A football team is to donate the money from its shirt sponsorship deal to the charities chosen by Susan Taylor, the swimmer who died crossing the Channel.

Hinckley United announced the move in memory of Susan, who had worked at the club for 10 months as company accountant and was due to start there full-time today.

Club spokesman Christopher Thompson said: "Each year, the club hold a shirt draw.

"Companies pay £495 to enter and the one drawn has its logo on the front of the shirt for the season.

"After speaking to Susan's parents, the club has spoken to each company that has entered the draw so far and they are very happy to give up the opportunity of their company going on the front of the shirts."

He said the names Rainbows and Diabetes UK – the charities Susan was raising money for in her swim – would instead appear on the shirts.

The 34-year-old, of Barwell, collapsed a mile off the French coast at 5.30pm on Sunday, July 14, 15 hours into her swim.

Christopher said: "Hinckley United Football Club would like to raise as much money as possible for Susan's charities.

"In our shirt draw on Monday, August 12 all profits will go to Rainbows hospice and Diabetes UK."

A £300,000 donation to Susan's charities last week turned out to be a hoax. The total raised stood at about £90,000 yesterday.

Any company wanting to support Hinckley United in helping Susan's charities should contact Christopher on 01455 840088 or e-mail:

christopher.thompson@ hinckleyunitedstadium.co.uk

To donate to Susan's appeals, visit:

www.virginmoneygiving.com/ createaripple

George Taft is ready to experience first-team football on loan this season, Development Squad coach Steve Beaglehole believes.

The 20-year-old defender has previously gained experience at Kettering Town and in Sweden at Karlstad BK, but after consistent good performances in City's Development squad, Beaglehole believes now could be the right time for the England under-19 international to go and play senior football.

"George has developed over the last 12 months or so and I think he has stood out in the first two games of pre-season," he said.

"His distribution has certainly improved and I think he could now play at League Two or even League One level and not look out of place.

"I don't think he is quite ready for the Championship yet but if the manager believes he is ready to go out on loan, I think it would do him good.

"We have had a few clubs interested in taking him, as we have had for a few of the Development squad, so we will see what happens."

This season is a big campaign for several of the under-21s squad as they attempt to make the step up, and they will have a great platform to impress in the Premier Development League, where they will face the likes of Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool.

"At under-18 level, before it went Category One, we had played all the big boys," he said.

"We went to Villa, Tottenham and Arsenal and got good results. We aren't going to get carried away with it and you would have thought some of their better players will be out on loan.

"This is a big season for these boys. They will be playing in a fantastic league in great stadiums against some very good teams.

"Under the rules, clubs can field three over aged players in Development games, so there could be some senior pros up against them.

"The club is geared for the Premier League and will get there. We have to find and produce players capable of playing in that league."

Benefits cheats in Leicester claimed nearly £1 million they were not entitled to last year.

City council fraud investigators uncovered £925,627 of housing and council tax benefits paid to people who had lied about their circumstances to get money they should not have had.

Those overpayments, made between April last year and March this year, marked a record high, an increase from £885,000 the year before.

The state of the economy is being blamed, in part, for the increase in fraudulently claimed benefits, with people being more tempted to cheat the system because of financial difficulties.

"There has to be an element of that," said city council investigations manager Stuart Limb.

"When times are hard, there will be the risk of an increase in fraud.

"People who might be wavering decide to take the chance.

"We pay out about £90 million in benefits a year so the proportion of fraud is very small, but it shouldn't be happening because it is the people who don't cheat who pay for it."

Mr Limb said the £925,627 related to 221 cases. The council is in the process of clawing the money back through the courts, where 126 people have been prosecuted.

A further 65 fraudsters have been given administrative penalties, which are like fines, and 30 have been cautioned.

Mr Limb said the cheats risked a prison sentence.

One mother-of-four falsely claimed a total of £100,000 in housing benefit, council tax relief and income support over several years. She was jailed for 18 months.

Another couple were jailed and forced to sell their house after their £75,000 fiddle was uncovered.

They faked a tenancy agreement on a house they owned so they could claim benefits.

In another case, a mother and daughter were also jailed for faking a tenancy agreement to claim £40,000 of benefits they were not entitled to. They had a holiday home in India and thousand of pounds of savings in secret accounts.

Councillor Lynn Moore, a member of the council's audit and risk committee, congratulated the authority's investigation team for uncovering the record amount of illegally claimed cash.

