The eight defendants each deny four counts of murder.

The other defendants are Webb (20), of Saltersford Road; Mullings (19), of Farrington Street; Richards (22), of Sparkenhoe Street; Shaun Carter (24), of Franche Road; Kemo Porter (19), of Browning Street – all in Leicester; Akeem Jeffers (21), of Car Mills, Buslingthorpe Lane, Leeds; and a 17-year-old who cannot be named for legal reasons.

The trial continues.

Former Leicester City star Dion Dublin is hoping to score with a World Cup song for England this summer.

The 45-year-old former England striker has recorded Winner in You – a cover of the New Radicals' 90s hit You Only Get What You Give.

Dion plays saxophone on the single which has been recorded by the band he manages – Nottingham indie outfit The Establishment.

The five-piece band rewrote the words of the song, while Dion acted as executive producer on the track.

The video of the song, which was released on iTunes this week, includes a number of famous faces and has an introduction from pop superstar Robbie Williams.

Robbie says: "This is my mate Dion Dublin's song for the fans by The Establishment and for the World Cup.

"Come on England, this is Winner in You."

Also appearing on the three minute 45 seconds video – which has already had more than 5,000 views on You Tube – is One Direction drummer Josh Devine.

Stuart Hanlon, guitarist with The Establishment, said the decision to record the song was made after a chat between Dion and TV sports commentator Ray Stubbs.

He said: "We rewrote the words as a band and set about recording the track.

"Dion plays sax on the track because he is better at playing that than he is at singing.

"We are very happy with it. We think that as football songs go it is pretty good.

"Four of us in the band are English, so are fans who want the team to do well."

The video also features Ibstock actor Stephen Graham, a host of Coronation Street stars and actor Colin Salmon, a star of the James Bond and Resident Evil films. Stars from the sporting world who feature in the video include former Arsenal striker Ian Wright, rugby star Matt Dawson, cricketer Phil Tufnell, swimmer Mark Foster and sprinter Darren Campbell.

Stars have taken to Twitter to voice their support for the song.

Soap star Adam Woodyatt, who plays Ian Beale in EastEnders, and Olympic champion boxer Audley Harrison have both retweeted a link to the song.

Dion became the manager of The Establishment after the band saw him being interviewed on Soccer AM.

Stuart said: "He said that he was looking at getting involved in music so we got a message to him and send him a demo."

Dion, who also played for Manchester United, Aston Villa and Coventry, played 58 games for the Foxes.

A mother has complained that she was forced to push her son's pram in the road to get past two city council vans parked on the pavement.

The incident comes as councillors assess whether pavement parking should be banned in Leicester.

Jane Clawson, of Thurnby Lodge, said she had become increasingly frustrated with the amount of cars blocking the pavements in her area.

She said: "When I saw it was council vans this time it just infuriated me. They should know better than that."

Jane said it was "quite hard" to see around the two vans blocking the pavement in Drumcliffe Road.

"I had limited vision and I had to push my five-week-son Rio out into the road," she said.

"I e-mailed the council about it afterwards but I'm yet to hear back from them."

She believes laziness is the reason behind so many people parking on pavements.

"There's ample room for people to park on the road.

"It's just laziness. People want to be as near to their property as possible."

A city council spokeswoman said the drivers of the vans had been spoken to about the incident.

She said: "We have informed our drivers and reminded them not to park in a way that obstructs pavements."

The city council's transport scrutiny committee recently held a pavement parking consultation to ask people their views on cars mounting kerbs across the city.

The consultation, which attracted nearly 300 responses, closed at the end of April and is currently being examined.

The spokeswoman said: "The transport scrutiny committee will make recommendations for consideration by the city mayor and his executive team."

Councillor Sue Waddington, the committee chairman, said it was "disgraceful" that two council vehicles were obstructing the pavement.

She said: "This is not something I'd approve of. I'm glad this woman brought it to our attention."

The transport scrutiny committee is due to meet on June 18 to discuss what initiatives could be introduced to cut down on pavement parking.

