A woman who illegally claimed more than £14,000 in benefits has avoided a jail sentence.

Leicester magistrates ordered Emma Jane Irving (32) to complete 120 hours of unpaid work in the community.

Irving, formerly of Wigston and now of Richmond Court, Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to five counts of fraud relating to overpayment of benefits and income support.

The prosecution was brought by Oadby and Wigston Borough Council after it received a tip-off.

Prosecutor Crystal Andrade said the offences were committed while Irving was living in Junction Road, Wigston.

She said Irving continued to claim housing benefit, council tax, income support and job seeker's allowance despite being in work, and failed to declare she was living with a partner.

The total overpayment of benefits was £14,224.62, over 22 months.

On August 1, magistrates warned Irving they were considered imposing a custodial sentence. However, the court imposed a 12-month community service order, including 120 hours of unpaid work.

She was ordered to pay a contribution of £490 towards the prosecution's costs.

Oadby and Wigston Borough Council said it would not be deterred by residents moving out of the area from prosecuting them.

Tributes have been paid to Pukka Pies founder Trevor Storer, who has died.

Mr Storer, who was 83, started the company in a small bakery in Earl Shilton, producing 1,200 meat pies in the first week.

Now, the firm, which recently celebrated its 50th anniversary, employs 300 people in Syston, selling 60 million pies worldwide.

His son, Tim, who is joint managing director, said: "We have been touched by the messages of sympathy from suppliers, customers and former employees.

"They have mentioned Dad was a true gentleman who, although being extremely hard-working and driven, dealt with everyone with integrity and modesty.

"Dad was an instinctive salesman and had an eye for a business opportunity.

"He was always fair in his negotiations but insisted on the best-quality ingredients."

Son Andrew, who is also joint managing director, said: "Dad's founding principles of quality first and making job security a priority live on in the name Pukka Pies.

"He was also a great mentor, wanting to help develop people's potential."

Mr Storer senior, who died at home last Wednesday, was born in Leicester in July 1930. He left Alderman Newton School when he was 16.

He worked for the family bakery, Storers, helping to make deliveries using a horse and cart.

He once recalled: "I really liked the selling world and became proficient in horse and cart control."

He then did two years national service becoming a bakery instructor in the Army, at the age of 18.

His widow Valerie said: "During his national service he was a keen photographer and for a fee took pictures of his colleagues in uniform that they could send home."

After national service, he returned to the family bakery but his father and uncle sold the business to Allied Bakeries in 1960.

He worked as a trainee general manager and wrote a book, Bread Salesmanship.

But he gave up the lucrative position to strike out on his own.

Valerie said: "I fully supported him in the new business. He was determined to produce a premier product – that is why he used French puff pastry instead of short crust."

The business started off as Trevor Storer's Home Made Pies but after a year Mrs Storer came up with the name Pukka.

"We thought Pukka, which was fashionable at the time, represented something that was top-notch," Valerie said.

Mr Storer built up the business visiting pubs and fish and chip shops he had previously supplied with bread and rolls.

The customer base then spread throughout the Midlands before reaching the rest of the country and, eventually, overseas.

Mr Storer retired when he was 65 but continued as chairman of the company until his death.

When not working, he enjoyed walking, sailing and playing tennis.

The office at the factory in The Halfcroft is filled with cards offering messages of sympathy.

Members of the public, customers and former employees have also been calling at the reception to sign a book of condolence.

A memorial service will be held at 11am on Friday, at St Peter's Church, in Belton in Rutland.

Mr Storer is survived by his widow, two sons and daughter Susan, plus seven grandchildren.

Donations in his memory can be sent to the Alzheimer's Society through the funeral directors AJ Adkinson, of London Road, Oadby, on 0116 271 2340.

Snooker star Mark Selby found himself in the frame at a world record attempt.

The world number two from Leicester broke the final frame as two brothers attempted to beat the record for playing singles pool non-stop to raise money to buy a youngster a specially-adapted wheelchair.

Mark, known as the "Jester from Leicester", took to the table at the Glen pub, in Hillsborough Road, Glen Parva, as brothers Kevin and David Trasker played their last frame – raising money for the Make Mollie Move appeal.

The appeal was launched to help raise £22,000 on behalf of 11-year-old Mollie Shaw, of Eyres Monsell, who has Retts syndrome, a debilitating condition that severely affects her development.

The appeal has been boosted by the £4,500 raised by the pool marathon and a further £1,000 donated by Mark out of his own pocket.

Mark said: "I feel privileged to be asked to come along and be a part of this event.

"I know how these lads will be feeling because there are times when I have to play long, long games and you get sick of the sight of the table.

"They have done very well and stuck in there. it is great a youngster will be benefiting from events such as this."

Kevin and David, whose parents run the pub, started their marathon at 5pm on Friday and ended at 8pm on Monday.

