A barrister who regularly practised at courts across the East Midlands, including Leicester Crown Court, has been killed in a car crash.

Alastair Munt, 50, was pronounced dead at the scene after his Peugeot 208 was involved in a collision with a Range Rover in Nottingham Road, between Gotham and Clifton, Nottinghamshire, at 8.30pm on Tuesday.

Police have confirmed a 50-year-old man has been arrested in relation to the incident.

Mr Munt was a specialist defence barrister, who was called to the bar in 1989.

He was a member of KCH Garden Square chambers, which has offices in Leicester and Nottingham.

Concerns have been raised about potential noise disturbance from an events company in rural Leicestershire.

Thurlaston Country Park Ltd provides a venue for weddings and other functions on a farm near the village and has applied for a licence to sell alcohol and play music until 12.30am whenever they host events in a permanent marquee.

A number of people on the village have however complained to Blaby District Council which will today (Fri) decide whether to grant the licence.

They say the celebrations will be too loud and cause disturbance to nearby households and they are concerned about the impact of the traffic from hundreds of guests heading to the farm off Earl Shilton Road.

April Benbow, who co-founded the company, told the Mercury: "We are quite a new company and we really don't want to upset anyone. We really do want to be good neighbours.

"We have spent £30,000 on a sound system which directs the noise so it doesn't cause disturbance outside the marquee.

"We had to take out a loan to get it.

"We did this after consulting with the noise officers at the council.

"I've actually had a phone call from a party goer complaining the music was too quiet.

"Also on out tickets we direct people to get here coming from Earl Shilton rather than through the village."

The company is hoping to stage 10 events over Christmas and has weddings booked for the new year.

The council has received five complaints about the licence application.

Clerk to Thurlaston Parish Council Richard Currie said: "There's not really a problem with the alcohol licence. If there will be weddings it is likely people will have a drink but at previous events there has been a lot of noise until 1am.

"It's about quarter of a mile from the nearest homes but there's nothing in between so the noise cuts across to the village.

"There is also real concern about all the people who will driving through the village to get to events.

"There will inevitably safety issues especially on winter evenings."

Members of the council licensing committee will discuss the application this afternoon (fri).

Transport analysts have warned that a section of the M1 in Leicestershire will be the second worst affected road in the country to be hit by the Christmas road rush.

INRIX, a provider of transportation information, analytics and driver services, have said the M1 northbound section from junction 21 at Leicester to the M18 turn off at junction 32 will see delays of up to one hour and 25 minutes due to the festive snarl up.

Their experts say the normal travel time to cover that section is an hour but will take two hours and 25 minutes and the average speed of the traffic will be 25mph.

The survery says that the 60-mile stretch of road will be hit by those delays on Friday December 19, Tuesday December 23 and Saturday December 27.

Apparently the peak traffic times on those roads are about 4pm on the Friday, 12pm on the Tuesday and a little later on the Saturday.

The one hour 25 minute delay on the M1 in Leicestershire is only beaten by a section of the M25.

The 41.5 mile section of the M25 between junction 23 and junction 10 will face a delay of one hour and 40 minutes. It means the journey that should take 40 minutes will take two hours and 20 minutes.

The survey says that 35 million vehicles are expected to take to the country's roads ahead of the festive season. Friday December 19 will see the worst of the delays, which will peak at around 4pm as Christmas traffic combines with the usual Friday evening peak period.

There could be up to 20 million cars on the road throughout Friday afternoon as drivers leave work early or set off to spend the festive season away from home.

Traffic on Tuesday December 23 will peak at around 12pm, and after the normal quieter period of Christmas Day and Boxing Day, traffic will pick up again on Saturday December 27 as drivers head home after spending Christmas away, return to work or go shopping.

The worst affected roads will be major motorways, including the M1, M25 and M6, it joins the M6 (Halesowen and Birmingham).

Greg Hallsworth, lead scientist and traffic analyst at INRIX, said: "Drivers would be well advised to steer clear of driving in the afternoon of Friday

December 19 as this will be the busiest period on the roads this Christmas.

"There will be significant delays between 12pm and 6pm caused by a combination of the usual Friday evening post-work peak, the start of English school holidays and people driving home for Christmas."

