Leicester Tigers grabbed a bonus-point win from a wild Heineken Cup game against Montpellier at Welford Road which produced eight tries and 73 points.

Having flown out of the blocks, Leicester played their best rugby of the season to open up a 24-3 lead after just 15 minutes.

But they could never shake off a French side that soaked up pressure and hit them on the break with searing pace and delicate off-loads.

Even after going 17 points ahead with a quarter of an hour left of this absorbing contest, the visitors looked to have grabbed two losing bonus points with a fourth try in the dying seconds to make the score 38-32.

But Leicester won the ball back from the kick-off and substitute Ryan Lamb coolly slotted a drop-goal with the last kick of the match to deny the French one of those bonus points.

Tigers will now travel across the Channel at the weekend for the reverse fixture just two points behind Pool Five leaders Ulster, and with a spring firmly in their step.

The first half was absolutely breathtaking stuff and Tigers looked to have the game sewn up before the end of the first quarter.

Niki Goneva was the first to cross the line, three minutes into his return from injury.

Ben Youngs' loose pass bobbled along the ground, was picked up by Dan Bowden and shipped off to Goneva, who finished clinically.

Toby Flood added the extras, and a penalty three minutes later put the hosts into an early 10-0 lead.

That was only the beginning. Miles Benjamin skipped past five or six would-be tacklers at pace to score Tigers' second try on 15 minutes and added another just two minutes later.

Tigers broke from their own half, full-back Scott Hamilton ran a gorgeous line to add pace to the move and the outstanding Benjamin showed fantastic pace to run in down the touchline.

With Flood's touchline conversion sailing over, Tigers led 24-3 after just 14 minutes and the home crowd were in raptures.

But Flood's 35th-minute penalty miss was as close as they got to adding to that score in the opening period as Montpellier roared back at them with 15 unanswered points.

Jonathan Pelissie's penalty made it 24-6 and, when the visitors' giant Georgian flanker Mamuka Gorgodze rumbled 50 metres on turnover ball for a converted try, it was game on.

The superb Goneva had a rare off-moment when he somehow bombed a three-on-one with a terrible pass to a wide-open Tom Youngs. And right on half-time, Timoci Nagusa scored after Rene Ranger's initial break.

At 24-18, the first score of the second half was going to be crucial and Pelissie missed the chance to grab that with a snagged penalty attempt.

Leicester began to exert some control but made a series of handling errors at crucial stages of their attacks.

Montpellier were stuck in their own half for long periods, but their scintillating pace made them a constant threat on the break.

Eventually, Flood gave Leicester some breathing space with a 57th-minute penalty to make it 27-18.

And then, on the hour, the home side delivered what seemed like the killer blow when Jamie Gibson dived over for the bonus-point fourth try and a 32-18 lead.

Flood's third penalty of the day put his side 35-18 up with 15 minutes to go but, astonishingly, Montpellier were still not dead.

Bowden's unnecessarily loose off-load in attack handed the ball to substitute Pierre Berard and he ran in from 75 metres.

Nagusa then had a try ruled out for a forward pass and, even when Flood made it 38-25 with another kick, the French ran in a spectacular fourth score through Berard with just 60 seconds to go.

That looked to have given the visitors two bonus points in defeat until Lamb's cool drop-goal finally ended a mesmerising contest that had a crowd of 21,404 enthralled from start to finish.

Same again next weekend, anyone?

Richard Cockerill said Leicester Tigers were "as good as they have been all season" after their 41-32 win against Montpellier at Welford Road.

The four-try showing keeps Tigers very much in the hunt for a home Heineken Cup quarter-final.

They will fly to Montpellier for the return leg on Sunday just two points behind Pool Five leaders Ulster.

Winger Miles Benjamin was back to his best, running in two spectacular tries in the opening 15 minutes as Leicester went 24-3 ahead.

Although the French side fought back to play their part in a thrilling contest, director of rugby Cockerill was happy with his side's fifth consecutive victory in all competitions.

"During that purple patch in the first half, it was as good as we have played all season because we were accurate and took our opportunities," said Cockerill.

"Even with the absentees we have got, we were at least a match for them.

"We wanted to play. We took our first three opportunities well and then we had three or four more opportunities which we didn't take. It was more open than I would have liked it to be.

