ALTHOUGH our campaign has finished, food banks still need regular donations.

So we are urging Post readers to keep giving tins to their nearest food bank in the new year and beyond.

They are situated in St Ann's at the Chase Neighbourhood Centre; Arnold, at Daybrook Baptist Church; Bestwood and Bulwell, at St Philip's Church, in Top Valley; Clifton, at Hope Church and St Francis' Church; Long Eaton, at Christ Church; Aspley, at the Salvation Army; Sneinton, at the Salvation Army; Beeston, at Hope Church; Broxtowe estate, at St Martha's Church; Inham Nook, at St Barnabas' Church; The Meadows, at Bridgeway Hall Methodist Mission; and Radford, at Unit 2, Hubert Street.

There is also one covering all of NG7, which operates from the Mary Potter Centre, in Hyson Green; and others at the Sumac Centre, in Sherwood Rise; and Framework and the Partnership Council in Radford.

Nigel Adams, director of the Hope Nottingham charity, which runs the Beeston bank, said: "I would like to say a massive thank-you to all the organisations which have donated food. It has been almost overwhelming how much we have received.

"We are really pleased. But at the same time we are still giving out food parcels like there is no tomorrow.

"There is a growing and quite distressing need for food packages and we will continue to give help to people, so we still need donations."

Thank you to all the groups that have helped, plus all of the individuals who played a part.

Co-operative stores

38 Co-op shops and supermarkets across Notts and parts of Derbyshire.

City

Nottingham Post, 3rd Floor, City Gate, Tollhouse Hill.

MSR News, Angel Row, city centre.

Queen's Medical Centre.

John Lewis, Victoria Centre.

Freemasons, Masonic Hall, Goldsmith Street.

Victim Support Nottingham, Castle Gate Nottingham.

Yorkshire Building Society, Milton Street, Nottingham.

NEMS Healthcare Ltd, NHS Nottingham City 8am to 8pm Health Centre, Upper Parliament Street.

Capital One, Station Street.

Experian, Riverleen House, Electric Avenue.

South Nottingham College, Maid Marian Way campus.

City intervention team, Eastcroft Depot, London Road.

HSBC, Clumber Street, Nottingham.

Staff at Ofsted, Cumberland Place.

Freeth Cartwright, Cumberland Court.

Arnold

Sally's Charity Shop, Front Street

Energie Fitness for Women, Arnot Hill Road, Arnold.

Notts Fire and Rescue Service headquarters, Bestwood Lodge.

St Ann's

Blue Bell Hill Primary, Gordon Road, St Ann's.

Djanogly City Academy Gregory Boulevard.

Chase Neighbourhood Centre, Robin Hood Chase, St Ann's.

Bakersfield

Bakersfield Community Centre, Sneinton Dale, Bakersfield.

Basford

Djanogly Northgate, Suez Street, New Basford.

Beeston

Beeston Fields Primary, Boundary Road, Beeston.

John Clifford Primary, Nether Street, Beeston.

Roundhill Primary, Foster Avenue, Beeston.

Voluntary Action Broxtowe, Oban House, Chilwell Road, Beeston.

Bilborough

Bilborough Churches, c/o St John's Vicarage, Graylands Road, Bilborough.

Bulwell

Bulwell Forest Action Group, c/o Carlisle Avenue, Bulwell.

Eleanor Lang, District Commissioner for Girl Guides, Piccadilly, Bulwell.

Chilwell

College House Junior, Cator Lane, Chilwell.

Meadow Lane Infants, Meadow Lane, Chilwell.

Eskdale Junior, Eskdale Drive, Chilwell.

Sunnyside Primary, Inham Nook Estate, Chilwell.

Alderman Pounder, Eskdale Drive, Chilwell.

Alderman White, Chilwell Lane, Chilwell.

Chilwell School, Queens Road West, Chilwell.

South Nottingham College, Beeston Centre, High Road, Chilwell.

Clifton

Hope Church, Farnborough Road, Clifton.

Hope Charity Shop, Varney Road.

Wilkinson's Clifton, Southchurch Drive.

Dovecoat Primary School.

Methodist Church, Southchurch Drive.

Post Office, Orford Avenue, Clifton.

Hair 2000, Sandham Walk.

St Mary's C of E Church, Clifton Village.

