Thomas Waldrom returns to the Leicester Tigers line-up for their LV= Cup clash against the Scarlets, in Llanelli ,tomorrow.

Waldrom joined up with Tigers this week after being released from the England squad and he starts at No.8.

He is one of four changes to the starting line-up from last week's bonus-point win over London Wasps.

Harry Wells is handed a start in the second row in place of Tom Price, who was stretchered off after 30 minutes of his debut last weekend.

There is no place in the squad for Tom Croft, who was replaced 10 minutes into his return to Welford Road last weekend after 10 months on the side-lines with a career-threatening neck injury, after suffering a bang on the back.

Brett Deacon captains the side and moves to flanker to replace him.

Matt Cornwall also starts in his second senior game since returning to the club last summer.

Elsewhere, Micky Young comes in at scrum-half in place of Sam Harrison while George Chuter starts at hooker instead of Rob Hawkins. Harrison and Hawkins both drop to the bench.

The Tigers bench receives a huge boost in the form of club captain Geordan Murphy, who is named among the replacements after recovering from a knee injury.

There is also a place in the squad for young flanker George Oliver and academy second-rower Matt Hubbart.

Leicester City are on the right road for promotion, manager Nigel Pearson said, but he warned there was still a long way to go.

City opened up a three-point gap in the automatic promotion places and closed the gap on leaders Cardiff City going into today's Championship fixtures following their victory over Wolves on Thursday, but Pearson is guarding against complacency.

City have a 100 per cent record in January after five consecutive league victories have rocketed them into the promotion places.

Manager Pearson, however, said there will be some tough times ahead, especially as City now face a potentially fixture backlog through February and March, with two games a week for four weeks.

"The January and February period is not always the easiest time and we have managed to start the new year well, but there is an awful long way to go and it remains very tight," said Pearson.

"I don't think it is prudent to make assumptions that we have cracked it.

"There is a long way to go and we will miss opportunities because of the scheduling and rescheduling of games.

"The Cardiff City fixture has been put back and we have a FA Cup replay to negotiate. The outcome of that will affect another league fixture.

"There are a few twists and turns yet that we have to deal with. The focus has to be on us concentrating on our own fixtures.

"You are only as good as your last result.

"Our thoughts are already now on the next fixture and trying to get the performance and, more importantly, the result right."

Seven men accused of conspiring to commit violent disorder at the Moghul Durbar restaurant in Leicester appeared in court yesterday.

They are charged in connection with an alleged incident at the restaurant, in East Park Road, Spinney Hills, on the evening of Monday, January 14.

A large group of people allegedly burst into the recently opened premises and smashed windows. A number of people were assaulted and six people attended Leicester Royal Infirmary for treatment.

After an application made by the Leicester Mercury during yesterday's hearing at Leicester Crown Court, Judge Michael Pert QC lifted an order made earlier by city magistrates, forbidding the press from reporting the addresses of the accused.

The restriction was lifted despite requests from all defence advocates for it to remain.

Judge Pert said there were insufficient legal grounds for making such an order and overturned the ruling.

Six of the accused men are from Derby. They are: Surjit Pandher (28), a former prison warden, of Northfield; Gurmukh Singh Cheema (25), of Harrington Street; Ranjit Singh (21), of Harrington Street; Sundeep Singh Sangha (25), a gas heating engineer, of Wordsworth Avenue; Rajveer Singh Sangha (24), a college student, of Wordsworth Avenue; and Ranvir Singh (21), of Harrington Street.

The seventh defendant is Kahan Khalsa (26), of Oldbury, Birmingham.

No pleas were entered and the case was adjourned for a plea and directions hearing. All seven men were remanded back into custody.

He's a Hollywood star who is getting in shape for his latest acting role – but Stephen Graham isn't one for fancy celebrity fitness studios.

The Liverpudlian actor, who has appeared in films including Gangs of New York, Snatch, This Is England and Pirates of the Caribbean, is training at a new Leicester gym to stay close to his Ibstock home.

Stephen is getting fit for his role in season four of HBO's acclaimed Boardwalk Empire.

The extra muscle will also come in handy for a forthcoming film for Columbia, about two brothers who "get involved in some shady situations", which he starts shooting in September.

However, Stephen also wants to get fit so he can keep up with his two children, Grace, eight, and Alfie, six.

The actor spoke to the Mercury during a training session at the gym.

