INVESTIGATORS from British Gas have found solar panels can't be ruled out as the cause of a roof fire at a Nottinghamshire school.

The energy firm launched an investigation after a blaze at Sutton Bonington Primary School in April. It was one of three fires at schools provided with free panels by the company as part of its Generation Green project.

Gab Barbaro, managing director of British Gas Business Services, said the investigations into two of the fires had proved "inconclusive".

"When we investigated the incident in April, we had some concerns, so, as a precaution, we immediately took action to turn off the solar installation at certain non-domestic sites."

He added that work had begun to upgrade the panels at Sutton Bonington and more than 90 other schools across the country, 34 of them in Notts.

SPACES for nearly 60 cars have been created at a railway station.

The car park at Collingham station was officially opened yesterdayby Newark MP Robert Jenrick.

Before the opening, there was no parking space at the station, leading to cars being parked along the roadside lay-by and causing traffic problems.

The new car park will improve safety at the level crossing and cater for the growth in passenger numbers on the line between Newark North Gate and Lincoln.

There are 58 spaces, three disabled parking bays with direct access to Platform 2, as well as a ramp for mobility-impaired passengers.

CCTV has been installed for security and crime prevention and energy-saving LED floodlighting has been put in place.

The development was made possible by Network Rail and East Midlands Trains with support from Nottinghamshire County Council, Newark and Sherwood District Council and Collingham Parish Council.

West Bridgford: A handbag containing money was stolen from a car in Honister Close. The theft took place between 5.30pm and 6.30pm on Sunday when thieves smashed the back passenger window and stole the bag, left on the passenger seat. It contained a purse with £18 in it and a set of keys.

West Bridgford: Two bikes were stolen during a shed break-in in Patrick Road. The burglary took place between 5.30pm on Saturday and 10am on Sunday.

Ruddington: A mobile phone was among items stolen from a car in Ruddington Country Park on Sunday. The culprits smashed the car's back window before making off with a black handbag containing a pink wallet and cards, £30 cash and a pink Samsung Galaxy S5 phone. It happened between 9am and 9.30am. On the same day, a white moped was stolen from a driveway in Ruddington. The incident took place in Chartwell Avenue, between midnight and 6.15am.

Clifton: Traffic ground to a halt on Clifton Bridge yesterday morning after an accident involving three cars. Police were called to the scene on the northbound lanes of the bridge at 8.10am. There were no injuries to the people involved but recovery crews had to remove one vehicle from the road.

Sherwood: A car was found on fire in the early hours of yesterday morning in Sherwood. Notts Fire and Rescue Service was called to the scene, near Edwards Lane, at 4.20am. One fire engine from Arnold were called to the scene and took about ten minutes to put the fire out.

Sherwood: Burglars stole a laptop, a games console and cash after breaking into a house in Woodville Road.

They struck between 11pm on Thursday, August 21, and 7am the next day.

They gained entry to the home through an unlocked ground-floor window.

TELEVISION presenter Becky Sheeran was a lifesaver to this abandoned owl when she found it in the road.

The face of Notts TV discovered the bird dazed in the middle of Station Road, near her home in Widmerpool, at around 1am on Sunday.

After picking up the "cat-sized bird" and taking it home, she rushed it to PDSA Veterinary Centre, Dunkirk Road, Nottingham, fearing for its health.

She said: "He was blinking a lot, so we turned down all the lights and named him Blinky before taking him to PDSA.

"We were sitting in the waiting room with the owl, which was a little odd, but after a few minutes they took him off us.

"They came and told us that here was no obvious damage but he may have been hit by a car and a little shocked."

The owl is currently being looked after by the PDSA. "They are keeping him in for some rest and hopefully I will be able to release him when he is ready."

Although Becky managed to save Blinky, she was not as fortunate later that day after crashing into a badger at roughly 10.30pm.

She said: "All of a sudden, a large badger ran in to the middle of the road and we hit him.

"It smashed the front of the car up and the badger died just half a mile from where we found Blinky.

"I feel like I am back to zero after saving Blinky but killing the badger."

A 62-YEAR-OLD Newark resident was astonished when he was given a cheque for £50,000 at his front door.

Malcolm Greensmith, of Linden Avenue, received the prize in the People's Postcode Lottery.

He was at home with wife Angela when he heard a knock on the door.

"This has not sunk in yet, I had no idea I would win so much," he said. "I had hoped to retire next June but winning this money means I can bring it forward to the end of this year. "I'm delighted and this money will go straight into the retirement pot."