Leicester City Council has refused a request to disclose legal advice it received about a boycott it approved of goods from Israeli settlements in Palestine.

Last month the council's Labour group proposed and voted through a motion to condemn the actions of Israel's government in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.

The controversial move has been condemned by opposition councillors and some members of the Jewish community who felt it was anti-Semitic - an accusation strongly denied by Labour.

Following the motion, a member of the public used the Freedom of Information Act to ask the council for a copy of all legal advice given in connection with the motion.

The council refused citing legal professional privilege that covers confidential communications between lawyers and clients.

Hospital volunteer Glynn Finney has completed his first marathon with a difference.

It has taken him a little over five months but in that time has walked over 27 miles of two hospital corridors to achieve a personal best and raise cash for Glenfield Hospital.

Glynn, from Braunstone Town and who has serious lung problems, set the challenge and began it on his 40th birthday.

He has always suffered from asthma and severe bronchial problems and struggled to walk more than a few hundred yards without getting out of breath.

But thanks to the pulmonary rehabilitation programme run at Glenfield Hospital Glynn has learnt to walk and pace himself.

His way of saying thank you was to complete a marathon length walk of the corridors at Leicester General and Glenfield Hospitals which he completed on Wednesday (Dec 17).

Glynn, a meet and greet volunteer at Leicester's hospitals, said: "I have done the walk in my own time and it has taken just over five months but I have now completed it.

"I have been overwhelmed at the support from volunteers, patients and staff as I went along.

"I do feel that I have achieved something."

He added: "The hardest thing during the five months was trying to walk when I was having a bad day.

"I do have a permanent condition and there were times when I felt fit enough but when I started wondered if it was such a good idea."

To date Glynn has raised more than £336 but still has donations in tins to count and an online donation page is still open.

The money raised will go towards buying a laptop computer for pulmonary rehabilitation centre at Glenfield Hospital, which helps patients with chronic lung problems.

Glynn, who is a support volunteer at the centre, said: "I went on the programme a few years ago and has proved life changing for me.

"The idea was to strengthen the muscles in the lungs to help control the condition."

He added: "On a good day I can now walk two miles and I have got back my independence."

But Glynn is still a little short of his target of £400 to help buy a computer for the pulmonary rehabilitation centre.

He said: "The sessions for patients are broken into an hour of exercise and an hour of education and we need the lap top for slide shows and to show DVDs.

Glynn is already planning a challenge for next year.

He said: "I can't say what it is until all the plans are finalised."

To support Glynn's fund raising text MTW074 with either £2, £5 or £10 to 70070 or go to www.justgiving.com/uhl26miles/

A member of the Royal family paid a visit to a Leicester business today.

Her Royal Highness, Princess Anne, Princess Royal, President of the UK Fashion and Textile Association (UKFT), spent over one hour meeting and chatting workers at Zatchels, in Charter Street, Leicester.

During her visit to Zatchels, which is a manufacturing business famous for its colourful satchels, The Princess Royal also unveiled a plaque to commemorate her visit.

Before unveiling the plaque she said: "It is really nice to have the opportunity to visit a British company who make very good use of the skills they have and maintain that passion."

Dean Clarke, co-owner and founder of Zatchels, said: "Naturally our workforce and our suppliers were delighted to meet her. During the tour, HRH The Princess Royal was able to see our staff at work during the different stages of the manufacturing process. Her Royal Highness enjoyed meeting and talking with people about their work and the special skills needed to hand make a Zatchels bag."

Phil James, 64, of Eyres Monsell, who is a product inspector at Zatchels and is due to retire next week, said it was a "privilege" to meet The Princess Royal during her tour.

He said: "She asked about my job – we were talking for about five minutes."

One of Leicestershire's best-known industrial firms has been bought by a private equity company co-founded by former US presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

Ibstock Brick, based Ibstock, north west Leicestershire, has been taken over by Bain Capital after being sold by building products giant CRH as part of a £414 million deal.

The company, the UK's largest brick maker, was founded in the north west Leicestershire village in 1899.

The business employs about 2,000 people at 24 UK sites, including scores of workers at the firm's headquarters in Leicester Road, Ibstock. It had been owned by CRH since 1999.

