Category: Leicester

Access to a waterway in Bradgate Park has been closed due to a burst sewage pipe.The Bradgate Park Trust said there was no access to the river at the site in Newtown Linford due to pollution from the burst pipe nearby.Severn Trent said its teams were on site responding to a “waste water issue” and were working “quickly and safely” to resolve it.A spokesperson added: “We understand this may be concerning for local residents and visitors. We’d like to reassure everyone that getting this resolved remains our top priority.”The park trust advised children and pets be kept away from the water.The water company said it would continue to monitor the situation while carrying out any necessary repairs and clean-up work.

Police in Leicestershire are investigating after a motorbike rider in his 80s was found dead at the scene of a crash in Shepshed.Officers were called to Charley Road at around 08:50 BST on Sunday, regarding a single vehicle collision which involved red Yamaha MT07 motorcycle, Leicestershire Police said.Charley Road was closed between Abbey Road and Oaks Road while emergency services dealt with the crash, but has since reopened.Det Sgt Jack Cornick, from the force’s serious collision investigation unit, said: “If there is anyone who witnessed the collision, saw the rider beforehand or the circumstances leading up to it, we ask that you please make contact with us.”He added: “At the time of the collision, the vehicle was travelling towards Copt Oak.””Anyone who may also have dashcam footage which captured anything relating to the collision is also asked to get in touch.”

Belvoir Castle’s popular Flower and Garden Show is set to return, bigger and better than ever, this summer.Taking place on 11–12 July 2026, the event will see famous faces from the UK’s favourite gardening programmes, including BBC Gardeners’ World presenter Adam Frost and ITV’s Love Your Garden’s David Domoney, taking to the stage alongside stunning border competitions and family-friendly activities.Now in its ninth year, Belvoir Castle’s Flower and Garden Show has become one of the UK’s most anticipated shows, attracting thousands of visitors who share a passion for gardening, design, and the natural world.Celebrating the beauty and creativity of horticulture, this year’s show promises a vibrant showcase of displays, garden design inspiration, hands-on workshops, and sustainable gardening innovations.For the first time this year, a Royal Air Force (RAF) flypast commemorating the Battle of Britain is expected to wow crowds with displays featuring historic aircraft, including Spitfire, Hurricane, and Dakota planes. Subject to weather conditions, the spectacular RAF display will see the impressive aircraft soar across the sky as a living tribute to the Second World War fleet and inspire future generations.Caylee Gutsell, Events Manager at Belvoir Castle, said: “We’re honoured to welcome the RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight display to this year’s very special edition of the Flower and Garden Show. Visitors to the show will have the best views of this incredible display, which promises to be a memorable addition to the day.”Adam Frost and David Domoney will be returning to the show for the second year to share design insights, gardening tips, and stories from their careers, as well as signing books for fans. These sessions are part of a jam-packed programme of events taking place across the two-day show.Throughout the two-day event, there will be a programme of unmissable events, including live demonstrations and Q&A sessions with talented horticulturalist and Chelsea Flower Show medallist Paula Routledge, and experienced garden designer and journalist Karen Gimson. In addition to the programme of events, visitors will have the opportunity to enjoy stalls selling plants, horticultural accessories, and local artisan crafts. Food stalls selling delicious, locally sourced food and beverages will be available throughout the show.Andy Tudbury, Head Gardener at Belvoir Castle, said: “Over the last nine years, the Flower and Garden Show has gone from strength to strength, and it’s been amazing to see it bloom into the full-family day out it is today. We’re so pleased that people travel from near and far to enjoy the show, whether they’re keen gardeners or just want to make precious family memories.”The Flower and Garden Show will be held on the Castle Terrace, beside the iconic Regency castle. Visitors to the show will have the opportunity to explore the impressive gardens and grounds, including the majestic Rose Garden, home to 1,000 English roses.Belvoir Castle is gaining popularity among horticulturists and garden enthusiasts due to the timeless beauty of its gardens. The Japanese Woodlands are a particular favourite for visitors, featuring magnolias, rhododendrons, and camellias sourced from the original seed collection of Charles Williams from Caerhays Castle in Cornwall and Burncoose Nurseries.Throughout the event, the Retail Village, set at the foot of the Castle, will welcome guests to browse the carefully curated boutiques and enjoy a relaxing bite to eat at the Belvoir Bistro.Tickets for the Flower and Garden Show are now available from the Belvoir Castle website, with prices starting from £18 for adults and £7 for children. Booking in advance is recommended.Book tickets here: https://www.belvoircastle.com/event/cG9zdDoxMjc=

