HUNDREDS of people turned out to the launch of a new scheme aimed at helping to turn young people in Notts away from crime.

The Switch Up scheme was launched on Friday night with a community boxing tournament at the Sycamore Centre in St Ann's.

Founded by former boxer and ex-gang member Marcellus Baz, it is designed to use boxing, one-to-one mentoring and other schemes to change the lives of disadvantaged young people.

Former British, Commonwealth and European champion boxer Herol "Bomber" Graham, originally from Radford, was among the special guests and a crowd hundreds strong who turned up to watch 14 amateur fights and rap and dance performances on the night.

Proceeds from ticket sales will help a group of Notts youngsters involved with Switch Up to travel to Gladsaxe, Denmark, to attend a conference and international boxing tournament next year.

Marcellus, known as Baz, said: "It was ram-packed and the bouts went really well.

"We are still counting the proceeds but we should have enough for the trip."

Switch Up and one of its projects, the Nottingham School of Boxing, are based at the Sycamore Centre temporarily while the scheme looks for a permanent home of its own.

Middleweight Graham, 54, who is known as one of the best British boxers never to have won a world title, was announced as an ambassador and figurehead for Switch Up.

He said: "Kids don't need to be on the streets, they just need guidance. Children and young people are our future – we need to teach them and let them lead the way. If I can help stop ten or 15 children from going down the wrong path that's a good result."

WE can understand the frustration of Notts schools awaiting the money to pay for improvements.

Thirteen schools in the county and three in the city have been promised cash under a coalition Government scheme called the Priority Schools Building Programme.

These schools are in urgent need of repair and redevelopment.

They missed out on the previous rounds of funding under the last Government's Building Schools for the Future programme.

It is now 18 months since they were promised cash under the new arrangement.

What's more, the headteachers are still unclear about when the funds will actually arrive.

One school, Glenbrook Primary, points out its ageing buildings cost £55,000 to heat and power each year. Clearly, money would be better spend on teaching rather wasting it on a dysfunctional heating system.

Furthermore, good quality buildings can aid learning.

Like Education Secretary Michael Gove, we are not of the view that bricks, mortar and sheets of new glazing will transform educational performance.

But a decent environment and good facilities, which students can take pride in, may aid learning when combined with strong leadership.

A SHOPLIFTER was snared by a new scheme which links stores to catch thieves.

Lee Chatfield was caught as he tried to take booze and cheese from an Ilkeston shop.

The shop manager recognised the 37-year-old using the ShopWatch scheme and watched him closely.

He was escorted to the back of the store where he damaged goods in his attempt to escape.

Chatfield of Market Street, Ilkeston, appeared before Southern Derbyshire Magistrates' Court and pleaded guilty to theft from B&M Bargains. He was jailed for 18 weeks.

ShopWatch links retailers via radios to police and to each other , allowing them to share information on suspicious behaviour or crime immediately.

The scheme, run by police and Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Chamber of Commerce, requires shops to pay a small annual fee for radios, chargerss and other items.

A FORMER Notts County team-mate of Sam Sodje and Cristian Montano has told the Post he is "shocked" the pair are at the centre of the latest betting allegations to rock football.

Colombian winger Montano, who played 16 games in two loan spells at Meadow Lane two seasons ago, was arrested over alleged spot-fixing, his current club Oldham Athletic has confirmed.

And former Magpies' defender Sodje, 33, has been secretly filmed by national newspaper the Sun on Sunday claiming he was paid £70,000 for deliberately getting sent off by punching an opponent when he was playing for Portsmouth last season.

Sodje was at Notts between November 2010 and May 2012, playing 31 games, before being released by the club and later joining Pompey.

Montano appears in the same video as Sodje and appears to say he deliberately tried – but failed – to get booked in the first half of a League One game between Oldham and Wolves on October 22 for cash – and offers to take part in another rigging incident.

