SUPERMARKET giant Morrisons is set to open a new convenience store in a former Chaddesden pub.

The chain is to open an M Local, which is its convenience store brand, in the former Kingfisher pub, in Lexington Road.

The new store, which will be officially opened on Monday by Derby Paralympic footballer Leon Taylor, will create 20 jobs.

The pub closed last year due to falling trade and in December, an application was lodged to turn the building into a retail unit.

Permission was granted by Derby City Council in June.

The building has undergone a number of alterations in order to accommodate the convenience store.

The main pub building has been retained but an extension has been added to the rear.

The store, which has a total retail floor space of 4,000sq ft, has 14 parking spaces and also an ATM.

Mr Taylor will perform the ribbon cutting at 9am. Customers will be invited to sample products from the store's Food to Go section, which offers coffee, bacon sandwiches and pastries.

The store will then be open every day from 7am to 11pm.

MORE than £20,000 has now been raised in memory of an inspirational youngster who died after defying the odds for two years.

Three-year-old William Furlong had a condition which affected his brain and left him blind and suffering epileptic fits.

His parents, Sean and Alison, were originally told he would not live long past his first birthday.

William, who lived with his parents and sisters, Olivia, seven, and Niamh, six, in a specially adapted home in Mickleover, lost his battle for life in June.

He also spent a lot of time receiving care at Rainbows Hospice at Loughborough and his parents and their friends have vowed to raise money for Rainbows.

Now, after an anonymous £1,000 donation, their fund-raising total has surpassed £20,000. And, this weekend, Sean and Alison are going to add to it further when they take part in an abseil from Derby Cathedral.

Alison said she was thrilled to have raised so much money but was now looking forward to adding to it.

She said: "Me and Sean decided to do the abseil before William passed away.

"I turned 40 in December and it's a big birthday so I wanted to do something special.

"Rainbows is a very special place close to our hearts so we wanted to give it a go.

"Sean is terrified of heights but that has not stopped us.

"They were so great with William, we always wanted to give something back."

Sixteen employees from Pektron in Alfreton Road, Derby, are taking part in the abseil.

The workers, ranging from directors, managers, supervisors and shop-floor workers, will be in two teams, Pektron Peregrines and Pektron Plummeters.

They want to support Rainbows and raise £3,500.

Manufacturing director Ian Harpham said: "We were inspired by a visit from William Furlong and his mother who gave us a moving account of William's special needs and how Rainbows supported him and his family.

"Sadly William passed away shortly after the visit and we are doing our abseil in his memory."

Paula North, community fund-raising manager for Rainbows in Derbyshire, said: "I would like to thank Pektron for taking part and for supporting Rainbows.

"They are doing a wonderful thing in raising funds to help us run the hospice."

Daredevils can abseil from the 212ft or 65 metre-high tower on Saturday and Sunday, with time slots also on Saturday evening.

To donate, visit William's fund-raising page at www.justgiving.com/William-Furlong.

DOUGIE Freedman's reign as Bolton Wanderers manager ended today.

Bolton slipped to second from bottom in the Championship on Wednesday night after losing 4-0 at Fulham, a loss that followed a 2-0 home defeat by Derby County last Saturday.

Freedman's position as Bolton manager has looked vulnerable after their poor start to the campaign and today the axe fell.

Wanderers released a statement saying: "We can confirm that manager Dougie Freedman has today left the club by mutual consent."

A DERBY money expert has said she hopes that other payday loan companies will heed new lending guidelines after Wonga was made to write off the debts of hundreds of thousands of customers.

The controversial short-term lender has agreed to write off the debts of 330,000 customers whose loans would not have been approved under new affordability guidelines set out by the Financial Conduct Authority.

A further 45,000 customers will not have to pay interest on their loans.

The company, which has faced criticism for its debt collection tactics, said the new checks have been implemented after discussions with the regulator.

It is estimated that the move will cost Wonga, which recently reported a 53% dip in annual profits, £220 million.

Gillian Bhalla, money advice supervisor at the Citizens Advice Bureau and Derby Law Centre, said that the move sent out a message to other payday lenders.

She said: "I welcome the news that Wonga is being more tightly controlled. It sends out a message to other payday lenders that they need to be much more aware of the guidelines.