"I play Al Capone in Boardwalk Empire and a lot of people don't know he was quite a talented boxer in his day," he said.

"This season we're going to see a bit of growth to his character. I've been playing him leading up to this position and now he's going to be taking control in Chicago.

"I'm also doing a film called Columbia later on in the year. That's about two brothers from Manchester who go to Columbia and I'm preparing myself because there are a few fight scenes.

"It's also a personal choice. I'm getting older – I'm in my late-30s now – and you think you're reasonably fit, but then I did a run around a field with my kids and realised I needed to start looking after myself.

"I want to have fun with my kids."

Stephen is working out at the gym, which opened last month on the Faircharm industrial estate, off Narborough Road, with personal trainer Mark Jarvis.

Mark is sparring with him in the ring and getting him to lift weights.

"I've been coming for a few weeks now and Mark is a fantastic personal trainer," said Stephen. "I like this place because some gyms can be a bit – how can I phrase this nicely – a bit pretentious, and sometimes a bit intimidating. But everyone here's dead relaxed and down to earth.

"I try to get down about twice a week and I'm doing boxing and a little bit of weight lifting – but not too much of that because I don't want to bulk up too much.

"Mark isn't too much of a sergeant major, he's nice to me, but he pushes me hard and it's slowly building up.

"It's good, I'm enjoying it. And it's not far from where I live, which is great."

Stephen has lived in Ibstock, in north west Leicestershire, for several years. He lives with his wife, Hannah Walters, who is also an actor, and Grace and Alfie.

He said he loved being a part of the village community.

"For me it's all about family and having them and your close friends around you," he said.

"I'm very lucky because I can travel to LA or New York or wherever to film, but Ibstock is my base and always will be."

An armed robber stole £113,000 worth of jewellery during one of five terrifying knifepoint raids.

Lee James Shelley (38) confronted all the victims at their places of work and demanded cash, Leicester Crown Court was told.

He shielded his face with scarves and brandished a variety of blades, ranging from a craft knife to a 12-inch carving knife.

Shelley began his robbery campaign the day after being given a 12-month suspended sentence by judge Michael Pert QC for other crimes.

He was back before Judge Pert yesterday, and was jailed for a total of five-and-a-half years after pleading guilty to three robberies and possessing offensive weapons.

The court was told Shelley went on a spending spree with the proceeds of his crimes.

Shelley, of no fixed address, asked for two other raids to be considered.

James Varley, prosecuting, said that on October 26 last year Shelley posed as a customer at a jewellery shop in Leicester. He inspected two pendants before producing a 10-inch-long kitchen knife and telling the woman sales assistant: "I don't want you to panic."

The woman told him: "I don't want you to hurt me."

He replied: "Just do as I say."

Shelley made off with £200 in cash and a tray of rings worth £113,000, which were never recovered.

A day earlier, he had gone into a home furnishings store in the city and produced a craft knife in front of a female assistant.

Before taking £100 from the till, he told her "I have a knife. You won't be hurt."

Mr Varley said Shelley took changes of clothing with him when committing the robberies, to cover his tracks.

On November 3, Shelley went to a children's clothing shop in Leicester and produced a 12-inch knife. He told the woman assistant: "Open the till, I won't hurt you."

As he helped himself to £200 she ran out of the store and despite "collapsing with shock", flagged down a passing police car. "Officers recognised him and pursued him, but he brandished a knife at them," Mr Varley said.

Shelley made off in a car but was arrested the next day.

One of the raids taken into consideration involved a knifepoint robbery at a pub in Leicester on October 18, the day after Shelley was released from custody by Judge Pert, who gave him a 12-month suspended sentence for offences including harassment.

The other similar offence was at a men's clothing shop in the city centre on October 21. Shelley had 288 offences on his criminal record, including a knifepoint robbery of a man at a cashpoint in September 2011.

Sentencing him, Judge Pert said: "The suspended sentence in October was a complete waste of time as this offending started as soon as I'd passed that sentence. These were knifepoint robberies of small businesses where the occupants were terrified."

Andrew Fryman, mitigating, said: "He told the shopkeepers he wasn't going to hurt them but no doubt they were paralysed with fear. No-one was physically hurt."

The first floor of a sandwich takeaway was closed after environmental health officers found a dead mouse.

City council officers shut the first floor of Bag A Baguette, in Charles Street, Leicester, after they found the dead rodent and mouse droppings in the food preparation area, near to items being prepared for public consumption.

