The crash happened at a bus stop at the junction outside The County pub just before 10am.

Sinfin Lane was closed in both directions and the junction with Wilmore Road was blocked.

SERVICE UPDATE: Derby- Accident on the Sinfin Lane at the junction of Wilmore Road, the services 37,38 will divert down Stenson Road.

— Arriva Midlands East (@arrivamidlandsE) January 28, 2015

Derbyshire police said the extent of the woman's injuries were not known. She was taken to Queen's Medical Centre and the driver of the van was unhurt.

@arrivamidlandsE Sinfin Lane, Derby closed both ways between Shakespeare St & Wilmore Rd, due to an accident. pic.twitter.com/rxs1wTZblA

— James Northridge (@northridgejames) January 28, 2015

Police have closed the junction of Sinfin Lane and Wilmore Road after an incident involving a van and a pedestrian.

— Derbyshire Police (@DerbysPolice) January 28, 2015

ALL eyes will be turned towards the heavens come March as one of the most epic sights in the astronomical calendar takes place.

A partial solar eclipse will take place on March 20 with as much as 90% of the sun's surface that is visible from Derbyshire covered by the moon.

The last partial eclipse took place in 2011 but stargazers were left disappointed after clouds ruined their view of the event.

This time round, though, they are hoping for clear skies as the moon passes in front of the sun between 8.30am and 10.40am.

The sun will be covered by the moon most at about 9.30am.

The secretary of the Derby and District Astronomical Society, Anthony Southwell, is one of those who will be moving his vision towards the heavens come March.

He said: "This will be a fantastic opportunity for people to be able to see an eclipse right here in Derbyshire.

"The further north you get, the greater the surface area that will be covered.

"For instance, in the Orkney Islands there will be 92% coverage and in Norway there will be a total eclipse."

There are a number of different ways that the eclipse that can be viewed but all must be done carefully so as not to risk damaging the eyes.

Anthony said: "One of the easiest and best ways of viewing the eclipse is to use a telescope to project the image on to a sheet of white paper or card.

"To do this, you will need to face your telescope in the general direction of the sun, but do not look at it, and then place a piece of paper perpendicular to the eyepiece.

"This will show the moon as it travels across the surface of the sun."

There are three types of solar eclipse – total, partial and annular.

In a total eclipse, the disc of the sun is fully obscured by the moon, while in partial and annular eclipses only part of the sun is obscured.

The last full solar eclipse visible from the UK occurred in 1999.

Anthony said: "I was in Devon and just as the total coverage began the clouds rolled in!

"I was on a cliff and could see right out to sea. The horizon is about 30 miles or so out and I could see the black sky and the black ocean and then in the distance there was a strip of light.

"I realised that we were directly in the centre of the moon's shadow and that really made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up."

IT is by no means a new cry that Derby firms are struggling to recruit sufficiently skilled young workers.

But the repetitive manner in which this message has been drummed out in recent months underlines two things.

One is that it seems that a problem really does exist in many different sectors of business life and that this needs to be urgently addressed by our places of learning.

And the other is that, judging by sentiments expressed at the Marketing Derby Annual Business Event, attended by 500 businesses, there is a commendable determination by Derby firms to give local youngsters a chance.

Martin Rawson, deputy leader of Derby City Council, has suggested that schools to be given the freedom to set their own curriculums.

That would enable them to tailor pupils' skills to the local job market.

It is an interesting idea, worth pursuing – but it could hardly be taken up on too big a scale.

There does need to be a national curriculum of sorts, so that students are given a basic grounding in the essentials.

Not every student in Derby has ambitions to work at Rolls-Royce or the hi-tech gaming industry, so timetables still need to be broad-based.

Firms can surely do more, too, by giving decent work experience to youngsters.

Lots of businesses offer work experience – too often, though, a teenager is left feeling like an embarrassed spare part, foisted on to an employee who may have neither the time nor inclination to look out for their young charge. That can easily jaundice or ruin a young person's career ambitions.

