Among the first online reviews of Saturday's gig was by Andy Welch of the NME.

He wrote: "Before the band appeared on stage, a bright pink backdrop, the same colour as the artwork from new album '48:13', displayed a countdown clock. When 10 seconds remained, the crowd enthusiastically counted down before white sheets dropped all around the stage.

"Chants of 'Leicester' rang out throughout the evening, with the band expressing love for their hometown at every opportunity.

"Pizzorno wore a t-shirt emblazoned with Les-tah.

"The encore was perhaps the most successful section, the band returning to the stage with Switchblade Smiles and Vlad The Impaler before Meighan stopped to thank the crowd once again.

"As he spoke, the band struck up their cover of Fatboy Slim's Praise You, which merged into huge closer L.S.F after a couple of minutes.

"As the song finished, guitarist Pizzorno whipped off his shirt and dived into the crowd, Meighan carried on singing without the band and guitarist Chris Edwards came up to the front for a rare moment.

He said: "I never get a chance on the mic. So thanks Leicester. You've made my f*****g year."

Plumes of black smoke were visible for miles around after an industrial unit burst into flames.

Five fire engines were sent to tackle the blaze, which involved an old industrial building containing scrap vehicles and farm machinery in Heather, five miles from Coalville.

The fire, at Dawson's Yard in Swepstone Road, started at 12.10pm yesterday.

One witness said the smoke had been visible for miles around.

He said: "They had a lot of fire engines there and they took until about 2.30pm to get the fire out.

"There was a lot of smoke and fumes. The smoke was visible from Coalville."

No-one was injured and the cause of the blaze is unknown.

Young cadets, veterans and serving members of the armed forces paraded through Leicester at the weekend.

The event was part of Armed Forces' Day celebrations, which were held a week earlier than the national celebrations.

A service was held in Leicester Cathedral before the parade on Saturday.

Hundreds of supporters lined High Street and applauded the 300 troops, who were accompanied by the Seaforth Highlanders Regimental Association Pipes and Drums Band.

Among the Army cadets in the parade was James Whitehouse, 14, of Oadby, whose grandparents were watching. Nora Whitehouse, 84, said: "I really feel chuffed to watch him parading. It was beautiful."

James' other grandmother, Pauline Hallam, 73, said: "I live in Loughborough and don't come to Leicester very much but it's been lovely to see everyone support them and I got some lovely photos."

Pat Thorpe, of Oadby, was at the parade supporting her husband, Derick, who was marching with other veterans of the Leicestershire Regiment.

Derick said: "It's a bit warm with the sun out, especially when we're all dressed up, but it's brought the crowds out."

Richard III has helped to boost the value of tourism in Leicestershire by £482 million in just one year.

The turnover of leisure businesses such as hotels and visitor attractions shot up by 6.2 per cent from £1.39 billion in 2012 to £1.48 billion in 2013 as the number of annual visitors rose from 28.7 million to 29.5 million.

And with the new Richard III visitor centre opening next month and the reburial of the king next year, the increase is expected to continue.

Martin Peters, chief executive of Leicester Shire Promotions, said the county's tourism industry was growing far faster than other East Midlands counties where the average growth was just 3.1 per cent.

He said: "These figures show significant growth in both the volume and value of tourism in Leicester and Leicestershire.

"The regional figures are not up by much so there's a clear trend of Leicester growing faster than the rest.

"There's a big Richard III effect which accounts for a lot of the growth for Leicester and Bosworth Field.

"In the past, the city was wholly dependent on business tourism and that's been doing quite badly.

"Leisure tourism is growing strongly now and this is the highest growth we've ever seen.

"We will hope to see more this year and next with the new visitor centre and the reinterment of Richard III."

The recent increase in the value of tourism has also meant an increase in the number of jobs in the sector, which went up 4.5 per cent from 19,604 to 20,485 between 2012 and 2013.

Mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said Leicester is growing as a tourism destination.

He said: "Even without Richard III, it's clear Leicester is becoming a destination for people for a short break.

"I think we're reaching a critical mass of things for people to come and do in Leicester with the Great Central Railway, the great shopping centre and the National Space Centre.