She said: "It must be a sign of the times, with more and more people being tempted to try benefits fraud."

Deputy city mayor councillor Rory Palmer said authority investigators were becoming increasingly accomplished. He said: "We are getting more effective at identifying fraudulent claims.

"It is an important area of work.

"People who make such claims are breaking the law and it is wrong.

"They will be found out and they will pay a heavy price.

"They are taking money from an ever-decreasing pot and, importantly, from people who need to make legitimate benefits claims.

"In the current situation, more people are struggling, but I would urge them to contact us at the earliest time to see if we can help them – not to consider making claims they should not."

Anyone with information on suspected fraud should call the council's fraud hotline on 0116 238 5262.

The greatest Leicester City team of all time has been revealed.

After weeks of trawling through the archives and long deliberations, the verdict is in.

The Mercury has selected what it believes to be the finest XI from the more than 1,000 players to have worn the shirt.

Our panel of judges, which included City ambassador Alan Birchenall, has come up with an extremely talented yet highly controversial side.

Most shockingly of all perhaps is that there is no place in the starting line-up for City legend Gary Lineker.

The omission showed how fine the margins of selection were – our panel felt Lineker played his best football once he had left City.

The side is managed by Martin O'Neill and features Gordon Banks in goal, although the decision over the goalkeeper was the hardest of them all.

The back four of our 4-3-3 formation sees Peter Rodrigues line-up with Graham Cross, Steve Walsh and David Nish.

Keith Weller, Davie Gibson and Muzzy Izzet make up the midfield three behind the trio of Frank Worthington, Arthur Rowley and Sep Smith.

One of the main problems was regarding positions.

It is almost impossible to translate the wingers, inside forwards and half-backs of yesteryear into a modern-day formation. Many of the older players who made our team, Smith and Weller for example, could have been listed as either forwards or midfielders.

The Birch admitted it was almost impossible to decide on a final side.

"This is one of the hardest things I've ever had to do – they are all great players in their own right.

"The margins of being in this legendary side are so small. There are some truly great players, like Lenny Glover, that couldn't even get in.

"We could have put out another three or four teams to have matched it.

"Football is a game of opinions, people probably won't agree with it, and we know we have probably left some fans' favourites out, but this is why football is the greatest game ever."

Police found 500 cannabis plants packed into two terraced houses in Leicester thanks to anonymous tip-offs from the public.

Officers said the criminals behind the two factories – within a short distance of each other in Leicester's West End – would be "royally upset" because the plants were ready to yield their first harvests.

The plants would have generated hundreds of thousands of pounds had the drug been allowed to reach the market.

The Leicester Mercury was given exclusive access to one of the illegal growing operations – a house in Paton Street, off Narborough Road.

Video footage taken by the Mercury gives an insight into the intricacies of cannabis factories, which have exploded in number across the UK in the past decade.

It shows mature plants packed into two rooms, while a smaller room serves as a nursery where young plants were cultivated.

It also shows the haphazard electrical wiring which powered the heating and ventilation systems required to cultivate the hundreds of plants.

The gangs had tapped into the mains to illegally abstract power.

The second house, in Harrow Road, was set up in the same fashion, although police at the moment have no evidence to link the two.

Officers raided the houses on Thursday and Friday last week after members of the public called the anonymous Crimestoppers hotline.

No arrests were made at the time and officers are continuing their inquiries this week.

Sergeant Simon Barnes, of Hinckley Road police station, said: "The criminals who set these things up will have invested a lot of time and money in these places.

"They were both at the same stage of growth, with the plants nearly ready for harvest, so we will have royally upset someone.

"We believe there are something like 250 plants in each house, so this is a fairly sizeable seizure and we have prevented a good amount of cannabis reaching the market.

"These are good finds for us, but we don't think the two are linked.

"It just happened we had two anonymous tip-offs to Crimestoppers at the same time and in the same area.

"I would urge anyone who thinks they have one of these places in their street to call us or Crimestoppers and we'll come along and check."

A Harrow Road resident, who asked not to be named, said: "It's amazing these things can be set up in your street and nobody has an idea.

"How do they get all the equipment they need to get these things going into a house in a street like this without someone noticing?

"They are a notorious fire risk and I don't like to think about what could have happened if it had gone up in flames."

Zuffar Haq, of Crimestoppers in Leicestershire and Rutland, said: "It's great to see results such as this from people calling in to us.

"It helps the police remove significant amounts of drugs from the streets of Leicester.

