Police have caught 74 drink drivers during this year's annual Christmas crackdown – 34 fewer than during last year's operation.

The four-week Christmas campaign ended this week with the total number of arrests standing at 74 – compared to 108 during last year's operation.

However, Graham Compton, Leicestershire Police's road safety officer, said: "To be fair, it is down on last year and we take some comfort from that.

"But 74 arrests for drinking and driving is still 74 too many."

Four over-the-limit drivers were caught on Christmas Day while officers arrested seven on New Year's Eve, Mr Compton said.

He said: "It wasn't a good New Year's Eve.

"It was busy across the force with a number of incidents and we did have a number of calls from people reporting suspected drink-drivers.

"We finished up with seven arrests for drinking and driving on New Year's Eve.

"I would imagine they will start appearing in court in the next month and they will have to deal with the consequences of their actions."

Police have provided outline details of some of the arrests.

In one case, last Saturday, (DEC 27) officers spotted a person, who had been reported missing, driving toward their home in the west of Leicestershire.

Officers stopped the vehicle and the driver was tested at the roadside and gave a reading of 131mg of alcohol per 100ml of breath – the legal limit is 35mg.

The result was one of the highest recorded during the campaign.

Shortly after midnight on Sunday, December 21 an off duty police officer saw a man get out of a vehicle which had crashed.

The officer chased the suspect who allegedly turned violent, leaving the officer was an injury to his face.

The suspect was arrested from a nearby house on suspicion of assault, leaving the scene of an accident and drink driving.

Mr Compton said officers would still be patrolling the city and county looking for offenders, despite the concerted campaign coming to an end.

Four fire crews were called to deal with a fire in a bin compound in Leicester city centre last night.

Crews from Leicester's central and eastern fire stations went to flats in Oxford Street shortly after 9pm after an automatic fire alarm went off.

The ground and first floors of the flats were heavily smoke-logged, although there are no reports of anyone being evacuated from the building.

The fire crews, some wearing breathing equipment, dragged the bins clear of the compound and used fans to ventilate the building.

Leicestershire Fire and rescue Service said the blaze was caused by carelessly discarded smoking material.

Could you make 2015 a happy year for an unwanted pet?

Carers at Leicester's Woodside Animal Centre are hoping the new year will mean new hope for their furred and feathered charges.

Pets at the RSPCA centre range from Ronnie, a five-year-old mastiff-cross, to a litter of five baby rats.

Today, we are featuring some of the many pets at Woodside which are ready to bring love and laughter to the lives of new owners.

Centre manager Mandy Morris said one of the main problems when it came to finding homes for certain animals, especially some breeds of dog, were people's deep-rooted, but mostly unfounded, prejudices.

"They still tend to stay away from Staffordshire-type dogs, for instance," said Mandy.

"We have one, Angel, six years old, who has been with us since August. She has so much love to give.

"Another, Ronnie, is a neutered female mastiff-cross who came to us as a cruelty victim. Members of staff adore her.

"She needs one-to-one contact with an experienced owner to bring out her real nature."

Misconceptions about pets' needs and nature often lead to abandonment, and Mandy believes this is the root cause of unwanted rabbits being brought into Woodside.

"People think of rabbits as being suitable pets for young children," she said.

"But unless they have been handled properly from an early age they are not exactly child-friendly, as they can bite and scratch.

Cats' independence are among the reasons why so many owners adore them – but also why so many unwanted pets are brought to the centre.

"Take Diesel, for example," said Mandy. "He's a seven-year-old neutered male with a very independent nature, which some don't find attractive."

People not keeping creatures' breeding in check is top of the list of reasons why there are so many unwanted animals.

Woodside's aviary was home to 87 zebra finches, and while this number has now reduced to about 20, carers have to keep a sharp eye on the birds' ever-increasing numbers.

Mandy said: "You can't really neuter a zebra finch so the best we can do is watch them and then remove the eggs.

"The same applies to the family of rats we have just taken in.

"Some people love them and they do make excellent pets, but should be kept in single-sex groups otherwise you get too many to cope with."

Armed Leicestershire Police officers were in action twice in the early hours of this morning.