Clifton Cornerstone, payment desk.

Corpus Christi Catholic Church, Southchurch Drive.

Cotgrave:

RCS Window Cleaning Services, Cotgrave.

Cropwell Butler:

Cropwell Butler Methodist Chapel.

Daybrook:

Residents of Valley Court retirement complex, Ribblesdale Road.

Gedling

Gedling CVS, Main Road, Gedling.

Gedling Borough Council

Hyson Green:

Mary Potter Centre, Gregory Boulevard, Hyson Green.

Lenton:

Dunkirk and Lenton Partnership, Church Square, Lenton.

Stephenson College, Oak House, Easter Park, Lenton Lane.

Linby:

Notts Scouts, Unit One, Trinity House, Robey Close, Linby.

Nottingham CVS, Mansfield Road.

Mapperley Park:

Workers' Educational Association, Mapperley Road, Mapperley Park.

Radford:

Radford Partnership Council, Forest Road West, Radford.

Shop & Save, Alfreton Road.

Rainworth

Hawthorne House, Ransom Wood Business Park.

Sherwood:

Djanogly City Academy, Sherwood Rise.

Sherwood Community Centre, Woodthorpe House, Mansfield Road.

Sneinton:

Pretty Windows Day Nursery, Gedling Street, Sneinton Market Square.

Stapleford:

The Clerk's Office, Stapleford Town Council, Warren Avenue, Stapleford.

Simply First, Derby Road, Stapleford.

Wadsworth Fields Primary School, Wadsworth Road, Stapleford.

Stapleford Community Group, Ilkeston Road, Stapleford.

Stapleford Care Centre, Church Street, Stapleford.

The Haven Church, Anthill Street, Stapleford.

Sutton-in-Ashfield:

North Midland Construction, Nunn Close, the County Estate, Huthwaite, Sutton-in-Ashfield.

Thorneywood:

Slimming World, c/o Previn Gardens, Thorneywood.

West Bridgford:

The Poppy and Pint Pub, Pierrepont Road, Lady Bay.

The Stratford Haven, Stratford Road, West Bridgford.

The Larwood & Voce Pub & Kitchen, Fox Road, West Bridgford.

St Luke's Church, Leehurst Road, West Bridgford.

South Nottingham College, West Bridgford Centre, Greythorn Drive, West Bridgford.

Wollaton:

St Mary's Church Wollaton, Wollaton Hall Drive.

Wollaton Park Community Centre, Harrow Road, Wollaton.

Thomas Moore's Catholic Church, Glenwood Avenue, Wollaton.

AT the start of December, Kathleen Gibbons' cupboards were bare and she did not know where to turn to for help with feeding her children.

That is, until a friend told her about the food bank based at The Chase Neighbourhood Centre, in St Ann's.

Mum-of-two Kathleen, 49, lost her partner in June and things began to spin out of control. She started to drink too much and then found out her employment support allowance was being stopped.

She said: "I didn't know where to turn. But then I went to the food bank and the lady was so supportive. I've sorted out the drinking and I feel more positive.

"Without the food bank I would be in a bad way. It helped my children and me and now I have bright hopes for the future and can get my life back on track."

The Post's Five Tons of Tins campaign, which launched on October 21, aimed to boost the county food banks' supplies in time for Christmas – a target which we have smashed.

Churches, businesses, schools, community groups, nurseries and individuals have helped us to collect a staggering 11.4 tons.

That's about the same weight as two African elephants. If they were placed in a line, the 26,000 tins collected would stretch more than 2km along Derby Road from the Post's headquarters to the Queen's Medical Centre.

One of the biggest boosts to the campaign came from staff and councillors at Gedling Borough Council, who handed in three tons of food to the Arnold food bank.

Council leader John Clarke said: "I'm proud that Gedling Borough Council has played a small part in smashing the Post's five-ton target and almost doubling it, and I welcome campaigns such as this that highlight the need that's out there in our communities."

The Co-op also threw its weight behind the campaign by agreeing to donate 100 tins from each of its 38 stores across Notts and parts of Derbyshire, as well as encouraging shoppers to donate – bringing in more than 1.6 tons.

Glyn Rotherham, regional operations manager for the Co-operative Food, said: "We hope that our efforts will help to ensure the local food banks are stocked for those people in need this Christmas."