The brothers played pool continuously for 75 hours – beating the world record by 10 minutes and finishing 650 frames.

David, 28, who is the pub pool team captain, said: "It was hard, but worth it.

"All we have to do now is send off the evidence to the Guinness world records people and wait for them to hopefully verify the new record."

Kevin, 35, who lives in Melton, said they drank energy drinks and ate sweets and fresh pineapple to sustain them through the long nights.

He said: "It was tough and at one point I had difficulty focusing on the balls, but we got there."

He said they wanted to help Mollie whose grandfather was a regular in the pub.

"It is the least we can do."

Mollie's mum, Michelle Elliott, was there with her daughter to help the countdown from 30 seconds to zero on the record attempt.

She said: "What can I say but thank you to these lads? It is very generous of them to raise money for our appeal and for all the people in the pub to put their hands in their pockets.

"With support like this, we are confident we can get to our target and get Mollie a wheelchair."

The pool marathon started off non-competitively, but was eventually won by David.

A teenager accused of causing the death of an eight-year-old passenger in a crash has said he has no memory of driving the car.

The 17-year-old, giving evidence in his defence at Leicester Crown Court yesterday, claimed all he remembered was waking up in hospital.

He said he could not recall getting into the two-seater Smart car and was unable to say whether he was the driver or passenger.

The car collided with a telegraph pole and a wall in Gipsy Lane, Northfields, Leicester, at 10.50pm on July 3 last year.

Schoolboy Abhay Jadeja, of Harrison Road, Belgrave, Leicester, was in the rear luggage compartment.

He suffered a severe head injury and later died in hospital.

Ranvir Singh, then aged 20, was also in the vehicle and suffered "life threatening" injuries, but survived.

The left-hand drive Smart car belonged to Abhay's father and was allegedly taken from outside the family home without permission.

The defendant, from Leicester, was 16 at the time of the tragedy and cannot be named because of a court order.

He accepts being in the vehicle, but denies causing Abhay's death by careless driving, aggravated vehicle taking and driving without a licence or insurance.

The defendant told the court he was "sad" and "upset" by the youngster's death.

Defence counsel Andrew Fryman asked him: "Do you know who was driving."

The teenager replied: "No."

Mr Fryman asked: "Were you driving?" He answered: "I cannot remember."

In cross-examination, prosecutor James Thomas said: "The reason you say you can't remember, I'm suggesting, is because you know you were driving and can't come to terms with the responsibility of what you did. I'm asking for the truth."

The defendant said: "I'm telling the truth. I can't remember."

He accepted he was wearing a red T-shirt at the time of the collision and suffered only "superficial" injuries.

Witnesses at the scene told the jury they saw a male in a red T-shirt emerge from the left-hand driver's side after the collision.

Mr Fryman suggested Singh, who had a driving licence, could have been driving the car.

Evidence shows Singh was on his mobile phone, talking to his girlfriend in a 38-second call, at about the time of the collision.

Mr Fryman claimed Singh could have been distracted, if he was the driver, and that may have caused the crash.

The jury have to be "sure" it was the defendant, and not Singh, who was driving, the court has heard.

If they are not sure, they must acquit the defendant.

Singh, now 21, of Harrison Road, Belgrave, Leicester, has admitted aggravated vehicle taking, by allowing himself to be a passenger and is awaiting sentence.

The prosecution alleges Singh's passenger side of the car took the brunt of the impact, hence his more serious injuries, including fractured ribs and pelvis, bruised lungs and a lacerated liver.

A medical expert's report stated Singh was most likely the passenger.

Neither the defendant nor Singh was wearing a seat belt.

Collision investigator Pc Stuart Bird said the crash happened in rainy conditions.

A possible cause could have been due to an inexperienced driver being unable to control the vehicle, he said.

Pc Bird said the car struck the nearside kerb twice before clipping a lamp post, causing it to spin into a telegraph pole and a wall. The trial continues.

A grieving father has told how his teenage daughter told him she was happy just hours before she hanged herself in her bedroom.

Dave Smith, of Lutterworth, said 14-year-old Hannah's last words to him were: "I'm happy, Dad. I love you. Goodnight."

Mr Smith checked on his daughter at 10pm last Thursday before going to bed himself.

The 45-year-old lorry driver then left home at 5am the following day and had driven 50 miles when his other daughter, Jo, called to break the devastating news.

She told him: "You have to come home, Dad. Hannah has hanged herself."

Mr Smith has made a personal appeal to Prime Minister David Cameron after discovering Hannah took her own life following months of abuse on social networking site Ask.fm.

He has also called on all parents in Britain to sign an e-petition, launched following Hannah's death, to try to create a Government debate about the regulation of social networking sites.

It has already been signed by more than 7,000 people.

