdale divisional headquarters in Nottingham.

Emas launched an immediate investigation when it was realised the data was missing, and hoped the information would be found.

In a statement yesterday, Emas said: "The police have concluded there was no evidence to suggest a crime had been committed.

"Unfortunately, despite the thorough investigation led by an external information technology specialist, and commissioned by Emas, it is not clear how the cartridge was actually lost.

"However, the independent investigation has shown there were flaws in the way we stored the data on this particular system."

The statement added: "We were certain the (missing) data could only be read via specific hardware which we have in our premises, and which is no longer in production."

The investigation found the main causes of the incident were "ineffective management and procedural controls".

A report of the investigation stated: "The computer system the information was stored on was obsolete and not fit for purpose, the security systems in place were not sufficiently adequate to prevent a data loss from happening and staff shortages resulted in a higher number of temporary staff being used than would normally be expected."

Emas said that as a result of the findings made during the investigation, it had developed a "comprehensive information management and technology strategy", which would see the service "investing in new computerised systems and significantly improving" its IT security.

Closed circuit television has now been installed to monitor the safe where the data is stored.

A member of the information technology team is now dedicated to managing security and more full-time staff have been recruited to reduce reliance on agency staff.

Sue Noyes, Emas chief executive, said: "We expressed our apologies to our patients at the time and would like to reiterate those apologies now.

"It is important to note that during this financial year we had already agreed to replace this computerised storage system and to strengthen security arrangements.

"We took a proactive approach to report this loss because we knew it was our duty to inform people that such an incident had occurred.

"We are taking the same approach in publishing the outcomes of the investigation."

She added: "We are an open, honest and transparent service, which learns from its mistakes and takes actions to minimise the risk of such an incident happening again."

Leicester City captain Wes Morgan admits his side have a "point to prove" when they welcome West Brom in the Premier League on Saturday.

City have gone four games without a win, their longest league run for 18 months, and put in their worst performance of the season in their defeat at Swansea last Saturday.

The result saw City slip to 17th in the table, just a point outside the bottom three.

Morgan, who is facing a race for fitness after suffering a knock on his ankle in the defeat at Swansea, said his side need to start showing they are better than that.

"We have got something to prove, especially because we have not had a good result lately," said Morgan.

"We need to start climbing up that table and make sure we are safe and secure.

"We went through the video of Swansea, the manager (Nigel Pearson) pointed out the negatives and told us we are much better than that. We have put that to bed now. 

"We just want to get back to winning ways with a good, solid performance against West Brom.

"We all want to do well and prove just how good we are and get back up the league. I am sure we will do it this weekend."

While City have toiled on the road, with just one goal to show on their travels, they have been impressive on home soil and remain unbeaten at the King Power Stadium.

However, those performances have not always been turned into results, with just the victory over Manchester United currently in the home win column.

"We want to make our home games count and be as solid as possible," said Morgan.

"It is a good place to get back that team spirit we had a few games ago when we beat Man United, and get back to winning ways."

One area City desperately need to improve is at the back, where they have kept just one clean sheet so far, in their victory at Stoke. 

If Morgan is passed fit for Saturday, he admits he and his players will need to up their game, especially with West Brom striker Saido Berahino in red-hot form, netting five goals in his last four Premier League games. 

"I have not trained much this week but I have been watching the boys," said Morgan.

"Our defensive shape as a unit, as a whole team, needs to improve.

"If we get that right then we can give the forwards the chance of scoring goals and winning games.

"Berahino is a fantastic player, and a threat that we have to be careful of.

"But we have played against (Robin) Van Persie and (Radamel) Falcao, so that is part-and-parcel, you are going to come up against good strikers every week.

"We just have to do the right things on the pitch to keep them quiet."

Scrum-half Sam Harrison expects the shackles to be off on Saturday when Leicester Tigers line up against London Irish in their LV= Cup opener at the Madejski Stadium.

It is likely to be a much-changed side which faces the Exiles as Tigers look to the competition to hand first-team experience to some of their young guns.

At 24, Harrison is likely to be among the more seasoned players in the match-day squad and he is looking forward to getting some action under his belt having had only limited opportunities behind Ben Youngs and David Mele so far this term.

