Disabled golfer Brian Parsons is "ecstatic" that he will be able to take on the Scots tomorrow, thanks to the Leicester Mercury.

Brian, who suffers from Parkinson's Disease, has had all his vital all-weather clothing replaced after his own kit was stolen.

Brian was left devastated last week after his waterproof clothes were stolen from inside his van days before he was due to line up for England against Scotland in an international golf competition for disabled players called the Auld Enemies Cup.

The dad-of-three feared that without the warm clothing he could not be able compete.

The three day match at The Shire London golf course in Barnet starts today and runs until Wednesday.

But the Mercury stepped in and spoke to suppliers American Golf on Welford Road who agreed to deliver a waterproof jacket, caps and balls, to the golf course for Brian to use.

Brian,45, from Aylestone, Leicester, said: "I am ecstatic. It is fantastic as I am not in a position to buy them myself."

The thieves had stolen two jackets, two pairs of trousers, four t-shirts and lycra under layers which were hanging up in his van to air out.

He said he was devastated by the theft because the people of Leicester had clubbed together to buy them for him three years ago after the Mercury had printed an appeal.

He said: "I was attached to this stuff because the people of Leicester bought it for me. I have looked after it for three years.

"It would have cost me £400 to £500 buy."

He said that having warm clothes was vital for him.

He said: "With Parkinson's my tremor is affected by the cold weather."

He said without the clothing his game would have been severely affected.

As well as the clothes being taken, two golf clubs were also stolen

Brian had to work hard over the past year to win a place in the competition.

Brian's wife Alexandra said she was so upset when they realised the waterproofs were missing.

She said: "Golfing is important to Brian and he has worked hard to get where he is."

She said the family struggled for money and would not have been able to replace the items themselves.

Matthew Coulson, manager of the American Golf store on Welford Road, said a parcel containing the waterproofs was being sent to Brian.

He said: "It is not nice having your car broken into and valuables stolen.

"To protect his health and wellbeing we needed to do something for him.

"A person's health is more important than anything else."

He added that they wanted to give Brian the chance to do the best he could.

If anyone would like to donate waterproof clothes to Brain please e-mail him on: barmys@ymail.com or call: 07985247060.

Or, donate money through Pay Pal by using the e-mail address above.

Anyone with information about the stolen clothes can call the police on 101.

Ground Force-style garden makeover has given a new lease of life to a little girl fighting cancer.

Five-year-old Lilly North, of Earl Shilton, near Hinckley, has been unable to play in local parks for fear of catching an infection since she was diagnosed with cancer more than two years ago in her kidney, which spread to a lung.

The youngster, who had her right kidney removed 18 months ago and part of her lower right lung removed seven weeks ago, had been unable to play in the garden of her Oaklands Way home which was bare and drab with no grass since her family moved into the newly-built home three years ago.

The constant trips to hospitals in Nottingham, Leicester and Glenfield left parents Lewis, 25 and Sonia, 23, little time to spend improving it.

To avoid the youngster, who has had to undergo months of gruelling chemotherapy and radiotherapy, having to play inside all the time, the parents approached a local garden design company, but the price was beyond their means.

Touched by the family's plight, Leire-based Chris Cooper Hayes got back in touch with the family and offered to do the work in the style of TV's Ground Force.

He recruited friends and colleagues in garden design and landscaping businesses who, in turn, prompted their suppliers to donate materials for the makeover.

The team turned up and spent a day landscaping the garden with Chris, 41, returning on and off over two months to have the garden ready for the summer for Lilly to play in with her eight-month-sister, Amelia Rose and new pug pup, Batman.

Dad, Lewis, who with Sonia works at Sonique Hair Salon, in Broughton Astley, said: "Since Lilly had part of her right lung taken away there is no sign of active disease left. She had another scan on Tuesday and if the result of that is the same she will be in remission.

"The doctors told her she would be on her back for a month after the operation, but within a week we were at the seaside.

"It's taken its toll on her, but she's a happy little kid, who has just started at Sharnford primary school and is loving every minute of it."

He added: "Chris Cooper-Hayes has been an absolute miracle to us. The garden wasn't safe for even a healthy child to play in.

