Views of familiar Leicester city centre streets have been captured for posterity by Leicester Mercury photographer Alex Hannam.

Alex was invited by Leicester City Council to take these pictures in a never-to-be-repeated photo-shoot from the roof of the New Walk council offices.

He said: "I took general views of around the area – for the history of the city.

"There are some quite good views."

They include some of the best-known images associated with the city, both old and not-so-old from all points of the compass, such as the Blue Tower, Lee Circle, Lewis's Tower, Town Hall, the cathedral and Highcross, with Bradgate Park in the background, and down towards the Magazine.

Alex's work was carried out as the last of the council workers leave the complex – soon to be demolished – which has been home to the local authority since 1975.

Some of the departments have already been relocated – the customer service centre, with revenues and benefits reception, are now established in the old Poundstretcher building, in Granby Street.

The rest will be moving to City Hall, Charles Street, in the former Attenborough Building, the former Willie Thorne Snooker Centre.

Leicester's city mayor Sir Peter Soulsby has clashed with former council leader Ross Willmott in a heated meeting over proposed cuts to voluntary group funding.

Sir Peter has said Leicester City Council funding of £580,000 for seven community organisations will be reduced to £450,000.

He wants to introduce a competitive tendering process where the groups will have to bid for contracts in the future, when in the past they have been given grants.

Coun Willmott asked his Labour colleague why he was using "an approach brought in by Margaret Thatcher" to determine how much council cash should be given to community groups and charities in the city.

Sir Peter, in turn, suggested Coun Willmott seemed to favour an approach where the council gave grants to organisations with whom the council had "cosy relationships".

He also pointed out there was nothing unusual in the method he was proposing, saying it had been used by previous council leaders.

Coun Willmott was one of a number of Labour members who chose to call in Sir Peter's decision to press ahead with the controversial savings.

Coun Willmott said: "Why use an approach brought in by Thatcher, that sets organisations against each other?

"I think the process is deeply flawed."

He asked the mayor if it was necessary to make the cuts, given there were no savings targets from the voluntary sector grants budget, only for Sir Peter to describe the question as "absurd".

He said: "The budget is always at our backs."

The following groups will see cuts to their funding:

The Racial Equality Council (which gets £117,800);

African Caribbean Citizens Forum (£43,100);

Federation of Muslim Organisations (£25,000);

Gujarat Hindu Association (£30,000);

Leicester Council of Faiths (£25,000);

Somali Development Service (£45,400);

Voluntary Action Leicestershire (£295,900).

Some have warned they may have to close their offices and make staff redundant if they do not succeed in bids for contracts and have warned vulnerable people will suffer.

Some, including The Racial Equality Council, have said the wording of the new contract process excludes them from bidding, although Sir Peter said none will be barred from taking part.

The Leicester Council of Faiths has asked for the process where anyone can bid for the council contracts to be restricted.

Voluntary Action Leicester said it was not opposed to the open bidding process.

Committee member Coun Patrick Kitterick said: "The organisations have, in some cases, decades of involvement in the community. A conventional procurement process perhaps is not appropriate."

Sir Peter was asked by councillors to reconsider the process, but said: "I don't believe there is an alternative approach."

A man indecently exposed himself to girls in a primary school playground twice in the space of two weeks.

The man committed the offences at Holywell Primary School, in Berkeley Road, Loughborough.

On both occasions the man stood in a footpath which runs behind the school and exposed himself to the pupils, who were on their lunch break.

The school alerted police after the two incidents, the first of which happened on Monday, May 19 and the second on Monday, June 2.

Police have stepped up patrols in the area and have delivered a "stranger danger" message to pupils.

Christine Linnitt, head teacher at the school, has written to parents to explain what happened and to reassure them the school was working with police to catch the man.

The school is surrounded by a perimeter fence and staff are keeping an eye on the area where the man committed the offence.

In a statement on the school's website, Mrs Linnitt said: "The police investigation in regard to the reported incident of the man at the perimeter fence at the rear of the school is ongoing.

"Police are making themselves very visible around the roads and pathways around the school."

