City engineers and Severn Trent were called in after a drainage sewer under a street collapsed. 

The hole in Stoughton Avenue, Stoneygate, Leicester, was reported to the authorities this morning. 

They arrived to find a half-metre wide gap leading to a small cavern about two metres wide and one-and-a-half metres deep. Temporary traffic lights were set up so work could take place over the weekend. 

The hole is believed to have been caused by a drainage culvert or water sewer that had eroded. 

The cavern, which had water flowing along the bottom of it, was close to a high-pressure gas main, requiring engineers to liaise with Central Networks. 

Chris Mason of Leicester City Council traffic management said: "The hole suddenly appeared in Stoughton Avenue, near to the junction with Stoughton Road. 

"Luckily it's been reported before anyone got hurt. 

"There's a hole in the road and beneath it there's a deep cavern and you can see water rushing underneath. "We'll have to put two-way traffic lights on Stoughton Road."

Three people aged between 16 and 41 have been charged with affray, after an incident in New Parks, Leicester. On Wednesday night police were called to the Bateman Road area of the city. Officers announced today that a man, aged 41, a woman aged 20 and a 16-year-old youth have all been charged with affray. The 16-year-old is due to appear at Leicester Magistrates' Court tomorrow.

Joe O'Connor will have his first taste of what life as a professional snooker player is like when he rubs shoulders with the world's best in China.

The 18-year-old former world and European junior pool champion is pursuing a career on the snooker table and has qualified for the first ranking event of the season, the Wuxi Classic.

Despite still being an amateur, he takes his place in the main draw alongside the biggest names in the sport, including world champion Mark Selby, defending champion Neil Robertson, and world No.5 Barry Hawkins.

O'Connor takes on Chris Wakelin in the first round on Tuesday and victory could set up a second-round meeting with the 2005 world champion Shaun Murphy.

"I can't wait. It is going to be amazing," said O'Connor. "In a way it's a bit scary because it's my career. It's starting to become more real, actually playing in a proper ranking event.

"I'm the underdog. I am not expected to get very far so whatever happens I will take as a positive. Even if I lose, it's not the end of the world. If I win, it's a bonus.

"It will be a really good experience for me and will be great to be out there mixing it with the big boys."

O'Connor's qualification for Wuxi has already proved he has the beating of some well-established professionals.

In his qualifier, he thrashed Andrew Higginson, a former Welsh Open finalist, who made it to the last 16 of the World Championship in 2012.

O'Connor did not drop a frame, completing an impressive 5-0 whitewash over the current world no.36.

His opponent tomorrow, Wakelin, is ranked 70 places lower than that. O'Connor knows his game well, too, having spent time practising with the Nuneaton potter.

"It will be weird to go all the way out there to play against a mate," said O'Connor.

"He is a professional, so he beats me more times than I beat him in practice. I have beaten him, though, so I know if I play my best, I can do it."

As well as taking his cue with him, O'Connor will also be flying a pair of Selby's trousers over to China after the world no.1 left them at the dry cleaners.

Despite being a ranking event, O'Connor will not receive any ranking points as he is still only an amateur.

The Wigston youngster came agonisingly close to a place on the main tour after just missing out on winning his professional card at this year's Q School.

The Q School offers the chance for eight budding snooker players to win a two-year card on the professional circuit. These are awarded to the four semi-finalists of two back-to-back tournaments, open to any amateur player, anywhere in the world.

O'Connor was one step away from realising his dream, losing in the quarter-final earlier this year from a field of 130 hopefuls.

But because he did so well, he was offered a place in the Wuxi qualifiers when a slot became available.

Terry Singh has never had a problem breaking new ground in the world of football.

The former Crown Hills pupil made a name for himself as a coach with Leicester City's Football in the Community programme, which was launched in 1992.

But he has spread his wings considerably since then and has just completed a decade of teaching football to budding grassroots players in China.

Now, as director of China Sport and Education, he is working on an initiative which will set up cultural exchange programmes through sport and education.

"Part of my role with Leicester City was to profile the club in the community," said Singh, who is currently working on his UEFA coaching licences. "In 2004, I was invited to China by the Avando School of Football Centre, who were looking for English coaches to go out to schools in China. That stemmed from the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea which China was involved in."

His first port of call was Nanjing No4 Middle School, in Jiangsu province.

