Despite the sweltering heat, Race for Life 2013 saw some incredible performances. Joey Severn reports.

TWENTY minutes and 14 seconds after she set off, 14-year-old Niamh Emerson became the fastest runner to complete this year's Race for Life.

She won the second of two races and had the fastest time overall.

Her determination to run as hard as she could was made all the stronger by her mother running alongside her, and her grandmother waiting at the finish line.

Mum Deana and grandma Marilyn were diagnosed with breast cancer within two weeks of one another.

Deana, 41, who finished third in the race, said: "We were diagnosed in July 2011.

"They found cancer in both of my breasts and my mum had it for the second time.

"The treatment for it took a year but this year I managed to do the London Marathon and raised £7,000.

"The reason that we are alive is because of the money that has been raised in the past.

"A lot of the research work done is also about the genetic side of things.

"That is incredibly important for me as I don't want my two daughters to have to go through what we have."

Deana and Niamh were joined by 5,109 other women at the race yesterday in Darley Park.

An incredible 3,6170 women set off in the morning, with a further 1,494 running and walking the 5km course in blazing heat in the afternoon.

The winner of the first race was Denice Delgado, 39, who was running in memory of Alvaston cricketer David Smyth, who died earlier this year from cancer.

Denice said: "This morning, I just broke down. It just hit me. Last year, I came third and, the year before, I came second.

"But having someone to do it for makes a real difference.

"I managed to raise £1,000 for today and there are loads of others who are all running in memory of David.

"There have even been wristbands made up with his name on, which you can buy to raise money for Cancer Research UK from the Virgin Active gym in Derby, where he used to work."

But coming first in Race for Life is just one of the honours. For many, making their way round the course was achievement enough.

Five women all running together were Theresa Brown, daughter Jessica Brown, Mia Latham, Taiyana Campbell and her mum, Claire Pickering.

Theresa, 43, of Burton, was running for her grandmother, who died in May.

She said: "She was diagnosed with leukaemia at Christmas and died in May. It was really quick."

And there were a large number of women from the Royal Derby Hospital who ran the race, including Sarah Dury, who works in the clinical measurement department.

She lost her father, Stephen Briggs, in August 2011 to prostate cancer, and her father-in-law, Paul Dury, in May the same year.

She said: "Dad was diagnosed when he was 60, and died shortly after his 61st birthday. He was so young.

"I wanted to raise some money for the cause that helps find a cure for the disease. One day, it might be a different story for some people."

LITTLE Caitlin McCormack was just one of the inspiring individuals who persuaded 5,111 women to don their running shoes for Race for Life.

Caitlin, seven, is battling leukaemia and is currently on a gruelling 16-month chemotherapy programme.

But she was all smiles as she joined her gran to take part in the annual Cancer Research UK fund-raiser.

Caitlin's mum, Carly Payne, said: "She has been fantastic. She hasn't moaned once and has taken it all really well. She even tells us when she needs to take her tablets now."

Also in the Darley Park crowd was Alvaston film star Jack O'Connell. He was supporting his sister Megan, who was running in memory of their late father, Johnny, who died of pancreatic cancer in 2009. Megan, 17, was wearing Johnny's Ireland rugby top – a flash of green in a sea of pink yesterday.

Others were running in memory of talented Alvaston cricketer David Smyth, who died aged 28 after suffering from testicular cancer.

But despite the happy smiles, Caitlin is fighting a tough battle against cancer.

Her diagnosis in November came completely out of the blue for her mum Carly Payne.

The 28-year-old from Alvaston said: "One morning, she had a pain in her arm.

"I thought that she had sprained it or something like that so we went to the doctors.

"They referred us straight to A&E at the Royal Derby Hospital and then we were sent to the QMC in Nottingham where we had the tests done.

"They explained that it could be leukaemia and the tests said it was.

"We explained to her what the tests might mean and she just took it in her stride.

"The only time she got emotional was when she lost her hair. She was really upset about that."

Caitlin's painful arm is one of the signs of the disease as her bone marrow was becoming crowded with white blood cells.

Carly said: "We spent ten days in hospital with her.

"She started her chemo treatment at home and we give her tablets every day. It's actually her that reminds us that she needs to take them. She is amazing."

Now into 16 months of chemotherapy treatment the seven-year-old is testament to every single penny that is raised at Race for Life every year.

A total of 5,111 women completed the five-kilometre course, including Caitlin's grandmother Jacky Ayling.

The 52-year-old from Allenton, said: "Caitlin's diagnosis knocked us off our feet.

"You really don't think that from a painful arm one day that she would be diagnosed with leukaemia.

"This is the first time that I have run it and it just seemed like a really good reason to do it."

The future looks bright for Caitlin as she aims to start school in September after not attending since her diagnosis.

Another group at yesterday's event at Darley Park were the family of John and Pam Butler.

The couple from Chaddesden were celebrating Pam's one-year anniversary since being clear from lymphoma.