Mr Smith said: "I appeal to David Cameron to look at this and make sure these sites are properly regulated, so bullying of vulnerable people like my daughter cannot take place.

"I don't want any other parents to go through what I am going through.

"I want this to be sorted out as soon as possible so no other vulnerable children die."

Mr Smith said his daughter had been bullied for months by internet "trolls" on Ask.fm, which has been linked to a string of suicides.

Hannah turned to the site for help about eczema, but was subjected to sickening anonymous posts.

Mr Smith said: "Websites like this are bullying websites, because people can be anonymous. Sites such as this are making millions out of people's misery and it is wrong."

Mr Smith paid tribute to his "bubbly, happy" daughter who wanted to be a teacher.

He said: "Hannah was a normal teenager and was very happy. I can't understand why she would do something like this. We never saw any signs of her doing this."

Sister Jo, 16, said the house was quiet without her.

"Hannah was a beautiful person and so full of life and love," she said.

"She was always singing and generally going about being happy. She lit up the place."

Mr Smith said he and Jo had been sleeping downstairs as they could not bear to go upstairs where Hannah was found.

There were 20 bunches of flowers left as tribute to Hannah outside the family's semi-detached home yesterday.

An inquest into her death was opened yesterday morning at Leicester Town Hall.

Leicestershire Police have taken possession of Hannah's computer and mobile phone.

Tragically, Hannah's death has not stopped internet trolls from posting abusive messages.

One hijacked a Facebook tribute page set up in her memory, and branded her a "coward" for taking her own life.

However, supportive tributes have been flooding into the site and it had 43,500 "likes" by last night.

Boyfriend Kris posted: "RIP Hannah Jayne Louise May Smith. Heaven has gained a beautiful angel. Loads of people will miss you because of your amazing personality and just for being amazing.

"We will all miss you being around. Can't stop crying, miss you so much Beautiful."

In the year ending March 2013, ChildLine carried out 4,507 counselling sessions with young people who were concerned about cyber-bullying – an 87 per cent increase on the previous year.

NSPCC chief executive Peter Wanless said it was an issue that needed to be tackled.

"This is a tragic case where Hannah felt like she had no other option but to end her life," he said. "The cruel nature of cyber-bullying allows perpetrators to remain anonymous and hide behind their screens. This is something that must be tackled before it gets out of hand.

"Young people are feeling increasingly desperate as a result of the abusive comments they are victim to.

"It is important that young people know that if they need somebody to talk to, they can call ChildLine."

Ask.fm, a Latvian-based website launched in 2010, has been heavily criticised by anti-bullying charities because it allows users to post anonymous comments on the pages of children as young as 13.

A spokesman for the site said: "Hannah Smith's death is a true tragedy.We would like to convey our deepest condolences to her family and friends. We have reached out to Leicestershire Police and would be happy to co-operate with their investigation.

"Ask.fm actively encourages our users and their parents to report any incidences of bullying, either by using the in-site reporting button, or via our contact page."

You can also call ChildLine on 0800 1111.

Adults worried about a child or in need of help and advice can contact the NSPCC helpline on 0808 800 5000.

To support the e-petition, visit:

https://submissions.epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/48886

Leicester City last night booked their place in round two of the Capital One Cup after a dramatic finish.

It took a goal deep into time added on from Sean St Ledger to give them a 2-1 win over Wycombe Wanderers

Manager Nigel Pearson was true to his word in naming a strong side.

There was one enforced change with Liam Moore coming in for Zak Whitbread, who suffered a head injury at Middlesbrough on Saturday, while Neil Danns was given a run out in midfield in place of Danny Drinkwater.

Lloyd Dyer came in at left wing back for Paul Konchesky and David Nugent was promoted from the substitute's bench to partner Chris Wood in attack.

Although it was a strong looking City side on paper, the two division gap between the two sides was not evident in the first half.

As they did at Middlesbrough on Saturday, City were slow out of the blocks and struggled to find any rhythm in the first half.

They went ahead after 14 minutes when Chris Wood did well to beat the offside trap and hold the ball up before picking out the bursting run of Andy King into the box. But he was tripped by Wycombe captain Stuart Lewis and City were awarded a penalty.

Nugent maintained his 100 per cent record from the spot by sending Matt Ingram the wrong way although, admittedly, Nugent had only ever taken one penalty before in his career!

City were unable to build on their advantage and large credit for that must go to the hosts, who were industrious and aggressive in their approach, swamping City when they were in possession and never allowing them to get into their passing groove.

Dean Morgan had given City a warning when he forced a good save from Kasper Schmeichel in the 17th minute but City didn't heed it and Jo Kuffour grabbed a superb equaliser four minutes later.

The young striker picked up the ball with his back to goal, took advantage of a yard of space given to him by Wes Morgan and Sean St Ledger, and beat Schmeichel on the turn with a great finish.