"During my time there, I was involved in developing a programme for middle school players who were selected from throughout China to go to Germany on a tour," said Singh, who describes the initial stage of his involvement in China as "pioneering."

After a couple of years in the Far East he returned to the UK and continued to work on his coaching badges but remained in touch with progress in China and was eventually invited to take a post at Beijing Sports University in 2009.

"I was a lecturer in English and sport but also coached the football majors and helped to develop their knowledge of the game," he said.

"They were very good players and the coaches who helped were all from the Chinese FA.

"It was another pioneering programme for me because part of my job was to work in the community and get people involved with the university."

He was joined by students who acted as translators enabling Singh to get his football message across in a different culture.

"You need to have many skills as a coach," he explained. "You need to impart knowledge to your peers and students and you need to have passion and personality. Those qualities, besides football ability, are very important when you are engaging in a new culture."

His appetite for taking the game to new players shows no signs of slowing down, as his latest role suggests.

He retains an involvement with a successful junior club in Beijing which he hopes local schools and clubs will be able to tap into as they look to widen their own football – and cultural – knowledge.

"I was asked to go out to China and I have been there for 10 years so I must be doing something right," he smiled.

"It has been a wonderful journey and it will continue. I could write a book about it, but this is just the beginning.

"It has been a wonderful cultural, educational and sporting experience for me with the opportunities that I have had.

"The main thing is continuity and keeping it going."

Leicestershire have injury worries ahead of their latest LV County Championship match, which starts at the Kia Oval against Surrey tomorrow.

Captain Ramnaresh Sarwan and on-loan seam bowler Richard Jones are both rated as major doubts for the game.

Sarwan had to bat with a runner in the second innings of this week's home defeat by Worcestershire after injuring his back. Jones sustained a leg injury fielding in the same game having made a good impression with County after agreeing a one-month loan move from Warwickshire.

Given the intensity of cricket Leicestershire have faced of late, it is little surprise that the squad is creaking.

However, there could be a change of emphasis from seam to spin at the Oval with Jigar Naik coming back into consideration at a ground where he has enjoyed success in the past with his off-breaks.

Slow left-armer James Sykes is also included in the squad, while Dan Redfern retains his place among the batsmen after a sound debut against Worcestershire.

Despite the injuries there is competition among the batsmen with Matthew Boyce pushing for inclusion once again.

And all-rounder Rob Taylor, who was rested last week after a lengthy run of first-class and one-day games, could figure again at the Oval. Surrey, who are favourites for promotion, have had a mixed start to the Championship season.

However, a 10-wicket victory over Derbyshire last week pushed them up to third place in the Division Two table – although they still have a good deal of ground to make up on Hampshire and Worcestershire.

A transport watchdog has revealed that bus timetables which were fitted too high for anyone to read were also out of date.

Terry Kirby, chairman of the Campaign for Better Transport (Leicestershire) said the timetables, fitted in Leicester as part of a Government-funded drive to improve information for passengers, are "useless".

The Mercury revealed on Tuesday how timetables had been fitted 7ft high on lamppost bus stops in Leicester.

Bus passenger Howard Parker spotted a timetable positioned 7ft up a lamppost in Dumbleton Avenue, Rowley Fields.

Bus campaigner Mr Kirby said: "Not only have they fitted the timetables too high for anyone to read but the information on them is out of date, so it is useless.

"It beggars belief. Have they got anything right during this initiative which is supposed to improve information to passengers? "

He said the timetable fitted in Dumbleton Avenue for the Arriva number 51 service was operational from March 3 but was replaced by a new timetable on April 27 where, at certain times of the day, buses have reduced from running every 20 minutes to every half an hour.

Mr Parker, 62, of Glenfield said: "Oh dear. It is laudable to want to improve the information for passengers but they seem to have got this badly wrong in many ways.

"If people could read the information they could waiting for a bus that is not going to turn up.

"What concerns me is taxpayers' money was used on this initiative and presumably it will up the costs to reposition the timetable cases and replace the information inside them."

Contractors working for the authority have installed new signs at bus stops around Leicester in the past two or three weeks.

A Leicester City Council spokeswoman said: "This is a major project to improve bus information at 365 bus stops around Leicester and we have clearly had a few glitches with a few of the cases.