"There were probably five or six tries left out there from both sides.

"We needed the five points and that was good for us.

"It puts the pressure on Ulster."

Leicester City manager Nigel Pearson said this week's back-to-back away defeats had been a real "smack in the face" for his side.

City followed up Tuesday's defeat at Sheffield Wednesday with another disappointing display at Brighton on Saturday, losing 3-1 at the Amex Stadium.

Pearson said his players had not reached the standards they had set earlier in the campaign, when they rose to the summit of the Championship table.

Pearson said he had not seen City's poor first-half display coming at Brighton, but has vowed to "liven-up' his side to ensure it does not happen again.

"It is a big smack in the face for us this week," he said.

"I have said to the players the standards we have set this season, and the characteristics we have shown in a good start to this campaign, have been the foundations of hard work and playing well as a team. We didn't do that (at Brighton).

"We were pedestrian in the first half. I don't think we showed the energy levels or desire to go out and do the job.

"People may use the word complacent, but I wouldn't argue with that.

"I thought we were poor in the first half. We gave two poor goals away which were avoidable. We have had a bad four or five days all in all.

"We have conceded poor goals and I don't think we have worked hard enough. That is the top and bottom of it.

"I didn't really see that sort of performance coming and that is the frustrating thing. The players are a good group of lads.

"They don't go out and play badly on purpose but, unfortunately, we have had it twice this week.

"We had better liven up, and I will liven them up."

Pearson said he was now expecting a big response from his side when they take on automatic promotion rivals Burnley on Saturday at the King Power Stadium.

"We have not had a good few days and it would be easy to be over-critical," he said. "My players have done well so far this season and I expect us to do well in the games coming up.

"There is always a challenge ahead and ours is to get back to the standards we showed earlier in the season."

City have been handed a tough tie in the third round of the FA Cup.

Pearson's men have to travel to the Britannia Stadium to take on Mark Hughes' Stoke City on the weekend of January 4-5.

A pensioner shocked at being told her gas bill is about to go up by 86 per cent has had her case raised in the House of Commons.

Patricia Zachariah, of St Matthew's, Leicester, was horrified to receive a letter from British Gas informing her of the increase.

"I couldn't believe it," said the 67-year-old widow.

"In the letter they were telling me how I was going to be better off and my bills were going to be simpler.

"But when I looked closer it turns out I will have to pay an extra 86 per cent, at least."

Mrs Zachariah turned to Leicester South MP Jon Ashworth for help.

He raised the matter in Parliament during the debate on Chancellor George Osborne's Autumn statement.

Mr Ashworth said: "To have her energy bills increase by 86 per cent seems deeply unfair, and I don't know anyone who could afford to have their gas bill nearly double like that. Quite rightly, she was outraged by this increase and she contacted my office to see how I could help."

When she contacted British Gas to complain, Mrs Zachariah was told the increase was the result of energy watchdog Ofgem's Retail Market Review.

Leonie Edwards, of British Gas, said, "British Gas has introduced a single standing charge for gas and electricity, set at 26p per day across all tariffs.

"The standing charge covers fixed costs to provide energy to a home. We've done this so our customers can better understand and compare tariffs.

"We've contacted Mrs Zachariah to explain this."

Mrs Zachariah, who draws a small pension, said people on low incomes like herself would suffer under the changes.

"I only use gas for my cooker as I pay £20 a week to the city council's district heating," she said. "My bill last year was £76, which is pretty average for me.

"But now I'm going to have to pay £95 before I even start paying for the actual gas I use.

"I've worked out that'll leave me paying £134.18 next year. I think it's disgusting.

"I can't even change supplier because I would lose my £135 Warm Homes Discount from the Government for next year because it would be too late to reapply.

"How many more people are in a position like me? This is a really unfair price increase.

"The worst bit is that it's a necessity.

"If the cost of alcohol or cigarettes go up then people can choose to cut back, but how am I meant to cut down on my energy when British Gas has already told me I'm a low-usage customer?"

Mr Ashworth said: "There are people all over the country in Mrs Zachariah's position.

"This is a systemic problem and it needs to be addressed."

Leicester City have endured a rough week, and it could be about to get even rougher.