"After we'd approached him, but found we couldn't afford what needed to be done he came back to us and said he'd organised a whole bunch of people to help.

"It's completely changed our way of life. Lilly is able to enjoy playing in the garden, she's out there all the time."

Sonia said: "Chris has been a real godsend to us, no-one has ever done anything like this for us. We've been through two-and-a-half years of hell with her illness. What he has done has made such a difference to our lives."

Chris, who runs Cooper-Hayes Garden Design, said: "For what they've been through, it didn't sit comfortably with me just walking away, I thought about it and said 'let's see what we can do'.

"I called people I work with and they rallied round and stepped up with the aim of letting Lilly have a safe garden to play in. It's a really great result all round and it's been really rewarding to be part of it."

Formula E – the latest celeb-backed motorsport to hit global race circuits – has got off to a flying start with a dramatic collision in the final lap.

With its headquarters at Donington Park, in Leicestershire, and high-profile team owners Richard Branson and Leonardo DiCaprio, the brand new franchise got under way in Beijing, China, yesterday.

The first race of the season was won by Brazilian Lucas di Grasse, but only after lead drivers Nicolas Prost and Nick Heidfeld crashed in spectacular fashion in the battle for first place in the final lap.

"I'm very glad that Heidfeld is okay," said podium winner di Grasse after the race. "And that the car proved to be very safe, but I'm very happy to get this win."

Among the officials at the opening race, were six marshals from the Leicestershire circuit.

Ande Austin, Bill Butler, Pete Cox, Steve Evans, Mark Mills and Jim Whitaker all flew out to China to act as members of the extrication team – which looks after track and driver safety.

Marshal Steve Evans, from Glenfield, said: "Who would have thought that a team of six will be heading to Beijing for the first ever Formulae E Prix. Pinch me please, am I dreaming?"

The sport uses electric cars, which reach speeds of up to 225km/h (140mph) and features a host of former Formula One drivers Nelson Piquet, Jr, Jarno Trulli and son of the late racing legend Ayrton Senna, Bruno.

The next race will take place in Putrajaya, in Malaysia, on November 22.

Police hope to lift the lid on the murky world of 'faith healers' who promise cures for everything from cancer to marriage breakdown – for huge sums of money.

A team of officers has been put together to investigate the scale of the fraud in the city for the first time.

The Leicester Mercury is aware of a number of cases of people handing over tens of thousands of pounds to criminals who then say meaningless prayers or perform rituals for them.

An unknown number of tricksters are operating in the city, advertising in foreign language newspapers or by putting business cards through letterboxes or leaving the on car windscreens.

Many claim to be able to use prayer to lift curses, heal broken marriages and solve financial problems.

Others say they can cure illnesses including cancer and HIV.

Inspector Ben Gillard, commander of Leicester's Spinney Hill Park police station, said the team needed the community's help to trace the perpetrators.

Insp Gillard said: "People are being exploited and handing over large sums of money to these people.

"We want to work with the faith community leaders and other people in the community because this is not solely a police issue.

"As well as the money people are handing over to these people, another of the concerns is that some people may be going to faith healers to be treated for medical conditions instead of going to the NHS.

"By the time they go to the NHS their conditions may have worsened or can't be treated.

"Anecdotally, we are hearing that these people are coming to this country to practise their chicanery, concentrating on a particular area for a time and then moving on to somewhere else.

"We need the community's help to trace these people."

One Leicester man told the Leicester Mercury his wife handed over "tens of thousands of pounds" to a conman who promised he could heal a family rift.

He said: "I don't know how many of the healers there are in Leicester but there are a lot of leaflets being put through people's front doors and there are adverts in some community newspapers.

"They are exploiting religion, using peoples' faith to make a lot of money and they have to be stopped."

Leading members of the city's faith groups backed the police campaign.

Resham Singh Sandhu, chairman of the Sikh Welfare and Cultural Society and vice president of the Leicestershire Faith Forum, said: "As a community we have not done enough to raise awareness of this problem.

"We hear that some of these people who have 'salespersons' who are going around finding business for them. It is a crime and it is very well organised."