Inspector Nathan Kirk, commander of Loughborough police, said: "We have increased our patrols in the area and are actively following up a number of lines of inquiry.

"We are also working closely with the school and have been running 'stranger danger' sessions with the children there.

"That work was going to be rolled out across other schools in the area, but we have decided to bring it forward.

"I would urge anyone with information to contact the police."

The suspect is white and about 5ft 5in.

He was wearing a dark blue or black hat with an orange stripe across it.

Also, he was carrying a dark blue or black satchel which had an orange stripe running down the middle.

Contact Leicestershire Police on 101 or Crimestoppers, which is anonymous, on 0800 555 111.

Two men involved in a terrifying armed raid at a family home have been told to expect "substantial jail sentences".

Jordan Kirkpatrick (21) and Luke Harvey (24) were found guilty of robbing a Leicester couple, who were asleep with their four-year-old son when the incident took place.

The couple were punched and threatened by three masked raiders, who burst into their bedroom with metal bars.

Their petrified little boy was taken to another bedroom and told to stay there, with his two sisters. The thieves made off with £3,500 in cash and a large haul of gold jewellery.

Harvey and Kirkpatrick, the getaway driver, both pleaded not guilty to robbing the couple at their semi-detached home, in Rowley Fields, in October.

However, they were found guilty by a jury yesterday.

A third defendant, Michael Tovey (24), of Lakes Road, Erdington, Birmingham, was found not guilty.

Adjourning the Leicester Crown Court case for sentencing, Judge Simon Hammond told Kirkpatrick and Harvey to expect "substantial" prison terms. The pair will be sentenced along with Omar Khalifa (30), of Skipworth Street, Highfields, Leicester, who pleaded guilty to involvement in the robbery before the trial.

Kirkpatrick, of Gipsy Lane, and Harvey, of Baldmoor Road, both in Erdington, were remanded into custody.

During the trial, the court heard that one of the robbers told the frightened mother: "Give me money, give me gold, or I will kill you."

They ransacked the bedroom and forced her to turn off the intruder alarm, which was ringing out, just after 2am.

In a statement read out in court, the mother said: "Suddenly three males burst into the bedroom, all wearing black clothing and masks across their faces, like balaclavas.

"One of them began punching me on the side of my face and another was on the other side of the bed, hitting my husband.

"The third man was searching the room.

"A gold chain was taken from my neck and three rings from my fingers. I began to cry."

Esther Harrison, prosecuting, said the defendants all made off in a black Skoda being driven by Kirkpatrick.

Police in an unmarked car became suspicious when the Skoda was seen 48 miles away, at about 3am, in a layby near Hopwood Services, off the M42. Four passengers from the car ran off, but Kirkpatrick was arrested. Khalifa was found nearby hiding up a tree.

Items from the robbery were found in the Skoda.

Kirkpatrick, in his defence, claimed he was persuaded to give men he did not know a lift to Leicester, completely unaware of a robbery plan.

Tovey said there was an innocent explanation for his DNA on clothing in the Skoda.

Harvey claimed he saw Kirkpatrick earlier that day in Birmingham and absentmindedly left his mobile phone and gloves behind in the Skoda.

New signing Seremaia Bai has "no intention of slowing down" after moving to Leicester Tigers.

The 35-year-old fly-half has completed a move from Castres to Welford Road and will compete for the No.10 shirt next season alongside Owen Williams and Freddie Burns.

Tigers director of rugby Richard Cockerill said he was delighted to have secured the versatile Fijian international's services.

Cockerill insisted, despite his age, Bai had his mind focused on fully immersing himself in the club, the city and its culture.

"Seremaia is 35 but he is in great nick," said Cockerill. "He is a ball carrier who can play fly-half, inside centre, outside centre and even full-back if need be.

"He kicks goals and he really wanted to come and play for us.

"He wants to play in the World Cup in 18 months' time on English soil and he has no intention of winding down.

"He understands the responsibility of coming here and adds value both on and off the field.

