SAM Oldham has returned home from the Glasgow Commonwealth Games after it was confirmed he suffered ankle ligament damage.

The Nottingham gymnast landed awkwardly from his vault routine during England's gold medal-winning team performance.

It meant he missed the final two rotations and had to be lifted up on to the podium by team-mates Louis Smith and Kristian Thomas after being left on crutches and with his foot in a brace.

The injury rules Oldham out of the individual events, for which he had qualified in the rings and floor, and may also put him in doubt for the World Championships in October.

A statement from Team England read: "Sam Oldham sustained an ankle ligament injury whilst performing a Draselescu vault during the Team competition at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

"The Team England Medical staff are working with British Gymnastics Medical team to ensure a collaborative management plan.

"Sam will return home to commence his rehabilitation in order to return to full fitness. He is under the best possible medical supervision provided by British Gymnastics and the English Institute of Sport."

Oldham had helped put England in a strong position at the end of the first day of the artistic competition, scoring well on floor and rings – and he had come to Glasgow hoping to add an individual medal to his collection.

Team England Chef de Mission Jan Paterson said: "We are hugely disappointed for Sam, and hope he will have a speedy recovery.

"We are incredibly proud of his Gold Medal winning performance with the Men's Gymnastic Artistic Team.

"Sam will be sorely missed in the Athletes' Village by all of Team England."

BEESTON Hockey trio Adam Dixon, Harry Martin and Ollie Willars are through to the semi-finals of the Commonwealth Games.

England beat Canada 3-1 in their final group game in Glasgow to secure their spot in the last four.

They enjoyed plenty of possession in the first half, but despite a succession of penalty corners, struggled to find a breakthrough on a slippery surface.

Ashley Jackson finally managed it in the 26th minute, and it didn't take long for England to add to that tally after the break, with Barry Middleton flicking the ball beyond the keeper.

Jackson then added a third from a penalty corner as England dominated the second half, before Scott Tupper pulled one back for Canada in the closing minutes.

In all likelihood, England will finish second in their group, unless New Zealand suffer a surprise defeat to Malaysia later on today, with defending champions Australia likely to be their semi-final opponents.

The match will take place on Saturday.

An inmate has bitten the ear of a prison officer at HMP Nottingham.

The incident happened at the prison on Perry Road, in Sherwood, on Wednesday morning, with the member of staff having to be rushed to the Queen's Medical Centre for treatment. 

A source told The Post it was a senior officer that was attacked on the alpha wing of the prison - known as the detox wing.

The source said: "The senior officer had his ear bitten off. His earlobe and that area. I don't know what the prisoner is in for. 

"He went into his cell and he attacked him, grabbed him and bit it off."

A prison service spokesperson confirmed the violent incident.

He said: "Prison staff do an excellent job and their safety and security is of paramount importance. Anyone who is violent towards them - or anyone else in prison - can expect to face severe consequences.

"We have referred this incident to the police and are helping them with their enquiries. We always press for the most serious charges to be laid against anyone who is violent in prison." 

HMP Nottingham has been hitting the headlines in recent weeks after a report from the Independent Monitoring Board of prisons highlighted a number of issues with under-staffing and lockdowns. 

Shortly after, a prisoner gouged his own eyes out.

Brunette bombshell Megan Fox wowed the crowds this week at the Mexico City premiere of her new movie, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Wearing a dazzling embellished dress, the actress sparkled her way down the red carpet.

The 28-year-old, who is most famous for her role in the Transformers movies, kept to the metallic theme by teaming her dress with a pair of patent silver shoes and a statement box clutch bag.

Despite Megan's dress a designer creation by Lebanese designer Zuhair Murad, costing £4000, this look can easily be created on a high street budget.

Head to high street favourites including River Island, Motel at Topshop and Coast for a great range of party dresses at lower prices.

THE Nottingham Post is pleased to exclusively reveal Notts County's new away kit today.

It will go on sale tomorrow and – along with the new home kit – will be on the shelves in the club shop during an Open Day at Meadow Lane tomorrow.

Fans will also be given the chance to watch their heroes being put through their paces in a special training session.

