Leicester Mercury
‘BOGUS MEDICAL CHECKS FOR DVLA CARRIED OUT IN BACK OF A VAN’
SIX people have gone on trial accused of involvement in a Leicestershire firm that allegedly carried out bogus DVLA medical examinations in the back of a van. A man from Hinckley and a Loughborough woman are part of the group accused of participating...
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POLICE CHIEF SORRY OVER FORCE’S HANDLING OF KILLER
THE head of Leicestershire Police has apologised at the public inquiry into the Nottingham attacks over the standard of his force’s inquiry into a warehouse assault a month before the triple killings. Temporary Chief Constable David Sandall gave his...
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VICTORY FOR WOMAN FINED FOR STAND AGAINST CASH CUTS
A WOMAN who refused to pay a £100 fine after campaigning against council cuts in Leicester city centre is celebrating after her case was dropped. Heather Rawling was hit with the fine in May last year after a council warden said her campaign table was...
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BARBECUE RAPIST HAS SENTENCE CUT ON APPEAL
A RAPIST who attacked a sleeping woman by climbing through her window following a barbecue had his jail term reduced after appeal judges ruled he had not planned it in advance. Antanas Jancevskis, pictured, had his 15-year term quashed at the Court of...
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NILA KILLER WAS OUT OF JAIL ON LICENCE
A DRUG dealer who stamped to death a stranger had been released from prison on licence a year earlier, a murder trial heard. Leicester Crown Court was told Chukwuemeka Ahanonu, 25, was freed from a two-year term in July 2024, having been found with...
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PRISON DEBT ENFORCER’S PUNCH KILLED INMATE
A PRISON enforcer killed a fellow inmate with a single punch over a debt incurred over illegal vapes. Damien Ward, right, who worked on behalf of criminal gangs inside HMP Fosse Way in Glen Parva, killed burglar Dennis Green last summer. His victim...
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MUM LEFT PETRIFIED BY THREATS TO FAMILY ON SOCIAL MEDIA
A MUM whose family were menaced on social media said she had been left “petrified” by the threats. The family were bombarded with threats by Bailey Hayes, of Beaumont Leys, after his brother was involved in a collision with a van. Messages to the son...
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PRINCESS OF WALES – AND GOLDEN MILE
THE Princess of Wales has made a surprise visit to Leicester’s Golden Mile. The visit to Belgrave Road saw the Princess tour family businesses, watch Indian dancing and sample chai at a family-run restaurant. Crowds gathered along the Golden Mile as...
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‘IT IS A MIRACLE YOU DID NOT KILL ANYONE’
THIS is the moment police arrested a banned driver who led them on a 80mph chase through 30mph areas. Adam Bennett, 22, who also ran red lights, crashed his BMW 4 Series at the end of a dangerous half-hour pursuit. Jailing him, the judge said: “It’s...
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WOMAN BEATEN BY NEIGHBOUR OVER £10 REFUSAL
A WOMAN who launched a group attack on a neighbour who had earlier refused to give her £10 has been given a final warning by a judge. Kira Newton, 40, took part in the assault on the woman alongside two accomplices. She led the attack after the trio...
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WINTER THE WETTEST ON RECORD
WINTER was the wettest on record in Leicestershire. Provisional data from the Met Office said rainfall totals for the three months to the end of February were about 70 per cent above average. Leicestershire was one of three counties, along with the...
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‘MY WEE STRONG FIGHTER FOUGHT THROUGH’
THE parents of a baby who overcame sepsis before two heart operations have launched a fund-raiser for the medics who treated him. Mum Sophie Robertson had been told to “prepare for the worst” when Kyran, pictured, got sepsis. But after the second...
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U-TURN ON PROPOSAL TO CLOSE SPECIALIST NURSERIES
PROPOSALS to close four nurseries for children with special needs have been dropped. Lift Beacon in Loughborough, Oasis Retreat in Melton and the Menphys sites in Wigston, pictured, and Sketchley Hill, Burbage, were to be closed under proposals from...
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VICTIM ‘WOULD HAVE HAD NO IDEA’ A KILLER WAS ABOUT TO ATTACK
WITNESSES have described the moment a man “ferociously” attacked a stranger. Nila Patel was fatally attacked in June last year outside Leicester Royal Infirmary by Chukwuemeka Ahanonu, who denies her murder but admits manslaughter. One witness told...