"He was in a Castres side that went to Clermont and won in the Top 14 play-offs. He then went and kicked the winning drop-goal against Montpellier in the semi-final."

Bai has made 49 Test appearances for Fiji since his debut against Japan in 2000 as a 21-year-old, and has played eight times for the Pacific Islands.

After missing the World Cup in 2003, he became a regular in the Fiji side from 2004 onwards, moving between fly-half and centre.

It was from the role of inside centre Bai enjoyed one of his most memorable days in a Fiji shirt when his side beat Wales in the 2007 World Cup pool stages in Nantes, France.

He has played club rugby in France for the past eight years, that time split between Clermont and Castres.

Cockerill says Bai is keen to use his vast experience to help the young players around him in the squad.

"He wants to help guys like Owen Williams, Freddie Burns and even Anthony Allen," said Cockerill.

England left-back Leighton Baines believes the "club feel" among the squad will help give them the edge when they get their World Cup campaign under way against Italy in Manaus tonight (11.0).

All but two of Roy Hodgson's likely starters tonight play their club football in either Merseyside or Manchester.

Only Chelsea's Gary Cahill and Southampton's Adam Lallana play for clubs outside the North West.

Baines will line up alongside Everton team-mate Phil Jagielka at the back, while fellow club-mate Ross Barkley will also give England firepower from the bench.

Liverpool's contingent in the starting line-up could be as many as five, and Baines insists it is the close-knit nature of the squad which will give them an advantage.

"For the time I've been involved with England, this is as good a group as there's been," he said. "We've been working hard but we've spent a few weeks together that has enabled us to get that kind of club feel to the international set-up.

"There's a real good spirit throughout the camp and part of that is probably down to the preparation we've been doing."

One player who has really caught the eye during England's warm-up campaign is Barkley, and Baines is expecting his Everton team-mate to produce the magic that could get them out of Group D.

"We're starting to see him develop and it's exciting to watch him grow," said Baines.

"He's one of the exciting players we've got in the squad, he comes on in games, or if he starts a game, he can produce something out of nothing and get people off their seats."

Italy got the better of England and Hodgson when the two sides met in the quarter-finals of Euro 2012, coming out on top in a penalty shoot-out.

Italy boss Cesare Prandelli has an almost fully-fit squad to chose from, with the only absentee being Mattia De Sciglio.

However, Prandelli has yet to reveal who will play up front, with Mario Balotelli, Antonio Cassano, Ciro Immobile and Lorenzo Insigne all available.

Baines said that no matter what Azzurri side they face, England will be fully prepared.

"We're prepared for what they may have, but we're focusing more on what we can do," he said.

"I think they'll be doing similar things. There will be a lot of players in our squad that they'll be doing their homework on, trying to make sure they've got ideas on how to stop them."

One aspect both sides will have been keeping an eye on is the Arena Amazonia pitch, after a groundsman appeared to be spraying a green substance on to the dry brown patches inside the £173million stadium.

A woman whose husband went missing a month ago is hoping desperately that he returns home in time for Father's Day tomorrow.

Lindsey Preston's husband, John, went out for walk in the countryside near his home in Glenfield at midday on Monday, May 12, and has not been seen since.

The couple, who have been married for 27 years, have two children, Will, 19, and Georgia, 20. They have bought a Father's Day card and a gift – a bottle of the 59-year-old's favourite malt whisky – which are waiting for him at home.

John has suffered depression for the past year, after losing his job. His family and friends are growing increasingly concerned for his safety as police continue to search for him.

Lindsey said: "Father's Day will bring it home to us all. It would be lovely if he could come home in time for Sunday, so we can be together again.

"There is a card waiting for him and Will has bought him a bottle of his favourite malt, from the Isle of Arran.

"George always buys him cheese on Father's Day and she has written in the card, 'I'll buy it for you when you get home'.

"It is a month now since he went missing and we are very worried.

"But I can't be angry with him. I know how ill he had become and he just hadn't been able to get control of it.

"He took nothing with him. The police have access to our bank accounts and nothing has been withdrawn.

"I just keep asking myself all kinds of questions like, 'How is he eating?'

