It has been a long journey and it isn't over yet for Siobhan and Mark Whitfield. The Thurmaston couple were overjoyed to be expecting their first baby in October 2007, a little over a year after emigrating to Australia.

But within weeks their life changed for ever when their daughter Mollie was diagnosed with type one spinal muscular atrophy (SMA).

Not only was it incurable, but it was also the most severe form of a rare genetic condition which meant her muscles did not work properly.

Siobhan, 42, said: "We were devastated. I couldn't work out how I was going to live on a minute by minute basis.

"But after a weekend of crying, Mark and I made a decision that we would not cry in front of Mollie.

"We also decided we needed to be near family and friends and came to Thurmaston."

On their return, the pair set about finding out as much as they could about SMA.

Siobhan said: "The Jennifer Trust was a fantastic support and put us in touch with all the medical professionals we needed to give Mollie the best life she could have.

"We came across so many health professionals who didn't know what SMA was – we were more educated than a lot of them.

"Because we did know so much we were able to request the kind of care we wanted for Mollie.

"We tried to live as normal a life as possible.

"We took Mollie swimming two or three times a week – in the water, she could move her arms and legs, which she couldn't do on dry land when she could only move her arms from the elbows down and her head from side to side. She also had to be fed through a tube.

"We tried to keep her as active as possible, which is why I am sure she lived to see her first birthday – something doctors did not think would happen."

Just after her first birthday, on October 28, 2008, Mollie died.

Siobhan said: "I was 39 at the time and Mark and I decided fairly soon after Mollie that we were going to have more children.

"I got pregnant fairly quickly but unfortunately had a miscarriage."

The couple were referred for pre-implantation genetic diagnosis which is similar to IVF treatment to screen embryos which did not have the SMA genes.

However, before any treatment began Siobhan discovered she was again pregnant.

She said: "At 11 weeks I had a test to make sure the baby did not have SMA.

"The nine-day wait for the test results were long and hard but then we were told we were having a girl and that she did not have SMA.

"It was just the best feeling. There were so many tears of joy."

Rosie was born on December 14, 2010 and on November 14 last year the couple's son, Finley, was born.

Siobhan said: "Mollie is never forgotten and we are continuing to raise awareness and funds for the Jennifer Trust.

"We have an annual memorial darts competition which is turning into a big family day each year."

Siobhan and two colleagues from Slimming World also recently raised nearly £700 with a sponsored slim.

Siobhan said: "We didn't quite lose all the weight we were going to, but people still sponsored us."

A parish council faces a bill of more than £1,000 after vandals daubed graffiti over a purpose-built playground, designed for toddlers.

Police have been called in to investigate the incident, in Coleorton, where play equipment on Peggs Green recreation ground was defaced.

The messages, spray-painted and scratched on to surfaces, may seem juvenile, but officers are treating the offence as criminal damage.

Parish councillor Michael Specht, of Forrester Close, said: "It's not even as if they've defaced just a small area – they've basically disfigured all the play equipment in the recreation ground.

"It's interesting that actual names have been used rather than tags. Whether these are the actual names of the culprits we'll have to wait and see.

"But if those responsible are caught, I think they should be treated firmly.

"It's criminal damage after all, and we need to send a message to deter others from carrying out similar acts of wanton vandalism."

The damage was discovered at the end of last month.

It cost more than £12,000 to install the equipment, for use by children under the age of eight, in 2010 – paid for entirely from parish council funds.

The facilities include a dart activity centre and double swings on a specialist Playsafe surface.

Councillor Emma-Kate Fletcher, parish chairman, said: "These horrid youths – or someone in their names – has severely damaged the children's play equipment.

"They obviously spent quite a while 'decorating' the surfaces of the slide, swings and climbing frame.

"This equipment was bought with parish council funds – villager's money – and more money will have to be spent to remove the graffiti. This is criminal damage – not a bit of fun."

Clerk to the council, Sue McGlynn, said: "I think our last parish precept was about £14,000, meaning it took the council saving up almost an entire year's income to provide these play facilities. We've been told it could cost more than £1,000 to put right – some wooden areas will have to be completely sanded down

"It's so disappointing. We've got a lovely play area which is very well used, it's just a shame that it's been defaced in this way.

"The police have been very supportive and we just hope they can find those responsible."

