Leicester Tigers director of rugby Richard Cockerill has said that hooker George Chuter is likely to leave the club this summer.

Tigers have signed London Welsh's Neil Briggs to add to in-contract duo Rob Hawkins and Tom Youngs.

Cockerill says that 36-year-old Chuter, who holds the record for the most number of Premiership appearances with 260, is likely to be playing his rugby elsewhere next season.

"George has been fantastic for us," said Cockerill. "He came to the club at a time when there were lots of hookers here and he had to fight for his spot.

"The amount of games he has played in the Premiership speaks volumes for his robustness and his character.

"He has been a fantastic player who has played for England and in Premiership-winning sides.

"For a guy who does not seem overly competitive on the outside, he is a very strong character. If he moves on and, at this point, the likelihood is that he probably won't stay, we will miss him.

"He has been a fantastic character within the squad and a fantastic player. But there comes a point in everyone's career, when it is best to move on or do other things.

"Whatever happens, George will be dealt with properly and if he wants to continue playing, we will help him do that. But, at this point, it won't be with us."

Cockerill added that the potential deal that could see prop Martin Castrogiovanni join French Top 14 side, Toulon was "dormant" but that he still expected it to go ahead.

The 31-year-old returns to the club this week after being on Italian duty during the Six Nations.

"We are still waiting for the paperwork to come though but Toulon are keen to have him and he is keen to make it work," said Cockerill.

"We are in the process of finding replacements and making the squad fit from a playing and financial point of view."

Nigel Pearson has admitted his side have lost their attacking sparkle.

City have scored just three goals in their last five games, and two of them have been netted by centre-back Michael Keane.

The other was scored by striker Jeff Schlupp, who went on as a substitute at half-time during Saturday's 2-1 defeat at Derby County.

City's top scorer is David Nugent with 14 goals this season, but he hasn't scored in the last eight games, while Chris Wood, who bagged nine goals in his first nine games since joining City in January, and has 20 in total for the season, has not found the back of the net in the last five games.

Pearson's other creative players, such as Ben Marshall, Harry Kane and Anthony Knockaert, are also off form.

"At the moment, we have a few players struggling to find form," said Pearson after City's defeat at Pride Park.

"We have probably got more flair players than we have had previously and, unfortunately, we have a few who are struggling to rediscover the sparkle they had at other stages of the season.

"That is something that we don't want to be the case.

"While we have created chances in many of the games, I don't think we have created many gilt-edges chances but created good situations.

"But we have lacked quality and haven't hit the target with the free-kicks we had around the box.

"The margins of errors are small, and they can be at times, but when we misfired like we did at Derby then it makes it an awful lot harder.

"It was an awful game, but for as bad as we played we could have got something out of the game."

Pearson admitted the performance of 20-year-old Schlupp, who produced a great finish in the second half to give City hope of salvaging a draw, was one of the few positives to come out of the game.

"Jeff looked very lively and I thought he did very well when he went on," said Pearson. "There is always a positive somewhere.

"Let's not build the lad up to much but he has played at left-back for us and done very well.

"He is versatile, as he showed at Derby, in playing on the left hand side of midfield and he scored a good goal.

"He has a lot of potential through the middle as well. I think he was one of our brighter sparks."

Musician Alan Jones is hoping to earn a king's ransom in royalties with a song about Richard III.

The 68-year-old, who is lead guitarist and vocalist with Leicester band The Martins, hopes to strike a chord with a tune recorded in the garage at his home in Glenfield.

Alan said he penned the song – Car Park King Richard III – as soon as he heard the announcement last month the skeleton found in Leicester was that of the controversial monarch.

The musician, who gigs on the pub and club circuit in Leicestershire, said: "I heard the announcement on the radio as I was driving about.

"I was out and about putting posters up for one of our upcoming gigs and the words just came straight into my head as I drove along.

"When I got home I just let the words flow out.

"I felt compelled to write the song because I am a Leicester lad and it was a historic day for the city I love."

Alan finished recording the song in 24 hours and posted a video on You Tube.

Last week, he invited Phil Galley, new lead singer with The Martins, to record a new version of the tune.

Alan said: "I am a guitarist who does a bit of singing, Phil is a singer.

"I asked him to step into my garage to work his magic on the track. We had some fun and I think it works well."