"It's important the police have been able to close down these places before they yielded their first harvests.

"The criminals who set them up would have spent a lot of money and time, perhaps months, and they will get no return on their investment.

"These places are also massive fire risks and, in cases such as these where the cannabis is being grown in terraced properties, there is a great danger of fires spreading to neighbouring houses."

Our search for the greatest Leicester City side of all time is over. All last week we narrowed down more than 1,000 players to a shortlist of the finest goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders and forwards ever to pull on a City shirt – not to forget the greatest managers in the club's history.

After taking on board all the readers' comments, our selection panel has come up what they think is the greatest-ever City team. And it is a controversial one.

The panel was made up of the Mercury's chief football correspondent Rob Tanner, sports editor Mark Clayton who has watched City since the late 60s, sports writer James Sharpe, who compiled the shortlist, and club legend Alan Birchenall, who played for City through the 1970s and has been representing the club for nearly 35 years.

The criteria for selection was that, although there was no minimum number of appearances, it was the player's form while playing for City that was paramount.

So, here it is, our greatest City side of all time...

Shortlist: Gordon Banks, Tim Flowers, Kasey Keller, Sandy McLaren, Peter Shilton, Mark Wallington, Ian Walker.

VERDICT: The hardest decision of them all was the first one. It will come as no surprise that, no matter how good the rest of the shortlist was, it was a two-horse race between Banks and Shilton. A World Cup winner versus England's most-capped player. People remember seeing more of Shilton but perhaps that was because he played in a more televised era than Banks, whose exploits were only really shown while playing for England. Was Shilton more of a match- winner, pulling off near- impossible saves, or did Banks have such perfect positioning and anticipation that he rarely needed to be at full stretch? There was the Pele save, of course.

The judging panel was split and it almost came down to a flip of a coin but after a long, debate, we went with Banks. It could so have easily been the other way round.

Keeper: Banks

Shortlist: Colin Appleton, Adam Black, Graham Cross, Matt Elliot, Frank McLintock, David Nish, Peter Rodrigues, Dennis Rofe, John O'Neill, Steve Walsh, Steve Whitworth.

VERDICT: There was only one easy decision in our greatest-ever backline – Nish at left-back. A footballer way ahead of his time, a defender as comfortable on the ball as any striker or midfielder and that's taking nothing away from the quality of our other shortlisted left-back Rofe. There was an extremely close call between Whitworth and Rodrigues to fill the opposite full-back spot. The Welshman got the nod because of his raiding runs, added to his defensive steeliness, that frightened the opposition. Whitworth was extremely unlucky but Rodrigues was the complete modern full-back and opposing managers often warned their teams about the dangers he posed.

The two centre-half spots came down to two out of four– Cross, Elliott, McLintock and Walsh. We handed Cross the first slot. A ball-winner, comfortable in possession and could also do an excellent job as a holding midfielder. He would surely have played for England, if Bobby Moore had not been in his position.

The final berth went to Walsh – just. While Elliott and McLintock were probably better technical players, Walsh's impact at City, his heart and drive got him the nod, despite an appalling disciplinary record early in his career. It wasn't just his performances on the pitch, Walsh typified what City stood for, particularly under Martin O'Neill.

But Elliott. a Scottish international who was imperious in the air and more than decent on the deck as well plus a real leader, ran Walsh very close. McLintock can also count himself unfortunate not to be chosen – he was a player of genuine class but has to settle for a place on the bench with Whitworth and Elliott.

Defence: Rodrigues, Walsh, Cross, Nish.

Shortlist: Hugh Adcock, Davie Gibson, Lenny Glover, Muzzy Izzet, Neil Lennon, Steve Lynex, Gary McAllister, Kevin MacDonald, Garry Parker, Don Revie, Mike Stringfellow, Keith Weller.

VERDICT: With just three places to fill in our greatest-ever midfield, and such a plethora of great names to choose from, this was a difficult decision. Probably the easiest spot to fill was on the right-hand side which went to Weller. A magician with the ball at his feet, he was elegance and class and his taste for the spectacular made him the ultimate match- winner. We were spoilt for choice in the centre of the park with the likes of Lennon, McAllister, Parker and MacDonald on our shortlist but none, not even Revie, were able to mount a serious challenge to the unrivalled natural talent of Gibson. Arguably the most gifted footballer to pull on a City shirt, his graceful control and pinpoint distribution make him the centre of our midfield three. The final question was who should partner them to complete our midfield trio. The blisteringly-quick Glover can count himself unlucky as the final decision came down to Izzet or Stringfellow.

