Police and the ambulance service are currently dealing with a crash near Fosse Park shopping centre.

The incident, at the junction of Soar Valley Way with Everards Island, happened at about 3.15pm and involved two BMWs and an Audi.

The crash is causing tailbacks in the area. There are not believed to be any serious injuries.

A pub is reopening after a two-year closure and revamp.

The Bricklayer's Arms, in Welford Road, Leicester, will reopen in March following a £167,000 investment.

Dutch brewing company Heineken, which owns the pub, invested £157,000 towards the revamp and £10,000 was spent by the new lessee, the Venture Pub Company.

Therese Gallacher, director of Venture Pub Company, said: "We're delighted to have taken on the lease for The Bricklayer's Arms, which is our first pub in Leicester, and to be restoring the pub to its community.

"The soon-to-be new landlord of the Bricklayer's Arms, Paul Murphy, lives in the city so knew the pub of old. He alerted us to its potential.

"The location was what grabbed our attention. It's ideally situated near Leicester Tigers and Leicester City grounds and is just outside the centre, a convenient stopping off place for people wanting a drink, a coffee or a light meal.

"The area also has a large number of students and nurses, so we'll be putting on live music, as well as sports."

As part of the refurbishment, the pub will offer

Italian coffee, traditional pub food plus snacks.

It will also show live sports matches, and is aiming to attract more students, families and nurses as customers.

Chris Jowsey, trading director of Star Pubs & Bars said: "We're delighted that experienced and successful pub operator, The Venture Pub Company, has taken on the lease of The Bricklayer's Arms and that, together, we are investing in its long-term future.

"The new pub will brighten up the road.

"Heineken is a passionate supporter of the great British pub and has invested in pubs like The Bricklayers, which need ongoing investment to deliver excellent quality."

Hundreds of men are risking their lives by not taking up the offer of screening for a potentially fatal condition, according to a leading surgeon.

Akhtar Nasim, a consultant vascular surgeon at Leicester's hospitals, is concerned at the number of men who are not taking up the offer of screening for abdominal aortic aneurysms – also known as AAA.

In eight city practices fewer that one third of men over 65 took up the screening appointment.

AAA is a swelling, or aneurysm, of the aorta, the main blood vessel which leads away from the heart down through the abdomen.

If the aneurysm bursts it causes internal bleeding and is usually fatal.

Mr Nasim, who is also head of the vascular and endovascular surgery service at Leicester's hospitals, said: "I am concerned that wepoor attendance in some parts of our catchment area.

"We treat about 150 patients a year with this condition and the majority who need treatment will be offered keyhole surgery, which is a very safe procedure.

"I am worried that the men that do not attend maybe those most likely to suffer from the condition."

Colin Turner, from Eyres Monsell, is one of the lucky ones.

He is a patient at the Pasley Road Health Centre where 32 per cent of men over 65 did not attend a screening appointment between 2013 and 2014.

But the 71-year-old decided to have a check up in July 2013.

As a result he was foundhave a large aneurysm.

Mr Turner said: "I had a scan and got a call to say that the surgeon could operate the next day.

"It turned out my aneurysm was the size of a drain but I was able to have keyhole surgery.

"I was only in hospital for a couple of days. It didn't feel like a major operation – it was rather like having your tonsils out."

Mr Turner, a retired draughtsman, added: "If it had burst I could have been dead in an hour, without treatment.

"Since the operation I have spoken to so many people who have the same thing.

"Men shouldn't put off the screening. It could save their lives."

A national screening programme was begun in 2009, with Leicester being one of the first areas and coverage throughout England was completed in April 2013.

Smoking really was the habit of a lifetime for Leicester City Councillor Annette Byrne.

She was a smoker for more than 50 years but a year ago she decided to pack up for good.

The 66-year-old, from Mowmacre, is delighted with her new status and is backing the Leicester Mercury's campaign to persuade more people to quit.

Annette said: "If I can do it, anyone can do it.

"I feel so much better since I gave up. I am asthmatic anyway and not smoking has really helped – my breathing is a lot easier."

She is not exactly sure what made her decide to kick the habit.

Annette said: "I did use to 'growl' in the morning. I couldn't speak until I had had a cup of tea and a fag.

"One morning, about a year ago, I thought I would give quitting a go."

She had begun smoking as a teenager because "everyone did."