A police spokesman said: "This was a thoughtless crime committed by someone who has no regard for the effect it will have on the community and the children who use these facilities.

"We need to catch the people responsible and would urge anyone who saw someone acting suspiciously in the area to contact us.

"The slightest detail could help us with our investigation.

"Have you heard someone talking about the incident recently?

"If you can help in any way, please get in touch."

Anyone with information should contact the police by dialling the 101 number.

A group of cyclists will be recreating the scene of the famous Green Bicycle Murder from nearly 100 years ago.

Bella Wright was shot dead while riding her bike in the countryside to the east of Leicester in 1919, and the man charged with her murder, Ronald Light, was acquitted, despite the large amount of evidence against him.

Light had been traced through his own bike. He had tried to file the serial number off before dumping it.

A lot of the evidence was to do with whether he could have been where Bella was shot.

Tomorrow, dozens of cyclists will be meeting at Victoria Park, in Leicester, to cycle out to the place where the murder was committed, near Little Stretton.

The day will involve members of Leicester Spokes cycling club and other riders, with two of them – Lynn Simmonds and David Brownlow – playing the roles of Bella and Light. Peter Simmonds, a Leicester Sky Ride co-ordinator who organised the event, said: "It's a famous murder and a fascinating story where bikes were a key part of the evidence.

"Ronald Light was found because although he had filed the serial number off the bike frame there was still one on the spokes.

"That led to the shop where the bike was sold and eventually to him."

Peter organised a similar cycling event in 2009 and the production is based on the studies by historian David Hughes.

Four years ago, David took part in the bike ride and narrated the recreation but he was unable to take part this time.

Peter said: "I'm going to try to step up to the plate and do the narration using David Hughes's material. Ronald Light was acquitted after he claimed he couldn't have possibly been where Bella was murdered because he took a different route.

"With the recreation, we'll have Bella and Light riding the routes they rode and we'll see what our conclusions are."

Bella actor Lynn, who is Peter's daughter and grew up in Glenfield before moving to London, also played the role three years ago.

She said: "It's my second time playing Bella and it's always nice riding an old-fashioned bicycle in the period clothes – dealing with all the problems women cyclists had to deal with riding a bike like that.

"It's good fun and has a murder-mystery feel to it.

"Bella was an interesting character. She was 21 and a woman who went against the grain. She was a very independent woman.

"There are so many aspects to what happened that day."

The cyclists will be meeting at the pavilion in Victoria Park, Leicester, at 10am tomorrow, before cycling out to Little Stretton. Other cyclists are welcome to join in.

A fire which gutted a double-decker bus left a major road closed for eight hours yesterday.

The blaze broke out in the bus while it was on the A50 at Field Head, near Markfield, at about 5am.

There were no passengers on board the Nottingham City Transport bus at the time, and nobody was injured.

However, the city-bound carriageway was closed while firefighters tackled the blaze and remained shut until about 1.30pm, while the road was made safe.

Motorists were diverted through Ratby and Newtown Linford. The fire caused long delays in the area.

Bjarne Thygesen, of Hamilton, Leicester, was on his way to work when he saw the bus fire.

He said: "It was blazing when I drove past, I could feel the heat in my car. It didn't affect my journey, though. I must have seen it when it had just started.

"When I drove past the spot on my way home, there was a black patch where the bus had been and the fence nearby was a bit singed."

Firefighters from Coalville and the city's Western fire station were called to the blaze just after 5am.

Police were called to the scene and a third fire crew later arrived.

A spokesman from the fire service, said: "The bus was empty at the time. Nobody was injured."

Nottingham City Transport said the fire was accidental and due to a fault with the engine.

After attending the scene, police handed over the incident to the county council and Highways Agency.

The burnt-out shell of the bus was removed from the scene later in the day ahead of the road reopening.

A spokesman from the county council, said: "It was closed this morning while debris was cleared from the road and oil was removed."

A six-week consultation is to be held on measures aimed at stopping the spread of student housing in Leicester.

The city council intends to introduce a rule called Article 4.

It will require home owners to seek planning permission if they want to have between three and six unrelated people living in the same house – a House of Multiple Occupation (HMO).