While the likes of McAllister and MacDonald became better players once they had left Leicester, Izzet was in full and brilliant bloom while at the club. With sublime ball control, Martin O'Neill's Premier League playmaker fills the final slot, while Stringfellow, who was one of the most feared attacking forces in the country in his prime, takes his place on the bench.

Midfield: Weller, Gibson (captain), Izzet

Shortlist: Arthur Chandler, Allan Clarke, Steve Claridge, Derek Hines, Gary Lineker, Emile Heskey, Arthur Rowley, Alan Smith, Sep Smith, Frank Worthington.

VERDICT: The first spot in our front three goes to the man they call 'Elvis'. Worthington was the first name out of all the judges' mouths. The superstar of Jimmy Bloomfield's skillful side of the 70s, he was a genius with the football. He embodied the elegant flair, arrogance and flamboyance that accompanied him off the pitch as well as on it.

Worthington's name was quickly followed by another unanimous decision – Rowley. There had to be a place in the side for the most prolific marksman the Football League has ever witnessed. With 265 City goals to his name, he also holds the club record for the most number of goals in a season with 44.

The final place in our starting XI is, fittingly, handed to the player widely regarded as the greatest all-round footballer ever to play for the club – Sep Smith. While only the veteran City fans will ever have seen him play, his legacy made him a certain selection.

Controversially, there is no place in our front three for Lineker. Although he has deserved legendary status in Leicester and beyond, the criteria for selection was based on the impact the player had in a City shirt. While a master of the goalscoring art, it was decided that it was only once he had left Filbert Street that he really blossomed into the world-class player. He does, however, make it on to the bench with Leicester's other favourite son, Heskey.

Strikers: Sep Smith, Worthington, Rowley.

Shortlist: Micky Adams, Jimmy Bloomfield, Matt Gillies, Brian Little, Frank O'Farrell, Martin O'Neill.

VERDICT: For many City fans, there will only ever be one person who should manage the greatest-ever side – O'Neill.

But Bloomfield was a real contender, having put together arguably the most entertaining and best out-and-out footballing side City have ever had and for a time were challenging at the top of the old First Division.

But, ultimately, football is about winning trophies and while he may have won the hearts of the City fans, he won no trophies during his time at the club.

Matt Gillies won the club's first piece of silverware as well as taking the club to two FA Cup finals and two League Cup finals.

Brian Little was the one who started the revolution with three consecutive play-off finals and promotion to the Premier League.

But in the end we plumped for O'Neill. Promotion, four top-10 Premier League finishes, two League Cup triumphs in three finals as well as European football made him the obvious choice.

Manager: O'Neill

A cyclist suffered a head wound when a driver forced him off the road.

The 51-year-old cyclist was heading downhill at speed when a silver car approached from behind and caused him to crash.

The cyclist, who has asked not to be named, suffered a gash to the top of his head and lost consciousness for a short time.

He and his family believe he is the latest victim of a disturbing trend which has seen three other cyclists experience run-ins with a silver car this month.

Last week, three cyclists told the Mercury they had been forced off the road by a silver car or shoved by someone in the passenger seat.

The fourth cyclist was targeted as he returned home from a barbecue shortly after 1.30am on Sunday, July 14.

As he went down Hollycroft, Hinckley, a car sped towards him from behind, slowed and, apparently, deliberately swung into him.

The man and his family contacted the Mercury to warn other cyclists.

He said: "I'm pretty tough, but I think I was lucky my injuries weren't worse.

"Really, it's a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"I don't know for sure if it was the same car which has hit the three other cyclists, but it could be and someone is going to get very seriously hurt or worse if this doesn't stop."

The man's wife, 37, said: "He was going quite fast at the time, so he was badly hurt when he fell. He hit his head and lost consciousness for a short time.

"We have spoken to two people who witnessed it and helped him he was on the ground.

"They said the car deliberately drove at him and forced him off the road. They also said that a taxi and a Volkswagen Golf were behind the car and must have seen what happened.

"We need the drivers of those two cars to come forward and help the police find whoever it is that is doing this to cyclists.

"My husband is an experienced cyclist and is embarrassed he wasn't wearing his helmet at the time.

"We had been to a friend's house and we were only a short distance from home and on this one occasion he didn't wear his helmet.

