BBC News Leicester

Police in Leicestershire have confirmed the identity of a 28-year-old man who died when a car hit a tree in Evington on Sunday.

Officers were called to Coleman Road at about 23:30 GMT.

Pavandeep Singh, from Leicester, was a passenger in the vehicle, and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Leicestershire Police said two other men were taken to the Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham, with a man in his 30s being treated for life-threatening injuries and a man in his 20s in a serious but stable condition.

Leicestershire PoliceCopyright: Leicestershire Police

More than 300 crimes linked to Covid-19 have been recorded at Co-op stores across central England, the company has said.

The food retailer said some customers have threatened to cough on workers and "give them coronavirus".

Staff have also been threatened because people have had to queue to enter stores, a Co-op spokesman added.

It comes as the retailer said instances of verbal abuse to staff had increased by 167% over 12 months, assaults had increased by 35%, and threats had increased by 16% compared to the same period in 2019.

Other examples highlighted by Co-op include a staff member in Leicestershire being threatened with a wrench for refusing to sell an energy drink to a customer, with another colleague in Leicester knocked unconscious after a robbery in July.

Co-op Central EnglandCopyright: Co-op Central England

Co-op loss prevention manager Craig Goldie said the statistics were "a sad reminder of the terrible abuse and crimes that our colleagues had to face during 2020".

The company recorded a total of 1,963 crimes committed in its central England shops, with 312 of those "related directly to Covid-19".

It said it is working with other retailers, police and crime commissioners and MPs to push the government to crack down on those who abuse or attack shop workers.

Officers are investigating a "serious IT outage" at a secondary school in Leicestershire.

Julie McBrearty, the principal at The Welland Park Academy in Market Harborough, said it happened at the weekend and some remote learning has had to stop until Leicestershire Police's cyber crime unit finish work on site.

Microsoft Teams, e-mails and the learning platform Edulink have been disrupted, said the principal.

GoogleCopyright: Google

"We have sent students links to learning sources on other platforms and will be looking to relaunch our remote learning schedule as soon as possible," Ms McBrearty added.

Police said inquiries were ongoing and they were working "to help minimise disruption and restore their IT services as quickly as possible".

A man who died in a crash near Whitwick has been named as 24-year-old Aaron Fairbrother.

Mr Fairbrother, who lived in the village, was a passenger in a Nissan Note being driven along Leicester Road on 23 December.

The car left the road just before 01:30 GMT and Mr Fairbrother was pronounced dead at the scene.

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The driver, a 22-year-old man, was taken to hospital and treated for non life-threatening injuries.

He was later arrested on suspicion of driving while under the influence of drugs and has since been released under investigation.

Police would like to speak to anyone who saw the car in the Whitwick area before the crash.

A Leicestershire Covid test centre was closed for a short time on Wednesday after someone collapsed at the site.

The person was at the Blaby District Council offices testing site in Desford Road, Narborough, when staff called 999.

GoogleCopyright: Google

A witness said: “The guy was on the floor, collapsed.

“The staff called 999 and ambulances and a response car turned up. The centre had to be closed for a deep clean as they think he had Covid.

“It was very alarming but the team there were amazing.”

East Midlands Ambulance Service confirmed it attended the scene at 10:21 on Wednesday and "transported one patient to Leicester Royal Infirmary".

Storm Christoph brought heavy rainfall across the region last night, but the amber and yellow warnings for rain have now been lifted.

Flood warnings remain in place however, meaning flooding is expected.

The day should be mainly dry and cloudy, with highs of 8C and lows overnight of 0C.

Environment AgencyCopyright: Environment Agency

Derbyshire currently has 40 flood warnings and an additional 32 flood alerts in place.

Nottinghamshire has six flood warnings and 18 flood alerts, and Leicestershire has 16 flood warnings and 22 flood alerts.

A police officer has returned to work nearly six months after he was knocked off his bicycle by a car on his way home from a shift.

Leicestershire Police said PC Steve Clarke was seriously injured in the crash near the Foxhunter roundabout in Enderby on 25 July.

The force said at the time, the car involved was reported to have left the scene of the collision.

PC Clarke, based at Hinckley Road police station, said it was "fantastic" to return to work.

Leicestershire PoliceCopyright: Leicestershire Police

Sgt Anil Mehta said: "I am genuinely overjoyed Steve has returned to light duties.

"I have seen Steve at every stage since the collision and am in awe at the way he has fought to overcome what happened to him that day."

Four people were arrested over the crash.

Police said a man in his 30s was arrested on suspicion of causing serious injury by dangerous driving and failing to stop in relation to the incident and released under investigation.

In addition, a man in his 20s was detained on suspicion of assisting an offender and also released under investigation.