Suleman Nagdi, spokesman for the Leicestershire Federation of Muslim Organisations, said: "We hear horror stories, particularly of elderly or vulnerable people giving these 'healers' thousands of pounds.

"We have to do everything we can to educate people about this problem which is causing a lot of distress."

Leicester City Council's trading standards team monitors leaflets and business cards which are being circulated in the city, as well as adverts in some foreign language papers.

However, it receives only a small number of formal complaints.

Leicester Trading Standards manager Ron Ruddock said: "Many of the problems that faith healers claim to be able to resolve cannot be measured for their success.

"If they don't work, they will give excuses or simply ask for more money to keep doing it.

"They may say it hasn't worked because the customer didn't believe in it enough.

"Faith healing is no more than an another upfront fee scam but with a different front – it is a con that has been going on for hundreds of years in one form or another.

"This type of scam preys on the most vulnerable people and will offer to cure diseases or to mend broken relationships.

"Anyone with health problems should visit their GP and we would be very worried about people relying on a faith healer instead of proper medical care.

"For example, a faith healer advertising that he or she can cure cancer is an offence under the Cancer Act 1939, and we would contact any healer offering that to explain the law to them.

"There are genuine organisations out there for people who need help with their health or any other aspects of their lives.

"Do not line the pockets of fraudsters who make false and empty promises."

Information can be passed to Leicestershire Police on 101 or Crimestoppers, which is anonymous, on 0800 555 111.

Special report in tomorrow's edition of the Leicester Mercury newspaper

An eclectic mix of electronic music with a woodland backdrop has attracted thousands of revellers to Leicestershire this weekend.

The Zoo Project Festival, taking place in Donington Park Forest, features the best of house, drum and bass, hip hop and garage and introduces headline acts such as Groove Armada, Mr Scruff and Sasha.

The event, billed as an Ibiza-style festival, began on Friday and finishes today and has attracted music lovers from across the country.

Laser shows, tree house area and fire juggling and hula girls were also on hand to keep people entertained.

Ben Allen, spokesman for the festival, said: "It's been fantastic and everyone is so friendly.

"Stand or dance in the same place for more than five minutes and a beachwear-clad stranger will ask where you're from, how you're doing and which DJs you're looking forward to."

National Grid is due to start a 13-week gas mains replacement project in the Manor Road area of Oadby on Monday.

As the work is taking place in the pavement, it is not expected to cause traffic disruption.

However, as there will be excavations in the footpath, pedestrians will be advised to walk on the opposite pavement.

Leicester Tigers Premiership A League fixture at Northampton Saints tomorrow night has been cancelled.

A long injury list forced Leicester to rely on a number of young players for last week's A League game against Newcastle.

And with no improvement to that situation this week, Tigers feel they would have "had to compromise player safety in respect of the age of the team, particularly in the front row" if they fulfilled the Saints fixture.

As a result, the club feels it had no choice but to cancel the game.

A Muslim organisation from Leicestershire has urged people not to watch the brutal online video showing the beheading of British aid worker David Haines.

The Federation of Muslim Organisations (FMO) said it condemned the killing by the militant group Islamic State (IS or ISIS).

The terrorist organisation posted a video of the murder on YouTube.

But Suleman Nagdi, spokesman for the FMO, said people should not play into the hands of IS and watch the bloody execution.

He said: "We unequivocally condemn this brutal and savage murder and would urge everyone to refrain from viewing any video of this brutal act.

"David had gone to Syria to help co-ordinate the delivery of clean water, food and tents, in order to ease the growing humanitarian crisis in refugee camps near the Syrian border with Turkey.

"Our thoughts are with his family and loved ones including his young children."

In a statement put out by Downing Street, Prime Minister David Cameron said: "This is a despicable and appalling murder of an innocent aid worker. It is an act of pure evil."

Mr Cameron has called an emergency meeting to discuss the killing and is expected to make an announcement at midday.

Leicester Tigers director of rugby Richard Cockerill insisted his side would not get too carried away despite landing a huge Aviva Premiership victory at Exeter Chiefs.