Neil Hurst (as Edna Turnblad) in Hairspray, © Pamela Raith
Exclusive: The multi-award-winning musical Hairspray will be back on tour across the UK and Ireland next year!
This will mark the second outing for the production directed by Brenda Edwards and Paul Kerryson. Edwards, who has previously played Motormouth in three tours of Hairspray, commented: “I am so thrilled that this wonderful musical is returning to cities across the UK as it holds a very special place in my heart! I had so much fun making my directorial debut as a co-director with Paul Kerryson the first time round. The show’s story and themes continue to remain as relevant as ever, and I cannot wait to share this vibrant new production of this timeless musical with even more people.”
Hairspray is based on the 1988 film of the same name and features music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Shaiman, and book by Mark O’Donnell and Thomas Meehan. It tells the story of Tracy Turnblad, who longs to dance her way onto national TV, win the heart of teen idol Link Larkin, and use her newfound fame to fight for equality in a racially segregated Baltimore.
The score features such hits as “Welcome to the 60s”, “Good Morning Baltimore” and “You Can’t Stop the Beat”.
Neil Hurst will reprise the role of Edna Turnblad for the new tour, with further casting to be announced.
The production will feature choreography by Drew McOnie, set and costume design by Takis, lighting design by Philip Gladwell, sound design by Ben Harrison, musical supervision and arrangements by Ben Atkinson, musical direction by Richard Atkinson, projection design by George Reeve, and casting by Grindrod Burton. The associate director is Juliet Gough and the associate choreographer is Shaquille Brush.
Produced by Mark Goucher, Matthew Gale, and Laurence Myers, Hairspray will open at Manchester Palace Theatre (2 July to 19 July 2027), before heading to Glasgow Kings Theatre (20 to 25 July), Edinburgh Playhouse (27 July to 1 August), Cardiff Wales Millenium Centre (3 to 7 August), Dublin Bord Gáis Energy Theatre (9 to 14 August), Belfast Grand Opera House (16 to 21 August), Southend Cliffs Pavilion (24 to 29 August), New Wimbledon Theatre (31 August to 4 September), Liverpool Empire (13 to 18 September), Bradford Alhambra Theatre (20 to 25 September), Sunderland Empire (27 September to 2 October), Milton Keynes Theatre (4 to 9 October), Malvern Theatres (11 to 16 October), Birmingham Hippodrome (25 to 30 October), York Grand Opera House (1 to 6 November), Leicester Curve (8 to 13 November), Brighton Theatre Royal (15 to 20 November), Woking Theatre (22 to 27 November) and Bristol Hippodrome (10 to 15 January 2028). Additional venues will be confirmed soon.

A section of the A610 Nuthall Road is to remain closed into next week after a diesel spillage damaged the road surface.The inbound carriageway remains closed from Cinderhill Island to Bar Lane following the spillage, which affected the stretch from the Tesco garage to Llanberis Grove.The closure was first put in place after diesel was found on the highway on Wednesday 1 July, prompting highways and cleansing teams to work overnight to clear the site.Following an assessment of the damage, the council said the road surface now has “unacceptably low skid resistance” and that the spillage could have both immediate and longer-term effects on the structural integrity of the road.The council said it had no option but to resurface the affected stretch to make it safe for motorists.Resurfacing work is due to begin this morning and is expected to continue into next week. The road will remain closed while the work takes place.A further update is expected early next week.

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TheBusinessDesk.com is bringing its next networking mixer to Roxy Ball Room in Leicester for an evening of friendly competition, relaxed networking and new connections.
Join fellow professionals from across Leicester and the wider Midlands on Thursday September 10 for a social event designed to make networking feel a little less formal – and a lot more fun.
Your ticket includes access to a series of games to help break the ice, including American Pool, Shuffleboard and Tech Darts. And yes, there will absolutely be bragging rights up for grabs.
Wondering what we mean by “young professional”? Let’s just say we’re not checking ID.
Tickets cost £30 + VAT and include:
🥂 A welcome drink – choose from prosecco, wine, beer, a spirit and mixer, or a soft drink.
🎯 Unlimited gaming access – enjoy American Pool, Shuffleboard and Tech Darts throughout the evening.
Whether you’re looking to expand your network, catch up with familiar faces or simply enjoy an evening out with the Midlands business community, The Leicester Mixer is the perfect opportunity.
So, chalk up your cue, grab a drink and get ready to play. We’ll see you there – get your tickets here.

A Leicestershire MP says it is “utterly unacceptable” that a convicted people smuggler, once described as the “godfather” of French migrant camps, is living in the county and believed to be seeking asylum while working illegally.A BBC investigation traced Twana Jamal to Blaby and found two mini-marts linked to him. South Leicestershire MP Alberto Costa, whose constituency office is next door to one of the shops, said he had contacted Leicestershire Police to ask what the force intends to do with the information and would be raising the issue with the Home Office.”Let’s be clear this man should not be in Blaby, should not be in this country,” he said.The Conservative MP has urged the people of Blaby to stay away from the shops linked to Jamal.”He is a convicted human trafficker and the fact that he’s come to our home, to Blaby, in our local community, and is exploiting the system by working apparently illegally because he doesn’t have any settled status here, is utterly unacceptable,” he said.”The fact that he’s actually opened a business next door to a member of parliament’s constituency office speaks volumes about the character of this individual.”