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KOHLI CASE POLICING IS REFERRED BACK TO WATCHDOG
POLICE have been told to look again at their handling of the death of Bhim Kohli after the case was referred to the policing watchdog, writes Dylan Hayward. Mr Kohli, 80, had previously been targeted by youths before he was fatally attacked in...
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OFFICER ERASED EVIDENCE OF KILLER’S ASSAULT AT WAREHOUSE
FOOTAGE recorded by a police officer responding to an assault by killer Valdo Calocane was deleted in error, a public inquiry has heard. The incident took place in Kegworth a month before Calocane, pictured, killed three people in Nottingham, in June...
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‘FAILINGS IN THE RESPONSE TO 2022 DISORDER’
POLICE and the city council should have responded better to the violence between religious groups across East Leicester in 2022, an inquiry has found. The report, compiled over nearly three years by academics from the School of Oriental and African...
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‘ANY MAN WHO HITS A WOMAN DESERVES TO GO TO PRISON’
A MAN attacked his girlfriend as she lay in bed, punching her repeatedly in the face. After the woman’s neighbour called 999, Radoslaw Kuchar, 41, told his girlfriend he would take her cat away if she told police what he had done. Judge Robert Brown...
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TALENTED RUGBY PLAYER WITH A HEART OF GOLD
TEAMMATES have paid tribute to a talented rugby player with “a heart of gold”. Jacob Hardwick, 20, pictured, died on Tuesday evening after he was involved in a collision on the A46, on his way to training for Leicestershire U20s.
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‘HOUSEMATE STABBING TOOK PLACE DURING ROW OVER CHORES’
A VIOLENT row between housemates over domestic chores that needed doing ended with one man in intensive care with stab wounds. The five men living in a house in Danvers Road, Leicester, had agreed to hold a 9am house meeting one day in August last...
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COUNCILS SET ASIDE £30M FOR REVAMP OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT
ABOUT £30 million has been set aside by councils towards the cost of local government reorganisation. Officers anticipate costs will arise from streamlining services, investing in IT and managing the changes when district and borough councils are...
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MURDER CHARGES AS POLICE SEARCH FOR GARY GOES ON
TWO people were charged yesterday with the murder of a man who has not been seen for almost two years. Yosif Ibrahim, 43, of Broad Avenue, Leicester, and Omed Firuzman, 25, of Ashley Road, Bournemouth, Dorset, have both been charged with the murder of...
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‘MURDER INQUIRY VICTIM’ NAMED
POLICE have named a man at the centre of a murder investigation. Police have searching a property in Broad Street, Evington, in connection with the disappearance of 60-year-old Gary Piatek, pictured, who was last seen in April 2024. Twelve people...
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UNITED IN GRIEF FOR KHALEED
UNIVERSITY staff and students have gathered to reflect and remember a student who died following a stabbing. Khaleed Oladipo, 20, right, a second year cyber-security student from London, was fatally injured on Tuesday last week. De Montfort...
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POLICE DIG STARTS AS 12 HELD IN MURDER INQUIRY
POLICE have arrested 12 people as part of a murder inquiry in the case of a man who has not been seen since for almost two years. Detectives, forensics officers and a tactical support team moved in on a house in Evington yesterday, with searches...
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POLICE FACE PROBE OVER RESPONSE TO SUMMER CAMP ABUSE
FIVE employees of Leicestershire Police are under investigation over the force’s initial response to reports of concern about the welfare of boys at a summer camp. The actions of two police officers and three staff members are under the spotlight over...
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MAN BANNED FROM OWN STREET OVER KNIFE THREATS TO NEIGHBOURS
A MAN who made threats to kill against his neighbours while armed with a knife has been banned from returning to his home street until 2031. Stephen Camfield, 45, who also shouted racist abuse during the incident, has been handed a five-year...
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‘A GROSS BETRAYAL OF TRUST’
A SUMMER camp organiser who drugged boys in his care so he could sexually assault them has been jailed for more than 23 years. Parents of Jon Ruben’s young victims nodded and some wiped tears as judge Timothy Spencer jailed him, telling him: “You were...