Wycombe deserved to be on parity and continued to give City a torrid time.

City failed to create many opportunities and the closest they came to another goal was a Morgan header from a corner which dipped just over the bar.

At the other end, City never looked completely comfortable in defence against the lively Kuffour and Steven Craig.

H-T: Wycombe 1 City 1

City started the second half with much more purpose. Wood, in particular, was looking threatening and Dyer became more involved down the left.

Danns, making his first appearance for City in nearly a year, almost gave City the lead with a strike from the edge of the box which was heading for the bottom corner until Ingram managed to fling an outstretched hand to palm it away.

Ingram produced another fine save on the hour when City carved Wymcombe open and Dyer let fly from just inside the box, but the Wycombe keeper tipped his effort over the bar at full stretch.

Minutes later, substitute Jeff Schlupp fizzed an effort just past the far post as City continued to look the most likely to grab the next goal.

City continued to create chances as Wood did superbly to beat Anthony Stewart but, again, his shot was wide of the far post, while Danns miskicked after Dyer had pulled the ball back to him inside the area.

There was a scare for City in added time when Stewart headed just wide from a corner, with memories of Roy Essendoh's late winner in 2001 springing to mind.

At the other end, Schlupp and Morgan both went close with late headers.

In the fifth minute of added time, St Ledger slammed home from close range to send City through after Wycombe had failed to clear City's third consecutive corner. What a dramatic finish!

Work is well under way on a £7 million revamp of Leicester Market.

Diggers have moved on to Market Corner to start preparing the foundations for a pavilion for fish and meat traders.

The glass and timber structure will stand alongside the Corn Exchange. The 1970s market hall is to be bulldozed.

Mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said he was impressed with the speed at which work was progressing.

He said: "The crews are doing a very good job and you can start to see the footprint of a building that will be spacious and big enough for the traders and their customers.

"Our hope is the building of the pavilion will be complete by Christmas, though the users will not move in until the new year because we do not want interrupt their trade at a busy time for them."

When the traders have relocated, the large market hall will be flattened to make way for a public square.

Sir Peter said: "The market hall is simply not up to the job.

"It is very dingy and grubby and not a pleasant environment for anyone who uses it.

"Within the next few weeks, we will be holding a consultation on ideas for the public square and the rear of the Corn Exchange, which will be opened up when the hall is gone."

The council is borrowing the cash to pay for the redevelopment against the £650,000 annual income from the market.

Ian Gannon, 66, of Braunstone Town, is a regular visitor to the market.

He said: "The workmen are all go. Not so very long ago they were holding the bric-a-brac market here and now it is a big building side.

"I'm looking forward to the new building and I won't miss the old one.

"It's dank, grim and I really do think people were put off shopping there."

Jean Miller, 62, from Beaumont Leys, Leicester, said: "Our market is wonderful and people don't like change but from what I have seen of the plans it will be a lot better when this has finished."

Details of a citywide, two-day festival over the bank holiday weekend have been revealed.

City Festival 2013 on Sunday and Monday August 25 and 26.

Organised by Leicester City Council, it will be an amalgamation of celebrations already held in the city, as well as a number of new events.

City mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said: "For the first time, we are bringing together a lot of separate events which will effectively double the size of the celebrations across the city.

"If it proves a success, as I am sure it will, we will look to make it a bigger and even better event last year."

The idea was conceived last year as part of a city council review of festival funding.

This year, the budget has been cut from £366,500 to £308,500 and will fall to £288,500 in 2014.

The events making up the City Festival will be mostly free and the mayor hopes it will become an annual event to bolster Leicester's bid to become UK City of Culture in 2017.

Humberstone Gate West and Gallowtree Gate will host the eighth annual Sports Fest on the Sunday, with coaching sessions on offer in basketball, football and boxing.

There will also be live music and dance , including Chinese dragon dancing.

On the Sunday, from 11am to 4pm many city streets will be shut so cyclists can take part in the annual Sky Ride.

On the same day the market will host Our Leicester Day, a celebration of the city's community groups, clubs and societies.

On Bank Holiday Monday, the city's history will be celebrated with the Old Town Festival at Magazine Square, Newark Houses Museum and Leicester Castle. There will be medieval re-enactments, the opening up of historic buildings and a food fair.

Leicester Mela, traditionally held in July, has been moved to the Monday and will take place around the Clock Tower with a Bollywood and Bhangra celebration of South Asian culture.

Town Hall Square will host the Journeys Festival over two days. Involving art, drama, music and poetry from refugees, it will tour the East Midlands.

Finally Orton Square, outside Curve theatre , will host End of Pier Delights on Sunday and Monday. It will be a seaside celebration for youngsters. http://www.visitleicester.info/cityfestival/