Coun Waddington said: "We are learning how other places have tackled it and hopefully we will be able to come up with a solution."

At present, traffic wardens can only issue fines for pavement parkers on streets where there are double yellow lines or other waiting restrictions.

"Legally, it has been a bit of a problem to control," said Coun Waddington.

Leicester City midfielder Riyad Mahrez tonight continues his countdown to the World Cup finals in Brazil when Algeria take on Romania in a warm-up game in Switzerland tonight.

The 23-year-old is set to pick up his second cap for the Desert Foxes when the two sides meet in Geneva, as Algeria prepare for the World Cup campaign.

Mahrez, who joined City from French side Le Havre in January, made an impressive debut as Algeria beat Armenia at the weekend, and his performance was enough to cement his place in head coach Vahid Halilhodzic's 23-man squad.

Mahrez has been propelled into the spotlight since joining City and Halilhodzic has admitted he only saw the wide man in action for the first time in February.

The French-born player has been a revelation since joining City, making 19 appearances and scoring three times as they stormed to the Championship title.

Algeria are in a tough group in Brazil along with Belgium, Russia and South Korea.

They kick off their campaign on Tuesday, June 17, against Belgium before facing South Korea on Sunday, June 22, and Russia on June 26.

City team-mate Andy King is also in international action tonight for Wales, as they take on Brazil-bound Holland in Amsterdam.

King will be hoping to add to his 27 caps for Wales as Chris Coleman's side prepare for their European Championship qualifying campaign, which kicks off in October.

It will be a tough game for King's Wales as Holland continue their build-up for Brazil, where they will face holders Spain, Chile and Australia.

England are also in friendly action tonight as they take on Ecuador in Miami before finishing their warm-up fixtures against Honduras ahead of their opening fixture of the World Cup against Italy on June 14 in Manaus.

Kasper Schmeichel is set to commit his immediate future to Leicester City today, the Mercury understands.

The Denmark international is expected to finalise the details of his new City contract.

It will end any concerns among City fans that the highly-rated keeper is set to leave the club.

Schmeichel's existing contract was due to run out at the end of the month, allowing him to leave City on a free contract.

The 27-year-old admitted he was the subject of several "interesting" offers from various other clubs.

However, he has chosen to stay with City, reportedly on a four-year contract, ahead of their return to the Premier League.

City boss Nigel Pearson has previously stated how keen he was on keeping Schmeichel, who has been in superb form since joining the club three years ago from Leeds. Schmeichel has twice been named in the Championship team of the year and was voted the club's player of the year and players' player of the year in 2012.

Last season, he kept 17 clean sheets as City stormed to the Championship title.

One of the key factors in Schmeichel's decision has been the prospect of regular first-team football in the Premier League, especially now he has broken into the Denmark side.

But City's new signing Ben Hamer has said he plans to provide Schmeichel with competition for that starting spot.

"I know it is going to be a difficult tussle with Kasper Schmeichel, but at least I've got a chance in that situation," Hamer told the South London Press.

"He was the best keeper in the Championship and I've been made aware he is staying – I see that as a challenge.

"In this game, you have got to back yourself. I've always done that.

"Even though he's a fans' favourite and in all likelihood will start, it is a case of biding my time and working hard – pushing on in training.

"When a chance comes, I've got to take it."

City remain in contract talks with representatives of top-scorer David Nugent, pictured, despite reports talks had broken down.

Geordie comedian Ross Noble popped up in Leicester yesterday as he filmed for his Freewheeling TV series.

Ross wound up in Leicester after he received a tweet from a local saying he had bet his boss £100 the comic would not turn up at his home.

As well as that visit, he also stopped off in Belgrave Road and attracted hundreds of onlookers to the Clock Tower.

Ross said: "The show is about putting people on television that you don't usually see.

"Usually, the producer only selects the photogenic or good-looking people.

"I'm not saying the people here aren't good looking, but producers filter people out. We aren't doing that. We're just catching people on the fly.