Ex-Magpies midfielder Gavin Mahon played with both Sodje and Montano at Meadow Lane and he said: "Having played with them, I'm surprised.

"It's something I have never come across in my career – I'm very shocked.

"As a footballer it (the allegations) makes me very sad."

Blackburn striker DJ Campbell was also arrested as part of the same spot-fixing investigation, his club confirmed in a statement.

Six people were detained in an investigation by the National Crime Agency (NCA), after it acted on information passed to it by the Sun on Sunday.

"An active NCA investigation is now under way and we are working closely with the FA and the Gambling Commission," an NCA spokesman said.

"Five people were arrested on Sunday morning, and bailed that evening until April 2014. A sixth individual was arrested on Sunday evening."

Football League chief executive Shaun Harvey said: "We treat any allegations of criminal activity in our competitions with the utmost seriousness."

In a statement, the Football Association said: "The FA is aware of the National Crime Agency investigation and is working closely with the NCA and other authorities. We will make no further comment at this time."

The Professional Footballers' Association added: "These allegations, if proven, unfortunately demonstrate the real issue football faces in terms of corruption and highlights the necessity of the work carried out by the PFA and other stakeholders in the game in educating players of these risks.

"We take the issue of integrity very seriously and will continue in our efforts to eradicate this evil from our game."

PEOPLE who may have spoken to a man who tried to sell jewellery in a village lane are being asked to contact police.

Officers say he was seen in Tollerton Lane at 11am yesterday and are calling it a "suspicious incident".

The man was claiming he had broken down and needed to sell the jewellery for petrol.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Notts Police on 101 and quote incident number 246 of December 9.

DRIVERS heading out of the city faced long delays at rush hour yesterday because of a broken-down car.

The car got stuck in Mansfield Road, blocking one lane outbound near the junction with Forest Road East, just before 5pm.

It led to delays on all roads around it.

POLICE have released an image of a distinctive watch stolen during a robbery in Long Eaton.

A 42-year-old man was walking along a path between West Park and King Street when two men approached him, one on a bicycle, and asked for a light. The next thing he remembers is waking up on his back on the floor with a lump to the back of his head and facial injuries consistent with being punched. His wallet and IWC watch, pictured, had been stolen.

The victim has described the two men who approached him as white and slim. The one on foot was in his mid-20s and around 5ft 7ins. He wore a grey hooded top and dark tracksuit bottoms. The cyclist wore a dark tracksuit.

A 39-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of robbery but he has been questioned and released without charge.

The incident happened at around 10.15am on Monday, September 23.

Anyone with information should call police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

POLICE are appealing for witnesses after a man was stabbed in Huthwaite.

Just after 7.30pm on Saturday, a 50-year-old man was dragged from the Market Club in Market Place, Huthwaite, and beaten and kicked about the head.

The same group is then believed to have been involved in a fight outside the Nag's Head, Low Street, Sutton-in-Ashfield, at around 10pm.

At just before 11pm, the windows of a house in Greenwood Avenue, Huthwaite, were smashed.

And at just after 3.30am on Sunday in Oakland Avenue, Huthwaite, a 22-year-old man was stabbed.

He was taken to King's Mill Hospital and treated for serious injuries. He has since been discharged.

Three men, aged 20, 21 and 28, have been arrested. They remain in police custody for questioning.

Anyone with any information should call police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

IT'S that time of the year when football fans will soon be spoilt rotten with a feast of action.

The festive period brings with it a run of four games in 11 days for Nottingham Forest supporters this season, all sandwiched between a lot of Christmas cheer and New Year celebrations.

It's also a time that can, and has been known to, make-or-break a season – with key points up for grabs before the transfer window opens once again for business in January.

Personally, it's a time for multiple trays of stuffing at the dinner table, corny presents and watching Kermit the Frog star in the Muppet's adaptation of Charles Dickens' 'The Christmas Carol'.

