HAART has launched a new brand, Chewton Rose. New fascias and boards have gone up across the country as Fine ceased trading and Chewton Rose was born.

The new brand will be headquartered in London's Mayfair, where its new office in Pall Mall stands opposite Clarence House.

There are 11 branches around the country, with the Nottinghamshire office, in West Bridgford headed by partner Robert Clarke, with sales associate Emily Whitby, administator/marketing assistant Penelope Brownhill and PA Catherine Turner.

The estate agency says the focus will be 100 per cent on great British homes and the launch comes in response to growing demand for a niche agent to meet the needs of discerning buyers at the top end of the market.

Senior partner Paul Smith said: "Our group is about breaking the mould, driving innovation, competition and outstanding customer service in estate agency.

"Chewton Rose will deliver exceptional results for home sellers across Britain where there has been no real alternative or challenger to the old guard for many decades."

Haart's research shows that while there was a five per cent drop in homes sold in England and Wales in January, the number sold for more than £600,000 increased by 12 per cent and those over £1m rose by 28 per cent against the same period last year.

A GARDEN designed by a Nottingham Trent University student has picked up a top award at the Chelsea Flower Show.

Jackie Setchfield entered her version of a 1950s Hebridean weaver's garden at the world-famous show.

It was one of four 5x4m gardens entered into the artisan section of the centenary show, with Jackie's being voted the best and picking up a gold award.

"I'm overjoyed," she told the Post from the show. "I don't think it will properly sink in for a couple of months.

"It has made all of the hard work seem worth it. It is a fantastic honour to win this award."

Students from across the university's horticulture courses helped to develop the "Motor Neurone Disease – A Hebridean Weaver's Garden" with Jackie, who is studying a foundation degree in garden design.

The show, which started on Tuesday, runs until Saturday.

Jackie visited the area to gain inspiration for her design.

It depicted a garden on the Isle of Lewis, brimming with dye plants. The garden was intended to be a nostalgic look back to an arduous way of life for the tight-knit communities in the 1950s.

As well as a blackhouse structure, it includes a spinning wheel, dye pot and a range of dye plants available in the middle of the last century.

There is a stream – or burn – with small waterfalls, along with wetland plants, wildflowers such as foxgloves and tufted vetch, as well as heathers, ferns, a tree and a small kitchen garden growing potatoes, onions and cabbages.

Jackie also worked with Motor Neurone Disease Association co-founder Martin Anderson on the design. It was created to help raise awareness of the charity.

Mr Anderson said: "I feel exhausted, elated and stunned. You always hope for gold but never know until you open the envelope. It is a fantastic achievement for everyone involved, especially with the weather being against us this year at every stage."

Carol Wright, a senior lecturer in horticulture at Nottingham Trent University, said: "Everyone who has been involved is thrilled to have achieved a gold medal. The whole team have worked so hard to meet all the challenges involved and it is fantastic to get such a good result."

Jackie added: "The award was announced on Tuesday morning before I even arrived. So I got there to a nice surprise."

BUILDERS began work yesterday on a new £6.6 million cystic fibrosis unit for Nottingham.

On the former car park of the radiology department at Nottingham City Hospital diggers moved in to clear ground for the Wolfson Cystic Fibrosis Centre – so named after Next chief executive Lord Simon Wolfson and his family donated £700,000 to the cause.

Cystic fibrosis sufferer Caroline Spencer of Forest Town, said: "When I first came to the City Hospital I was 18 and people were talking about a new cystic fibrosis centre.

"I'm now 36 and it's finally happening. I can't believe it."

There are currently just four beds available for adults who have cystic fibrosis. But the new unit is expected to be the envy of other such centres around the country and will provide a much-needed service treating around 250 patients a year.

The new centre with have 16 beds and will include family rooms, a garden area, new kitchens and a gym with individual pods separated by a glass divider to avoid any risk of cross-infection.

Dr Jane Dewar, director of the East Midlands Cystic Fibrosis Adult Service, said: "This project has taken up the last ten years of my life to see it finally happening is incredibly rewarding."

Cystic fibrosis is a life-threatening genetic disease where the lungs and digestive system are clogged up with thick mucus.

Andrew Howard, Regional Director for Interserve – who are building the CF centre – said he thought the building would be complete in Spring next year.