Filming freewheeling. I am on a traffic island in belgrave rd in Leicester.oh the glamour pic.twitter.com/nOdJ5tWwHz

— Ross Noble (@realrossnoble) June 3, 2014

"I like to get shy people on here.

"You just start chatting to them and they forget they're being filmed and they'll come out of their shell.

"I spoke to this woman in Leicester this afternoon who said she didn't want to be on telly then five minutes later she's looking like Jackie Chan, beating me up for a scene.

"We went down and filmed on the Golden Mile and filmed a Country File-style show among all the traffic lights and dual carriageways."

Earlier in the day, Ross tweeted from Melton Road that he was in the city and asked fellow social media fans to get in touch if they thought there was something he should include in his show.

The Leicester Mercury snapped him in Belgrave Road and asked him to visit the offices in St George Street if he had the time.

Freewheeling has already aired once as a six-part television series on Dave.

In it, Ross puts his fate in the hands of the public, calling on fans through social media to decide every step of his journey before adding his own twist of comedy.

Karan Modha, owner of Anokhi House of Sarees, in Belgrave Road, said: "I saw a lot of cameras and people outside in the middle of the road in the traffic island with what looked like lots of large sheets, so I went out to have a look.

"They were there for a good few hours. I know Ross Noble but I don't really know the programme. I said hello to him but I could see he was busy.

"It's good to have him filming down here. I'll watch it when it comes out on TV. I'm not sure how many people around here noticed what was going on but it was just outside my shop."

One Belgrave Road shopper said: "I saw a whole load of people with cameras. They were pointing towards the town centre as they filmed. I'd like to watch the programme if Leicester's going to be in it, although I've no idea what it's about. It could be interesting."

Another man who works along the street said: "It was quite exciting to see cameras down here."

Ross plays De Montfort Hall on November 20.

A man has pleaded not guilty to trying to murder two people in a city street.

Bharat Soma denied attempting to murder a 23-year-old man and a 17-year-old female on the corner of East Park Road and St Saviours Road, Leicester, on January 19.

Soma (25), of Stroud Road, North Evington, Leicester, also pleaded not guilty to wounding with intent a man accompanying the pair.

Five other defendants, all from Wembley, also appeared in the dock at Leicester Crown Court yesterday to deny kidnapping the 23-year-old man on January 11.

They are Harshad Jagdish (25), of Bridgewater Road, Narotam Deugi (39), of Belmont Avenue, Jignesh Devgi (30), of Bridgwater Road, Shantilal Natu (37), of Bridgewater Road, and Kaushil Meghji (18), of Heather Park Parade.

Deugi and another co-accused, Parvati Natu (41), formerly of Belmont Avenue, Wembley, denied falsely imprisoning the 17-year-old female and detaining her against her will, as well as a common assault charge on her, between October 1 and November 31.

Both also denied two further false imprisonment counts against her, between December 19 and 31 and January 1 and 10.

Deugi denied three other counts of common assault on her, between October 1 and December 24.

High Court Judge Mr Justice Haddon-Cave adjourned the case for a trial, due to commence on October 2.

Soma and Deugi were remanded into custody and the other defendants were released on conditional bail.

A shale oil and gas company believes Leicestershire may be sitting on black gold.

Union Jack Oil Plc said there could be up to 5.4 billion barrels of oil under our feet.

The company asked independent experts to assess a 40-square mile area north east of Loughborough. It has a 10 per cent stake in the exploration licence for the area.

David Bramhill, executive chairman of Union Jack, said the oil is believed to be within Bowland-Hodder shale formations.

He said: "In geological terms, it is young rock, thousands of feet below the surface.

"The best way to describe it is like a sponge cake, with the oil sandwiched between several layers of porous rock."

Shale oil has to be recovered using hydraulic fracturing – fracking.

Water mixed with sand and chemicals is injected at high pressure into a borehole.

This creates small fractures in the rock, along which gas and petroleum travel to the well.