The lottery, which helps raise money for local good causes, picks winners based on players' postcodes.

A TEENAGER has been spared jail after admitting having sex with a 12-year-old girl.

Jordan Porter, 18, of Farnborough Road, Clifton, appeared at Nottingham Crown Court yesterday charged with sexual activity with a child.

The court heard how Porter, who was 17 at the time, had met up with the girl on January 27 last year after befriending her on Facebook.

Prosecutor Sarah Knight told the court: "He ended up pulling down her trousers and had sexual intercourse with her.

"She said she just lay there and let him do it."

Andrew Wesley, in mitigation, told the court Porter had stayed out of trouble since the incident and was working to rebuild his life.

He also said Porter had admitted the offence at the earliest opportunity.

Sentencing Porter to six months imprisonment, suspended for a year, Judge Michael Stokes QC said: "You took advantage of a young, naive girl.

"You knew she was not only under 16, but well under 16."

Porter is also subject to a supervision requirement for the next year and a curfew from 9pm until 6am for the next 40 days.

A MANAGER complained that he was unfairly dismissed after denying he revealed confidential information about a £3 million contract to a potential coach and bus competitor.

Andrew Collins was contracts and performance manager for Cabline UK Ltd, of Boulevard Industrial Estate, Beeston, which helps provide replacement transport to railways.

He claimed unfair dismissal and the unlawful deduction of wages and holiday pay at a Birmingham employment tribunal .

He denied an accusation that he revealed confidential information to the Green Bus company about negotiations to extend a contract involving a London Midland rail franchise.

The Green Bus coach and bus company is based in the West Midlands.

Cabline agreed that Mr Collins was owed £525 in unpaid wages but opposed the unfair dismissal claim. The firm told the tribunal the firm had originally successfully tendered for the London Midland contract – then worth £1 million – in 2012. Operations director Mark McFaul said there had been ongoing talks to extend the contract, now worth £3 million, to March 2015.

He added: "The contract is our firm's bread and butter. But negotiations about extending the contract were confidential, not in the public domain and only three directors knew about it."

He claimed Mr Collins had revealed details to Greenbus, described during a lunch meeting. The firm alleged there had been a breach of trust by Mr Collins, who had been suspended prior to his dismissal.

Mr Collins, represented at the tribunal by his father, John, denied the accusation.

He described Cabline as "brokers" whose function was to find coach and bus companies willing to provide replacement transport to the railways on their behalf.

He said he had previously worked for National Express and had been "head-hunted" by Cabline where, he said, he had helped created a lot of business.

Mr Collins said he did not know about the talks to extend the contract and claimed previous details had previously been made public anyway.

He accused the firm of dismissing him unfairly after acting only on hearsay and without proof.

After a hearing lasting nearly a week, tribunal judge Mr David Dimbylow said he would make a decision at a later date.

Carlton: Roy Vincent Broad, of Ousebridge Crescent, pleaded guilty to driving without due care and attention on Melton Road, Upper Broughton, on April 25. The 55-year-old was fined £230, ordered to pay costs of £85 and a £23 victim surcharge and received six points on his licence.

Mansfield: Ryan Clinton, 21, of Gladstone Street, appeared at Mansfield Magistrates' Court charged with two counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, failing to stop at the scene of a collision, failing to report a collision, driving while disqualified and driving without insurance or an MOT. The case was committed to Nottingham Crown Court for trial on September 15.

Sutton-in-Ashfield: Samantha Jade Dixon, 23, of Pepper Street, pleaded guilty to dishonestly undertaking or assisting in the retention, removal or disposal of stolen goods, namely a Carrera Valour pedal cycle to the value of £250. At Mansfield Magistrates' Court she was conditionally discharged for 12 months and ordered to pay a £15 victim surcharge and £85 court costs.

Sutton-in-Ashfield: Amy Sarah Hunt, 19, of Crowtrees Drive, pleaded guilty to drink-driving on Leeming Street, in Mansfield, on June 28. She had 131 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood, when the limit is 80. She was fined £230, disqualified from driving for 14 months and ordered to pay costs of £85 and a £23 victim surcharge.

Mansfield: Michael Francis Gallen, 49, of Portland Street, was found guilty of damaging a taxi passenger handle and a taxi wiper stalk to the value of £50, intending to destroy or damage such property or being reckless as to whether such property would be destroyed or damaged. He was ordered to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work within the next 12 months and was told to pay compensation of £50 and a £60 victim surcharge.