He said: "We are really proud to be part of the team creating this state-of-the-art cystic fibrosis centre. Having worked in close liaison with the staff, patients and Nottingham Hospitals Charity, we have developed a model which will become the 'benchmark for future CF treatment centres across the country.

"We believe that our architects P&HS have designed a stimulating and therapeutic environment in which to work, but more importantly to provide a better and more comfortable life for the patients."

Nottingham Hospitals Charity provided £2.1 million of funding towards the project.

Its chief executive, Barbara Cathcart, said: "I want to acknowledge all those who supported the campaign including the Wolfson family, and all other supporters and donors."

An EMAS spokesman said: "East Midlands Ambulance Service has met a national performance standard for a consecutive year, reaching over 75 per cent of all patients reported to be in a life-threatening condition within eight minutes of the call being picked up.

"Figures for the first month in the 2013/14 performing year confirm that the service continues to improve, responding to over 20,100 life-threatening calls in April 2013 (a total of 51,081 emergency 999 calls responded to during that time), meeting the A8 target and improving on the end-of-year A19 performance by 1.21 per cent.

"EMAS met the A8 performance standard which requires us to get to 75 per cent of all life-threatening calls across the East Midlands within eight minutes of the call being picked up. We achieved 75.21 per cent.

"The second annual performance standard, the A19 target, requires ambulance services to get a vehicle suitable to take a patient to hospital within 19 minutes of the call being received. We missed the target by 3.15 per cent. Of the 234,120 responses made to life-threatening calls, 52 a day arrived off the target time.

"Nottinghamshire was the county in which we provided the most journeys (56,076) to hospital for patients reported to be in a life-threatening emergency. In this county during the year, if we had got to an average of nine calls a day a minute faster, we would have met the A19 standard.

"We are on the right track – our performance is improving and together with the support from our commissioners and colleagues at hospitals who are working hard to improve handover and turnaround times, we will continue to make good progress and to deliver quality clinical care to people in an emergency situation."

THE ambulance service for Notts is to be fined £3.5 million after it missed national targets for patients involved in life-threatening emergencies – for the third successive year.

Of the ten ambulance services in the country, East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) recorded the lowest figures for 2012-13 in one of two government targets.

NHS England – the central body responsible for quality of health services – revealed that the service was the only one to fail the Category A19 standard, which measures how long it takes to get a suitable vehicle on scene to take a patient to hospital. The target is for it to get to 95 per cent of cases within 19 minutes, while EMAS achieved 91.85 per cent.

EMAS admitted 52 calls a day are arriving later than this target time.

In the re-shuffle of health services in the aftermath of the Health and Social Care Bill, the ambulance service in Notts is commissioned by the Erewash Clinical Commissioning Group.

In a statement the commissioning group said that patients should be "reassured" and that action was being taken to improve the service.

It said it would be fining the service £3.5 million for missing its targets with one hand, but with the other it pledged to reinvest £3.4 million if the ambulance service started meeting its targets.

But Notts County Councillor Brian Wombwell, who sits on the Joint Health Scrutiny Committee, said: "Surely taking money off the service would make matters worse.

"It is not acceptable that targets are being missed, but it seems ridiculous to make the ambulance service poorer and ask them to improve."

The commissioning group said: "EMAS achieved one of two national standards they were required to meet in 2012/13.

"EMAS achieved the A8 measure which requires the ambulance service to get a response to 75 per cent of all immediately life-threatening calls across the East Midlands within eight minutes of the call being picked up, achieving 75.21 per cent."

Rakesh Marwaha, chief officer of NHS Erewash Clinical Commissioning Group, said: "It's vital that patients in the East Midlands receive high quality care as swiftly as possible, and clearly there is still work to do to ensure that EMAS achieve the response standards required.

"The national NHS contract has a financial consequence for ambulance trusts that fail to meet the agreed national standards for response times across an entire year.

"This equates to 2.5 per cent of the contract value. We have further invested money into EMAS in key areas which will help to transform performance.

"All of our patients can be assured that we have acted and invested to significantly uplift performance. This includes:

Following a review of the emergency operations centre and the fleet capacity, East Midlands CCGs have invested £3.4 million to help EMAS recruit an additional 155 employees and the provision of extra voluntary and private transport.