Meanwhile, a man and a woman previously arrested have been released with no further action.

Police do not believe PC Clarke was targeted, the force added.

There are now 11 flood warnings in place across Derbyshire and Leicestershire as some rivers start to burst their banks.

Storm Christoph is bringing high water levels across the region, in places such as the River Wye, which has spilled on to the footpath as it runs through Bakewell.

Environment AgencyCopyright: Environment Agency

Flood warnings mean the Environment Agency expects flooding and immediate action is required.

Such warnings are in force in:

• The River Goyt at Whaley Bridge
• River Wye at Litton Mill
• River Wye at Ashford in the Water, Church Street area
• River Wye at Wye Bank and Milford at Bakewell
• River Derwent at Darley Dale
• River Derwent at Church Wilne and Wilne Lane
• River Trent at Sawley Marina, including Sawley Lock

• River Soar at Zouch Island
• River Soar at caravan parks near Barrow upon Soar
• River Wreake for mills at Hoby, Thrussington and Ratcliffe
• River Wreake at Frisby-on-the-Wreake

Only a fraction of a £100m fund to support zoos through the pandemic has been successfully claimed, the industry has warned, as the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) announced a four-week extension for applications.

The fund opened in August to support zoos and aquariums needing extra support to care for animals following a drop of income caused by lockdowns.

Only 28 zoos out of more than 300 licence holders in England have benefitted from the fund, with just 5% of the money handed out, according to the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA).

It said zoos and aquariums cannot get money from the fund until they are down to 12 weeks of reserves, which excludes the vast majority of organisations who care for animals.

Dr Sharon Redrobe, chief executive of Twycross Zoo in Leicestershire, said they've "lost millions of pounds in income", adding the Zoo Animals Fund "has failed" to provide support.

Animal Welfare Minister Lord Goldsmith said he recognises the "extremely tough time" zoos have faced, and said the government is "committed to ensuring the sector can deliver the best possible care for its animals".

Twycross ZooCopyright: Twycross Zoo

There are nine flood warnings in place for the East Midlands as Storm Christoph hits the region.

The Environment Agency warning means immediate action is required.

Leicestershire:

• River Soar at caravan parks near Barrow upon Soar
• River Soar at Zouch Island
• River Wreake at Frisby-on-the-Wreake
• River Wreake for mills at Hoby, Thrussington and Ratcliffe

Derbyshire:

• River Derwent at Darley Dale
• River Goyt at Whaley Bridge
• River Wye at Ashford in the Water, Church Street area
• River Wye at Litton Mill
• River Wye at Wye Bank and Milford at Bakewell

Measures are being taken to stop homes and businesses from flooding.

In Matlock, the Bentley Brook pumping station is operational and flood gates have been positioned at Hall Leys Park.

@PaulReevesEACopyright: @PaulReevesEA

Several roads have been closed due to flooding including the bridge at Darley Bridge (B5057) where Derbyshire Council Council says river levels are "very high".

Derbyshire Dales District CouncilCopyright: Derbyshire Dales District Council

We've had an amber weather warning in place from the Met Office since Tuesday and some might be wondering why.

There has been some disruption, but so far we've not seen lots of flooding.

The warnings are there for a reason. The latest data we have shows a third of the average rainfall we would expect for all of January in Nottinghamshire has fallen in the last 48 hours.

This has fallen on already saturated ground with high river levels.

And we are expecting more.

Met OfficeCopyright: Met Office

The Environment Agency is warning the impact will be felt here in the East Midlands between Wednesday and Friday.

If that comes then we will need to be prepared. And that's why we have weather warnings.

Two weather warnings have been issued as Storm Christoph continues to hit parts of the UK.

An amber warning for rain is in place between 06:00 today and 12:00 tomorrow, and a yellow warning for rain is in place between 00:00 today and 12:00 tomorrow.

Flooding is expected across the region, with several warnings in place.

Environment AgencyCopyright: Environment Agency

In Nottinghamshire 18 flood alerts have been issued, which means flooding is possible.

There is one flood warning in place at Zouch, on the Nottinghamshire/Leicestershire/Derbyshire border.

In Leicestershire, the Environment Agency has put three flood warnings in place, and 20 flood alerts.

Derbyshire has three flood warnings and 32 flood alerts.

There will be highs of 12C and lows overnight of 2C.

Emergency services are dealing with a multi-vehicle crash on the M1 involving six cars and one HGV.

Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service were called to the M1 southbound between junctions 21A and 21 at 06:47.

The fire service said the crash site is "close to Leicester Forest East Services", and urged drivers to "avoid [the] area if possible due to heavy traffic".

Highways EnglandCopyright: Highways England