At around 3.30am an Armed Response Vehicle of the Tactical Dogs and Firearms Unit (TDFU)tried to stop a car at an undisclosed location.

A male ran off and was chased and detained by the crew. The car was subsequently found to have just been stolen at knifepoint

Around the same time an off duty ARV sergeant reported a suspicious vehicle in an un-named Leicestershire village.

An ARV and other Leicestershire officers stopped a vehicle and arrested a male on suspicion of drugs offences.

Both incidents were Tweeted by @LeicsTDFU.

A police spokesman said today both incidents were still being dealt with and no further information was being released.

Leicester firefighters were called to a city centre pub after a grill pan caught fire.

Three crews, from the city's central fire station went to The Marquis Wellington, in London Road shortly after 2pm yesterday.

A CO2 extinguisher was used to tackle the fire which caused a small amount of damage to the grill and kitchen area.No-one was injured in the incident.

Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service said the cause was accidental.

A son who hit his father on the head with a ceramic dish and tried throttling him during a drunken attack was jailed for 12 months.

Mark Lawrence Doolan, 26, shouted at his dad: "I want you dead, I will kill you" before he delivered the blows and threw property around the lounge.

The victim suffered a cut on the back of his head, a cut eyebrow and reddening on his neck.

Doolan admitted causing actual bodily harm and damaging his father's landline telephone and radio, on December 14.

Lynsey Knott, prosecuting, said the defendant had been living at his father's home in Coalbourn Close, Stocking Farm, Leicester, for about five weeks prior to the incident.

She said the father and son spent several hours drinking together in the city centre, before returning home at about 10pm.

Miss Knott told Leicester Crown Court: "The defendant appeared to be in a bad mood and became aggressive towards his father and shouted he would kill him.

"His father contacted the police saying he wanted his son to leave the house.

"Whilst shouting at his father, he picked up a ceramic dish and hit him on the back of the head with it and then hit him on the right eyebrow.

"His father fell to the floor.

"The defendant began strangling his father until he struggled to breathe.

"The victim later described his son as 'going berserk' and throwing objects around the lounge.

"The father contacted the police again and the defendant was still there when they arrived."

The victim told officers he was frightened he was going to be severely injured by his son.

Sentencing, Judge Michael Fowler said: "The victim was your father and it may be the emotional relationship between you was clouded by drink of the part of both of you.

"This was a serious and a sustained assault involving the use of a dish as a weapon.

"Your record of response to non-custodial sentences and complying with requirements of the court are lamentable, with breaches of community orders."

The court heard that Doolan's 21 previous convictions were mainly for dishonesty offences and breaching court orders.

Michelle Clarke, mitigating, said: "He's lucky the harm to his father wasn't more severe.

"It's regrettable he acted in the way that he did.

"It was a difficult relationship with his father and these two men should stay away from each other, or if they're going to have contact then alcohol shouldn't be involved."

Ms Clarke said that Doolan, who has recently been staying at a hostel in Quarry Avenue, Bulwell, Nottingham, had flourished with help and guidance of a key support worker.

A direct link has been discovered between English actor Benedict Cumberbatch and the man he will portray in the upcoming drama The Hollow Crown - King Richard III.

University of Leicester genealogist, Professor Kevin Schurer, who was instrumental in proving the identity of Richard III by tracking down his modern day relations, has now uncovered a link between Cumberbatch and the king - and shown them to be third cousins, 16 times removed.

It is estimated that between one million and 17 million people in the UK are related, in someway, to the former Plantagenet monarch.

However, Prof Schurer has discovered that the line of descent Cumberbatch shares with Richard III is much more direct.

He said: "He is more direct because he is a third cousin. Most other relatives would be much lower order cousins.

"I think the Queen would be a third cousin several times removed as well."

The English actor, known for his role as Sherlock Holmes opposite Martin Freeman, will play Richard III in the BBC Two drama series.

Prof Schurer traced the line of descent, originating from Edward III - Richard III's great great grandfather - all the way to Cumberbatch.

News of the link has come as a surprise to Cumberbatch family genealogist, Bob Cumberbatch, who said his namesake might well be related to more of his onscreen roles than he realised.