Fans can, and are more than welcome to, shake their heads in disbelief at my tenuous link into Forest's own chances over this period being nicely tied into the key themes of this novel, which has been portrayed on the big screen more times than I can remember.

'Marley and Marley' are by no means about to appear from beyond the grave to Billy Davies two nights before he prepares to face promotion favourites QPR at the City Ground on December 26.

But the 'Ghost of Christmas Past', or more appropriately a look back at recent festive periods, show that Forest have sacked two managers following Boxing Day games – Sean O'Driscoll just last year and Colin Calderwood in 2008.

Furthermore, in the last two seasons they have won just once each time out of their four Christmas games – although Davies' own record is a tad better than this and, when he was at the Forest helm for the first time, he masterminded three wins out of four in 2010 and two wins and two draws in 2009.

As well as the three former Reds players coming back to face their old club on Saturday when Ipswich are the visitors, there is also the possibility of Forest being haunted by faces from the past when they travel to Reading on New Year's Day – with Garath McCleary, Chris Gunter and Billy Sharp all set to line up against the Reds.

Another player that could come back to haunt the Reds is Charlie Austin, when Forest host QPR on Boxing Day – a striker bang in form who the Reds enquired about signing themselves in the summer before he moved to Loftus Road.

And then there is Leeds – a side Forest beat 4-2 on Boxing Day last season (and 7-3 away under Steve Cotterill not too long ago) and looked magnificent, only for O'Driscoll to get the sack a matter of hours after the full-time whistle.

And that brings me to the 'Ghost of Christmas Present', with Ebenezer Scrooge not being able to get excited about this time of year or anything for the matter.

While we're not expecting to see Davies wonder around the City Ground chuntering 'bah humbug' to all he encounters, he is repeating one message at present on a regular basis after games.

After the battling 1-0 victory away to Sheffield Wednesday at the weekend, Davies said: "The one thing that I don't do, when I look at the situation, is get too excited.

"I don't get too excited when we are in the top six, when we win, when we draw and when we lose – my message to the players is always the same. I tell them to keep working, to keep plugging away, to keep ticking along.

"There will be highs and lows, there will be ups and downs. There is a long way to go. I am just making a point, I am not having a go."

There certainly have been many ups and downs so far in what has been a solid start to the season.

That win against the Owls broke a run of just one win in seven by the Reds and propelled them back into the play-off places.

But there have also been some big positives, like the away win against high-flying Leicester and the superb showing on the road at Brighton – not to mention the club making one of their best starts to a season in many a year.

Heading into the game with the Tractor Boys, and as we look towards that busy Christmas period, Forest's campaign looks to be in the balance.

Another below-par run and teams around them could steal a march in the race for promotion, but – equally – Forest could come out of the back end of the festive period knocking on the door of automatic promotion and celebrating a Premier League scalp, in West Ham, in the third round of the FA Cup.

The 'Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come' could yet see Forest playing in the top flight themselves come the 2014 season of good will and that's the carrot dangling at the end of the stick for the Reds.

Nine points from games against QPR, Leeds and Reading – with the rest of their rivals facing equally difficult and busy schedules – would see Forest right up there ahead of Davies being able to strengthen his squad further next month.

Chairman and owner Fawaz Al Hasawi has supported the Reds boss handsomely in the transfer market over the last six months or so and it would not be a surprise to see new faces in at the City Ground – possibly in the form of a new striker, a midfielder (which could be David Vaughan signing permanently) and a left-back.

A good run over Christmas would cement Forest's place in the top six; see them push for the top two; help them become an even more attractive proposition to prospective signings; and could help them go on one of those famous runs that Davies is known for as a manager.

The Scot inspired Forest to almost equal the club record run of wins when he came back to the club in February and you wouldn't put it past him to take his team on another fantastic series of results to help them challenge their two East Midlands rivals in what could become a real local push for the big prize on offer.

If this can happen, then Davies – like Scrooge when he showers Tiny Tim and his family with presents and a giant turkey on Christmas morning after having a change of heart – may, at least inwardly, start to get "excited" about the prospect of fulfilling his quest at the City Ground.

