Leicester Mercury
TRUSTED FRIEND WHO STOLE OAP’S £16K GOLD NUGGET IS SPARED PRISON
A MAN who stole a £16,000 gold nugget from a frail elderly man who saw him as a trusted friend has been spared jail. Chris Darlison did paid gardening work at the Beeby home of Roger Bown, 86. In the summer of 2025, Mr Bown – who died later in the...
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TWO FACING CONSPIRACY TO MURDER CHARGES OVER CITY SHOOTING
TWO people have been charged with conspiracy to murder after a gun was fired into a vehicle. A firearm was discharged into a stationary car in Mulberry Avenue, Braunstone Frith, shortly before 11pm on February 3, 2024. A man in his 30s suffered minor...
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DAD LIKE A ‘CRAZED ANIMAL’ TERRIFIED HIS YOUNG DAUGHTER
A FATHER launched a terrifying attack on a car his ex-partner and four-year-old daughter had locked themselves into. Luke Davie, 34, of Cort Crescent in Braunstone, turned up at the woman’s address at about 10pm on August 8, in breach of a stalking...
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MAN ‘BEAT FRIEND TO DEATH’
A MAN “brutally and repeatedly” hit and stamped on a friend, a prosecutor told jurors as a murder trial began. Simon Geary, 49, of Sileby, pictured, was found dead in the kitchen of Graham Howard’s flat in Syston, on December 23. Prosecutor...
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FOUR HURT IN ‘HIT-AND-RUN’
A MOTORIST has been arrested on suspicion of drink-driving after four pedestrians were hit on the city’s inner ring road. The 38-year-old was in custody yesterday as police investigated a “non-stop collision” on Vaughan Way that left three men in...
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TYLER’S LEGACY: THE GIFT OF LIFE FOR FIVE OTHERS
A TEENAGER who died in a road accident gave the chance of life to five others through organ donation. Tyler William Barrett, 16, died after being hit by two vans as he tried to cross Welford Road in Leicester. He had signed up for organ donation just...
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RESTAURANT BOSS FLED HALFWAY THROUGH BREATH TEST
A RESTAURATEUR drinkdriving through Leicester sped off halfway through being breathalysed. Roberto Isella, who owns Ferrari’s in Quorn, had been seen driving along Belgrave Gate in Leicester city centre when officers watched him jump a red light,...
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TEEN THUG THROTTLED PREGNANT GIRLFRIEND
A TEENAGER released early from a custodial sentence last year is back behind bars after attacks on his girlfriend. Callum Cooper, now 18, had throttled the woman, who was pregnant with his child, and blocked her way out of his house, forcing her to...
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HEADBUTT VICTIM STILL IN HOSPITAL AS ATTACKER JAILED
A MAN headbutted in an unprovoked attack outside a pub while on a night out remains in hospital five months on. The family of 47-year-old Alistair Roome spoke of the devastating impact of the assault after seeing his attacker, who was overheard...
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HORROR ATTACK IN BACK OF VAN
A MAN has been jailed following a horrific attack with a power tool in the back of his van. Deen Garratt, 26, left his victim disfigured after using the equipment to drill into his face following an argument at a gender reveal party. Garratt had been...
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DRIVER JAILED OVER TAXI CRASH HORROR
A SPEEDING driver has been jailed for causing the death of a taxi passenger on her way home after celebrating her 60th birthday. Thomas Goulty, 36, had been going at 64mph in a residential area shortly before crashing into the taxi. Donna Brighton,...
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GRANDAD DIED AFTER CAR HIT BY SPEEDING DRIVER
A SPEEDING driver has been jailed over a crash which killed a grandad. Aaron Singh-Dhillon, 31, could not brake enough in time to avoid smashing into the victim’s car on Hinckley Road, Leicester.
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FIRM FINED £594K AS BOILING WATER SPRAYS WORKERS
A COUNTY firm has been fined more than half-a-million pounds after two workers were sprayed with scalding water as they fixed steam pipework. The men were left in agony and with serious burns following the incident at Kettleby Foods factory, in...