"We've got a fresh bunch of players who haven't been involved as much as the senior players at the start of the season," said Harrison.

"For a lot of lads, there is a big opportunity. There has been good enthusiasm in training and there is a feeling that the shackles are off."

Harrison has only figured against Bath and Gloucester this season in the Aviva Premiership, although he is likely to be more prominent in the next month with Youngs away on England duty.

There would appear a real chance for the former John Cleveland College student to showcase his attributes.

"Every game that I am picked for is exactly that," said Harrison.

"All the lads here have the same motivation whatever the game. This is a really good opportunity for me to get some game-time, which is what I need.

"When your game-time is limited, it is difficult to gauge where you are at.

"When I do play, I like to think that I have done well and that I'm improving. In training, I have been working on little things, like everyone else.

"I like to think that I'm still improving and, hopefully, I can show that in the coming weeks."

Harrison accepts that opportunities will be limited with Youngs and Mele ahead of him in the pecking order.

The plus side to that is he gets the chance to work with players of that quality.

"There is good competition, as there always has been at No.9 at Tigers," said Harrison. "There have been several world-class nines I have played with. I'm used to having international players to look up to and learn from.

"Ben is an experienced player and really good to learn from, and I make the most of that."

Whatever side that Tigers field in Reading, they will be thirsting for a win.

"We won't be overly concerned with what Irish put out," added Harrison.

"We will have our game-plan and expect them to put out a good side. But we will be focused on our game."

An underage driver who crashed his father's car, causing the death of his eight-year-old brother, has been spared jail, after his family appealed for mercy.

Chirag Jadeja was ordered to carry out 280 hours of unpaid work after being convicted of causing the fatal accident in Leicester, when he was 16. He was banned from driving for two years.

The youth had taken his father's car on a night when his parents were out.

His brother, eight-year-old Abhay, who was sitting in the boot of the two-seater Smart, died from head injuries he sustained when Jadeja crashed the car into a telegraph pole.

At Birmingham Crown Court today, defence barrister Jason Bartfeld appealed for mercy from the judge, saying the accident had devastated the Jadeja family.

He told the judge: "Chirag's father told me having lost one son, the family couldn't bear to lose another one to custody.

"His mother and father are remarkable people. They have held this family together.

"No punishment this court can impose will make a difference to the life sentence this young man already has to bear.

"He and his younger brother were extraordinarily close. I have been told Abhay never left his brother's side."

Jadeja, now 18, of Harrison Road, Belgrave, Leicester, was found guilty of aggravated vehicle taking, causing death by careless or inconsiderate driving and causing death by driving while unlicensed and uninsured.

An earlier trial at Birmingham Crown Court had heard the crash happened when the driver's parents were out, on the night of July 3, 2012.

Prosecutor James Thomas told how the defendant's sister, Jaimina, who had a provisional licence, had driven her father's car to her boyfriend Ranvit Singh's house, to show him she could drive.

They picked Singh up, and Jaimina drove back to her father's driveway.

When she got out, Singh stayed in the car and Jadeja drove off, with his younger brother in the boot space.

Pc Stuart Bird, of the police serious collisions unit, said no-one was wearing a seatbelt when the car crashed at 36.8mph in a 30mph zone.

CCTV footage played in court showed the car driving off, clipping the kerb and crashing, minutes later, into a telegraph pole near Gipsy Lane Chippery.

Abhay died from a fractured skull after his head hit the front of the boot.

Singh suffered broken ribs, pelvis and hip, a damaged lung and a torn liver.

In a statement read to the court, Jaimina said Jadeja had wanted to show Singh how well he could park a car.

Mr Bartfeld told today's hearing Jadeja was a hard-working young man of previous good character.

His honour Judge Melbourne Inman QC told the teenager: "You wanted to show off.

"Tragically, you were unable to drive and keep control and the car hit a telegraph pole and a wall, resulting in the killing of Abhay and causing serious injury to Ranvit Singh.

"I have no doubt this accident has had a devastating impact on the family and a devastating impact on you.