"While the new timetables were being designed, changes were made to the 51 service which, unfortunately, were not picked up.

"Replacement timetables have already been ordered and will be displayed very soon."

Keith Myatt, spokesman for Arriva Bus, said: "We, as a company, provide the information about routes and bus times to the council.

"The council has put these timetables up. We will have to carry out an investigation to see what has happened. I will not be able to confirm whether the correct information was sent to the council until we have made inquiries."

On Tuesday, a city council spokeswoman blamed the shape of the lamppost for fixing the timetable cases 7ft high.

She said: "Because of the shape of the lamppost, these information cases had to be fixed far too high up to be of use."

"We'll be asking our contractor to find a solution, so cases can be displayed in the proper way – at the proper height."

Some breathtaking hitting from Tom Wells gave Leicestershire Foxes their second Natwest T20 Blast victory of the season with a four-wicket win over Durham Jets at Chester-le-Street.

Wells smashed 31 runs from just 18 balls as Foxes got over the line with five balls to spare.

The visitors had looked to be cruising towards their target of 178 but a flurry of wickets left them needing 26 off 12 balls before Wells smashed 24 off the penultimate over.

Having won the toss and electing to field, captain Josh Cobb tossed the new ball to two Foxes T20 debutants – Dan Redfern and Charlie Shreck.

Shreck, playing his first T20 game since 2008, showed his rustiness with two wides with his first two balls before being drilled for consecutive boundaries by opener Phil Mustard.

Fellow opener Mark Stoneman also found the boundary on a good surface, a forward defensive racing through the covers for four as Durham charged to 30-0 from three overs.

Seamers Anthony Ireland and Ben Raine bowled tidily to reduce the rate as the boundaries began to dry up.

Jigar Naik made the breakthrough with his first ball, trapping Stoneman lbw for 17 attempting a reverse sweep. He then bagged Mustard for 36 with a stunning reaction catch off his own bowling.

Calum MacLeod stepped up the rate for the Jets, hitting Naik for two sixes over cow corner in the spinner's final over but, like Mustard, failed to kick on and was bowled by Shreck for 42, trying an extravagant ramp shot over fine leg.

Foxes took wickets at regular intervals as England all-rounder Ben Stokes was run out for 20 with a direct hit from Tom Wells before John Hastings smashed one straight to Cobb at mid-off first ball off Raine and, with three overs left, Durham were 144-5.

Gordon Muchall, supported by former England captain Paul Collingwood, provided some late firepower with a flurry of boundaries, before being caught at point for 43 as Ireland took two wickets in the last over.

The Foxes' reply got off to positive, if unattractive, start as Cobb edged the first ball of through slips for four.

The Foxes' captain was going well as he welcomed Stokes into the attack by smashing him back over his head into the car park before smearing him through the covers.

Cobb's brutal cameo was then brought to an end by a stunning catch by MacLeod on the boundary at long-on.

Ned Eckersley and the in-form Greg Smith took a while to find their stride but eventually began to get going, Eckersley launching Stokes over mid-wicket for six, before Smith reverse-swept the first two balls of off-spinner Gareth Breese's first over for four.

Smith was sent on his way when he was adjudged lbw off Keaton Jennings, much to the batsman's disgust.

Durham seamer Usman Arshad was taken out of the attack for bowling two no-balls above waist height in the over. Eckersley was unperturbed though, hitting a four and a six, as the over went for 26.

The Foxes looked to be cruising but lost a flurry of quick wickets in quick succession.

This brought their run-rate to a standstill as they scored just eight runs in three overs, leaving themselves 26 to win from the last two overs. Wells nearly only needed one, as he smashed three sixes and a four off Collingwood's last over.

Riyad Mahrez is set to make his second World Cup appearance tomorrow and his Leicester City team-mate Danny Drinkwater believes the talented winger will catch the eye during the tournament.

Mahrez produced a confident performance in Algeria's opening game in Brazil, though his side fell to a 2-1 defeat to a much fancied Belgium side.

The 23-year-old and the Desert Foxes deservedly led 1-0 against the star-studded Belgians and only went down to two second-half goals.

Drinkwater watched that game at the City training ground as he waited to sign his new four-year contract and was impressed.

"I watched the first half of the Algeria game and he looked the part," said Drinkwater.

"He looked good and comfortable, and I am sure he will turn heads in the World Cup.