And manager Shaun Derry and assistant Greg Abbott will show what goes on behind the scenes on a day-to-day basis.

The day begins at 10am for season ticket holders, who will have their picture taken with the players for a big group photo.

An hour later, the gates open to the public and they will be able to ask for autographs from the players and Notts legends.

Fairground rides, stadium tours and lots more will be going on throughout the day.

BEREAVED Rebecca Nevin was more than three times the drink-drive limit when she smashed into a skip while on route to her mum's grave – wearing just her pyjamas.

The 30-year-old was found sitting in her wrecked car, looking "vacant", by two men who had seen her swerving from side to side as she drove along Longmoor Lane, Long Eaton.

Southern Derbyshire Magistrates Court heard that Nevin, of Stapleford, had been drinking and had then decided to visit her mother's grave at around 10pm.

But while on route to the cemetery, she crashed into a skip, sending traffic cones spinning across the road.

The two men who saw her told police: "The driver looked vacant.

"We asked the driver if she was OK and she asked what we had done."

Nevin admitted drink-driving and magistrates banned her from driving for five years and gave her a 12-week jail sentence, suspended for a year. She was also told to attend a six-month course to tackle her problems with alcohol.

Prosecutor Peter Bettany told the court: "She didn't seem aware she had driven into a skip and was wearing her pyjamas.

"Police came and called out an ambulance but its staff didn't think she required medical treatment."

Jobless Nevin, of Lawrence Street, was taken to a police station following the smash, on May 14, and found to have 292 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood. The legal limit is 80.

She was then taken to hospital.

Mr Bettany added: "In a pre-sentence report, she said she was drinking and decided to visit the cemetery where her mother was laid to rest."

Nevin, who was also banned for drink-driving in 2010, must pay £85 prosecution costs and an £80 government surcharge.

District Judge Morris Cooper told her: "This is a very serious offence, I hope you have learned that.

"It is also a very worrying offence.

"Fortunately in your case, nobody was killed or seriously injured as a result of your utterly reckless driving and the extraordinarily high level of alcohol in your body."

He said Nevin could have been jailed immediately but told her: "You would be out in a few weeks and nothing would be done to deal with your alcohol problem.

"I am suspending it for the benefit of the public."

Lauren Sharkey, in mitigation, said Nevin had been her mother's "full-time carer" and told the judge: "Her alcohol intake increased since the death of her mother.

"She was missing her mother and consumed a large quantity of alcohol and decided to visit."

Nevin had seen a bereavement counsellor but the appointment was with a man and she "felt she would open up more with a female counsellor", the court was told.

Miss Sharkey added: "She had been drinking daily and feels she is dependent on alcohol.

"She has tried to seek help and has been to Alcoholics Anonymous and another alcohol treatment service run by the NHS.

"But she felt she had no support to stop her thinking about her problems and that made her feel worse.

"She wants some kind of structure to make sure she gets away from her alcohol dependency."

THE public gym at Farnborough School will be closed down when the institution gains Academy status next term, leading to the loss of four jobs.

Farnborough School Sports Hall Gym opened in 2009 after Nottingham City Council won over £850,000 of funding from The Big Lottery to build the four court sports facility and fitness suite in Clifton.

But the gym is reportedly losing £30,000 a year and when Farnborough School becomes part of The Trent Academies Group – the trust which will take charge of both Farnborough School and Rushcliffe School in September – it is going to cut its ties with the business.

A City Council document given to The Post revealed the closure, saying: "The sports hall currently runs at a loss, so it is not possible for the Trust to take it on."

Phil Crompton, executive head of The Trent Academies Group confirmed the closure.

He said: "The gym is losing £30,000 a year and as a result the Trust cannot legally take responsibility for it.

"The school will continue to honour the agreements, still hire it out to groups and make sure the community can use it. But we can't by law look after a loss making business."

Nick Lee, head of school access and learning at Nottingham City Council, said: "The Farnborough sports hall needs to be viable. It needs to generate enough income to cover its running costs.

"Currently too few people are using the gym facility but the Council will continue to work closely with the staff at Farnborough to explore all the options."