After back-to-back away defeats to Sheffield Wednesday and then Brighton on Saturday, two defeats in which City simply have not performed, manager Nigel Pearson pledged to 'liven them up'.

His vow had an ominous tone about it. It seemed to be spoken by a man who simply will not accept performances like this one again.

Every side can have an off-day, but City have had two in the space of five days.

And with fixtures against automatic promotion rivals Burnley and QPR – who both leapfrogged deposed leaders City after their defeat at the Amex Stadium – next up, Leicester cannot afford to continue in a similar manner.

Just like at Hillsborough on Tuesday night, City left themselves a mountain to climb with a poor first-half performance. If anything, this was even worse than against Sheffield.

City were second-best in all departments to Brighton, who were also looking to respond after a shock midweek defeat to Barnsley.

City opted for a 4-3-3 system but Marcin Wasilewski was cruelly exposed at right-back against the pace of Craig Conway, while the midfield three were out-fought and out-thought by Brighton's three, especially David Lopez, while in attack Jamie Vardy and David Nugent were virtually anonymous.

Lloyd Dyer seemed to provide City's only attacking threat in the first half, accompanied at times by Danny Drinkwater's runs from midfield.

But besides having plenty of the ball themselves, City were ponderous in possession.

Without Vardy and Nugent able to provide a platform from which City could build attacks, they struggled to make any headway and were forced into a succession of sideways and backward passes as each attack faded away against the Seagulls' superior work-rate without the ball.

But even more worrying has been City's tendency this week to concede soft goals, and so it was again when Ashley Barnes was left unmarked at the far post to tap home Lopez's cross in the ninth minute.

Kasper Schmeichel's clearance was easily picked up without a City challenge, and then Lopez was afforded plenty of time and space to pick out Barnes, who had peeled off the back of captain Wes Morgan into space as Wasilewski was not on the cover.

There is no doubt Wasilewski does not look as comfortable at right-back as he does at centre-back. He struggled to contain left-winger Conway and was booked after just four minutes following an early challenge when he had been outpaced.

Wasilewski was then caught out of position for Brighton's second in the 28th minute when Lopez's long ball picked out Conway, who checked back as Wasilewski tried to recover before firing past Schmeichel.

Things had to change at half-time, and the introduction of Anthony Knockaert, and the switch to their preferred 4-4-2, certainly improved City, who had opted for a similar system to Brighton's in the first half and found the hosts were simply better at it.

Still City could not claw their way back until they suddenly burst into life with just under half an hour to go, Gary Taylor-Fletcher adding some attacking impetus.

Andy King headed City back into contention with a close-range diving header at the far post from Knockaert's free-kick in the 64th minute and the hosts were rattled.

Goalkeeper Peter Brezovan, who was called into the side at the last minute after Seagulls stopper Tomasz Kuszczak picked up an injury in the warm-up, was now the busier of the two keepers and he had to touch a Taylor-Fletcher header over the bar.

Then he denied King a second after Paul Konchesky and Taylor-Fletcher had caused panic in the Brighton penalty box.

However, just when City were on top, they were hit by a sucker-punch when Morgan was adjudged to have fouled Barnes when winning a defensive header, and Barnes, who had gone down in theatrical fashion, picked himself up and beat Schmeichel from the penalty spot to finish City off.

Harsh words were once again said in the City dressing room as Pearson will be concerned at this week's sudden dip in form.

They can certainly not afford too many more first-half displays like the ones they have served up on the road this week.

A local authority has the purr-fect solution to dealing with fraught customers – Rodney the Council Cat.

Rodney, 13, has become a fixture in the waiting room at North West Leicestershire District Council's offices in Coalville since he sauntered in through the automatic doors at the beginning of October.

He wasted no time making himself at home, curling up on a warm, cosy seat and soon becoming a firm favourite with staff and visitors alike.

Steve McCue, the council's customer team manager, said: "The office building is nice and warm and it looks as though that was just what Rodney was looking for.

"Animal-lovers make a fuss of him.

"Those who aren't too keen just ignore him but most customers think he's wonderful.

"There are no complaints about Rodney – he can change people's mindset.

"Some can come in nervous or angry but, by the time they've seen him all relaxed, they become a lot more mellow."

The council has supplied Rodney a cat-blanket to mark his seat and to protect customers' clothing from unwanted cat hair.

