There was disappointment for Leicester's Brett Pruce as England Deaf fell 30-0 to Wales at Franklin's Gardens.

England failed to profit from their dominance of possession and a resilient Wales side scored three tries to retain the Broadstreet Cup.

Pruce played 65 minutes at Northampton Saints' home and, despite earning his record 17th cap, it was an evening to forget for the hooker.

Stuart Spencer blew away the rest of the field to clinch victory at the Bosworth Half-Marathon and be crowned County champion.

The Notts/Barrow Runner crossed the line in 70min 31sec, nearly five minutes clear of his nearest rivals, to secure the men's title for the second year in a row.

The victory at Market Bosworth Water Trust, which this year incorporated the Leicestershire & Rutland AA Championships, continued Spencer's great form in 2014.

The 31-year-old has already won the Loughborough Half-Marathon and the County 10k track championships since the turn of the year.

Matt Adcock, of Hermitage, clinched the runner-up spot in 75.20, crossing the line with his young daughter Elsie in his arms.

He also finished alongside Dan Allinson – the defending County champion holding Elsie's hand – but the chip timing separated him and Adcock by one second, leaving the Leicester Coritanian runner in third place.

Nick Bott clinched the Vets championship title in 77.59.

Despite bad weather forecast, the conditions on the day were kinder than expected with only brief showers and occasionally blustery winds troubling the 569 finishers.

Mel Evans, of Huncote Harriers, was the county's leading woman, bettering her fifth-place finish last year to clinch the title in 85.09 to go with her Belvoir Half-Marathon title in March.

Leicester Tri Club's Nicola Roder, who smashed the women's masters record by nearly three minutes at the County track championships, was unable to improve on the silver medal she won at Bosworth last year, finishing as runner-up in 87.42.

Emma Marvin, of Desford, took the bronze medal in 89.29, while Joanne Spencer, of Charnwood, was crowned vets champion in a season's best of 91.04.

The Braunstone parkrun witnessed its closest-ever finish in the women's race at the weekend. Just a single second and two places separated the top three women, with Bethan Padbury just gaining the upper hand over her two closest rivals.

The Hinckley junior athlete ran home in a personal-best time of 21min 39sec to seal her first Braunstone victory, as well as being the first home on the day for the under-15s.

Birstall's Hannah Askham had a split-second advantage over Susie Ellison to claim second place, both runners recordeding 21.40.

The men's race also saw a close finish with just three seconds separating second and third places.

Richard Billington, of 1485 Tri Club, claimed the runner-up spot in 18.10, while Gary Hawksley was third in 18.13.

Kibworth sent out a clear message of intent with a stunning National Club Championship victory.

They booked a place in the third round with a 10-wicket demolition of Peterborough.

The Northants League side arrived at Fleckney Road at a distinct disadvantage because five of their squad were on Minor Counties duty with Cambridgeshire for a game which, ironically, was rained off.

Kibworth skipper Matt Craven won the toss and put in the visitors, who stuttered to 127 all out in the 43rd of their 45 overs.

Left-arm spinner Russell Spiers took 3-34 and there were two wickets apiece for seamers Dave Whitmore and Aamir Mahmood.

Craven (68 not out) and Sunny Patel (58 not out) then took apart the Peterborough attack as they reached their target in only 20.2 overs.

That earns Kibworth a trip to Banbury on Sunday, June 1.

Club chairman Steve Ellwood said: "We're going to throw everything we've got at this."

Loughborough Town's second-round clash at Caythorpe was postponed because of rain and they will travel to Nottinghamshire on Sunday.

Rain brought frustration for Leicestershire clubs due to be in second-round action in the Davidstow Village Cup.

Thorpe Arnold's clash with Cropston was rained off and, under the rules of this competition, Cropston will have home advantage in the re-arranged game on Sunday.

Rothley Park's game at Clipstone Welfare (Notts) was also postponed.