And on the day of the race Pam and John were also celebrating their ruby wedding anniversary.

The couple were joined by their three children, friends and family for the double celebratory lap of the park.

In November 2010 Pam was diagnosed with lymphoma after she went to the doctors complaining of trouble with her hearing.

She was told that she had the disease just two weeks after her mother passed away from mantle stem lymphoma.

Pam, 59, said: "It was such a shock. A week after I was in the Royal Derby Hospital and had my lymph nodes removed.

"And I then started my chemotherapy treatment on December 28."

In July 2012 she was given the all clear.

Her daughter Louise Kojdic ran with her mother and sister, Ella Gretton, to celebrate.

She said: "We said to her, 'Do you not want to go on holiday or something for your anniversary?' – but she wanted to run the Race for Life. She was determined."

Thousands of women and their supporters started making their way to the start line in Darley Park from 9am in cooler conditions than the past week.

However the sun soon broke through the cloud and as around 3,600 women started the first race, the temperatures started rising.

The second race saw a smaller but no less vocal crowd of around 1,500 women lineup for the start.

One of those who made their way round the course in the second wave was Megan O'Connell, sister of film star Jack.

The pair, from Alvaston, lost their father, Johnny Patrick, to pancreatic cancer in 2009.

Megan, 17, ran the race in her late dad's Ireland rugby shirt.

She was greeted by Jack at the line with a spray of water to cool her down in the heat.

Jack, 22, said: "It is amazing to see so many people here running for such a great cause.

"The minute's silence at the start is very humbling. You know it is heartfelt."

Megan said: "This is my first year that I have run it and it was amazing.

"I hadn't thought about doing something for my dad before but the whole process of growing up made me want to do something.

"I wore his top to be a bit different. It made me stand out a bit against all the pink."

DERBYSHIRE has enjoyed its hottest day for two years, according to a keen weather forecaster.

Amateur weatherman Philip Singleton, of Chaddesden, said the sunny spell was set to continue – with temperatures in the high 20s and little chance of rain for the rest of the week.

Temperatures were as high as 30.2C across some parts of the county on Saturday – equalling the highs of June 27, 2011.

But Mr Singleton said Derbyshire temperatures had not yet reached those from July 1, 2009, when temperatures reached 30.5C.

Before the weekend started, forecasters at the Met Office had predicted "heat wave" conditions in parts of the East Midlands.

Mr Singleton said: "We fell a little short of the 2009 record – but I don't think people will mind too much.

"Sunday was a little cooler than Saturday, with temperatures of 27.1C, but people would have still found it incredibly warm.

"It's very hard to tell what the weather is going to be like beyond this week.

"They say that, if you have a warm spell in the first two weeks of July, there's a 70% chance it'll be like that for the rest of the summer, but it's difficult to confirm that at this stage."

The Met Office has again issued warnings of heat wave conditions across the region for the coming week – with a 60% probability of daytime temperatures being at or above 30C.

It said people should be "alert and ready" – particularly the parents of young children.

Heat waves can be particularly dangerous for tots, elderly people and those with chronic diseases.

But some people having fun in the sun were members of TogsQuad, the Derby Telegraph's camera club.

Some members of the group – who are snappers of all abilities – visited popular tourist spots to take their pictures, while others found inspiration in their own gardens.

The paper's picture editor, Victoria Wilcox, said: "Pictures illustrating the weather can be some of the best you ever take.

"That's because – whether it's enjoying the sunshine or avoiding the snow – you can really capture the emotion it draws from people. I'm really proud of the TogsQuad members' efforts."

A DRUNK driver who stole his mother's car and crashed it, stayed at the scene to confess to police: "I'm sorry, I'm out of my face."

Benjamin Watkins also told officers he was "an idiot" and that his mother "will kill me" when he was arrested in Derby in the early hours of May 30.

Southern Derbyshire Magistrates Court heard how Watkins had been drinking beer in a park with friends.

He then decided to take the keys to his mother's car and "go for a cruise around".

Alison Watkins, prosecuting, said: "Despite being told by your two friends not to drive, all three of you got in to the car and started driving around.

"They turned into Rowditch Avenue and then Radcliffe Drive before they took a bend into St Alban's Road too fast and ran straight into the back of a parked car.

"The car owner looked out of his window after hearing the bang, got dressed and went outside to assess the damage to both vehicles.

"The police arrived and, in fairness to the defendant, he was compliant throughout.

"He said to the officers: 'I am sorry, I was out of my face, I am sorry, my mum is going to kill me'."

At the time Watkins, 22, was living in Osmaston Road, Derby, but now lives in Watkinson Street, Heanor.

He pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicle taking, drink-driving, driving without insurance and driving without a licence.

Magistrates handed him a 12-week jail sentence for taking his mother's car and four weeks for drink driving. Both sentences are to run concurrently and were suspended for 12 months.