Making cups of tea for the office may be viewed as character-building – "because that's what I had to do when I was your age" – but it is not the way to harness enthusiasm.

LOUISA Boddy's return to Belper could not have come at a better time, according to coach Tom Sherratt.

Boddy made a welcome return for the Nailers in their 4-2 Midlands Premier League win over Sutton Coldfield after six years away from the club.

One of the juniors who progressed through the ranks during Tim Barlow's spell in charge, Boddy left Belper to join Durham University at the end of the 2008-09 season before moving to the USA, where she played for the University of Connecticut Huskies.

Sherratt re-signed Boddy after she moved back to the area following a short spell back in Durham.

He said: "Louisa's new job in Nottingham means that she has moved back to the area and she was happy to rejoin Belper.

"She brings with her a wealth of experience and her return to the club comes at a time when we're carrying a few knocks.

"Kim Wilson looks like she will be out for a while. She injured her knee against Sutton Coldfield and is having a scan on it to see how bad the damage is.

"And we will also be without Fran Slane for a while after she broke her arm at the weekend.

"Louisa hit the ball and it whacked Fran on the arm, breaking it in the process.

"There were a few walking wounded after the Sutton Coldfield game.

"A couple had tight hamstrings because we hadn't played many warm-up games due to the bad weather. It was tough out there.

"We will also have a few missing over the next few weeks because of holiday commitments but we have a big squad and have enough players to cope over the next few weeks."

Georgie Grostate gave Belper the perfect start in their first game back following the mid-season break, scoring with less than a minute on the clock.

Sutton Coldfield equalised on the half-hour but, almost immediately, the Nailers regained their lead when Grostate's pass enabled Sally Goodman to score from close range.

The visitors, struggling to stay in the league, levelled once more early in the second-half before Jo Lane hit a fierce shot from midfield which flew past the Sutton goalkeeper.

Sutton continued to push forward and there was some relief when Marianne Dammer scored the Nailers' fourth.

The result puts them four points clear at the top of the table ahead of this weekend's trip to Boots.

"The Boots game will be difficult," added Sherratt.

"We were a bit sloppy against Sutton Coldfield because of the lack of pre-season games but we got the job done and are hopeful ahead of this weekend's fixture."

Belper's men return to action on Sunday, February 8 when they entertain Wakefield (2pm).

A MISS by hosts Old Shilhillians midway through the second half proved the turning point for Burton, who edged a 5-4 win to stay second in Midlands One.

The sides had three goals each when Old Sils broke and, from a well-worked move down the right flank, the ball found its way to an unmarked player in the area. He broke forward but managed to drag the ball wide, much to the relief of the Burton back-line who broke from this and went on score twice for a 5-3 lead.

Old Sils got one of those back with two minutes remaining but Burton held out.

Captain Mark Northcott said: "More convincing performances will be needed over the next few weeks as we take on teams around us at the top of the table.

"However, it was another vital three points and gives us confidence going into Saturday's game against fellow promotion hopefuls Stone (1pm at Shobnall). I'm sure that game will be a lively encounter."

Elsewhere, Derwent took a point from a 1-1 draw with Boots in East Midlands Premier, while Ramgarhia were beaten 12-4 by hosts Berkswell & Balsall Common.

A DERBY County fan who ran on to the pitch at the club's match with Nottingham Forest has apologised for his behaviour.

Joshua Gregory has been charged with a section 4 public order offence and pitch encroachment under the Football (Offences) Act 1991 after the incident on January 17.The 23-year-old will appear in court next month and said he would plead guilty to the offences.

He ran on to the pitch after the final whistle had been blown when Nottingham Forest had scored a last-minute goal to win 2-1.

Mr Gregory, of Chaddesden, said: "I've never been in trouble before at football or outside of football.

"It was a moment of madness which overcame me. I'm really sorry.