Newtown Linford are through after Billesdon conceded and they are joined by Barkby United, whose match at Burgh & District was rained off with their Lincolnshire opponents conceding the return.

Leicester City Ladies Under-18s won the League Cup for the seventh consecutive season with a 9-1 rout against Birstall United Under-18s.

Charlotte Cooper was the hat-trick hero, scoring three inside the opening 18 minutes to set up victory for City.

The result secured the double for City, who finished their Leicester City & County League campaign with an 18th win of the season last weekend to hold on to their 100 per cent record.

The final league match was a 6-1 triumph at Birstall, and the Cup final encounter between the two sides proved to be as equally one-sided.

City's first came in the ninth minute. Jamie Elday crossed from the right to Paige Wells, who found Cooper to slot home.

Cooper grabbed her second following a counter-attack from a Birstall free-kick and completed her treble two minutes later.

Leicester went 4-0 up on the stroke of half-time, with Elday finishing off the move after a one-two with Wells.

City approached the second period with the same intensity and bagged their fifth goal within a minute of the restart, Elday crossing for Jordan Burrows to score.

Birstall pulled one back in the 57th minute but City immediately restored their five-goal advantage through Simran Singh.

City were not finished there, rounding off the victory with three quickfire goals in the final 10 minutes.

Demi Knott hit an unstoppable shot past the Birstall keeper in the 83rd minute, before Wells rifled one into the roof of the net.

Captain Wells completed the scoring from the penalty spot after Knott was brought down in the final minute.

It brought the curtain down on another fine display and successful season for City.

Lucy Garner has been voted a Friends Life Women's Tour winner.

Overall victory in the five-day race went to Dutch superstar Marianne Vos, who was in imperious form, but Garner took away the prize for the Best British Rider after finishing a commendable seventh overall from the 95 starters.

Given that she had a very young Great Britain team around her – an average age below 20 – the fact Garner produced four top-10 finishes in the race, including third on stage four, only enhanced her growing reputation on the professional road scene.

"It was a really well-organised race," said the Cosby teenager, before she returned to the Netherlands to resume duties with Team Giant-Shimano.

"Everything was under control and went really well. I've seen a lot of tweets from riders and they were all impressed. I think it will just get bigger.

"I went into it wanting to get top-three in a stage and I did that on the fourth day so I'm really happy – but I was disappointed with some of the stages, too.

"I had a bit of bad luck, I had the legs but I wasn't quite there tactically."

At 19, and facing practically all the world's big guns, the double junior world champion is possibly being a bit harsh on herself, particularly as she did not enjoy anything like the strength of team backing the likes of Vos (Rabo-Liv), Giorgia Bronzini (Wiggle Honda) and Emma Johansson (Orica AIS) could call upon.

"I did miss a strong team in the last 10km of stages," said Garner. "I had to do a lot of work on my own and that takes up a lot of energy.

"But for the other girls in the team it was their first time riding an event like this and I can see over the five days they have improved."

Garner's ultimate reward came when she was projected into the 'Best of British' jersey when Lizzie Armitstead pulled out through illness ahead of the last stage.

"Lizzie would probably have been in it at the end but it was still great for me to be wearing the jersey on home soil," said Garner.

"The amount of cheers I got on the stage at the end was really nice."

The crowds throughout the five days of racing fully embraced the Tour and were entertained by some superb performances.

"It was a really good advert for women's cycling," said Garner, a Sky Academy scholar. "It was a good opportunity for the public to see us and for us to have media time."

The GB international now has another 10 days to recover before she returns to racing on the continent, when she will hope to nail down a place in England's team for the Commonwealth Games this summer.

Given the way she has started this year – Garner now has four top-three finishes to her name in 2014 – it would be a major surprise if she is not selected to race in Glasgow.

The selections will be announced in a month's time.

Hot on the trail of stage two of the Tour's visit to Hinckley, the first of a series of women-only coaching sessions took place in the town.