Phil, 66, of Broughton Astley, said he felt honoured to be asked to sing the number.

He said: "I think it sounds great. Alan has done an amazing job because, in effect, all he had to work with was a laptop.

"There are quite a lot of harmonies going on, so fair play to him."

Alan said the song had gone down well with audiences at gigs.

He said: "When we played the number at The Crown, in Anstey, we got a standing ovation.

"I don't think I have had that since my heyday, when I played in a band called Mint in the Sixties.

"It seems to strike a chord with people."

Alan said he was proud of the song.

He said: "I don't expect it will be a number one hit, but you never know.

"It would be great if it caught the imagination of the public and became top of the pops.

"It's not about the cash, but the money would come in handy, that's for sure. Who knows what might happen?

"Stranger things have happened. Who would have thought a king of England would be found in a council car park in the East Midlands?"

Leicester City manager Nigel Pearson has taken his beleaguered troops to Portugal for warm-weather training – and he warned it will be no holiday.

Pearson said his players will be working hard during the international break to rectify their recent poor form and salvage their promotion challenge.

Pearson said his side must get back to basics to arrest a slide that has seen them pick up just six points from their last nine games.

He also said he would reassess his role in the slump, but that the players had to take responsibility themselves for their poor form that spell.

"During this international break, we have to get back to basics to rectify the situation," said Pearson.

"We have worked too hard through the season to get into a decent position to put it in jeopardy because we are in a poor run of results.

"I am not going to try to paper over any cracks. It is my team and I have to rectify it.

"But on top of that, the players have to accept responsibility for their performance as well.

"I am the manager and I will take a lot of the criticism, but the players have to reflect on their own performances as well.

"We have to get back to basics somewhat. We have some players away who will not get back until one day or two days before our next game (at home to Millwall on Friday, March 29).

"There is a certain amount you can do but we will be working hard to get back on track. That is really the aim.

"We have to look at the last eight games of the season and make sure we do everything in our power to make sure we achieve the season's objective."

City flew out to Portugal yesterday and arrive back on Friday, but goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel (Denmark), defender Sean St Ledger (Republic of Ireland), midfielder Andy King (Wales) and striker Chris Wood (New Zealand) will all miss the trip as they are away on international duty.

The boss of a homeless charity is to address councillors this week to try to stop budget cuts which would close hostel beds.

David Brazier, chief executive of Shelter Housing Aid and Research project (Sharp), wants to stop Leicester City Council slashing £2.2 million from its £6.6 million budget for tackling homelessness.

Mr Brazier is allowed to address the full council meeting at Leicester Town Hall on Thursday because a petition he launched collected 1,590 signatures.

Mr Brazier said: "The fact this petition has raised so many signatures shows just how strongly people feel about the issue.

"I shall be using the time to make my point as forcefully as I can. I have to let all the councillors know how vulnerable so many people out there are."

The petition called on the council to do all it could to maintain the number of beds for homeless people and to retain the present budget for the services.

Mr Brazier said cutting the budget by a third would lead to the loss of 200 beds.

He said: "This would be a massive blow to the homeless people in Leicester, who need more support in these troubled times not less.

"Such drastic cutting of the budget may also affect the various charities which exist in the city to help homeless people.

"They are partly-funded by the council and if they were to lose money it could affect their very existence.

"That in turn could mean less support for the homeless.

"We cannot stand by and watch this happen.

"This is why we have taken this stance."

Under a council petition scheme, adopted in May 2010, any petition that receives more than 1,500 signatures must be subject to a debate at full council.

The same scheme states that the lead petitioner should be invited to speak on the subject for five minutes in a debate which can last up to 15 minutes.

Councillor Andy Connelly, assistant mayor with responsibility for housing, said the public consultation process had recently ended with regard to the council's homeless ness strategy.

He said: "There will be a debate on the matter on Thursday.

"The petition will be considered as part of the public consultation process.

"After the debate on Thursday the council will go away and consider what it strategy is to be.

"That should be formulated over the next few weeks."

Burglars tried to blow open a cash machine by pouring an explosive substance into it and igniting it.

Two intruders broke into the Co-Op, in Dog and Gun Lane, Whetstone, last week when the store was closed.

It is understood they managed to feed an unknown gas or liquid into the shop's cash machine using a tube, then ignited it.