Mansfield: Michael Elliott, of Dallas Street, was handed an eight-week prison sentence suspended for 12 months after pleading guilty to harassment. He was also given a four-week prison sentence suspended for 12 months to run consecutively, after he admitted damaging a window pane. Mansfield Magistrates' Court also gave him a supervision order for 12 months and ordered him to carry out 40 hours of unpaid work within the next 12 months. He was told to pay £100 compensation, an £80 victim surcharge and £85 costs.

Sutton-in-Ashfield: Philip Roebuck, 43, of Herne Street, denied assault by beating at Mansfield Magistrates' Court. He was remanded on bail until November 13 for trial.

Sutton-in-Ashfield: Andrew Ian Ward, 51, of Haddon Street, appeared at Mansfield Magistrates' Court where he denied assault by beating. He has been remanded on bail until November 17 for trial.

Rainworth: Anthony Thomas Dargue, of Southwell Road East, was jailed for ten weeks after making threats to kill. The 37-year-old denied the charge but was found guilty following a summary trial at Mansfield Magistrates' Court. He was also jailed for two weeks, to run consecutively to the other charge, after admitting possessing methadone.

SWEET wrappers and crisp packets are the most common types of litter in West Bridgford – accounting for more than a third of trash dropped in the high street.

Carrier bags, tobacco packets and chewing gum wrappers were also found when the Streetwise team carried out a litter count in Central Avenue.

The team found 32 pieces of rubbish in just half an hour, 12 of which were sweet or snack wrappers including five packets of Walker's crisp and three Nestle bars.

Linda Phillips, chairman of the Friends of Bridgford Park, believes that more bins are needed to rid the avenue of litter and that people should be better educated when it comes to the environment.

She said: "There is a bit of a problem with cigarette butts as some of the bars seem to just sweep them on to the road.

"We have asked for some more bins but, to be fair to Rushcliffe Borough Council, they do clear up the litter.

"But there is an educational problem we have, where people think it's OK to drop litter.

"Although sometimes it is the foxes which go into the bins."

Brenda Raynor, 78, of Orford Avenue, Radcliffe-on-Trent, felt that litter wasn't a huge problem in the area – but that there was still room for some improvement.

She said: "Around the cash machines you do see a lot of the paper slips on the floor.

"I am surprised that people don't want to take them with them because it has their information on it."

However, Mandy Griffiths, 68, of Fairham Close, Ruddington, thought the street was well maintained.

She said: "I think people are good at not throwing litter and if there is any on the floor it gets cleared up quickly.

"It's good considering how busy it gets.

"It's busy, it's bustling and it's clean."

Streetwise was formerly a council-run maintenance service for Rushcliffe but it has now become a council-owned limited company.

As of yesterday, the Streetwise Environmental Limited team will be providing street clearing and grounds maintenance across the borough.

Darryl Burch, the company's service manager for neighbourhoods, said: "This will enable the service to expand and act in a more commercial manner whilst ensuring Rushcliffe is kept clean and tidy."

A spokesman for Walker's Crisps said: "We include on-pack labels to encourage our consumers to dispose of their waste responsibly."

SINCE work began on upgrading Nottingham Station last summer, drivers falling foul of traffic restrictions have been fined more than half a million pounds.

So, has Station Street, which is now closed to cars, been simply a profit centre for Nottingham City Council – or has restricted access, enforced by CCTV cameras, created a safer street for the benefit of all road users?

Your view will probably depend on whether you have received a £60 penalty notice. But, in essence, what is all the fuss about?

The closure of Station Street to private vehicles. Initially it was to give access last summer to the 400-plus extra daily buses needed for transporting railway travellers while Nottingham Station was closed.

A temporary ticket office and railway station entrance were established in Station Street, to which access was forbidden from London Road.

What happened?

Signs were placed in London Road telling drivers not to turn into Station Street. These warned that CCTV cameras were in operation. Road markings at the mouth of Station Street warned that entry was for buses only.

How did drivers react?

Initially there was a two-week period of grace and 1,679 warning notices were issued. Then the fining began.

In the first four weeks, 4,023 drivers were caught, with a council spokesman saying: "We want the best flow of traffic possible to make sure the busy area around the station is safe and more attractive for all users and would rather not be issuing penalty-charge notices."

After the second month, the total number of fines had risen to £432,840 – although early payers, entitled to a 50 per cent cut in the penalty, would have reduced that figure.

By the end of March, the total number of fines had risen to £496.711.

Was this the best way of dealing with erring drivers?