Leicester magistrates ruled yesterday that the first floor of the food outlet must remain closed until further notice because it posed an imminent risk to public health.

Shilpa Thakrar, prosecuting on behalf of Leicester City Council, told the court environmental health officers inspected the takeaway on Wednesday after a complaint.

Environmental health officer Susan Clement told the court they had no choice but to close the first floor of the outlet there and then because of the presence of droppings throughout the food preparation area.

It means the whole takeaway has been shut since then.

She said: "In the kitchen on the hob was a pan of boiling eggs. There were droppings behind the hob and on takeaway packaging next to the hob.

"There was other takeaway packaging and there were droppings on and around the packaging and evidence of urine, too."

The dead mouse was found behind a fridge.

Ashfaq Ahmed, the owner of Bag a Baguette, who represented himself in court, admitted the takeaway should have been cleaner.

He said: "With regard to the eggs, I may be being funny, but eggs have shells.

"I don't accept the fact we were in a position to poison someone because of this."

Mrs Thakrar said the food safety officers visited the takeaway the next day but not enough had been done for them to allow it to reopen.

She attended court to apply for a hygiene emergency prohibition order to keep the outlet closed.

Ahmed told the court the business had nearly folded when he was subject to a similar order in 2011.

He said: "I don't know how we survived. If this happens again, there will be three people that are jobless as well as myself."

Chairwoman of the bench Meriel Buxton granted the emergency order. She ordered Ahmed to pay £400 costs.

The court heard the first floor of Bag A Baguette will remain closed until environmental health officers from Leicester City Council deem it is no longer presents an imminent risk to public health.

After the court case, Miss Clement said food safety officers would be inspecting the takeaway next week.

A milkman who disturbed a rapist trying to strangle his victim has told how he tried to catch the fleeing attacker.

Mick Swinn, who, with his colleague Pete Walsh was praised by a judge this week for saving the life of the rape victim, yesterday described his actions as "all in a day's work".

Mr Swinn and Mr Walsh came upon the scene, in Richard III Road, near the Kirby and West depot, in Leicester, where they work, on July 7 last year.

Their arrival in the early hours of the morning caused brutal sex attacker Arturas Ardavicius to drive off.

Mr Swinn, 47, a father-of-two, of Saffron Lane, Leicester, said: "I had just loaded up the van and was driving out of the yard at about 4am when I saw this chap on top of a woman with his hand over her mouth.

"I put the full-beam headlights of my van on and he got up and ran off to his car, but he didn't switch his lights on. I knew the lads at the depot would look after the woman and I went after him. I pulled up level with his car, but I had to reverse out of his way or he would have driven into me.

"I followed him along St Augustin Road but lost him in Tudor Road. I wasn't going to chase him with a full load of milk on, but I was able to identify the type of car which had two flags sticking out the back window – the European championships were on at the time.

"He also had damaged hubcaps where he had been hitting the kerb. The description of his vehicle helped the police, because they picked him up pretty quickly.

"I phoned my manager and carried on with my round, it was all in a day's work. I told my wife, Linda, about it afterwards. I suppose she will give me a pat on the back now the story's out.

"Any half-decent person would help anybody out. He probably thought he had picked a quiet spot, but he obviously didn't know the area and that there was all that activity at that time of the morning, but it was lucky for her and probably saved her life.

"I was just acting out of instinct.

"It was just one of those things you do, you don't think about your safety, you just get on with it."

Mr Welsh, who preferred not to have his picture taken, was arriving at the depot when he came across the scene.

He looked after the terrified victim after Mr Swinn drove after Ardavicius.

He said: "I don't want any special thanks for it because I just did what anybody else would do."

Judge Simon Hammond said the pregnant victim, a prostitute, would have died if the two milkmen had not chanced upon the scene.

At Leicester Crown Court on Thursday, he told 26-year Ardavicius, of Bonchurch Street, off Fosse Road North, Leicester, who was found guilty of attempted murder and two counts of rape he could face life imprisonment.

Mr Swinn and Mr Welsh's manager Jason Joyce said: "They're both good lads. If they hadn't have seen her, she'd have been dead.

"Luckily for her, he brought her to a place where there were a lot of people about.

"Pete was just arriving for work and Mick was just leaving. Pete helped bring her into the depot. She was in a real state, very upset. She was uncontrollable, she couldn't breathe or get her words out.

