DERBY County will monitor Jamie Ward's fitness ahead of Sunday's clash against Nottingham Forest after a scan revealed he had suffered "slight" damage to a hamstring.
Ward picked up the injury while playing for Northern Ireland against Hungary.
The club say he will be assessed "day-by-day" but has not been ruled out of the Championship fixture at the City Ground.
DERBY County travel to the City Ground on Sunday to renew their rivalry with Nottingham Forest.
How do you think the Rams will fare? Last season Derby lost 1-0 at Forest but retaliated with a 5-0 demolition of their rivals at the iPro Stadium in March.
Vote for whether you think Steve McClaren's men will win, lose or draw in Sunday's Championship clash (1.15pm kick-off) in this poll and we will publish the results later this week.
TOP acoustic guitarist Preston Reed has cancelled his gig at Derby's Silk Mill this weekend.
The American musician was due to perform on Saturday but Derby Live, the city council's entertainment arm, says he has cancelled due to "unforeseen circumstances".
A Derby Live statement said: "Our staff are presently contacting those customers who have booked tickets."
EIGHT million pounds will be spent by Derbyshire County Council on backdating increased payments to private care homes.
The move was approved at a council cabinet meeting yesterday.
It will be funded from the authority's reserves and cover the period back to 2011.
Since that time, the council has increased the rates it pays to the county's private care homes for resident placements by 2% per year.
The Derbyshire Care Providers Association, which was formerly the Derbyshire Care Homes Association, wrote to the council in 2011 on behalf of its members who believed the increase should be higher.
The association said the rate being paid by the council for care home residents did not take into account the "actual costs of care" and did not allow for a reasonable amount of profit to be made.
Following discussions, the council agreed to carry out a full review of actual costs of providing care.
It sent out questionnaires to all Derbyshire care homes asking for information and evidence of the actual costs involved in running their businesses.
The council analysed the data it received, while also looking at the rates paid by other local authorities and taking in to consideration the cost of running its own care homes before reaching a proposed new fee rate.
The increased fee agreed by the council's cabinet yesterday represents a rise of £28.21 per residential placement, per week, being paid to care homes.
Council cabinet member for adult social care councillor Clare Neill said: "We inherited this issue from the previous [Conservative] administration. It had been going on for far too long and needed sorting out.
"We believe the increased fees we have agreed are fair and have set aside the money in council reserves to cover the backdated payments.
"A great deal of work, time and effort has gone in to looking at the costs of care and consulting with care homes across the county.
"The fee levels we have now agreed compare well with the fees paid by surrounding similar authorities and we would hope that care home providers will find this increase acceptable."
PREMIER League football team Tottenham Hotspur have come to the rescue of a Derby pub landlord whose beloved gnome has been stolen from behind his bar.
Spurs have agreed to send Alan Bowdidge a replacement for his bearded mascot who was whipped from his spot behind the bar at the Ferrers Arms in Sinfin last Thursday.
Since the gnome, also called Alan, was taken, Alan senior has received a ransom note asking for £8,495 for his safe return.
And the 55-year-old is also being taunted with online photographs showing Alan junior at Manchester airport, sat on an aeroplane seat and even posing with an airline pilot on an overseas flight.
The Derby Telegraph contacted the London club to see if they could appeal to its fans for the safe return of Alan junior and they have agreed to send a replacement gnome up to Derby.
Alan senior, who is a lifelong supporter of Spurs, said: "What a fantastic gesture from a brilliant club, I really appreciate it."
DERBYSHIRE conceded a first innings deficit of 79 when they were bowled out for 203 on day two in their LV County Championship match against Glamorgan at the Swalec Stadium.
It could have been worse for Derbyshire but for a last-wicket stand of 50 between Wayne White (38) and Mark Footitt (26 not out) which gave them the small consolation of a batting point.
Swing, which was not really much of a factor the previous day, was a big contribution to Glamorgan's success with the new ball, with six Derbyshire batsmen falling to lbw decisions – including debutant Cheteshwar Pujara.
Former Derbyshire all-rounder Graham Wagg, who did so much to salvage Glamorgan's innings with his swift 62, gave his side their first two wickets when he had Billy Godleman lbw for eight and then had Ben Slater caught at gully off a rising ball for 18 at 45-2.
That brought in Pujara but the India batsman lasted only 26 balls and scored seven before he was lbw to Jim Allenby at 58-3.
