A DRUG dealer assaulted a police officer and hid in a lorry depot in a bid to evade arrest.

Kadeem Miller was spotted by plain-clothed officers from Operation Vanguard – a police unit set up to tackle drugs, guns and gangs – in Eastwood on Saturday, February 16.

The 24-year-old was wanted in relation to several harassment charges but when officers approached he assaulted one of them and ran off.

Police gave chase and followed Miller, of Cosby Road, Sneinton, to a nearby lorry depot.

The police helicopter and a heat sensor was used to find and arrest him, while police dogs sniffed out a number of mobile phones he had hidden nearby.

Detective Constable Marvyn Johnson, of Operation Vanguard, said: "The message could not be clearer – if you deal in drugs in Notts you will be caught."

Miller was arrested and later the same day police raided a property in Lynncroft he was linked with, finding heroin and crack cocaine.

Gary Parkin, 43, who was living at the property, was arrested for possession of drugs and jailed for six months last month.

Detectives were also able to gather evidence against Miller and used mobile phone analysis to target people he supplied.

Miller pleaded guilty to supplying controlled drugs at Nottingham Crown Court and was jailed for a total of five-and-a-half-years.

He was also charged with harassment offences as well as the assault of a police officer, for which he has already served a custodial sentence.

AS temperatures soar in Nottingham a farm is taking unusual steps to keep animals cool.

AT Stonebridge City Farm the ponies and goats are fed specially made ice lollies. Packed with frozen vegetables, the cool treats help to prevent the water-shy animals from overheating.

The lollies are just one measure employed by the farm to keep the residents cool.

Farm manager Marie Rogers said it is a simple trick which has a big impact.

"If we had pigs then we would hose them down but we don't have any pigs at the moment and the goats and ponies don't like the water so this is as much help as we can give them," she said.

"We also make sure there is plenty of things for them to shelter under so they can rest in the shade if they get too hot. The chickens will hide under trees and we've set up a sprinkler for the ducks.

"The other animals keep cool by themselves by panting but they do seem to really enjoy the ice lollies when we take them round."

Yesterday temperatures reached 26 degrees in Nottingham.

The Met Office predicts today and tomorrow will be even hotter at 27 degrees while Friday is forecast to be slightly cooler again with highs of 26 degrees.

For staff at White Post Farm, the hot weather means ensuring all animals have access to lots of fresh water and that the pigs, who cannot sweat to keep cool have access to mud.

"For the pigs we've got the wallows, so a big muddy area which has water in, and they cool down in that.

"All the animals are provided with lots of fresh water then we fly dress the other animals so they don't get maggots.

"There's also natural shade in the paddocks and if any animal shows signs of distress we have the option of taking them in to the barn which is a bit cooler."

It is not just farm animals that need to be careful in the sun.

According to animal charity PDSA, domestic pets from cats and dogs to rabbits and birds also suffer as the mercury rises.

Owners should take care to walk dogs in the coolest part of the day and be vigilant for signs of heat stroke.

PDSA senior vet, Elaine Pendlebury said: "Pet owners need to be aware of the harm that hot weather can cause to pets.

"Their smaller body size makes them particularly susceptible to heatstroke and can't tell us when they're too hot in their fur coats.

"So it's up to owners to spot the signs and ensure they remain happy."

See next Tuesday's Post for Donna Cuthbert from the RSPCA on tackling reckless pet owners who left their dog to sizzle

MORE than a quarter of Nottingham schoolchildren are claiming free school meals, new figures have revealed.

Government data shows that 7,335 of 25,101 primary school children and 4,320 of 15,178 secondary school students don't pay for dinners.

This equates to 29.2 per cent and 28.5 percent - more than anywhere else in the East Midlands and well above the national average of 18.1 per cent in primaries and 15.1 per cent in secondaries.

In Notts the figures were 15 per cent and 12.4 per cent respectively.

But head teachers in the city believe many more children don't claim meals even though they are entitled to.