Annette said: "I do regret that first cigarette. In those days, you could buy them in packets of five which I did but it was soon getting up to around 30 a day."

Although she had some cigarettes in the house, Annette put them in a drawer and began the first day of her life as a "non-smoker."

She said: "The first day wasn't too bad. I was very busy with council work.

"Of course there were days when things get on top of you and you think it would be good to have a cigarette.

"The time I miss them the most is when I sit down with a cup of tea after a busy day."

Annette added: "I didn't make myself any promises. I just

decided to take each day as it comes."

She has not looked back and is hoping others will follow her example.

Annette said: "When we were on holiday last year there were a lot of people standing outside having a cigarette and it was so good not to be one of those people, especially having to go out in the cold and the rain."

Although she gave up on her own, without the help of the Stop smoking service, Annette admits it was not always easy.

She said: "I had a lot of help and encouragement from my family.

"But it can be extremely hard and it does take a lot of willpower.

"There is a lot of help out there for those people wanting to give up."

Contact details for the Stop smoking service and to join the campaign

To join the campaign: Call the service on 0116 295 4141 or text 07717 420 560 and a Stop smoking advisor will call back.

People can also e mail Louise.ross@leicspart.nhs.uk.

The Leicester Mercury is also looking for people to share their quit stories and the stories of those supporting quitters.

To do this, or just to pledge support for the campaign e mail patients@leicestermercury.co.uk

A picture of helpful graffiti scrawled across a pay-for-cash ATM, which directed people to the nearest free machine, has gone viral on Twitter.

The cash machine in Glasgow, Scotland, charges users £1.99 to withdraw money.

However, the map, which gives time estimates and directions, helps customers take a detour to save them money.

The picture was shared on Twitter by Stephen Kirkwood, 25, a music producer.

He told The Metro: "It's a bit ridiculous but I thought it was quite funny.

"I saw this random cash machine in Glasgow. Someone wrote directions to the next free machine on it.

"I think doing something like this sums up the city perfectly. It's ordinary people helping each other out.

"Getting charged to take out your own money isn't fair. The banks and businesses already take enough of it."

Mr Kirkwood tweeted the picture along with the comment: "Absolute genius. #peoplemakeglasgow."

Absolute genius. #peoplemakeglasgow#Glasgowpic.twitter.com/uH3XfuPQEe

— Stephen Kirkwood (@StephenKirkwood) February 17, 2015

The post has been retweeted over 1,300 times.

Have you seen anything like this is Leicestershire? Let us know in the comment section below.

Leicester fashion guru Gok Wan won star baker in the Great Comic Relief Bake-Off tonight.

Gok stole the title with his banana flavoured Geisha cupcakes, Comic Relief-themed profiteroles and his show-stopping Shard cake.

Tonight's episode was the second of four Great Comic Relief Bake-Off shows. Gok will compete against the winners of the other three episodes in a grand final on Friday, March 13.

In tonight's competition, Gok was up against model and TV presenter Abbey Clancy, TV presenter Jonathan Ross and celebrity video blogger Zoella.

At the start of the show, Gok said: "I'm going to win. I have got to win. Every single thing I do, I want to win. I can't even bear the thought of not coming first.

"Put it this way, last week I baked solidly for about 32 hours."

Show hosts Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry kicked off tonight's episode with the challenge of quick and easy cupcakes.

Gok said: "This is more nerve wracking than I thought it was going to be."

Nonetheless, his cakes were a hit.

Paul said Gok's effort was a great bake, and Mary liked his combination of banana and brazil nut.

Next up was the technical challenge, in which the celebrities took on Mary's classic recipe for profiteroles, updated with a red-coloured centre for a Red Nose Day twist.

Although Paul and Mary criticised Gok for the light red colour of his creme patisserie, his profiteroles were still a hit, and Gok won the challenge.

Mary said: "Well done. We would have liked the creme patisserie to be a little bit more red, but never mind, you have a lovely finish. You should be very proud."

Gok said of his challenge win: "I am really excited. I did not expect to win I have to say, and when they were tasting them, all I thought was, 'you know what, I reckon Abbey has got it now'.

"I'm made up because I've never made profiteroles before."

Finally, there was the show stopper challenge – a marble cake inspired by the bakers' favourite buildings.

