Elite-level cyclists will race past historic city sites, through Castle Gardens and along the banks of the River Soar this summer.

The Leicester Castle Classic cycle race will be held on Sunday, August 18.

It is hoped the event will attract elite-level teams for the headline race, although amateur cyclists will also have the opportunity to try race the circuit with a junior race, corporate challenge, and "choppers and shoppers" event planned.

Details of the circuit are still being finalised, but organisers have confirmed the two-hour race will take place around Castle Gardens in the city's Old Town, and along the banks of the "mile straight" stretch of the River Soar.

The inaugural event is being run by Leicester City Council and British Cycling.

City mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said: "British Cycling's success at last year's Tour de France and the London 2012 Olympics has given cycle sport a massive boost.

"It is fantastic our partnership with British Cycling means we are able to bring the spectacle of elite-level cycle racing back to Leicester.

"The Castle Classic bike race is set to be a highlight of our fantastic Summer in the City programme.

"The number of people cycling in Leicester grows every year. This race, and Leicester's popular Sky Ride, are both great ways of celebrating this achievement."

The six British domestic teams taking part are likely to include riders of the calibre of Kristian House, who won the King of the Mountains section of last year's Tour of Britain race.

Jonny Clay, British Cycling's cyclesport and membership director, said: "This event is a great addition to the calendar and one we hope to see establish itself for the long-term in a city with such a rich cycling heritage."

Races will run from noon until 6pm on traffic-free roads, with entertainment, refreshments and opportunities to give cycle sport a go available in the race village.

Eric Ludlow, of the Leicester Cycling Campaign Group, said: "We've not seen a race round the city for some time now. It will be a rare spectacle, even for people not that interested in cycling."

Non-racers will also have the opportunity to ride parts of the circuit themselves the following weekend, when Sky Ride Leicester returns to the city centre on Sunday, August 25.

In the meantime, people can register for Skyride at:

www.goskyride.org/leicester

www.britishcycling.org.uk

Vandals have failed to force a 90-year-old gardener to give up his allotment after a series of attacks.

Joe Pickering has vowed to carry on after his shed was destroyed, along with those belonging to his son and a neighbour.

But his son, Peter, has decided to call it a day after thousands of pounds worth of equipment was damaged.

Mr Pickering Senior took up the allotment in Little Bowden, Market Harborough, when he retired from working at a car dealership in Leicester in 1987.

He said: "At first, I thought I would pack it in after the fire. The youngsters have been creating a nuisance for 10 weeks now.

"They have been getting into my shed and leaving drink cartons and crisps packet about and generally making a mess and causing damage.

"Then they burned the sheds down and I thought, I am nearly 91, do I want to carry on?

"But I have all my crops in the ground and I still enjoy coming here. I will harvest my beans, potatoes and other vegetables and see how it goes."

He lives in Foxton and drives to the allotments, off Scotland Road, most days.

He said: "I keep my tools in the car so they did not get damaged."

But Peter has told the council he won't be renewing his lease once he has harvested his crops.

The attack occurred late on Friday, May 31, at the secluded site which is surrounded by trees.

Three sheds, fence panels and a number of trees were damaged in the incident, which is being investigated by police. Peter, 61, is giving up after cultivating his plot since 1975.

He said: "This is the last straw as far as I am concerned. I discovered the damage when I went to do some gardening on Saturday. I could not believe the extent of it. There is a serious problem with some young people in the town and the nearby Little Bowden recreation ground is a target.

"Youngsters had been using my dad's shed to meet in recent weeks and had caused minor damage leaving empty crisps packets and plastic pop bottles around.

"They even through a spade through the roof. They also ripped off a padlock my brother had put on to secure the shed.

"I had old paint tins and creosote in my shed and that helped fuel the fire. I have lost all my tools and had to buy a replacement hoe this week and that cost £22.

"I estimate that, with the sheds, tools and fence panels, at least £2,000 damage has been done.

A fire service spokesman said the alarm was raised by residents shortly after 11.15pm on May 31 and two crews were sent to the scene. He said the cause was deliberate.

A police spokeswoman said they were investigating the incident and would urge people who saw people acting suspiciously in the area at the time of the fire to contact them on 101.

Hospital bosses have escaped action from the Health and Safety Executive after improving patient safety at a dialysis unit.