Farnborough School itself has received a raft of government funding in recent years, with the school celebrating the opening of a new £17 million building by local sporting hero and Paralympic champion Richard Whitehead two weeks ago.

A 32-year-old member of the gym from Clifton, who wanted to remain anonymous, said: "All the staff are friendly and helpful and the gym itself is immaculate with top notch equipment.

"The reason it is closing is due to the council not allowing funds for advertising so nobody knew it existed.

"There is nothing on Clifton estate that is any good and they want to get rid of something that people love."

NOTTINGHAM Forest are ready to splash the cash to ensure they have the firepower to mount a promotion challenge, says Stuart Pearce.

The Reds boss still hopes to strengthen his side in a number of positions prior to the big kick-off against Blackpool in eight days – with a striker still very much a priority.

Pearce is delighted with the business he has done so far – which has seen Forest get great value for money with the addition of Michael Mancienne and Lars Veldwijk for an initial outlay of less than £1m and Matty Fryatt and Chris Burke on free transfers.

But Pearce hinted that Forest are still chasing a big money front man to bolster their threat in front of goal and help ensure they are among the challengers in the Championship.

Forest made £5m-plus bids to land Charlie Austin and Gary Hooper this time last summer, but could not quite land their targets.

But Pearce hopes they will be more successful this time around.

"Our business has been reasonably low key, in terms of the outlay. With regards to Mancienne and Lars Veldwijk, while Burke and Fryatt have come on a free. The business side of it has been pretty good," said Pearce.

"We have sniffed around one or two higher priced players, if you like – and we will continue to do that. As I said, the chairman has been very supportive.

"Every time I have asked the question, they (the Forest hierarchy) have delivered for me financially. Some have come off, some have not come through the door."

Pearce believes adding a prolific goal scorer to the City Ground ranks is vital to their ambitions – but admits that signing a quality striker is the most challenging task of all in the transfer market, because they are the men in most demand.

"It is fair to say that most teams have a 20 goal a season striker if they get out of this league. If you don't have that, you need a contribution from your whole team, right across the board. We are, like everyone else in this league, looking for the players at the top of the team who can fire the goals and who can improve our squad. We will continue to look to do that," he said.

"It is probably the position that is toughest to fill. It is possible to rehash defenders into different positions – we have used Danny Fox in a central role, in pre-season, for example.

"With strikers it is more difficult – and they are the ones, they are the commodity in football that everyone wants, which makes it more difficult.

"We are pleased with the business we have done so far, we are pleased with the strikers we have got in. We have three front line strikers, in (Simon) Cox, Fryatt and Lars.

"On top of that, young Tyler Walker has come in, but he will take time.

"Dexter Blackstock is still injured and won't be available for a couple of months. We will look at his fitness when he does come back.

"I do still feel that we have to add to that part of the team."

Forest will also look to add more players on loan.

Midfielder Nate Chalobah is not on his list of targets – but Pearce confirmed there are a number of Chelsea players he is looking at, with a view to signing on loan.

"Chalobah is not one on our radar," he said. "There may be somebody else at Chelsea – but listen, Chelsea have a multitude of fantastic young players. A lot of teams will be talking to Chelsea this summer, through pre-season, to see what they have available.

"The same will apply to Liverpool, Manchester City and every other team at the top of the league. They need to farm their players out to get experience.

"Are some of those players good enough to come into the Championship and do themselves credit? The answer is categorically yes.

"It is fair to say that there will be plenty of teams putting calls in to Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal, along with all the other teams up there."

EQUIPMENT once used to grow cannabis will now help gardeners nurture their tomatoes and cucumbers.

Nottinghamshire Police's Cannabis Dismantling Team has donated more than £2,000 worth of plant pots, compost, water butts and watering cans to St Ann's Allotments.

Volunteers yesterday helped the team unload the equipment – seized during raids – recycling the gear in a typically eco-friendly scheme.

Around 80 of the 5kg compost bags, dozens of water butts and hundreds of plant pots and seed trays were piled up at the historic allotments' heritage centre.

"It's unusual," said allotment holder Dave McVea, 57. "But it's an example of something good coming from something bad which the police have put an end to.