"Fair play to him because he deserves it. He works hard and he knuckles down when he needs to."

Drinkwater admits the chance to play in the Premier League this season could give him a platform to stake his own international claims.

"I am just knuckling down and not looking too far ahead," he said.

"I just want to get my head down and do what I can for the club.

"Every player dreams of playing in a World Cup. But I am just concentrating on playing for Leicester. If I do that then you never know.

"I feel I have something to prove in the Premier League but I think we all do.

"We have all had a good season in the Championship but it is about stepping up now and showing if we are capable of doing that. I am sure we are."

So far, Drinkwater has been joined at City by new signings Ben Hamer, Matt Upson and Marc Albrighton, and City's Player of the Year has been encouraged by the new arrivals, but it is the re-signing of goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel on a four-year contract which has really delighted Drinkwater.

"Kasper signing is great news for the club and great for the boys as well because he is a big part of our team," he said.

"The new signings are a good mix with Albrighton a tricky, quick winger, Matt Upson who has loads of experience, and Ben Hamer who is proven at Championship level, so they are all good acquisitions.

"They have to trust the players that are coming in and those players have to trust the staff."

A teenager hit a woman with a metal pole and went on a rampage of destruction after drinking and taking a "legal high".

In a small hours wrecking spree, Andrew Fettes-Hawkins (18) laid into a motorhome with the pole, causing £2,500 damage to the body panels, Leicester Crown Court was told.

The owner, a woman, got dressed and went out to confront him, but Fettes-Hawkins hit her around the ear before throwing the pole across the road and walking away.

He was so aggressive when police arrived in Fountains Avenue, Eyres Monsell, Leicester, they had to use an incapacitant spray on him, the court heard.

The stimulant had made him hallucinate and he feared he was in danger and being chased.

The 18-year-old , of The Meadows, Shepshed, admitted three counts of criminal damage, one common assault and possessing an offensive weapon, on April 28.

Victoria Rose, prosecuting, said at 4am, several residents were woken by the defendant's "erratic behaviour" in the street.

In addition to the motorhome, he smashed windows of two other vehicles.

"The police received reports from a number of people complaining about the disturbance and damage," said Miss Rose.

"The woman resident suffered a cut ear and a bruised head. She was attended to by an ambulance crew."

In interview, Fettes-Hawkins said he had been out the evening before and taken the legal high.

Miss Rose said: "The police said he was genuinely mortified and upset by his actions when told what he'd done."

The teenager was sentenced to a 12-month community order, with 150 hours of unpaid work.

He was also ordered to pay £400 compensation to the woman he assaulted.

Sentencing, Judge Nicholas Dean said: "It seems clear the taking of a legal drug and drink led you to behave in a bizarre, erratic and frightening way.

"What the police officers observed you doing must have been frightening because it appeared you were out of control.

"I accept it was wholly out of character and caused by the drug you took.

"But you're responsible for what you did because you had taken the drug, and that was bound to be unpredictable.

"From the outset, you've shown real remorse and it's unusual for the police to describe an individual being mortified by their actions."

Isabel Wilson, mitigating, said of her client: "He has written apology letters to the victims to be passed on to them.

"He expressed remorse as soon as he sobered up and the effect of the drug had worn off.

"He had been drinking to excess and took a legal high, which he had taken once before without any adverse effect.

"But it affected him differently and he began hallucinating about people chasing him and going through traumatic events.

"He was panicking and paranoid about being pursued and it was a distressing experience he will never repeat."

Legal highs produce effects similar to illegal drugs but are not controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act.

Because they are sold as legal, it does not mean they are safe, warns a drugs advisory website.

The contents can vary greatly and you cannot be 100 per cent sure what is in a legal high, or what effect it is likely to have.

A number of legal highs have been banned under the Misuse of Drugs Act, for example, Mephedrone.

Mixing legal highs with other substances, such as alcohol, can increase the risks.

Side effects include of psychosis, panic attacks, depression, heart problems, seizures, coma, loss of bladder function and even death.

Legal highs vary in potency and can easily be overdosed.

In an attempt to avoid legislative controls, some producers and suppliers are now manufacturing new drug variations.

A bar whose customers were involved in a series of drunken fights has closed after it lost a legal bid to keep its licence.