"You only have to look at the growing number of good quality restaurants in the city centre."

Blake Pain, Leicestershire County Council's cabinet member for economic development, said: "Tourism is a key part of Leicestershire's economy and I'm keen to see it develop further, aided by the discovery of King Richard III."

The future is exciting for the England national team under Roy Hodgson's leadership, former Leicester City goalkeeper Tim Flowers believes.

Flowers, who spent the last four seasons of his career with City and picked up a League Cup winners medal in 2000, played under Hodgson at Blackburn and rates the England manager as the best coach he ever played under.

Hodgson has been criticised in some quarters after England's failure to get out of the group stages at the World Cup in Brazil following defeats to Italy and Uruguay.

But Flowers believes the emergence of some talented young players at the tournament bodes well for the future.

Many of those youngsters are expected to play tonight when England bow out of the competition against Coast Rica, and Flowers said it is vital they get something from the game to give them confidence going into the European Championship qualifiers.

"It is always important for England to win," said Flowers.

"England expects when we go to major tournaments. They have played well in the first two games against two top sides.

"A lot of young players have been blooded, taken to the tournament and given their head in the matches. I think the formation they are playing suits that personnel of player.

"But going forward to the 2016 European Championship qualifiers, which start early in the season, I think it is important we get something out of the game.

"Roy is without doubt the best candidate to be England manager. He has been around Europe and managed at the highest level.

"He has managed other nations and took Switzerland to the World Cup finals in America. He is an outstanding coach.

"I played with him at Blackburn. He is the best coach I ever played for.

"I can see only one way and that is for Roy to take this young squad and lead them into the 2016 Euros.

"The natural progression is that some of these young players will come through and there is some outstanding young talent on the substitutes' bench, who we haven't seen a lot of in the tournament yet, like Luke Shaw.

"Jack Wilshere has come off the bench briefly, Ross Barkley is going to be a top player.

"All these lads will be pushing for a starting place for the Euros."

Jordan Henderson claims England's youngsters will be better prepared for their next major international tournament.

England head into their final Group D clash against Costa Rica this evening with their fate already sealed having lost to Italy and Uruguay.

The Liverpool midfielder admits the England squad are downbeat and have let their country down, but he has vowed to learn from the mistakes made in Brazil.

The Three Lions will head home with their tails between their legs but Henderson said their tame exit is not all doom and gloom.

The 24-year-old, who could win his 14th cap if selected in the dead-rubber against the Central Americans in Belo Horizonte, wants to finish an underwhelming campaign on a high – and avoid losing all three World Cup group games for the first time ever.

"Everyone is disappointed," said Henderson. "We're really down because we are going home far too early.

"There was a lot of confidence going into the tournament, everyone has been getting on great and the team spirit has been brilliant.

"It's not a great mood around the camp but it's a time everyone needs to stick together, everyone needs to stay strong.

"I'm sure everyone at home is feeling down. We feel as though we have let a lot of people down but, at the same time, we have shown people how well we can play in a big tournament with young players coming through.

"We'll be approaching the game the same as we have the other two, and that's to go out and win the game.

"We'll not prepare any differently because we are out of the competition, we'll go out and finish on a high and get a win. We don't want to go home losing all three games.

"We want to show people how much we do really care and for everyone back home, give them some enjoyment in the final game. Give them something to shout about and put on a good performance."

Steven Gerrard is on the bench, with Frank Lampard to captain the side in what is likely to be his last appearance.

Luke Shaw and Ross Barkley will also start the game but Leighton Baines and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are out.

Costa Rica will also ring the changes despite needing a point to be guaranteed an unlikely top spot in Group D.

However, former Manchester City striker Paulo Wanchope, Costa Rica's assistant manager, said they cannot become complacent.

"The first thing is to manage our emotions," he said. "We've qualified but it is important to look forward, it's important to keep growing as a team.

"We need to give some other players some football.

"It's important to give some football to those who don't normally get any and also to see how they fit into the system."

Motorists battled to rescue a man from a crashed car as it was engulfed in flames after spinning into the path of a lorry, an inquest heard.