"The police have been brilliant and are following leads all the time, and check and double-check everything. We love him very much and we just want him back."

The family moved to Glenfield a few weeks before John went missing. They had previously lived in Markfield for years.

Pc Penny Smith, of Leicestershire Police's missing from home team, said: "It is a month since John was last seen at his home address. Extensive inquiries have been conducted locally, including searches in the area around Markfield where John lived most of his life up until a few weeks before his disappearance.

"CCTV inquiries confirmed that John was seen walking along Main Street, in Markfield, at 2pm on May 12. There have been no further sightings of him since. We and John's family are urging him to contact us to let us know he is safe and well. Anyone who has seen John since May 12 is asked to contact the police or the missing person helpline.

"This is an extremely distressing time for John's family and specialist officers have been supporting the family and will continue to do so and follow up any leads identified."

Mr Preston is white, 5ft 7in, slim and has closely-shaven, dark grey hair.

He occasionally wears glasses and when last seen was wearing a red Vortex coat, dark tracksuit bottoms and brown walking boots.

Anyone with information should contact the missing from home team on 101, or the national missing persons helpline on 116 000.

A drunken man who smashed a doorman's skull with a metal stand and left him deaf in one ear has been jailed for nine years.

Xhonatan Lisi (33) took exception to being refused entry into Mobius bar, in Braunstone Gate, in Leicester's West End, and picked up a metal stand in a roped-off area.

He swung it at the doorman, hitting him on the head and knocking him to the ground.

Co-accused, Erjon Sejdo (37), who started the altercation by slapping the victim, also kicked him in the face as he lay defenceless on the ground. Sejdo was jailed for 12 months.

Leicester Crown Court was told that CCTV footage of the attack was released during a police appeal to identify the culprits and published in the Leicester Mercury.

The footage, shown on the Mercury's website, was also played in court.

The publicity resulted in Lisi, of Barclay Street, West End, and Sejdo, of Ipswich Close, Beaumont Leys, later handing themselves in to police.

The victim suffered a fracture to his left temple, permanent facial paralysis on one side and deafness in one ear.

He became depressed and is unable to work, which has caused financial difficulty in supporting his family.

Judge John Pini QC said: "The victim is confused, angry, sad and in disbelief as to why this unprovoked attack took place at his work place.

"He was going about his lawful employment. He's no longer able to pursue his career, which he was enjoying. It was a sustained assault and Lisi, you took three swings with that weapon, connecting with his head on the last attempt."

The judge told Sejdo: "It was disgraceful behaviour and you started it, and also kicked him with a shod foot."

In a victim impact statement quoted in court, the victim, now 40, who was in hospital for five days, said: "I still feel shocked by the violence and aggression shown to me for just doing my job. I wish I had the courage to face them in court and ask why, but I just don't."

After the attack, he told the Mercury: "I was fighting for my life and I just thought, please don't let me die because of my kids – they were the only thing that kept me strong."

Lisi admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent and Sejdo pleaded guilty to causing actual bodily harm, on November 2 last year.

Abigail Joyce, prosecuting, said only females or couples were being allowed into the bar after 12.15 am.

The defendants, both Albanian nationals, and their two male friends, were annoyed at being turned away and one of them swore at the victim. Sejdo slapped him across the face before he and Lisi "charged towards him" and pulled him into the street.

Miss Joyce said: "Lisi picked up a steel post that was holding a rope, where people usually queue to get into the bar.

"Lisi picked up the post and swung the circular base at the complainant, striking him on the back of the head, before Sejdo kicked him in the face. The defendants' two friends, and other people, pulled them away."

Justine Robinson, mitigating for Lisi, who has run a building business since 2005, said he was a hard worker, with no previous convictions, and had glowing references from all who knew him.

She said: "On this evening he acted desperately out of character. He bitterly regrets it and wishes to apologise. He knows misuse of alcohol is no excuse."

Louise McGhee, for Sejdo, said: "The main injuries are not attributable to my client.''

She said he was suffering from depression at the time and has since "dramatically cut down" his alcohol intake.