Gok's cake was designed to look like the Shard, in London. It had a cocoa and vanilla flavour, and used chocolate sheets to create a chocolate version of the famous skyscraper.

He said: "I have made this before but it collapsed."

Gok said he gave the show stopper challenge "190 per cent".

"There is blood, sweat, tears and a little bit of glitter in that cake," he said.

Mary said Gok's marble cake had a stunning rise and wonderful shape.

Paul said: "I like that, it is a good sponge, nice flavour coming through.

"Well baked. I like your design. It is good, it is bold."

Gok was then announced as star baker, meaning he was the winner of the show.

He will appear on the final, An Extra Slice, on the evening of Red Nose Day, Friday, March 13. The four finalists will compete to win the ultimate 'champion of champions' title.

Councillors voted today not to reconsider the decision to close Snibston Discovery Museum.

Leicestershire County Councillors voted by a majority of 28 to 24 not to pass a motion to give more time to work with the Friends of Snibston to try to produce a viable plan for the attraction.

Picture gallery: Snibston Discovery Park protest

The full council, sitting at county hall, also agreed £81.6 million of savings and a 1.99 per cent council tax rise, as it set its latest budget.

Cuts to bus subsidies, household waste sites and road schemes are among the options that will now be looked at, to meet savings targets over the next four years.

The budget was carried by a vote of 28 to 25.

More than a hundred people staged a protest against the loss of Snibston Discovery Museum, which is due to close to the public on July 31.

Men, women and children waved placards and banners and shouted at councillors as they arrived for the 2.30pm meeting.

Brian Vollar, chairman of the Friends of Snibston, organised the noisy demonstration outside the entrance to county hall.

He said: "We need the people voting on Snibston to know how strongly lots of people think about closing it down."

Conservative-led Leicestershire County Council decided last month to shut the popular Coalville attraction as it could no longer afford the £900,000-a-year running costs.

Nick Rushton said: "We cannot afford to keep running Snibston Discovery Museum in its current form, at a time when we have to save £120 million by 2019.

"Over the last year, we have given the Friends of Snibston ample time and information to progress their alternative proposals but, despite three attempts, their proposals remain financially unviable. This judgement is supported by an independent assessor."

After the meeting Brian Vollar said: "We are talking to lawyers about the possibility of calling for a judicial review of the way the council has handled this matter."

The key headlines from the county council budget

The council is set to save £81.6 million over the next four years, including £35 million of efficiency savings

A 1.99 per cent council tax rise is proposed for 2015/16 - the first rise in four years - taking the council's share of band D bills to £1,084.

Government grant will reduce by £15.9 million, or 12.4 per cent, next year.

The council forecasts a £4.7 million budget shortfall by 2018/19 – down from £9 million, due to extra council tax income.

It is predicted that 700 full-time posts will go over the next four years 

More than 2,500 Leicester textile workers are paid just £3 per hour – well below the minimum wage - it has been claimed.

A new study has found the majority of the people employed in the city's garment sector earn less than half the legal hourly rate, which is £6.50 for those aged 21 or over.

These employees receive cash-in-hand and do not have employment contracts, meaning they can easily be exploited, according to research led by the University of Leicester.

The report said the majority of the employees were women, who suffered bullying, verbal abuse and threats in the workplace.

Dr Nik Hammer, the university academic who headed the study, said: "The findings of the research suggest widespread and severe violations of work and employment laws.

"This is compounded by working conditions where workers have complained about health problems, inadequate health and safety standards, verbal abuse, bullying, threats and humiliation."

Dr Hammer said the majority of the workers paid below the minimum wage had been in the UK for more than 10 years and held either British citizenship or had leave to remain and a legal right to work.

However, he said 70 per cent could speak English "only with difficulties".

"This explains why they work in this sector – language skills are not central, and among other reasons, it also explains why they find it difficult to switch to other sectors," said Dr Hammer.

Debbie Coulter, head of programmes at the Ethical Trading Initiative, which worked with the university on the report, said the conditions experienced by these workers was poor.

"It's never a label that's used by us in the UK or European context particularly, but I think people would see it as a sweatshop environment," she said.

Beverley Bambrough, of the Community union, which represents textile workers in Leicester, called for major clothing brands and store chains to do more to ensure workers at factories which supplied them were treated within the law and with respect.

"It may take some time to address some of the issues raised in this report, but nobody should doubt the urgent need for action," she said.