Andrew Sharp, head teacher at Robin Hood Primary in Bestwood, believes there are a number of reasons for that.

He said: "There are more children who should be able to claim free school meals and don't."

Last year in the city, 28 per cent of secondary school students and 29.2 per cent of primary school children claimed free dinners.

The corresponding figures in the county were 12.1 per cent and 15.1 per cent.

Mr Sharp's school has 38 per cent of children receiving free dinners.

However, he feels this would be more like 50 per cent if every child entitled to free dinners took up the offer.

He added: "We are doing a lot of work with our parents to encourage them to take up free school meals if needed."

Schools where children don't use their eligibility for free meals also lose out on pupil premium money.

This is a pot of cash given to schools based on how many children have free dinners.

Jo Bradley, head teacher at Blue Bell Hill Primary in St Ann's, said it is not just the stigma which puts parents off.

She said: "We have about three or four children who are eligible but don't take it up."

Parent George Smith, of Bulwell, who has two children in city schools, doesn't take up their allocation.

He said: "I agree there is a bit of a stigma but the main reason was that my children prefer to take packed lunches."

Councillor David Mellen, portfolio holder for children's services at the city council, said it is vital children take up their offer of free school dinners.

"I'm pleased to see the take up is relatively high, because we know children are getting a nutritious hot meal half way through their day," he said.

PASSENGERS should plan ahead as major resignalling works begin at Nottingham Station this weekend.

A £100m project to upgrade the station's outdated signalling and track begins on Saturday.

It means the majority of services into and out of the station will stop until August 25, with East Midlands Parkway station becoming the main hub during the works.

David Horne, managing director at East Midlands Trains, said: "It's really exciting that Nottingham will start such a major transformation in just a few days.

"A huge amount of effort and more than three years worth of detailed planning has taken place by our teams to ensure our passengers get the best possible service during the works. Our strong team of volunteers are now getting ready to get out to stations and help our passengers with every step of their journey."

As part of this project, more than a mile of track will be relayed with a series of junctions, as well as the construction of a new platform and more than 140 new signals.

During the works, up to 35 buses an hour will take passengers from Nottingham Station to East Midlands Parkway and other nearby stations to catch connecting trains.

Phil Verster, route managing director at Network Rail, said: "The vital work we are about to carry out at Nottingham will be the biggest change to the railway in the city since the 1960s and will allow operators to trains more reliably and more often than ever before.

For updates and information about the works read the Nottingham Post and visit our website www.nottinghampost.com.

PRIVATISING the Royal Mail could stifle business innovation and increase business costs, it has been claimed.

Rob Crowder, chief executive of Rural Community Action Notts (RCAN) has hit out after plans were revealed to privatise the service.

Mr Crowder said: "It seems to me that businesses could well have to pay more to have their mail delivered and getting parcels from online retailers could come at a premium for householders.

"Rural entrepreneurs are already hampered by having low, or in some cases, no broadband speeds, and now this comes on top of all the problems we have in the rural economy already.

"The winning bidders will have to protect prices for ten years and then it will be a free-for-all.

"The rural economy is already teetering on a knife-edge and I just have to hope this won't be the final straw that pushes some businesses over the edge."

Announcing the plans on Wednesday, Business Secretary Vince Cable said: "It is consistent with developments elsewhere in Europe where privatised operators produce profit margins far higher than the Royal Mail, but have continued to provide high-quality and expanding services.

"Now the time has come for the Government to step back from Royal Mail and allow its management to focus wholeheartedly on growing the business and planning for the future."

THIRTY-TWO new jobs could be created if a restaurant is allowed to open in a former furniture and homeware shop.

Wagamama – a Japanese restaurant and noodle bar chain – has asked Rushcliffe Borough Council for permission to operate in Central Avenue, West Bridgford.

The shop is currently empty, having been used up until last month by Sleepers, part of the Co-Operative group.

