Body of woman found in road near Tigers Way, Leicester
De Montfort University student Amerdeep Singh Tara illegally claimed £27,000 of benefits
Leicester busker Matthew Fearon to star in John Lewis advert on Christmas Day
Leicester council bosses to roll out red carpet for X Factor star Sam Bailey
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X Factor: Sam Bailey to perform free gig at Athena Leicester
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Leicester City: Manager Nigel Pearson disappointed for injured striker Tom Hopper
Leicester City manager Nigel Pearson has expressed his disappointment at the injury which has stalled young striker Tom Hopper's progress.
Hopper has broken into Pearson's first-team squad this season but has picked up a stress fracture of his leg.
The 19-year-old could face several weeks on the sidelines and Pearson said the injury was unfortunate, but the experience could make him stronger.
"He had some pain in his shin so we had it scanned and you can sometimes get these sorts of problems in young lads," he said.
"It is a stress fracture, so we will have to be careful how we move forward.
"He has done really well so far. He has broken into the squad. Although he hasn't had pitch-time, the players and the staff recognise the strides he has made in the past 12 months.
"It is disappointing for him but it is part-and-parcel of growing up in football.
"You have to deal with the disappointments. Ultimately, those are the situations that define you, whether you are a player or manager.
"It is dead easy to enjoy the good moments, it is dealing with the difficult times that really do shape how you maximise what you have got."
Experienced defender Sean St Ledger continues to have treatment after picking up an injury on international duty, and Pearson admits it is another set-back for the centre-back, although he stressed the injury was not as bad as first feared.
"It is not as bad as we thought it might be but, again, because he has had one or two injuries this year, it is important for him to get some decent training time in there once he is back to give him the chance of remaining fit," said Pearson.
"It is unfortunate for him as he hasn't played a lot of football this season.
"It is a set-back for the player and a set-back for us."
• Follow live coverage of the League Championship match between Leicester City and Burnley at the King Power Stadium on Saturday, December 14, 2013.Man with head injuries found in house in Saddington: Police not treating the incident as suspicious
Leicester City owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha aids fund-raising dad Richard Page
A dad cycling to all Leicester City's away games to raise money for research into his son's rare condition has been given a massive boost.
Richard Page, 28, started the text "ellis" campaign at the start of this season and is aiming to raise £100,000 to help find a cure for MECP2 duplication syndrome, the rare genetic disorder his son Ellis suffers from.
Leicester City owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha has now pledged to donate £1,000 for every ground he rides to this season – a total of £23,000.
Cycling to each of the 23 Sky Bet Championship away fixtures during the 2013/14 season will see Richard clock up 3,500 miles.
He said: "I'm totally overwhelmed by the huge generosity the owner has shown us.
"I'm sure this will be a huge motivation when we're cycling in freezing temperatures over the next couple of months."
Football League sponsor Sky Bet is also backing Richard's campaign and gave Ellis a sixth birthday to remember in the directors' box at the Amex Stadium when Leicester took on Brighton on Sunday.
Ellis was also given a chance to see his heroes up close, when he, Richard and his mum Leanne, 27, of East Goscote, were taken out on to the pitch before the game.
Richard was interviewed pitchside and saw donations flood in after the game, taking the running total to nearly £26,000.
He said: "It's great to know people are really getting behind the text "ellis" campaign.
"I think the campaign really resonates with other dads and football fans and people from all over the country have donated generously."
Brighton also donated a signed Albion shirt to the campaign, which will be auctioned at an end-of-season golf day.
Richard said: "It was a pretty tough 171-mile cycle to Brighton, which I did with my brother-in-law, Aaron Lagor.
"I had cycled to Sheffield on Tuesday with Gary, Ellis's great-uncle and when we got back we were up at 7am the next morning to start the journey to Brighton.
"Ellis had a fabulous birthday weekend in the directors' box and was fixated on it for the whole game. It's just a shame about the result.
"So far I've cycled about 1,300 miles, with 13 more games to go.
"With pledges, including the fantastic amount from the club, we'll have about £42,000 which is getting close to being on track for the £100,000 target we're aiming for.
"What the chairman did for us is a massive boost.
"I certainly didn't expect it because the club is already helping us in so many other ways with things such as tickets.
"I can't thank the club enough."