Managers at Leicester's hospitals have made the changes after two patients who had dialysis next to each other at the Harborough Lodge renal unit, in Northampton, had died from tuberculosis (TB) – one in 2011 and one in 2012.

It also emerged 13 staff working at the unit run by Leicester's hospitals had tested positive for the infection.

One was hospitalised after developing active TB but 12 others were found to have only the latent form of the disease.

The unit originally had six beds but was expanded to include 15 dialysis stations and catered for 84 patients a week.

However, the numbers have now been cut back to 60 a week.

Lisa Cowan, the manager for renal and transplant services at Leicester's hospitals, said: "We have taken out four 'stations' which means the space between patients is bigger.

"About 24 patients have been relocated to other units. By and large we have transfered them to units within 30 minutes of where they live."

Ms Cowan said the 11 units for which Leicester's hospitals are responsible for had also been checked. This includes satellite units in Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire and Cambridgeshire, as well as Leicestershire.

Ms Cowan said there had been no further cases of TB.

It is understood the Health and Safety Executive issued an improvement notice because a risk assessment had not been undertaken as to whether patients might be at risk of diseases such as TB due to their close proximity while having dialysis.

However, at a meeting, Leicester hospitals' chief executive John Adler said the action plan in response to the notice had been submitted and the Health and Safety Executive would not be taking further action.

Dr Philip Monk, a consultant in health protection at Public Health England, said: "Some patients with TB are highly infectious, while others do not appear to infect any of their close contacts.

"Having thoroughly investigated the incident in accordance with national guidelines we are satisfied that all necessary public health actions have been put in place."

Leicester City striker Jermaine Beckford insists he is hungrier than ever to score goals.

Beckford, who looks certain to leave the King Power Stadium this summer with Bolton already having held talks with City over a possible transfer, responded to questions about his commitment to the Jamaica national team.

The 29-year-old spoke ahead of last Tuesday night's World Cup qualifying defeat to Mexico in Kingston, when his commitment to the international cause was questioned.

"I am hungrier than ever; I am always hungry whether I am training, in a reserve match or playing for my club or country," said Beckford, who made only three starts for City last season before going out on loan at Huddersfield, and has scored 15 goals in 49 appearances for the club since joining from Everton two years ago.

"Not scoring in two games is not an issue for me, you have to be strong in this game. I know as long as I do what I can do, I will score goals.

"Rome wasn't built in a day. It is the first time that I am playing with the majority of the guys here, so I am getting used to the way they play football and they are getting used to the way I play football. It is just a matter of time before everything falls into place.

"Expect hard work and determination. I don't want anybody to think that we are not trying, everybody here is trying. We've been close, it is just about fine-tuning."

Jamaica are bottom of their qualifying group with two points from four games and face the USA in Kingston tomorrow night and then Honduras in Tegucigalpa on Tuesday.

Talks over Beckford's move to Bolton have stalled in recent weeks over both clubs' valuation of the striker.

No stone is left unturned in the quest for success in modern football.

Every aspect of every game and training session is poured over in detail in a bid to identify areas for improvement, as the margins between success and failure are so fine these days they are almost microscopic.

Last season demonstrated that point more than ever as the gap in the Championship table between Leicester City in the last play-off spot, on 68 points, and Peterborough, who were relegated, was just 14 points.

That is why clubs study statistics in great detail, and City do this as much as any other club.

How they interpret the data is down to manager Nigel Pearson and his staff, but there were some interesting statistics that came out of last season, some which are more useful than others.

For example, City made 13,547 successful passes during the campaign, with 2,535 of them coming from Danny Drinkwater.

Although Drinkwater made the most passes of any City player, it was fellow midfielder Andy King who possessed the highest pass completion rate, with 89 per cent.

The only player to have a 100 per cent pass completion rate in one game was David Nugent with 23 passes in the 2-1 win against Burnley.

However, Nugent was caught offside 23 times during the season, the most of any City player.

Not surprisingly, Anthony Knockaert made more dribbles than any other City player with 96, which was 26 per cent of all the side's dribbles.

But the Frenchman was not the most fouled City player. Surprisingly, that was Drinkwater.

In attack, Nugent finished City's top scorer with 14 league goals for the club, but it was strike partner Chris Wood who had the most shots on goal in one match, eight against Bristol City.

The game in which City had the most shots on goal was against Nottingham Forest on the final day of the season, when they had 31 goalscoring attempts.

Lloyd Dyer had the most assists during the campaign with 10, one more than Ben Marshall and two more than Knockaert.