We also want to say a big thank-you to Experian, which donated a ton of tins.

Rosea Pickering, recruitment partner in human resources, who co-ordinated the company's efforts, said: "Staff at Experian offices across Nottingham have taken the campaign to their hearts and collected a whopping one ton of tins, which we dropped off at the St Ann's food bank.

"Knowing that our efforts will help people in genuine need this Christmas has made it all worthwhile."

Another of our big helpers were the Freemasons of Nottinghamshire, who collected 2,000 tins – adding nearly a ton.

Provincial grand master Robin Wilson said: "The campaign really captured the imagination of our members and we have been astounded by how many tins we've collected."

Scouts across Notts held collections and between them collected 1,300 tins – more than half a ton.

County commission Matt Rooney said: "Judging from the reaction from our members this year, it is something we would absolutely support next year."

South Notts College's nursery at West Bridgford filled three large boxes with donations from staff, students and parents.

Afaf Shakib, nursery supervisor, said: "We took part as we felt it was good for our children to help them understand the importance of being part of a diverse community, where caring for others will help them appreciate that not everyone might be as lucky as they are."

Wendy White, volunteer at the Clifton food bank, said: "We have noticed a real difference thanks to the Post's campaign and without it we would have had less food to give to people in need."

MORE reports of child abuse are being made to Notts Police than at any time over the last four years.

Figures show the force received 1,716 allegations of physical or sexual child abuse between March 2011 and April this year – an average of nearly five a day.

This is almost 500 more than the 1,244 made for the same period in 2007-8.

The numbers are recorded on the force's Child Abuse Investigation Unit's Case and Tasking Administration System.

They were revealed in a Freedom of Information Act request made by a member of the public.

Each annual total is the number of allegations made, regardless of whether anyone was charged or convicted.

A child protection charity said some people would find the totals "shocking".

A spokeswoman for the Lucy Faithful Foundation also said the rise was probably due to more people reporting abuse, rather than a rise in crimes.

She said: "We would not think this is happening because more abuse is taking place.

"It's probably happening because people are more aware of abuse. It's in the media a lot more now and in the forefront of people's minds.

"People are more confident about reporting things now than they were five or ten years ago. In terms of sexual abuse these figures will still just be the tip of the iceberg – there will be far more cases of abuse out there. This will just be a fraction of what's really occurring."

The figures also showed the number of allegations out of the totals where the accused was in a "position of trust" in relation to the victim.

A "person of trust" relationship includes situations where adults look after children under 18, for example teachers, social workers, carers and sports coaches.

Out of the 1,716 2011-12 abuse allegations, 108, or roughly one in 10, involved a relationship with a position of trust.

The trust spokeswoman added: "To some people, the figures will be shocking but there is a lot more abuse happening that is not reported that the police and social services don't know about.

"We need all adults to protect children before abuse even happens. The only way we can do that is for adults to know how to spot the warning signs that a child might be being abused.

"We have seen serious cases where a child has been abused and later someone says, 'actually I did think there might be something wrong but I didn't report it' or 'I didn't know what to do'."

In October the Post reported how more than 200,000 images of child abuse had been confiscated by Notts Police since 2010. The figures, released by the police following a Freedom of Information request, also revealed that 25 people were arrested last year in the county for taking, possessing or distributing indecent images of children.

ChildLine is a free 24-hour counselling service for children and young people available on 0800 1111.

The Lucy Faithful Foundation runs a website about how to recognise the signs a child could be being abused at www.parentsprotect.co.uk.

A TWO-year-old girl has already had the perfect Christmas gift – being reunited with her stolen pet chihuahua.

Dubbie was taken from the family home in Laurel Avenue, in Church Warsop, on December 1, leaving little Tia Brazier heartbroken.

Notts Police officers followed many leads before the 20-week old black and white pup was traced to an address in the Worksop area on Friday.

Within hours she was reunited with Tia, prompting mum Yvonne to describe the return of Dubbie as "the best Christmas present we could ever have".

Inspector Mark Webster said he was glad the family could be reunited with their dog. He said: "It is wonderful to be able to bring some genuine Christmas cheer to someone ahead of the big day.

"We know how upset Tia and her family were when Dubbie was taken. It has taken some good old-fashioned police work by PC Colin Bland to trace the pet.