Bain Capital declined to comment on whether jobs would be affected by the takeover. However, UK brick production needs to rise to meet demand and closing and consolidating production sites is expensive and time-consuming. High transport costs also tend to make it less cost-effective to have fewer brick factories.

After being hit hard during the recession, Ibstock and its nearest competitors – Hanson, which has a factory in Measham, and Wienerberger – are benefiting from an upturn in the housing market.

Bain Capital has also bought UK concrete product makers Forticrete, of Bedfordshire, and Kent-based Supreme Concrete, as well as US clay business Glen Gery, from Dublin-based CRH as part of the same deal.

Mr Romney, who co-founded Bain Capital in 1984, is the firm's former chief executive. He has not been directly employed by the business for at least 10 years. Mr Romney stood against Barack Obama as the Republican US presidential candidate in 2012.

Bain already has a major presence in the UK, with major investments including Brakes, the food services firm, and Securitas Direct, which makes and installs security alarms for homes and business.

A windscreen repair firm will create 50 jobs next year as it aims to double turnover during 2015.

Nationwide Windscreen Services, based in Quorn, has predicted that turnover will increase from £5 million to £12 million next year.

The firm has also taken on three new contracts, including a £3 million ongoing contract with insurance company, Admiral, a three-year contract with fleet management firm, Lex Autolease, and an ongoing contract with Amlin insurance.

Managing director Stuart Sole said: "It is a great feeling to get recognition for the independent companies in the UK. The idea of an independent firm negotiating national contracts is a really fresh thing."

The firm currently has 55 glass repair branches in the UK and employs 20 people at its HQ at Clearview Business Park, Quorn.

Stuart said: "As a result of our growth, we are creating 50 technician jobs throughout the UK next year and we will be hiring a further three administrators in Quorn, plus several more beyond that, after hiring two administrators this year.

"We've also subcontracted our inbound calls to a call centre, called Fulcrum Automotive Solutions in Leicester Forest East, to cope with the demand. Four jobs at the call centre have been created as a result."

The firm's roots can be traced back to 1993, when Stuart set up windscreen repair business, All Screen, with his brother, Simon, after Stuart was made redundant from Rolls-Royce.

However, after a change in the law affecting fleet vehicle management within businesses, Stuart set up National Windscreen Services with sales director Andy Hodge, in Poole, Dorset, eight years ago.

"Due to changes within the law on business' responsibility of their vehicles, companies found themselves turning to fleet management companies to manage their vehicle fleets of all sizes," he said.

"This took the traditional work, e.g. local businesses working with local windscreen replacement firms, away from the independent sector, as these businesses were going to national firms instead.

"One of the purposes of NWS' original goals was to take this national work and filter it back into the independent market."

The business relocated to Quorn five years ago.

"For us to be able to reach the other areas of the country better, we had to be centrally based within the UK," said Stuart. "The East Midlands is a better place to be based for that, but also, it is a fantastic place to run a business."

All Screen was made the East Midlands arm of the firm and is now run by Stuart's sons, Daniel and Sam. Simon left the business three years ago.

Stuart said: "Our plans for the future are to continue growing. We are also looking for new office premises as we have outgrown the current space."

A fish pie-maker has been ordered to stop production after inspectors found mouse droppings and live rodents at its premises.

Neil Cavner and Sons Seafood Ltd, of Melton, has been prevented from operating as a food business until the risk to public health from the vermin is removed.

Leicester Magistrates' Court heard inspectors from Melton Borough Council found extensive mouse activity throughout the Leicester Road Industrial Estate building, including live rodents and droppings, during a routine inspection.

Chris Ashford, senior environmental health officer, told the court: "In the kitchen area I immediately found mouse droppings on food preparation surfaces, on shelving below equipment, in a cupboard containing food packaging and on the floor."

As the kitchen was being used to prepare and cook fish pies, Mr Ashford was concerned the mouse activity presented an imminent risk to health and asked the food-handlers to stop their work.

More mouse droppings were found on two shrink-wrapping machines, behind a fridge and vacuum-packer and in the cupboards under work surfaces.

"In one of the cupboards there was a large number of droppings, a strong smell of mice and I saw a bag of rice that appeared to have been gnawed.