"She was distraught. It was distressing for everyone there. I think the lads deserve all the credit they get."

David Nugent says the heat is now on Leicester City's promotion rivals.

Second-placed City opened up a three-point gap on Hull City, who travel to face Millwall today, thanks to Nugent's second-half strike against Wolves on Thursday.

The star striker admits he will be relaxing and watching their rivals scramble to match their achievement.

Watford and Crystal Palace, who both suffered mid-week defeats, have home games against Bolton Wanderers and Charlton Athletic respectively, and Nugent said the pressure was on them.

"We have done our job so it is nice to sit back and relax and watch the results come in," he said.

"We have got the three points, which puts us three points ahead of Hull and they are under pressure to get a result at Millwall. It is nice we can relax.

"We have had a great run in January (City won all four league games) but we want to keep it going now into February."

Nugent admitted City weren't at their best in beating Wolves and said the visitors probably deserved something from the game after Bakary Sako's strike at the start of the second half cancelled out Anthony Knockaert's opener.

However, Nugent said at the start of the season they could have lost the game and put their victory down to a new-found resilience.

"The way Wolves played in the second half they probably deserved something out of the game," he said.

"It was a scrappy game but we are winning these scrappy games now. At the start of the season, we probably would have lost that one.

"But we have a lot of honesty and endeavour and belief that we can go on and win these games."

Nugent's superb strike after cutting inside off the left flank gave City victory but he was quick to praise the contribution of team-mate Lloyd Dyer.

"Fair play to Lloyd, he made a great run outside which made me make my mind up," he said.

"The centre-half followed Lloydy's run and it just opened up for me. Thankfully, I was able to curl one into the bottom corner."

Nigel Pearson has hailed his 'match-winning' Frenchman Anthony Knockaert.

The 21-year-old recovered from an ankle injury to spark Leicester City to victory over Wolves on Thursday.

Knockaert scored a fine individual goal in the 2-1 victory, and Pearson believes he is adding even more qualities to his game.

"He is a young man learning his trade," he said.

"It is a big year for him to come over from France and embrace a new culture here. It is a big step up from the level he has been playing at.

"But he has some real quality and is a match-winner. He hadn't trained much during the week and it was touch and go whether he was going to be involved.

"For him to play as long as he did (against Wolves) was a positive for us.

"He did show some flashes of skill and he also worked very hard for the team.

"I have seen an improvement in terms of his ability to affect the game in both directions. I was pleased with his contribution.

"He is a very bubbly character and an interesting one to manage, but we're very pleased to have him on board."

After missing last week's FA Cup clash with Huddersfield through injury, Pearson admitted that playing Knockaert had been a risk.

"He had a heavy knock on his foot and we have had it scanned, and it was always a calculated risk," he said.

"It could have been something more serious so, for us, it was very pleasing to have him available."

City's win over Wolves was their fifth consecutive in the Championship, and cements second place in the table.

Pearson was delighted with his team's efforts, emphasising the club had more than just one player who could swing a game.

"Knockaert is a match-winner but we have a few of those," he said.

"Match-winners aren't always the ones who score the goals, attacking players, they can also be defensive players as well."

The latest astonishing twist in the extraordinary story of the search for Richard III can exclusively be revealed by the Leicester Mercury today.

The spot where a skeleton was found in August was next to a car parking space marked with an "R".

The letter was noticed by academics at the University of Leicester at the start of the dig - and it was coincidentally captured in a photograph of Greyfriars car park taken by the Leicester Mercury before the excavation began.

The picture, shown above, reveals a faded "R".

We have marked the spot, just a few feet away, where archaeologists discovered human remains which could turn out to be those of the king.

An eagerly-awaited press conference on Monday morning will reveal the results of tests which have been carried out on the remains by university experts.

These include comparing DNA extracted from the bones with that of descendants of Richard.

Archaeologists, geneticists, genealogists and historians will present their evidence to the world's media before the project's lead archaeologist, Richard Buckley, announces the final verdict.

Nobody knows exactly why the letter had been painted in this spot. It is thought it might have been to indicate a reserved parking space.

Mr Buckley said the team had never taken the mysterious sign seriously, but admitted it was "spooky".

"I used various sources, such as old maps and accounts from historical authors to draw up the trenches," he said.