"I hope the family can enjoy a very Merry Christmas indeed now."

CHILDREN in Clifton got to start their Christmas celebrations with a bang at a party on Saturday.

As well as a disco and raffle, the youngsters got the chance to pose for pictures with Father Christmas at the party at Highbank Community Centre, in Cheddar Road.

Among the revellers was seven-year-old Mckenzie Harrison, who said he was enjoying the party and looking forward to Christmas.

He added: "My favourite bit about Christmas is Brussels sprouts – but I also like presents too."

Eight-year-old Jessica Thorpe, six-year-old Ebony Lynch and nine-year-old Trinity Lynch, all from Clifton, said they had enjoyed meeting Santa.

Jessica said: "I have had a good time dancing and now I am really excited for Christmas.

"My favourite part of Christmas is the presents but I also like seeing all my family."

The event was organised by Clifton residents 68-year-old Tony Finch, 59-year-old Mick King and 79-year-old Brian "Wes" Chambers.

Mr Finch said: "It's good to see all the families enjoying themselves because that's what Christmas is all about.

"We've also had a lot of support from the local community – shops around here have donated bits and pieces for the party – so we're really grateful to them for the support."

Mr Chambers added: "It's an event by the Highbank community, for the Highbank community. We just want families to be able to come down and enjoy themselves before Christmas.

"The children all enjoyed meeting Santa and having a dance. It's wonderful to see them so enthusiastic."

A NOTTS council, which had denied paying a "bonus" to its lowest-paid workers is spending about £60,000 of taxpayers' money on a "£250 one-off pay award", the Post can reveal.

Newark and Sherwood District Council twice denied making the payments because, it said, of the way the question was phrased by the Post.

When we reported that Labour-controlled Ashfield District and Gedling Borough councils were making £250 payments to their lower-paid workers, we asked all Notts councils if they were doing "anything similar or comparable".

A spokesman for Conservative-controlled Newark and Sherwood twice told us it was not.

We then saw reports of the council's April cabinet meeting, ratifying the "£250 one-off payment" to staff earning less than £21,000, and asked for an explanation.

A council spokesman told us: "We said we weren't paying a bonus to our staff, because it is not a bonus and it is not similar or comparable to one."

Francis Towndrow, 55, of Cleveland Square, Newark, said he welcomed the idea of helping lower-paid workers in hard times but added: "I cannot understand why the council didn't say they were paying out the bonus, or whatever you might call it, initially.

"Maybe they are embarrassed to reveal this to the people of Newark and Sherwood.

"I think they should be honest with the public."

Councillor Stan Crawford, leader of the Labour opposition on the council, said: "I don't understand the reasoning behind denying the payment.

"It's the right thing to do and we openly decided to do it in April as part of this year's budget. I find it peculiar."

Council leader Roger Blanley said he was puzzled but could not comment further.

Councillor Tony Roberts, deputy leader and chairman of the human resources committee, said: "We decided to do this in view of the fact that staff had a wage freeze for three years and this was allowed for by the Government.

"It's not a Christmas bonus or any kind of bonus."

Chancellor George Osborne said in 2010 that, because of his two-year pay freeze on public sector pay, workers on less than £21,000 would get a "flat pay rise" of £250 in each of those years.

Both Ashfield and Gedling councils are adamant that the cash should not be regarded as a bonus.

Gedling called it "a Christmas pay boost" in a press release issued on October 31.

Ashfield's finance chief, Dave Greenwood, who criticised his own council for agreeing to the payment, referred to it as a Christmas bonus. But Ashfield's Unison branch, which pushed for the payment, said calling the payout a bonus had led to many officers being verbally abused. The union vowed to "take further steps about the misinformation that had been put out".

What do you think? E-mail newsdesk@nottinghampostgroup.co.uk

A DANCING duo from Newark will star in an ITV1 special on Boxing Day in a bid to win a place performing at Crufts dog show.

Sandra Hallam, 49, and her cavalier King Charles spaniel Henry will take to the X Factor stage in Wembley as contestants in That Dog Can Dance.

They will be competing against some of Britain's most gifted dogs in Simon Cowell's new canine talent show.