"The public needs to be aware that this type of borrowing is fine if you are in a position to pay the money back. But if you are already struggling on a low income or on benefits then there's a big risk that your debts could spiral out of control.

"It is a quick fix but causes money problems to get worse for some of the most vulnerable in society."

According to Mrs Bhalla, the number of people approaching Citizen's Advice in Derby with payday loan issues has been falling.

She said: "That said, as we approach Christmas there will be more, because people do not want their children to go without.

"The biggest problem has been what's called continuous payment authority, which allows payday loan companies to take money directly out of people's bank accounts.

"That has caused a lot of hardship for our clients. It is in the small print that only the lender can cancel the payment.

"The new guidelines from the FCA means that lenders have to carry out means testing to assess affordability."

Wonga said it would contact borrowers by October 10 to notify them if they will be included in its redress programme.

Derbyshire County Council's leader, Councillor Anne Western, has suggested that people struggling with debt should turn to credit unions for help.

Credit unions are not-for-profit financial cooperatives run locally by local people and offer savings as well as loans at lower rates than many high street lenders. They encourage people to save, as well as offering access to instant loans of amounts up to around £500.

IGNORANCE is bliss when it comes to Gone Girl.

If, like me, you haven't read Gillian Flynn's 2012 psychological thriller and you know nothing of the serpentine twists that propelled the novel to the top of the bestsellers list, then jealously guard your cluelessness.

There's an undeniable delight watching Flynn wrong-foot us with this spiky satire on media manipulation and the glossy facade of celebrity marriages.

When the central characters promise to love, honour and obey, till death do them part, one of them takes that vow very seriously.

Admittedly, you have to dig deep beneath the surface of David Fincher's polished film to find the jet black humour but it's there, walking hand-in-hand with sadism and torture that propel the narrative towards its unconventional denouement.

The film version of Gone Girl is distinguished by a career-best performance from Rosamund Pike as the pretty wife who vanishes without trace on her fifth wedding anniversary and is presumed dead at the hands of her handsome husband (Ben Affleck).

Pike has to plumb the depths of human emotion in a demanding and complex role, by turns brittle and steely, terrified and driven.

She's almost certain to earn her first Oscar nomination.

In stark contrast, Affleck is solid but little more as the spouse who pleads his ignorance but hides secrets from the people he adores.

As battles of the sexes go, it's a resolutely one-sided skirmish.

On the morning of his anniversary, Nick Dunne (Affleck) calls detectives Rhonda Boney (Kim Dickens) and Jim Gilpin (Patrick Fugit) to his home.

There are signs of a struggle and his wife Amy (Pike) is missing.

Nick's sister, Margo (Carrie Coon), who has never liked Amy, assures her sibling that everything will be fine.

"Whoever took her's bound to bring her back," she quips cattily.

Nick and Amy's distraught parents (David Clennon and Lisa Beth) front a high-profile media campaign to secure the safe return of "amazing Amy".

In the glare of the spotlight, fractures appear in the Dunnes' marriage and police and public question Nick's innocence.

Gone Girl holds our attention for the majority of the bloated 149-minute running time, with a couple of lulls and a disjointed final act.

Pike's mesmerising theatrics light up the screen and there is strong support from Neil Patrick Harris as Amy's creepy old flame.

Fincher's direction is lean, complemented by snappy editing and a discordant score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, who won the Oscar for their music to The Social Network.

Once you regain your balance from Flynn pulling the rug from under your feet, you are left with the conclusion this is a slick yet slightly underwhelming whodunit that doesn't quite scale the dizzy heights of shock and suspense previously achieved by Jagged Edge, The Usual Suspects or indeed, Fincher's 2005 film, Seven.

RATING: 7.5/10

CERTIFICATE: 18

SHOWING AT: Showcase, Cinema de Lux and the Odeon, Derby; Cineworld, Burton; Odeon, Swadlincote.

A 22-YEAR-OLD Chaddesden man has been handed a 12-month community order after admitting attempting to steal from a parked car.

Brendan Naylor also pleaded guilty to possessing a hammer in connection with the attempted theft when he appeared at Southern Derbyshire Magistrates' Court.

The hearing heard that Naylor, of Renfrew Street, tried to take items from the silver Hyundai.

He was also ordered to carry out 80 hours' unpaid work, pay £85 costs and a £60 victim surcharge.