It's a matter of opinion. However, traffic adjudicator Stephen Knapp, commenting in a recent case, said the grace period for the first fortnight was different from a Department for Transport suggestion, which was that drivers in such cases be warned for the first offence, regardless of the time scale.

Does this sort of thing happen in other cities?

The council in Bath was criticised by motorists this year after a new "bus gate" generated £270,000 in driver fines during its first month. Critics said not enough notice was given and signs did not make it clear where people could not drive.

So what will happen to Nottingham's £500,000?

According to the city council, it will be invested in transport projects. There have been no further details.

The refurbished station has now been reopened but access from London Road to Station Street is still restricted? What's the problem?

The council said last summer that the restrictions were likely to last at least 18 months. Drivers are still barred from Station Street while work continues on bridging the new tram services over the highway and above the railway station. However, buses, hackney cabs and cyclists are now allowed access from London Road.

Whether restrictions on private cars are lifted next year remains to be seen.

So presumably a £60 penalty was the end of it for drivers who missed or ignored the signs?

Not for Maria Narducci, 45, of Mapperley. She turned off London Road into Station Street four times before the £60 demands started landing on her doormat.

"I didn't see the signs, otherwise I wouldn't have gone down there," she said. After the Post intervened, the city council agreed to waive two of the four penalties.

So why did the council go all cuddly in her case?

At the time, a spokesman said: "We use cameras to help improve safety and their use is never a money-making exercise, despite what some may think. We use an element of discretion where we can."

OK, but have all the other 19,000 drivers caught on the cameras accepted their fate?

No. Stephen Marsh, 66, of Burton Joyce, appealed against his fine, arguing that traffic signs were not clear enough.

Just 24 hours before the appeal was to be heard, the council decided not to contest it. The adjudicator had asked to see the signs for himself – but because they had been taken down at that stage while Station Street was closed altogether for road works, the authority decided in his case to take "a pragmatic approach".

Mr Marsh said he wanted to press the matter because "there are a lot of people who I think were fined wrongly and paid up".

Other cases have gone to appeal, with some decisions going for the council.

So did the signs conform to regulations, or didn't they?

The council has said it will defend its position. "We are still contesting cases on Station Street as a number of new cases have come to light," a spokesman said this summer.

"Having reviewed these individually, the authority is keen to represent itself and the stance previously held, that all signage is legally correct."

Is the council right about that?

Not in the case of Lukas Willcocks, penalised on March 23. Mr Knapp has just allowed his appeal on the grounds that the signing for Station Street, "taken as a whole", was not adequate for vehicles approaching its London Road entrance from the south.

But if the signage for Mr Willcocks was inadequate, would it not also have been inadequate for other drivers caught on March 23? And on all other days when the signs were as they were on March 23?

You'd have thought so. But Mr Knapp says in his adjudication: "It is inevitable that in this type of case there will always be speculation that the outcome of an appeal, if successful, could and should result in repayment of penalty charges collected by the council. However, I must point out that my role as adjudicator is only to consider whether a penalty charge is payable by any particular appellant."

But will the council accept there is a case for waiving the penalties imposed in circumstances identical to those of Mr Willcocks?

It's looking like a no, mainly because the council believes there have been inconsistencies in appeal rulings, which a spokesman said the authority would be taking up with the adjudication service.

The council's head of traffic and safety, Steve Hunt, added: "The signing was robust and reasonable, and this has been supported by numerous rulings by the adjudication service previously, upholding the fines we have issued."

So drivers who wish to contest their fines would be advised not to wait for a general settlement. They will have to appeal their own cases.

How do they do that?

The first stage is a direct challenge to the council. Details are on the penalty notice.

If the council rejects the challenge, the driver can appeal to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal, where the case will be assessed by an adjudicator – an experienced independent lawyer.

He or she will consider the law and hear evidence from both parties before arriving at a decision. For more information, visit www.trafficpenaltytribunal.gov.uk

THE price of an average home in Nottinghamshire is no longer "easily affordable", says a new study.

But it's still one of the cheapest places in the country to get on the property ladder.

Findings published by the Trades Union Congress compared figures between 1997 and 2013.

To be classified as "easily affordable" the average house price needs to be less than three times the median wage in its local authority area.

There are now no council areas in the county that meet this standard.

Only one local authority in Britain – Copeland, in the Lake District – met the criteria.

Rushcliffe – where the average house price is now more than seven times median earnings – showed the widest disparity in Notts.

In Newark and Sherwood, the gap was more than six times higher, and in Broxtowe, Amber Valley and Mansfield, it was more than five. However, this pales in comparison to many parts of the country.