"I admit, when we started the dig, I was sceptical – I didn't think we had much chance of finding him.

"I was more interested in finding the friary where he was supposed to have been buried.

"Philippa Langley, from the Richard III Society, was present when we were deciding where to dig, and kept telling us that R marked the spot.

"We had a joke about it, but we never for one moment thought anything would be buried underneath it.

"This is a serious academic project and the implications – if it turns out to be Richard III – are huge.

"But I think the mysterious R is quite nice and gives the whole thing a bit of levity, which we could probably do with every now and then."

The car park is owned by Leicester City Council.

The Mercury asked the council if it knew why the letter had been painted on the Tarmac, but staff at the council were as perplexed about it as the University of Leicester dig team.

Mick Bowers, principal property review officer at the council, said: "I was based at Greyfriars for many years and remember the R being there for most of them.

"It was something of a standing joke before the dig started that R obviously marked the spot as it seemed a strange thing to spray on a car park.

"The best we can come up with is that maybe it signified a reserved parking spot for someone based at St Martin's.

"But that doesn't quite ring true, because it wasn't painted in a parking bay, it was more towards the centre of the car park.

"I've asked other people who have been around for a while, including the car park attendants, to see if they can shed any light on it but unfortunately not."

Archaeologist and Greyfriars site manager Mathew Morris, who found the skeleton, said: "We don't know how the R got there and, to be honest, I missed it at first.

"It's only when someone came to us with the photo and said 'have you seen this?' that I thought 'wow, that's a bit weird'."

A number of small railway detonators, which could cause injury if used incorrectly, have been stolen from a van in Wigston.
The detonators, which make a loud noise when struck by a train, are used as a signal to indicate to train drivers that they must carry out an emergency stop.
Police have said they should only be used by trained professionals and officers are concerned that they could cause injury to a member of the public who did not know what they were.
The eight detonators were stolen from a van in Britford Avenue, Wigston, sometime between 10pm last night, Friday, and 3.45pm this afternoon, Saturday.
They are described as yellow discs which are approximately 2in in diameter.
Inspector Claire Morgan is urging members of the public to look out for the detonators and for those in possession of them to return them to police immediately.
She said: "As the detonators are designed for trains it would take some force to set them off. However, that doesn't mean to say that it cannot be done and that someone could not be injured.
"We are currently doing all we can to trace the detonators and hope that members of the public will help us do that so that we can keep them safe. If you think you have seen anything similar to the detonators described then please get in touch. If you are in possession of the detonators please hand them in at your local police station.
"While the injuries may not be life threatening they could still cause harm and we are concerned that the people who have taken them have no idea what they can do. If you have any information about their current whereabouts then please get in touch and help us with our inquiries."
Also taken from the van was a small plastic horn and a whistle.
Anyone with any information is asked to contact police on 101. Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers, which is free and anonymous, on 0800 555 111.

A buyer with £175,000 and a little imagination is needed to take over an empty city church.

St Barnabas, in New Humberstone, closed in 2010 when the Diocese of Leicester decided congregation numbers had dwindled too low to maintain the Grade-II listed Victorian building.

It has room for hundreds of worshippers but, before it closed, only about 20 people attended the Christian services in what has become a mostly Hindu neighbourhood.

The church has now been put on the market with Andrew Granger & Co.

Estate agent Elizabeth Lewin said: "St Barnabas is a fine example of Victorian architecture – it's a beautiful building and the gothic interior creates a great first impression.

"It's really important that we find a buyer who will be sympathetic to the building and its past.

"When we've sold churches in the past it's been about finding someone to stick around to get planning consent because applications about a church are going to be more considered than with another building of a similar age."

The church has planning permission for class B1, which means it could be used as a creche or for education, as well as its former use as a place of worship.

Other possibilities suggested by the estate agents include health centre, art gallery, museums or library.

Elizabeth said: "Because there's no parking it's limited to further development such as flats, but that's not to say someone can't come up with a far-out idea. A community use is most likely."

She said the new owner would find it challenging to get any major changes to the building approved by Leicester City Council.

Most churches are sold on to the open market, but a few are adopted by the Churches Conservation Trust because of their heritage value.

David Gillman, who works as a consultant on getting the best use out of empty churches, said St Barnabas could be hard to sell.

He said: "The church is very near a well-appointed Hindu temple, so there is little requirement for it as a place of worship for the large Hindu population in that area.