The show will see five dogs and their owners vying for the title of "best in show" to win a top prize in the canine world – the chance to perform at Crufts in 2013.

Mrs Hallam said she couldn't believe it when she heard she and Henry, who is eight years old, had been shortlisted for the show. She said: "We've been dancing together for six years, since I got Henry as a show dog.

"We were really enjoying ourselves dancing to all sorts of music and training regularly. But two years ago, it became apparent that something was not right and that Henry had gone deaf.

"This made training much more difficult and we had to learn sign language.

"Henry relies on me for rhythm and beat, so I use a lot of hand gestures and we have to think outside the box.

"But when we went for the audition, I didn't ever expect us to be shortlisted."

Mrs Hallam and Henry went to auditions in early November with friends who were also hoping to be shortlisted.

And it was the Newark pair who shone and impressed the judges.

They work very closely together because Henry has to rely on Mrs Hallam more than dogs which have clear hearing.

Mrs Hallam, who owns five other dogs, added: "We were thrilled and delighted to have been picked.

"Lots and lots of dog owners and their dogs auditioned, so for us to be picked is amazing.

"The filming took place on the X Factor stage and the judges were brilliant.

"Obviously, I know who the winner is but I'm not allowed to say until it has been aired.

"I haven't even told my mum.

"I'm really proud of Henry and it was a great experience.

" I would say I was more nervous than him – he's a real show dog and loves the attention.

"There were some great contestants doing all sorts of dances and we did our best too. The whole family is really excited to watch the show on Boxing Day and to find out who wins."

As well as a place to perform at Crufts, the winners will get a dog-friendly holiday and a supply of treats.

The programme is hosted by Christine Bleakley.

Judges Ashleigh and Pudsey – who triumphed in Britain's Got Talent earlier this year – Sharon Osbourne with her furry friends, Bella and Rocky, and comedian Bill Bailey with his dogs, Teddi and Bule, will give their verdicts on their favourite performing pooch before the winner is decided by the live studio audience.

That Dog Can Dance is on ITV1 on Boxing Day at 8pm.

BUSES were delayed in Nottingham yesterday as shoppers queued to get into supermarkets

Nottingham City Transport (NCT) reported delays of around 15 minutes on the Green Line 5 and 7 buses to Gamston at around 11am as traffic queued to enter the Gamston Morrisons store.

Then at 12.10pm, NCT said that the number 10 route to Ruddington experienced long delays along its route owing to a large number of cars queuing to get into the Asda supermarket in West Bridgford.

There were also reports of people queuing to get a car parking space at the Asda store when it opened at 10am.

NEIGHBOURS have spoken of their shock after two people were stabbed in Beeston.

Police were called to a house in Alexandra Crescent, off Queens Road, at around 5.40am on Saturday to find a man with stab wounds to his body and a woman with wounds to her hand.

They carried out house-to-house inquiries in the area and arrested a 27-year-old man.

Luke Nicholson, of Meadow Road, Beeston Rylands, has been charged with the attempted murder of a 25-year-old man and with causing grievous bodily harm to a 23-year-old woman.

He was due to appear at Nottingham Magistrates' Court today.

Police say the woman has been discharged from hospital but the man remains at the Queen's Medical Centre in a stable condition.

Robert Womersley, 33, of Stapleford, was babysitting in a house close to the property where the two victims were found.

He arrived in Alexandra Crescent at 11.30am on Saturday to find the row of houses surrounded by police cars, vans and officers.

He said: "I've been coming here for seven years and never seen anything like this.

"It's not good. I was shocked. It's the sort of thing you don't see every day.

"You hear about incidents like these on the news but when it happens on your doorstep, it's shocking."

A 26-year-old woman, who lives opposite the house, which was cordoned off on Saturday, said she feared for the safety of her six-year-old son following the incident.

She said: "I have to get up at 5.30am for work, so when I woke up, I saw two police cars and the blue lights of the ambulance.

"I heard a baby cry and saw the officers were talking to each other and also using their walkie-talkies.

"I was shocked to wake up to a sight like this. I immediately assumed someone was hurt.

"It's definitely not something you want to happen just before Christmas.

"Luckily, my little boy wasn't here to see any of it.

"I just hope the victims will be OK in time for Christmas. My thoughts go out to them."

Another resident of the same road said he was shocked at the news.