The Long Bar, in Market Street, Leicester city centre, originally had its licence revoked by Leicester City Council in January, following complaints about serious violent incidents inside and in the street.

Its owners exercised their right to appeal the council's ruling, allowing it to remain open pending the outcome of a hearing at Leicester Magistrates' Court.

The hearing was held on Thursday and magistrates upheld the council's order.

Police said the bar's customers had been involved in 19 violent incidents between July and December. Incidents included the arrest of four 16-year-olds after someone was glassed following a fight inside and outside the bar.

In other incidents, a man was stabbed, another suffered a broken jaw, while four police officers were injured during a large-scale disturbance.

Also, the bar failed a police "test purchase" operation by agreeing to sell alcohol to a 16-year-old boy, who was secretly accompanied by plainclothes police officers.

On another occasion, youths aged 16 and 17, who were detained after an incident outside the bar, told police they had been drinking inside.

Leicester's assistant city mayor for neighbourhood services, Councillor Sarah Russell, said: "I am pleased magistrates have upheld the views of the police and the city council's licensing team, who recommended revoking the bar's licence, and the licensing committee, which revoked the licence back in January. We want people to be able to enjoy the city centre and feel safe there at any time of the day."

Pc Tejas Mavani, of city police's licensing unit, said: "We work tirelessly with premises to ensure licensing objectives are upheld.

"However, in a small number of cases we have to take action in order to protect the general public.

"The list of violent incidents occurring at the location, compounded with the premises serving a 16-year-old in a test purchase operation, left us no other option but to ask for revocation of the licence."

Long Bar owner Yogesh Sharma said he told the council committee earlier this year and the magistrates' court some of the disturbances did not involve his customers and happened up to 30 minutes after the bar had closed.

Mr Sharma said: "Revoking the licence was the ultimate thing the police and the council could do. I wanted to work with them. I have lost a lot of money because the business is now closed and 15 people have lost their jobs.

"The legal fees are going to end up something like £10,000.

"I am a hard-working licensee and I am devastated I have lost my business. I just don't think it needed to go this far."

Roy Hodgson insisted he isn't a quitter after England's World Cup campaign fizzled out after a second defeat.

After losing 2-1 to Uruguay on Thursday evening, England have been eliminated from the competition at the earliest possible juncture after Costa Rica beat Italy 1-0 last night.

But Hodgson – whose contract as England boss expires after Euro 2016 – says he will battle on in charge of the squad.

"I don't have any intention to resign," he said. "I'm bitterly disappointed, of course, but I don't feel I need to resign, no."

"On the other hand, if the Football Association think I'm no longer the right man to do the job, that will be their decision and not mine."

Hodgson admitted the top-class finishing of Luis Suarez proved the critical difference in the 2-1 loss to Uruguay.

The Uruguay striker, questioned by Hodgson in the build-up to the game, struck twice – including the winner with six minutes left on the clock – but England were not able to rediscover their attacking edge in search for a second equaliser of the night.

Hodgson says he and his side were devastated by the result.

"We believed we could do enough to get a result in this game and we worked so hard to counter Suarez's first goal," Hodgson said.

"At 1-1, I fully believed that we would go on to win the game, or at least draw. To concede the second goal as we did was an unbelievable blow.

"It's a goal that we don't expect to concede, we knew we could deal with the Uruguayan attack but we came up against a strong defensive unit ourselves but we still did enough to get the draw.

"The first goal he scored was exceptionally good and I thought Cavani's chip was good and Suarez's pulling away for the header was top class.

"I think he was fortunate to get himself free for the second goal, but of course he made no mistake. We knew what he could do."

Suarez gave Uruguay the lead in the first half with his 40th international goal, peeling away from Phil Jagielka to head Edinson Cavani's chip past Joe Hart.

The lead lasted until the 75th minute when Wayne Rooney matched Suarez's tally with his first ever World Cup finals goal, tapping in from close range after good work from Glen Johnson down the right.

But it was Liverpool striker Suarez who struck the deflating blow to Hodgson's side, capitalising on an error in the England defence, who failed to clear a long punt forward from Fernando Muslera.

The Uruguay striker pounced on the ball on the right of the area and powered his shot past Hart once more in what proved to be the decisive moment.

Hodgson said he did not expect to lose the game in the last 10 minutes after England's second-half domination, but pointed to England's deficiencies in front of goal as the reason for their two losses in the competition.