"The compost looks like decent stuff and I could use it on my tomatoes, cucumbers and the melons in the greenhouse."

Mr McVea, who lives in St Ann's, said most allotment holders would agree with the principle of recycling, no matter where the equipment came from.

"It's better than it being thrown away," he said. "There's plenty of stuff I could definitely make use of."

Michael Peacock, project manager of the allotments, which opened its visitor centre two years ago, said the spoils would be shared between community projects and gardeners.

"Allotment holders are all about making, mending and recycling," said the 38-year-old from Sherwood. "Why would they spend money on something when you could reuse something instead?"

St Ann's Allotments are home to 670 plots with more than 550 gardeners at the 75-acre grade II-listed site, which has more than 2,000 fruit trees.

"I don't think there will be any reluctance to use the equipment," said Mr Peacock. "Compost is compost whether it's for tomatoes or cannabis.

"We're pleased to have the donation and hopefully as many people as possible can benefit from it."

The force's dismantling team also sell off reflectors and smell filters as scrap through local metal dealers, with some of the profits pumped back into the police.

PC Stuart Clarke said: "We see the problems that drugs create in our communities every day, so why not give something back when we can?"

The team usually visits at least one 'grow' a day and is hoping to keep adding to community projects .

YOU would be forgiven for thinking growing grass with infra-red and LED bulbs is nothing new.

But students from the University of Nottingham gave it a new twist when they pitched in with local heating company Ailsen Ltd to re-use seized bulbs from cannabis growers to keep Notts County's grass green at Meadow Lane.

Rigs used at football stadia to shine light on shaded areas of the pitch, obstructed by the stands, usually cost around £80,000. But the student volunteers helped keep County's bill to less than £5,000.

Each light can cost up to £60 and after being used as evidence by Notts Police, would otherwise have been thrown away.

The wheels and batteries were also donated by a local golf club.

The idea was the brainchild of stadium manager Greg Smith, who read in the Post about what equipment was seized at police raids.

The history of Nottingham's outlaws is brought to life in the building they were once judged, imprisoned and executed.

Using actors, audio guides, lighting, sounds, set dressing and exhibitions, the Galleries of Justice Museum explains the building's horrific history.

The museum was founded in 1993 and first opened its doors in 1995.

Since then, the museum has won a number of awards including the recent Small Visitor Attraction of the Year award at the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence 2014. 

This year, the museum hosted the Lace Market Music Festival and can also be hired out for events.

Shire Hall, High Pavement, The Lace Market, Nottingham, NG1 1HN 
0115 952 0555 
www.galleriesofjustice.org.uk/

Opening times:
Monday – Friday, 9am – 5:30pm
Weekends, school and Bank Holidays, 10am – 5pm

Admission charges:
Adult - £9.95
Child/Concession - £7.95
Under 4s – Free
Family Ticket (2 adults and 2 concessions or 1 adult and 3 children) - £27.50

The Canning Circus Creative Hub is set to benefit from a £50,000 refurbishment - just months after the council looked into moving the centre.

The hub, which houses around 30 small and medium-sized creative businesses, is situated across three grade II listed buildings in Wollaton Street, owned by Nottingham City Council.

It has now been given funding to refurbish the premises by Scape, a local authority controlled company which specialises in procurement and construction.

The cash will go towards sprucing up the buildings with new windows, new lights and light fittings ,and re-plastering.

There will also be upgrades to the kitchen and bathroom facilities, and internal and external repairs will be made alongside improvements to the heating system.

Tenant Chris Todd, of New Basford, said he is looking forward to seeing the end result.

The 40-year-old musician, said: "It will make a massive difference. We haven't really had any investment in the building since we have been here so this sort of cash injection will make a vast difference."

The good news comes after a petition was launched when plans were revealed to move the hub, with campaigners saying that talent in the city would drift away if the collective was split up.

The petition collected more than 900 signatures – and less than a month later the plans were scrapped.

Simon Paterson, 41, of Sherwood, said the grant would ensure the sustainability of the building for years to come.

The musician, who has been renting his room since 1997, said: "It is going to promote some kind of longevity at the premises. We have been here for a long time so it is really good that the council [which helped secure the grant] realise it is really important for local culture to be allowed to thrive.