The 48-year-old man said: "I've lived here for nearly 20 years and I have never seen anything like this before."

GENEROUS Post readers have helped smash a target to collect five tons of tins for hard-up families this Christmas.

Schools, churches, businesses and community groups showed their festive spirit and got behind our campaign, flooding the city's food banks with 11.4 tons of tins – more than double the amount we set out to achieve two months ago. That's about the same weight as two African elephants.

The food will go to help people like Kathleen Gibbons, 49, who was supported by the St Ann's food bank. The mother-of-two said: "The food bank helped us so much. They really are life savers."

Two of the biggest donations came from Gedling Borough Council, which gave three tons, and the Co-op supermarket chain, which gave 1.6.

THERE was a sudden rise in calls to the ambulance service at the weekend.

East Midlands Ambulance Service was called out 2,384 times on Friday – 457 more than on a typical Friday.

The service said it was expecting the increase in demand to continue over Christmas and into the new year.

A spokesman said: "Christmas is traditionally a time of high demand as people finish work and start to party. Sadly, many of the patients we dealt with had their night out spoilt and some will even be spending Christmas in hospital rather than with their family and friends."

He urged people to call 999 only in cases of genuine life-threatening emergencies.

WAYNE Buckley, 46, of The Sidings, Kimberley, has appeared in court accused of three offences on the same day in Kimberley. He is alleged to have committed criminal damage to a letterbox and two plastic garden chairs. He is also accused of a Public Order Act offence for allegedly using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour toward a woman, and of having a cut-throat razor with him in public. Magistrates in Nottingham granted him conditional bail until January 7.

INNOCENT Chirombo, 27, of Windmill Lane, Sneinton, is due to appear at Nottingham Magistrates' Court on January 7 after admitting drink-driving and driving a VW Passat in Upper Parliament Street, Nottingham, without a full licence on December 2. He had 94 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, when the legal limit is 35. He is on unconditional bail.

LEE CLARKE, 38, of Cranwell Road, Strelley, denies criminal damage. Magistrates in Nottingham will hear his trial on February 20 at 2pm. He is alleged to have damaged a UPVC door, to an unknown value, belonging to a woman in Mapperley on August 30. He is on conditional bail.

GREGORY Crowson, 39, of Halifax Court, Strelley, has been banned from driving for two years after admitting drink-driving in a Mini Cooper in Shortwood Avenue, Hucknall, on December 3. He had 108 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, when the legal limit is 35. At Nottingham Magistrates' Court, he received a community order and a requirement to do unpaid work for 80 hours. He must pay a victim surcharge of £60 and costs of £85.

BILLY Steele, 34, of Churchill Drive, Newark, has been bailed to appear at Nottingham Magistrates' Court on January 8. He is charged with assaulting a man in Newark on July 31.

CHRISTOPHER Taylor, 22, of Amesbury Circus, Aspley, is due to appear at Nottingham Crown Court accused of stealing from a house in Dulverton Vale, Broxtowe Estate. It is alleged he stole a car key for a white Ford Fiesta at the property on April 19. His case has been listed at the crown court on January 25. He is on conditional bail.

JOHN Mercer, 39, of Saffron Gardens, The Meadows, pleaded guilty to theft at Riverside Retail Park, Nottingham, on September 12. He admitted stealing a tape measure, worth £6.98, belonging to B&Q. A community order was made, with a requirement to have treatment for alcohol dependency. He will be supervised by the Probation Service for nine months. He must pay £85 costs.

TROY Wright, 38, of Stoney Houghton Gardens, Snapewood, Bulwell, has been sentenced for theft and traffic offences. He admitted that he was in a stolen Vauxhall Astra in Cinderhill Road, Bulwell, and that he failed to stop after an accident with another vehicle in June. He was given a community order for these two offences, with a three-month curfew, between 8pm and 6am, and tagging, with £85 costs to pay. He was also banned from driving for 12 months. No separate penalties were handed out for driving the Vauxhall without a licence or insurance.

JOHN Roberts, 53, of Oakland Crescent, Riddings, near Alfreton, has appeared in court accused of jumping a red traffic light at the junction of the A52 Derby Road and Wollaton Road, Beeston. He was allegedly the person driving a Vauxhall Vectra when the offence happened on October 31, 2011. He denied the offence and is to have a trial at Nottingham Magistrates' Court on February 11.