AN environmental law expert has maintained that it is difficult but not impossible to prosecute people for fly-tipping.

David Armstrong, a practicing Derby barrister and a consultant for councils on environmental crime, was called in to give a talk on the issue by Derby City Council.

About 60 members of the public, council staff and councillors went to the event, which was one of the things the council had promised to do to tackle fly-tipping.

The crime is blighting Normanton and Arboretum wards in particular, with anything from meat to furniture being dumped in the streets on a regular basis.

The Derby Telegraph, Normanton Empowerment Team, and the council are running a petition calling for a change in law to make it easier for the authority to prosecute for fly-tipping.

This followed the authority saying the same level of proof was required as it is for murder. It has not made a prosecution in the past five years.

In an interview after the event, Mr Armstrong, said "it was absolutely possible" for the authority to prosecute for fly-tipping – but there were difficulties.

He gave the example of finding an addressed letter in a bag of fly-tipped rubbish, pointing out that it could have been thrown away by someone visiting the house of origin.

Mr Armstrong said that, in the face of cuts to councils' funding from Government, the best option was for authorities to work with communities to track down fly-tippers through things like its Streetpride Champions scheme.

People who sign up take responsibility in their streets for reporting fly-tipping and answering queries about rubbish from residents.

He said that, to successfully prosecute for fly-tipping, people needed to ensure they make copious notes of what they saw.

This would enable the council to know if it could prosecute or not.

Notes should include:

An exact idea of how long they have watched the incident.

Distance from the incident based on landmarks.

An idea of any visibility problems, such as whether it was raining and what other obstructions to the view there may have been.

Do they know who the person was?

A description of the person, including distinguishing features such as tattoos or scars.

How long was it between the incident and the notes being made?

Dawn Gee, from Normanton Empowerment Team, which is battling for more to be done about the fly-tipping in the area, said the event was "useful".

She said it was interesting Mr Anderson had said enforcement is an important part of tackling fly-tipping.

Mrs Gee said: "We've done the engagement, we've tried the education but we are seeing the same families fly-tipping again and again."

Councillor Asaf Afzal, cabinet member responsible for tackling fly-tipping, said: "It is a challenge to address environmental crime but the message remains that we need to all work together for the benefit of our neighbourhoods and city."

DERBY County's Championship clash at Middlesbrough in December will be shown live on Sky.

The Championship clash will still be played on Saturday, December 13 but will now kick off at 12.15pm.

It will be the first of two live television games for the Rams during December, with the home game against Leeds United on December 30 also selected. 

MUCH has been made of the patience being shown by Derby County's players this season.

Their persistence has also been impressive.

They have shown a willingness to plug away in the belief of being rewarded. Whether it takes 80, 85 or 90-plus minutes, you sense Derby can score.

The stats support this view.

Eleven of the 24 goals scored this season have arrived from the 80th-minute onwards, including winners by Jeff Hendrick and Ivan Calero against Rotherham United in the League and Charlton Athletic in the Capital One Cup.

Ryan Shotton, against Nottingham Forest, and Craig Bryson in the Cardiff game have rescue a point for Rams with late goals.

Both goals to sink Bournemouth on Tuesday came from Will Hughes after 81 minutes and Chris Martin in the third minute of added time.

Having the character, determination and fitness levels to keep going is a huge advantage and opponents will be wary of that fact.

"We just have to keep knocking at the door in some games," said head coach Steve McClaren.

"The boys have talked about it a lot, as well. This is our style, this is how we do it. We live and die by it."

Derby's promotion bid last season caught the eye and they are no longer a surprise package. They are among the favourites to go up.

Teams recognise this, and many are looking to sit deeper to stifle and frustrate McClaren's side. Ipswich Town and Cardiff City did so, Bournemouth also.

Ipswich and Cardiff both left with a point but Derby eventually ground down Bournemouth after the visitors had been reduced to 10 men following the dismissal of goalkeeper Lee Camp.

They displayed patience, a key ingredient and something that will be needed on many more occasions this season – and probably when Millwall visit tomorrow.

The Lions are the last team to beat Derby at the iPro Stadium. They won 1-0 in March, a coupon-buster of a result given the position in the table of both clubs.