"As soon as I was being led away I knew what I'd done. I can't remember my intentions.

"I really regret it. It's the biggest regret of my life. I'm sorry to both sets of clubs and their staff and the fans of both teams.

"I know what I have done and I accept anything which comes my way 100%.

"I'm embarrassed and ashamed."

See CCTV footage here:

He said he has been a Rams fan for most of his life and a season ticket holder for the last eight seasons

He has seen the team play twice at the Wembley play-off final.

Before the match, he said he drank two pints at the ground with his family and was looking forward to the clash.

He said he hopes he can carry on watching the Rams but is realistic that this is unlikely.

The warehouse operative said: "I fully accept a ban, fine or any punishment."

But he said he "couldn't remember his intentions" for running on the pitch.

After being led away from the ground, he was taken to St Mary's Wharf police station where he was questioned before being let out at 8pm. He said: "I was reflecting on how stupid I had been."

Despite the incident, he said he has had lots of support from his family and friends.

Mr Gregory, who sat in the South Stand, is calling on the club to ban him for "10 or 20 years".

Since the incident he said he has received negative reaction on social media and has had to delete some of his accounts.

He said he has not been able to face watching footage of the incident again.

Rams chief executive Sam Rush said the events that followed the match "brought shame on our club".

In a message to Mr Rush, Mr Gregory said: "I just want to say how sorry I am.

"I'm sorry for letting the club down. I did not want to bring shame on Derby."

Mr Gregory said he has tried to put the incident to the back of his mind and said pleading guilty will be a chance to move on.

He said: "I've tried to keep busy but it's always at the back of my mind.

"I will be pleading guilty and when that is out of the way I can put it all out of my mind."

He said he has closed his Facebook account after receiving negative messages.

Mr Gregory said: "I'm in the wrong so they are entitled to their opinions.

"What I did was bang out of order. I'll try and take it on the chin.

"Derby will probably win the FA Cup now."

Life without Derby County would be difficult, he believes, and he hopes fans can understand that he is passionate about the club.

He said: "I'm not a one-game fan. It plays a large part of my life and it's a big hobby."

He has been bailed and is due to appear at Southern Derbyshire Magistrates' Court on February 3.

The match, which the Rams lost 2-1 to their old rivals, saw a crowd of more than 32,000 witness the incident.

An unconnected incident, after the same match, saw Nottingham Forest chairman Fawaz Al-Hasawi's car allegedly vandalised.

Two teenagers from Derby have been arrested and bailed.

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A POPULAR car parking attendant who is being made redundant and replaced by a machine says he would like to work for Derby City Council if a car parking job becomes available.

Pete Carter has been doing his job at the privately-owned car park beside Derby Cathedral for more than 21 years and said he "absolutely loves it".

But the 52-year-old, known as Car Park Pete, said the car park had been sold and the new owners were planning to replace him with a ticket machine. He said: "Working in this car park is my life, I love it.

"I like working outdoors because I get to be in the fresh air and can meet people all of the time. It's a job I really enjoy.

"If I could get a job working for the city council in a car park then it would be good.

"I know so many people and they really appreciate the work I do here. I've made a lot of friends and people are brilliant to me. Working outside is brilliant for me.

"I don't know what I would do if I worked inside."

The Derby Telegraph contacted the city council to see if any vacancies were available that might suit Pete.

The council said it would welcome him submitting his details.

Derby City Council leader Ranjit Banwait said he had been watching the story develop.

He said: "It's clear he is very experienced and would have a lot to offer in a position."

Motorists have threatened to boycott the car park until Pete is reinstated.

Pete, who lives in Mickleover, has received a lot of support on social media from loyal motorists who said they had enjoyed having him as their attendant. 