GLENN Grantham, 56, of Ranvensworth Road, Bulwell, was found guilty of assaulting a woman in Bulwell on July 1. He was bailed at Nottingham Magistrates' Court to return on January 3.

MARTIN Morris, 44, of Sherwood Hall Road, Mansfield, denied theft when he appeared at Nottingham Magistrates' Court. It is alleged he stole metal clips, valued at £20, belonging to Network Rail in Rufford on August 30. He was bailed to appear at the magistrates' court for a trial on February 14.

WET weather and flooding have caused travel chaos across Notts.

Trains between Nottingham and Derby were replaced by buses on Saturday due to flooding on the tracks.

And yesterday, four people had to be rescued by firefighters on the B6450 Tamworth Road, in Long Eaton, after driving into flood waters at around 1pm.

River levels also rose at Sawley Marina, where a woman in her 50s had to be airlifted to hospital from a boat because flood water meant paramedics couldn't reach the scene.

The helicopter crew, from RAF Valley, in Wales, was called to help the ambulance service with the rescue and later took the woman to the Queen's Medical Centre.

The rescue took place at 1pm.

The Environment Agency has issued ten flood warnings across Notts, including those for the River Trent at Sawley, Holme Pierrepont and Dunkirk, with river levels peaking at around 8am yesterday in Newark.

There is also a flood warning for the River Soar at Zouch.

The Queen's Drive park-and-ride site in Nottingham will be closed today due to the rising flood water.

However, one of the usual flooding hotspots – Lambley – was not hit as hard as feared.

Freda Ingall, of Grange Close, in the village, said: "We had quite a bit of water in the village on Thursday – Park Lane was flooded for about 24 hours – and there were about a dozen cars that got stuck."

THE most popular baby names in Notts this year have been revealed.

Ollie or Oliver topped the chart for boys, closely followed by Harry – the most popular name nationally – and then Alfie. Among the girls, Mia was top of the county's list, with Ellie second and Eve third.

Notts County Council, which issued the lists, is the authority for registering baby names.

Councillor Mick Murphy, chairman of the council's community safety committee, said: "This latest national survey of top baby names shows local trends for Notts are broadly in line with the UK picture. However, there some interesting exceptions, particularly amongst the top boy's names in Nottinghamshire, where many do not feature in the national top ten."

Clare Towsey of Abingdon Road, West Bridgford, called her child Olivia – ranked seventh in Notts and nationally. She said: "I was immediately drawn to the name, and there weren't any other contenders. I just really liked it, there was no special reason as to why I called her that.

"And when I saw her, I thought she looked like an Olivia."

Olivia is now three and is the only Olivia in her Rushcliffe pre-school group.

Pregnancy and parenting website BabyCentre compiled its top 100 names from its 8,400 national members for 2012.

County council registrar Samantha Black said pub landlord Alfie Moon, from hit BBC soap EastEnders, and Prince Harry could be reasons for the popularity of those boys' names.

Does your child have an unusual name? Let us know by commenting below...

A MOTORCYCLIST who was thrown through a van window at 40mph when the vehicle cut across him has spoken of the battle to rebuild his life.

Meyrick Wilkie broke his ribs, arms and neck and lost sensation in one hand.

He is calling for stricter driving licence rules after it emerged in court that the van driver was found to need glasses to drive during a test after the accident.

Mr Wilkie, of Barnstone, near Langar, said: "There's no legislation that forces drivers to have their eyes tested – it's something you do voluntarily when you think you might need to.

"When your car gets older, you have to have it tested but there's nothing saying as a driver you should be tested as you get older. This was an accident waiting to happen and was preventable."

It happened on March 28 as Mr Wilkie rode towards Lowdham on the A612. He hit the van as it turned into a driveway.

The 27-year-old has no memory of the impact and woke up in the Queen's Medical Centre, where he spent two months.

He missed out on taking up a job as a centre manager for an outdoor activity company and is still unable to work while he recovers from his injuries.

Mr Wilkie added: "It was many months, after skin grafts and numerous operations, until I regained just minimal hand movement and I am still undergoing extensive physiotherapy."