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HUNDREDS CALL FOR CLEAN-UP OF ‘PITIFUL’ RIVER SOAR
A CAMPAIGN to clean up the river which runs through Leicester has been backed by hundreds in its first week. People have independently reported the same issues of sewage debris, sanitary waste, foul smells, dead fish and overgrown, invasive weeds to...
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‘SHOW-OFF’ SMASHED HIS MATE’S £46K AUDI INTO A HOUSE
A DRIVER climbed behind the wheel of a friend’s high-performance car to show off – and promptly smashed it at speed into a neighbour’s house. Bailey Marshal-Nichols has now lost his licence – and likely his job – after pleading guilty to dangerous...
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ONE PUNCH AT BUS STOP LED TO DEATH OF PENSIONER
A MAN has been found guilty of manslaughter after a 78-yearold bus passenger was assaulted as he tried to alight at a bus stop. Darren Bakewell was waiting to get on the bus and got into an altercation with the pensioner, who he “thoughtlessly”...
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ROBBER IS BEHIND BARS AFTER PUNCHING BOY IN EYE
A ROBBER has been jailed for punching a 15-year-old boy in the eye - causing a detached retina and ongoing sight problems - then stealing his bag, writes Tom Mack. Hershdeep Grewal and three friends trapped the boy in an alleyway off Mere Road, near...
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WOMAN WINS BIN BATTLE BUT COUNCIL MAY KEEP ON
A PENSIONER issued with an £80 council fine over a bin she had not seen for more than a decade has been backed by a judge at a tribunal. Leicester City Council issued Jaya Patel 76, with the notice after doing a sweep of wheelie bins left out in the...
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‘YOU ARE ALL OVER THE INTERNET!’
A MAN who was filmed having sex on a Ferris wheel at a rock festival found out a video of the incident had gone viral when his boss called him and told him “you’re all over the internet”. Yesterday, Innes Miller, 33, appeared in court to admit...
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SERIAL THIEF TOLD TO KEEP OUT OF SHOPS
A PROLIFIC thief who stole alcohol, food and other items in a shoplifting spree has been banned from every Co-op store in the country. Kieran Chandler, 29, admitted eight offences – including thefts from five Co-op stores over three days – when he...
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HUNDREDS WAITING TOO LONG FOR DAMP & MOULD REPAIRS
MORE than 700 Leicester council homes have been left with mould or damp for too long as the local authority struggles to carry out urgent repairs within a legal timeframe. Officers at Leicester City Council admit the current performance “is not where...
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COUNCILS BORDER REVAMP PAUSED
CHANGES to city and county council boundaries have been paused by the government. Communities Secretary Angela Rayner told the Commons she was to look again at local government reorganisation “in light of legal advice”. Leicester mayor Sir Peter...
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37,000 PERMITS FOR WORK ON ROADS ISSUED IN LAST YEAR
ALMOST 37,000 permits for street or roadworks were issued last year, county councillors have been told. Last year, water companies alone accounted for 16,111 permits, up from 11,720 in 2024/25 – while t the total number has increased by 66 per cent in...
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PASTOR CAUSED HEAD-ON ACCIDENT
A WOMAN going home following a hospital shift caused a crash after overtaking on a blind bend. Irene Nwana, a clinician who also works as a pastor in Leicester, at first said the stretch of road where the crash happened was straight and she had not...
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STUDENT KILLER JAILED FOR 1O YEARS
A TEENAGER has been convicted of the manslaughter of a former friend and jailed for 10 years. Harper Dennis, 19, a University of Leicester student, stabbed Khaleed Oladipo, 20, on February 3, in Oxford Street, Leicester. After a two-week trial, a...
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THIEF GIVEN LAST CHANCE BY JUDGE BURGLED SHOP SIX HOURS LATER
A PROLIFIC offender given a last chance to avoid an immediate jail term by a judge burgled a shop six hours later. Jonathan Blundell, 37, who had 116 offences on his record, was given a suspended sentence on July 17 for breaking into Cafe Nero, in...
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EVERYONE IN FOR THE WINTER
LEICESTER is to be given nearly £1 million to help get rough sleepers off the city’s streets by Christmas. It is the first part of a £3.4 million deal for the city council, with the rest of the government funding to follow over the next three years to...