One of Rodney's fans, Lynne Graham, wrote to the Mercury about him.

She said: "I would like to applaud North West Leicestershire District Council on such a simple but effective way to calm people visiting the Coalville offices and provide a talking point.

"I was both bemused and heartened to meet Rodney in the waiting area, friendly and contented in his environment.

"He did not limit his time with those who wanted his company and was aware of those who didn't want him around.

"The fact the staff are not shooing him away is indeed a fabulous reflection on the council in showing it has a heart – not what most believe in today's cash-strapped times."

Rodney's owner, Janine Widdowson, who moved to the area in August 2012, rescued him as a tiny farm-bred kitten.

She said he had always been adventurous, chasing other cats, foxes and squirrels and running roughshod over his canine housemate Rupert, a 10-year-old American shar-pei.

"We used to live near a primary school, of similar design to the council offices, and Rodney used to visit there, going in at the pupils' sleep time, so going to the offices could come from there," Janine said.

"With Rodney, there's no knowing what he's going to do.

"He's a real character – a bit Jekyll and Hyde – and he's been known to go to sleep in a parking space, expecting motorists to drive around him."

Rob Paternostro said his Leicester Riders players "really stepped up" as they booked their place in the BBL Cup final.

Riders made history on Saturday night after becoming just the fourth team in history to make five BBL finals in succession, after overwhelming Plymouth Raiders 104-77.

Riders' winning margin over the two legs of the semi-finals was an emphatic 33 points, and they will now play either Newcastle Eagles or Sheffield Sharks in the final at Birmingham's National Indoor Arena in Birmingham on Sunday, January 12.

Head coach Paternostro was impressed with the efforts of his team against the Raiders to seal their place at the NIA, which was the scene of the first of Riders' three trophies last season.

"We knew we had to make adjustments after the narrow win in the first leg, and the guys really stepped up," he said.

"We had some fantastic individual performances from Drew Sullivan, Jamell Anderson, and Anthony Downing. And we had six guys in double-figure points.

"But the contribution of Jay Couisnard was just immense. At times, he is impossible for opponents to contain.

"Jay really seems to like these cup games. He is not one to shy away from the big occasions.

"We saw that in the Cup final last January. We saw it again against Plymouth on Saturday with his 32 points.

"I think once again Riders showed they have the ability to rise to the biggest challenges. It was really a tremendous performance.

"The atmosphere at the John Sandford was also special, you could feel an edge, an electricity, and once we started to really get on top, it was always going to be tough for the Raiders to come back."

Newcastle and Sheffield meet in the second leg of their semi-final on Friday, with the Sharks holding a three-point advantage.

Elsewhere in the BBL, Sheffield went top of the Championship table and made it a miserable weekend for the Raiders with an 86-78 in Plymouth.

The hosts dominated the first half, leading 46-38, before Demetrius Jemison led the Sharks' second-half comeback with 31 points and 13 rebounds.

Newcastle went into a tie for second place with Worcester after a pair of wins at the weekend.

They made light work of Surrey at home on Friday, before putting in a polished performance to beat Durham 90-75 on Sunday, sparked by 21 points and 17 rebounds from Scott Martin.

London Lions moved into sole possession of fourth place with an easy home win against Birmingham.

Cheshire added to Surrey's winless run, while Manchester continued their recent improvement with a solid home win against a disappointing Glasgow.

Results: Newcastle 104 Surrey 73; Leicester 104 Plymouth 77 (Cup semi; second leg); Cheshire 96 Surrey 63; Manchester 98 Glasgow 87; Plymouth 78 Sheffield 86; Durham 75 Newcastle 90; London 101 Birmingham 72.

Miles Benjamin's days of hosting corporate events in a neck brace seem to be over.

The 25-year-old Leicester Tigers winger scored two memorable tries in his side's 41-32 win against Montpellier on Sunday.

They were his first scores for the club after 12 months out of the game with a neck injury that could have easily finished his career.

Having picked up the spinal problem playing in the A League in September 2012, Benjamin endured a long and worrying battle back to fitness that left him not only getting very well-known at Tigers' corporate events – but questioning whether it was all worth it.

"I have worked hard and waited a long time to play in a Heineken Cup at Welford Road," said Benjamin.