The most corners City won was 16 against both Crystal Palace and Bolton at home, and their longest unbeaten run was eight, in December and January.

In defence, Kasper Schmeichel saved 75 per cent of the shots he faced during the campaign – that was 153 of the 204 shots he had to deal with – while full-back Ritchie De Laet made more tackles than any other City player, 173.

One area in which City have improved is discipline. They received only two red cards last season, shown to Zak Whitbread and Wes Morgan.

Morgan was the player who was penalised the most, 65 times. He was shown four yellow cards in total, and the most bookings City received in one game was four.

Of course, stats can be open to any interpretation and the only stat that really matters in football is the final score.

But, still, they make for interesting reading and might point to an aspect of City's play that could make all the difference next season.

Brothers Ben and Tom Youngs will make an emotional British & Irish Lions starting debut against Queensland Reds tomorrow.

After an incredible season that has seen them start together for their club and country, the Leicester Tigers duo will now complete a remarkable treble when they run out in the famous red shirt of the Lions.

They will be joined by fellow Tigers team-mates Geoff Parling and Manu Tuilagi in the starting XV.

This time, though, Lions head coach Warren Gatland has picked Tuilagi in his regular club position of outside-centre. He will form a hard-hitting partnership in midfield with Wales' Jonathan Davies.

Lock Parling is named alongside Scotland's Richie Gray in the second-row, while Ben Youngs partners Saracens' Owen Farrell at half-back.

Tom Youngs will have Wales' Gethin Jenkins and England's Matt Stevens on his shoulders in the front-row.

Lions skipper Sam Warburton makes his first appearance of the tour after recovering from a knee injury.

Gatland said it was always his intention to give every player in the squad a start in the opening three matches of the tour.

He said: "Two wins and two victories is great, but those two matches are building blocks as we build towards the Test series.

"We always said we would give every player a start in the first three matches, and this team reflects that.

"It also provides us with the opportunity to continue to look at different combinations. For the Reds, this includes a new centre pairing and a different front-five.

"At the same time, we have several players playing their second matches on tour and some proven combinations starting the match.

"Ben Youngs and Owen Farrell are the incumbent England half-backs, and we have an all-Welsh back-row."

After all the controversy caused by Western Force naming such a weakened outfit for the Lions' nine-try romp on Wednesday, the Reds have named a squad with nine Wallaby internationals in it, and that should provide the tourists with their first major test of the trip Down Under.

Top of that list is mercurial fly-half Quade Cooper, who has 38 caps to his name but was sensationally dropped by Aussie head coach Robbie Deans for the Wallabies' preparations for the three-Test series, which begins on June 22.

But the Reds will still be missing a number of their biggest stars, with Will Genia, James Horwill, Rob Simmons and Digby Ioane all ruled out because of either international duty or injury.

That has not stopped Reds director of rugby Ewen McKenzie, the former Stade Francais head coach, from putting out a strong side.

"Playing against the British & Irish Lions is a once-in-a-career type opportunity, so to be running out in front of a sold-out Suncorp Stadium crowd tomorrow night will be an experience these 23 players will never forget," he said.

"Our approach was always going to be to field as strong a line-up as possible, and I've got every confidence in the group we've chosen to go out and compete against a very talented Lions squad."

The Lions have not lost to an Australian provincial team for more than 40 years, when Queensland beat the touring side 15-11 back in 1971.

Reds: Lucas; Davies, Tapuai, Faingaa, Morahan; Cooper, Frisby; Daley, Hanson, Holmes, Wallace, O'Donoghue, Quirk, Robinson, Schatz. Reps: Anae, Denny, Owen, Samo, Butler, Lance, Harris, Shipperley.

Lions: Hogg; Cuthbert, Tuilagi, Davies, Bowe; Farrell, B Youngs; Jenkins, T Youngs, Stevens, Gray, Parling, Lydiate, Warburton (capt), Faletau. Reps: Hibbard, Vunipola, Jones, O'Connell, Tipuric, Murray, Sexton, North.

Cadets and Staff of 2502 (Hamilton) Squadron Air Training Corps paraded along side the Melton Mowbray Branch of Royal Air Forces Association and Serving US soldiers at the unveiling of the memorial to members of the 82nd Airborne Division who were stationed in Scraptoft during the Second World War.