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TRIBUTES TO ‘EXTREMELY LOVED SON’ KHALEED
A STUDENT who died following a stabbing outside De Montfort University was an “extremely loved son”, his family say. Khaleed Oladipo, 20, a cybersecurity student from London, died in hospital on Tuesday evening following an incident in Oxford Street,...
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STUDENT DIES IN STABBING
AN 18-year-old has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a university student was stabbed in Leicester city centre. Police were called just after 5pm on Tuesday after a report that a man had collapsed in Oxford Street, close to the junction with...
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TEENAGE BURGLAR SCOURGE OF HOUSEHOLDS ACROSS COUNTY
A TEENAGER has been jailed for his role in a string of burglaries. Theo Ramsey, 19, and other members of his masked gang, would break into homes in the early hours, stealing cars and valuables. Ramsey, pictured, of New Fields Avenue, Braunstone,...
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DESPERATE BID TO SAVE TODDLER AS HE FELL IN RIVER
THE aunt of a tragic toddler who disappeared after falling into the River Soar has told of the desperate bids to save him. Two-year-old Xielo Maruziva was swept away by the current after he slipped off a bridge during a family walk. Yesterday his...
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‘THEY LIED ABOUT OUR DAUGHTER’S MEDICATION, HER CARE, HER DIET...’
A FATHER and his wife removed their daughter from her supported living after discovering footage of her care that left them “horrified”. Emily has a diagnosis of severe learning disability, severe expressive communication difficulties, epilepsy and...
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FOUR FOUND GUILTY OF MURDER IN DRUGS TURF WAR
FOUR people have been found guilty of murdering a woman in a drugs gang turf war. Joanne Penney, 40, was shot in the chest by Marcus Huntley, 21, after she opened the door of a flat she was visiting in Talbot Green, South Wales, on March 9 last...
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Pc GUILTY OF ‘A BLATANT DISREGARD FOR THE LAW ON DATA USE’
A POLICE officer sent details of a suspect to a friend, a court heard. In total, Pc Jake Olner, 34 – who resigned from the force – admitted nine breaches of data legislation in what prosecutors said was “deliberate and blatant” disregard of the law.
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‘250 POLICE OFFICER JOBS AT RISK UNDER TAX PLANS’
UP to 250 police officer jobs could be lost if tax is not increased by the maximum allowed, the force’s top officer has warned, writes Dylan Hayward. Police and crime commissioner Rupert Matthews is proposing to raise the policing part of council tax...
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SELLING THE CLUB IS NOT THE WAY TO EXIT
LEICESTER City chairman Aiyawatt “Top” Srivaddhanaprabha will not consider selling the club until successful times have returned to the King Power Stadium, writes Jordan Blackwell. In his first interview with local media in 10 years, Top, right,...
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18-YEAR-OLD PRISON GUARD JAILED FOR SEX WITH INMATE
A GUARD who had sex with an inmate and smuggled phones and a drug into prison for him has been jailed, Alicia Novas, who was 18 at the time, also told 31-year-old aggravated burglar Declan Winkless, both pictured, formerly of Kirkdale Road, South...
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CITY SACK CIFUENTES
MARTI Cifuentes has been sacked as Leicester City manager after defeat to Oxford United proved the last straw for the board. Fans turned on the Spaniard on Saturday, with shouts of “we want Marti out” – in front of chairman Aiyawatt ‘Top’...
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PCC’S MISCONDUCT HEARING IS KEPT BEHIND CLOSED DOORS
LEICESTERSHIRE’S police and crime commissioner (PCC) has faced a complaint relating to allegations of misconduct in office at a private meeting. This was despite challenges from the Mercury to make the meeting public. The police and crime panel’s...
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BURGLARY BROTHERS WENT ON A FOUR-MONTH NATIONWIDE CRIME SPREE
TWO brothers went on a burglary spree that saw them target homes across the country. Between October 2024 and January 2025, Danny, above left, and Terrence Casey, of Meynells Gorse, Braunstone, were linked to 37 offences. Their victims included a...