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MURDER INQUIRY AS ‘ASSAULT VICTIM’ DIES IN HOSPITAL
DETECTIVES yesterday appealed for any witnesses to an alleged assault in the city after a murder inquiry was launched. Their plea came as the family of 27-year-old George Glover paid tribute to a “much-loved, hard-working and focused young man” after...
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DEALER TOLD OFFICERS HE WAS ‘DEL BOY OF THE ESTATE’
A MAN who told police he was the “Del Boy of the estate” after being found with hundreds of pounds was just a crack dealer, his text messages proved. Brett Hawksley’s home in Bloomfield Road on Leicester’s Saffron Lane estate was raided by police,...
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‘I WAS FIGHTING FOR MY LIFE’, STAB TRIAL DEFENDANT TELLS COURT
THE defendant in a murder trial has told a jury: “I was basically fighting for my life.” Harper Dennis said Khaleed Oladipo – who suffered fatal injuries in a city street in February – “lunged towards” him with a knife and there was a struggle in...
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HEROINE OF THE LONDON MARATHON DIED AFTER AIR CRASH
LONDON Marathon robotic suit fund-raiser Claire Lomas died in hospital after her microlight crashed in Jordan, an inquest has heard. Ms Lomas, 44, pictured in 2018, “veered off the runway” and hit a large rock while landing the aircraft, on July 15,...
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CLOBBERED!
A MAN who was running a significant cannabis operation from his family home has been spared an immediate jail sentence - but has been forced to give up all his expensive designer gear. A judge at Leicester Crown Court ordered that thousands of pounds...
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IT’S A START...
LEICESTER City could have won comfortably at Notts County on Saturday afternoon. They could also have easily lost at Meadow Lane. So a 1-1 draw was a fair result. Jayden Joseph marked his first league start for the club with a goal, smashing the ball...
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FATHER WHO SET FIRE TO FAMILY’S HOMES LOCKED UP INDEFINITELY
A MAN who set his and his family’s homes alight has been sentenced to an indefinite hospital order. Karl Poxon started a blaze at his home, pictured, in Holywell Avenue, Ashby – while his three children were inside – on November 21. He then drove to...
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‘ARSON IS PUTTING LIVES IN DANGER’
FIREFIGHTERS say arsonists are putting lives at risk. Police are investigating a suspected arson in Granite Way, Mountsorrel, to which fire crews were called on Tuesday. Fire crews believe four small fires had been deliberately lit. A spokesman for...
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TWO BOYS ARE HELD IN MURDER INQUIRY
TWO boys have been arrested by detectives investigating a fatal stabbing in Leicester city centre. The two 17-year-olds were in custody yesterday after being held on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder. The arrests are in relation to the death...
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ANGRY TEEN VISITED CARE HOME ARMED WITH AN AXE
ARMED police swooped on a city care home in the early hours after a teenager threatened to break down the door. Zane Rose, 18, had earlier posted a picture of himself online, armed with an axe and saying he was heading to the care home in Spinney...
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‘KILLED BY SOMEBODY WHO KNEW HIM’
A STUDENT who died of knife wounds in the street was attacked by a former friend, it is alleged. The opening of a murder trial at Leicester Crown Court yesterday heard that 20-year-old Khaleed Oladipo, pictured, was stabbed five times in the chest by...
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£4M HOME WINNER: TOP PRIZE I’D HAD BEFORE WAS A CABBAGE
A DAD has won a £4 million Georgian villa in Bath. Wayne Wood, 64, of Loughborough, won the property and £250,000 in the Omaze Million Pound House Draw. He said: “The most memorable thing I’d won before this was a cabbage, in 1977.”
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PRISON GUARD JAILED OVER RELATIONSHIP WITH INMATE
A PRISON guard who had a relationship with an inmate has been jailed. Jahvine Kwamba, then 19, an officer at HMP Fosse Way in Leicester, met Roberts Sokolovs and they began a romantic relationship in February 2024. Sokolovs arranged for his...
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CALL HANDLING JOBS AXED AS DEMAND AT RECORD LEVELS
LEICESTERSHIRE Police has reduced the number of extra call handlers it funds, just as emergency demand hits record levels. The force brought in 26 extra call handlers in 2023, but the 2025/26 budget has cut the number of extra posts to 20. A recent...