The report – the result of six months' work – found the average weekly household income of Leicester's estimated 5,000 textile workers was £229. There are believed to be about 250 companies in the city's textile and garment sector.

The findings come as the city and county have benefited from a revival in the textile industry in recent years as firms transfer manufacturing operations back to the area from overseas because of rising costs in places like China and India and increasing transport prices.

The East Midlands textile industry – in which Leicester makes up the largest chunk – grew by 14 per cent between 2008 and 2012, compared to a rise of 11 per cent in the UK as a whole.

City mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said he was surprised at the scale of the problem of city workers receiving less than the legal wage.

"I'd want to look very closely at the data they have got to see what they have based their figures on," he said. "I'd also like to see whether there's more that can be done to look at the conditions of employees and make sure they are paid the minimum wage at least."

The question on everyone's lips – who killed Lucy Beale? – will be answered tomorrow in a live EastEnders episode but has a plot leak led to the murderer being identified?

Bookmakers have seen several big money bets placed on Billy Mitchell, whose odds were previously as high as 80/1, but is now the 3/1 favourite, according to the Daily Mirror.

Ladbrokes, Paddy Power and Boyle Sports were all asked for odds on Billy Mitchell and several big bets from Ireland have been placed on the EastEnders favourite.

If it was Billy it would come as a huge surprise considering the character, played by Perry Fenwick, does not even feature in the BBC's list of 14 suspects who could have killed Lucy.

Jessica Bridge of Ladbrokes told the newspaper: "Billy Mitchell's odds have collapsed from being a rank outsider at 40/1 to favouritism at 3/1 in a matter of minutes, and Irish punters have backed Billy at every single price available."

Meanwhile, social media was awash with confusion after last night's EastEnders cliffhanger.

At the end of the live broadcast, Max Branning, who was dating Lucy before her death, said to his daughter Abi: "Lauren knows you killed Lucy."

However, it was initially unclear whether actor Jake Wood said the word "you" or "who" leading to complete confusion on Twitter.

He later revealed on Twitter that his line was indeed "you" but that has not stopped conspiracy theorists coming up with elaborate ideas on what happened to Lucy.

We want to know who YOU think killed Lucy Beale. Vote now in our poll here.

X Factor winner Sam Bailey wants to try her hand at acting.

The 37-year-old from Leicester Forest East, revealed her new direction when she appeared on ITV's Lorraine this morning.

The mum-of-three made the revelation as she spoke about being released from her contract with Simon Cowell's record label just 14 months after she was taken on by the music mogul.

She said: "I'd like to do some acting, no-one off The X Factor has ever done any sort of acting.

"I'm quite a comical person. On this tour everyone has said, loads of people on twitter have said, 'my goodness you are so funny'.

"I don't mean to be, that's just naturally me, I generally take the mickey out myself quite a lot.

"I've been acting for years, I went to performing arts schools so to go into acting or do something on TV would be just the icing on the cake. I just want to keep fingers in each pie so that I can provide for my family."

Sam, who won the X Factor in 2013, also opened up to presenter Gaby Roslin about whether she knew her contract with Simon Cowell's SYCO label would be renewed or not.

The former guard at Gartree Prison near Market Harborough, said: "I'm not silly, I've been around the block a bit, I kind of knew it was coming.

"I want to be recognised as an artist that's going to write some songs, which is kind of what I'm doing.

"As soon as the tour has finished I'm in the studio writing some songs so it's onwards and upwards.

"You know I like to see the positive in everything and I don't see this as a negative I really don't."

Sam, who is currently on a national tour, also spoke about daughter Miley and why she asked X Factor judge Sharon Osbourne to be her godmother.

Sam said: "Sharon has had my back from day one and she sort of knows I am a strong person and I'm a mum.

"She knows I'm a grafter so she's kind of helping me in that direction but I want her as a friend.

"I don't want her to be somebody there that's going to be doing all this stuff for me, I don't want her to be that person, that's not why I asked her to be Miley's godmother or anything.

"I asked her to be Miley's godmother because we have a special bond so I don't like to ask her for any favours."

Seven-year-old identical twins Kian and Luis King are fighting for their lives.

Both boys have an extremely rare genetic condition called Krabbe disease, and are desperate for a stem cell transplant.