Derby, at the time, had been grinding out results but fell the wrong side of the fine line that can decide matches.

Rams could have no complaints because they were poor in the final third, an area of the pitch in which they had been so bright and ruthless at times.

The experience of last season has helped players and fans become more patient.

"Some teams will press us and open the game up, other teams will drop and make it difficult. We have to find solutions," said McClaren.

"When teams drop and look to make it difficult, we have to be patient and the crowd has to be patient.

"The crowd is showing patience, and that has pleased me.

"We cannot become frustrated at such times because that is what the opponent wants.

"The biggest things are the fitness levels and the bench. We have players who can come off the bench and make an impact. That is so valuable."

The two goals against Bournemouth took the total scored under McClaren to 100 in 54 games in all competitions.

Derby have won 32 of those matches, drawn 12 and lost only 10. They have conceded 54 goals.

A Derby County fan today told a court he had not bought a ticket for tomorrow's game against Millwall because he thought he would be handed a football banning order.

Dale Tew, of Chaddesden, heard that the Crown Prosecution Service had dropped its intention to seek the banning order when he arrived at Southern Derbyshire Magistrates Court this morning.

The hearing heard that the 22-year-old was so drunk when he arrived at Hillsborough for the Rams match against Sheffield Wednesday in August, the police told him to leave the area.

But, moments later, he was caught again trying to enter the ground.

Tew, of Kerry Street, pleaded guilty to trying to enter a sports ground while drunk.

Magistrates handed him a £140 fine, ordered him to pay £85 costs and a £20 victim surcharge.,

Mrs Elizabeth Woolley, chair of the bench, told him: "You are getting a fine that is a lot more expensive than the price of a ticket.

"And it is clear that if this had happened at Derby County you would be getting a football banning order as well.

"The fine may mean you will cut down on the number of matches you are able to go to and it would be a good idea to cut down your drinking as well."

Lynne Manning, prosecuting, said the incident happened at Derby County's match on August 16.

She said police noticed Tew was drunk outside the away entrance to the ground.

Miss Manning said: "He was told to get away from the area and, minutes later, they picked him out trying to get into the ground using his £16 ticket.

"He was arrested and, at interview, told police he did not want to waste the money he had spent on the ticket."

Tew, who represented himself in court, apologised for his behaviour on the day but said he was pleased not to be handed the order.

He said: "I was drunk and it will not happen again.

"It was the first away match of the season and I got carried away with the lads on the train.

"I had just had a few too many beers.

"I thought I was going to get the banning order so I had not bought a ticket for the Millwall match tomorrow."

UNISON has reassured people in Derbyshire that health care staff will "not put people at risk" during a four-hour strike over pay,

Several unions that represent NHS staff in Derbyshire, which affects ambulance staff, nurses, midwives and porters, will take part in the action on Monday, October 13,

David Godson, regional manager and head of health for Unison East Midlands, said: "Health care staff are dedicated to the roles that they do. They will not people at risk."

He said unions were suggesting to employers that the services offered on October 13 should be the same as at Christmas or on a Bank Holiday.

Mr Godson said: "There are certain services that wouldn't run on a normal Bank Holiday such as routine appointments."

He said that the unions who had agreed to the strike so far included his own, GMB, Unite, midwifery union RCM and the Society of Radiographers.

Ministers have given NHS staff a 1% increase, but not for those who get automatic progression-in-the-job rises.

These are designed to reward professional development, are given to about half of staff and are worth 3% a year on average.

But the decision by ministers went against the recommendation of an independent pay review board, which had called for an across-the-board rise.

Unite said on its website on September 26 that its members had said yes to the strike.

But an East Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman said his organisation was still waiting to hear officially from that union.

He said: "As things stand, it is not entirely clear what form of industrial action the unions will take or the impact it will have on our service. However, we have developed a contingency plan to mitigate the impact on front-line services and will be able to fine-tune this as soon as we have a full understanding of the position."

A spokesman for Derby Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said its first priority would be to provide safe services to patients.

He said: "Each department has in place a contingency plan for industrial action.

"We will be working with trade union representatives to ensure essential services are not disrupted.

"Those staff who participate in strike action will not be paid for the four-hour period of the strike."

The action on October 13 will take place from 7am to 11am.