The 24-20 verdict made it two from two this season and ensures the club head to age-old rivals Bath next weekend full of confidence.

Despite an early-season injury list that has led to them cancelling Monday night's A League fixture with Northampton Saints, Tigers fought back from a 14-7 deficit to record a second successive victory at Sandy Park.

And that dampened the home side's day as they greeted the opening of their newly-expanded ground with a first defeat of the season.

Tries from Ant Allen and Ben Youngs, plus some marvelous kicking from fly-half Freddie Burns helped Tigers get a grip on the game in the second half – and they never let go.

"Any away win is a good win and lots of teams will get beaten here," said Cockerill. "We would have liked to have been better so we wont get too excited about the result because there is a lot to improve on.

"We needed more accuracy. There were opportunities to counter attack in the first half but we executed poorly and our kicking game in the first half was a bit aimless at times.

"We have to get better at that. Those little bits in isolation aren't much but they mount up.

"But I felt that apart from the two tries, where we slipped off tackles near the try line, our defence was good.

"Our attitude to go to the line and tackle against a side that is dangerous with the ball, was good.

"In general play, we were pretty good and Exeter are a good side who are well-coached.

"There was a big build up for them with their first game at home this season and it was all about them.

"We coped with that pretty well and the game could have gone either way."

Cockerill allayed fears that Tom Croft's non-inclusion in the squad was a worry after the British & Irish Lions blindside flanker contracted a shoulder injury that has kept him out of the game since Edinburgh.

"Tom was fit. It is just that I chose not to pick up," said Cockerill.

"Jordan Crane has done all pre-season while Tom has not played since Edinburgh and only trained on Thursday in the build up to the game.

"He will come into the squad next week to start or go on the bench.

"We have a strong enough squad to leave Crofty out. I thought that was the right call today."

Breathalyser tests are being offered in pubs and bars in two

Leicestershire towns from Monday.

Customers in Coalville and Ashby will be offered breathalyser tests and alcohol calculators during national Alcohol Awareness Week.

North West Leicestershire District Council's Licensing Team is working with Leicestershire Police and Pub Watch groups in the towns to promote responsible drinking and raise awareness of the dangers of alcohol abuse.

Breathalyser trials will be set up so customers can test their intoxication levels and alcohol calculators mean people can easily check the units of alcohol they're consuming.

The council's night time economy officer also will be on hand throughout the week to give health advice to young people, and police officers will visit licensed premises to offer advice.

Inspector Helena Bhakta, North West Leicestershire police commander, said: "This event is run each year to raise awareness of the dangers of abuse of alcohol."

Councillor Alison Smith, deputy leader and portfolio holder for community services at North West Leicestershire District Council, added: "We want to make sure alcohol doesn't have a negative impact on our communities, especially young people, and want to make sure our towns and villages are safe places to enjoy at night."

Marie Kelleher of the Bulls Head and from Ashby Pub Watch, said: "It is very important to have a vibrant, varied, night time economy, where people feel safe."

Market Harborough's flagship arts festival has made a triumphant comeback to the town centre after a four year absence.

Arts Fresco returned at the weekend bringing vivid life and colour to the streets of Harborough in a cascade of performing arts, dance and sculpture.

Thousands of people visited the event yesterday which saw High Street, The Square, Church Street and Adam and Eve Street transformed with numerous performance hotspots.

Organisers said they were expecting up to 10,000 people to take part in the event.

It is the first time the event has been held in the town centre since 2010 - although it has been scaled down and held in other locations and took a break in 2012 and 2013.

Councillor Sarah Hill, who helped organise the event, said: "It's great to have it back in the town centre after all this time.

"The festival looks like it's been a roaring success, there's lots of people and families here.

"The performers are fantastic and there are lots of weird and wonderful things going on all over the town."

The festival cost about £30,000 to stage, with half of the money coming from the Arts Council and the other half donated by local traders and the council.

"Joules gave us about £10,000," said Coun Hill. "And then the rest is from local businesses which is great.

"It shows they want to support the event and are willing to contribute towards it."

The acts on show included giant dinosaurs, a tortoise show with no tortoises, comedy mime act Edmond Tahl.