In Kensington and Chelsea, the average house price is 32 times the average wage.

And, on average, properties in Nottingham, Gedling, Bassetlaw and Ashfield cost less than five times the average wage, lower than all local authorities in the south.

TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said: "We need an ambitious programme of home building to get house prices back under control.

"At the same time, the growing number of people who have no hope or desire to buy a property any time soon but are still being clobbered by soaring rents need a better deal too."

But Richard Bocock, of Nottingham Building Society, said: "House prices aren't necessarily dictated on whether they are affordable. It depends on demand and market interest. If homes were actually un-affordable, people wouldn't be able to buy them on the open market.

"A report I did recently showed that over 50 per cent of our buyers in the area of Sherwood were first-time buyers."

However, austerity campaigner Stewart Halforty, of Sherwood, said more effort needed to be made by the Government.

He said: "The high house prices that have plagued London for years are creeping towards Leicester – and increasingly in Nottingham.

"There's a vicious circle, that if the Government doesn't provide enough houses to buy then the market becomes stagnant.

"The Government needs to build more council houses."

THE competition between Nottingham's hen lovers is hotting up as a Mapperley man thinks he has cracked the record for the world's smallest chicken egg.

Roger Downing, of Gardenia Grove, has kept hens in his back garden for four-and-a-half years after giving in to pleas from his daughters to get some.

On Thursday, he adopted three new companions from Brinsley Animal Rescue – former battery hens that the centre had rescued – and went to bed dreaming about scrambled eggs for breakfast.

But after reading the Post on Friday and seeing Debbie Whyatt's claim to the world's smallest chicken egg, laid by her prized brahma putra hen Missie, he walked down the garden to find his own little gem.

"My wife pointed out the article to me when I was having a cup of coffee in the morning," he said.

"Then ten minutes later, I found an even smaller one laid by one of my new hens. I couldn't believe it!"

The egg measures just under 25mm in length, beating Missie's egg by 13mm.

Mr Downing isn't sure which of the 18-month-old hens had laid the egg but he narrowed it down to his three new rescue pets – Scarlet, Violet and Rose.

All three are brown warren chickens.

"It is so strange," he said. "If I hadn't read the article that morning, I wouldn't even have thought of calling in."

Chairman and co-founder of Brinsley Animal Rescue Jon Beresford said the size of the egg was unique.

"Happy hens lay eggs for the rest of their natural lives but as they get older, the eggs tend to get larger," he explained.

"We've been keeping hens for ten years and you see all types of eggs – misshapen, wrinkly or soft-shelled.

"But in that time I have only ever seen one incredibly small egg."

Mr Downing enjoys looking after his hens.

He said: "They don't keep me too busy.

"I let them out in the morning and it stops me having to cut the grass! They are good company and give me something to do in my retirement."

Guinness World Records doesn't have a category for the smallest chicken egg, only for smallest bird egg – currently held by the Vervain Hummingbird of Jamaica with two eggs measuring less than 10mm.

So what will become of Mr Downing's prized possession?

"It is sat on the egg rack and we don't know what to do with it, although I am tempted to crack it open and see if there is even a yolk inside," he said.

"It won't make a very big omelette!"

THE first classes have been held at a new city secondary school.

Students gave a positive reaction to Nottingham Free School, which has opened in an old factory unit in Haydn Road, Sherwood.

In all, 79 pupils enrolled for the first time yesterday.

The smell of paint was still in the air after a large amount of redecorating and renovation work over the summer.

But that did not bother pupils such as Josh Warner, 11, who told the Post he enjoyed his first day at the school.

He said: "I didn't know anyone when I came in, so I was really nervous.

"But I have already met some new friends and feel really good about it now.

"I like the building. There is lots of space. It is exciting that we are the first-ever year group to be here."

The building was formerly a factory used by Courtaulds, a textiles and clothing firm.

Only part of the building is currently being used by the school.

There are four classrooms including a science lab, plus a dining hall, office space and a large games area.

Yesterday, some equipment was still being unpacked, including music items.

The rest of the building will be revamped next year.

The school, run by Torch Academy Gateway Trust, will eventually have space for nearly 600 students.

The work is being paid for by the Department for Education. The cost has not been revealed.

Grace Arnell, 11, has moved from Lambley Primary School.

She said: "It is a nice-feeling building.

"It didn't take me long to settle in, even though I only knew one other student here."

Ten teachers have been taken on for the current year. Most of them were already employed by the trust.