The move is to prevent an over-concentration of multiple-occupancy houses in Clarendon Park, the West End, the streets between Leicester Prison and Princess Road West, and a number of the streets to the south and west of Leicester Royal Infirmary.

Currently, no formal permission is needed to set up an HMO and the new rule cannot be applied retrospectively.

The council made the direction on Thursday, kicking off a consultation period during which people can raise any issues or concerns.

If the direction is confirmed by the city council, it would come into effect in August 2014.

Public notices will be displayed, with information available at venues across the city, including libraries in Aylestone, Knighton, Leicester Central and Westcotes.

More information is available at:

www.leicester.gov.uk/himos-a4

Psychologists in Leicester have revealed that more than one in five children in the city have reported being bullied at some time during the past year.

Dr Joe Dawson, principal educational psychologist for the city council, said they had surveyed 500 children over the past academic year and 22.5 per cent said they had been bullied.

He said that although the figure was lower than the national average of 28.4 per cent, revealed in a 2009 survey, there was no room for complacency.

Dr Dawson said: "We shall continue to work closely with schools to try to reduce bullying. We introduced our Text Someone service in 2010 and that has allowed pupils and other people to report instances of bullying.

"So far, 150 people have used the service and we hope people will continue to find it a help."

He said the case of Hannah Smith was a tragedy.

He said: "It just shows how powerfully destructive bullying can be. Children used to be safe in their homes but now, because of the internet, they are not. We must do as much as we can to try to help victims of bullying speak up."

The council was instrumental in developing the first anti-bullying Text Someone service in the country.

Incidents can be reported 24 hours a day by sending a text message to 07781 474 660.

The body of the message must start with the school's code number, available on the council's website (address below) under "anti-bullying guidance".

The message should include the name of the child being bullied, their date of birth, class name or year group and any other pertinent information. Once a message is sent, an automatic acknowledgement is received and the incident is dealt with as soon as possible.

www.leicester.gov.uk

More than 200 staff were evacuated from an Argos warehouse when a worker deliberately started a fire, a court heard.

Vipesh Patel (25) was caught by CCTV cameras coming out of a locker room, after starting the fire.

He has been jailed for three years.

Patel admitted arson, recklessly endangering the lives of the workforce at the Argos national distribution centre, in Magna Park, Lutterworth.

Leicester Crown Court was told that "between 200 and 300 workers" were on the night shift when the fire alarm sounded at 11.50pm, on Sunday November 11.

The depot was shut down for three hours, causing £50,000 losses to Argos and about £3,000 in employees' lost wages.

"It was a small fire, but caused huge disruption," said Jonathan Dunne, prosecuting.

Shift manager, Mark Steadman, and Phil Blackburn, a staff fire marshal, found thick black smoke in the men's locker room and extinguished a small fire on top of some lockers.

A blue rucksack and plastic lunch boxes, which had melted, were "well alight." The police and fire service also attended but no-one was hurt.

Patel, of Donnington Street, Highfields, Leicester, had been doing agency work at the warehouse for two or three weeks before committing the offence, for which no explanation was given.

Mr Dunne said Patel, who has never been in trouble before, was identified by his hat and clothing, after CCTV footage was inspected.

He was the only person to enter the locker room in the 15 minutes before the alarm being activated.

When questioned, he admitted it was him on the footage, saying he went there to get a knife to cut boxes. He was in there for less than two minutes.

He told the police he was a "social smoker" and had a cigarette lighter with him, but said he wasn't responsible.

He also denied being the culprit – after entering a guilty plea at an earlier hearing – when being interviewed for psychiatric and pre-sentence reports.

However, Jagvir Sangherra, mitigating, told the judge Patel did not wish to vacate his guilty plea and wanted sentencing to proceed.

There was no value given for the cost of smoke damage to the locker room.

The court heard that Patel, "an active voluntary worker," was suffering from mild depression and had seen his GP for medical help.

Judge Robert Brown said: "He comes from a good and decent family, testimonials speak well of him and there are all the pluses in his life – and then he does this. It's a serious matter."

He told Patel: "As a result of the fire you set, 200 to 300 people in that building were potentially at risk and the place had to be evacuated, with no work taking place for three hours.

"You have mild depression, but you don't have a mental illness that needs treatment.

"It was a deliberate act that needs to be punished.

"Why you did it isn't clear."