Other attractions were live street furniture, circus skills to sand Sculptures.

Stalls with food and drink were also available for the hungry and thirsty visitors.

Nick Lee, 36, who teaches at Market Harborough Church of England Primary School, said: "It is great to see Arts Fresco back in the centre of town.

"There are thousands of people taking advantage of the good weather to have a good time.

"Everyone is smiling and enjoying bumping into the entertainers as they walk around."

Nick, who reckons he has been to every Arts Fresco, said: "It is a great free attraction and long may it continue."

Local traders were also please to see the annual event back ni the town.

Nilesh Vaitha, owner of County Crafts, in High Street, said: "Everybody is enjoying themselves and having a good time and the weather is nice so there's lots of people about.

"We don't necessarily do much more business during th festival, but it's still nice to see it back and see the town thriving again."

Firefighters were called to a house near Greenlane Road after two conifer trees caught light.

The blaze was reported by residents at about 10.30pm today.

Crews from eastern station arrived at the scene a short time later and found the flames had spread to the store room of a nearby shop.

They used three hoses to get the fire under control and left the scene at about 11.40pm

Watch manager Nick Stanborough was one of those at the scene.

He said: "We were called by the first crew who needed assistance because the fire had spread to a nearby property.

"We didn't need directions because we could see from the smoke coming from the trees where the fire was located.

"When we arrived the flames were quite big it looked fairly substantial."

Watch manager Stanborough said the cause was still under investigation, but the damage was mainly to the trees and some superficial damage to the rear of the shop.

He said: "It's not always easy to tell how these things started so we can't really say anything until the investigation has taken place."

No one was injured in the fire.

The chairman of the Institute of Directors (IoD) will speak about becoming a successful leader at an event this week.

Ian Dormer – who was born in Leicestershire and runs an engineering business in the North East – will be among the speakers at the East Midlands Young Directors' Forum annual convention on Friday, at the Radisson Blue Hotel, at East Midlands Airport.

The convention provides an opportunity for entrepreneurs and directors to gain industry leaders' insight into significant business issues.

Other speakers include Dean Walton, founder of celebrity mask business Mask-arade, and Lucy Herreras-Griffiths, of programme developer Kuku Apps, in Mansfield, who has created apps for organisations including the NHS, University of Leicester and National Space Centre.

Steve Walker, chairman of the IoD East Midlands Young Directors' Forum, said: "Last year's convention was fantastic.

"It is so important to cultivate and nurture the young directors of our region, by providing a supportive network and advice and insight."

To book spaces, visit:

www.iod.com/emidlandsevents

Three businesses are joining forces to launch a national wedding website which help brides and grooms plan their big day.

The City Rooms, Inbound Digital Marketing and Arch Creative – all based in the city centre – hope each business' expertise in weddings, digital marketing and web design will propel Ready or Knot to success.

Revenue sources for the site, which goes live on October 1, will include a supplier sign-up fee and advertising.

The City Rooms is a banqueting, events and wedding venue in Hotel Street, while Inbound Digital Marketing specialises in search engine optimisation, website design, PR and branding, from offices in Phoenix Square.

Graphic design agency Arch Creative, in Leicester's Cultural Quarter, won the small business of the year category at this year's Leicester Mercury Business Awards, and was a runner-up in the services category last year.

The business has seen turnover and staff double in recent years, thanks to contracts with the likes of Thorntons, Sekonda, Pretty Polly and Leicester City Football Club.

An off-shoot, Arch China, saw the first website launched in the Chinese market.

Kiran Parmar, who runs The City Rooms, was a finalist in the young business executive category at the 2013 Mercury Business Executive of the Year Awards.

He said: "Each business brings its own expertise and we're confident this will allow Ready or Knot to be one of the best wedding planning websites in the UK.

"Aesthetically, the new site is fantastic. We think brides-to-be will love the clean yet fun and elegant look of the site and appreciate its ease of use.

"As well as plenty of planning articles and supplier listings, Ready or Knot will have unique features such as a Pinterest-style function allowing users to save any photos, suppliers or articles they like for later.