If Wagamama goes ahead, 32 full-time jobs will be created, including chefs, bar staff, waiters and management positions.

Rod Jones, a Liberal Democrat councillor for the Musters ward, questioned whether West Bridgford needed another restaurant.

"It's a sad day that so many basic shops are reducing in number in West Bridgford and the number of places to eat and drink are multiplying," he said. "On the other hand, it does seem there are people who are prepared to spend money in those places and unless they start losing custom it's commercially inevitable that more will appear.

"West Bridgford is just becoming a place to eat, another standardised area that's full of chains and while it brings a certain liveliness to the street it is not sustainable.

"People need to be supporting their local shops, especially the smaller, independent ones."

If approved, a new shop front would be created for the restaurant.

Once open, it could accommodate up to 100 diners and would open between 11.30am to 11pm from Monday to Saturday and 11.30am to 10pm on Sundays.

An outside seating area would also be created.

Matthew Brooks, 27, of Musters Road, West Bridgford, was disappointed that Wagamama might be opening.

"I've been there once and I wasn't impressed at all," he said.

"It would be nice to have a bit more variety because a lot of places in the centre do quite similar stuff, but I'd rather see an independent venue opened up rather than another chain which you can go to in Nottingham anyway."

A design and access statement submitted with the application said: "The proposed use is attractive in town centre retail terms as it will attract a high level of footfall throughout the day and into the evening, adding vibrancy and interest to what is functionally a secondary retail location.

"It will also provide a new food and drink offer and therefore a food type not currently available in the area.

"The nature of the proposed use is such that it will complement the existing retail function of the centre."

What do you think? Does West Bridgford already have too many restaurants, or will Wagamama provide much-needed variety? E-mail us at newsdesk@nottinghampostgroup.co.uk

A 15-YEAR-OLD boy attacked two shop workers with a wooden bat after being turned away for not having enough cash for a Coke.

The teenager launched a tirade of abuse when he could not pay the £1.10 for the bottled drink from Khan's Store, in Bentinck Road, Radford.

He then cracked the shop door with a kick as he left, before returning minutes later with 45-year-old John Batty.

Batty used a metal bar as he joined him in repeatedly hitting brothers Imnan Altaf and Adnan Khan, leaving them both with head wounds.

Mr Altaf, 18, said the youngster had shouted racist abuse and made threats before leaving, but he didn't expect him to come back.

"After about six minutes he came back in. He was still being racist and he started fighting.

"He started hitting me on the head. He attacked my brother, Adnan, and hit him on the head as well."

Batty, of no fixed address, came in behind him with the metal bar, he said.

"They both started fighting. I had a blackout."

Mr Khan's cousin, Shabaz Khan, 24, got everyone out of the shop.

Mr Altaf needed stitches to a head wound, while Mr Khan, who owns the shop, was also injured in the attack, on November 24 last year.

"I just said, 'go away'," explained Mr Altaf. "I wasn't afraid."

After moving to Britain from Holland and starting the business less than a year ago, he complained: "This is the worst country I have lived in."

Yesterday, the youth, who is now 16, was given a two-year Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme, also called an ISSP.

He will be on a home curfew, between set hours, for six months, and his movements monitored by a tag.

He pleaded guilty to damaging the shop door, having an offensive weapon – the wooden bat, racially-aggravated assault to Mr Altaf and assaulting Mr Khan.

Batty pleaded guilty to assaulting both men and two charges of possessing an offensive weapon. He was locked up for two years, four months.

Judge Andrew Hamilton told them they went in armed with weapons.

"You hit both of them on the head and, hitting them as frequently as you possibly could, causing them wounds."

He said: "It's the most awful offence. Luckily they managed to get you out of the building."

Batty and the boy, who is from Nottingham but cannot be identified due to his age, have been made the subject of a restraining order not to contact the victims or go within 25 metres of the shop.

A PROLIFIC burglar was captured after he left his gloves behind at the scene of a break-in and was traced by his DNA, a court heard.