However, the blast did not open the machine as they had anticipated and the men fled empty-handed.

A security industry source said the method was virtually unheard of in this country.

He said: "It's common in other countries, including South Africa, but not here.

"There would be widespread concern in the industry if we started to see cases such as this become common here.

"In other countries, it has caused loss of life.

"Obviously, putting explosive material into a confined space and igniting it is potentially a very dangerous thing to do.

"There's also the risk it could incinerate the money inside the machine.

"These machines and their anti-theft devices are quite robust and they seem to have done their job in this case.

"Because of security characteristics of these machines, they tend to be very unattractive to criminals."

Whetstone district councillor Karl Coles said: "I've never heard of anything like this before. It's very worrying because somebody could have been seriously injured.

"It sounds like they have failed because they didn't use enough of the substance. The concern is they will do this again but next time use more."

Leicestershire Police are investigating the break-in, which happened at 12.05am on Wednesday.

A spokeswoman said: "It is not believed anything was taken in the incident.

"Officers would like to speak to anyone who was passing through the area and saw anything suspicious."

A spokesman for Midlands Co-operative said: "Two men forced entry into the store and attempted to break into the ATM.

"Our prevention measures were activated and the men left with nothing. No colleagues or customers were involved in this incident and we are working with the police on their investigation."

Contact Leicestershire Police on 101 or Crimestoppers, which is anonymous, on 0800 555111.

Tomorrow is the first day of spring – but do not pack away your woollies just yet, winter is set to overstay its welcome.

The forecast is for temperatures to dip as low as -3C (26F) tomorrow, with a high of just 3C (37F).

Icy eastern winds will ensure we feel the cold and there is the possibility of sleet in some parts of the county.

Met Office spokesman Charlie Powell said: "The winter is getting a bit long in the tooth now and we still have some sleet and wintry showers coming for the Midlands.

"Tomorrow will see more easterly winds, which means it feels very cold.

"The air will be coming from eastern Europe and Scandinavia, possibly picking up moisture from the North Sea.

"Temperatures won't rise much this week."

Charlie said there was a chance spring could arrive some time next month.

"It's going to be the same sort of changeable weather for the rest of March, I think," he said.

"There's the threat of some snow moving in on Thursday and Friday, but I think Leicester may get away without seeing any.

"That doesn't mean it will be warm, though. It will probably stay cold, with wind making it feel like it's freezing."

Tony Donovan, director of Age UK Leicester Shire and Rutland, said: "Our clients are getting increasingly concerned about their energy bills.

"Normally, they would be turning the heating off about now but we're having such prolonged bad weather they are having to keep it on.

"Older people have thin blood so they feel the cold more than the rest of the community and obviously if they can't keep warm their health gets affected."

The continued cold weather is also having an effect on wildlife.

Anne Hayto, chairman of Aylestone Meadows Appreciation Society, said: "There are no signs of spring yet in Aylestone Meadows and the only flowers are the late snowdrops, which would usually be over by now.

"It's a really late spring and the ground is also very water-logged, which puts back the spring flowers coming out, too."

She said it warm weather was needed to encourage insects, which in turn sustain other species.

"In April, we'll have the swallows arriving and hopefully there will be plenty of food for them," said Anne.

"If there aren't enough insects it can affect on their development, so the birds feel the knock-on effect, too."

Racism in British football is still rife, according to research by an academic.

Loughborough University's Dr Jamie Cleland said more than 80 per cent of fans who took part in a study believed racism was still endemic in British football, while half said they had experienced racism in the past two years.

The criminology lecturer said football's governing bodies and anti-racist organisations, such as Kick It Out, were contributing to a culture of complacency, and racism had been "disregarded" or "suppressed" to "give the impression it had been eradicated".

His comments came following an anonymous online poll of 2,500 fans across the country.

"Our findings show fans feel governing bodies are not doing anything meaningful to tackle racism and that football remains a white institution, from the heads of FIFA, UEFA and the FA, through to club owners, directors, referees and fans," Dr Cleland said.

"The data backs up previous studies which argue that a 'colour blind' ideology now exists in football due to the failure of the governing bodies and anti-racist organisations to acknowledge the extent of racism, which is subsequently allowing it to flourish.