"Later, when Mr Cavner was removing the food, I saw a mouse that ran down the back of the cupboard."

Mr Ashford found more droppings in the reception area, toilet, staff room, office and main delivery area and several points where the mice could enter the building.

He immediately served Mr Cavner with a hygiene emergency prohibition notice, preventing the unit being used for food production, and gave him a notice of intending to apply for an order from the court.

Leicester magistrates agreed to the order yesterday.

The company is still able to continue its main activity, selling fish and seafood at markets from a trailer.

Mr Cavner had contacted the court to say he could not attend the hearing because he was collecting fresh fish from Grimsby.

He did not oppose the application for the order.

The court heard that Mr Cavner had admitted he did not have a pest control contract in place.

He said he had called a company two weeks previously when he had noticed droppings, but they had not visited before the inspection.

Harjit Gill, for the council, said since then "there has been a deep clean of the premises and a pest control company has been employed to deal with the problem".

Agreeing to issue the order, the magistrates granted the council's application for £340 costs.

Mr Ashford said he intended to visit the site again as soon as possible to see if it was able to reopen.

Two fire crews were called to a house fire in Marina Road, North Evington, Leicester, last night.

The firefighters, from the city's eastern fire station, wore breathing equipment to tackle the blaze in a rear bedroom of the semi detached property shortly before 10pm.

They also checked the neighbouring property to make sure the fire had not spread through the adjoining roof.

The fire service say the fire was caused by "carelessly discarded smoking material".

Cases dealt with at Leicester Magistrates' Court include:

Clayton William Astill (27), of Castle Fields, Beaumont Leys, was found guilty after denying assault by beating on June 18. He was committed to prison for 18 weeks suspended for 12 months and a restraining order was made preventing him from contacting two named people and going to specified areas. Astill was ordered to pay £100 costs and a £100 victim surcharge.

Nathan Smith (39), of Berrington Close, Northfields, changed his plea to guilty to sending an offensive, indecent or obscene message or matter by public communication network in Leicester on August 1. He was fined £250 with £100 costs and a £25 victim surcharge.

Mario Balaz (23), of Mereworth Close, off Hastings Road, Leicester, was proven guilty in absence of using a vehicle without third-party insurance in Oliver Road, Rushey Mead, on September 9.

He was fined £600 with £85 costs, a £60 victim surcharge and six penalty points were put on his driving licence.

Laura Jean Brown (35), of Cotley Crescent, Cottesmore, pleaded guilty to exceeding 40mph on the A606 Burley Park Way, Oakham, on April 17. She was fined £100 with £85 costs and a £20 victim surcharge.

Brian David Burt (50), of Dunstall Avenue, Braunstone, was proven guilty in absence of failing to comply with a red traffic light signal at the A563 Soar Valley Way, Enderby, on April 23.

He was fined £200 with £85 costs, a £20 victim surcharge and three penalty pints were put on his driving licence.

Leicester's huge John Lewis car park was closed because of a vehicle fire this morning.

Three crews from Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service tackled the blaze on level five of the multi-storey car park at the Highcross Shopping Centre after being alerted to the incident at 10.35am.

Firefighters wearing breathing equipment are using a high-powered water jet to deal with the fire, in a  Vauxhall Zafira.

The fire was out by around 11.15am and fire crews remain at the scene damping down.

A spokeswoman at Leicester's Area Traffic Control (ATC)says drivers coming in to the city needed to find alternative parking while the incident was being dealt with.

She said:"It's a really busy day, so it's not good. Traffic was tailing back to Vaughan Way and St Nicholas Circle as people tried to find other places to park."

Sarah Salotti, 38, of Western Park, Leicester, said: "I'd been shopping and when I went back to my car I had to wait for 40 minutes.

"The communication from Highcross wasn't very good, they just kept saying there had been an incident.

"A woman I spoke to said there were people coming away from the car park crying, being comforted by staff."

Leicester City's Premier League games away at Everton and at home to Chelsea will be televised live by Sky.

City take on Everton at Goodison Park on Sunday, February 22, kick off 2.05pm, while the visit of Chelsea will now kick off at 5.30pm on Saturday, February 28.

The Chelsea fixture could be rearranged again should Jose Mourinho's men reach the League Cup final.