A trustee of Curve is barefaced and whisker-free for the first time in 25 years after going under the Demon Barber of Fleet Street's cutthroat razor.

John Nicholls, from Upper Broughton, near Melton, joined other theatre-goers for a close shave before Thursday night's performance of Sweeney Todd at the city theatre.

Staff from city centre salon The Cutting Room were offering hot towel wet shaves with a cutthroat razor, with each £10 shave going to the theatre's charity.

John, 64, a retired chief executive of the former Leicester Regeneration Company, said he is getting used to his new look.

"It feels really strange," he said. "It's the first time anyone has seen my chin for 25 years and it's aged a bit. The wind on my face feels particularly odd. I don't think it looks too bad, though – I was worried I'd look like a boiled egg with spectacles."

John has raised £925, so far, after being sponsored by friends, family and theatre staff. All proceeds from his and other shaves will go towards theatre community project Experience Curve, which aims to make arts accessible to all.

"Originally, my target was £300, but I had to keep revising it due to everyone's generosity," said John. "It would be nice to reach the £1,000 mark."

The final Sweeney Todd wet shave event will be held at 2.15pm tomorrow, at Curve, ahead of the production's final performance.

To donate to John's appeal, visit his dedicated Just Giving site at:

www.justgiving.com/ John-Nichollsbeard

A law firm and a youth charity have set up a scheme to help young photographers exhibit and sell their work.

Spearing Waite LLP and Soft Touch Arts are working together to match budding photographers with business mentors and will be helping a group of teenagers stage an exhibition at Highcross Leicester later this month.

Michael Lawrence, of Spearing Waite, in Friar Lane, Leicester, said: "Soft Touch does incredible work with young people in the city and we are proud to have had the opportunity to become involved in its business mentoring scheme.

"The group involved in the exhibition has shown exceptional enthusiasm and dedication to the task in hand and it has been a pleasure to support them in pursuing and achieving their goals."

The exhibition, called Restricted, runs from August 24 to 31 on the ground floor of the Highcross shopping centre.

Michael Harkness, 17, said: "It's helped us take our work a step further and show what we can do and what we are capable of. Not many people of our age get the opportunity to do this kind of thing – it's a unique experience for us.''

Soft Touch is looking for more businesses to be partners in the mentoring scheme.

To offer help, ring Vince Attwood on 0116 270 2706 or e-mail:

vince@soft-touch.org.uk

A young cancer patient was given the ride of his life yesterday with a trip in his dream sports car.

Aiden Taylor, of Leicester Forest East, was diagnosed with leukaemia in 2010 and has undergone years of treatment, including chemotherapy.

The trip around the city in a £150,000 2006 Ford GT sports car was arranged as a special treat for the 12-year-old.

Aiden, who is a big fan of TV series Top Gear, said: "I was really excited, I love cars.

"It was really exciting. It was awesome. But I was a bit scared when I had to press the starter button to get it going. It roared and then we went around Leicester."

Although Aiden, who is a pupil at South Charnwood High School, in Markfield, is currently in remission, he is still undergoing treatment.

He is hoping to complete this in October.

His mum, Sally, said: "It's been a bit of a tough time, a long battle – we've been in and out of hospital. Aiden's good in himself – he's coping really well under the circumstances.

"As a parent, I just want to protect him – I often feel like I'm wrapping him up in cotton wool when actually all he wants to do is be a child and have fun, so I like him to experience things like this.

"When children go through things like this, they have a real zest for like. All he wants to do is get out there and live life."

Originally Aiden was invited to attend Asda's annual On Your Marks Event at Bruntingthorpe track, near Lutterworth.

Unfortunately, he was unable to make the event, which gives cancer patients the opportunity to have a ride in their favourite sports car.

When Nik Gokani, sales manager at Sandicliffe Ford, in Welford Road, heard that Aiden was unable to go to the event, he arranged for a separate experience for him.

Nik was behind the wheel of the sports car for yesterday's trip.

He said: "If he couldn't come to the show, the show would come to him. We know Aiden is a car enthusiast and when we heard he was quite poorly, we thought it would be nice for him to have a drive in it.

"This model is not actually made any more, so it's quite exclusive. We usually only display it because we can't afford to damage it."

The car is owned by Sandicliffe and is one of only 100 made in Europe.