Bob, 51, from Kent, who is member of the Guild of One-Name Studies, said: My colleague Andrew Millard estimates that there is a probability greater than 99 per cent that a modern English person is descended from Edward III.

"However, he adds that finding documentary evidence of this connection is a completely different matter.

"Miriam Silverman, of Ancestry UK, discovered a connection between Benedict and Alan Turing and now the Leicester team have extended this to reveal a connection to Richard III.

"If Andrew Millard's conclusions are right then it seems highly probable that Benedict may indeed be related to many characters he has played and will play in future with some exceptions such as Sherlock."

At the beginning of December Prof Schurer and Dr Turi King, a geneticist at the University of Leicester, published a paper showing there was a 99.999 per cent probability that the remains found beneath a Leicester car park, in 2012, were those of Richard III.

The paper also revealed that there was a break somewhere in the line - although it is not clear where - which meant some royal claims to the throne over the past 800 years were in doubt.

"Personally I think it's fabulous," said Bob. "I have been following the DNA discoveries of Richard III with a very real interest and the recent Y-DNA announcement about his ancestral genetic illegitimacy will bring much interesting discussion, that is relevant to this very day."

Leicester City booked their place in the FA Cup fourth round with a 1-0 victory over Newcastle.

Leonardo Ulloa brightened up an otherwise scrappy game at the King Power Stadium, heading home Matty James's cross on 39 minutes.

Newcastle had thought they had taken the lead seven minutes earlier when Rémy Cabella had slotted past Ben Hamer, only to be denied by the offside flag.

Nigel Pearson's men were denied chances to double their lead late on as substitute Chris Wood had his diving header saved by Jak Alnwick before Wes Morgan's effort was deflected on to the cross bar.

City rarely looked troubled as they secured their first win at home since the 5-3 victory over Manchester United in September and made it three games unbeaten in all competitions.

Pearson had said he would continue to shuffle his pack as City played their second game in three days for the second time in just over a week.

He did just that, making seven changes to the side that came from two goals down to draw at Liverpool on New Year's Day, including a first-team debut for Tom Lawrence.

But the former Manchester United forward, starting the game out wide, was forced to move into a central midfield role as Esteban Cambiasso limped off with a tight thigh inside the first half an hour.

The youngster did have the chance to crown a dream debut when the ball fell at his feet inside the area after a fluffed punch from Alnwick. But the moment seemed to get the better of him and he shanked his effort.

Lawrence's impressive display was also tinged with a hint inexperience as his error allowed Vurnon Anita to break away, feeding Cabella, who was unlucky to see his finish ruled out for offside.

Newcastle's misery was compounded less than 10 minutes later when James's ball into the box found the head of Ulloa, whose headed off the underside of the bar for his eighth goal in all competitions this season.

City continued to put Newcastle under pressure in the second half, with the visiting fans growing continually frustrated with their sides' performance. The chorus of boos that rung out at the full-time whistle paid testament to that.

The hosts so nearly doubled their lead just after the hour when substitute Chris Wood's diving header, from a peach of a cross from Marc Albrighton, was saved spectacularly by a sprawling Alnwick.

The 21-year-old goalkeeper was on hand once again to deny Jamie Vardy from an acute angle but had his crossbar to thank to keep out Morgan's deflected header late on.

With two crucial home Premier League games with Aston Villa and Stoke in the next fortnight, getting that winning feeling back on home soil could prove important.

Teams:

Leicester City: (4-2-3-1) Hamer, De Laet, Morgan (c), Moore, Konchesky, Cambiasso (Albrighton - 26'), James, Knockaert, Nugent (Vardy - 70'), Lawrence, Ulloa (Wood - 59')

Unused subs: Smith, Simpson, Taylor-Fletcher, Mahrez

Yellow cards: Lawrence

Goals: Ulloa

Newcastle: (4-2-3-1) Alnwick; Santon (Satka - 59'), Williamson, Dummett, Haidara; Anita, Tiote; Riviere, Cabella, Vuckic (Roberts - 79'), Armstrong

Subs: Woodman, Bigirimana, Gouffran, Gilliead, Campbell

Yellow cards: Satka, Haidara, Tiote

Referee: Lee Mason

Attendance: 23,215

Jeff Schlupp's departure to the Africa Cup of Nations is in doubt after picking up a knee injury.