"When Rooney scored I didn't think we would lose the game because we controlled the game for such a long period of time," Hodgson continued.

"After the first five minutes of the second half we got ourselves back on track and they had been nowhere near our goal.

"We got near theirs a couple of times but it doesn't matter how many times you get close, it's how many times you put the ball in the back of the net and on both occasions so far we haven't done it enough."

A is for Jim Abbiss, who produced the debut album, Kasabian, and the follow-up Empire, as well as The Arctic Monkeys' Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not and Adele's 19 and 21.

B is for adenoidal leftie troubadour Billy Bragg. There's not much chance of him being in the crowd today. Especially not with a freebie pass. Kasabian, he told the NME, "are there to remind us how true Spinal Tap was. I'm not a fan, but if you read their interviews as if it was dialogue from Spinal Tap, it's very entertaining. Especially the stuff Sergio Pizzorno says – he's Nigel Tufnel."

C is for Chris Karloff, one of the original gang who formed the band. He played guitar and co-wrote their critically-acclaimed debut album with Serge, and then left during the recording of their second album, Empire, just as they were about to become huge. Why? That old cliche, creative differences. He now lives in New York, plays in a band called Black Onassis and says he has no regrets. "We don't really communicate now but I obviously wish them all the best," he told us last year. "I don't hold grudges. They're doing what they're doing and I'm doing what I'm doing."

D is for Dinara Drukarova, the Russian actress who starred in the videos for Club Foot and LSF, and – this is worth 100 points in the I-Spy book of Kasabian – also appeared fleetingly in the background of the video for Fire, on a Wanted poster. She was in the 2012 Oscar-winning foreign language film, Amour.

E Eez-eh. The new single, which requires DJs around the world to put on a Lestoh accent, triggering scenes of discomfort last seen when Bonneh, from Luffbroh, went into the Big Brother house and no-one knew how to say her name.

F is for Fire, the band's first top-three single, which gets blasted at the King Power stadium every time Leicester City score. That's a lot of plays last season. But y'know, maybe not quite so many next time round.

G is for Glastonbury, the next Dear Diary entry in the Kasabian journal. The band are headlining on the main stage on the Sunday, after vowing they wouldn't return to the Somerset festival unless they were given a top slot. That did the trick.

H is for Harley Staples. Tom joined up with Leicester band SuperEvolver to release a charity single in memory of Harley, who died of cancer in 2009. The eight-year-old City fan, who played the drums and guitar, met the Kasabian frontman just a few weeks before his death.

Viva La Revolution was available in a limited edition pressing of 1,000 CDs and as a download, too. Read more at:

www.harleystaples.co.uk

I is for igloo. In their 17-year history, Tom, Serge and Chris must have played plenty of strange gigs, but an intimate acoustic, set at dusk in an igloo village on an Austrian mountainside at an altitude of 6,500ft, has got to be the oddest. It was at the Snowbombing festival in the Alps last year.

And for those of you who are thinking "I is for igloo" is a little desperate, wait til you get to the letter W.

J is for Jacko. Wacko Jacko, to be exact. In today's edition of More, Tom Meighan tells us his first album was Michael Jackson's Bad. "I loved it," he says, "it was awesome." Mind you, he also said The Maccabees were one of today's supports, so make of all that what you will.

K is for Kasabian. Well, that was simple, eh? And if that seems like cheating, it can be for Ben Kealey, too, the original drummer who now is the band's keyboard player. When he's not touring with the band, he salvages abandoned pianos and paints them. That's his jaunty Joanna in Curve.

L is for Leysland High School, in Countesthorpe. "Me, Tom and Chris all grew up in Blaby, and Serge was near Countesthorpe," Chris told the Mercury in 2012. "We went to different primary schools but went to Leysland High School together and we've known each other since we were 11."

M is for the Mercury Showcase, a weekly night staged at the Charlotte in the late 1990s/early 2000s as a platform for local bands. Kasabian played a few Showcase gigs in their early days as Saracuse – one alongside Biffy Clyro.

N is for Noel Fielding, who appeared in the video for Vlad the Impaler. Serge wrote the theme music for Fielding's Luxury Comedy telly show, too. And Fielding got an oblique mention in the Velociraptor! track La Fée Verte, which has the line "I met Dali in the street". Serge told Q magazine that Fielding is "the modern-day Dali. That man is a precious jewel". Hmmm. That's the sort of stuff that doesn't go down well with Billy Bragg.