"Fans want the powers-that-be to enforce racial equality initiatives and take severe action against anyone who breaks the code of conduct."

Dr Cleland said his study also showed fans wanted stronger leadership from the governing bodies and a zero-tolerance stance, with points deductions, bigger fines and life-bans introduced for supporters found guilty of a racist act.

He said one fan had described the FA's Kick It Out campaign as little more than a "T-shirt wearing exercise".

He said: "Football seems out of sync with Britain's multicultural environment.

"British society has reached some accommodation with its ethnically diverse population and its religious plurality. Football, it seems, has not."

Kick It Out director Roisin Wood said the body was there to campaign, educate and raise awareness of discrimination and not to dish out fines and sanctions.

He said: "The notion of Kick It Out as nothing more than T-shirts and slogans doesn't reflect our true role, which many people in the game acknowledge.

"Developing different systems for the reporting of incidents of discrimination, including the launch of our app next month, will assist communities and individuals to address discrimination."

Dr Cleland conducted his research in collaboration with Professor Ellis Cashmore of Staffordshire University.

The study was published online this week.

Youth football team Nirvana FC, a club which prides itself on the multicultural make-up of its members, helped host a national roadshow about racism and inequality in football.

Club chairman Kirk Master said: "What's not being made evident by the football authorities is letting the public know how much racism does exist in football," he said.

"They are trying to sweep it under the carpet, making people blind to the issue."

The Race for Sport roadshow, which Kick It Out attended, will also be held in Birmingham and Reading.

Kirk said projects such as the roadshow meant people were more likely to report incidents of racism than they would have been a year ago.

"They're still very much aware that not much will happen with it, that it won't be taken with the full respect it deserves, however they think 'I'm still going to say it' when maybe before they would not," he said.

He's used to appearing on the football pitch in front of thousands of fans – but when it came to editing the Mercury, Alan Birchenall found himself feeling the pressure.

Alan, 67, spent yesterday at the Mercury offices in St George Street, putting together today's copy of the paper as guest editor.

He said: "It's been great to see everyone at the paper working and experience it all up close. It's the sort of opportunity money can't buy, so it's been brilliant.

"I was very nervous because this is completely outside my comfort zone. I've played in front of 100,000 before, but this still gave me butterflies. I couldn't handle it full time!"

Today's paper is full of interviews conducted by Alan as well as features commissioned by him.

His day in the office yesterday followed two months preparation alongside his job as Leicester City's club ambassador and his ongoing charity work, which earned him an MBE in 2002.

Alan was the first guest editor in our 139-year history.

"I think it's awesome that everyone here is doing this all the time and putting together a whole newspaper six days a week," he said.

The Birch has got to know Nigel Pearson pretty well throughout both his terms in the hot seat. Out of all of Birch's interviews this is the one he is most nervous about. "Nigel hates this kind of thing," he says as we wait for the Leicester City manager at the training ground. "Absolutely hates it."

After some bread and soup in the canteen and a chat with the team doctor, Birch's fears are anything but relieved as a stern-looking Pearson marches into his office after a long team meeting and greets us with a "Right, let's get this over and done with. Shut the door."

It looks as if this could be the mark of things to come as Birch's quick-fire questions are met with the to-the-point responses. "Apart from football, which other sports do you like?" asks Birch.

"Cricket."

"Beach or skiing?"

"Neither. But probably beach – I can't ski, my knees are crap. If I had better knees, I might get into it."

"Who or what is your greatest love?"

"My wife, Nicky, and my children."

"Soaps or Question Time?"

"Neither. I absolutely loathe soap operas and Question Time? No, I can't abide it."

"Would you do I'm a Celebrity: Get Me Out of Here if asked?"

As you can probably imagine, Pearson's response isn't printable.

But after a while, the City manager's demeanour relaxes and a quick wink while Birch stumbles over a question seems to suggest his main intention is winding up the club ambassador.

"Who is your all-time Leicestershire sporting icon," asks Birch.

"Sir Alan Birchenall," replies Pearson. "There you go that's my answer."

This mischievous streak is something that featured heavily in Pearson's inspirations when he was starting out as a wannabe sportsman.

"For me, it was John McEnroe and Ian Botham. People like that are my sporting heroes," he says.

"They were a bit rebellious but very, very good."

And he insists that, despite his public perception, he still has a sense of humour.