Despite unpleasant weather, 13 women turned out for the training, run by British Cycling in conjunction with Hinckley CRC.

The hour-long sessions are open to females aged 12 and over, no matter how often they ride a bike, and the aim is to improve riders' confidence and cycling skills.

The next session is planned for Saturday, May 24, at the Triumph factory. For more details, visit:

www.hinckleycrc.org

CKI School of Martial Arts' Yusuf Saleh returned from the WKC English karate and kick-boxing championships with gold and silver medals.

Saleh was one of a quartet of CKI members who claimed a total of five medals at the event, which was a qualifier for the world championships in Portugal later this year. His successes came in the traditional and creative forms sections.

Ahmad Saleh, the Leicester Mercury Junior Sportsman of 2013, took silver in the juniors' over-50kg section, where the 10-year-old faced opponents who were considerably bigger and heavier. However, he kept them at distance with his kicking ability to reach the final.

His silver medal followed news that he had won the Muslim News Young Achievers Award.

Hamza Dawre, competing among the adults for the first time, won bronze in his division, while Subayre Shire, 17, fought well to secure silver in cadets over 70kg category.

Angeliki Dwyer, who did not take part in the north west, has earned a wild card selection for the world championships.

The club is looking for sponsorship to help with the cost of travelling to the world championships and anybody who can help should contact Ismail Saleh on 07808 277893.

A furious man pushed a woman and recklessly elbowed her in the eye in front of her three-year-old child, a court heard.

Omiel Gordon (23) reacted angrily after she criticised his mother while they argued in the street.

Gordon, of Murby Way, in Thorpe Astley, Leicester, pleaded guilty to causing actual bodily harm.

He was given a 12-month community sentence and was ordered to do 80 hours of unpaid work. Yesterday, Judge Michael Pert QC said Gordon should also take part in a restorative justice programme, which will give him an opportunity to personally apologise to the victim.

Victoria Rose, prosecuting, said the defendant had stopped in a car to speak to the woman, who he knew.

Miss Rose told Leicester Crown Court: "The woman made derogatory comments about his mother.

"He got out of the car and pushed her with both hands, causing her to fall against a shop window.

"He pulled his elbow backwards, which struck her in an eye, causing it to swell. She also had a stiff neck.

"It happened in front of her three-year-old son."

Sally Bamford, mitigating, said: "He recognises his temper is causing problems and bitterly regrets that.

"He's embarrassed, ashamed and remorseful about the fact he hit a woman."

Judge Michael Pert QC said: "It's at the bottom end of an actual bodily harm case, but this was unattractive, pushing a woman around.

"You're a big lad and thumping a woman is wholly unacceptable," the judge added.

A dangerous driver crashed into a car while trying to flee from the police, a court heard.

Bjorn Michael Jeffers (26), who was jailed for eight months, failed to stop for officers who saw him skidding around a corner from Regent Road, in the city centre, into Tower Street.

Leicester Crown Court was told that two officers in a patrol car pursued him as he made off in a Peugeot 307.

Jeffers, who was on early-release from a 27-month sentence for drugs offences, did not have a driving licence or insurance.

Michael Waterfield, prosecuting, said that at the junction with Regent Road and Tigers Way, Jeffers did a U-turn while going through a red light.

It happened at 5.40pm on Saturday, November 16.

He said: "Stationary traffic had to move to get out of his way. He accelerated hard on Tigers Way and lost control, veering on to the wrong side of the road on two wheels and then returned to the correct carriageway. He collided with a Honda on Welford Road."

Jeffers, of Valence Road, Braunstone, Leicester, then ran off and was chased.

Mr Waterfield said: "He climbed over a wall at the rugby ground and was found on the roof above some turnstiles.

"On arrest, he was found in possession of 0.3 grams of cannabis."

Jeffers admitted dangerous driving, driving without a licence or insurance, possessing cannabis and failing to stop after an accident.