O is for Oxfam. Tom Meighan took 10 bin liners of his own clothes to the branch in Market Street. After selling 15 of the 50 pieces earlier this week, the store had taken about £1,500 for the Kasabian clobber. Our favourite line in the Mercury's news story: "Most of the trousers have 32-inch waists."

P is for pubs. In an interview with Q, Tom recommended the Old Horse as a good place to go for a pint or more before the gig. Are you reading, landlord of the Old Horse? You might have a bit of a rush on today...

Q is for the Q Awards. Kasabian's West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum won best album in 2009.

R is for Rutland. When Kasabian signed a five-album deal with BMG, they quit their jobs and moved in together in a farmhouse dubbed The Plaggey Bag Ranch. A bit like The Monkees, then. But near Rutland Water instead of the Pacific.

S is for Saracuse, the name before Kasabian. "Their many and diverse influences include The Beatles, The Who, Frank Zappa, Bob Dylan, Oasis, Jimi Hendrix and Roni Size," said the Mercury in 1999, quoting the band as calling their own sound "an elaborate mix of indie and pop, striving to create a national scene. There are no boundaries to our music, as we would like it to appeal on a universal scale".

T is for tickets. At first the Mercury said 35,000 had been sold. Now we're being told by the organisers there'll be 50,000 there. A word to the British Geological Survey, just over the border in Nottinghamshire. Your seismic gizmos may register a bit of a squiggle at the start of the set.

U is for UKIP. And Nigel Farage in particular. "Growing up in Leicester, it's so multicultural," Serge told the NME this week. "It's created an incredible city; a vibrant, creative place. It's what makes it amazing. We need to keep an eye on that geezer. Hard."

V is for Victoria Park, scene of today's homecoming gig. Other things that have been held on Vicky Park in the past: Three One Big Sunday gigs. A Radio One roadshow with Mark Goodier, Republica and Baby Bird. Leicester's little-known but calamitous balloon riot of 1864.

W is for the 'Wad. Cough. Oasis hated Blur. Neil Young clashed with Lynyrd Skynyrd. And in one of the strangest band feuds in rock, Kasabian locked horns with creped crusaders Showaddywaddy.

"They slagged us off in the Leicester Mercury," said Tom in 2006, "said we were out of tune. Pretty sad coming from a bunch of plastic teddy boys. You just think, 'We'll show 'em'." Job done.

X is for ... oh, this is always tricky, isn't it? Unless you're doing an A-Z of the Xhosa people. Let's say it's for ex-guitarists.

Aside from Chris Karloff there's also Jay Mehler, a touring member of the band for six years who left in 2013 to join Liam Gallagher's Beady Eye.

"Jay is our bro', we're all good," said Serge.

Z coming up soon. Uh-oh. Will it be Twycross Zoo, as longstanding Mercury A-Z tradition demands?

Y is for Youtube. The video for Fire is the most popular Kasabian offering on the site, notching up almost 10 million views.

Z is for Zzzzzzzzzzzz. Which is what you'll be thinking if you have absolutely no interest in Kasabian. In which case you might want to skip the first few pages of the paper on Monday.

Firefighters were called after a car was set on fire inside a barn. The incident happened in Lychgate Lane, Burbage, at about 9.15pm yesterday. One fire crew from Hinckley attended the blaze and managed to put the fire out before it could spread to the building. The car was destroyed in the blaze, which firefighters believe was started deliberately. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact the police on 101. Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Burning embers from a fire pit set a shisha cafe on fire. Firefighters were called to the Hubble Bubble Shisha Cafe in The Rushes, Loughborough at 4.25am today. They arrived to find the wooden decking of the roof terrace alight and had to fight the blaze from outside because they could not get into the building. The blaze was extinguished by 5am and at 5.20am they entered the building to check for any signs of fire. No one was injured in the blaze.

Firefighters called in the RSPCA after a bird got trapped in the roof of their fire station. The bird was first noticed at 12.25pm on Friday afternoon on the roof of Market Bosworth Fire and Rescue Station in Station Road in the town. Firefighters, along with RSPCA officers, used a short ladder to get up onto the roof and release the trapped bird.