The City midfielder hurt his knee in the last few minutes of City's 2-2 draw at Liverpool on New Year's Day and was left out of the squad for the FA Cup third-round victory over Newcastle.

Schlupp is part of Ghana's 31-man provisional squad for the competition that begins on January 17 and was due to fly out for a week's training camp on Monday before the final 23-man squad was selected.

But Leicester City manager Nigel Pearson confirmed that Schlupp has had a scan on his knee and said the club would monitor his progress before allowing him to join up with his Ghana team-mates.

"I am not saying he won't go, what I am saying is we will see how he is this week before he potentially joins the training camp," said Pearson.

"He is our player and, while they (Ghana) may have the ability to utilize international rules and regulations about calling players up, we will make sure that his wellbeing is top of the agenda rather than meeting up for a training camp.

"We will see what happens in the next few days with him."

Leicester City manager Nigel Pearson has hailed the importance of his side's 1-0 victory over Newcastle in the FA Cup third round.

Leonardo Ulloa's header secured City's place in the fourth round to extend the side's unbeaten run to three games in all competitions.

Newcastle thought they should have had the lead when Remy Cabella slotted past City goalkeeper Ben Hamer only to have his goal ruled out for offside.

"There is no doubt that the Premier League is our priority but, of course, when you get a couple of decent results on the back of a run that we were in, it's always going to be important to get the right result," said Pearson.

"I could argue on their behalf that they could have been 1-0 up with a decision that on another day goes against us. That's the nature of the beast.

"I think we created some good chances. In the second half, we worked them quite hard. It was a bit of a scrappy affair but I do think we looked pretty dangerous throughout the game."

Pearson handed a first-team debut to Tom Lawrence as he and Newcastle caretaker boss John Carver both made seven changes for the game at the King Power Stadium.

"Today's game was an illustration of two clubs who have had to utilize the squad," said Pearson. "You have got a lot of players out there who have played a lot of football, a lot of players out there who have not had quite as much, so were not as fluent as they could be.

"So, it didn't make for the best game but I think we put in a very committed performance again, and it gave some players, who have not had a lot of pitch time the opportunity to perform.

"That's always going to be important for us because January and February are going to be very big months for us."

Pearson is going to have to use all of his squad as City picked up yet another injury with Esteban Cambiasso limping off with a tight thigh in the first half of the victory over Newcastle, leaving Lawrence to fill in in central midfield.

That means four of City's central midfielders – Cambiasso, Andy King (thigh), Danny Drinkwater (groin) and Dean Hammond (calf) – are all nursing injuries.

Riyad Mahrez is set to go to the Africa Cup of Nations, as is Jeff Schlupp although his departure is now in doubt after he picked up a knee injury at Liverpool.

Pearson confirmed Cambiasso had been brought off as a precaution.

"Danny Drinkwater had a scan the other day, and is not a long-term problem," he said.

"Andy King is out, but should be back by next week. Dean Hammond is out, he's got a tight calf so couldn't play today. So, we've got a few players to nurse through this period."

"I thought Tom Lawrence did well when he went in there."

Cold homes led to the death of a number of county residents, according to new figures.

Numbers from the Office for National Statistics show that in 2012/13 there were 490 more deaths than expected - known as excess winter deaths - across Leicestershire.

Provisional figures for last winter show that 1,600 people in the East Midlands died, primarily as a result of poorly insulated homes.

Excess winter deaths are often the result of older people being too cold during the winter, especially in rural area where there are often more older people living in houses that are less well insulated against the cold.

Age UK has now teamed up with OFTEC, the trade association for oil heating, to try and combat the problem.

They have produced a free information guide - Keeping Warm this Winter - which includes tips, advice, useful telephone numbers and helping with finding an OFTEC registered technician as well as advice on heating payment schemes for people over 60.

Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, said: "A dangerous combination of high energy costs and poorly insulated homes is leaving around a million older people struggling to keep warm every winter.