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COMEDY FESTIVAL FIRM CEASES TRADING
LEICESTER Comedy Festival’s organiser has gone into liquidation, writes Dylan Hayward. The Big Difference Company ceased trading after months of difficulties, with acts from this year’s event in February – and staff – unpaid. City Mayor Sir Peter...
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ROBBER STRUCK AT CASHPOINT FOR JUST £20
A ROBBER attacked a woman he knew at a cashpoint to steal just £20. Craig Reeve’s victim outside the Co-Op in Aikman Avenue, New Parks, Leicester, was the mother of his daughter. Reeve’s daughter had been given £20 via bank transfer from her...
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‘ETERNALLY THANKFUL’
FIREFIGHTERS and their heroic efforts to save a warden’s coffin from a burning church have been praised by his bereaved family, writes Sam Kalantzis. The fire service was called to St Andrew’s Church, in Leicester, late on Tuesday, July 28, and about...
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EX-OFFICER ADMITS HIS ROLE IN PLOT TO SMUGGLE DRUGS INTO PRISON
A FORMER prison officer has admitted his role in a plot to supply drugs and smuggle mobile phones into a prison, writes Dylan Hayward. James Spiers pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges at Leicester Crown Court after abusing his position of trust while...
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KILLING ‘SHOULD HAUNT YOU FOR REST OF YOUR DAYS’
A MAN who punched 62-year-old James McKeown in a city park, causing fatal injuries, could have just left and avoided him, a judge said. Judge Timothy Spencer told Joshua Moore, 34, as he sentenced him for manslaughter, why he did not “is a question...
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SERVICE AS USUAL
SUNDAY service will go ahead at a Leicester church after a devastating fire destroyed part of its roof earlier this week. Leaders at St Andrew’s Church have confirmed the service will be held in the undamaged church hall. A church spokesman said: “I...
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COFFIN IS RESCUED FROM BURNING CHURCH
A COFFIN was rescued from a city church by firefighters after a blaze tore through the historic building hours before a funeral was due to take place. Fire crews were called to the blaze at St Andrew’s Church, in Jarrom Street, at 11.17pm on...
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NEVER OFF DUTY: CHIEF CONSTABLE ARRESTS TEEN ARMED WITH KNIFE
WHEN he spotted a teenager threaten another with a large knife, Temporary Chief Constable David Sandall, pictured, gave chase. The incident occurred after a football match in Burbage on March 22. Mr Sandall shouted at the suspect to drop the knife...
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BEER THIEF JAILED OVER ATTACKS ON POLICE AND STORE STAFF
A SHOPLIFTER who punched and spat at police and store staff during three violent incidents at branches of Tesco has been jailed, writes Tom Mack. Jack Johnson, 21, who had recently been kicked out by his girlfriend due to his drinking and drug use,...
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FATAL CRASH DRIVER CLAIMED VICTIM ‘KILLED HIMSELF’
A SCOOTER rider was killed when a car driver pulled out into his path without looking. Bryn Rudkin, 57, pictured, was unable to stop in time when 87-year-old Michael Gardner drove out of Ranksborough Drive, in Langham, on to the A606. He suffered...
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DRIVER WHO KILLED TEEN TWIN JAILED FOR 1O YEARS
A BANNED driver who had been inhaling nitrous oxide and drinking cider crashed, killing a friend and badly injuring himself and four others. Jack Reape was jailed yesterday for 10 years for causing the collision, on the A426 south of Lutterworth, on...
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MURDER INQUIRY AFTER STABBING
POLICE have launched a murder investigation after a man found with stab wounds died. At about 10.45pm on Wednesday, a police officer’s car was stopped in London Road, Leicester, by an injured man. The man, in his 20s, had significant injuries to his...
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‘NICK WAS A STATESMAN, HIS FIRST DUTY WAS ALWAYS TO THE PEOPLE OF THE COUNTY’
FLAGS at County Hall are being flown at half-mast following the death of Nick Rushton at the age of 70. The former leader of Leicestershire County Council spent 28 years on the authority, with nine as deputy leader and then 12 in charge. He stepped...