Banning him from driving for a year, Judge Mark Rogers said: "The manner of that driving was serious, in a built-up, well-populated area, where there was heavy traffic and pedestrians. You also collided with an innocent motorist whose car was damaged and the shock for the driver can't be underestimated."

Shital Modhwadia, mitigating, said: "His partner is the registered keeper of the Peugeot and it was purchased for him so when he passed his test he'd be able to use it. When he saw the police he panicked because he was on licence from an earlier sentence."

Leicester Tigers flanker Julian Salvi believes team-mate Owen Williams is in pole position in the race for the No.10 shirt at Welford Road.

The 22-year-old has been in great form this season, making 22 appearances for Tigers and amassing 181 points in all competitions.

His performances have certainly not gone unnoticed and he was short-listed for the Land Rover Discovery of the Season award along with Bath duo George Ford and Anthony Watson, Saracens and England back-row Billy Vunipola, Gloucester lock Elliott Stooke and Northampton Saints flyer Jamie Elliott.

Tigers captain Toby Flood, who is departing for Toulouse this summer, has found himself on the periphery lately with Williams shining.

That means Williams will have newcomer Freddie Burns for competition next season, and Salvi insists the Welshman has done his chances no harm with recent performances.

"Owen has been given his opportunity and he has taken it," he said.

"Having the likes of Anthony Allen and Ben Youngs alongside him really helps, he has been able to listen to the calls and really make a difference.

"I think at this point it is still his shirt to lose.

"The way he has performed, he deserves it.

"I'm sure there is going to be a big battle, whether that be with Freddie Burns or whoever comes in – but I think he deserves to keep it."

The winner of the Land Rover Discovery of the Season award will be announced at the Aviva Premiership Rugby Awards at the London Hilton, Park Lane, tomorrow.

Previous winners include Owen Farrell and Tigers centre Manu Tuilagi, while Joe Launchbury claimed the prize last year.

Land Rover is the official vehicle of Aviva Premiership Rugby Awards.

Leicester Tigers director of rugby Richard Cockerill has declared a clean bill of health for his troops as they prepare for Friday night's Premiership semi-final against Northampton Saints.

Lock Geoff Parling and fly-half Owen Williams were just two of a number of Tigers who were substituted with injuries during the 31-27 win over Saracens on Saturday.

There were fears some of them would be missing from the crucial derby but Cockerill suggested all his injury worries would be fine in time for kick-off.

"Geoff is all right, he just got a bang on the head and the protocols around that are quite strict," said Cockerill. "We are looking after him.

"Owen got a bang on the quad and it was a bit tight, so we were looking after him, too.

"David Mele (head) and Blaine Scully (shoulder) are both fine and we just need to look after them and tick all the right boxes. They will all be fit."

Cockerill also confirmed that centre Ant Allen was fit to play after missing last week's game at Welford Road with a knee injury he picked up at Sale.

"Hopefully, we can put a strong side out," said Cockerill. "But I am not sure what my best team is.

"We have had disruption all year but we have managed it well. We will go there and play as hard as we can and see where we come."

Leicester City manager Nigel Pearson has picked up even more accolades after being voted the Championship manager of the year at the League Managers' Association awards dinner.

The City boss, who is away with his squad in Thailand, was voted for the award by his Championship peers and the winners were announced at a special dinner in Old Billingsgate, London, on Monday.

City clinched promotion to the Premier League with six games to go and took the title with two games to spare, eventually finishing the season on 102 points with a club record 31 wins from 46 games.

Pearson won two manager of the month awards during the season as his side took a stranglehold on the division, and he was quick to praise his backroom team.

"It is nice to be recognised but, ultimately, any recognition on an individual level in a team sport is an indication there is a very strong work ethic and a collective level of performance which is very high," said Pearson.

"The players have performed on a very good level in difficult conditions sometimes.

"We have played some good and very effective football."