"It is going to be a really positive thing for local, creative people to know that this will be here for a long time to come."

The money was secured through Scape's Reinvest programme, which returns the company's surpluses to community projects.

Chief executive of Scape Mark Robinson said: "We're thrilled to be able to allocate this grant and we know that the new facilities will benefit not only those that currently use the hub but also generations of creative businesses and people in Nottingham in the future."

Nottingham City Council's portfolio holder for jobs and growth, Councillor Nick McDonald, said: "I am delighted that this funding has been secured to help improve the hub's facilities. Whilst these funds alone will not make all the improvements needed to the building, they are a major step towards securing the long term viability of this site."

The work is expected to begin in the Autumn.

Has your community project been given a grant? Tell us at newsdesk@nottinghampost.com

ENGLAND'S women's hockey team are in with a chance of a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games.

Ellie Watton and her team-mates saw off New Zealand in a tense semi-final and will now face Australia tomorrow, with the top prize up for grabs.

England took the lead in today's last four clash, but their opponents replied to take it to a shoot-out, which England won, 3-1.

Meanwhile, Nottingham squash player Emma Beddoes and partner Alison Waters will compete in the Commonwealth Games bronze medal match tomorrow.

The duo missed out on a place in the final of the Women's Doubles, being beaten 2-0 by fellow English pair Jenny Duncalf and Laura Massaro at Scotstoun.

Elsewhere, gymnast Becky Downie was unable to add to her medal tally in Glasgow, finishing in last place in the Balance Beam.

The 22-year-old, who won golds in the Team and individual Uneven Bars events, fell off the bar three times, posting a score of 9.833.

Timber company boss Jon Walker has been fined £15,000 after a worker was injured.

Employee James Abrahams was walking alongside a forklift truck to steady a pallet of fencing at the company's base in Mansfield Lane, Calverton, when the accident happened.

According to the Heath and Safety Executive, he was run over by the truck.

Mr Abrahams, 21, of Calverton, spent 12 days in hospital and was unable to work for a number of months after the accident on July 30, 2012.

He suffered leg fractures, broken and dislocated toes and deep grazing, said the HSE.

At Nottingham Magistrates' Court, guilty pleas were entered on behalf of the company to two breaches of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

District Judge Tim Devas fined company director Mr Walker £10,000, after he failed to ensure the health, safety and welfare of all employees, including Mr Abrahams, when transporting pallets of chestnut pales through the yard.

An additional £5,000 fine was issued on the second charge – where he failed to make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the health and safety risks which employees were exposed to in relation to the pallets.

Costs of £9,850 were ordered to be paid and a £120 victim surcharge at the hearing on Friday, August 1.

Judge Devas said: "The aggravating features in this case that I have looked at are: the obvious risk that this activity caused and the fact that this was not an isolated incident. 

"There was no proper risk assessment, there appears to be a lack of training."

He also took into account the age of Mr Abrahams and that his injury appeared to have no long-lasting physical effect but appeared to have impacted psychologically.

Graham Hills, for the HSE, said Mr Abrahams resigned from his job on January 21 last year due to anxiety and nervousness.

"Psychologically he doesn't want to work with vehicles etc, etc."

Simon Antrobus, mitigating, told the judge: "He [Mr Walker] wants me to say at the outset in public that James Abrahams was a very keen, enthusiastic and valued employee. He describes him as a nice young man and nobody wanted him to experience something as awful as this."

The business, which has relocated since the accident to Blidworth, had no previous convictions.

After the hearing, HSE inspector Samantha Farrar said:

"This incident could so easily have resulted in a fatality and was entirely preventable.

"It had become the usual procedure, when pallets were leaning or unstable, for employees to walk alongside forklift trucks to hold the loads steady. It was this unsafe practice that led to serious injury.

"Vehicles at work are a major cause of fatal and severe injuries with more than 5,000 incidents involving workplace transport every year. Providing a safe system of work based upon the findings of a suitable risk assessment and adequately training, informing and instructing of staff makes incidents such as this significantly less likely."