They also disqualified him from driving for 20 months and ordered him to pay £355 compensation, £85 costs and an £80 victim surcharge. The cost of the damage to both cars was just under £5,000.

Handing down the sentence, magistrate Christopher Moss told Watkinson: "Taking your mother's car without her consent is a severe breach of trust."

The court was told that since the accident, Watkinson had become estranged from his mother "but hoped to build his relationship back up with her".

Simon Stevens, for Watkinson, said his client recognised he had made "a very stupid and very immature decision to take the car after having drunk alcohol".

He said: "My client made full and frank admissions to the police in his interview and has shown genuine remorse for his actions.

"He knows he has been extremely stupid but this is not a vehicle he has stolen as part of a burglary. He and his mother are now estranged from each other, giving them a chance for time apart. But he hopes he can rebuild his relationship with her."

A NEIGHBOUR living next door to a house where a car smashed into the garden wall said vehicles had also crashed into her garage twice.

Police cordoned off part of Bishops Drive, in Oakwood, for more than an hour after the car hit the garden wall yesterday at about 1.10pm.

Officers said the 21-year-old driver was trapped in his car and firefighters had to cut off the side door to release him, before he was taken to hospital with leg and neck injuries.

A spokesman for Derbyshire police said his injuries were not life-threatening. Firefighter and watch manager Paul Sharp said an off-duty nurse administered first-aid to the driver.

Both the car and garden wall were heavily damaged by the smash. The cause is not yet know and police are investigating.

But Claire Annable, 36, who lives next door to the house where it happened, said it was the fourth incident in the past 10 years to happen outside her home.

She said vehicles had crashed into her garage twice, while another had been involved in a collision with a child and hit her garden wall.

She said: "I would much prefer to see some sort of traffic calmer on the road – perhaps a give-way sign – because it's crazy to have had this many incidents here in that amount of time.

"We often take about moving because of it. It's a nice place to live and houses here are lovely but it's a lot to deal with."

A MICHAEL Bublé fan is calling for an event website to be shut down after she spent more than £250 on tickets that never arrived.

Cheryl Crane bought the tickets online in November from a site called SellOutWorld.com.

The trip to London's O2 Arena was supposed to be a Father's Day surprise for her 68-year-old dad, Trevor Southwell – but she said the three tickets, totalling £262, never arrived.

Mrs Crane, 41, of Excelsior Avenue, Alvaston, said: "We all love Michael Bublé so, when I saw that he was on tour, I thought it would be a great present.

"When I went online to look for them, I did a Google search and the top two results, Ticketmaster and Ents24, had both sold out.

"So the next one down the list was this company called SellOutWorld."

Mrs Crane was told the tickets would arrive a few weeks before the June 30 show. She said: "I buy lots of tickets online so I know they never arrive straight away.

"But when we got back from holiday at the start of June and they still hadn't arrived, I started ringing them."

Mrs Crane said she was told that the tickets would be with her 48 hours before the show but was then later told that she would have to pick the tickets up from the arena itself.

She said: "I spoke to my mum and dad about it. We all agreed it sounded wrong and that we shouldn't go."

After calling the firm and receiving no compensation, Mrs Crane said she looked online and found complaints about it. She now wants other people who have not received their tickets to come forward.

She said: "I have reported this to trading standards."

She is also trying to get a refund from her credit card company.

Mike Kay, head of environmental health and licensing at Derby City Council, said: "Please ask some questions to the organisation selling the tickets before buying from them, such as do they have the tickets and am I in a queue to get them?

"If the company can't tell you this information, it is advisable that you don't buy tickets from it.

"If the total amount for the tickets is more than £100, please pay by credit card.

"If you don't get your tickets or money back, you can claim off your credit card."

The Derby Telegraph asked SellOutWorld.com for a comment via its website email, as well as ringing the number it gives on its website and three others posted on an online forum. Nobody came back.

Mrs Crane's email is cherylcrane@wykesderby.co. uk.

A TEENAGER racially abused an 11-year-old girl as she left a shop buying bread for her mother.

Scott Hunt, 18, appeared to be angry when he asked the girl "What are you looking at?" and used a racist term, Derby Crown Court was told.

The girl became scared and ran back into the shop and asked if she could be let out of the back, said prosecutor Edna Leonard.

She said: "When he was interviewed, he admitted he had some problems with this young girl's mother but no issues with her."

The court heard that Hunt also assaulted a woman in a different incident.

Miss Leonard said a group of teenagers, which included Hunt, had been causing a disturbance and that police had been called.

Miss Leonard said: "The woman then saw this defendant try to climb into her garden. She told him not to.

"The next thing she knew was she'd been hit and was on the ground dazed."

The woman suffered cuts and bruises, swelling to the left side of her face and a cut to her head.

Hunt, of Brailsford Road, Chaddesden, told police the woman had been rude to him and he had pushed her.

In court, he admitted committing a racially aggravated public order offence on December 8 last year, and common assault on April 27.