This investment in EMAS is through the "Being the Best" programme – an ongoing programme of improvement with the potential investment of a further £3.4 million for 2014/15 based on EMAS delivering their agreed contract performance standards in this year's contract;

Operational changes in EMAS call centres to improve response times;

Twice-weekly meetings with EMAS executives to review and monitor performance."

PROSPECTIVE apprentices can find out about a motor vehicle qualifications on offer at a new car dealership.

New College Nottingham has taken over the old Co-operative Motor Group base in Haydn Road, Sherwood.

3E Autos will take on 15 of apprentices and students from September.

Qualifications on offer will be various diplomas in vehicle maintenance and repairs, and apprenticeships in vehicle fitting, maintenance and repairs.

It comes as the Post is looking to uncover 300 apprentice opportunities with our Get Notts Working campaign.

The open evening will take place 3E Autos on Wednesday from 5pm to 7.30pm.

People will be able to find their way around two super cars - a Lamborghini and a Maserati – and compete against each other in technical challenges, like changing a wheel.

Application forms will be available during the evening and with course places and apprenticeships limited, the college is advising people to book onto the event to avoid disappointment.

College principal Amarjit Basi said: "What better way to become a motor technician than to work every day in a commercial car dealership?"

E-mail enquiries@ncn.ac.uk or call 0115 9 100 100 to book a place.

The Get Notts Working drive is being run with the Derbyshire and Notts Chamber of Commerce, the National Apprenticeship Service, the city council and the Nottinghamshire City and County Employment and Skills Board.

A FAMILY including a woman pregnant with twins are among dozens of evacuees thanking people for their support after the gas blast in Newark.

Jason Thacker said he and partner Penny Peckham had been "gobsmacked" by the reaction of the community after the blast destroyed a house in Wright Street on Sunday.

The couple, who are expecting twins next month, were among more than 100 people moved out.

Grandfather Leslie Rourke, 71, and his daughter-in-law Jeanette, 40, were killed in the blast. Her husband Nick, 42, was critically injured. His condition in hospital was described as stable and improving yesterday.

About half of the Wright Street residents were back in their homes yesterday morning, and the rest and those living in Private Street were also being allowed back in yesterday afternoon.

Mr Thacker, 36, who lives in Private Street, said: "People have just been walking into the church with donations, big companies have got involved with the effort.

"It's made the whole community pull together. It's fantastic."

He and Penny, 35, and their two-year-old son Jacob have visited the support centre set up at Charles Street Methodist Church after the explosion.

He added: "We do have a good community here but in this day and age you expect people to be out for themselves, but even people who have not been affected by this tragedy have done all they can. It's gobsmacked me.

"I thought this sort of spirit was gone but it's still very much alive."

The family were in their back garden when the explosion ripped through number 28 Wright Street.

Newark and Sherwood District Council said yesterday the houses either side of the blast property will have to be demolished entirely because they are so badly damaged.

Safety checks will be carried out on three more in the row, with the occupants unable to return for several days.

The detail of the devastation was revealed yesterday when emergency services briefly allowed the media escorted access to the blast site.

Karen White, director of safety at Newark and Sherwood District Council, said: "It has still not been safe to allow people back into some houses except briefly with escorts. We built up a database of everyone affected and their contact details.

"It's been great to see the community rally round, people have been tremendous."

At the church, tables stacked high with donated food and toiletries line one wall and the foyer was packed with boxes of donated goods.

Volunteers say enough has been given by shops and local families to give every evacuated household a rescue box full of food and cleaning equipment.

Victoria Akin, 32, who lives in Charles Street and has been helping to organise the donations, said: "People have been giving so much. People have just been walking in with goods and cash. Local shops have been giving food. It's been unbelievable."

The church has set up a bank account to take cash donations and a Just Giving web page has also been set up, with the combined total already over £1,000.

Fire and police investigators were still sifting carefully through the rubble yesterday, looking for clues to the exact cause of the blast.

Notts Fire and Rescue Service said the on-scene investigation could continue until Friday, before police prepare files for the coroner, who is expected to hold an inquest.

Donations to help affected families can be made at the church or at www.justgiving.com/local/project/newark-wrightstreet.

PROUD sons and daughters of Chilwell-based soldiers, set to return from Afghanistan this weekend, have been making banners to welcome their fathers home.