"That was the sort of game I had envisaged playing in when joining the club.

"I had five really good years at Worcester and I enjoyed them. But this is a different stage, playing in these pressure games in the Heineken Cup.

"I am relieved and excited to be out there and, although I have a little bit of a way to go on my match-fitness, I feel I am getting somewhere near where I want to be.

"There were times when I did think, quite seriously, that I wouldn't be able to get back (playing).

"People can tell you all the right things and you can do all the rehab, but when you have a set-back with your neck, and I had a couple, you do start to think, 'Is it worth it?'

"The neck is the area of your body you don't want to be getting injured and there were times I did question coming back.

"But I have had great support, at home with my family, friends, girlfriend and at the club. I am fortunate to be back out there.

"I had a lot of corporate stuff to do when I wasn't playing and some of it wasn't very glamorous when you are stuck in a neck brace.

"I had two-and-a-half months in the neck brace and then it turned out I needed an operation, so I had another two-and-a-half months after that."

With six starts now under his belt, Benjamin is likely to feature in the line-up on Sunday as Tigers head to France looking to put the final nail in Montpellier's European coffin.

With 73 points being scored over an 80-minute period last weekend, Benjamin is expecting more of the same at the Stade Yves du Manoir.

"I think it will be just the same," he said. "We didn't expect them to be quite as open.

"We expected that game-plan when we went there, so I am assuming it will be more of the same. It is nice to get the backs involved and I am looking forward to it."

Leicester City must pull together to eradicate the costly errors which have cost them dearly, captain Wes Morgan has urged.

Nigel Pearson's men have suffered back-to-back defeats in the past week for the first time this season.

Morgan admits City have been punished for their lapses in concentration.

City must arrest their dip in form which has seen then leapfrogged at the top of the table by Burnley and QPR, who are their next two opponents before Christmas.

However, Morgan is confident City can do so. He said: "We need to pull together now because it is only us who can go out on to the pitch and turn it around.

"We have to look at the form we have been in throughout the season so far and not get too down about these two results. We know we are good enough to bounce back and get on track.

"Burnley are in and around us, and if we can take three points off them it will do our league position well.

"We will bounce back. We will work hard all week and look to get back to winning ways. It will be a big game."

Centre-back Morgan admitted City need to improve defensively after conceding five goals in the last two games, at Sheffield Wednesday and Brighton.

"We have been conceding soft goals lately," he said.

"The two at Sheffield Wednesday, they were two good finishes, but at Brighton we have given the ball away cheaply, they counter-attacked and they punished us.

"They are goals we probably should do better against, but I don't think teams are breaking us down and punishing us. We can take heart from that.

"At the same time, we are conceding goals and we need to tighten up.

"Looking back at Saturday, they didn't create too many chances. It was just the two goals which came from our own errors and we got punished.

"Sometimes you can make those errors four or five times and not get punished.

"That is a spell we are going through at the moment but we have to draw a line through it and bounce back."

Torquay United have extended the loan of City youngster Jak McCourt for another month.

The 18-year-old has made seven appearances so far during a youth loan agreement that started just over two months ago.

A 13-month-old boy died from internal bleeding after swallowing a battery, an inquest heard.

Wsam Noorwali was taken to Leicester Royal Infirmary when his parents found him vomiting blood at their home in Hamilton, Leicester.

Just under nine hours later – at 7.05am on August 19, 2012 – he was pronounced dead.

An inquest at Leicester Town Hall yesterday heard a post-mortem examination revealed a disc battery the size of a 2p piece in the toddler's stomach.

Dad Anwar, of Brompton Road, described the moment he found his sick son. "At about 10pm, the family was downstairs in the living room," he said.

"I went upstairs to go to the toilet and Wsam must have crawled up after me.

"When I left the bathroom, I heard him crying and saw him at the door to my bedroom.

"I saw him vomit blood."

Mr Noorwali bundled Wsam into his car, along with wife Fatima and other son and drove him to the infirmary.

Wsam was assessed by a doctor at the children's emergency department before being moved to a ward.

His condition at first improved but, at 2.30am and 4am, he suffered further bouts of vomiting.

He was given a blood transfusion and transferred to the children's intensive care unit, where his condition deteriorated.