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BOYS, 16, CHARGED WITH CITY MURDER ATTEMPT
TWO boys have appeared before magistrates to face charges of attempted murder and carrying knives following an incident where a man was left bloodied in a city takeaway, writes Tom Mack. Leicester Youth Court heard that CCTV from the incident, at 1pm...
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SHOPLIFTING RATE IS ONE OF THE WORST IN COUNTRY
LEICESTER city centre has one of the highest number of shoplifting offences in England and Wales. The 1,453 crimes reported in the 12 months to March was the sixth highest total recorded nationwide. Shop workers said there is often nothing they can do.
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‘LONG WAITS FOR CARE COULD HAVE HARMED PATIENTS’
LONG waits for mental health care, averaging 133 days in May last year, could have harmed patients in the county, inspectors have warned. The Care Quality Commission rated community-based services for adults of working age in Leicestershire as...
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TEENAGER ATTACKED POLICE IN INTERVIEW ROOM
A TEENAGER punched a police officer in the face and then assaulted his female colleague when his interview turned violent. Aven Smith had been arrested after sending malicious messages to his ex-girlfriend, including threats to kill.
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DRUG DEALER CAUGHT BY HIS PROFIT PREDICTIONS
A DRUG dealer claimed to be just an addict – but was caught out by his calculations about how much money he was going to make for himself. Police found cannabis and ecstasy in Kurt Harris’s home in Belgrave, Leicester – and scraps of paper with profit...
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STUDENT 20, DIED IN RIVER
AN INQUEST has opened into the death of a student whose body was found three weeks after being reported missing, writes Dylan Hayward. The inquest into the case of Aryan Sharma, pictured, was opened by assistant area coroner Sophie Lomas at Rutland...
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WOMAN STOLE £21,000 FROM BOSSES AT FUNERAL DIRECTORS
A WOMAN has admitted stealing about £21,000 from her Co-op funeral director bosses – but will find out next month if the Crown Prosecution Service will pursue her for a higher total, writes Tom Mack. Personal funeral adviser Laura Gamble, 39, of...
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BOGUS TAXI DRIVER LOSES APPEAL OVER RAPE CONVICTION
A MAN who raped a woman in Leicester city centre after she got into his car thinking he was a taxi driver has lost his bid for freedom. Zaheer Shah, of Leicester, who was jailed for 15 years in 2024 after being found guilty at a trial, had argued that...
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AN URGENT CALL EVERY 21 SECONDS
THE ambulance service handled more than 4,000 emergency and urgent calls on New Year’s Day - a figure that breaks down to one call every 21 seconds. Between the clocks striking midnight and 7am on January 1, East Midlands Ambulance Service staff...
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THE BIG FREEZE STARTS THE YEAR
AN OFFICIAL cold weather alert has been upgraded from yellow to amber as the new year starts with widespread freezing temperatures. The alerting system from the UK Health Security Agency provides an early warning when adverse temperatures are likely...
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VICTIM IN HOSPITAL AFTER AN ATTACK BY BURGLARS
A MAN is in hospital with injuries to his face and body and after being attacked in his home by burglars. A number of intruders forced their way into the home in Warwick Street, off Tudor Road, in Leicester, at about 11am on Sunday. A spokeswoman...
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COUNTING THE COST
BUSINESSES say trade is down and deliveries cannot be made because of a large sinkhole in a city street, writes Dylan Hayward. The sinkhole appeared on Monday in Victoria Road East, in Humberstone, after a pipe burst. A worker at Hirix...
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WELL DONE SIR!
THE University of Leicester’s ViceChancellor has been recognised in the King’s New Year Honours. Professor Nishan Canagarajah is knighted for his services to higher education and his work championing inclusion. Two public figures from Leicester are...
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TRIBUTES TO ‘DEVOTED’ DAD WHO DIED AFTER PUB ATTACK
THE family of a man who died a week after an incident outside a village pub have paid tribute to a “devoted family man”, writes Tom Mack. Dave Darke, 66, had been the victim of an alleged attack outside The Crown Inn in Appleby Magna on December...
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SHE WAS AN INSPIRATION
TRIBUTES have been paid to assistant city mayor Manjula Sood, who has died at the age of 80. Mrs Sood, who was the first Asian woman to be Leicester’s Lord Mayor, died on Christmas Eve. Mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said: “She was a truly exceptional...