He is unsure whether he will be able to ride a motorbike again. The van driver was arrested and charged with driving without due care and attention. At Nottingham Magistrates' Court earlier this month the man, who is in his 50s, was fined £220 and ordered to pay £35 costs and a £15 victim surcharge after he admitted the offence.

Road safety charity Brake yesterday backed Mr Wilkie's call. Spokesman Nick Batty said it wanted the Government to make it compulsory for drivers to have an eyesight test with a professional at the start of their driving career.

They should then have to have a re-test at least every 10 years and at the same time as renewing photo-card licences.

Mr Batty added: "Being able to see clearly what's in front and around you is fundamental to safe driving.

"Violent and devastating casualties on our roads could be prevented through simple eye examinations.

"All drivers can help make our roads safer by getting their eyes tested at least every two years, even if they think their vision is perfect, or straight away if they notice a problem."

Licence rules say drivers must be able to read a car number plate from 20 metres – with glasses or contact lenses if necessary. But there is no official check to ensure they can do this, other than when someone takes their test.

A spokesman for the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency said there were no plans to introduce regular mandatory eye tests connected with driving licences.

"Britain has some of the safest roads in the world and licensing rules have an important role in maintaining this position," he said. "All drivers are required by law to meet the appropriate eyesight standard at all times while driving.

"We remind drivers of the ongoing requirement to meet the eyesight standard and that failure to meet the standard is an offence – this is also included in the Highway Code.

"The number plate test is a simple and effective assessment of vision and can be reproduced regularly by motorists to check whether they meet the standards themselves and by police at the roadside."

WHAT is black and white and very angry? Answer: Notts County.

It sounds like a bad joke you would get in a Christmas cracker, only no one was laughing at Meadow Lane on Saturday when their final home league game of the year against Leyton Orient was called off.

There is no way it should have been postponed. It was a ridiculously bad decision by the referee, Jeremy Simpson, after pitch inspections at midday and then 1pm.

Former top referee Uriah Rennie was also there to assess the first-year official and looked to have a big say in the controversial call, only a couple of hours before kick-off, that left everyone in disbelief.

It was called off because it was felt the playing conditions were dangerous for players because of heavy rain.

But none of the frustrated players thought their safety would have been at risk and neither did the two managers, Keith Curle and Russell Slade, who both told Simpson they wanted to play.

"What has the ref seen? The pitch is fine, a bit muddy near the Pavis stand, that's it. What a stupid decision," midfielder Alan Judge later tweeted.

"Pitch was best I've seen it in a while! Can't believe it was called off," added defender Gary Liddle.

The pitch looked perfectly playable and it even stopped raining soon after Simpson had left Meadow Lane. The Magpies even trained on it, having been denied the chance to play Orient.

Nottingham Rugby's Championship game against Moseley went ahead 24 hours later, which only makes the call look more stupid.

Notts are now going to lodge a formal complaint about Simpson to the Football League, so angry are they, and chief executive Jim Rodwell pulled no punches about the decision, after speaking to the ref out on the pitch after his last inspection.

"It quite simply beggars belief that a professional match official could come to this conclusion," he blasted.

"Both managers and both sets of players wanted to play the game and were more than happy with the condition of the pitch.

"It appears the only person in the stadium who thought that the game was a danger to the players was the referee.

"We had a game rightly called off because of a frozen pitch the other week, but this was the wrong call.

"I spoke to the ref and he said it was because of the safety of the players, but the pitch was fine. There was nothing wrong with it all and it even stopped raining after he called if off, like the forecast said it would.

"It was baffling and I am so annoyed.

"Everyone wanted to play the game, everyone thought the correct decision would have been to play it, except the ref and it has absolutely sickened me.

"It was not our fault – we worked hard to get the game on."

Notts boss Keith Curle did not want to end up on an FA charge so he did not criticise the ref. But, after taking a walk of the entire pitch, his feelings were pretty clear.

"I told the ref we wanted to play and so did Orient," he said.

"But there is nothing we could say to change his mind and I don't want to have to send the FA a Christmas card with a cheque in it.

"It was frustrating because we were ready to play – we wanted to play.

"But we were at the mercy of the ref and he made his decision.

"All I will say is we got the balls out and did some training on there – and I would never risk the safety of my players.

"It's disappointing, but it's gone now. We have to get on with it."