"It would be wholly inappropriate to impose a custodial sentence in this sad and tragic case."

Singh (22), also of Harrison Road, Belgrave, pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicle taking.

Robert Underwood, for Singh, said his client was man of previous good character.

He said: "Not only was he seriously injured, he lives with the torment of knowing that had he behaved more properly he might have saved the life of that young boy."

The judge gave Singh a 12-month conditional discharge.

He told him: "You have been punished severely already because of your injuries.

"You are a law-abiding man who suffered a lapse of judgement and have paid a very heavy penalty."

After the case, Singh said: "I am so sorry for Mr and Mrs Jadeja.

"I am so ashamed of my part in what happened on that night.

"I just hope they can find it in their hearts to forgive me."

Leicester City Nigel Pearson is confident captain Wes Morgan will be fit to face West Brom on Saturday despite the defender missing training this week with injury.

Morgan admitted he has "not trained much" after picking up a knock to the back of an ankle in the Premier League defeat at Swansea.

The City captain was visibly limping after the game at the Liberty Stadium last Saturday and Morgan said he had been "recovering all week".

"I have been making sure I am right for the weekend," said Morgan. "I have been getting treatment all week so, hopefully, I will be fine. I will find out tomorrow."

Morgan has started every Premier League game so far this season, and missed just one of the 46 Championship outings last term.

But Pearson was quick to allay fears that his captain would not be available for the visit of West Brom on Saturday.

"I'm not concerned about Wes," said Pearson. "He will be training tomorrow and we will go again.

"He is an experienced player and manages himself well.

"He will probably have quite enjoyed having a few days where he's not been training like normal.

"He's still been working. Wes's idea of not training is different to others. He will be fine.

"He's an important player for us and it is about managing players through the season.

"He's also done a lot of travelling as an international (with Jamaica) as well."

Pearson said he had no other concerns going into the game, but confirmed that goalkeeper Ben Hamer would be out for three to four weeks after dislocating his finger in training last week.

"He will be in his strapping for another week," said Pearson. "It was potentially a nasty one but it was a dislocation rather than a break.

"It is a better situation than it could have been.

"I've not got any problems that will cause any concern. We have had players who haven't trained on certain days this week but that is not a problem."

Leicester City have been unfortunate in recent games but they must start making their own luck, says defender Ritchie De Laet.

City slipped to a fourth defeat in five games on Saturday after Esteban Cambiasso's freak own-goal against West Brom.

De Laet said that moment demonstrated how City have not been getting the rub of the green in recent weeks.

However, he said City had to show their resolve and change their fortunes through hard work and determination.

"At this moment in time, it is just a bit of luck that we are not having," said De Laet.

"(West Brom) had it, but if we keep working hard it will come.

"It is just that little bit of luck we need at the moment.

"Goals haven't been there for us at the moment but we have keep working hard and then something will fall for us.

"We have to make our own luck. We have to keep believing that it will come and keep working.

"It is such small margins in this division. Last season we could have perhaps got away with that and maybe scored ourselves in the last minute.

"Here you play against top players and top teams. We are in games, which is important, but it is just that little bit of quality or luck we need to get that magic going again."

City have slipped towards the bottom three but De Laet said he was not worried about City's position in the table.

"It is still early days," he said. "We are only 10 games in.

"Losing points to an opponent who might be in and around us in the table is not good, but we have to learn from it and keep going.

"The boys know we can't drop our heads. Everyone knows there is quality in this team so we just have to go again this weekend.

"The coaching staff do a brilliant job of keeping everyone's confidence up.

"Everyone who watched the game must agree that we deserved at least a point.

"Losing to a goal like that is very unlucky so the boys are down at the moment.

"I am sure we will watch the tape again but then leave it behind us and go again."

Jack Barmby scored the winner against his former club as Leicester City under-21s beat Manchester United under-21s 3-2 last night.

Barmby, who joined City after coming through the United academy system, scored a stunning winner in the second minute of added time to seal a famous win for Steve Beaglehole's men.