He came back saying he had "unfinished business" and if Davies can fill the Reds fans with Christmas joy in the coming weeks, then the good will and confidence flowing around the club could be the catalyst needed to push onwards and upwards.

And maybe then, it won't be "highs and lows" and "ups and downs" he speaks about in his press conferences – just highs and ups.

In the words of the majority of Forest fans on the nottinghampost.com message boards – 'Come on You Reds!'

CHRISTMAS trees at a city centre church are raising money for the homeless.

Christopher Harrison, vicar of St Mary's Church in the Lace Market, decided to set up a tree festival to bring the community together and to enable people to make a donation to homeless charity Emmanuel House.

Mr Harrison said: "The Christmas tree festival is a new departure for St Mary's. It is a celebration of creativity and community and we want everyone to join in.

"Emmanuel House is an independent charity based in Nottingham. It has strong links with the church and they do a brilliant job helping those in need."

Yesterday, 16 companies and organisations from the city gathered in the church to decorate a Christmas tree in a style of their own choice.

Will Wakefield, chief executive of the Nottinghamshire YMCA, chose a red and gold theme for the charity's tree.

Mr Wakefield said: "We want to support the community spirit and bring the community into one of the most beautiful churches in the Midlands.

"We chose red and gold. Red is the colour we use to depict caring and respect is represented by gold. The work Emmanuel House does is amazing."

Other companies and organisations to take part in the festival include the Creative Quarter Company, Nottingham Contemporary, Broadway Cinema, the Hungry Pumpkin Cafe, the Lace Market Hotel and Nottingham Workplace Chaplaincy.

Emmanuel House also decorated its own tree for the festival.

Fashion designer Daniel Hanson, who owns Daniel Hanson clothing and fabric manufacturers in Aspley, said he was pleased to support the festival.

Mr Hanson said: "We used bits of cloth we had left as opposed to putting them into the bin. Raising money for Emmanuel House is very important. We often get swallowed up in the commercial aspect of Christmas but we need to think about those who are most vulnerable."

Ruth Shelton, chief executive of Emmanuel House, said: "Christmas can be a very difficult time for people who are excluded from the festivities by poverty, homelessness and illness, mental and physical. Our tree demonstrates that these are issues that everyone faces and which the community have come together to tackle. It means a lot to us to be included in the Christmas tree festival."

Members of the public can view the decorated trees in the church from today until Saturday, December 21, from 10am until 3pm daily, excluding Sundays.

Admission is free but all donations made will go towards the work of Emmanuel House.

SPECIAL bins have been installed at 17 police stations for a week-long knife amnesty.

The scheme was launched yesterday and runs until Sunday, allowing people to drop off knives with no questions asked.

The Post reported last Thursday about the scheme, the first of its type in Notts for seven years.

It has been backed by stabbing victims and their relatives.

They include 38-year-old Paul Moody, of Mansfield, who last week told how he miraculously survived being stabbed in the stomach in an attack in the city centre in December 2011.

Bins can be found at the following stations in the city: Central, St Ann's, The Meadows, Clifton, Radford Road, Bulwell and Oxclose Lane.

They can also be found at Eastwood, Carlton, West Bridgford, Mansfield, Sutton-in-Ashfield, Hucknall, Worksop, Retford, Ollerton and Newark.

People are asked to make sure knives are covered or wrapped when they are handed in.

Detective Chief Inspector Mick Luke said: "We are not under any illusions that this amnesty is going to stop knife crime, but if we have just one knife handed in, then that's potentially one life saved."

PROPERTY owners hit by last week's strong winds are being warned to be on their guard against rogue traders.

Notts County Council says its trading standards team receives an increase in complaints about doorstep traders following extreme weather.