"It is a large building and it's not going to be easy to find a new use for it."

Leicester Victorian Society spokesman Graham Lees welcomed the decision to try to sell the church.

He said: "St Barnabas is one of the buildings we identified as one of the 10 most important city buildings at risk of falling into ruin.

"What we hope happens is that someone buys the building and is sympathetic to its character and significance.

"It is a great example of Victorian architecture and it is vital to retain this part of the city's past.

"We do not want it standing empty for ages. A quick sale would be most welcome."

Anyone interested in the building can ring Elizabeth on 01509 243720 or e-mail:

elizabeth.lewin@ andrewgranger.co.uk

Following the bonus point win by Sale against Wasps the day before, the Tigers travelled to Llanelli to take part in a dead rubber since neither team had any prospect of progressing in the competition.

Frankly that is pretty much the way the game was played.

Tigers had clearly decided substitutions pre-game and determinedly stuck with the plan to obtain the game time for the players they had deemed appropriate.

In many ways, the scheduling which left that situation in the group games – where the groups had been decided before the matches were played – is typical of the LV= Cup tournament, which is a cobbled together group phase with a relatively shambolic end sums it up.

Tigers were good and bad in parts in the game itself. A pleasing level of ruthlessness and a little precision in attack gave them an unlikely lead and three tries in the first half.

The second was less pleasing as the front-row changed and the Tigers' scrum disintegrated, without that set-piece parity it was always going to be a struggle and so it proved.

Clearly the sin-binning of Rob Andrew and Fraser Balmain was unhelpful and Tigers pretty much capitulated in the end.

While the final score was in the region of embarrassing, it would have been interesting to see what would have happened had the match been "live" in terms of progression.

Positives? Mat Tait has been practising under the high ball and was secure, Dan Bowden showed some flair and control at No.10, Andy Forsyth is still an excellent prospect and appears to have developed physically during the close season.

Geordan Murphy made his comeback and still shows what a genuine leader he is on the pitch.

It would be interesting to know the thinking behind the decision for the excellent club man Matt Cornwell to take all the set-piece kicks – if Dan Bowden, as many suspect, is going to get more game time for the rest of the season.

He will need to step up to those kicks (unless Tigers have another back-up kicker in mind) and not taking the opportunity to practice seems a little strange. Is Bowden carrying an injury?

Leicester arrived at the Parc Y Scarlets having made one change to their squad with Scottish scrum-half Scott Steele replacing Sam Harrison on the bench.

6 min: PENALTY (3-0) After dominating early possession, Scarlets take the lead through fly-half Owen Williams.

11 min: TRY (3-5) On their first serious attack of the game, Tigers turn down a chance to kick for goal and set up a five-metre line-out. George Chuter throws short to Harry Wells and Leicester begin an unstoppable driving maul which sees Thomas Waldrom dive over for the opening try.

14 min: PENALTY (6-5) Williams puts the Scarlets back ahead.

18 min: PENALTY (9-5) Williams extends the lead to four points.

21 min: PENALTY (12-5) Williams maintains his good form with the boot.

27 min: YELLOW CARD After having a team warning by referee Greg Garner, hooker Emyr Phillips is sent to the sin-bin for a ruck offence and Llanelli are down to 14 men.

29 min: YELLOW CARD Matt Cornwell's long pass to a two-man overlap is slapped forward by Andy Fenby and he is also yellow-carded by the referee.

30 min: PENALTY TRY (12-12) Tigers take full advantage and, when the Scarlets collapse a five-metre scrum, Garner awards a penalty try and Cornwell ties it up.

34 min: PENALTY (15-12) Scarlets go back in front despite being two men down with Williams' fifth penalty.

40 min: TRY (15-19) Niki Goneva makes a nice break and seven phases later, Dan Bowden's long pass makes the most of a two-man overlap and Andy Forsyth dives over. Cornwell nails a touchline conversion.

H-T: Scarlets 15 Tigers 19

43 min: PENALTY (18-19) Tigers suffer a rare penalty against them at the scrum and Williams drags the gap back to just a point.

59 min: PENALTY (21-19) Fraser Balmain is pinged and spoken to by the referee for popping up in the scrum for a second time. Williams strokes over his seventh penalty.

61 min: YELLOW CARD Tigers Rob Andrew is sent to the bin for pulling down a line-out jumper.