He was given another blood transfusion, but doctors said he was too weak for an emergency operation. Wsam's heart stopped and medical staff were unable to revive him.

"We were asked to go outside but a while later I saw doctors and medical staff run past us into the emergency unit," said Mr Noorwali."

He said medics tried and tried to save Wsam but after an hour they told him his son had died.

Mr Noorwali told the inquest he was convinced his son had swallowed something and pleaded with doctors to investigate, but to no avail.

"I told them I thought he may have swallowed something which was stuck in his throat.

"But the doctor said 'we need to cure him first, leave it to me'."

Mrs Noorwali said at one point her husband was so angry he was warned about his behaviour.

"One doctor said to my husband 'if you continue to behave like this we are going to call security'," she said.

Mr Noorwali said they did not see Wsam swallow anything in the days before his death but he was prone to putting things in his mouth.

He ruled out the battery coming from the family home and said he suspected Wsam could have swallowed it at the nursery he attended in Leicester.

He said a member of staff told him they had once found Wsam playing with rubbish in the office bin.

James Stafford, owner of the nursery, which was not named at the inquest, said it was not possible Wsam could have been playing with rubbish because the door was always closed and the office always attended.

He said none of the toys in the playroom had disc batteries.

The post-mortem examination was carried out by Dr Roger Malcomson, who said he found a three-volt disc battery "corroded at the edges" and the size of a 2p piece in the boy's stomach.

Dr Malcomson said he found evidence of extensive bleeding in the stomach, with burning and tissue damage to Wsam's gullet which suggested the battery could have been stuck there for several days.

He suggested the vomiting fit could have dislodged the battery, causing it to pass into the stomach, where it would have caused the damage it did in a few hours.

The inquest continues.

Seven GP surgeries have been told to improve following inspections by a health watchdog.

Among them was Long Street Surgery, in Wigston, which had enforcement action taken against it following a visit from the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

The other surgeries, which have been criticised for issues ranging from staff training to cleanliness, are East Park Medical Centre, Leicester; Dr Sarman Bapodra's practice, in Belgrave, Leicester; Charnwood surgery, in Mountsorrel; Kibworth Health Centre; Merridale Medical Centre, Braunstone; and Dr Dinesh Gandecha's practice at Belgrave Health Centre. Long Street Surgery faced enforcement action because there was no system to monitor the quality of its service.

The CQC also found staff did not know if there was a defibrillator at the surgery or how they would use it.

However, inspectors said the seven patients they spoke to were positive about the practice.

In their report, inspectors said they were told by surgery staff: "We have been too busy dealing with the primary care trust to worry about being compliant with the Care Quality Commission."

A follow-up inspection found the surgery had made improvements and the enforcement action was lifted – but inspectors still said more needed to be done.

It has until December 17 to submit a new action plan to meet the required standards.

The practice said it did not wish to comment.

East Park Medical Centre, in East Park Road, failed to meet several standards, including not carrying out all necessary criminal record checks on staff.

The practice declined to comment.

Inspectors asked Dr Sarman Bapodra's practice, in Belgrave, to make improvements in four areas, including having a defibrillator; better systems for recruiting staff and monitoring the quality of service and a better reception desk to help disabled patients. Practice manager Amarjit Rai said: "What was picked up was deemed minor and we are already working towards rectifying all of the issues.

"This should be done early next year."

Charnwood surgery was asked to make improvements in cleanliness standards, as was Kibworth Health Centre.

Nobody at Charnwood surgery was available to comment.

Kirsty Whawell, Kibworth health centre practice manager, said: "There were some minor issues which have been addressed."

Dr Robert Tew's practice at the Merridale Medical Centre, Braunstone, has to make improvements in three areas.

They are better information for patients on care and treatment; an effective complaints systems and improving procedures to identify adults who might be at risk from abuse.

The practice did not wish to comment.

Dr Dinesh Gandecha's practice at Belgrave Health Centre failed the cleanliness standard because it did not have a copy of the cleaning rota from the private provider.

Practice manager Tara Gandecha said: "We got it straight away."

Dr Chris Hewitt, medical executive director of Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Local Medical Committee, which represents GPs, said: "We will work with NHS England to support all member practices to improve their premises, systems and procedures."