Councillor Glynn Gilfoyle, chairman of the community safety committee, said: "Dodgy traders prey on the vulnerable and are likely to target people who have damaged roofs or fallen fences in the aftermath of the winds.

"They may frighten people into having work done where it is unnecessary or charge exorbitant prices, so we encourage people to say no to all doorstep callers no matter what product, deal or service they are offering."

The council advises people to speak to their insurance company before employing someone to make repairs. For more information call 08454 04 05 06.

A UNIVERSITY of Nottingham student has been appointed as Youth Goodwill Ambassador of Denmark.

Law student Joanna Hill, 20, is studying at the University of Copenhagen as part of her degree programme.

According to Denmark's Economic Council of the Labour Movement, Danish companies will be short of up to 21,000 graduate-level employees by 2020. Attracting foreign talent has been identified as crucial to preserving Denmark's status as a globally recognised country of innovation.

The ambassador role now engages up to 350 current and former international students.

The aim of the scheme is to promote Denmark as an attractive destination for student exchange and career opportunities.

Joanna said: "There is a very relaxed way of life, everyone cycles everywhere and there is a big emphasis on communal living."

A NEW director has been appointed to steer the University of Nottingham's biggest-ever fundraising campaign.

Doug Thomson starts as director of campaign and alumni relations in March.

He has worked in an advisory capacity for the fundraising team for several years.

He will be responsible for helping Impact: The Nottingham Campaign to help disadvantaged children raise £150 million. It has already reached £105 million.

Vice-chancellor Professor David Greenaway said: "Doug's institutional knowledge, his affinity as a Nottingham graduate and wide experience of philanthropy in the higher education and grant-making sectors gives us the confidence to drive Impact to a really spectacular conclusion."

DAVID Hasselhoff hit the shops in Nottingham on Monday and was spotted by several Hoffwatchers.

The Hoff was seen outside Marks & Spencer and H Samuel, in Lister Gate, and then in Friar Lane.

Amanda Wright tweeted: "Just walked passed the Hoff in Nottingham."

@EzekialBone also wrote: "The light grew brighter and there on Friar Lane before me was Mr Entertainment himself!"

The Hoff is currently starring in the Theatre Royal's panto Peter Pan as Hook and we are asking readers to send us in their pictures of the former Baywatch star out and about in the city.

Tweet your pictures to @Nottingham_Post using #hoffwatch.

TWO incidents involving swans being killed and mutiliated are being investigated by police.

Officers have received several reports from a member of the public who found several dead swans in the Long Eaton area.

Officers are linking the incident to one where a dog walker found a mutilated swan.

PCSO Paul Boss, from the Long Eaton Town Safer Neighbourhood Team, said: "It potentially looks as if they had been shot by a gas canister and it is clear from the carcasses that the feathers had been plucked. We do not believe this to be an animal attack and this puts it into a serious category of crime as swans, like any wild bird, are protected by law so this is not only very cruel, but illegal."

Swans are protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and it is an offence to intentionally injure, take or kill one. Members of the public using the Attenborough Gravel Pits area are now being asked to be vigilant in relation to any suspicious behaviour concerning the wildlife on site.

CITY schools due to get new buildings still don't know when work will start.

Three schools are waiting for new improvements under the Government's Priority Schools Building Programme.

But 18 months since the announcement was made, nothing has been started.

Meeting between head teachers at Top Valley Academy, Glenbrook Primary in Bilborough and Springfield Primary in Bulwell and those in charge of the programme have still left question marks over when builders will move in.

Meanwhile, work on 13 county schools included in the programme is likely to start much sooner.

Nottingham North MP Graham Allen yesterday pledged to contact Education Secretary Michael Gove to ask when the work on the city schools – all in his constituency – is set to begin.

He said: "These schools are very much in need of rebuilds. Top Valley has missed out before while other secondaries in the area had new schools.

"I will be contacting the secretary of state over this. One of the best ways to help schools is to give pupils and teachers the right environment in which to learn."