Neil Lawson smashed a patio door to get into a couple's house in Beeston Road, Dunkirk, and ransacked all the rooms.

He stole a 42-inch television, hair straighteners and four white-metal bracelets on April 10 this year, Nottingham Crown Court was told.

Police found the gloves in a bedroom and DNA tests led them to Lawson, 40, of no fixed address, whose profile was on the national police database.

He was in custody in HMP Lincoln at the time officers cautioned him about the burglary.

He said "did a telly go missing?"

He confirmed he left his gloves at the scene and said he had been on drugs at the time.

At Nottingham Crown Court yesterday, he admitted the burglary and asked for 14 other offences to be taken into consideration, including nine more house burglaries.

Lawson gained entry through windows or sometimes targeted glass doors before taking items.

Judge Michael Stokes QC sentenced him to three years and four months for the burglary, of which he will serve half, and took into account the other offences, which were all admitted.

He said Lawson had smashed his way into someone's home with some sort of tool or object, ransacked it and stole valuable property.

"That was one of many burglaries you committed in the Spring of this year."

After passing sentence, he said: "I hope, on this occasion, some active work is done to wean you away from your drug addiction, because that is the reason, in large part, why you committed these offences."

Adrian Reynolds, mitigating, said there was a lack of sophistication in the Beeston Road burglary as Lawson left the gloves behind.

"It's significant when police went to see him in prison he replied to the caution, 'did a telly go missing?'

"He admitted the offence in interview and asked police to take into account these other offences.

"This man has had a drug problem for a long, long time. He has deep-seated problems."

PERSIMMON has announced that it is looking to recruit 225 young people.

The new jobs will be spread across the builder's 24 regional businesses in England, Wales and Scotland and include 125 bricklaying and joinery apprentices, 50 trainee sales advisors and 50 graduate/trainee technical staff.

Chief executive Jeff Fairburn, 47, began his own career at the age of 17 on a Youth Training Scheme in the construction industry and many of the current directors in the business also began their careers straight from school.

He said: "We work hard on our training programmes and enjoy sharing our knowledge with young people and progressing them through the business. You never know, one of these young people may be our future chief executive in years to come."

The firm says that its findings show that young adults have negative expectations of apprenticeships.

"Although there has been a positive increase in the numbers of young adults now starting their career as an apprentice, our research shows that there are still overwhelming numbers of 12-to-18-year-olds across the UK who are unaware about apprenticeships or have misconceived perceptions about the benefits they offer.

Jeff says: "My own experience of starting work at 17 has been a positive one. We're delighted to be giving young people the opportunity to join us."

Visit www.persimmonhomes. com/jobs.

WORK to improve Nottingham's ring road will cause traffic problems, residents fear.

But the main question on people's lips at an information event yesterday was whether it would be worth it.

The city council held its first event yesterday at Bluecoat Academy, in Aspley Lane.

It is at the roundabout where the academy is based where the initial work is set to take place.

Neville Nutt, 79, who lives nearby, is convinced the work will lead to a major improvement.

He said: "It will be great from what I can see. This is work which has been due for the last 20 years.

"I can see it will make traffic flow much better."

Rick Scanlon, 64, of Aspley, however is unsure.

He said: "All it seems to be doing is taking traffic around the city. We need it to be helping to take traffic into the city much easier.

"To me, the A610 is the road they should be concentrating on. That gets really clogged up."

The cost of the project is set to be £16.2 million.

The work on the ring road junction with Aspley Lane is due to start on Monday.

It will see the roundabout replaced by traffic signals, which the city council believes helps traffic flow quicker.

Meanwhile, the northbound carriageway from the Crown Island to Nuthall Road will be upped from two to three lanes, and improve pedestrian and cyclist crossing facilities will be installed.

The road is one of Nottingham's busiest and is currently used by 50,000 vehicles a day.

Matthew and Jacquie Foote are concerned about the impact on side roads during the work.