When it comes to Christmas songs, it's not classic tracks by Slade, Bing Crosby nor even The Pogues that get Leicester people smiling.

Santa Claus is Coming to Town, by '60s pop trio The Crystals, is the festive tune city residents and workers like more than any other, research suggests.

Information gathered by Vodafone and Spotify reveals the jingly track is the most streamed Christmas song on Spotify, across Vodafone's network in the city.

So here, for your listening pleasure, is the song itself:

Here's the full list.

Leicester's most streamed Christmas songs are:

• 1.Santa Claus Is Coming to Town by The Crystals
• 2.The Christmas Song by Nat King Cole Trio
• 3.Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays by N Sync
• 4.Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer by Burl Ives
• 5.Winter Wonderland by Jason Mraz
• 6.Frosty the Snowman by The Ronettes
• 7.It's Christmas Time All over the World by Sammy Davis Jr.
• 8.Wombling Merry Christmas by The Wombles
• 9.It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas by Harry Connick, Jr.
• 10.Silent Night, Holy Night by Franz Gruber

The UK's most streamed Christmas songs are:

• 1.Merry Xmas Everybody by Slade
• 2.Lonely This Christmas by Mud
• 3.Feliz Navidad by Jose Feliciano
• 4.Winter Wonderland by Bing Crosby
• 5.It's Christmas Time Again by Jessica Simpson
• 6.A Winter's Tale by David Essex
• 7.Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas by Ella Fitzgerald
• 8.Fairytale of New York (feat. Kirsty MacColl) by The Pogues
• 9.Santa Tell Me by Ariana Grande
• 10.Holly Jolly Christmas by Michael Bublé

Data was taken from the mobile streaming of Vodafone customers via Spotify during the period of 1^st-7^th December 2014

An extremely rare silver penny that was made in Leicester during the reign of William the Conqueror, has sold at auction for a whopping £4,200.

Valuers had expected the coin, made around the time when the Norman invader was compiling the Doomsday Book, to fetch up to £3,500.

But a mystery buyer beat that price by £700, yesterday (THURS), when it was sold at auctioneers Spink & Son, in London.

Auctioneer Richard Bishop said he believed the "excellent condition" of the coin secured the high price.

He said: "It's an absolutely beautiful coin and of a type that is very scarce. It's really lovely.

"In fact, I'd say its the best of its kind that I have ever seen."

He added: "The coin bears a profile of William, who looks very grumpy indeed, but it's very characterful.

"He looks like he's sucking on a lemon, I suppose he must have had a lot on his mind at the time.

"I think it was the penny's excellent condition that ensured it went for a good price.

"These type of coins, especially in such great condition, are highly sought after."

The silver penny was part of lot 526 in the ancient British and foreign coins sale.

It was put up for sale by a private British collector and was described in the auction catalogue as having a "rich, deep mahogany tone".

The coin was made in Leicester by a so-called moneyer, named Friothekest, sometime between the Norman invasion and 1087.

Jon Mann, a coins expert at Spink & Son, speaking to the Mercury last week, said: "It is possible he was of Danish descent due to his name and the fact that at various times the Vikings were in charge in Leicester.

"Friothekest would possibly have been a merchant or alderman who helped run various boroughs. He would certainly have been of some import."

He added: "These pennies were the lowest denomination of coin at the time but people managed to get round that.

"People would often cut the pennies in half to produce a halfpenny or even into quarters to give them a farthing.

"Because of this it is rare to see a silver penny of such quality."

In the late eleventh century ,when the

penny was made, Leicester was considerably smaller place than it is now.

At the time of the Domesday Book in 1086, Leicester was a small walled settlement, divided by two main streets leading to gates at the four points of the compass.

There were around 1,500 people living in 322 houses, in a town surrounded by open fields except to the north, where there were woods.

A spokesman for Leicester City Council's arts and museums service said: "We did not bid on this particular item.

"We have around 20 pennies from this period in our museum collection, including three which were minted in Leicester."

He added: "Visitors will be able to see some of these pennies on display at Jewry Wall when it reopens in the new year.

"Others will be shown at the new Medieval gallery which is due to open at the Guildhall hall in March 2015."