He also pleaded guilty to breaching a youth rehabilitation order.

Handing Hunt a new order for 18 months, Judge Jonathan Gosling said: "It's always serious to breach a court order.

"It's the more serious if you breach it by committing crimes. But I have to balance it by the things in your favour.

"You managed 12 months on the order and were doing quite well on it before you committed these offences.

"You are also in work. I think you are in a critical time in your life."

Hunt must abide by a four-month curfew between 9pm and 6am.

Emma Cuverley, in mitigation, said: "There has been a lot of disruption in his life.

"He has been living between Derby and Norfolk. He is now back in Derby and living with his partner. He is doing well on an apprenticeship."

Bluebells has also been offering a twist to the traditional English cream tea by offering scones with a scoop of the strawberry and marscapone ice cream instead of usual jam and cream.

Bluebells ice cream flavour creator Oliver Brown said: "We're very, very busy. The summer flavours are flying at the moment and the cream teas are really popular.

"Last night we looked at the figures and, in the first two weeks of July, we have sold three times the amount of ice cream we sold throughout the whole of June. That equates to around 300 litres or 1,500 scoops.

"The new Pimm's sorbet is among those figures and we're really pleased that it is selling so well. It just goes to show what a little bit of hot weather can do."

MORE than 10,000 thirsty punters supped their way through more than 35,000 pints in scorching temperatures at this year's Derby summer beer festival.

Organisers of the event, which finished on Sunday, also said the decision to hold part of the show in a marquee outside was so successful they would do it again.

Russ Gilbert, chairman of the festival, said the four-day event had gone as well as he could have hoped.

He said: "The only complaints I have had have been from two people who said it was too hot.

"I don't take that one too strongly because it has been glorious for the past few days, though I can't take credit for that one.

"But definitely the most consistent compliment I have had about the whole thing has been about the marquee."

There is an element of irony in this; Mr Gilbert admits that the decision to use the marquee was prompted by the lack of space available in the Assembly Rooms.

The Great Hall inside the venue – usually a big part of the festival – is currently closed for renovation, so organisers opted to transplant that part of the event outside into the marquee in Market Place.

But with the bright weather, Mr Gilbert said that many people had enjoyed this section the most.

He said: "The thing is, it worked as an advert for the festival. When it is normally fully inside the Assembly Rooms people can walk by and not know it is on. But this year we had so many people dropping in, seeing it there laid out in the Market Place and wanting to get involved.

"We had queues every morning before we opened at 11."

There was a choice of more than 250 beers, across seven bars, with the marquee bar featuring beers from 32 Derbyshire brewers, a number of special brews for the festival and others from around the country.

He said: "After the Thursday we made some calculations and we realised we would run dry by Saturday night at that rate so we ordered another 7,500 pints.

"Now, not all that was drunk dry but that's not the idea.

"What you don't want is a situation where some poor chap coming along on Sunday gets no beer at all.

"But even taking that into account, we got through a lot of beer.

"It was a fantastic effort and it couldn't have been done without the 200 volunteers who have worked so brilliantly."

A MAN whose car collided with a house in Hatton has died from his injuries.

The Ford Ranger being driven by 21-year-old Daniel Hall collided with a house in Sutton Lane at about 6.15am on Sunday, July 7.

Mr Hall, from Foston, was taken to the Royal Derby Hospital with serious head injuries. Yesterday, police confirmed in a statement that he died last Thursday.

Witnesses to the collision have been urged to contact the police. Officers also want to speak to anyone who knows where Mr Hall was on the evening before the accident.

Among the first on the scene was neighbour Steve Lightfoot.

Speaking on the day of the crash, he said: "I heard a loud bang – it sounded like a building collapsing. I ran round and saw the car stuck inside the living room of the house.

"A single paramedic arrived very quickly. He said, 'I need to get this man out of the vehicle' so a neighbour and I helped drag him out of the car. You could see he was not in a good way."

Police have not said whether speed was a factor in the crash.

But that has not stopped neighbours from repeating their calls for the road's "crazy" 60mph speed limit to be lowered.

Rob Watt, 66, who has lived in Sutton Lane for 25 years, has previously petitioned for lower speeds on the road.

He said: "I think we are going to have another go at getting a petition together and looking to see if there's something we can do.

"It's quite a serious issue because there are 11 houses along here but it's still the national speed limit.

"People come down here at about 70mph which could be fatal. It's absolutely crackers. Those speeds are not acceptable in what is essentially a residential area.

"When the road was built there were not that many people living here. But there are 11 properties altogether along here now so it can be chaos.

"We have been waiting for this accident to happen for a long time. We thought it would be two cars or a wagon because there are an awful lot of them which come up here.

"To be honest, we don't know where they're going, we think they use the road as a shortcut."

Mr Watt added that he hoped to open a caravan park on land off Sutton Lane but was reluctant to do so unless lower speed limits were imposed.