Drivers tried to release Rivaash Kalicharan from the wreckage of his Vauxhall sports car, but were forced back as the fire spread.

The tragedy happened on the B6047 Leicester Road, near Tilton-on-the-Hill, on Friday, February 21.

Home Office pathologist Dr Michael Biggs carried out a post-mortem examination at Leicester Royal Infirmary.

In a statement read out in court, he said Mr Kalicharan, a mechanical engineer from Jackson Close, Oadby, died from "severe head injuries" consistent with the violent "rotation" of his car and impact with the lorry.

He said the 36-year-old's death was "instantaneous", adding: "The lack of soot in his airways provides evidence that the deceased wasn't alive during the fire."

Lorry driver Dale Mills said he was driving his Volvo HGV towards the A47 when the crash happened, near the Back Road turn, at about 8.40am.

In a statement read out in court, he said he was driving at about 40mph in a national speed limit zone.

"I drove through the village and, as I was leaving, I saw a car as it came around the corner," he said. "That was the first time I'd seen it. It was on its own side of the road.

"Suddenly, the driver lost control and slid into me."

Katherine Johnson was two cars behind the lorry in a Ford Focus, on her way to work at the University of Leicester.

She said: "I saw a fireball, lots of sparks and debris and whatever it was – I took it to be a car – fall into a hedgerow on the left-hand side of the road."

Ms Johnson stopped and, after asking someone to dial 999, ran to Mr Kalicharan's aid.

She said: "As I approached, I saw the car was still on fire and there was an acrid smell.

"The fire didn't seem to be particularly aggressive at that point. I looked inside and saw a man in the driver's seat.

"He appeared badly injured. There was a long streak of blood across his face."

Struggling to contain her emotion, Ms Johnson said: "I reached in and put my hand on him to see if I could find a pulse, but I couldn't.

"The car was really hot. The roof was missing and I couldn't see the back of the car – it appeared to have disintegrated."

Ms Johnson was pulled away from the car as fire spread by fellow motorist William Brewin, who emptied a fire extinguisher into the vehicle.

He said: "I was trying to keep the flames from Kate. She is a very brave young woman.

"But there was no way you could save him. I thought he had already gone."

Crash investigator Pc Ian Brown said Mr Mills was in no way to blame for the crash.

He said neither the weather nor road conditions played any part in the crash and tests on both vehicles found them to be mechanically sound.

Pc Brown said a tyre mark in the centre of the road suggested Mr Kalicharan had lost control of his car on a right-hand bend, spinning anti-clockwise towards the lorry.

The point of impact was broadside against the Vauxhall's petrol tank, which exploded, causing the fireball.

Toxicology tests found no alcohol or drugs in Mr Kalicharan's system.

Assistant coroner Lydia Brown recorded a verdict of death from head injuries sustained in a road accident.

She also praised Ms Johnson for "ignoring the personal risk" by trying to save him.

Leicester Tigers have added another South Sea islander to their ranks with the signing of Samoan prop Aniseko Sio.

They have also confirmed the arrival of Italian international prop Michele Rizzo.

The new arrivals will add further strength to Leicester's front-row resources, which will be without tight-head Dan Cole until around November, as he recovers from surgery on his neck.

Sio made his international debut as a loose-head in his side's 33-14 defeat by Japan last month.

He is 21 and almost 17-stone, and becomes the six South Sea islander in Tigers' squad next season with Niki Goneva, Steve Mafi and Logovi'i Mulipola already at the club – and Seremaia Bai and Christian Loamanu joining this summer.

Rizzo's arrival has been widely reported and he becomes the fourth player to join this summer from Italian side Treviso.

Hooker Leonardo Ghiraldini, back-rower Robert Barbieri and centre Loamanu will be in Tigers colours next season.

Rizzo, 31, has 21 international caps and was a replacement at loose-head for the Azzurri in their 52-11 drubbing by England in this year's Six Nations.

Rizzo and Sio will provide competition for Marcos Ayerza, with Mulipola as another option in the No.1 shirt.