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MEMORIES OF HAYDEN WILL HOLD HIM CLOSE TO OUR HEARTS FOREVER
THE streets of a town were yesterday lined with people paying their final respects to a schoolboy who died in a lake tragedy last month. Motorbikes decked in the colours and livery of Hayden Jones-Powell’s favourite football team, West Bromwich...
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DRINK-DRIVER FLED AFTER CRASH THAT LEFT Pc UNCONSCIOUS
A DRINK-DRIVER left a police officer trapped and unconscious after crashing into his vehicle. Ramde Modhvadiya hit Pc Jack Murray’s vehicle at M1 Junction 21, on December 8 last year. Modhvadiya then fled. District Judge Rahim Allen-Khimini told him:...
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MAN JAILED FOR ROLE IN SECRET BROTHELS EMPIRE
A MAN from Leicester has been jailed for helping to run a nationwide brothel network hidden behind the fronts of massage parlours, writes Dylan Hayward. Khondakar Hasan, 40, right, of Morton Walk, Humberstone, kept the businesses looking legitimate,...
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DRUGS FEUD TEENAGERS JAILED FOR KEBAB SHOP MACHETE ATTACK
TWO boys attacked a man with machetes in a city centre restaurant as part of a drugs gang feud. The 16-year-olds, who cannot be named due to their age, went into German Doner Kebab, in the city centre, at lunchtime on January 15. They used machetes...
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THE CITY IS EXPANDING
THE government has approved the expansion of Leicester’s borders as part of local government reorganisation. The larger city – and a combined authority replacing the remainder of the county and Rutland – will come into being on April 1, 2028. The...
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POLICE FACE JOB LOSSES AS FUNDING DEFICIT GROWS
A GROWING budget deficit means police are likely to consider compulsory job losses next year, writes Dylan Hayward. The warning comes as the force battles a budget deficit projected to increase to £14.9 million by 2029/30. Although frontline officer...
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MAN WHO TRIED TO SMUGGLE FAMILY INTO UK IS JAILED
A MAN failed in his attempt to smuggle a family of four into the UK in the back of a van – and has been jailed for five years. Ibrahim Razak, of Groby Road, hired a van in Leicester and arranged for a Portuguese woman, living in Leeds, to do the...
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UBER DRIVER RAPED WOMAN HE HELD AT KNIFEPOINT
AN UBER driver raped a female passenger after stopping in a lay-by while driving her home in the early hours. Adam Daley, who brandished a knife, picked up the lone passenger, in her 20s, in the city centre and then raped her at the side of Soar...
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‘IT’S SOME OF WORST FOOTBALL VIOLENCE SEEN FOR DECADES’
TWO thugs from Leicester have admitted their parts in a night of football violence branded among the worst seen in decades. One officer was engulfed in flames from one of the flares thrown at police as they tried to stem the mob outside Villa Park, in...
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COME ON, ENGLAND!
An expectant nation prepares for massive World Cup clash It could be pretty exciting to watch, says assistant boss ALL THE LATEST AHEAD OF NORWAY CRUNCH
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STALKER SET FIRE IN FLATS WHEN POLICE WENT TO ARREST HIM
A MAN started a fire at his block of flats after police tried to arrest him for stalking his ex-girlfriend after she dumped him. Adam-Jon Reedman, of North Street, Barrow upon Soar, threatened officers with knives and boiling water before starting the...
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MAN PAID TO SEE YOUNG GIRLS ABUSED
A MAN paid to watch live videos of adults in The Philippines abusing young girls. Chris Sanders, 50, pictured, of Holliers Walk, Hinckley – a producer of horror films – admitted five counts of arranging the commission of child sex offences, which he...
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GAME ON!
COUNCILLORS have been caught watching one of England’s World Cup knockout games during an important meeting. The Mercury has been given photographs showing two councillors watching England’s win over DR Congo during Leicestershire County Council’s...
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£11M PLAN TO TIDY UP CITY UNVEILED
AN £11 million funding boost to rid streets of chewing gum and make Leicester “cleaner, greener, and safer” has been unveiled. Tidying up the city centre is first on the agenda. City mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said £650,000 will be spent recruiting 18...
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