James Wilson had put the hosts ahead but City were rewarded for a good first half with Joe Dodoo's equaliser and Marc Albrighton, who joined first team squad members Anthony Knockaert and Danny Simpson in the side, put City ahead with a rocket in first half added time.

Will Keane scored a scrappy equaliser for United in the second half but Barmby popped up to snatch all three points as City continue their resurgence of form.

City's under-21s next face a very different test with an international double header against Schalke and Benfica.

Leicestershire have confirmed the appointment of Andrew McDonald as head coach at Grace Road.

The move had been expected since a review of the 2014 season resulted in a revamping of the coaching structure at the club, casting aside the director of cricket role.

McDonald, who knows the Grace Road scene well after two seasons with the club, which culminated in the Friends Life T20 triumph in 2011, is currently playing for South Australia.

The 33-year-old will join forces at Grace Road with at least one other Australian, pace bowler Clint McKay, as County search for an improvement to their dismal Championship form, which has not yielded a win in either of the past two seasons.

McDonald's South Australia team-mate Mark Cosgrove has also been linked to County.

All-rounder McDonald, who played four Test matches for Australia, is aiming to create a "successful and sustainable" system at Grace Road.

"I developed a relationship at Leicestershire as a player and the opportunity to return in the role of head coach is one I am looking forward to," he said.

"To take on the challenge of creating a successful, but also importantly sustainable cricket programme, while fostering the development of an emerging group of young players, is an extremely exciting prospect for me.

"Coaching has always been something I have harboured ambitions to pursue.

"I think that going into coaching at a relatively young age, while still involved in cricket in the way I am in Australia as a player, is a very progressive move for both myself and Leicestershire."

McDonald played 11 Championship matches during 2010 and 2011 but in that time he hit three centuries.

His main input, though, was in the 2011 T20 when he smashed 534 runs in 18 matches, including seven half-centuries.

He took some important wickets but also held a dozen catches, more than any other outfield player.

County's interim chief executive, Andrew Boyce, believes that McDonald's approach to the game will help him to develop into a successful coach.

"Andrew is the epitome of Australian grit," said Boyce. "He has a strong mental attitude to winning games.

"He has had a great influence on the club in the past and will do so again.

"We are so pleased that Andrew has agreed to return to become our head coach.

"He was a great influence on the younger lads as a player here. He helped us to get over the line on numerous occasions.

"Andrew was a good performer on the pitch and a very good person to have in the dressing room."

Boyce believes that McDonald's performances in the 20-over arena prove he has what it takes to be a top-level coach.

"When somebody is able to have time to make decisions in the cauldron environment in T20, you know you have a clear thinker," he said.

"Andrew has always been able to make an assessment of what is required to win a game and never panics."

As a schoolgirl, Jess Shailes endured years of bullying and name-calling because of her flame-red hair. But her crowning glory has now proved to be her fortune. Here, she tells Becky Jones about her business supplying hair products to fellow redheads

Yeah! I'm ginger! So what? is the question posed by the gingerbread man on the wall. This is the home of someone who's ginger and proud. That someone is Jess Shailes and, with her glossy copper locks, it's no wonder the statuesque beauty is happy to embrace her natural crowning glory.

The 30-year-old businesswoman, who lives in Market Harborough, runs a website celebrating all that is great about red hair, and supplying products to care for it.

But her relationship with her hair has not always been so positive.

In her early teens, name-calling across the school playground left Jess wishing she could trade her tresses.

She went to Little Bowden Primary School, then Welland Park and Robert Smyth schools, in Market Harborough, and she remembers being teased from the age of 12 until she was about 16.

"What's odd about being picked on for having red hair is that people would shout words, like 'ginger'. That's observant, it's not insulting, except in the way it's intended," says Jess. "I was picked on by lots of different people who didn't know each other. It wasn't like it was the same group of people. It made me think, eventually, 'maybe there's something wrong with me?'

"It's a horrible situation for any young person to be in, because you're vulnerable. You haven't got the strength of will to stand up for yourself."

Now, she's affectionately known by her friends as "Rabbit,'' after flame-haired bombshell Jessica.

And she doesn't mind being described as "ginger'' these days.