A robbery at a convenience store in Leicester has been linked to a raid on a bookmakers a few days before.Police were called to the store near Sansom Road in New Parks at 07:08 BST on Thursday following a report two masked men had entered the premises, threatening staff with a suspected pistol and striking one on the head, slightly injuring him.The men made off on foot towards Samson Road with a quantity of cash.Detectives said due to similarities, they were investigating potential links with an armed robbery at a betting shop in Glenfield on Sunday evening.Det Insp Graeme Baxter said officers had conducted a forensic examination of the store and were reviewing CCTV.”We continue to investigate an armed robbery at a bookmakers on Sunday evening in Glenfield and believe due to the similarities and proximity to both incidents, that they could be linked.”I would like to appeal to anyone who may have seen something connected to this incident to please get in touch. “Did you see two men in the area beforehand acting suspiciously? Did you see where the men went when they left the store?”Footage from doorbells, dashcams or CCTV may have also captured something so please if you live locally, please check your devices,” he said.

1 July 2026

The earliest evidence of spiders’ fangs has been identified in a 518-million-year-old fossil by scientists at the University of Leicester and Yunnan University.
From the infamous Black Widow spider to the radioactive spider that gave Spider-Man his superpowers, the arachnid’s bite has been a key part of its enduring image and chilling reputation.
Now, the evolution of the powerful fangs that make spiders such formidable hunters has been traced back to its earliest known appearance in the fossil Urokodia, detailed in a new study for the journal Nature published today (1 July).
Spiders, along with scorpions and ticks, form part of a group of invertebrates known as chelicerates, currently comprising over 100,000 described species. They have jointed limbs and external skeletons but are particularly noted for the specialised limbs called chelicerae at the front of the animal which are used as pincers or fangs for stabbing prey.
The fossils of Urokodia were recovered from the famous Chengjiang fossil site of Yunnan Province in southern China and this latest study is published on the 42-year anniversary of the discovery of the site. Urokodia was quite small at around 2-3 cm long with large eyes protruding on stalks from the front, a segmented skeleton and jointed limbs strung from the underside of its slender body. At first glance, it doesn’t resemble the spiders and scorpions that are its modern-day descendants.
Using X-ray analysis, the team of scientists at Yunnan University, China, and the University of Leicester probed the rock in which the fossil was entombed, revealing that most of its soft anatomy was still mummified after hundreds of millions of years. 
Their analysis also revealed two pincer-like limbs emerging just behind its eyes that are the beginnings of chelicerae. Urokodia also shows some features on its legs that suggest they were acting as book gills for breathing, similar to modern aquatic chelicerates like the horseshoe crab. 

Chelicerates are one of the most successful groups to live on the land and in the sea. On land they have become remarkable hunters and the fossil record shows that their ancestors have been doing this for hundreds of millions of years.
But while monster movies such as Arachnophobia portray spiders as a horrifying threat to humans, most spiders are completely harmless to us because their bites and venom are designed for much smaller prey.
The study was led by Professor Yu Liu of Yunnan University who is also a Visiting Professor at the University of Leicester.
Professor Liu said: “We were using x-ray tomography analysis of these fossils to reveal their soft anatomy buried in the rocks for hundreds of millions of years, when suddenly we noticed the pincer-like limbs at the front of the animal. We knew immediately that this was a very exciting fossil and indeed a distant ancestor of living chelicerates like scorpions and spiders.”
Co-author Professor Mark Williams from the University of Leicester School of Geography, Geology and the Environment said: “Urokodia was part of an ancient ecosystem of over 200 different types of animals living in the seas over 500 million years ago. These spectacularly preserved fossils provide real insights into how life was evolving on our planet at the very dawn of animals.”

This study was supported by a grant from the Department of Science and Technology of Yunnan Province (202401BC070012) to Professor Yu Liu, who is further funded by the Yunnan Revitalization Talent Support Program.

A fire at a Leicester landmark building that led to a number of city centre streets being closed was accidental, an investigation has found.Fire crews were called to Alexandra House in Rutland Street at about 10:00 BST and found an area on the fourth floor alight.No injuries were reported and the fire was found to have been caused by an electrical fault which then spread to nearby clothing, the fire service said.Alexandra House is a highly ornate four-storey Victorian warehouse, built for Faire Bros Ltd, who were at the time one of the largest boot and shoe lace manufacturers and exporters in the world.