Their parents and wider families have launched an appeal to get people to join the Antony Nolan register, which matches people who need stem cell transplants with donors.

Doctors at Birmingham Children's Hospital believe such a transplant is the only way to delay or to stop progression of the disease.

The twins' parents Laura Otter and Dean King are hoping people will back a donor recruitment drive in Quorn next month.

Laura, from Sileby, said: "We are looking for that person who can save Luis's and Kian's childhood.

"We don't have a lot of time. The sooner the boys are able to have their transplant, the better their quality of life will be.

"If we leave it too long, they will have irreversible damage or even have deteriorated too far to undergo such a major procedure.

"We just can't miss our window to give the boys a longer and happier childhood."

The twins' sisters, Ella-Mae, 11 and Shannon, 14, have been tested but are not a match for their brothers, so cannot donate any cells.

Without treatment, Luis and Kian will gradually lose their motor skills, as well as their hearing and sight.

Kian is already in a wheelchair and Luis depends on a walker to help him get around.

Laura said: "It is heartbreaking to watch.

"When children grow up, you don't really think about tomorrow, but with Luis and Kian you think 'they might not ever do that again'."

She describes the boys as her "miracle babies".

Kian and Luis had twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome in the womb, which meant one was getting more blood that the other.

They were born 12 weeks early, and spent their first three months in hospital.

Laura said: "Now, in lots of ways they are just like normal boys. They are football and car-mad and they love wrestling each other as brothers do.

"Luis is the cheeky one and he loves dancing to Olly Murs and Jesse J.

"Kian is sensitive and caring and has a lovely personality."

Laura and Dean, who have also been supported by the charity www.savebabiesuk.org, are hoping people will support the donor recruitment event, which runs from 4pm-7pm at Rawlins Academy, Quorn, on Friday, March 13.

More than 40 jobs have been axed after a vehicle repair and body paint firm was forced to close because of financial problems.

Allfleet Bodyshop Services, in Bakewell Road, Loughborough, ceased trading on Tuesday after going into voluntary liquidation.

The company, previously known as I&J Bodyshop, hit difficulties after a sharp drop in orders.

Liquidator Michael Roome, of accountancy firm Smith Cooper, said: "While the company had been successful and continued to trade for many years, it has been experiencing financial problems, and when the number of future orders did not reach the requisite levels required to return to profitability the decision had to be made to cease trading.

"Unfortunately, the directors were left with no alternative but to take the necessary steps to cease trading and commence redundancy steps given the circumstances.

"We are currently liaising with customers and suppliers to ensure that there is minimum disruption to their businesses and urge anyone with any enquiries to get in touch with us directly."

The company was founded in 1985 under the name of I&J Bodyshop, later merging with Alltruck Bodyshop and then rebranding to Allfleet Bodyshop Services in 2013.

The business offered a range of services, including commercial vehicle accident management and repair, truck and trailer refurbishment, new build and paints and specialist work for ambulance services. 

Last Sunday really hurt. Flying in the face of experience and logic, I harbour this little dream that Leicester City might lift the FA Cup in my lifetime.

I'm not mad. I know that there is no point in hoping that we can win the Premier League, or bag a European trophy.

But the FA Cup? That is on the outside edges of 'possible', isn't it?

The draw was kind, and a few giants were killed to ease the path to Wembley.

With half the Premier League sides already out of the competition, we faced a very poor Aston Villa side for a place in the quarter-finals.

Some 6,500 Leicester fans took to the M6 to watch a game that they could easily have watched at home, but City fans – especially those of a certain age – have a very special relationship with the FA Cup.

Because we have never won it, unlike Barnsley, Cardiff, Sheffield United, Oxford University, Blackburn Rovers, Notts County, Bradford City, Preston, Charlton, Burnley, Wigan and, most painfully, Coventry.

It gnaws away at you and has turned into some unattainable Holy Grail.

We should have won it. A club of our size and tradition should have it under our belts.

We have been in four finals, we really should have won one of them.

Apart from the fact that City have had 115 unsuccessful goes at it, many if not most of the club's finest moments, before the early 1990s, had been in the FA Cup.