The memorial has been built in memory of the casualties and losses of the 325th Glider Infantry Regiment, and the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment who found a home from home 69 years ago, in Scraptoft and Evington during the Second World War.  The 82nd Airborne division, spearheaded allied invasions in Sicily and Normandy and were at the forefront of the allied push through Holland & Germany.  The new memorial is situated in the Edith Cole Memorial Park in Scraptoft. 

The ceremony started with an introduction into the history behind the memorial and its conception.  Veterans and relatives then spoke emotionally of their pride for what the 82nd Airborne Division achieved during the war but also of their sad losses.  93 year old Herb Heubschen, who travelled from his home in Wisconsin, told the crowd of how he met his wife in Leicester whilst she was selling tickets for a local dance.  Besty Matthes Ostberg daughter of the Commanding Officer of the 325th Glider Infantry Regiment, Edwin J Ostberg, spoke of her immense pride in her father.  He sadly lost his life in the Battle of the Bulge, in February 1945.  Father Andrew Poole of Scraptoft All Saints Church then blessed the memorial and the assembled standards then dipped for the national anthems of both American and Great Britain.

Also present were a colour guard of serving US soldiers from the 709th Military Intelligence Battalion, former members of the 82nd Airborne Division and a representative from Ratcliffe College Combined Cadet Corps.

The memorial will also house a time capsule so other people in the future will know of the men of the 325th Glider Infantry Regiment, and the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment and their bravery.

A starling only took a few seconds to feed her baby with a suet pellet when they flew into a garden in Blaby.

Mary Wilkinson was just as quick to capture the image with her Panasonic Lumix TZ8 camera. Mary, 62, was standing in the kitchen at her Ash Grove home, when she saw the two birds land on her feeding table.

She said: "I managed to snap them before they flew off.

"The mother had taken one of the suet pellets off the table and was feeding it to the baby. I took it through the window and was only two yards away.

"I took the picture on a day when it was dull and dreary. But this shot made my day."

Mary started taking pictures of the birds in her garden when husband, Keith, bought her the camera two years ago. She said: "I was so pleased with the picture I have framed it."

Keep sending us your pictures of wildlife in your gardens.

E-mail the photos, along with your name and contact details, to:

picturedesk@leicester mercury.co.uk

A team of drug and alcohol advisers will be on hand to offer support and advice to revellers at next week's Download music festival.

Volunteers for Swanswell, a charity providing alcohol and drug and support services, will be offering information and advice on how to party safely to people arriving at the Castle Donington festival site from Wednesday.

Jo Woods, Swanswell's regional development manager in Leicestershire and Rutland, said: "The Download Festival is the perfect opportunity to offer advice and support around alcohol and drug use.

"Our team will be available on site to answer questions or to have a friendly chat from the moment the campsite gates open, through to the last day of the festival."

Festival-goers will be able to find the team, including substance misuse workers, support workers and recovery workers, next to the welfare tent in the main camp site, where they will be able to find information and confidential advice.

The Swanswell team members will also be walking around the campsite handing out information.

They will be joined by members of North West Leicestershire District Council's Community Safety Team at the main campsite from 10am to 8pm daily, from Wednesday to Sunday, June 16.

For help and support with alcohol and drug issues call 0300 303 5000.

Schoolchildren were given a return ticket to the 1940s to experience what it was like to be a Second World War evacuee.

More than 1,000 pupils from schools across the city and county descended on Loughborough's Central Station, yesterday.

In an evocative curtain-raiser to the Great Central Railway's Wartime Weekend, they boarded stream trains for a trip along the heritage line to its Leicester North station at Birstall.

At Quorn, they joined in with a 1940s wartime sing-song, learned about agriculture and Britain's land army and learned about life in Nazi Germany during the conflict.

Christine Brown, who organised the event, said: "The children were all dressed in period clothing and had to assume their grandparents' names, so we had a few Hildas and Alberts."

Joining the pupils was Maisie Walker, 83, from Loughborough, who told them about her experience as a little girl being evacuated to Leicestershire from London in 1941.

They also wrote letters home to their mums and dads, as the wartime evacuees would have done.

"It is hard to imagine how difficult it would have been for children to leave home and then go to stay with someone they didn't know," said Ms Brown. "Their day with us gave them a flavour of the emotion involved."

The Wartime Weekend features period entertainment, vintage fly-pasts and displays. For more pictures of the event, see Monday's Mercury.

www.gcrailway.co.uk