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FORMER Derby County chief executive Tom Glick has been appointed president of US Major League Soccer franchise New York City.
Glick joins the club ahead of their inaugural MLS campaign after a spell at Manchester City.
The American will be responsible for all aspects of the organisation on a day-to-day basis.
Glick, who was at Derby from January 2008 to August 2012, said: "This role for this club is arguably one of the most exciting in soccer right now.
"I am thrilled to take up the responsibility and the challenge. After two years of laying the foundations for this inaugural season and beyond, we have an incredibly talented team both on and off the pitch.
"I very much look forward to playing my part in leading and supporting them as we embark on the next and most important stage of our development."

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THE founder of a playschool has paid tribute to her "inspirational" father who helped her set up the successful business which is celebrating its first birthday.

Helen Turner's father, Neil McArthur, died at the age of 67 last June after being diagnosed with cancer in April.

Helen, 32, said he had played a big part in establishing the group, Little Angels Playschool, in Allenton. It had only been going for a few months when Neil was diagnosed, and the news hit Helen hard.

Helen, of Littleover, said: "It was such a shame and quite tough to deal with when he died. He had been a really big inspiration to me.

"He had helped me buy some of the equipment for the children and played the part of a mentor figure to me.

"After he was diagnosed, his death came very suddenly and it was very sad. I'm an only child so I've always been a bit of a daddy's girl. He used to love to see us do well and he got pleasure from seeing me happy.

"It was horrific and the hardest moment and time of my life. He meant so much to me.

"Since he died we have become more established as a group and I think he will be pleased with how we have come on in that time."

The group is at Osmaston Park Community centre and is celebrating its first anniversary of being open. Helen said they took pride in being understanding about the concerns of parents and all the workers at Little Angels have more than seven years' experience in a pre-school.

She runs the group with her business partner and friend, Emma Hardy, whom she said had been a huge help when her father died.

Helen said: "When he died I was very upset but I didn't want to let down the parents who love bringing their children here.

"My dad wouldn't have wanted me to give up as well, he would want me to carry on and follow through with the dream of running the business.

"Allenton can sometimes get a bad reputation but they are fantastic here. The children are an absolute pleasure to be with and the parents are thankful of the work we do.

"I think the relationship between us and the parents is our unique selling point. We really work hard to make sure that works well."

SANDIACRE Town cricketer Ryan McFadyean could make his first-team debut for Derby RFC this weekend.

The South African-born seamer, who helped Derbyshire Premier League outfit Sandiacre to the 2014 Royal London ECB National Knock-out Championship title, has decided to take rugby back up after a decade away from the sport.

The 31-year-old full-back is set to be on the Derby bench for tomorrow's Midlands One East trip to Bugbrooke.

"He wanted to get back into rugby and knows (Derby player) Ollie Saffell, so he came down and enjoyed it," said head coach Roxy Fearon.

"I was surprised how good he was in training – he took to it like a duck to water.

"He's obviously got talent and will be an asset for us."

George Campbell returns to start on the wing, with Josh McAllion dropping to the seconds to hone his scrum half skills.

In the forwards, prop Ben Coombes (back) is rested, so Richard Bosworth starts in the front row, alongside Jamie Twigg and Pete Wilcox.

With Tom Taylor-Dawes not available due to his Northampton Saints commitments, Josh Tilford will play at eight, as Ben Trembling (shoulder) is given another run-out in the seconds on his injury return.

Skipper Ceri White only makes the bench as he is nursed back from a head injury.

Derby are currently ninth in the table but can leapfrog sixth-placed Bugbrooke with a win this weekend.

The visitors will be aiming to avenge a 32-29 defeat to the Northamptonshire side at Haslams Lane in October.

"Bugbrooke have done really well," said Fearon.

"They came up last season and we beat them comfortably twice.

"This season, they deservedly beat us at our place, so we will be looking to put that right.

"Our team is much-changed from that day and we need to start beating the teams above us.

"We have a chance to leapfrog them and that's the aim."

Derby have lost their last two away games, at Bedford and Paviors, but racked up half a century of points at home to struggling Belgrave last time out.