Leicester City face West Ham this weekend, hoping to end an 11-game winless streak in the Premier League.

The omens don't look good for City, who have beaten the Hammers only three times in the last 14 meetings between the clubs.

But, can you name City's scorers from these these last 14 clashes, starting with the most recent encounter, a 2-1 defeat in 2012, and going back to a 2-1 victory back in 1997?

A flasher who indecently exposed himself to two women and two teenage schoolgirls was jailed for four months.

The four separate incidents happened within 15 minutes, in the Braunstone area of Leicester, which left the victims reeling in shock.

Marius Blaga (30), of Fosse Road South, in the city, was arrested soon afterwards, Leicester Crown Court was told.

He pleaded guilty to four counts of exposure, on October 30.

Victoria Rose, prosecuting, said that at 3.30pm a 16-year-old schoolgirl had just got off the bus from school, with her 17-year-old sister, when a blue Renault Clio pulled alongside.

When the defendant wound the window down asking for directions to the city centre, she pointed the way and then realised he was exposing himself and behaving lewdly.

Her response was: "Oh my God."

She told her elder sister, who noticed he was "licking his lips like he wanted the girls to see him," said Miss Rose.

The elder girl did not see his lower half, but the sisters noted his registration number and immediately reported the matter to the police, as did the other complainants.

The next victim, a woman, had a similar experience, in a nearby road.

A 17-year-old girl then encountered the defendant as he lewdly exposed himself in his car, whilst asking for directions.

Miss Rose said: "She was extremely shocked and reported it because she was worried it would happen to someone else – which it did."

A woman encountered a similar situation minutes later, at 3.45pm.

Judge Simon Hammond said: "Indecent exposure is a very unpleasant experience for females, particularly the two schoolgirls, and it can be very upsetting."

He said Blaga would have to enlist on a sex offenders' register for seven years, unless he was deported, which was a matter for the Home Office.

Philip Gibbs, mitigating, said: "He's an industrious person and came here from Romania to do better economically.

"He had two jobs and was sending money back home to his mother in Romania.

"He was separated from loved ones and found he was isolated and lonely.

"It led to sexual frustration and what happened was over a very short period of 15 minutes.

"He drove about and he disgraced himself.

"He's deeply ashamed about what he's had to admit to doing.

"The victims appear to have been relatively robust.

"He may now face deportation."

Tom Croft and Tom Youngs both return to the Leicester Tigers starting line-up for the Aviva Premiership derby at Northampton Saints tomorrow (3.15).

The England duo both started on the bench in last weekend's Champions Cup defeat in Toulon but have a starting role at Franklin's Gardens tomorrow.

Graham Kitchener returns to the pack as Brad Thorn is ruled out by a calf injury, and Jordan Crane wears the No.8 shirt.

Marcos Ayerza will also become the 90th Tigers play to make his 200^th appearance for the club.

Teams:

Leicester Tigers: 15 Mathew Tait, 14 Blaine Scully, 13 Matt Smith, 12 Anthony Allen, 11 Vereniki Goneva, 10 Owen Williams, 9 Ben Youngs (c), 1 Marcos Ayerza, 2 Tom Youngs, 3 Dan Cole, 4 Graham Kitchener, 5 Geoff Parling, 6 Tom Croft, 7 Julian Salvi, 8 Jordan Crane

Replacements: 16 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 18 Michele Rizzo, 17 Fraser Balmain, 19 Sebastian De Chaves, 20 Robert Barbieri, 21 Sam Harrison, 22 Freddie Burns, 23 Miles Benjamin

Northampton Saints: 15 James Wilson, 14 Ken Pisi, 13 Tom Stephenson, 12 Luther Burrell, 11 George North, 10 Stephen Myler, 9 Kahn Fotuali'i, 1 Alex Waller, 2 Dylan Hartley (c), 3 Salesi Ma'afu, 4 Courtney Lawes, 5 Christian Day, 6 Calum Clark, 7 Tom Wood, 8 Samu Manoa

Replacements: 16 Mike Haywood, 17 Ethan Waller, 18 Gareth Denman, 19 Sam Dickinson, 20 Phil Dowson, 21 Lee Dickson, 22 Jamie Elliott, 23 Ben Foden