They are all fully qualified teachers, allaying fears of some unions which have regularly expressed concerns that free schools can appoint staff who are unqualified.

The school day will run from 8.15am to 4.45pm, Monday to Thursday, in a move designed to prepare pupils for the sort of hours they will face when they go to work.

They will finish two hours earlier on Fridays.

They will be taught according to the national curriculum but will have a variety of other activities.

One of these will be an animal care club, and head of school Jenny Brown said they could eventually have their own pet as a result of this.

She said: "A group of students will make suggestions and we could have a pet here.

"Opening this school is very exciting for everyone. The first day has gone very well and the students have settled in.

"They have had a few early lessons in Spanish and science.

"We are really pleased with the building. It is a great place for the students to learn in."

SIGNS at a junction where fines totalling more than £500,000 have been handed out were "not adequate", an independent inspector has ruled.

The controversial scheme in Station Street, Nottingham, has caught out 17,460 drivers since restrictions were introduced near the city's railway station while work took place last June.

An eight-page report into the signs has been released to the Post after a driver who was fined £60 appealed and won.

Now, other drivers want refunds.

Adjudicator Stephen Knapp said that the location of the traffic restriction was "unusual" because it began soon after the turning into Station Street from London Road, not giving drivers an opportunity to avoid a fine.

He also said the signs (pictured) "would not be reasonably visible to drivers approaching or waiting at the traffic lights to turn left (on to Station Street)".

But Nottingham City Council says the signs were "robust and reasonable" and it may "raise concerns" with the adjudicator as it believes key information has been "overlooked" in this case.

Mr Knapp said: "It is, in my view, significant that so many drivers have made the error of turning from London Road into Station Street.

"Typically where there is clear signing, the number of PCNs (fines) issued will fall over time.

"It is, therefore, significant that the number of PCNs issued in February and March 2014 were equivalent to the numbers issued in July and August 2013."

He added there would always be drivers who contravened the rules but the fact that so many fines were handed out "is in my judgement an indication of a problem with the signing".

The adjudicator considered only signs when turning left into Station Street. He did not look at the signs when coming from the opposite direction and turning right.

Furthermore, he said his ruling would apply only to an appeal by Lukas Willcocks, of West Bridgford.

But Phillip Greaves, 73, of Wimbledon Road, Sherwood, said: "I paid up when I got a ticket but if the tribunal has found the signs weren't right, then surely we should be getting refunds too?"

Stephen Marsh, of St Helen's Grove, Burton Joyce, got a refund after appealing earlier this year. He said: "It is patently obvious that you cannot ban a left turn and then not put up an adequate sign at the junction telling motorists that the left turn is banned, and then put up a camera to catch motorists doing just that, turning left. The council must hand all the money back that it has collected from motorists who turned left into Station Street – no ifs, no buts."

Three more appeals are yet to be heard, including one in which a driver turned right.

Steve Hunt, head of traffic and safety for the council, said: "In our view, the adjudicator has overlooked evidence we supplied to him which shows that warning notices were issued for more than three weeks – longer than the recommended period – and that there was extensive publicity about the introduction of the bus gate."

THE owner of a shop in Hyson Green where police seized hundreds of illicit and counterfeit cigarettes says the business could face ruin if its licence to sell alcohol is revoked.

Kubus Mini Market, on Radford Road, was raided by officers in August last year and 549 packets of cigarettes without proper health warnings were found, along with 39 packets of Amber Leaf tobacco that were counterfeit.

A shop assistant at the store has also been caught selling alcohol to 14-year-olds on two occasions over the past year.

Councillors on Nottingham City Council's licensing panel met yesterday to discuss whether to revoke the store's licence, suspend it for three months, or force the store to change the licence holder.

Shop owner Dilshad Baghi denied selling illegal cigarettes and denied any knowledge of the stash seized.

All members of staff have also denied responsibility.

Mr Baghi said: "If they take my licence away three or four people are going to lose their jobs, and if we can't sell alcohol it might mean we have to close down. The rent and taxes are very expensive."

The meeting heard the haul of illegal cigarettes was discovered by a trained police dog, hidden in a hole underneath floorboards.

Trading standards manager Jane Bailey said: "Illegal tobacco has links to serious and organised crime groups and people trafficking.

"There does appear to be a history of counterfeit tobacco being found at the shop."

Mr Baghi, who has spent a lot of time out of the country over the past two years, told councillors he intended to take more responsibility for the shop in future.

The assistant who sold alcohol to under-age buyers is no longer working at the shop.

The hearing was adjourned until September 25.