Michael Hogan knocked Wayne Madsen off his feet to earn another lbw decision – the captain made 16 – and Wes Durston was trapped on the crease by Allenby for 10 to make it 78-5.
Alex Hughes and Gareth Cross put on 49 before Cross was lbw to Hogan for 30, his highest Championship score of the season, and Hughes followed shortly after for 24, lbw to Wagg at 131-7.
Young off-spinner Kieran Bull went for 16 in his first over but took two wickets in successive balls to start his second, with David Wainwright (4) and Tony Palladino offering easy catches. Bull's two overs brought him 2-35.
White hit three sixes and four fours in his 38 before he was caught at mid off, leaving Footitt unbeaten after striking five fours.
RESIDENTS and councillors have expressed their fears over proposals by controversial security firm G4S to set up a children's home in Alvaston.
G4S Children's Services, a branch of the company which was slammed for its handling of security at the London Olympics in 2012, has proposed to convert a residential home in Shardlow Road.
If plans go ahead, the home would cater for up to five "children in care" aged between 10 and 17.
But residents say they are unhappy about the plans and are now getting together a petition to fight the panning application.
Alvaston resident Arron Marsden, 34, said: "The people I have spoken to are really worried about the future and we will fight this application.
"This is a residential area and the home would be opposite a pub.
"G4S does not have the best reputation at delivering public services and this is a concern that we all have."
In a planning application to Derby City Council, G4S said the aim was to "provide a comfortable, non-institutionalised environment" in which the children could live.
The company said the children would be mixed sexes and would be from Derby and surrounding areas.
It also said that the cost of each child would be paid by the "local authority responsible for the child".
The company has said the bedtimes of the young people would be staggered dependingt on their age, although all children would be expected to be settled in their rooms by 10pm.
A spokesman for G4S said Alvaston had been chosen because the firm was "on a framework to provide residential homes in the East Midlands". He added: "Regulations have changed to encourage local authorities to ensure children are placed as close to home as possible and in safe areas, so they can achieve good outcomes and improve their life chances.
"All homes are inspected by Ofsted twice a year to ensure standards are at the right level, which should give reassurance to local residents about the quality of care provided to children."
Alvaston councillor Paul Bayliss said he objected in the "strongest terms" to the plans. He said: "On checking with the city council and the Derby Safe Guarding Children Board, it is clear these bodies have not had any prior notification of this operator entering the market".
And Alvaston councillor Alan Graves said: "Is this the best location to house children with behavioural issues? There has been no consultation about this with residents."
THE following have been prosecuted for travelling on trains without a ticket:
JAMES Bedford, 19, of Eureka Road, Midway, was fined £200, ordered to pay £135 costs and a £20 surcharge for an offence on April 16.
ROBERT Bowen, 28, of The Hollow, Mickleover, was handed a six-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay £14 compensation for an offence on February 13.
JASON Cooling, 21, of Lodge Lane, Derby, was fined £200 and ordered to pay £135 costs, a £20 surcharge and £18 compensation for an offence on April 16.
LOUISE Ferron, 33, of St Vincent Close, Long Eaton, was fined £200, ordered to pay £135 costs, a £20 surcharge and £4.30 compensation for an offence on March 10.
SCOTT Grant, 38, of Richmond Road, Derby, was fined £200, ordered to pay £135 costs, a £20 surcharge and £11.10 compensation for an offence on March 31.
DERV Pullar, 38, of Clarence Road, Derby, was fined £200, ordered to pay £135 costs, a £20 surcharge and £8.80 compensation for an offence on April 11.
JOHN Francis Smyth, 53, of Waldorf Avenue, Alvaston, was fined £200, ordered to pay £135 costs, a £20 surcharge and £95 compensation for an offence on April 8.
BOLTON Wanderers are closing in on the emergency loan signing of Nottingham Forest utility man Greg Halford.
Boss Dougie Freedman is desperately trying to boost his squad ahead of Sheffield Wednesday's weekend visit to Macron Stadium and has pinpointed the 29-year-old as the man to fill the void left by Kevin McNaughton, who is a major doubt to face the Owls because of a hamstring injury.
Halford can play in any position down the right-hand side of the pitch, as well as in an attacking role. He has made 82 appearances since joining Forest from Portsmouth in July 2012, but has yet to feature for the Reds this season under the new management of Stuart Pearce.