Liverpool's Brendan Rodgers won the LMA manager of the year award, while Crystal Palace's Tony Pulis was voted the Premier League manager of the year.

The League One award was shared between Kenny Jackett, of Wolves, and Russell Slade, of Leyton Orient, while Scunthorpe manager Russ Wilcox won the League Two award and received a Special Merit award from Sir Alex Ferguson.

The FA Cup manager of the year was Nigel Clough, of Sheffield United, while there was an LMA Service to Football Award for Norman Rimmington, of Barnsley.

A motorist has described how a man crept up the side of his car and then produced a large knife as he waited at traffic lights in the city.

The 37-year-old father-of-two, who has asked not to be identified, was on his way to collect a takeaway on Sunday evening when the suspected car-jacking attempt happened.

He was waiting in a line of cars at traffic lights at the Chesterfield Road and East Park Road junction, in Evington, at 7.30pm.

He said: "Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a man come out of the passenger seat of the vehicle behind me and crawl alongside my car on the passenger side, like he was trying to reach the door handle.

"Luckily, my car's automatic locking was on and he couldn't get into the car. He came up a bit higher and was giving me a lot of verbal abuse and asking for money."

The incident took a more sinister twist when the man produced a knife and began banging the passenger door window of the BMW Series 1.

The driver said: "He began banging what I have described to police as an army knife with a six or seven-inch blade on the window.

"I put the car into first gear and, although I was only about 60 or 70cm from the car in front, I started to turn the wheel. I just wanted to get out of the position I was in.

"I then saw the man going back into the car behind me. At the crossroads, the car turned left down East Park Road. I went straight across and parked up in a side street to compose myself before going back home to tell my wife what had happened."

The driver, a legal risk and compliance manager, said the car the man climbed out of was an old, black Mitsubishi Shogun.

"He was the front seat passenger," said the motorist.

"He was white, about 5ft 10in, clean-shaven, with short, brown hair. He had a small scar on his right cheek and was wearing a grey top. He spoke with a local accent.

"His hands were all over the window as he was trying to wrench the door open."

He said a police forensic team had examined his car for evidence.

"I'm completely worn out, I've had about an hour's sleep. I felt very shocked and not with it and then I got angry, thinking 'what if my kids were in the car and the door had been unlocked?'.

"My family and friends can't believe it has happened. I just want this man caught."

Detective Constable Damian Young said: "We would like to speak to anyone who may have witnessed the incident, or saw a black Mitsubishi Shogun in that street about 7.25pm on Sunday evening.

"Officers have been carrying out extensive enquiries to identify the vehicle involved, house-to-house enquiries have been carried out and we are looking at CCTV footage.

"We are keen to speak to anyone who was in this area on Sunday evening.

"We've had no reports of similar incidents, however if anyone was approached in the same way and haven't reported it to the police we would encourage you to come forward."

Leicester City owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha has pledged to invest more than £180 million over three years to turn them into a top-five club in the Premier League.

The City chairman, pictured, spoke to the media in Bangkok during the club's week-long stay in Thailand.

He stated the first priority was for City to establish themselves in the Premier League after clinching a return to the top flight for the first time in 10 years, but then he hoped they would be challenging for a top-five place in three years' time.

"We want to stay in the Premier League as long as possible," he told reporters after the team had a three-day stay in the Thai holiday destination of Phuket.

"But we won't take the huge leap to challenge the league's top five clubs immediately.

"Do we have a chance to beat them? Yes, we have, but I think we need to establish our foothold in the league first and then we think about our next step.

"It will take a huge amount of money, possibly 10 billion Thai Baht (just under £182m), to get there.

"But that doesn't put us off. I am asking for three years, and we'll be there.

"It will be a difficult task but we have to try to do it.

"Playing in the Premier League will be another challenging task for the team and the players, but we have plans."

Vichai said he chose to take over City in 2010 because of the challenge of taking a Championship club into the Premier League.