PARENTS disillusioned with the school system have sold their house and pulled their two daughters out of classes – to take them on a year-long educational road trip of the UK in a caravan.

Amy and Ella Meek, aged 11 and nine, will attend "road school" this year – supervised by their parents who are both teachers.

And the girls will swap classrooms and formal tests for trips to castles, museums and libraries up and down the country.

Dad Tim and mum Kerry quit their jobs and sold their house in Lodge Farm Lane, Arnold, to fund the trip, which will cover up to 20,000 miles.

Most schoolchildren are back in their classrooms today, facing a controversial new National Curriculum which is asking five-year-olds to learn fractions and pupils in early secondary school to study two Shakespeare plays.

Meanwhile, the Meek family are in Peterborough where lessons include a science project looking at the mechanics of a trebuchet – a type of catapult used in the Middle Ages. Tim, who left his role at Derrymount Special School, in Churchmoor Lane, Arnold, said: "Children are not sausages in a sausage factory to be pumped full of facts and content ready for regurgitation at the end of some arbitrary Key Stage, when they take high-stakes assessments."

Mr Meek stressed that he and wife Kerry were was not unhappy with staff at the school, or at Richard Bonington Primary and Nursery in Arnold, where the girls attended.

"Education is becoming overly dominated with tests, assessments and targets, at the expense of rich, engaging and enjoyable learning," said Mr Meek, who has budgeted to spend £20,000 on the trip.

Amy is looking forward to the what the family have labeled an "ed-venture".

She said: "In school we were having tests all the time. We'd read from a book and just repeat it.

"We are going to have more freedom now and we'll still learn the important things like English and maths."

CHILDREN across Nottinghamshire are returning to school today to a new curriculum that demands pupils aged five to seven understand algorithms.

But two teachers, Tim and Kerry Meek, of Arnold, feel the education system has become too dictatorial and decided to pull their daughters, Amy and Ella, out of school.

The family will travel the length and breadth of the UK in a caravan while the girls learn directly from them.

Their theory is not that individual teachers or schools – or even local authorities – are to blame, much the opposite.

The Meeks claim top-down Government policies don't understand the day-to-day needs of children and are simply teaching them to pass exams.

Amy, 11, attended Richard Bonington Primary in Arnold.

"I always felt like I was working towards a test," she said. "I had my SATs last year and we were reminded about them almost every day. It's like we just read from the book and repeated it for the test."

The Meeks are an adventurous bunch. Last year, they set their daughters a challenge of completing 50 new outdoor activities in 12 months.

They were given their four-berth Elddis caravan by the Caravan Club as a prize for visiting 20 caravan sites across the country and finishing 100 challenges on their travels.

For the girls' first day of "road school" on Monday, they visited historic Warwick Castle.

Dad Tim, 45, said: "We used the visit to Warwick Castle as the stimulus and asked the girls what questions they wanted answering. It's more engaging because they're inside the fascinating castle walls."

The girls were then set assignments to follow-up the trip and do some thorough educational research.

Mike Fortune-Wood, of Home Education UK, said pupils taught outside of school tend to fare better than state school students.

He said: "Home schooling is easier in many ways because it's one-on-one. The children don't waste hours listening while the teacher explains something to 30 odd other kids in the class. They can go at their own pace."

One criticism of home schooling is that children don't get as much social interaction with their peers.

Ella, nine, said she is already missing her friends – although she thinks they would love to be doing what she is.

"I'm trying not to think about leaving my friends," said Ella. "But I think most of them would like to be exploring castles instead of sitting at a desk at school."

"It's easy to keep in touch," added sister Amy, 11. "I will miss my friends but we have social media and things like Skype to keep in contact. It's not like we're never coming back to Nottingham – we will visit."

Edwina Theunissen, trustee at home schooling support charity Education Otherwise, said there were plenty of ways to socialise youngsters with their peers, including joining sports clubs, and added: "Travel is an education in itself. Home schooled children often find it easier in situations with adults because they are being talked to by those adults on a one-to-one basis."

So what next for Amy and Ella? Tim conceded that the "road school" dream could not last forever due to financial constraints.

They sold their house in Lodge Farm Lane, Arnold, to pay for the trip and realise the £20,000 they have budgeted to travel, eat, pay for attractions and educational resources will eventually dry up.

"We've given ourselves a minimum of an academic year," said Tim. "But we are realistic and we know the girls will return to school at some point."

"It's one of those things that's scary and people say you are brave, or silly. One thing we do know is that it's going to be a year to remember."