From Tuesday to Friday that week, staff will be encouraged by their unions to take the breaks they are due rather than working through.

DERBY County's Kieron Freeman has joined Mansfield Town on 93-day emergency loan deal.

The 22-year-old full back returns to the the League Two side. where he previously enjoyed a loan spell in the 2011-12 season, while he was a Nottingham Forest player.

Freeman will be in line to make his debut for the Stags in their home encounter with Accrington Stanley tomorrow.

A 10-year-old has been taken to hospital with potentially life-threatening injuries.

It is understood he was in a collision with a Toyota Avensis in St Thomas Road, at the corner of Portland Street , in Pear Tree, Derby, today at about 3.30pm.

He was taken to Royal Derby Hospital.

The road has been closed off by officers who are still at the scene.

Kudsia Batool, the headteacher at Pear Tree Community Junior School, said she understood the boy involved in the accident was a pupil at the school.

But she said she believed the accident did not happen outside the school but some distance away, at the junction.

Wreya Faraj works in Super Polski, a western European food shop in Portland Street.

He said: "I saw people outside the shop looking worried so I went outside and then I saw the boy on the floor in front of the car. People were trying to help him. And then the driver got out to help him as well. The boy looked unconscious."

On Facebook, Tony Chapple said: "My wife rang the ambulance service for him. Hope the little mite is ok. I nearly got run over there this morning."

Derby Update, Services 38, 40 & 41 diverted: St Thomas Road/ Walbrook Road has been closed due to a police... http://t.co/m2K7iv0aUM

— Arriva Midlands East (@arrivamidlandsE) October 3, 2014

whats happening on st thomas road near the vulcan all roads closed off

— Becky Kooner (@beckykooner) October 3, 2014

The car was recovered and the road reopened at about 6pm.

ROGER HELMER and Margot Parker hail the decision of Clacton's former Tory MP, Douglas Carswell, to join UKIP as a 'brave decision' "The political earthquake led by UKIP gathers pace" (September 17). It would have braver had he chosen to stand in a constituency where there was not already a UKIP candidate, selected and working to win the seat in next year's election.

Mr Carswell did not even have the courtesy to inform this man of his decision. The first he heard of Mr Carswell's defection was on the news.

As for UKIP "letting the fox loose in the Westminster hen house" (hen house, the place is male-heavy) haven't the Scots just done that? Maybe UKIP didn't realise...

Anne Johns

Oaklands Avenue

Littleover

A BRIGHT light has gone out in Derbyshire. The Dowager Duchess of Devonshire, who saved Chatsworth from financial ruin by her cleverness and commercial insight, has passed away.

She was known as "Stubby to her Mitford sisters, Jessica a communist, Unity the Hitler worshipper, Diana a fascist who counted Hitler as a friend and Nancy the famous writer.

Debo, as she was known by her friends, was ordinary in comparison and, after marrying the Duke of Devonshire, settled at Chatsworth, it seemed into a calm pastoral existence. Yet everybody she met, fisherman, butcher or coal miner, she found interest in. She loved Elvis Presley in her comparative youth and remained in thrall to his singing for the rest of her life.

She set about restoring Chatsworth's fortunes, threatened as it was by financial ruin. It was her vision that has made it what it is today, the most visited of all stately homes in Britain and stimulating tourism that brings much-needed funds into Derbyshire.

She singled me out once on a visit to Chatsworth and asked what I liked about it.On learning who I was and that she stocked my book The Hike in the Chatsworth shop, she pretended to be upset that it had won the local book award over her biography of her late husband.

And then came the chuckle.

Far from being a typical Mitford, one of the insiders, part of the establishment with a sense of superiority that went beyond mere class, she stepped outside to become a much-liked personality by members of all social classes.

I last saw her plodding her dog around Edensor village and bidding everyone she saw a good day. And so we bid her a fond good night.

Don Shaw

Mickleover Country Park

TWO men were arrested in Derby after people feared they had a gun.

Police deployed a helicopter to search for the teenagers.

The first man was arrested near to St Anne's Close at 6.15pm, before the second was caught in Mundy Close at about 6.40pm.

Police recovered a BB gun, which can fire round pellets but which cannot be carried round in public.

A spokesman said: "People were worried because they could just see them holding a black gun.

"It is difficult to see the difference from a real one at a distance."