"After spending time studying many clubs, I fell in love with Leicester," he said.

"One reason was the team's colours, which were the same as my company's.

"The other was the fact they were playing in the second tier at the time. I thought if we bought a Premier League club, it wouldn't be challenging enough.

"If we could lead this team to the Premier League, then that would be a real challenge."

An husband who smashed his wife's skull and face with a hammer during an argument, has been jailed for six years.

Raja Naeem Khan (47) ignored his wife's pleas for mercy and attacked her while two of their children sat in a car outside.

The injured woman managed to flee the house and, despite fractures to her skull, cheekbone and jaw, drove to her sister's home to get help.

Victoria Rose, prosecuting, said: "The ordeal of getting into the car and driving from the scene is a memory that will remain with her forever. She was scared she was going to collapse and die.

"The pain was indescribable, but she hid this from her children until she got to her sister's."

She needed an operation to repair her jaw with metal plates and screws, which left her with a permanently misaligned jaw.

The victim was on a liquid diet for months, suffered headaches and dizziness and has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, with panic attacks and severe anxiety.

Miss Rose told Leicester Crown Court the couple married in 1991 and had three children.

They separated when the victim walked out on her husband in September, as a result of "a turbulent marriage where violence had been used".

Miss Rose said: "On December 27, she sent a text message to the defendant saying she was calling round at the house, in Spinney Hills, Leicester, in the afternoon, to collect some things.

"She arrived with the two younger children, who went upstairs to collect clothing.

"The defendant made it clear he wanted to talk about the marriage and they argued.

"The children were told to wait in the car.

"The defendant got a hammer, which he held above her head. She begged him not to hit her.

"He told her 'After everything you've put me through, I'm going to kill you and then myself'.

"He hit her repeatedly and shouted at her as she pleaded with him to stop.

"He stopped when one of the children began knocking on the door."

Sentencing, Judge Michael Pert QC said: "You struck your wife repeatedly with a hammer, causing serious injury.

"The only mitigation is your guilty plea."

The judge made a restraining order banning Khan from contacting his wife for five years.

The court heard that in 2004, Khan was prosecuted for two offences of common assault on his wife – when he punched her on the chin and for putting a belt around her neck and threatening to kill her.

Sally Bamford, mitigating, said: "He deeply regrets his actions and the consequences of them that will stay with the family forever.

"In the weeks and months before this, he suffered mounting debt problems, lost contact with his children and appears to have been suffering from depression. It caused him to lose control."

A batsman has shown no mercy after smashing 32 from one over.

Mohamed Zuber Patel racked up 123 for Langtons seconds in their winning draw against Dunton Bassett in Division Four East of the Leicestershire & Rutland Cricket League.

He scored more than half his team's runs in Langtons' total of 213-6 before taking three wickets in restricting their opponents to 168-8.

A rain delay before the start of play saw the game reduced to 35 overs a side.

Langtons were ticking along nicely in their innings, and after 19 overs were well-poised on 80-3.

It was then that Zuber went into overdrive.

The poor victim of his destruction was Shivesh Seedhar, who was bowling his very first over for the club.

Things started badly, as Seedhar's first two balls were called wide, but that turned out to be the least of his worries.

Zuber, who had made nought the previous week, then smashed him for four sixes in a row before hitting the last two balls for four to take the total from the over to 34.

Team-mate Phil Morrison made an unbeaten 30 but spent most of his time as a spectator at the non-striker's end as Zuber scored 123 in a partnership of more than 140.

"I was next in and took my pads off because I realised I wouldn't be needed," said Langtons' second-team captain Mark Ward.

"I shall discuss moving him up the order."

There is every chance Ward might not have him at his disposal at all if Zuber is plucked for the first team, who are currently struggling without a win in Division Two.

His captain, though, is open-minded about losing his big hitter.

"I think he is keen to keep playing in the seconds," said Ward.

"But I am more than happy to see the club benefit from his undoubted talent."