Sixty soldiers from the 62 Works Group Royal Engineers, part of 170 (Infrastructure Support) Engineer Group are returning to Chetwynd Barracks, Chilwell, after six months in the Middle East.

The banners were decorated with hand prints, and signed by family members who had painted messages for their dads and husbands.

For the children, wives and family, the homecoming will be a mixture of elation and relief.

Tom Wakelin, 14, has seen his dad Dave, a Warrant Officer 1st Class , go off three times.

"You worry a lot when he's away, especially when you hear bad things on the news. I'm looking forward to having that father son relationship again. He takes me to football and we like to go camping."

Tom left the banner decoration to the younger kids.

"I'm going to go for something a bit more stylish than the hand prints," he said.

His sister Ellie, 12, said even their dog, Max, had been missing her dad.

She said: "If you say 'there's daddy' Max will go mental and run around the house looking for him. He watches telly hoping my dad will be on it."

Kirsty Fenton is mother to three-week old Frankie. Her husband Kevin, a Staff Sergeant, managed to use his rest and recovery time to come home for the birth.

"I was delighted he was back in time, and, since he went back out when Frankie was three days old, I'm looking forward to finally being a family of four."

Kevin missed the birth of their eldest, 5-year-old Jimmy, because he was in Cyprus, but she appreciated the support of the squadron's welfare officers on both occasions.

"It's like having a second family with the welfare guys and the other wives. We have movie nights, pizza nights and there's always fun things for the kids to do, so it never gets lonely."

The children who live on site have been looked after despite their fathers being so far from home.

Welfare Officer Rhys Browne, 30, was part of the 62s, and set to depart with the squadron before he injured his cruciate ligament in a training exercise, and had to stay.

"When I got the injury I was devastated, but when the chance to do this job came up I jumped at the opportunity."

Rhys has organised a number of trips for the families, including a visit to Alton Towers, bowling nights, Ice Hockey games to see the Panthers, and a Christmas trip on the Great Central Railway - where the kids got to meet Santa and the Elves.

POLICE are appealing for information after two meerkats were stolen from a house in Clifton.

The pair, a male and female, were taken late at night on Tuesday this week. They were discovered missing at 7.15am despite their owner checking on them at around 1am.

The animals were kept in an enclosure at the rear of a property in the Rivergreen area.

Entry into the enclosure has been reported as forced by Notts Police.

A skunk which was being cared for at the same address is also missing, although it is unclear with it was also stolen or escaped elsewhere following the theft.

Inspector Nick Waldram, neighbourhood policing inspector for the Meadows and Clifton said : "The owner of these animals is distraught that they have been stolen and as they are group animals, they could be in some distress.

"If you know anything about where they might be, please get in touch."

If you think you have been offered these meerkats for sale or you have any information on where the stolen meerkats might be contact police on 101 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

A NEW free school is to open in the north of Nottingham in September next year.

The Nottingham Free School will cater for 600 students aged between 11 and 16 by 2018.

It will be run by the Torch Academy Gateway Trust, which is also behind Toot Hill School in Bingham.

It was of 102 free schools which will open in 16 months' time, as announced by the Department for Education.

But the trust's joy was tempered as a second planned free school in West Bridgford - due to be called Trent Bridge Free School - was turned down.

However its chief executive John Tomasevic is not deterred and has vowed to try again to get the plans passed.

The Nottingham Free School had been originally planned for Arnold. However a number of locations are now being considered, including Sherwood and Mapperley.

The trust feels there is a shortage of places for secondary school aged children in these areas.

Mr Tomasevic said: "This announcement is great news for the children and parents of Nottingham and the communities around the Sherwood, Carrington, Mapperley Park, Woodthorpe and Mapperley areas.

"This new secondary free school represents a new era in the power of parental choice for the people of Nottingham.

"We would like to thank the local community and all the parents who supported the free school bid."

The Nottingham Free School is provisionally scheduled for a September 2014 opening for Year 7 pupils. Initially it plans to accommodate 90 to 120 pupils in each year group, meaning there could be up to 600 in four years.

A number of locations will now be looked at. These haven't been revealed.

Speaking about the free school plans in West Bridgford, Mr Tomasevic added: "We are confident that over time we will be able to establish a free school in the Trent Bridge area given the strength of support expressed by parents at the public meetings.