"Lots of things make me laugh," says Pearson. "People won't know it but I spend a lot of the day laughing and smiling.

"What really makes me laugh is winding you up all morning about this interview, Birch," he adds.

And the Mercury's guest editor agrees as he reminisces about one of his first memories of working with Pearson.

"Whatever people might think and whatever people might say, everyone around him knows he's got a wicked sense of humour," says Birch.

"I was sitting in my office and Walshy Snr (Nigel's assistant Steve Walsh) came and knocked on my door and said 'Nigel wants to see you' in a really serious tone. So, I thought 'Oh God, what have I done now?' So, I went upstairs and as I turned into his office he's got this little plastic crossbow pointed at me. Before I can even say a word, he fires one of those rubber arrows with a sucker on the end and gets me smack bang in the middle of the forehead."

What else probably comes as a surprise is Pearson's eclectic mix of favourite music and films.

"What is your favourite music and artist?" asks Birch.

"I like classical music," replies Pearson. "Especially, Vaughn Williams."

"What was the first album you bought?"

"Bloody hell. You know what, I actually think it was an Elvis album. I reckon so."

"Favourite album?"

"Rumours by Fleetwood Mac."

"Do you read much? Sporting autobiographies?"

"No, I don't read autobiographies but my favourite author is probably Ian Rankin."

Favourite film?

"Arsenic and Old Lace – it is a corker by the way."

"That's about 70 years old!" remarks the 67-year-old Birch.

When asked who he admires the most in Leicestershire sport, Pearson has a lot of good things to say about the green side of the city.

"Leicester Tigers. I have been a guest there a few times and I like what they do – they do it properly.

"There are some very good people there and I like the set-up they have down there."

Like many sports fans, Pearson's biggest thrill of 2012 was the success of the Olympic Games. "For every reason, it was a massive success," says Pearson. "Even I enjoyed it."

A patriotic theme also arises when Birch asks the City boss which sporting team he would pay to see.

"England, at any sport," replies Pearson. "Football and cricket, definitely.

"Tennis as well – I would pay money to go and watch Wimbledon, absolutely."

As much as Pearson shows his lighter side, there are still many things that get his goat.

"Cheating, in any form. I can't stand cheats," he says.

"And negative people. I can't stand negativity. It is too easy to be negative and I can't stand people like that – it makes me angry."

Finally, Birch asks him to describe his perfect night out.

"One with friends and family," says the City manager. "With good food, good wine and a good laugh. Good company equals a good laugh."

Reporting by James Sharpe

A bank cashier who stole customers' identities to get his hands on £45,000 of credit has been jailed for 18 months.

Suraj Bhandal (27) opened 12 bogus accounts with overdrafts and credit cards while working at a branch of Santander in Leicester.

He had stolen personal details during an earlier job at another bank and backed up his deception using false passports.

Once the accounts were open, he used them to buy luxury items including designer jewellery. Some of the credit cards were also used in a separate scam to pay for petrol for Leicester taxi drivers.

Bhandal, of Englefield Road, Evington, Leicester, admitted 12 counts of fraud and was jailed at the Old Bailey.

Mr Recorder Oliver Sells QC said: "The public is entitled to expect that employees of clearing banks are people who are trustworthy and their accounts will not be opened in false names and their identities will not be stolen.

"These are aggravating features of what are already serious offences."

Bhandal used his position to run the scam a dozen times between July and December 2010, selecting victims who had excellent credit records.

Prosecutor Nicola Merrick said: "That was important. It allowed Santander to open the accounts and provide that person with a credit and debit card."

At least two of the identities he used had accounts with Halifax/Bank of Scotland, where Bhandal had previously worked. "Once the file was completed, some of the personal details were changed and the bank documents sent out to the new address," said Ms Merrick.

Each account was opened with an overdraft of up to £3,000 and most had credit cards attached.

"The total amount obtained was £45,000," said Ms Merrick.

Some of the cards were also used to buy petrol for taxi drivers at a knock-down price.

Suspicions were raised and Bhandal was arrested at his home on March 9, 2011, following an investigation by City of London Police's dedicated cheque and plastic crime unit.

Another man was arrested in connection with this part of the scam, but skipped bail before he could be brought before the court.

No mitigation for Bhandal was given in open court.