"Those living in rural areas are at even greater risk because so many properties are poorly insulated, making them harder to heat."

She added: "It is vital older people are aware of what support is available to help them stay warm this winter, which is why we have produced a handy booklet with lots of information and advice."

The booklet contains advice on keeping warm, including the importance of keeping the main living room heated to a temperature of around 21C and bleeding radiators to make sure the heating system is running efficiently.

Homeowners should also have their boiler serviced by a registered technician and consider replacing it with a modern, high efficiency boiler if it is more than 10 years old.

Malcolm Farrow, from OFTEC, said: "There is also a concern that rural households that use more expensive heating fuels, such as liquid petroleum gas (LPG) and electricity, have been turning down their heating in an effort to save money.

"While the 10,000 homes in Leicestershire that use oil heating have been benefiting from the lowest oil prices in more than three years there is still more that must be done to help older people struggling with their fuel costs."

For more information and to download the booklet go to www.oilsave.org or www.ageuk.org.uk

People can also call Age UK for information and advice on 0800 169 6565.

Golfers have launched a petition calling on Leicester's mayor Sir Peter Soulsby to rethink his decision to close one of the city's municipal courses.

The city council-run Western Park course will shut in October because the authority says it can no longer afford to keep open both that and the other public golf course at Humberstone Heights.

However Martin Cobb, a Western Park player and committee member, has launched a petition on the Change.org website.

It has been signed by nearly 200 people.

He has urged the mayor to listen to the results of two sets of consultations carried out on the future of the courses.

More than 750 people responded to the consultation on the proposal to close Western Park. Nearly two thirds of those said they were against the closure.

An earlier consultation in March saw 2,700 people share their view on the initial threat to both courses. The vast majority said the council should keep subsidising both.

Mr Cobb said: "The course has been part of the community in Leicester since 1910 and was renowned as one of the best municipal courses in the UK.

"The council has allowed the facilities at Western Park to decline over the last 10 to 15 years through lack of investment and poor management but the course still has a lot going for it and the layout of the course is as good as any in the county.

"The mayor announced that despite two public consultations in which the majority of the responses supported keeping the course open, the decision has been made to close the Western Park golf course.

"Valid arguments have been made to the council and to the mayor that would allow Western Park course to stay open as a viable business. However, they are not listening because the decision has already been made.

"That's not good enough.

"We understand that large cuts in governing funding mean the council has to review previously funded activities.

"We don't want the council to continue to fund the golf course for the foreseeable future.

"However, we do want the council to accept its responsibility for the decline of a golf course that until recent times has always made a profit.

"The course needs to be given a chance, as it is much better than it is given credit for. We cannot let this valuable asset be wasted without at least trying to make it work first.

The city council said it could no longer afford the £123,000-a-year subsidy for Western Park golf course.

Sir Peter said: "I listened very carefully to what people said but reluctantly I came to the conclusion that if we kept both courses open now in a few years time they would have to close.

"Having two municipal courses in Leicester is just not affordable and by investing in Humberstone Heights we can make it a success."

The matter will be debated at the next full council meeting later this month and a scrutiny committee after two sets of councillors chose to challenge the mayor's decision through the call-in process.

Sir Peter has said there is no plan for the golf course land after the closure, although he has admitted there could be development on some parts of it.

In the short-term it will be left as public green space. Some parts will be permanently kept as parkland.

Fire control staff in Leicestershire helped a distressed woman whose car overturned on an icy road into a ditch in Northamptonshire.

The woman had called for help on her mobile phone after the incident, between Cottingham and Corby, at 8.41am.

The nearest mobile phone mast picking up the woman's signal routed the call to Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service's (LFRS) control room at southern fire station in the Meridian Business Park, in Braunstone, Leicester.

While staff spoke to the woman, making sure she was okay and getting details about the incident, other staff alerted colleagues in Northamptonshire so they could get to her.

A LFRS spokeswoman said: "The lady was calling on a mobile and we often get calls from just over the border. While she was talking to us, we were getting all the details we could and passing them on to our colleagues in Northamptonshire so they could get to her quickly."

A Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service spokeswoman said: "The incident was on the Cottingham to Corby road near Blackthorn Wood Golf Club.