WE started our Caravan Curriculum on Monday, exploiting the learning opportunities offered by a visit to Warwick Castle.

The day started with a creative thinking task sat around the caravan table. We knew there would be a trebuchet demonstration, so we looked online to remind ourselves what a trebuchet was – a catapult from the Middle Ages – before began thinking creatively about what other uses there could be for such a mechanism. We drew, scribbled, jotted; on the basis that there were NO wrong answers. We then shared ideas and discussed which ideas were the silliest and most useful. Such activities are great fun and stimulate thinking outside of box, the ability to articulate and describe to others, reasoning and evaluation skills. Plus, it was great fun to do!

In the castle complex, the learning was multi sensory, practical and involved talking with the expert history team at Warwick.

As teachers, Kerry and I always tried to grab the attention of our students, bringing learning to life; this usually involved thinking of an exciting stimulus, or engagement.

At the time of writing and after only our first day of our DIY Caravan Curriculum, we are confident, as experienced teachers and dedicated parents, that this year will be, at worst, a valuable learning experience for us all. At best, it has potential to be 'really' outstanding.

Daily basis

Natural Fit – exercise/ activity outdoors

Daily Gratitudes – an informal task over breakfast

Thinking skills task or morning discussion sparked from 'Thought for the Day'

Maths lesson

Vocabulary work

365 Project work – project aiming to generate and publish 365 five-minute outdoor activities for children to try at home.

Shared reading – reading to/with a parent

Weekly basis

Moral Maze – discussion/ debating skills

Computer Science – programming and app making

Extended writing – for a real audience/purpose

Varying amount of time on "learning around…" ie cross-curricular project work based on our current location

Shared watching and discussion based on a TED Talk. Discussion based around topic and content, as well as presentation skills

French learning

Music session: theory, practical, performance

Greentime Guerrillas – a kid-led movement to promote outdoor time.

News Round(up) – picking-up on topical news (UK and world)

Physical Exercise: a decent walk, cycle, swim (occasional wild swim)

Monthly basis

Book Club – analysis / discussion/written response tasks to a book the children have studied

Creative thinking project – problem finding and problem solving

Media literacy skills working towards creation and publication of podcasts, vodcasts and short videos

'Big' adventure – weekend challenge – kayaking, canoeing, cycling, sailing, hiking, bivvy-bagging, camping

Bushcraft – Scouting-type activities

Half-termly

Enterprise project that raises money for an agreed charity

Substantial design technology project

Speak as a family at an adventure festival or school promoting the family adventure

EFFORTS have been made to reassure residents over the planned closure of their local police station.

The Meadows police station, in Meadows Way, is expected to close in the autumn and residents will no longer have a direct access point to their local force.

But the Police and Crime Commissioner for Nottinghamshire Paddy Tipping and Inspector for The Meadows Nick Waldram spent time speaking to locals yesterday and have sent a message that crime will not increase in the area as a direct result.

Inspector Waldram pledged the move would protect "beat bobbies" and mean the amount of neighbourhood policing can stay at the same level. He said: "The police station is a comfort blanket for people but we will have the same number of officers and the same number of PCSOs.

"At the moment there does not seem too much concern, but when it closes I expect more. Most people won't have even been to the station.

"We want to reassure people. It won't be a direct place for people to have meetings and report issues to us, but we will be a presence in the community."

While the final plans are yet to be announced, Mr Tipping told The Post that a neighbourhood policing base is likely to be set up at The Meadows Children's Centre, in Kirkby Gardens, with details currently being finalised.

He said: "It's in the final stages, we would expect it to all happen in the autumn. Residents asked us to keep The Meadows' station open until the neighbourhood policing base was up and running and we've pledged to do that.

"Budget cuts mean decisions have to be made. But we have to make a choice and people tell me they want buildings not bobbies."

And Mr Tipping, who was formerly MP for Sherwood, said The Meadows could benefit from further investment in the future.

He said: "There are some discussions that I am having with the chief constable which should become clear in the next months.

"Five areas in Nottingham count for a major percentage of the crime in the area. It logically follows that you should place more resource there. The Meadows would be among those priorities along with the Broxtowe Estate, Beechdale and Aspley."

Burglaries, robberies and serious crimes are down in the area, but Inspector Waldram said a number of antisocial behaviour offences had been reported, including a spate of people vandalising cars.

Ann Carlton has lived in The Meadows for most of her life.

The 66-year-old, who lives in Cranbrook Close, said: "I'm not too concerned about the police station. It's rarely got people there anyway."