"Of course there are many wedding directory websites out there, but we have full confidence Ready or Knot will be a wonderful resource for anyone planning their special day."

Among the things offered by Ready or Knot will be expert opinions of wedding suppliers – among them Matthew Oliver who is listed in Style Me Pretty's prestigious Little Black Book, Joanna Natalija White, a wedding photographer who is a collaborator for Italian Vogue, and dress boutique Helena Fortley, Perfect Wedding Magazine's "second best bridal boutique in the UK".

The City Rooms is set to host Ready or Knot's launch party tomorrow.

New roadworks around Loughborough town centre will begin next week.

Following work to improve pavements in Baxter Gate and High Street, contractors will be resurfacing the roads themselves, starting on Monday.

Road closures will take place overnight between 8pm and 6am until Friday, September 26.

Diversions will be in place and temporary bus stops will be set up for passengers who plan to use the service after 8pm.

Peter Osborne, Leicestershire County Council cabinet member for highways and transport, said: "We're trying to minimise disruption by carrying out the work at night and we would like to apologise for any inconvenience which may be caused.

"The resurfacing work on the roads is essential to repair their current poor condition."

Loughborough Town survived a nervous final day to win the Everards League.

They made sure of topping the Premier Division with a five-wicket victory at Market Harborough.

In the clash of the only two sides who could catch them, Kibworth beat Sileby by seven wickets – but it was not enough because Loughborough retained the 15-point advantage they took into the last round.

Appropriately, skipper Dips Patel hit the winning run to seal the club's eighth Premier crown in his 13th season in charge.

He is the most influential figure in the league.

More than six foot tall, he is a natural leader who encourages, cajoles, praises and exhorts his team – and they appear to have the utmost respect for him.

He is quick to go on the attack in his field placings, makes plenty of runs and he has the priceless knack of winning the toss with phenomenal frequency, particularly in games that matter.

For once, he lost the toss at Harborough and, at first, Loughborough struggled as home openers Joe Kendall (41) and George Clarke (42) shared a stand of 92.

But the middle order became bogged down as left-arm spinner Paul Fisher found turn and bounce to claim 4-26. He pulled a calf muscle in his right leg in his sixth over and for a time it seemed he would not be able to continue.

But he eventually hobbled in to take a wicket with his next ball and went on to complete a fine 10-over spell.

Zak Chappell made 57 and Harborough totalled 217-9 off their 50 overs.

Harborough captain Joe Gordon took a wicket in each of his first two overs, Loughborough lost wickets steadily and, at 132-5, the game was still in the balance.

But Tom Wells (81 not out) and Patel (37 not out) had few alarms as they shared an unbroken stand of 86 in 16 overs to clinch the game and the title.

At Sileby, the home side slipped from 75-1 to 82-5 and were eventually all out for 165 with Darren Shaw taking 4-36.

Greg Smith hit 84 and Shaw was 45 not out in Kibworth's successful run chase.

Readers have two more weeks to donate to the Mercury's Lapland Appeal.

Every year, national charity When You Wish Upon A Star treats seriously ill children to a dream trip to Lapland.

There, the youngsters will be able to meet Santa, enjoy huskie-sled rides and play in the magical winter wonderland.

This year, we are raising cash to help send poorly children from Leicestershire on the trip.

Maggie Falconer, who has worked at the charity for seven years said: "It's incredible to see the children smile.

"No matter how ill they are, they keep smiling all day long.

"They are all so inspirational."

Maggie has joined the children on the trip to Lapland half-a-dozen times.

She said: "Each time, the children get so excited.

"It's amazing to watch, you can tell. It's such a magical experience for them."

It is not only the children who deserve a break – the parents do too, Maggie said.

"The parents get to spend some real quality time with their children," she said.

"They get to watch, as their child laughs and plays – it's fantastic.

"It gives the children and parents something to look forward to. They both need that break.

"I still get goose bumps when I see the children's faces light up when Santa arrives."

It costs £900 to send a child and their parent or guardian to Lapland for the day.

Thanks to our readers' generosity, we have raised more than £1,500 so far.