Both sets of plans met with criticism, not least from existing schools, which were looking to expand to cope with increasing numbers of stu- dents.

Rob McDonough, head teacher at West Bridgford School, was one of them.

Yesterday, he said: "I personally believe this was the right decision as their premise behind the need for an additional school in West Bridgford was flawed.

"The level of interest we attract is an expression of confidence in the existing schools in the area which are proven. Opting for a new school is a gamble and the parents of West Bridgford have told us that it is not one they are prepared to take.

"The creation of new schools can clearly bring profound benefits for parents through greater choice. But new schools can best serve parents by locating themselves in areas where additional school places are needed. No fair minded person would say that these conditions apply in West Bridgford."

I MET the simply delightful June Burton at her home in West Bridgford this week and, as she talked through her interior design influences and the happy memories wrapped up in this family home, I could see exactly why the house felt so welcoming and warm.

June and husband Clive, now both aged 80, have lived in this house for the past 34 years. They've raised their three daughters here, welcomed grandchildren, had some fabulous family parties, and certainly had the space to do it all in.

This really is a case of the exterior of the house belying the extent of the internal accommodation.

For instance, June's favourite room, the lounge, is 27ft in length, then there is a good-sized dining room, a kitchen and a breakfast area, as well as a garden room overlooking the fabulous rear garden, an entrance porch, a hall, a downstairs cloakroom, utility and a garage.

Each room is individual with June's interior design background and the couple's extensive travels evident throughout.

The lounge is a prime example of this. Deep reds, polished wooden flooring, well placed rugs and individually design sofas with fabric from Liberty's all create a warmth and grandeur to the room.

This large room opens into the sun room, creating an extensive living space, which June says is great for a family and for parties.

"Clive's family is very big and spread out, so I instigated an annual 'grand family bash', which we have held here every year for 25 years until very recently, when my niece took it over for me – 42 relatives from as far as Argentina, the south of France all converge – it's wonderful," she said."

The couple, originally from Leeds, decided to move to Nottingham when they returned from living in Israel.

Clive, a lawyer, was working within a university out there, but the couple returned to the UK when June's parents became ill.

June said: "We didn't want to go back to living in Leeds, but we did want to be in a location close to the motorway so that we could visit my parents easily. Friends lived in Nottingham and it was they who suggested the city. The nice thing was that a couple of years later my parents moved here, too.

"We found this place within two weeks. We had seen 15 houses in that time but nothing that we really liked; then we were driving along the end of the road and I said to Clive, 'I have this address on my reserve list'.

"At that time there was a phone box at the bottom of the road, so we rang the agent and within 15 minutes we were viewing. As soon as I saw the lounge, well that was it. I knew it was for us. The girls said 'Mummy what if upstairs isn't as nice?' but by the time they came down they'd bagged their rooms."

June added: "We hadn't brought our furniture back to the UK as it wasn't practical. When we moved in we had a coffee table and two chairs from my mother's bedroom.

"I remember our first major purchase was for the bedroom furniture. A shop in Nottingham was having a sale and I tasked each member of the family to find an item – one beds, another desks and so on and £400 later we had totally furnished all the bedrooms."

There are four bedrooms, today one is used as an office and library, and the master bedroom has a wide walk-in wardrobe as well as double vanity units.

The family settled into LIFE in Nottingham. Clive opened his practice, Burton and Burton solicitors in the city and June got a job with an interior design company.

But the family never lost their taste for travel. Looking around the house, there are artefacts from Egypt, Thailand, Nepal, Bali, and gifts from Iran.

They all have their place, and yet there are also items like a stylish modern fireplace in the dining room, modern bathroom suites in both the family bathroom and shower room, and in the kitchen an Aga and various appliances alongside bespoke units with granite working surfaces that were fitted just four years ago. All these eras and styles blend to give the house personality and style.

The garden is June's pride and joy. In addition to the mature trees and shrubs, there are patio and seating areas, a lawn, a fishpond, even a little summer house tucked away out of sight which is called Tiggers. It really is a little oasis.

June said: "We've been very happy here but this house is really for a family."

She says the location is ideal, with a real sense of community.

"We have a wonderful neighbourhood watch scheme which also organises a variety of events from garden parties to skittles and puds and poetry evenings."

Now the couple are looking for a smaller property. So, if you're looking for a family home, the Burton's invite you to view theirs.