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MAN FACING MURDER CHARGE
A MAN was due in court today charged with murder after the death of a 49-year-old former serviceman. Police were called to George Toon Court, in Syston, just after 11.45am on December 23. Simon Geary, right, was pronounced dead at the scene. Graham...
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BABY’S FIRST CHRISTMAS - THANKS TO BRILLIANT FLYING DOCTORS
THE family of a baby who underwent lifesaving treatment just hours after she was born have thanked clinical teams at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust (UHL) for saving her life. Baby Amelia was diagnosed in the womb with a Congenital...
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HEADING OUT THE DOOR IN THE WINDOW?
MARTI Cifuentes says no players have yet asked to leave Leicester City this January but the manager did not rule out exits at the King Power Stadium in the new year. As the winter window nears, there are a number of City players whose futures appear...
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CITY ‘RUIN’ CHRISTMAS FOR STAFF
LEICESTER City staff are crying foul over a late change to their payday that some say has ruined Christmas. Employees who had been expecting their December salaries yesterday were told on Thursday they would not be paid until December 31. Staff said...
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BODY FOUND IN SEARCH FOR MISSING STUDENT
A BODY has been found following extensive searches for a missing Loughborough student, writes Dylan Hayward. Aryan Sharma, 20, right, was last seen on CCTV in Meadow Lane, on the outskirts of the town, at about 12.30am on Saturday, November...
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POLISH POLICE HAVE SUSPECT, INQUEST INTO MUM’S DEATH IS TOLD
POLICE in Poland have identified a suspect in the Malgorzata Wnuczek murder investigation, an inquest has revealed. An inquest into the death of the 27-year-old mum – who disappeared in Leicester in 2006 and whose remains were found in October in city...
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HUMAN REMAINS CONFIRMED AS MUM MISSING SINCE 2006
POLICE have confirmed that human remains found during a search in Leicester in October are those of missing mum Malgorzata Wnuczek. Malgorzata, pictured, was last seen on May 31, 2006. A police investigation into her death is continuing.
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WOMAN IS ARRESTED AFTER THREE DIE IN CRASH
A WOMAN has been arrested after three people died in a crash on the A46 between Thrussington and Sileby in the early hours of Saturday morning. A 37-year-old woman, arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving, was released under...
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‘I WANT HER TO DIE’ - SON AS HE STABBED HIS MUM 30 TIMES
A MAN who stabbed his mother to death in the family home and in the street outside as his father and a neighbour tried to stop the frenzied attack has been sentenced. As Daniel Cook attacked 72-year-old mum Ellen, below, he told his dad: “I want her...
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DANGER DRIVER LEFT E-BIKE RIDER WITH SEVERE INJURIES
A DANGEROUS driver who was over the limit hit an e-bike rider, causing life-changing injuries. Rahul Singh, 22, caused the crash while attempting to overtake on a bend in Forest Road, off Humberstone Road, Leicester, at 11.30pm on July 28. The...
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CITY TAX BILLS SET TO RISE BY MAXIMUM ALLOWED
COUNCIL tax bills in the city are expected to rise by 5 per cent next year – the maximum allowed. The move will add about £60 to the annual bill for households in a band A property. Mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said the council had moved back from a...
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‘MAN LAY DEAD IN POLICE CELL FOR 11 HOURS DESPITE REGULAR CHECKS’
A MURDER suspect reported to have taken his own life in custody was not discovered for 11 hours despite regular checks by officers, writes Dylan Hayward. Sebastian Zarnoch, 30, was found dead after being arrested over the kidnapping and murder of...
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THAT’S MORE LIKE IT, CITY!
JAKE Dennis kicked off Season 12 of the Formula E World Championship with victory in a dramatic Sao Paulo E-Prix after a late red flag. Pepe Marti, making his Formula E debut, caused the stoppage after a frightening accident in which his Kiro...
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BUS DRIVERS SET FOR FESTIVE PERIOD STRIKES
BUS services are set to be disrupted over the Christmas and New Year period after about 300 drivers and other staff voted to go on strike. The union Unite has served notice to Arriva of strike action across eight days, starting next week, in a dispute...
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