"It was a single vehicle on its roof in a ditch and the driver was out before we arrived. The road was later gritted because of sheet ice."

A sharp overnight frost on rain-soaked roads has left many untreated minor roads very icy.

Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service Tweeted a warning about patches of ice and thick fog, urging people to take extra care driving, to set off early and make sure windscreens are fully cleared.

LFRS later reported Melton fire crews were assisting a car that had left the road due to ice.

This afternoon Leicestershire Police called in county highways after reports that Kirkby Road, in Barwell, near Hinckley, was iced over.

This morning, Leicestershire Police were called to a single-vehicle collision in icy conditions on Snarestone Road, Newton Burgoland which partly blocked the road. 

For more than 40 years it has dominated Leicester's historic market place - a bit grubby, a bit damp, very smelly and not much liked by most shoppers and traders.

Tomorrow demolition workers will set about the task of reducing the city's defunct 1970s red-brick indoor market hall to rubble.

However before the bulldozers moved in, Mercury photographer Alex Hannam was invited for a last look inside the building, closed earlier this year, to provide some final, if not fond, memories.

Here's what he found as well as some Mercury archive pictures taken back in 1975 not long after the hall opened.

The huge old hall's fish, meat and dairy traders are all already enjoying life in its £3.5 million replacement - an attractive glass and timber pavilion built at the side of the market place's Victorian Corn Exchange building.

They have reported increased footfall and trade since escaping the dank surroundings of their former home.

Council officials say if goes according to plan they will be able to continue trading, with as little disruption as possible, while the indoor market hall is removed and the site should be cleared by the middle of this summer.

Then work will begin on creating a new public square in the vacated area as well as building an extension on the rear of the Corn Exchange as a potential cafe or restaurant.

Overall the city council is to invest more than £9 million in the rejuvenation of the city's market.

City mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said: "Even from when it first opened very few people agreed the indoor market was really fit for purpose and over the years it deteriorated.

"There was much talk about replacing it with some more pleasant and better suited to the needs of shoppers and the stall-holders "Nothing ever materialised and the traders pressed on in conditions that were pretty grim.

"I am delighted we have been able to provide a wonderful new building for them and that we can at last get rid of its predecessor and make use of the freed up site to create a new public square.

"It will be a huge transformation of a part of the city that has needed it for years."

Work on a £4.5 million sports arena for Leicester is set to start tomorrow.

The Leicester Community Sports Arena project will see a 2,300 seat sports venue built as a new home for the city's Riders basketball team.

The arena will be on a four-acre city council-owned former gas works site off Charter Street near Leicester College's Belgrave campus.

Bore holes will be dug to measure underground water levels then on Tuesday digging will start to five metres in depth so centuries of industrial contaminants can be removed from the site.

The clean-up will cost £750,000.

Riders director Kevin Routledge said: "This is a very important and necessary stage in the project, and we are now delighted to get on with the reclamation works.

"Working on brownfield sites involves a number of agencies, particularly as we are located on the Grand Union Canal, and the most thorough examination of all options have been considered.

"Since 1795 when the canal went in next to the site it has been used for all sorts, from lime works to boat building so there is a lot to sort out.

"We are now delighted to have been given the go-ahead and we can get on with the excavation and clean-up.

"That will then get the site to a condition that we can get on with the foundations and the building of the arena.

"Those foundations should go in in March.

The project is targeted for completion in late 2015.

The arena will also be used by Leicester Cobras Wheelchair Basketball Teams, but will also be a regional basketball centre of excellence, and serve as a large multi-use sports venue for the nearby college and the local community.

The city council will offer a 125 year lease of the site to Leicester Community Sports Arena Limited (LCSAL), owned by the Rider's charity (Leicester Riders Foundation), with the company paying a commercial rent for the site.

The city council will also put £1.5 million into the scheme as well as waiving the £1.2 million value of the site.

It will get an annual rental income of £40,000, reviewed every five years over a 125-year lease period.

City mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said: "We are delighted to be supporting this project. There is a lot of work to be done preparing the site and it will be some time yet before we start to see the arena rising.

"They have set themselves a challenging timetable."