He said: "It's not acceptable. The traffic has increased a lot over the last three or four years.

"You get a lot of people walking their dogs and great big bunches of 30 or 40 cyclists coming along here but the traffic is just becoming too much."

Derbyshire police can be contacted on 101.

DERBYSHIRE'S 64 county councillors cost the public purse just over £1 million in the past financial year – an average of £1.31 per taxpayer.

The amount each councillor was paid during 2012-13 has now been released by the county council.

Of the £1 million, £61,336 was made up of expenses – an average of £958 per councillor.

The amount is far less than 10 years ago, when Derbyshire councillors were claiming an average £1,988 in expense claims.

It is because councillors can now only claim subsistence, such as accommodation costs and food bills, in exceptional circumstances.

Mileage allowances were also dropped from 65p per mile to 45p per mile.

The highest-paid councillor at County Hall during 2012-13 was the then council leader, Andrew Lewer, who took home £46,372 – including £3,556 in expenses.

His deputy, Simon Spencer was paid £37,215, of which £2,619 was made up of expense claims.

Both men lost their roles following Labour's election win over the Tories on May 2.

Councillor John Harrison cost the taxpayer the most in expenses.

The Aston and Melbourne member, who has since retired from politics, claimed £4,627 – mostly in travel expenses.

Mr Harrison, who served as cabinet member for finance and management, said: "As a cabinet member, on average, I was travelling 250 miles every week to get from my home in Melbourne to County Hall in Matlock.

"The whole amount I received in terms of travel expenses went on petrol, tyres and depreciation costs. I'm actually out of pocket."

Some councillors opted not to put in any expense forms. They included Anne Western, the then leader of the main opposition – a role that was paid £18,168.

Mrs Western, who is now the leader of the council following Labour's election win, was among 13 councillors who claimed no expenses.

Disgraced former chairman Robin Baldry – who left the council in December after being convicted of fiddling his expenses – was paid £6,899 for the six months he served as a councillor from May 2012 until he resigned his seat.

Accounts show he paid back £2,074 of the money he stole from the public purse.

Linda Holmes, 41, of Milward Road, Heanor, said she had mixed thoughts on the numbers.

She said: "It works out at less than £20,000 per councillor, which isn't too bad.

"Having said that, what do they do exactly and do we really need 64 councillors?

"I couldn't tell you who my county councillor is."

Brian Skelton, 44, of Albert Road, Sandiacre, said: "The cost seems reasonable.

"I'm glad the council has clamped down on expenses.

"That's what winds people up the most."

A FORMER Rams star with money problems has said he is "devastated" to be auctioning off his international caps and some club medals.

Dave Langan, 56, who played as a right-back for Derby County between 1977 and 1980, said his decision to sell the mementos was one he had "thought long and hard about".

But having already sold his house in Peterborough to help deal with his financial issues, Mr Langan, who also made 26 appearances for the Republic of Ireland, said he had few options left.

He said: "My wife, Dawn, and I have sold the house and we have bought a mobile home. We have both had a drop in hours at work.

"Dawn is having a scan on her hips and spine. She has a crumbling spine, so using the stairs is not an option.

"The mobile home is much cheaper and obviously, doesn't have the stairs.

"So I thought a lot about it and decided to auction off some of the medals."

Mr Langan began his association with Derby County in 1973, joining the side's youth squad.

Then in 1977, he made his senior debut with the club, going on to play nearly 150 games before being poached by Birmingham City for a fee of £350,000.

He later played for Oxford United, helping the club to the Second Division championship in the 1984-85 season and the League Cup the following year.

He is selling his collection of international caps, along with his medals for the league and championship titles with Oxford United.

He said: "I was approached by a group from the Oxford United supporters' club who said they would start an online campaign to raise money to buy them from me.

"We are giving it two months to see how much it can raise but so far it has already hit £2,000.

"It is so sad. It is just devastating but I don't have an option. And I still have the memories."

MAINTENANCE work to improve the Great Hall at Derby's Assembly Rooms is well under way with the floor and ceiling now removed.

The schedule will mean that the Great Hall will be closed until the end of September.

The priority work is to remove the floor and replace it with a new hardwood sprung floor.

This new surface will be much better under foot for dancing.

As well as the floor being replaced, the ceiling is also being removed to be updated.

The old ceiling has now been removed and will be replaced in order to improve the venue's acoustics and lighting.

Both of these are important to provide the audience with the best audio and visual experience possible when seeing shows.

The Great Hall continues to be busy, even while shut.

There is a host of workers taking to the floor and stage daily to ensure the work continues on schedule.

Peter Ireson, director of Derby Live, said: ''This summer sees the Assembly Rooms Great Hall hosting production activity of a different kind as a large cast of technicians, engineers and labourers appear on stage on a daily basis.

''Work is now well under way, with the Great Hall floor stripped out and a large scaffold structure installed allowing the old ceiling to be dismantled and removed.''