Among the 6,500 who travelled to Villa Park there will have been memories of: Gordon Banks' incredible performance against Liverpool in the Hillsborough semi in '63; a 4-3 thriller at Filbert Street in 1968 when Manchester City were dumped out in a fourth-round replay thanks to the Herculean efforts of big striker Frank Large; the 4-0 win at Luton and the Joe Waters two-goal debut game at QPR during the Cup run of 1974; Keith Weller's white-tights wonder goal against Norwich in 1979; perhaps the club's greatest-ever game which saw a 5-2 win over Shrewsbury on an afternoon of high drama in 1982, that saw Alan Young and then Steve Lynex replacing Mark Wallington in goal and Jock's Foxes eventually running rampant; Richard Smith's late winner at home to Palace which ended a seven-year winless streak.

You would be hard-pressed to come up with a similar list from league matches.

Back in those days, the league was bread and butter and the FA Cup was the cake, before things somehow got swapped round.

City's five-man defence (the average age and mobility of which suggested it wasn't a 3-5-2) seemed very cautious against a woefully goal-shy Villa.

They were there for the taking if City could have summoned some of last season's attacking flair, but they turned out perhaps the worst performance of a miserable season.

What should have been a memorable afternoon ended with the away end serenading their players with "What a load of rubbish." And it was.

Leicester City are playing for their Premier League lives and must come out fighting, said midfielder Andy King.

City kick off the final 13 games of their season at Goodison Park on Sunday against an Everton side they faced on the opening day of the campaign.

King admits this season has been frustrating since that encouraging 2-2 draw at the King Power Stadium.

City are rooted to the foot of the table, five points form safety, but King said he and his team-mates were fully aware of the importance and magnitude of the final run-in.

"We've got 13 games left, 13 massive games and we're aware that we're playing for our Premier League status now," said King, who met young City fans at a community event at Guthlaxton College, in Wigston.

"It's about results now and we can't be happy with just good performances and nearly getting results.

"We're at the business end of the season and that's about getting results, which everyone is working towards.

"We've got to prepare right, which we do for every game, and make sure we're fit, raring to go.

"If we play as well as we can, go out there and show what we can do, then we're confident of going out and getting a win."

City head to Everton with striker Andrej Kramaric in good form.

The Croatian said his two goals at Arsenal and Aston Villa last week have boosted his confidence since his £7million move from HNK Rijeka last month.

"It means a lot for me and my confidence going into the next games," he said.

"I hope in the next game that I will score again and we'll take some points there.

"I know it will be a very hard match, but we will do our best. We need the points and we will do everything we can to win.

"We have to be focused on ourselves. I know that Everton have a great team of great players.

"It will be a very hard game but we need to give 100 per cent then we will hopefully win the game.

"We have to be positive. We will give everything to win some games and win some points.

"I believe in myself, my team-mates, my manager and all of Leicester City. I believe that we can do it."

The A6 is closed between Kibworth and Market Harborough after a crash involving three cars.

Three people have been taken to hospital - one with serious injuries - following the collision at 2.45pm today.

The incident happened to the west of the roundabout junction with Harborough Road, known as the McDonald's Island.

Police said two casualties had been taken to hospital in Kettering and one other to hospital in Coventry.

The road closure has caused tailbacks in the area. In a tweet at 3.50pm today, Area Traffic Control (ATC) said: "Recovery work might take a couple of hours. Huge queues!!!"

A community has rallied to the aid of a heartbroken widower forced into selling his furniture to pay for his new bride's funeral.

Stuart Williams, 52, of Asfordby, near Melton, only married Carol, his partner of 32 years, in a register office ceremony on January 31.

Two days later, the lung cancer mother and grandmother Carol, 55, had suffered from for two years, finally claimed her life.

The suddenness of her death left Stuart unprepared for the cost of her funeral.

Carol's dying wish was for a horse and carriage hearse to carry her body from their Burnaby Place home to St Mary's Church, in Melton, for tomorrow's 10am funeral.

Stuart was asked to pay £1,937 up front towards the £4,400 cost of the funeral to the Co-op Funeral Service in Melton and was warned the funeral would not go ahead if the payment wasn't made in advance.

He began trying to sell off household items including a three-piece suite, clocks and mirrors on the "Items for sale in Melton" Facebook page.

His poignant plea for people to buy possessions once treasured by the couple to pay for the funeral sparked a huge response.

Urging him not to sell his possessions, two women set up a Facebook funding campaign to pay the funeral costs.