"It could cause chaos," said Mrs Foote, 38.

"I take my kids to school in Wilford down Robin's Wood Road as it's the only way.

"It is already really busy. You can already end up queuing for ten to 15 minutes. It will only get worse.

"We will have to see whether it will be worth it in the end."

Another resident was concerned how much difference it would make if more homes were built in the area.

He said: "It will be really busy. Can the road handle the extra traffic which could be created? I have my doubts."

The work will also include:

Significant improvements of key junctions with Hucknall Road and Crown Island (Wollaton Road).

Repairs to worn-out bits of road.

Upgrade of street lighting.

Councillor Jane Urquhart, city council portfolio holder for planning and transport, has described the work, which will take more than two years, as "positives news for commuters, businesses and public transport users".

Are you in favour of the works? E-mail newsdesk@nottinghampostgroup.co.uk

HOUSEHOLDERS are being urged to make sure their home is protected from wasps.

Tom Stringer, head of the AA's home emergency response service ,said: "Wasps nests are at best a nuisance, and at worst dangerous to those who live close by.

"Finding a nest now before it's well-established means you can get rid of it before it gets bigger and more problematic."

Almost half of Britons (43 per cent) have found a wasps' nest in their home. More than one in three of these people (37 per cent) have found one in the loft or attic. A further 28 per cent have found one in garden sheds, 23 per cent in wall cavities, and 12 per cent in their garages. Despite this, three-quarters have done nothing to protect their home from the risk of wasps building a nest, such as checking their attic or sealing gaps in eaves or walls.

Tom said: "They're known to build nests in loft spaces, which a lot of people may not check if their loft is unconverted or isn't used very often. Like most insects, they'll squeeze through tiny gaps – so getting up there and checking it's well sealed could stop wasps getting in and setting up home.

"Tackling a wasp nest is dangerous and should only be done by professionals. Many people often mistakenly think that their home insurance covers them for this. It often doesn't.

Keeping wasps away

1. Wasps like sweet foods – try to keep sugary foods or drinks indoors and if you're having a barbecue, keep food and drinks covered

2. Wasps tend to congregate around food sources. Buying a bin with a tight-fitting lid can stop them hanging around

3. Nests resemble paper, so try hanging up a crumpled paper bag where they're likely to build

4. Like many insects, wasps can squeeze into tiny gaps and then start a nest. Sealing gaps around eaves and soffit boards or cracks in walls should lessen the chance of wasps setting up their home in yours

5. If you suspect that wasps can get in your loft but can't see any gaps, you should spot tell-tale chinks of daylight from small holes

6. Wasps really like flowers, so if you wear bright colours and heavy perfume, they may mistake you for one!

7. Remember – if you are unlucky enough to find a wasps' nest in your home or garden, contact your home emergency cover provider to deal with it professionally.

INSPECTORS have deemed Nottingham's hospitals to be "high risk" and in need of an inspection.

The Care Quality Commission announced yesterday that it would be carrying out a full inspection of Nottingham University Hospitals Trust (NUH) at some point between August and December.

The trust which runs the Queen's Medical Centre and Nottingham City Hospital scored higher than average on a number of elements which puts it as "high risk" in the eyes of the of the CQC.

The CQC found that:

The number of outbreaks of the C.diff infection was higher than expected.

E-coli infections were also higher than predicted.

The number of written complaints made to the NHS trust warranted a 'risk' score.

Professor Sir Mike Richards, chief inspector of hospitals, said: "There is too much variation in the quality of care patients receive – poor hospitals will need to up their game and learn from the best.

"I will not tolerate poor or mediocre care."

Peter Homa, NUH chief executive replied: "We welcome the opportunity to test, along with other trusts, the new inspection regime, and to help improve the ways in which the quality of NHS hospital services can be assessed.

"Feedback, scrutiny and constructive challenge from our patients, their loved ones, commissioners, other health and local government partners and regulators enables us to do an even better job for patients."