As well as the huge amount of work being carried out on the floor and ceiling, the Assembly Rooms is upgrading provisions for fire safety.

A new alarm and fire detection system will be installed alongside emergency lighting throughout the venue.

The closure of the Great Hall meant that last week's Camra Beer Festival was held in other areas in the Assembly Rooms as well as an outdoor marquee.

However the change in location did not hinder the festival's popularity. Emma Davis, audience and sponsorship manager said: "This is the first year that we were selling tickets for the beer festival in advance and they sold really well."

The Great Hall will remain closed until the end of the maintenance period in September but the Darwin Suite and bar, Great Hall Foyer and 45 suite remain open all summer. The Great Hall will reopen in October with a packed programme of entertainment.

Acts to look out for include comedian Ed Byrne and the Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra.

There is also a week's run of popular musical Blood Brothers.

For more information on what you can see at the Assembly Rooms, visit http://www.derbylive.co.uk/to look at the programme and book tickets.

POLICE have arrested two further people as part of an operation into human trafficking in Derby. The force yesterday made a series of arrests as a result of an investigation into an Eastern European trafficking ring Officers believe the 11 alleged victims the investigation revealed could be the first of many to come forward.

Detectives investigating the allegation believe the practice has been happening in Derby "for a few years".

And they hope the news will urge other possible victims to feel confident enough to speak to them.

The claim comes after dawn raids on properties across the city saw five people from one extended family arrested and the potential victims found.

Two warrants were carried out at houses in Sunnyhill Avenue, one was executed at a house in Balfour Road while a fourth was carried out at a house in Cameron Road during planned raids.

A 35-year-old man and a 37-year-old woman were arrested at a house in Amber Street, which police visited as part of the operation yesterday morning.

A 40-year-old man, 41-year-old woman and 22-year-old woman were arrested at the Cameron Road house.

The 35-year-old, 37-year-old, 40-year-old and 22-year-old were all arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit human trafficking, fraud and money laundering.

The 41-year-old was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit human trafficking and money laundering. All five remain in custody and are being questioned by officers.

And late yesterday, a 21-year-old man and a 41-year-old woman were arrested at a house in Violet Street, Derby, yesterday afternoon, taking the number of arrested people to seven. The pair were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit human trafficking and money laundering. They remain in custody this morning and are being questioned by officers.

"The investigation came to light in April when one of the victims voluntarily walked into a police station in Derby to tell officers his wages were being taken from him by people who had told him to come to England from Eastern Europe.

"We say they were being lured over to the UK on the promise of gainful employment but when they arrived they were then found basic manual jobs and had a good proportion of their wages taken from them.

"We also believe their bank accounts were controlled and in other cases benefits were fraudulently set up and the money was taken by the gang.

"We think these might be the first of many victims and we hope the news of the arrests will bring others forward."

The 11 potential victims, who police believe have been trafficked into the UK from Eastern Europe, were found at the houses in Sunnyhill Avenue and Cameron Road.

They have been taken to a special reception centre and are being cared for by Derbyshire County Council, Derby City Council, the Salvation Army and the Red Cross.

Officers suspect some of the victims, all of whom are in the UK legally, may have been sent to work at different locations in the city.

Raj Cheema, 39, lives opposite two of the houses in Sunnyhill Avenue. He said: "It was about 7.30am and I heard banging from across the street.

"I looked outside and there were officers banging the doors down. Then plain clothes officers came. I assumed they were CID."

A FAMILY of Roma immigrants are spearheading the Clean Up Derby campaign after a plea from community activists.

The family of six have been sweeping pavements and delivering leaflets encouraging other people to keep Derby tidy.

Husband and wife Miroslav Mroc and Eva Conkova moved to this country from the Czech Republic in 2005.

Mr Mroc was approached by campaigner Dawn Gee who was trying to encourage people to keep Vincent Street in Normanton clean and tidy.

He and his family mucked in with enthusiasm, despite concerns being expressed in the past that the growing number of Roma families making their home in Normanton had led to an increasing fly tipping problem.

Mr Mroc, 34, who is from Slovakia, said: "Sometimes when people move here they have come from villages and suddenly living in a town is very different.

"There's also a language barrier and some people aren't sure to do with their rubbish. It's also a cultural problem. If people understand what to do with their rubbish they will do it."

Mr Mroc is a trained butcher. He said he had worked in a number of jobs since arriving in the UK but is currently looking for work after being made redundant six months ago.

He said: "I don't want to live in mess, nobody does."

Mrs Gee, who started the successful community group Carlisle Avenue Against Crime in Littleover, is now an active member of a group of volunteers who have worked for the past two-and-a-half years raising awareness of fly tipping in the area and demanding council action to tackle the issue.

The group carry out weekly walkabouts to check on issues.

Mrs Gee said: "The Normanton Empowerment Team is currently running a campaign on Vincent Street called 'Respect Vincent Street'.

"We plan to turn this street around, clean it up and bring back to being respectable."