Top Valley was one of the schools which missed out when the former Building Schools for the Future programme was scrapped when the coalition Government came into power.

Along with the two other city schools and 13 in the county, it was named on the list of those which would benefit from the replacement building programme.

Top Valley head teacher Peter Brown said he is still waiting for a definite start date, but is hopeful work could start in 2015, with the new-look school being ready to open in September 2016.

He said: "I've been involved in meetings which show it is moving forward at pace.

"This is vital work which needs to be done and will make us a 900-place 11-to-16 school. We currently have 620.

"The work will be done on our current footprint. I feel positive but it will be nice when we see the first brick."

Anna Grant-Thomas, head teacher at Glenbrook Primary, admits to feeling frustrated.

She said: "We really need a new building and we have been holding talks. But we just don't know when it will be right now.

"It is frustrating, especially given that we currently spend £55,000 a year on heating and electricity. That is a lot of money on energy which could go on children's education."

In the county, the situation is much more advanced. Work on Fountaindale Special School in Mansfield is due to start shortly, with completion expected at the end of next year.

Work on the others is likely to start around next spring and be finished late 2015.

Those schools are South Nottinghamshire Academy, Radcliffe-on-Trent; Abbey Primary, Mansfield; Annie Holgate, Hucknall; Brierley Forest Primary, Sutton-in-Ashfield; John Davies Primary, Sutton-in-Ashfield; Leamington Primary, Sutton-in-Ashfield; Lynncroft Primary, Eastwood; Sunnyside Primary, Beeston; Wainwright Academy, Mansfield; Rosebrook Primary, Mansfield; Newark Academy; and Serlby Park Academy, Bircotes.

A GANG of masked men kidnapped another man from in the street and took him away to be tortured, a court heard.

Prosecutors say Ammar Lazim, 24, was pulled from his car by four men and bundled into the back of another vehicle in Church Lane, Arnold.

He was then driven to a flat in Previn Gardens, St Ann's, where he was beaten by up to eight men and tortured.

Nottingham Crown Court heard the gang believed Mr Lazim was a drug dealer and demanded £10,000 from him.

The court heard the attack on the night of June 27 took place at the home of Paul Hamilton.

Hamilton, 43, went on trial yesterday, where he denied charges of conspiracy to kidnap, robbery of Mr Lazim's wallet and cash, grievous bodily harm and possession of heroin with intent to supply.

Prosecutor Richard Thatcher said Hamilton let the gang into his flat and had also taken part in the torture of Mr Lazim.

He said: "Once inside, Mr Lazim quickly discovered their true purpose. They wanted money.

"That group believed he was a drug dealer and they wanted £10,000 from him.

"What the prosecution say is what took place was clearly drug motivated and it was a vicious assault."

Mr Lazim was pulled from his Mini car in Church Lane at around 10.50pm, while he was parked outside a friend's house.

Mr Thatcher said the men dragged him into their car, covered his head, and threatened him with a knife in order to keep him silent.

He said: "He was taken from that address to an address, the prosecution say, which was ready and waiting to be used by those men and others for the purposes they had in mind for Ammar Lazim."

Mr Thatcher told jurors that the gang dragged him into the flat and beat him, before pouring a kettle full of boiling water over him, placing a hot iron against his arm, and also striking him with vacuum cleaner piping and a hammer.

The masked men also threatened to cut off one of Mr Lazim's ears, stabbed his legs and burnt them with lit cigarettes, and also told him he would be killed and "fed to the pigs".

Mr Thatcher said he was then stripped and taken to the bathroom, where we was ordered to get into a bath of boiling hot water and subjected to further torture.

Once the ordeal had finished, the gang told Mr Lazim he was to meet a friend of theirs with £5,000 and a quantity of cannabis.

He was driven and dumped in Honeywood Drive, Thorneywood.

Mr Lazim required treatment in hospital to injuries suffered during the attack, and was interviewed by police about the incident the following day.

The trial continues.