64 min: YELLOW CARD Balmain is yellow carded and gives away another penalty.

70 min: TRY (28-19) Aled Thomas grabs loose ball, feeds Fenby and he runs off down the touchline for the hosts' first try. Thomas converts.

76 min: TRY (35-19) A lovely side-step by Gareth Owen in midfield and he skips through Leicester's midfield to run in untouched. Thomas converts.

78 mins: TRY (40-19) Nic Reynolds keeps a grubber kick infield, which Geordy Murphy thought had gone into touch, and dives over the line.

F-T: Scarlets 40 Tigers 19

Police have issued a warning after eight railway detonators were stolen from a van.

The detonators make a loud noise when struck by a train and are used as a signal to indicate to train drivers that they must carry out an emergency stop.

They were stolen from a van in Britford Avenue, Wigston, some time between 10pm on Friday and 3.45pm on Saturday.

Police have warned the detonators should only be used by trained professionals and are concerned they could cause injury to a member of the public who did not know what they were.

The detonators are yellow discs about two inches in diameter.

Also taken from the van was a small plastic horn and a whistle.

Inspector Claire Morgan is urging members of the public to look out for the detonators and for those in possession of them to return them to police immediately.

She said: "As the detonators are designed for trains, it would take some force to set them off. However, that doesn't mean to say it cannot be done and that someone could not be injured.

"We are doing all we can to trace the stolen detonators and hope that members of the public will help us to do that so we can keep them safe.

"If anyone thinks they have seen anything similar to the detonators described then please get in touch.

"If anyone is in possession of the detonators they should please hand them in at a local police station.

"While the injuries may not be life-threatening they could still cause harm and we are concerned that the people who have taken them have no idea what they can do.

"If anyone has any information about their whereabouts then please get in touch and help us with our enquiries."

Anyone with any information is asked to contact police on 101 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

An Albanian national suspected of trafficking a woman to the UK and forcing her into prostitution may be in Leicester, police believe.

Hysni Sokolaj was today named among 18 "most wanted" foreign nationals in a campaign by the Metropolitan Police in London.

The force has launched the nationwide appeal – which is codenamed Operation Sunfire 3 – to track down the suspects, who have been linked to crimes such as murder, robbery and drug trafficking.

The Met said it had intelligence linking Sokolaj, 40, to a house in Leicester.

However, he also has associations with London and Cheshunt in Hertfordshire.

People have been urged to dial 999 if they see Sokolaj and warned not to approach him.

A Met spokeswoman said: "Intelligence suggests there is an address in Leicester to which he is connected.

"So, it is possible he has been staying there recently and, if so, we think it is likely someone in Leicester will recognise him."

The new campaign is the third of its kind to be run by the Met's extradition unit.

It aims to put the suspects in front of British or overseas courts.

The Met believes Sokolaj profited from forcing an Albanian woman into prostitution in Belgium and then the UK between 2001 and 2005.

People are being urged to use the confidential Crimestoppers hotline to pass information to the police.

Crimestoppers founder Lord Ashcroft said: "We have seen a great response from the public and arrest success from past campaigns, so our hope is that this will continue and that the public will join us in standing up against crime.

"By working together and speaking up anonymously we can all take steps towards making the UK safer."

All 18 suspects' details and photographs can be viewed at the website below.

Anyone with information should contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

www.crimestoppers-uk.org

MP Keith Vaz is to sell his old suits and his dead mother's clothes to help an elderly constituent pay for a stairlift and shower.

Mr Vaz visited 83-year-old Peggy Taylor at her home in Netherhall, Leicester, after she wrote to him about her long battle with the city council to get the stairlift and disabled access shower fitted in her house.

The great-grandmother, who suffers from lung disease and heart problems, has been waiting about six years for the work which was approved in March last year.

However, after being told by the council she would have to pay £220 towards the costs, she was sent a bill for £477.

Instead of the workmen she was expecting last month, she said all she received was demands for the cash threatening "further action" if she did not pay.

Mr Vaz said: "I think it's outrageous what she's been put through and I can't get my mind around it.

"I'm so angry to see this demand for overdue payments sent to an infirm woman of her age. It's remarkably insensitive.

"I'm going to organise a sale outside Mrs Taylor's house and sell my late mother's clothes and my own suits that no longer fit me and pay this £477 myself."

Mr Vaz's mother, Merlyn, died in October 2002 after a battle with cancer and the MP has lost weight after being diagnosed with diabetes.