"We thought we should speak out about what happened to warn other cyclists they should always wear their helmet and other protective equipment."

The previous incidents happened in Croft, Broughton Astley and Earl Shilton.

Police said they were looking into the possibility of a link between the first three incidents, which all happened in the south-west of the county and involved a silver car, possibly a BMW.

Officers have not yet been able to establish whether the incident in Hinckley is linked, a police spokeswoman said.

Witnesses to any of the incidents are urged to contact police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.

Women across Leicestershire are giving up their time to support other women to discover the personal and social benefits of riding a bicycle.

A group of 20 women across the County, City and Rutland have participated in training provided by British Cycling to enable them to take women in their communities out on bike rides, developing their confidence and skills to enjoy cycling as a leisure activity and mode of transport.  Indi, from Melton, and Becky, from Markfield have also gone on to train as coaches so they can offer further support to women wanting to improve in cycling. 

The women are offering a range of led rides around the City and County, which are listed on www.breezebikerides.com and run most weekends. They also offer regular cycling sessions on Wednesday nights in Melton, Friday mornings at Rutland Water, and Thursday evenings at Fineshade Wood.  Some rides are for women with children, others for women only. All the rides are free, and can be booked via the website, and enquiries can be directed to breeze.rebeccap@gmail.com.   Linda, a keen cyclist from Leicester says, about the rides "Cycling for me has many facets. The exercise, the fun and the support I get from all those fantastic cyclists out there. Breeze is a great way to encourage women who would otherwise feel nervous about venturing out on their bikes in a male dominated world. We can and are doing it for women's cycling! We all support each other and no-one gets left behind, whatever level of cyclist we cater for on our rides." Maryam ran some of the earliest rides for women in Leicester, particularly in the Asian community and is passionate about cycling "I enjoy cycling - I can go somewhere if I just pedal! I love encouraging other women to ride bikes and experience our fun, relaxed & social rides. I love the Champions - we're one big team - a huge support network. Increasing more women cyclists will bring positive change and impact in communities."

Since the group got active about a year ago they've run rides for hundreds of women.  Susan Doram, personal trainer and fitness fanatic joined the team in 2012 and says "I'm amazed at the fact that all the champs are so supportive and willing to help and give up their free time to lead rides or to help out at events, fun days or presentations to help to promote Breeze. I do it because I really enjoy cycling and I want everyone else to really enjoy it, and I give up my free time as there have been and are so many cyclists that have helped me out in the past to get on my bike. Also it's a great way of meeting others. I also do it to try and get people active, we're a sedentary nation and we have to change what we do and the way that we move."

Wendy Paine from Groby, who works in IT and recently completed the London Nightrider and London to Brighton challenges says "I enjoy being a Breeze champion as it has helped me gain more confidence, get fitter, meet some truly lovely people, and do things I never thought I would do 2 years ago ...as a Breeze champion the enables me to pay all this forward to other women that are where I was 2 years ago."

Anita, one of the first Breeze Champions in Leicester  started cycling again a few years ago through the Skyride Local rides (before Breeze existed!). She says " I think that with the encouragement that I had, so many women would love cycling as much as I do now. What is important to me as a champion is helping to break down some of the barriers that stop women cycling - it's not all about lycra!"

Most of the Champions made the transition from participant to leader at some point, inspired by the earliest Breeze Champs Maryam, Anita and Janet. Lindsey, who works for the University describes her journey of growing confidence "As a participant one of the first Breeze rides (I think it was one of the first in Leicester) I loved the idea of cycling with a group of women, and although I was very nervous at first as I didn't know what to expect, I absolutely had the best time with Breeze Champions Janet, Maryam and Anita. They were all confident cyclists, they looked after us, encouraged us on the road and they were great mentors. They got me cycling properly again and now... I am a Breeze Champion! My aim as a Champ is to hopefully achieve the same with the ladies that come on my rides. It's the greatest feeling when you get off of your bike at the end of a lovely ride and someone tells you how many miles you've just cycled, whether it was 4, 6, 10, 20 or 30 miles - it's just a brilliant feeling to know you can do it. Breeze has opened up a whole new world for me, with fantastic new friends encouraging me to do all sorts of things that I would never have dreamed of doing. I'm now challenging myself all the time and I love it! This is what Breeze has done for me, it's been such a positive experience and long may it continue!! Would recommend Breeze rides to any ladies out there who are just thinking about it - please do try it out, you won't be disappointed."