Two men stripped off in the street and performed a sex act with each other, encouraged by customers from a bar, a court heard

Richard Northey (34) and Wilbur Carruthers (40) were witnessed performing an indecent act while "in a state of undress" near Sloane's Bar, in King Street, the city centre, on June 10.

They were being watched by members of the public.

Northey, of Lower Brown Street, and Carruthers, of Oxford Street, both in the city centre, admitted committing an act of outraging public decency at Leicester Magistrates' Court.

Carruthers also admitted using threatening words and behaviour on the same occasion.

Prosecutor Sukhjit Singh said just after midnight, a doctor and his wife were driving down King Street near Sloane's Bar when they saw the men.

He said: "One of the members of the public shouted that there was someone in the car. The doctor told the men to stop what they were doing or he would call the police.

"Carruthers said he could do what he wanted and told the doctor not to tell him what to do. He kicked the car three times."

The police were called and, when arrested, Carruthers said he had drunk so much alcohol he could not remember anything from 11pm onwards.

Northey was interviewed and said he had also consumed alcohol. When told of the incident by a friend he said he could not remember who the other man was.

Both men pleaded guilty at the first opportunity. Guy Carter, representing Northey but also speaking on Carruthers's behalf, said the act was completely out of character and was the result of alcohol combined with a party atmosphere in the bar.

"The temperature was high and they had been dancing. They removed their clothing due to the high temperature."

Mr Carter said the indecent act was performed late at night and the participants were unaware there was anyone in the car.

He said people from the bar who were watching were more encouraging the act than anything else.

He said: "Although Mr Carruthers acted aggressively towards the doctor no damage was done to the vehicle."

He told the court neither of the men had known each other and had been in monogamous relationships. Northey, however, was in emotional turmoil as he had recently broken up with his partner.

Both men were given supervised community orders, Carruthers for 12 months, Northey for nine and each ordered to do 40 hours unpaid work and to pay £80 costs.

Campaigners wanting a better deal for disabled people have highlighted the case of a Leicester man who spent two nights sleeping outside after being evicted for allegedly abusing his neighbours.

A group called the War on Welfare campaign has launched an e-petition demanding a new look at rights for disabled people.

The group tweeted the Leicester Mercury story about wheelchair-user Vincent Tumulty, who was forcibly removed from his home in Clarendon Park, Leicester, on Monday, after the landlord obtained a court order to eject him.

The tweet about the plight of the 51-year multiple sclerosis sufferer was retweeted by controversial comedian Frankie Boyle.

Group spokesman Rick Burgess, who is himself disabled, said: "The horrifying case of Mr Tumulty is exactly what we are trying to prevent. His story highlights just what lots and lots of disabled people are having to put up with day in, day out these days. We want it changed, so we have launched a petition to get 100,000 signatures to trigger a debate in Parliament."

Leicester City Council said Mr Tumulty had visited its housing options office and put in a bid for a property.

Former TV presenter David Icke also posted the story about Mr Tumulty on his website. By yesterday, the e-petition had been signed by more than 52,000 people.

To see it, go to:

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/ petitions/43154

A burglar stole from a house while the occupants were on holiday, and took their car, a court heard.

Ronan Settersfield (20) helped himself to a mobile phone, a laptop computer and costume jewellery.

He then drove off with the householder's silver Ford Focus, which was later found abandoned.

At Leicester Crown Court, Settersfield, formerly of Dominion Road, Glenfield, was sentenced to 11 months detention.

He pleaded guilty to burgling the house in Little Meer Close, Thorpe Astley, and taking the car without consent, on July 17. Victoria Rose, prosecuting, said police found the car then located the defendant at an address in Hand Avenue, Braunstone, later the same day.

She said: "Officers discovered various items including the phone, laptop and jewellery from the break-in hidden underneath the sofa."

Settersfield initially claimed he had been riding his bike along a road when he was stopped by unknown people who offered to sell the items to him.

He admitted breaching a previously-imposed community order, by failing to attend appointments with the probation service.

He received the order for an earlier burglary of a city centre computer shop, when £2,169 worth of equipment was stolen.

Vasanti Vaitha, mitigating, said Settersfield was living with his mother, but ended up leaving home and sleeping on the streets or staying at friends' homes.