You can donate to the appeal by filling out the form on this page and sending it, along with your donation, to: When You Wish Upon A Star Head Office, Futurist House, Valley Road, Nottingham NG5 1JE.

You can also support the appeal through our Justgiving page: www.justgiving.com/laplandappeal

We are organising a quiz night, which will take place on Friday, October 3, at The Exchange, in Rutland Street, in Leicester's Cultural Quarter.

The quiz will start at 6.30pm. Teams can be of up to six people and it costs £3 per person to enter.

We are also auctioning a Leicester Tigers shirt, which has been signed by the entire 2013/14 squad.

For more details about the Tigers shirt or to enter a quiz team, e-mail: yasminduffin@.co.uk

Ellistown & Ibstock United turned the tables on renowned giant-killers Hereford United with a battling 3-2 win at Owen Street in the first qualifying round of the FA Cup.

Ellistown were 2-0 down at half-time but responded after the break through Mandeep Bains, Ben Harris and Adam Joynson to claim a famous 3-2 win.

Blaby & Whetstone Athletic turned on the style to progress to the next round.

Stu Verrall cracked a hat-trick and Aaron Preston was also on target in the 4-1 victory over Tipton Town.

Barwell came from a goal down to win 2-1 at Coleshill. The hosts led at the interval but Danny Jenno squared matters before Alex Tomkinson netted the winner.

Coalville Town face a replay at home to Belper but they will feel they should have done the job at the first attempt.

They took a three-goal lead in the first half thanks to strikes from Liam Kay, Stuart McNaught and Alexander Dean.

However, the hosts produced a rousing second-half fightback to earn a 3-3 draw.

Shepshed Dynamo renewed acquaintances when they travelled to Sheffield FC of Evo-Stik Division One and were perhaps a little unfortunate to go out of the competition.

Jamie Hadfield put the home side ahead in the 35th minute but, within a minute, Dynamo were level through David Hind.

After the break, Matt Rooney (52) restored the Sheffield lead despite looking suspiciously offside and, when Joel Purkiss added a third on 68 minutes, it appeared to be game over.

Dynamo, though, hit back with Callum Thompson and Adam Vasey both going close to scoring.

With just three minutes left, Vasey did find the net only for time to run out as Shepshed sought a third and a replay.

Holwell Sports also bowed out of the Cup as they went down to a 4-0 defeat at Spalding.

Loughborough Dynamo picked up three points in the Evo-Stik NPL as they pipped Rainworth. Joe Pheasant grabbed a late winner, Nathan Watson's early strike having been cancelled out at the start of the second half.

Leicester Lions have parted company with their team captain Mads Korneliussen.

The Dane joined the Rapid Solicitors Lions from King's Lynn in the winter and made 28 appearances for the club.

Korneliussen scored three points in his final match for Leicester against his former club at the Jordan Road Surfacing Stadium last Thursday.

Lions will cover for his absence in their final fixture of the season against Poole Pirates on Wednesday with either a guest or rider replacement.

The decision to part ways with Korneliussen followed a crash he had in the home fixture against Swindon, when he had to withdraw from the meeting following an injury resulting from a fall.

"Mads had to miss his last ride after that fall, which was quite understandable and supported by the club," said Lions team manager Norrie Allan.

"He then rode the next day for his Polish club, dropped out of our fixture on Monday at Belle Vue which meant I had to cover for his absence with a Premier League guest.

"I was alerted to the fact that he then rode in Sweden on Tuesday and Denmark on Wednesday.

"It is never easy to part company with a rider, especially when it is your captain, who you look to set an example to the rest of the team, but our good wishes go with Mads and I thank him for the part he has played at Leicester."

The tale of a woman who fell to her death watched by 40,000 people when her parachute caught on a plane is one of the gruesome deaths featured in a new cemetery trail iPhone app.

Gruesome deaths is one of the fascinating search categories in the app which uses digital technology to retell the stories of some of the 200,000 people buried in the historic Welford Road Cemetery in Leicester.

Among those featured are Dot Cain, who died in 1926 after her parachute caught on the undercarriage of the plane she was jumping from. She slipped out of her harness and plummeted to her death at a public show.