To make a donation, text 70070 with "MECP77" followed by £1, £2, £3, £5 or £10 or visit:
richard@textellis.com
Leicester City winger Anthony Knockaert - still learning the game', says boss Nigel Pearson
Leicester City footballers brighten up day for patients in city's hospitals
Leicester City players brightened up the day for patients during a pre-Christmas tour of the city's three main hospitals.
The entire City squad took time out from preparations for their table-topping match with Burnley on Saturday to spread a bit of festive cheer.
Yesterday's visit saw the footballers hand out gifts, stop for a chat, sign autographs and pose for pictures at the Royal, Glenfield and General hospitals.
Keeper Kasper Schmeichel, strikers David Nugent and Chris Wood, and midfielders Danny Drinkwater and Matty James were among nine players to meet patients and staff at Glenfield Hospital.
For season ticket holder Mariusz Gregory, who has cystic fibrosis – a chronic condition effecting his lungs and digestive system – the visit was just the tonic.
"It's a massive boost for me," said the 27-year-old, from Stoney Stanton, who has spent the past 16 days undergoing intensive treatment.
"I'm a big football fan and City is my team, so it's really nice to see the players take the time out to come and visit us."
Mariusz said that he hoped to be fit enough to be at the King Power stadium on Saturday, and chatted about the game to Nugent.
Schmeichel spent time talking to parents Angela and Andrew Preston, from Narborough, whose nine-week-old twin daughter, Annabelle, was born with pulmonary atresia, a condition in which blood cannot flow properly from the heart into the lungs.
"It's lovely that the players made the effort and came in to see the patients," said Angela, 31. "Kasper was a real gentleman."
The players gathered round the bedside of fan Dorothy Sterland, from Syston, to sing happy birthday on her 81st birthday.
"It was fantastic!" said Dorothy, who is being treated for cancer.
"I'm a lifelong City fan and it was a lovely surprise to see the lads – it's definitely made my day!"
Schmeichel said: "It's been a good experience but a very humbling one. I've got young kids myself and it's not nice to see some of them so ill. You can't imagine what their parents are going through. But if we can help in some small way then that's fantastic."
The other players who visited the hospitals were striker Gary Taylor-Fletcher, midfielder Dean Hammond, winger Lloyd Dyer and defender Paul Konchesky.
Gary said: "It's good to give a bit back and I hope we've managed to put a smile on a few faces for 10 or 15 minutes.
"Seeing what people are going through and the great jobs the staff do puts things into perspective a little. Football is not everything."
Elizabeth Aryeetey, deputy head of nursing at Glenfield, said: "Everyone has been so excited. We have a lot of City fans who miss their football when they're in hospital so to get the opportunity of actually meeting some their heroes is a big morale boost."
Seven arrested in probe into human trafficking
Seven people have been arrested as part of a crackdown on suspected people trafficking and benefit fraud.
Leicestershire and Northamptonshire police, the National Crime Agency and the Department of Work and Pensions staged the joint operation in Leicester and Northampton yesterday morning.
Six men and one woman are in police custody being questioned by Department of Work and Pensions and National Crime Agency officials.
Detective Chief Inspector Mark Newcombe, of Leicestershire police, said: "We worked with colleagues from other agencies who have been involved on a long and complex investigation, which has led to the execution of seven warrants.
"This operation went extremely well and reflects the collective commitment of the wider law enforcement community to tackle this type of criminality and to work to protect the vulnerable and bring offenders to justice."
Andrew Ralph, of the Department of Work and Pensions, said: "This operation clearly shows that criminals need to know we are sharing intelligence with our partners and we are ready to strike together to stop their activities."
Search warrants were executed at properties in Gilbert Close, Shearer Road and Strathmore Avenue, Rushey Mead; Cossington Street, Belgrave; Bartholomew Street, Highfields and Gwendolen Road, Crown Hills.
Two search warrants were also executed in Northamptonshire.
Remarkable pictures of rare albino squirrel captured on iphone in Leicestershire
An extremely rare albino squirrel has been caught on camera by Leicester Mercury reader Sam Barker.
Sam, 20, said: "I first saw something white flashing though the trees near my home in the Pastures, Narborough.
"I thought it was a ferret. But I took a closer look and discovered it was a squirrel with red eyes."
Sam, who had just returned home from work on Saturday morning, ran to get his iphone to capture the images after he went on line to discover how rare they are.