"If we use it ourselves, it will hopefully lessen the impact it has on us. There was a time when I would have given anything to have another hair colour, and it wasn't just the colour. It was the freckles, and the fact my friends could tan and I couldn't.

"I tried to dye my hair brown once, but you could still see the copper coming through. It wasn't going to go away."

After school, Jess went on to study business, advertising and marketing communications at the University of Hertfordshire. It was there that she finally began to appreciate her red hair. This was encouraged by the fact she was approached to model for Toni and Guy – though she wasn't impressed when they dyed parts of her hair blonde.

It was two years later, when Jess decided to leave a job in web design and join her sister teaching in South Korea, that she truly grew to love her hair. "They really admire the colour there, and they appreciate pale skin," she says. "To be in the situation where I was rare but it was a really positive thing, rather than really weird, was different.

"When I came back to England, I brought that appreciation back with me."

On her return to Blighty, Jess lived in Yorkshire, where her mum had moved to. Having continued to learn about web design and social media (as well as learning to speak Korean) during her Asian adventure, she went back to working in the industry on a freelance basis.

However, she wanted something more stable, something of her own.

Jess's eureka moment came when she was chatting to her mum, a fellow redhead (her sister and dad are brunette).

"We were talking together about how we struggled to find a shampoo to make our hair look as radiant as it could be," she says. "Red hair loses its colour over time, so we need a shampoo which deposits a small amount of colour. It's hard to get in shops.

"It's just not worth them stocking, due to the small amount of people with ginger hair."

According to Jess, just six per cent of people in England have red hair. With it generally only being women who want a colour-enhancing shampoo, the market is only about three per cent.

As obtaining the product was proving tricky, Jess and her mum decided to supply it themselves, through an online business.

In September 2011, Everything for Redheads launched.

Jess invested her time and skills – including designing the website and logo – and her mum invested the money.

"She invested not just money, but she invested faith in me," says Jess, who returned to Market Harborough two years ago. "I don't think I'd have gone ahead if she hadn't had that faith in me."

She now runs the business alone after her mum decided to take a step back.

Her main products are a range of shampoos – which she uses herself – catering for the full spectrum of redheads, from strawberry blondes to auburns.

Although it's a niche market, the business has a band of regular customers, and social media has proved a valuable tool in widening the customer base.

In addition to shampoo, the site sells various redhead-related products, including a "Red Hot'' calendar featuring famous ginger-haired hunks, and there are plans for a range of make-up for paler skin.

"At the moment, my make-up is the palest you can buy in the shops, but as my winter bloomage comes in, even that's too dark," she says. "We used to stock Dainty Doll, by Nicola Roberts, but it just stopped about two years ago.

"Trying to find make-up that's pale enough is a real struggle, but I think we've found somebody."

Everything for Redheads also has an online community for users to talk about all things ginger.

"We sell shampoo but because we cater for redheads, a lot of our conversations are about our 'tribe' and how we connect," says Jess. "We talk about the things we've got in common, whether it's freckles, what colours to wear, or being bullied at school."

Jess now travels across the world to redhead conventions and has been to America, Holland and Ireland – where there's a carrot tossing championship and a competition to find the most freckles per square inch.

She has even set up her own event, the Redhead Day UK, which began two years ago.

This year, it included the MOGO (Music Of Ginger Origin) awards.

Jess is proud to attend redhead events, but says there is a drawback – she doesn't stand out.

"If I'm describing myself I'll usually say I've got red hair. You can't really use that description when you're at a redhead convention! The last thing I wanted as a teenager was to stand out. I just wanted to read books and write and paint.

"Now, I love to be noticed and be remembered. As I've embraced having red hair, I've become more extrovert."

She says it's strange to think that she's now running a burgeoning business based on something she hated so much when she was young.

"I never could have predicted that I'd be doing what I'm doing now. The idea that I'd be making money out of something that was a problem for me in high school is insane.

"I've always been a problem-solver and I think that's the reason Everything for Redheads exists. I'd like to think that other people could turn things that they have previously seen as negatives into strengths and run with them, like I have."

http://everythingforredheads.co.uk

Picture: Will Johnston