Another is murder victim Alice Starkey, whose throat was cut in her bed by her husband, who was later hanged.

As well as the gruesome deaths category, the Welford Road Cemetery Trail app features information about famous people buried there, including Thomas Cook, the inventor of package holidays, and suffragette Alice Hawkins.

Using the app, visitors can tour the cemetery using a digital map, and select the graves to discover the stories of the people buried there, how they lived and where they came from.

Or you can complete the interactive tour while nowhere near the cemetery, which is about a mile south of Leicester city centre, on the A5199 Welford Road, within sight of the Leicester Tigers rugby stadium.

The app has been created by computer and app design specialists at De Montfort University's Digital Building Heritage Group for the Friends of Welford Road Cemetery group as one of 11 projects funded by a £71,671 Connected Communities research grant from the Arts & Humanities Research Council.

The Friends of Welford Road Cemetery group have carried out their All Our Stories research for the project thanks to a linked, but separately-funded £6,100 Heritage Lottery grant.

"The stories of nearly 200 graves and monuments are stored on the app," explained DMU technology lecturer Thom Corah, one of the team who built the app, "and you can narrow down your searches by various categories, including 'Gruesome deaths'.

"Each of these graves has a little pin on the map and you can call up more details and images about that particular person. For a good portion of the Victorian age, it was the only cemetery in Leicester so the stories of those people give you a good historical viewpoint of the era.

"It's not just famous people or the rich that we have on there but also normal people. Some of their stories are really quite eye-opening, about how they lived and died."

Opened in 1849, Welford Road is the city's oldest municipal cemetery and one of the oldest in the country, with about 213,000 people buried there and about 10,000 headstones. It is listed as a Grade II site by English Heritage in its register of parks and gardens.

The app has been designed so the tales of more people in the cemetery can be added by researchers.

"Because we built it from scratch, the app can easily be transferred to other projects," added another of its designers, Nick Higgett, principal lecturer in multimedia design at DMU. "We just simply need to load a different set of data, photos and graphics."

It has already been used for a Blue Plaques of Wolverhampton app, The Welford Road Cemetery Trail app was officially launched at the cemetery's visitor centre on Sunday, January 26. Both apps are only available for iPhones and can be downloaded from the Apple store.

ALICE STARKEY

Alice was 24 when her husband John Starkey slit her throat in her bed with a table knife in April 1877, despite a lodger being in the house that same night.

She was found undressed, lying on her stomach, clutching a table knife in her left hand with blood splashed around the room.

Her husband, a coachman, had some blood on his shirt, arm and foot which he claimed was from a horse's mouth. He claimed that Alice had committed suicide.

The case attracted national interest and at his trial it was revealed he had been seeing another young woman and had promised to marry her. He was found guilty and in prison confessed that he had secretly sharpened the knife and hid it under his pillow.

When Alice was asleep he had got dressed and cut her throat. She had woken up during the struggle and seized the knife but was finally overpowered.

John Starkey was hanged in Leicester jail by William Marwood, a celebrated hangman.

DOROTHY 'DOT' CAIN

Dot was killed in 1926 after her parachute caught on the undercarriage of a plane that was offering the public the chance to parachute. The tragedy was witnessed by a large crowd which had gathered at the Blackbird Road Stadium.

Dot's death in September 1926 made headlines across the world. Having been impressed by another woman who had recently made a parachute jump, she was delighted when Captain Muir, an experienced pilot who had made the first solo flight from England to Sweden, stayed at her parents' hotel before an exhibition flight.

The 25-year-old, who was married, made sure that she was picked to do a parachute jump from his plane. A crowd of 40,000 people, including her excited family, gathered in and around the Royal Show Ground in Leicester to see the exhibition.

At 1,000 feet, Dot jumped, clutching a bunch of white heather for luck, but her parachute caught on the plane's undercarriage and she slipped out of her harness and fell to earth. The heart-rending sight of her plummeting to the ground was captured in a photo printed in the local newspaper, the Illustrated Leicester Chronicle. Spectators were reported to have rushed in all directions with many witnessing the horrific sight of her hitting the ground. The first to reach her body was her father-in-Law Arthur Richard Cain.