DERBY County have been linked with a loan move for young Chelsea midfielder Lewis Baker, according to reports.
Leeds United are also said to be monitoring the highly-rated 19-year-old, who has been at Stamford Bridge since the age of nine and has progressed through the ranks to captain the under-21 side last season.
Leeds scouts have been to watch the promising midfielder but the report claims the Rams are monitoring his situation as well.
Baker has represented England at under-17 and under-19 level, scoring nine goals in 14 appearances for the U19 side and played in the Blues' FA Cup victory over the Rams at the iPro Stadium last season.
MYSTERIOUS giant bowls put in Derby city centre have been revealed to be... tree planters.
They are part of a £1 million refurbishment scheme at the junction of St Peter's Churchyard, East Street and St Peter's Street.
Derby City Council was yesterday unable to say how much the three planters had cost individually.
Shoppers in the city centre had mixed views on the appearance of the planters and were angry that public money had been spent on them.
The £1 million for the overall scheme has come from the city council's capital budget.
Joan Tomlinson, who lives off Bishops Drive, Oakwood, said the pots would look lovely with flowers in.
But she said: "They shouldn't have spent money on them. Also, how long will they last? They are not indestructible, I wouldn't have thought. Will people out at night smash bottles against them?"
Sharon Ryde, 49, of Ashbourne Road, Derby, said they looked out of place where they are – to the side of the street – and would look better as a centrepiece.
She said: "If public money has been spent on these then it's outrageous. I hope they put some pretty flowers in them as well."
Graeme Christie, of Allestree, said: "They look horrible. The council has done a nice job of revamping the area generally but the trouble is there are still people drinking on the streets there."
A council spokeswoman said the tree planters were "made from concrete with a colour mix to give the impression they are granite".
A day of street entertainment at the newly-refurbished area, known as St Peter's Cross, will be held on Saturday to celebrate its completion.
The area has been completely repaved, with space for entertainment, new seating and lighting.
To complement the work, St Peter's Church has been cleaned and new lighting will be installed to enhance its architecture and stained glass windows.
It has been carried out by the council in partnership with the St Peters Quarter Board, which organises activities under the area's Business Improvement District status.
Traders have welcomed the changes.
Caroline Cadman, from the Bon Marché womenswear store, previously said: "The work has really modernised the area and created a much-needed space for entertainment and relaxation in the busy St Peter's Quarter.
"Hopefully, this will encourage many more people into the area."
IT'S not often that Rams fans and Forest supporters show a moment of solidarity – but this weekend the rivals will put aside their differences to mark the anniversary of Brian Clough's death.
A campaign on social media website Twitter has led to fans from both sides planning a one-minute applause in the 10th minute at Sunday's match to mark the 10th anniversary of his death.
Clough – who took both Derby County and Nottingham Forest to glory in the 1970s and 1980s – died on September 20, 2004, in Derby.
Both clubs enjoyed great success under the man who famously declared "I wouldn't say I was the best manager in the country. But I'm in the top one".
He took the Rams from near the bottom of the second division to a Division One title in 1972 – the equivalent of winning today's Premier League – and a European Cup semi-final.
He was at Forest from 1975 to 1993, winning back-to-back European Cups in 1979 and 1980, as well as winning four League Cups.
Derby County Supporters' Club chairwoman Lynn Hemsworth has been to every Rams match, home and away, for the last 20 years.
She said a minute of applause on the 10th minute of the match is a great way to mark the occasion.
She said: "I thought it was a good idea when I heard about it and I think both sets of supporters will want to honour his memory.
"Brian meant so much to both teams and he and Peter Taylor's success is probably the reason that I began supporting the team."
Clough's name is held in such high esteem by fans from both cities that the A52 – the connecting road between Derby and Nottingham – has been named Brian Clough Way.
And statues of the Clough stand outside Derby's iPro Stadium and in Nottingham city centre.
"If the team had not been so successful then I probably wouldn't have been so bothered about going to see them," Lynn added.
Lynn and husband John will be at Sunday's game and they are both hoping for a good result.
Lynn said: "I have been to my fair share of Derby v Forest matches and they are always special games.
"The 10-man win stands out but I think the cup win where we beat them 3-2 after they were 2-0 up was the best.
"Hopefully Sunday will be another good game but it will be great to see the two sets of supporters come together to honour Brian."
Nottingham Forest v Derby County is live on Sky Sports 1 on Sunday. Kick-off is at 1.15pm.