Clive said: "June's ideas and initiatives have made our home the lovely warm home it has long been for our family and a virtual paradise of comfort for visitors.

"June has enjoyed having designed and used what I regard as our dream. I look forward to welcoming potential purchasers."

A DISABLED woman says she has been stuck in her home for nearly three years because she can't get her wheelchair through the front door.

It means the only time Jenny Rigby has been outside since 2010 is when she was taken to hospital on a stretcher.

"I feel like a prisoner in my own home," said the 67-year-old. "I have no way of getting out."

Miss Rigby has rheumatoid arthritis in both arms and knees as well as osteoporosis and asthma.

It means she is no longer able to stand up to fold her wheelchair to get out of the door.

She has asked Nottingham City Homes to widen the door but to no avail and is waiting for a new home.

Miss Rigby said: "I feel like I've been abandoned. I have had my bathroom door taken off to give me more room as I used to barely be able to shut it because of my wheelchair." Miss Rigby, a mum-of-five and grandmother-of-two, hurt her back when she fell down a flight of stairs in 1977. The former nurse was paralysed from the waist down for months. This improved but she was left in a wheelchair because of arthritis.

She moved into her home in Amber Hill, Bestwood Estate, in 1991. Her daughter Anna gets her shopping while a carer visits almost every day.

Bestwood councillor Brian Grocock said: "Nottingham City Homes have been trying to find a suitable home for Miss Rigby, but the fact she needs one with a wide doorway is proving tricky. Hopefully the situation can be resolved quickly."

AS a player, to me, crowd noise was just a background buzz.

You could differentiate between cheers and boos; you got an obvious idea of the mood in the stadium.

But, generally, I was one of those players that really had to focus; who was only at my best when I was concentrated – so I would tend to block it all out.

You would have a general idea of what the fans were thinking, of course you would. But personally, I was lucky that I was not influenced by it, negatively at least.

I was lucky that I was able to focus my attention on the action on the pitch; it was a not a distraction.

Not all players are the same, however. Some men are effected more than others.

I was always lifted when the atmosphere was positive – but there are others who really raise their game when the fans get behind them.

And there are many who fall to pieces when there is a really partisan atmosphere.

Which is why anything that can be done to make the City Ground more of an intimidating place to visit has to be a good thing.

Last time Billy Davies was in charge, the foundation for one of their top-six finishes was an unbeaten run at the City Ground.

Teams did not like coming to Nottingham to face the Reds, because they knew they were in for a tough time.

That was as much to do with the quality of the football as anything.

Of course, this is something Davies will be looking to restore this summer, as he has the chance to stamp his own influence on what, from this point on, will be viewed as his Forest side.

But if the club can aid the situation off the pitch as well, why not?

And ensuring that home fans are situated immediately behind both goals is not going to hurt, is it? Having the visiting supporters in the Lower Bridgford does give them an advantage.

When the likes of Derby and Leicester visit, in particular, having thousands of them all grouped together in one section, so close to the pitch, allows them to make a lot of noise of their own.

As Davies said prior to that Leicester game, it is important that Forest claim that section back for themselves.

If they can get a few noisy fans in there that, coupled with A-block, will give that end of the stadium a really noisy edge.

The City Ground could be as partisan as ever.

The away fans will still have to go somewhere but, in that upper tier of the stand, it will be harder for them to make themselves heard – particularly if the Forest fans are as boisterous as they are capable of being.

Yes, there will be some fans who are upset at having to move – particularly if they have sat in the Upper Bridgford for many years, which some of them will have.

But, if it is for the benefit of the team, then it is the right move to make – as long as those fans who are affected are well looked after.

I am sure that if, come the end of the season, Forest supporters are cheering a top-six finish, most people will be happy.

And it is small margins that can make the difference in these things. It may not sound like a huge deal. It may only make a 5 per cent difference to things, if we are honest.

But, if there is a way to make the City Ground more of an intimidating place to play, then I am all for it.

As I said, it might not influence every player in the opposition side; because not every player takes any notice.

But some do; some will be intimidated, if this idea does have the desired effect.

Even if it gives the Forest lads a bit of a boost; even if it makes the stadium feel like a bit more of a fortress, it is something worth doing. Hopefully, if the switch does get the green light, plenty of fans will be quick to snap up tickets there – and will through their weight behind the boys on the first day of the season as they try to get off to a flying start.