Mrs Gee said that, while delivering these leaflets with her husband, Gary, they met Mr Mroc and his family.

She said: "The family had their front garden piled high with rubbish. We offered to help them bag it all up and then show them where to dump it at the tip.

"We spent the whole afternoon with them, bought them a brush, took them to the tip, dumped their rubbish and when their front was swilled with disinfectant, rewarded them with a wall planter of flowers.

"This family were waiting for their landlord to move the rubbish, which was agreed a long time ago.

"I spoke to the landlord and explained what we were doing and asked for his support by visiting the property to deal with the blocked alleyway which he said he would do.

"This family have agreed to help us with the campaign and promise to sweep in front of their own house regularly and keep their front clear of rubbish.

"They have also asked if they can help us. The group are offering support to people who are struggling with their front gardens and the Roma family will be helping clear up after hedges have been trimmed."

In a previous story we reported that Jack Twomey, team leader for the environmental protection department at the council, said the waste culture in Normanton and Arboretum was "pretty poor". The council was developing cards with all the different languages spoken in to show to people how to properly use the bins.

In the first week of its campaign, the Normanton Empowerment Team and Mr Mroc's family have cleared rubbish and weeds from the street.

Mrs Gee said: "We are asking residents and landlords to get behind this campaign, keep the front of their house well presented, don't walk over litter in front of their house, pick it up and put it in the bin.

"If we all take responsibility for the section in front of our own house, the street will be much better kept."

A RETAIL store was closed yesterday after being gutted in an arson attack.

Police said there was enough evidence to suggest a fire that ripped through the back of Poundstretcher, in Heanor Retail Park, was started intentionally.

Customers arrived to find a note on the door stating: "Due to a power failure, we are unable to open (at) present."

A short walk round the back of the retail store revealed why the electricity was not working.

Fire damage that will cost thousands of pounds to put right had gutted the back of the shop.

Teddy bears, toys, board games, cushions and slippers were among the items strewn across the ground – all blackened with soot.

The fire broke out in broad daylight at 6.30pm on Sunday evening. Three crews from Ilkeston, Heanor and Kingsway stations were dispatched after 25 calls to 999 were made.

A large number of pallets outside the building were alight and the flames had spread to the shop.

The blaze was brought under control but firefighters worked into the night to make sure the building would not collapse.

Derbyshire police confirmed the shop was closed at the time of the fire and that nobody was injured.

Yesterday, a spokeswoman for the force said there was enough evidence to suggest the incident was an arson attack.

She said: "We do believe the fire was started deliberately and we are yet to make any arrests."

Customer Pauline Hadcock, 34, had gone to Heanor Retail Park, in High Street, to buy some sweets for her three young children.

She said: "You wouldn't know there had been a fire looking at the store from the front.

"The sign says there's been a power failure – there's nothing to suggest a fire.

"I don't know who would want to set fire to a store – what's the point? It was probably some mindless idiot who was bored and thought it would be fun to do it."

It is the second arson attack in Heanor in the space of five weeks.

On June 8, flames tore through the play area at Banana Moon nursery, in Wilmot Street, in the early hours.

Police said there was no evidence to suggest the two incidents are linked.

Anyone with information about either incident should call police on 101.

QUEENS Park Rangers have signed Republic of Ireland international defender Richard Dunne on a one-year deal.

The 33-year-old centre back was a free agent after his contract at Aston Villa expired in the summer.

He was linked with Derby County although Rams manager Nigel Clough said he had not spoken to the player, nor the player's agent.

Dunne had indicated he wanted to stay in the Premier League but he is now with QPR who were relegated to the Championship last season.

He is expected to be named in Rangers' squad for their pre-season tour of Austria and said he was looking forward to working with QPR manager Harry Redknapp.

"I've been very close to signing for Harry on a couple of occasions and the opportunity to work with him really appealed to me," he said. "It's a good challenge for me and one I'm very excited about."

JOHN Eustace will be handed a run-out in his more accustomed midfield role when Derby County face Port Vale in their second friendly of pre-season tonight.

Eustace is looking to earn a contract with the Rams and has been training with Nigel Clough's squad for the past two weeks.

The 33-year-old played in a back three in the first half of Saturday's 6-1 victory over League of Ireland Premier Division side Bohemians in Dublin.

He was joined by skipper Richard Keogh and Jake Buxton.

Clough said Eustace would play some part against Port Vale and more in his midfield position.

"It's not really a case of looking at him, we know what he can do," said Clough ahead of the match at Vale Park (7.30pm kick-off).

Derby have made four signings during the summer and are looking to move a number of players out, including Nathan Tyson, Theo Robinson, James Bailey and Tom Naylor.

Clough says bringing in Eustace does not rely on players going out.

"We will be speaking to his agent this week," said Clough. "It might depend on what John is looking for and whether we can get a package together to suit him in a one-year deal.

"I think he has got one or two other options but this is his preferred choice.