STRIKER Chris Martin has penned a new four-year contract with Derby County.
The 25-year-old finished as Derby's top goalscorer last season with 25 goals, a tally that, in the process, broke the 18-year wait for a Rams player to surpass the 20-goal mark for a season.
Martin follows Jeff Hendrick, Craig Forsyth, Will Hughes, Jake Buxton, Craig Bryson, Mason Bennett and Jamie Ward in signing new deals at the iPro Stadium.
Skipper Richard Keogh has the offer of a new contract on the table.
Scotland international Martin, an unused sub in the defat by Germany on Sunday, says the 'atmosphere and spirit' that has been built up within the squad over the last year played a big part in extending his stay with Steve McClaren's side.
A BENEFITS cheat who has been sentenced for dishonestly claiming almost £17,000 has warned others against trying to defraud the system.
Tshidi Taylor, who admitted failing to notify authorities that she was married and living with her husband in Austin Square, Derby, has been given a 10-week jail sentence suspended for a year.
Leaving Southern Derbyshire Magistrates' Court today, Taylor said: "I know I should have reported my change in circumstances – I didn't and it became a lot of money.
"People think it's easy (to do) but it isn't right and it's not worth it. I have been treated beyond fairly for what I have done. I feel relieved but guilty."
Paramedics have been called to a collision between a car and a motorbike in Ripley this afternoon.
A Peugeot 206 and a Suzuki motorbike collided on the A610 in Ripley at 2.15pm.
A spokesman for Derbyshire police said paramedics were at the scene. Nobody was injured in the incident.
GREETINGS from Up North – well 12 and a half miles up the A6 to be precise, in Belper.
A pleasant location, but very far from being a city, with all the opportunities for education, employment, leisure and straightforward convenience offered by cities. Nevertheless, this is one of the areas required to provide sites for housing to cover the said Unmet Housing Needs. (I did not invent that phrase, it is lifted from Amber Valley Borough Local Plan).
If you manage to sweep away the jargon and gobbledegook surrounding the "proposed changes to the submitted core strategy", what it appears to mean is that certain people wishing to continue living in Derby will probably lose that option because there will not be enough houses. For the young in their first job, those who rely on their employment being local to keep travel costs down and those with teenage children who have grown up with the facilities offered by a city, this is going to be very bad news.
I do not know what the other sites under consideration by Amber Valley are like. There are three in Belper, and taken together, the likely outcome will be gridlock in the town centre between the hours of 7.30 and 9am on weekdays, thus rendering academic, in all senses of the word, other questions such as school places for additional children. Needless to say, no plans and no money exist for new roads or school buildings to service those 500-plus households. Not my problem, you will rightly say, but it may not be that way for long…
I am not familiar with the planning vagaries of Derby city. In Amber Valley there is marked lack of enthusiasm for brownfield sites, because of the perceived costs of rendering them environmentally safe for house building. Perhaps Derby are similarly reluctant?
When I last lived in a town of comparable size to Derby, there was great enthusiasm for building on farmland, estates sprang up miles from schools or shops, you had to have a car to be able to live on them, while redundant industrial sites in the town centre were left as festering eyesores for years, instead of being turned into useful and attractive residential areas.
In cases where they were finally converted, the beneficial effects on the neighbourhood were dramatic.
Bridget Freeman
Stanton Avenue
Belper
A LESS-WELL-KNOWN theatre of war has been visited during the school holidays by Derbyshire students keen to excavate First World War trenches as part of the conflict's important centenary commemorations.
An Ilkeston student has spent his summer digging and clearing a path along an old road used by soldiers marching from Slovenia to Italy during the First World War.
Walter Mercer-Holland, 18, was among 25 students and staff from Bilborough College in Nottingham.
They were helping to excavate and restore trenches from the conflict.
They also reconstructed a bunker in Kobarid in Slovenia, where the bloody Battle of Caporetto took place in 1917.
In the fighting, the Austro-Hungarian forces, reinforced by German units, smashed through the front line and routed the Italian army.
Slovenes were conscripted into the Austro-Hungarian army during the war and up to 30,000 lost their lives.
Thousands of others were interred in refugee camps in Italy between 1915 and 1918 and many of them died from malnutrition and ill-treatment.
Some of the fiercest battles were on the Isonzo river and at the Carso plateau.