A NOTTS Comedy artist is taking his act across the Atlantic to perform in a high-profile comedy marathon.

James 'Lloydie' Lloyd has successfully applied to take part in the Del Close comedy marathon in New York - and will also be teaching comedy workshops in Washington DC, this month.

The 39-year-old performs his improvisational comedy across the country and has a residency at Nottingham's Glee Club.

Lloydie, who lives in The Park said: "Del Close was the father of modern improvised comedy - he taught the likes of Tina Fey. It's quite a competitive thing to get on."

Lloydie will be performing in a group with some other people with a Britain versus America theme.

A team from each country will take turns to perform improvised scenes around a word given by the audience.

Lloydie, whose show will take place on Saturday, May 29, said: "It should be a really fun show - it's going to be a great experience.

"The other point about going over there is the chance to see so many really great performers.

"It really is the home of improvisational comedy - in New York they have four dedicated theatres for it but we don't have any in the entire country."

The 150-seat theatre Lloydie is to perform at is the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre - owned by hit comedian Amy Poehler - famed for the Parks and Recreation programme.

The comedy marathon celebrates the life and legacy of comedy legend Del Close with three days of fully improvised comedy on four stages in New York.

And Lloydie has honed his act with years of performing in the United Kingdom - particularly teaching workshops around the country and a regular slot at Nottingham's Glee Club.

He said: "The show we do at the Glee Club is fast paced and high energy and has a lot of similarities to games like those on 'Whose Line Is It Anyway'.

"My particular specialism is long form improvisation, where I take one word and use it as a springboard to turn that into 25 minutes of scenes."

For Lloydie, who works in media relations in Nottingham, the joy of performing is huge.

"You don't know what's going to happen next. You just react to it - I love not really knowing and the biggest plus and minus of improvisation is that you never get to do the scene again - if you had the worst show you don't have to do it again, but if you have created comedy gold you never get to do it again."

The future for Lloydie's comedy career looks bright, but he's just concentrating on enjoying the journey.

He said: "Nobody really makes a full time living out of improvisation – your part-time income is mainly through teaching and not performing. " It's very much an art form in its own right but opens other opportunities ."

A FOUR-YEAR-OLD boy was taken to hospital after a collision with a car on a busy commuter route in Sherwood yesterday morning.

The boy was taken to Queen's Medical Centre after the accident, on the junction between Edwards Lane, Magnus Road and Mansfield Road, outside the Sherwood Manor pub, at around 8.50am.

Police said the boy, who goes to Seely Infants' and Nursery School in Penny Road, did not suffer life-threatening or life-altering injuries.

Al Brown, owner of Brownies Café in Mansfield Road, said: "We heard the scream inside the cafe. When I got outside he was lying on the floor, surrounded by people.

"The driver must have been really shaken up as well. We were listening to the radio all day to make sure the boy wasn't badly hurt. When we saw him going off to in the ambulance, we didn't know what to think."

An eyewitness, whose children also attend Seely Infants' and Nursery, said: "My heart goes out to the mother and the driver. It could have happened to anybody, especially at that time in the morning when everybody's rushing around."

She said traffic was brought to a halt for half an hour, adding: "It was gridlocked. The buses were all the way down to Edwards Lane. I'm just glad the driver wasn't going too fast, it could have been a lot worse."

Residential roads in Sherwood have had their speed limits reduced from 30mph to 20mph four weeks ago.

Bu the new scheme does not include Magnus Road or Mansfield Road.

Helen Fretwell, 70, of Danethorpe Vale, which overlooks the junction where the accident happened, said: "It's a good job they put the measures in place – we used to have people flying up this road."

A police spokesman said that no offence had been committed by the driver of the car.

INVESTIGATORS have ruled out that a home gas supply was to blame for an explosion that ripped through a house in Newark.

Fire and police investigators confirmed today that they are still probing the cause of the tragedy on Sunday.

The incident resulted in two deaths and additional damage to a property next door.

Neighbours rushed to the aid of trapped people after the blast destroyed a house.

A baby and a young boy were passed out of a window while four people dragged a man from under rubble.

And residents have continued working together to overcome the event by raising nearly £800 for affected families.

To donate go to justgiving.com/local/ project/newark-wrightstreet.