The technique has been used extensively in the US and supporters say it could be the answer to the UK's future energy needs.

Opponents point to environmental risks, including contamination of groundwater, the release of gases and chemicals and minor earthquakes.

Mr Bramhill, who has been involved in "hundreds" of shale oil operations in the US, said: "The interest in onshore conventional and unconventional oil and gas in the UK is gathering pace.

"That's why we thought it would be worth having a closer look."

He said oil reserves below north Leicestershire have been known about since before the Second World War.

"The Government wanted to keep it a secret because they didn't want Hitler to know about it," he said.

Union Jack Oil is also involved in a project led by Egdon Resources to explore for oil using conventional drilling, from this autumn.

There are believed to be up to 3.5 million barrels of oil under Burton on the Wolds.

"The shale oil study is north of this site," said Mr Bramhill.

"I must stress it was a purely desktop exercise, analysing data already available.

"It is not likely to happen in the short term, or even the medium term, and certainly not until political, social and environmental positions on fracking change."

Mr Bramhill said if as little as 1 per cent of the oil could ultimately be recovered, it would have "significant commercial value".

He said: "It's worth having a clearer idea of what is down there. But we will never know for sure how much is there without exploratory drilling."

An irate father wielded a machete in a nursery school car park as he attacked a parent in front of onlookers.

David Atkinson (34) was disarmed during the attack, but the two men continued to scuffle and bite each other.

Atkinson fled inside the Muddy Boots nursery, in Bishopdale Road, Beaumont Leys, Leicester, which caused screams of terror from those inside.

Police found him near the reception with a claw hammer in his pocket.

Atkinson, a father-of-four, of Scalpay Close, Beaumont Leys, was jailed for 16 months at Leicester Crown Court.

He admitted possessing a machete, causing actual bodily harm and affray during the attack, on Friday, April 11.

Sentencing, Judge Simon Hammond said: "For the staff, parents and children it must have been terrifying.

"The golden rule is no-one carries a machete in a school. It was a big knife and could kill.

"There was a recent tragedy when a teacher got stabbed to death.

"Anyone who carries a knife on school premises will receive a custodial sentence.

"This happened in a children's nursery when parents and staff were around. The police described the staff as being in shock."

Ian Way, prosecuting, said the victim was in his car while his partner went inside to collect their son.

Atkinson, also there to fetch one of his children, approached him and accused him of threatening his wife.

The man told him: "You've got the wrong person."

Despite being on crutches due to a degenerative illness, Atkinson became aggressive.

Mr Way said: "The complainant got out of the car intending to defuse the situation.

"The defendant began swinging his crutches while shouting and then threw them down and produced a large machete knife from his coat pocket."

The victim retreated as the machete was swung and waved in his direction, until he was backed into a corner.

He "rugby tackled" Atkinson, who went to the floor and the blade was knocked to the ground.

Mr Way said: "The defendant held the complainant in a head lock. The complainant tried to push on his eyes, but the defendant bit his finger. The complainant then bit the defendant on the chest, causing Atkinson to release his bite and the head lock.

"The defendant escaped into the nursery, while the complainant called the police."

Atkinson claimed there was a background to the incident, but the complainant maintained he had never spoken to the defendant before.

The victim suffered a bleeding finger, grazes and a sore neck. He said he had been left shocked and fearful for his family and himself.

Jacqui Callan, mitigating for Atkinson, said: "In his own words he had a complete moment of madness. He's genuinely remorseful.

"He's physically disabled, with Perthes disease, which has affected his emotional wellbeing. He's in chronic pain."

Image this morning of the aerial appliance assisting at the house fire in empingham near oakham pic.twitter.com/G4B9Z5bqD3

— Central Fire Station (@Leicester_Fire) June 4, 2014

Fire apparently started by domestic electrical device.Everyone got out safely.#smokealarmssavelives#unplugappliancespic.twitter.com/Ai4O09y4ti

— Central Fire Station (@Leicester_Fire) June 4, 2014