"We think he will be good to have around the place.

"We know that in the season you need reliable people to bring in.

"John knows we cannot guarantee him a start but know-how comes into it in the last 10 minutes or so of games, when you are winning 1-0 or drawing, and want to hang on to what you have.

"The thinking behind it is that John gives us a bit of flexibility.

"He can drop into the defence in such situations or be used in front of the back four.

"It would take quite a bit to change to a back three on a regular basis. We can experiment with the midfield and the attack but I think a back four is the best way forward."

Derby will use a back four against Port Vale and at Bristol Rovers on Friday night.

A FORMER director of Rolls-Royce in Scotland has died at the age of 94.

Donald McLean was born in Paisley, Scotland, in 1918.

His daughter, Wendy Roe, said as a young boy her father could not wait to leave school.

The 60-year-old said: "He wrote an autobiography especially for the family – we're under strict instructions never to let anyone else read it!

"It's called Our Life Laid Bare; in it he says he couldn't wait to leave school to go swimming and play golf with his friends."

Later in life, Mr McLean decided to educate himself and went to evening classes at Paisley Technical College.

Mrs Roe said: "He studied an engineering BSc at London University in 1936 until 1940 and then applied to join Rolls-Royce in Scotland in 1940, and they had openings in Belper."

Mr McLean started working at Rolls-Royce's new headquarters in Belper – they had moved during the Second World War – as a designer.

But Mrs Roe said her father was keen to join the war effort despite being in a reserved occupation.

She said: "He joined the RAF in 1942 and went over to Oklahoma for training.

"He went there on the Queen Mary with Winston Churchill. He always said it was the best protected ship in the Atlantic."

After defying the U-boat threat, Mr McLean flew in India and Burma during the war and dropped supplies of food and ammunition.

After the war, Mr McLean rose up the ranks in the design department at Rolls-Royce and became the director of design engineering.

Mr McLean met his wife, Olive, in Wolverhampton when she was sent there during the war. The couple had four children, Jill, Ian, Alistair and Wendy. Olive died two years ago at the age of 90.

Mrs Roe said: "Being an engineer he was very handy and built two boats, a canoe and a speedboat.''

In 1969, Mr McLean returned to Scotland to be director of Rolls-Royce's Scottish factories and was responsible for about 15,000 people.

Mrs Roe said: "He saw the Scottish companies through the collapse of Rolls-Royce in 1971. He pulled the Scottish factories up by their socks and made them very profitable again."

After his retirement in 1982, Mr McLean became director of Scottish Electricity and also took on a consultancy roles. It was in the same year that he received a CBE for services to industry.

Mr McLean and his wife moved back to Derbyshire to be closer to their daughters and in their old age moved into Spencer Grove nursing home in Belper. His funeral is tomorrow at noon at Markeaton Crematorium.

A FORMER nurse who travelled to England from Jamaica 56 years ago is celebrating her 100th birthday today.

Mary Williams, who is known as Mother May to her friends and family, came to England in 1956 by ship from the Caribbean island.

The centenarian is celebrating her birthday in style with a party at the Riverside Church in Pride Park on Saturday.

More than 400 people are expected to attend.

Mary said about her life in England: "The time has gone so fast.

"I remember my trip across to England.

"It was on a boat and it took a very long time.

"I remember seeing the White Cliffs of Dover from Gibraltar, where we stopped on the journey over.

"I remember thinking it was so beautiful."

Mary lives independently in Normanton and has a support worker who visits to help her in the mornings and in the evenings.

She said: "I go out to church – the Holy Trinity Church on London Road – every week.

"I still get out and about."

Mary trained as a nurse and worked at the Manor Hospital before retiring in 1971.

She said: "I loved being a nurse and looking after people. I miss it sometimes.

"I trained on the job, while I worked."

Mary said that she settled down in Derby after disliking living in London.

She said: "I came to Derby first because I had some friends here and then I went to London to see the big city.

"But I only stayed for six months because I didn't like it.

"A doctor there said I should go back to where I was happy.

"So I came back to Derby. I really liked it here, everyone was so friendly and nice to me – everyone was nice to everyone.

"They would say 'hi' in the streets, it was really friendly and wasn't like that in London at all."

To celebrate her birthday, Mary will be joined by her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Grandson Paul Shippey, 42, lives in Derby with his family and granddaughter Maria, also 42, will be coming from Birmingham.

Aaron, 17, and Lewis, six, Yasmin, 14 are Paul's children and Elliot, 16, is Maria's son, and they will be at the celebration.

They are very excited to be joining in at their great-grandmother's 100th birthday.

Paul, who works at the Royal Derby Hospital, said: "I don't know anyone else who is 100 and it's amazing that it's a member of my family.

"Having the party is a great way to get lots of people together who we haven't seen for a long time.

"We're really excited – and there's a couple of surprises in there for her too.

"We wanted to make it an occasion to remember," he added.