She said: "It was a chaotic life-style at the time. He acts on impulse and has learning and behavioural difficulties."

Judge Michael Pert QC said: "You had an opportunity with the community order, but didn't take it."

Traders in a flood-hit town have met with the authorities to demand answers.

About 20 independent traders from Market Harborough had a question-and-answer session with representatives of the district and county councils, fire service, the Environment Agency and Anglian Water about the recent devastating floods.

Since the storms on July 27, some businesses are still closed, while others are struggling to attract customers due to foul smells.

As well as losing thousands of pounds worth of stock, many of the 40 businesses affected have had to pull up their damaged carpets and, in some cases, rip up their floors.

The meeting on Thursday evening, held at the Enigma bar in Coventry Road, Market Harborough, was not just to ask what went wrong but also how to deal with more floods in the future.

A massive flood prevention scheme, installed in 2005, now diverts flood water to an underground tank but it failed to prevent the latest crisis for the town centre.

The owner of High Street jewellers Halo, Sharon Shannon, organised the meeting.

She said: "We wanted to know why the drains were blocked up and why more couldn't have been done considering the warnings put out by the Met Office.

"But we also wanted to know how we could help ourselves next time.

"With climate change, I think the freaky weather is here to stay and this is going to happen again, despite all the work they did to improve the drains. We're independent traders and when this sort of thing happens we have to deal with it personally. We can't just call our head office and get them to send experts and equipment."

Other issues that came up at the meeting included what traders should be doing with the ruined carpets, stock and packaging currently outside many of the town centre shops.

Business owners also wanted advice on the safety issues with dirty water and smells and whether there was a risk to their health.

At Denham Jewellers, owner Sarah Stamp is losing money each day.

She said: "The shop is a complete bombsite.

"We've got no carpets down and the dehumidifiers blowing. Our trade is down by 50 per cent. The shop owners need to get together."

Harborough councillor Phil Knowles said the meeting was a success but more questions needed answering.

He said: "I think it was extremely positive and a good chance for a lot of the services to hear first-hand from the traders and for them to raise questions on technical issues.

"We're told it was exceptionally heavy rainfall but people want to know if the authorities felt the underground tank acted to its maximum level of protection.

"We've got to make sure all the questions are asked and that lessons are learned for the future.

"It is not enough to just say 'Isn't it terrible what happened'. We need every stone turned over."

Leicester City plan to put on a show when they entertain Leeds United tomorrow in their first home game of the new season, says midfielder Andy King.

City will run out at King Power Stadium in a competitive game for the first time since they took on Watford in the play-off semi-finals at the end of the last campaign.

King said the players intended to lay down a mark of intent as they bid for promotion.

"We are all looking forward to the game," he said. "It is our first home game of the season and we want to put on a show for the fans.

"It will be the first time that most supporters will have had the chance to see us play since the Watford play-off game. We played really well in that game and want to pick up where we left off.

"It is vital the fans get behind us this season but they have always done that. Let's hope it is a successful campaign for everyone."

City kicked off the season with victory at Middlesbrough last Saturday and a Capital One Cup win at Wycombe Wanderers on Tuesday. King said it was important to start the season well after the disappointment of the previous one.

And he said City would get better as they adjust to their new 3-5-2 system.

"We have made a good start and that was important with how things finished last year," he said.

"We have had a couple of good wins and it is the results that matter.

"As we get used to this new system I am sure we will get better and better at it. We know that, if we do it well and make it effective, it is hard to play against.

"When you get it right with this system you can dominate games and I thought the second half at Middlesbrough was outstanding.

"Not many teams play 4-4-2 these days, they tend to pack the midfield, so it is nice to have that extra body in there. However, we still won games playing 4-4-2 and it worked for us last year.

"It is all about results and we will pick the system that suits us best and can cause the most problems for the opposition.

"It gives me chance to make runs. You have more bodies in there, more cover, which gives you licence to get forward."

New signing Ignasi Miquel has vowed to help Leicester City reach the Premier League.

The 20-year-old defender has joined on loan from Arsenal for the rest of the season and becomes Nigel Pearson's second signing of the summer.

Miquel, who has played Champions League football for the Gunners, will be available for selection for tomorrow's home clash with Leeds United.