In a week, hundreds of people signed up to it, with many going into the Co-op's Scalford Road, Melton, offices to hand over cash.

Regulars at Stuart's local, The Grapes, in Melton's Market Place, raised more than £1,000 in two days through donations, a raffle, bric-a-brac stall and online auction.

And today - less than 24 hours before Carol's funeral - Stuart and his supporters handed over £3,169.50 to ensure the funeral could take place, with Stuart agreeing a payment plan for the remainder.

An overwhelmed Stuart said: "I started selling a few bits on Facebook to pay for the funeral and since then it's gone mad.

"It's been a blur. Two women set up a Facebook page to raise money, people have been going into the Co-op with donations, holding cake stalls and selling bric-a-brac and jewellery.

"I can't get over what's happened and people's reaction to it, it's gone absolutely mad, I'm overwhelmed by what people have done.

"To be honest, I didn't believe it, when you've got a community that's prepared to get behind you like that."

He added: "Carol and I were only married on January 31 at Melton registry office and died two days later.

"She had lung cancer but we weren't expecting her to die so soon after the wedding.We'd talked about getting married a few times over the years and then a couple of months ago she said she wanted to."

Sharon Butcher, landlady at The Grapes, said:"The regulars raised £1,000 in two days, it's just unbelievable what they and the wider community of Melton have done. People have been incredibly generous."

Regular Vikki Scholes, 41, of Melton, said: "I couldn't believe how generous people were."

Fellow regular Kelly Southerington, 31, said: "It's just amazing how the community has come together."

A Central England Co-operative spokeswoman said:"The only payments requested up front are the fees that we pay for on behalf of the family such as cemetery or minister fees.

"No payments are made towards our professional services, until after the funeral is conducted, and we treat all clients with respect and care during this difficult time."

A potentially life-saving piece of equipment has been installed in a former village phone box.

A defibrillator has been donated to the village of Quorn, and fitted in a phone box in Station Road.

The equipment has been funded by the Joe Humphries Memorial Trust, with installation costs covered by Quorn Parish Council and Charnwood Borough Council. The Community Heartbeat Trust helped source a weatherproof cabinet for the defibrillator and will provide ongoing training and support.

Charles Poole from the Joe Humphries Memorial Trust said: "It's great news that this facility is available for use if it's needed in an emergency, with the community able to access it 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

"Getting a defibrillator to someone who is suffering a cardiac arrest can make a huge difference to survival rates. Sudden heart conditions can strike anyone, at any time – even seemingly fit and healthy young people – so it's vital that we bring more of these defibrillators out into the community. We'd like to see them become a common, everyday sight in towns and villages across the country."

The Joe Humphries Memorial Trust was set up in memory of Rothley teenager Joe Humphries, who collapsed and tragically died from sudden arrhythmic death syndrome (SAD) in October 2012 while out jogging.

The trust campaigns for greater awareness of sudden heart deaths, as well as providing CPR training, delivered by health professionals, for sports clubs and schools.

It also runs an awards scheme called Inspire aimed at helping young people to fulfil their potential by providing small grants for sporting, arts and community projects.

Quorn parish clerk Christina Gibbs said: "Quorn Parish Council were happy to help with this initiative to raise awareness of sudden arrhythmic death syndrome."

More and more defibrillators are being installed in village locations up and down the country, to help provide life-saving support if someone suffers sudden cardiac arrest. As well as the equipment itself, easy-to-follow instructions are provided on how to operate it.

To find out more, visit www.jhmt.org.uk

Sudden arrhythmic death syndrome (SADS) facts:

- 12 young people aged 12-35 in Britain die each week from SADS.

- If CPR is started immediately, done effectively (by a trained person with the victim lying flat) and a defibrillator can be used on the victim within eight minutes, the majority of people could be saved, without brain damage.

- The majority of deaths related to the condition are the result of undiagnosed irregularities or abnormalities of the heartbeat, which are known as arrhythmias.

- Most SADS cases have a genetic origin, with cases tending to come to light in teenage years and the early 20s.

- SADS can also occur for the first time in a family.

- Screening is available – if a problem is detected it can be monitored and treated.

- Every minute lost without CPR reduces the survival rate by 10%.

- Only 7% of UK people have first aid skills, compared with 80% of people in Scandinavian countries.

- There are 30,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in the UK each year and 27,000 do not survive the event (10% survival).