Peggy thanked Mr Vaz.

She said: "It's very kind. It's the city council who want a rollicking.

"I think they are treating me terribly. I've been working all my life and I need the stairlift and the shower to stay in this house.

"I've fallen twice in the shower and it takes me a long time to get upstairs."

Peggy's daughter, Merilyn Bee, 59, who lives in Beaumont Leys, Leicester, said: "She's living on her pension and just paying her bills when she can.

"She struggles to get upstairs and she really needs this work doing."

Mr Vaz, Labour MP for Leicester East, said: "Mrs Taylor is a pensioner, living in her own home without the city council having to look after her in an elderly resident's home.

"All Mrs Taylor requires is a little bit of modification to her home so that she can continue to live independently.

"She has worked all her life, contributed by paying her taxes and this is the kindness that is shown to her in her fragile years."

A Leicester City Council spokesman apologised for the error in which Mrs Taylor was told she only needed to pay £220.

The spokesman said the amount was determined by means testing and was prescribed by national legislation and subject to strict rules.

He said: "The advice given to Mrs Taylor during the home visit was found to be inaccurate. This has been corrected and we apologise for the error."

Mr Vaz is due to hold the sale outside Peggy's house in Armadale Drive at 12.30pm on Friday.

A sloppy final 10 minutes saw Leicester Tigers' LV= Cup campaign end in disappointing fashion with a heavy defeat by the Llanelli Scarlets in Wales.

Sale's bonus-point win at Wasps on Saturday had secured them the top spot in Pool Two and rendered this fixture a dead rubber.

Yet a very competitive game was in the balance with 70 minutes on the clock as the home team held a 21-19 lead.

Tigers fell apart in the closing stages though as the Scarlets ran in three tries to overturn a 19-15 half-time deficit and win the second period 25-0.

It was Tigers who were doing all of the try-scoring in the first half as Thomas Waldrom, Andy Forsyth and a penalty try kept them on top.

But consistent infringements in their own half cost Tigers dearly and the clinical boot of Scarlets fly-half Owen Williams kept his side in the game, despite two yellow cards for team-mates Emyr Phillips and Andy Fenby.

A pair of yellow cards for the visitors was the turning point of the second half as Rob Andrew and Fraser Balmain were sent to the cooler by referee Greg Garner.

And Tigers looked tired near the end as they shipped three late tries for an ugly scoreline.

The Scarlets dominated the early exchanges and opened the scoring when fly-half Williams kicked a seventh-minute penalty.

Leicester came back and took the lead on their first attack of the game. Turning down a kick at goal, they forced a five-metre line-out. Harry Wells took a short throw and fed Waldrom at the back of a maul that steamrollered over the line.

Matt Cornwell missed a touchline conversion but Tigers gave his opposite number, Williams, plenty of practice at the other end as he kicked three penalties in seven minutes to put the hosts 12-5 up after the opening quarter.

The game turned Tigers' way on the award of two yellow cards in as many minutes which gave Leicester a 15 versus 13 advantage.

Phillips was first to go after the Scarlets had had a team warning for repeated offences on 27 minutes and then winger Fenby joined him in the sin-bin for slapping away a clear try-scoring pass from Cornwell to a two-man overlap.

Leicester quickly took advantage as the Scarlets collapsed a five-metre scrum and Garner awarded a penalty try, Cornwell's extras levelled the scores at 12-12.

Despite being two men down, Llanelli scored next as Williams hit his fifth penalty of the game after Andrew came in at the side.

But Tigers had the ascendancy going into the break as Forsyth was on the end of a long pass from Dan Bowden and Cornwell nailed a touchline conversion to put his side 19-15 ahead.

Two more penalties from Williams edged Llanelli 21-19 ahead as the game approached the hour-mark and, by now, Tigers had a very young pack with Ryan Bower, Fraser Balmain, Harry Wells and George Oliver all on the pitch.

Things began to go wrong when Andrew was yellow-carded for pulling down a line-out jumper and, when Balmain joined him off the field three minutes later, Scarlets played their best rugby of the day.

Fenby raced down the left wing for their opening try on 70 minutes, Gareth Owen skipped through a big gap in midfield six minutes later and Nic Reynolds scored their third try in eight minutes as he controlled a bouncing ball that Geordan Murphy thought had gone out of play.