"We've talked about being a bit braver and playing more attacking rugby," said Fearon.

"We want the lads to go out and express themselves.

"They've all got good core skills for this level and need to believe in themselves.

"We seem to have struggled for consistency and a bit of confidence this season.

"We've got young players in some key positions, so it will take a while for them to get used to this level.

"We've suffered with inconsistency but you're going to get that with a young team."

DERBY TEAM: A Brown, S Tebbs, B Marlow, L Hancock, G Campbell, G Castledine, J Gundry; R Bosworth, P Wilcox, J Twigg, E Atherton, A Glover, J Reid, S Hobbs, J Tilford. Reps: J Tomms, C White, R McFadyean.

DERBY-born Jonathan Joseph is in the running for the European Player of the Year award.

The in-form Bath centre is on the 15-man longlist announced by European Professional Club Rugby.

The list is made up of the best players from the 2014-15 European Champions Cup campaign, as decided by a panel of judges.

Former Derby RFC junior Joseph, who is in the England squad for the upcoming Six Nations opener against Wales, is one of four Aviva Premiership players challenging for the award.

EPCR European Player of the Year 2015 longlist: Steffon Armitage (RC Toulon), Nick Abendanon (ASM Clermont Auvergne), Chris Ashton (Saracens), Jamie Heaslip (Leinster Rugby), Juan Imhoff (Racing Metro 92), Jonathan Joseph (Bath Rugby), Fritz Lee (ASM Clermont Auvergne), Camille Lopez (ASM Clermont Auvergne), Ian Madigan (Leinster Rugby), George North (Northampton Saints), Jamie Roberts (Racing Metro 92), Aurélien Rougerie (ASM Clermont Auvergne), Nicolas Sanchez (RC Toulon), Dimitri Szarzewski (Racing Metro 92), Billy Vunipola (Saracens).

ALEX Lowes adopted a no-risk strategy in pre-season testing for his World Superbike campaign – and it paid dividends.

The Derby-based racer completed two sessions at Portimao in Portugal and Jerez in Spain aboard his Crescent Suzuki.

And he declared himself satisfied with progress, despite having plenty of work to do when the teams open the season at Phillip Island in Australia at the end of next month.

Lowes, whose twin brother, Sam, was involved in his own test sessions this week for the forthcoming Moto2 season, was the sixth fastest man at Jerez, one place behind Leon Haslam.

Poor weather had earlier disrupted running at Portimao.

Lowes said; "I'm really happy with the testing over the past four days.

"I rode a lot of laps and, most importantly, I enjoyed every one!

I took a decent step on the qualifying tyre but it was still within the target of 'no mistakes' and no risks.

"The team is working really well and we did a good job overall with our consistency and speed.

" I'm working hard to improve my approach to testing and the technical development and I think we put in a very solid, consistent performance at Jerez.

"I really can't wait for Phillip Island and race one."

BELPER Town manager Jimmy Albans has brought in two more players from former club Grantham Town.

Striker Paul Grimes and goalkeeper Dan Haystead are the latest to join the Nailers from the Gingerbreads, following recent recruit Jamie McGhee.

Defender Phil Watt also made the switch in October, before the appointment of Albans.

Grimes was Grantham's top scorer in their Evo-Stik League Division One South title-winning side of 2011-12.

After a spell as joint player-manager at hometown club Brigg Town, he returned to the Gingerbreads last January.

Haystead started out at Sheffield United before having spells with Hinckley United, Ilkeston, Hucknall Town and Boston United.

Belper remain rooted to the bottom of the Evo-Stik Premier Division table after last weekend's 1-0 loss at Barwell – their sixth successive defeat.

But new boss Albans still believes his side, who host sixth-from-bottom Stamford tomorrow, can escape relegation.

"We have an awful lot of quality in the side now," he said.

"There is no doubt that we are good enough to stay and compete in this league and we certainly don't have time for any more excuses."