At tight-head, Leicester will have Cole, Mulipola, Fraser Balmain and Tiziano Pasquali in the squad.

Manager Nigel Pearson is finalising the details on his new Leicester City contract.

Pearson and his assistants Craig Shakespeare and Steve Walsh look set to put pen to paper soon on their new contracts.

They are believed to be three-year deals and the process is understood to be in its final stages.

The fact that pre-season begins in less than two weeks and Pearson and his staff have not signed new deals since leading City back to the Premier League may have concerned some supporters, but the contracts have never been in doubt.

Both chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and vice-chairman Aiyawatt stated at the end of the last campaign that Pearson would be offered a new contract.

They said they intended to reward Pearson, Shakespeare and Walsh, while the City manager himself said he was not worried about the fact he was soon to be out of contract.

The fact that City were able to bring in three new players – Ben Hamer, Marc Albrighton and Matthew Upson – so early in the close season was an indication Pearson was planning for the club's first season back in the Premier League for a decade, and he is not finished with those three.

City have been in negotiations with representatives for Cardiff striker Fraizer Campbell for the past couple of weeks and reports suggest he is due to meet Pearson this week and complete his £800,000 transfer.

City have also tried at least three times to prise Leonardo Ulloa from Brighton.

However, City's interest in the Argentinian appears to have cooled after the Seagulls slapped a £10million price tag on their centre-forward.

City are hoping to sign at least one striker, with the future of top scorer David Nugent still in doubt.

Nugent is soon to become a free agent and, while talks between his representatives and City are described as 'ongoing', the fact they still have not come to an agreement is causing concern.

There have been reports Nugent is considering offers from other clubs.

There is more positive news over captain Wes Morgan, who is believed to be close to agreeing a contract extension.

The defender is set to enter the last year of his contract after City activated a one-year option, but talks have proved positive over another year on top of that.

Pubs, hotels and restaurants enjoyed a boom in business as 50,000 Kasabian fans descended on Leicester's Victoria Park for the band's gig on Saturday.

Many fans headed to city centre pubs for a drink or two ahead of the 3pm concert, while others followed Kasabian frontman Tom Meighan's advice, given in a Q magazine interview, to visit the Old Horse, in London Road.

The pub had a heaving beer garden ahead of the show – and, not surprisingly, the landlord, Kevin Shepherdson, was delighted.

He said: "It was very good for trade and no trouble at all. I hope it can happen again. One of them a month would be great for us!

"It was a great day and the whole thing just came and went – they had the litter pickers out straight away and the next day you wouldn't have known it had happened."

Leicester City Council assistant city mayor Sarah Russell said the city's night-time economy also benefited.

"It was a fantastic event and the feedback was the city carried on buzzing afterwards, and there's also been good trade for restaurants and hotels.

"There were lots of people visiting Leicester for the first time who will hopefully now want to return."

Asked if the city would be hosting another, similar event on the park in the future, Coun Russell said: "I think we've got to learn any lessons that need to be learned before planning anything."

The council had its entire cleaning team on hand for the event.

However, some city residents who walked along London Road before the clean-up crews had finished their work on Saturday were shocked by the amount of rubbish they saw.

Karishma Navsaria, 21, a student living in Clarendon Park, Leicester, said: "London Road was just disgusting with litter on Saturday evening. It didn't seem they'd prepared for it."

Coun Russell said: "We had several crews and mechanical sweepers out to clean up.

"It's always going to be a challenge when you've got that many people moving from one place to another but our crews were in London Road, Regent Road, the side streets and the area around the station to deal with problems."

For people in the area around Victoria Park, the concert also meant road closures. Student Hayley Scott, 21, had to keep her car on her drive all day because of restrictions in Clarendon Park Road. She woke up on Sunday to find that the car's windows had been smashed.

She said: "Four cars along here had their windows smashed."

Leicestershire Police is collating information on crimes related to the concert. Details were not available yesterday.

In yesterday's Mercury, we wrongly said a musician pictured on page three was Kasabian bassist Chris Edwards.

The musician was, in fact, the band's touring guitarist, Tim Carter. We apologise to Chris and his family, and to Tim, for the error.