The Barcelona academy product and Spain Under-21 international said: "I knew I wanted to come here as soon as I heard there was interest from Leicester and I was focused on making it happen," he said.

"It's a great club and I'm coming to enjoy it here.

"It's about giving everything that I have and trying to win games. I will give everything I've got to get this club to the Premier League."

Miquel said playing in a tough division like the Championship will be a test for him, but he said it will help improve his all-round game.

"Growing up at Arsenal, it's about playing from the back," he said.

"I think my positioning is quite good, I like to read the game, but there are always things to improve on and that's why I'm here – to get games and improve myself.

"I hope to play as many games as I can – I know the Championship is a very tough division so, if I can play regularly, it will be massive for my improvement.

"It is going to be a massive challenge but I am here to get through it and better myself so I know it's going to be good."

New signing Ignasi Miquel will be a good acquisition for Leicester City, says manager Nigel Pearson.

The 20-year-old Spanish defender has joined the club on loan from Arsenal for the rest of the season.

Pearson hopes he will have the same impact as Michael Keane did while on loan from Manchester United last season.

Miquel, who plays on the left side of central defence or at left-back, could be in line to make his debut against Leeds tomorrow.

Pearson said he was delighted to add him to his squad. "He is a young centre-back with lots of potential," said the City boss. "He has lots of ability as a footballer, is very enthusiastic and is delighted to be here. That is a big part of taking players on loan or permanently, players that want to be with you.

"It is an opportunity that came along last week. We have been able to do it so it is nice to have an addition.

"We haven't done a lot of business this summer and everyone knows the reasons for that. I don't really envisage there being more business.

"It is nice to add to the squad but I think the players who we have in that position have done well so far this season. We have some good options."

Although this will be Miquel's first loan spell away from the Emirates, Pearson said there was plenty of experience among his defenders to help the new arrival settle in.

"It is a good experience for some of these younger players," said Pearson.

"We have had criticism that we have had probably too many young players. But we haven't been able to do business with the more experienced players we may have had an eye on.

"It is not always a case of looking in one particular area, it is whether you can actually do business. Hopefully, he will play a positive role for us this season.

"People talk about experience just being age, but we have a number of young players with a lot of appearances already and that is important."

New residents of a proposed housing estate are to be given free bus passes to encourage them to leave their cars at home.

The move has been described as "laughable" by exasperated opponents of the Miller Homes estate, set for fields outside Hugglescote, near Coalville.

Under conditions imposed by North West Leicestershire District Council in approving the controversial plans for 400 new homes in Standard Hill, the developers would give each property a complimentary "travel pack".

It will include two free six-month bus passes, which would normally cost £325, per home.

Highways bosses at Leicestershire County Council insisted on the condition to "encourage new residents to use bus services as an alternative to the private car" and to "establish changes in travel behaviour" from the point homeowners first move in.

The scheme was approved by nine votes to seven in a recorded vote at a district planning meeting.

The council had received 381 letters from residents opposing the scheme.

John Cowley, 78, whose home in St Faith's Drive is on the edge of the site, said: "Free travel passes! Are they serious? What a complete waste of time!

"There's got to be something wrong if on the one hand they are saying there is nothing wrong with this site – and then they come up with this.

"It's ridiculous and misses the whole point. Besides, how on earth are they going to enforce it – the answer is they won't."

District councillor Russell Johnson said: "The idea of free bus passes offsetting the impact of this development is simply hilarious.

"All the data available points to roads in Hugglescote and the surrounding area being overwhelmed by traffic from this estate, in addition to others being built in the area, and will not be able to cope.

"The proposed entrance at the bottom of Standards Hill is, in the view of locals, an accident waiting to happen."

Coun Johnson said an emergency meeting was held involving concerned councillors, residents, the county highways authority and representatives for Miller Homes prior to the planning committee meeting.

"I'm not just disappointed, I'm bloody angry!" he said. "They were not listening and had already made their minds up."

Opponents of the scheme also argue the site is an area of natural beauty, backing on to Snibston Country Park – and is prone to flooding.

Peter Osborne, county council cabinet member for highways and transport, said it was their policy to support more sustainable forms of transport to help reduce single occupancy car journeys and reduce the impact of new developments on the roads network.

Nobody from Miller Homes was available to comment.