It was not until 1918 that part of Slovenia joined Yugoslavia and the west of the country was annexed to Italy.
Now Walter and fellow student Vikesh Mistry, also from Ilkeston, are set to visit schools across Derbyshire to talk about their trip.
Walter, 18, said: "It was an absolutely amazing trip.
"It was a really beautiful place and hard to comprehend that so many people died there.
"You could see where the trenches were in the grass and there were large black holes where artillery must have gone off.
"Digging the trenches was hard work. It was really thick, clay soil and there were lots of rocks."
One of the trenches they dug is destined to become part of an outdoor museum complete with disabled access and an entrance that people can use.
Walter said: "We visited the indoor museum at Kobarid, which was very interesting especially because our trip coincided with the anniversary of World War One.
"I think the whole trip certainly helped us to understand more about the war," he added.
The Ilkeston pair both received a grant from Derbyshire County Council towards the cost of the trip. Now they are preparing to visit students at schools in the county to talk as part of the authority's community leadership programme.
Walter said: "We are not sure which schools we will be visiting yet but it will be over the next couple of weeks and we are really looking forward to it."
During their three-week trip, the students also hiked up to 100 miles over the Stol ridge to get involved with a project to support the isolated community of Robidisce.
This involved restoring stone walls and fences and working on the farms.
They also helped with tourist facilities in the village and worked on clearing up damage from severe storms last winter.
Their project earned the students fame when the Slovenian national television news featured the team as part of its main evening bulletin.
Geography teacher Simon Holland, expedition co-ordinator, said everyone thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
He said: "In Slovenia, the teams volunteered with an incredible project to excavate, restore and reconstruct World War One trenches and bunkers left behind from the terrible Battle of Caporetto.
"This was a wonderful way to get involved with the 100-year anniversary of the start of the war.
"Combined with our visit to the award-winning museum of Kobarid, it was very emotional and really brought home to the group the futility and horrific human consequences of war on such a scale.
"The projects were excellent and really helped us to contribute something lasting to the local community, whilst also bringing home to us all how lucky we are not to be living through the horrors of the First World War,'' said Mr Holland.
Another student, Nathaniel Bierley, also 18, added: "To try to uncover and play our own little part in history felt really good.
"We were worked really hard but we didn't mind because we knew the pain of the soldiers that occupied these very trenches."
DERBYSHIRE were sliding steadily towards defeat after they were set 261 to win on the third day of their LV County Championship match at the Swalec Stadium.
Three wickets from Mark Footitt and two from Tony Palladino did the job for Derbyshire in the morning as Glamorgan were all out for 181, their last five wickets falling for 36 runs in 17.5 overs.
But Derbyshire struggled second time around against good Glamorgan bowling in conditions more suitable for swing as they struggled to tea on 129-8, with only Wes Durston standing firm before he fell for 72.
Footitt broke through with his fifth ball when David Lloyd was lbw for nought and Palladino then had night watchman Dean Cosker lbw for 13 at 166-7.
A loose shot from Mark Wallace saw him caught at point off Footitt for 14 and there was a third for Footitt when Kieran Bull was caught at slip at 176-9.
The innings was over when Michael Hogan was caught at mid on to give Palladino a second scalp, with Graham Wagg three not out. Footitt finished with 3-46 and Palladino 2-38.
Derbyshire lost Ben Slater in the fifth over as he left a ball from Wagg that flattened his off stump and Billy Godleman was lbw to Michael Hogan for seven to make it 18-2.
There was a further huge blow two overs later when Cheteshwar Pujara tried to turn Hogan off his legs and looped a gentle return catch to the bowler to fall for a duck at 18-3.
Wayne Madsen and Durston held Glamorgan up for 11 overs and put on 46 before David Lloyd came into the attack to have the skipper lbw for 26 and then have Alex Hughes caught down the leg side for nought.
Gareth Cross was lbw to Jim Allenby for nought at 85-6 and that became 101-7 when Wayne White was bowled by Allenby.
But Durston would not abandon a cause looking increasingly lost and reached his half-century off 69 balls with six fours but he finally went for 72, cutting at Hogan and nicking a catch through to the wicketkeeper at 122-8.
Forecasters have predicted no rain will fall in Derby for five days.
The Met Office said today it should remain bright and clear with highs of 17C at 8pm. Tomorrow will be mostly cloudy and dry with highs of 19C between 4pm and 5pm.