The completed arena will create 16 full-time jobs and 36 part-time posts.

A 78-year-old Markfield man who was reported missing yesterday afternoon has been found safe and well.

William Small, also known as Bill, of Upland Drive, was reported missing at 4pm yesterday by his family.

Police would like to thank everyone for their assistance.

Motorists have paid more than £1 million in fines after being caught out by speed cameras in the past year.

More than 52,000 Notices of Intended Prosecution have been sent out this year to motorists caught speeding or jumping red traffic lights.

While many have resulted in drivers going to a driver education workshop or being sent to court, fines, which rose from £60 to £100 last summer, have topped the £1 million mark.

Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Road Safety Partnership spokesman Jonathan Clarkson said: "This year it is over a million pounds in fines that have been issued and by far the most people were caught by the cameras on the M1.

"The average speed check near Catthorpe has only been there since the late spring but they've caught more than 12,000 people.

"So next year, with those speed cameras on the motorway for a full 12 months, I wouldn't be surprised if the total figure is even higher.

"The important thing to stress is that all the money we receive from the cameras goes straight to central government and we don't just put cameras up willy-nilly."

People receiving Notices of Intended Prosecution for speeding included 2,324 people who were caught by the police mobile speed camera van on the A50 at Field Head, Markfield, where the speed limit was dropped from 50mph to 40mph last year.

David Sprason, the local county councillor, has been campaigning for the police to spend more time in Field Head.

He said: "I'm not surprised by the numbers at all. I'm often driving up Bradgate Hill when people go speeding past me.

"I'd still like the mobile camera to be up there more often to make the road safer.

"People taking their kids to school have to cross that road to get to the bus stop there and it's very important that the speed limit is enforced in that area."

After the M1 camera and the Field Head camera, the most offences were in London Road, Leicester, where 1,783 people were caught.

Elsewhere in Leicester, the westbound camera in King Richards caught 1,730, the Aylestone Road camera caught 1,467 and the southbound Tigers Way camera caught 1,227.

In other parts of the county, the busiest speed cameras were in Lena Drive, Groby, and Norman Way, Melton. The Lena Drive camera caught 1,448 offenders and the Norman Way camera caught 1,258.

About a fifth of those receiving fines had been caught jumping red lights.

The locations with the most violations was Soar Valley Way, Enderby, where 3,134 jumped the light.

In nearby Lubbesthorpe Way, 2,502 people were caught and other cameras catching between 100 and 900 people, in descending order of offences, were St. Margaret's Way, Leicester; Uppingham Road, Leicester; Leicester Road, Oadby; Lena Drive, Groby, and Woodville Road, Leicester.

Of the 52,074 Notices of Intended Prosecution sent out, 3,570 resulted in no further action being taken and just over 16,000 are still be dealt with.

Roses were handed out to city centre shoppers yesterday to celebrate the birth of the Prophet Muhammad.

Members of the Naqshbandi Arshadi Youth Association gathered at the Clock Tower to distribute 350 red roses.

The event, the first of its kind in the city, was held to celebrate the Prophet's birth and to counter many of the negative images about Islam reported in the mainstream media.

Association member Ahsan Ahmed said: "Together, we can represent the true character of Isalm through peace and love, building bridges in our community.

"The rose is the international symbol of love, compassion and peace. As Muslims we celebrate Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) every day and we constantly seek to adorn our ways with the remembrance of his perfected example."

He added: "At first people thought we were trying to sell them the roses, but when we explained what it was about and why we were doing it, people thought it was a good idea.

"It got a good reception. The roses went in about half an hour."

The event, called Mawlid - "Birth of the Prophet" - is celebrated in countries across the world.

Leicester Tigers went into today's Aviva Premiership game with Bath missing American international Blaine Scully.

The 26-year-old pulled out of the starting line-up on the day of the game and was replaced by Adam Thompstone.

There was a change in the Bath 23 too as Jonathan Joseph moved over in place of Semesa Rokodguni on the bench.

Leicester were seeking revenge for the 45-0 drubbing they suffered at The Rec back in September last year.

Second-placed Bath, meanwhile, were looking for a league double that would keep them in touch with leaders Northampton.