He said: "The animal was still there and seemed perfectly at home darting among the branches of the trees. It seemed unconcerned as I took photographs and a video.
"They are very rare and I have never seen one before. But it seemed to get on fine with grey squirrels in the area."
There are only about 50 sightings of albino squirrels in the UK each year. The rare animals have a tough time in their habitat, losing any natural benefits of camouflage.
They may also be rejected by others of their kind.
In recent months, two albino squirrels have been sighted in separate parts of the south of England.
Katie Field, a conservationist with Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust, said: "The albino condition is genetic and it is likely that it would appear in groups.
"It is extremely rare in Leicestershire and apart from a sighting reported to us a few weeks ago, we have not come across one.
"It could be that this is sighting is the same animal."
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Tough fixtures against Burnley, Man City and QPR "perfect challenge" for Leicester City
A week on the road proved to be a frustrating one, and not just because of the typical night-time motorway closures and road works. You would have hoped the performance at Sheffield Wednesday was a one-off, as previous defeats this season had proven to be. However, it was a similar story at Brighton on Saturday and Nigel Pearson delivered a particularly honest and damning assessment after the game. He said he wouldn't argue if his side were accused of becoming complacent and said they hadn't shown enough desire. Ominously for the players, he said they needed to liven up, and he promised to do just that. It would be fair to assume this week that the players may be in for a few tough training sessions in preparation for what promises to be a the most testing and challenging week of the season to date. Sandwiched between games against City's automatic promotion rivals Burnley and QPR is the small matter of a Capital One Cup quarter-final against Manchester City. It would be fair to say that we will know much more about this City squad's promotion credentials after this week. They may be going into these fixtures on the back of two poor displays, but it may be the perfect challenge to snap them out of any perceived malaise. The prospect of showing exactly what they are about, especially to the watching world on television, against the best teams in the Championship and one of the best teams in the country should be motivation enough. It should bring out the best in City. I expect Pearson will make changes for the visit of the Clarets on Saturday. Hopefully, Ritchie De Laet will now be up to speed and can slot in at right-back. He has been missed more than many may have expected during his injury absence. His pace and attacking prowess down the right gives City balance and they do appear to be a more potent force going forward. It will be interesting to see what defensive pairing Pearson goes with if De Laet does return at right-back. Wes Morgan is obviously a certainty to start but who should partner him? The pairing of Moore and Morgan looked solid earlier in the season, but Marcin Wasilewski deputised when Moore switched to right-back and certainly looks better down the middle than at right-back. Then there is Ignasi Miquel, who has been one of the few players to emerge from the last two games with any credit. Anthony Knockaert continues to excite and frustrate in equal measure. On his day he is a match-winner, when he isn't on it he is a luxury, but still a fantastic prospect and the sort of player that gets fans excited. But which one will turn up on Saturday? Then there is the question of who plays in central midfield. Danny Drinkwater seems to be the man in form at present. Andy King came back into the side at Brighton having been rested and popped up with a goal. Then there is Matty James, who impressed early in the season until his red card at Charlton, while Dean Hammond has done well when called upon and was unlucky to make way at Brighton as City changed formation. Finally, Pearson has the conundrum of who plays in attack. David Nugent has been out of form in the last two games, although he isn't the only one, but tends to score against former clubs, while Jamie Vardy has been much improved this season. Chris Wood hasn't featured much lately but could come in, while Gary Taylor-Fletcher has been used predominantly as a substitute. Earlier in the season the City side seemed to pick itself. You could name the line-up with confidence. That isn't the case this week and Pearson has a few selection issues to ponder. Let's hope he gets it right because it is a big week for the club. On another note, I accompanied some of the players to Glenfield Hospital yesterday for their annual Christmas visit. Nugent, Wood, Taylor-Fletcher, Hammond, James, Drinkwater, Lloyd Dyer and Paul Konchesky toured several wards to put a smile on people's faces, and they certainly did that. It wasn't just the patients who were pleased to see them, the staff were clamouring for photographs and autographs too. It may be a busy time for the players at Christmas with the hectic schedule, but the staff will be working long shifts and, for many of the patients, Christmas dinner will be on a ward, not in their own homes. And then there were the children's wards, including the intensive care unit. That is the biggest tragedy of all and I could tell it affected one or two of the City players, especially the ones who have recently become fathers.