MONEY has started to pour in for the Colin Bloomfield Melanoma Appeal in the 24 hours since it was launched.

And scores of well-wishers are wishing the Radio Derby presenter luck in his quest to raise awareness of skin cancer – including Prime Minister David Cameron.

So far, around £4,000 has been raised towards the £45,000 target including money from the radio's Christmas pantomime at Derby Theatre and its carol service at Derby Cathedral.

The money will be used to provide 100 Derbyshire and East Staffordshire schools with sun cream dispensers and information designed to help protect pupils from the sun's harmful UVA rays and the possibility of developing melanoma.

Colin has been battling stage four melanoma for the past 18 months and has agreed to give his name to the appeal, which is being supported by the Derby Telegraph. His condition is currently more stable than it has been for some time.

The appeal is being run in conjunction with Skcin, the national skin cancer charity, which operates the Sun Safe Schools project.

As well as individuals donating money, it is expected that clubs and groups of people will want to adopt the charity and raise money for it in the next few months.

The Rolls-Royce Bikers & Walkers group – which has been raising funds for charity since 1995 and up to November 2014 they had raised approximately £140,000 for local and national charities – is backing the appeal.

The group's funds are raised by cycle rides from Rolls-Royce D Site to Skegness which is just under 100 miles and involves about 120 riders and also a three-day cycle ride from the Welsh coast to Skegness, which usually includes mountain climbs.Other events include a dog walk, quiz nights and bingo events.

Member Jim Bowles said: "This year is our 20th birthday and we are putting on extra events to celebrate our anniversary. Hopefully, we will raise £20,000 to give to a variety of charities.

"We were very happy to give the Colin Bloomfield Appeal a donation of £500 to get the charity going."

Also deciding to take action and raise money on behalf of Colin's appeal is fellow Radio Derby presenter Sally Pepper, who will be running her first-ever London Marathon in April.

Presenting her programme from Greenwich yesterday, where the race will start in eight weeks' time, Sally confessed she was nervous about the event.

She said: "It will be one of the biggest-ever challenges I have ever faced but as it is my 40th birthday shortly, I feel that if I don't do it now, I never will."

Sally started running last year and said the idea for the appeal came largely after she suggested running the London Marathon for a charity of his choice.

She said: "From that, we explored the possibility of setting up an appeal in his name and yesterday it was officially launched.

"I think I will make the distance and I want to cross the finish line, thinking that I did it for Colin."

The BBC recorded David Cameron wishing Colin well, together with former Rams footballer Robbie Savage and boxer Carl Froch, in a special video.

Colin said he was very pleased people were getting behind the campaign. He said: "We want to make this area the Sun Safe capital of the East Midlands.

WE are proud to back the Melanoma Appeal, led by Radio Derby presenter Colin Bloomfield – and it is clear other people are equally keen to support him too.

Colin, who is battling skin cancer, launched the fund to educate Derbyshire children about the dangers of over exposure to the sun. A hefty £45,000 was the target set. Within 24 hours, £4,000 had flooded in. That is truly fantastic – keep it coming!

A CRASH between an HGV and a minibus, which left two people dead, has been described as "shocking" by community leaders.

A further person remains critically ill after the crash, on the A511 Tutbury Road, between Burton and Tutbury, on Sunday morning, with another man still in hospital with chest injuries.

Staffordshire police are continuing to question two men after they were arrested on suspicion of causing death by careless driving.

Chief Inspector Steve Maskrey, who heads up the policing unit in Burton, said the site was not one which often caused concerns for officers in the area.

He said: "It just seems to be a complete tragedy.

"We have to wait for the inquest and, if any recommendations come from the coroner, then we will work closely with our partners to abide by the recommendations."

Councillor Bob Fraser, who represents the area on Staffordshire County Council, agreed that the spot was not one which was known for accidents such as this.

He said: "It was a big shock, because, really, there shouldn't be any problems on that route.

"I wouldn't say it was a bad area for crashes and I have not had any concerns raised with me about the road. It's quite an open road, but it has a speed limit on it."

He said that, in his opinion, changes were not needed on the road as he thought it was safe.

Residents living in Tutbury Road said they did not consider it to be a dangerous road.

There is a 40mph speed limit in place at the site of the crash, which happened just before 7am.

The minibus was carrying Spanish nationals at the time of the crash, who were travelling towards their place of work in the Tutbury area.

The lorry was travelling in the direction of Burton when the vehicles collided.

Two men were pronounced dead at the scene, and six more people were taken to hospital.

One was taken to Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham, with severe head injuries, and five further casualties were taken to Queen's Hospital, in Burton.

Those with minor injuries were discharged later in the day.

A Portuguese man in his 40s, and a man in his 20s, from Appleby Magna, were later arrested by Staffordshire Police.

They were bailed by police overnight, but returned for questioning yesterday. * Read more of today's top news stories here. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter

A DERBY charity has seen a huge increase in men coming forward with addictions to sex and internet pornography.

Two years ago, Relate Derby was handling only "one or two" cases of men with an obsession with sex and porn – but that figure has now shot up to about 50 every year.

Some clients have been so fixated they have lost their jobs over it.

Bev Miller, chief executive of the Friar Gate charity, said her clients' addictions were sometimes ruining their family lives.

She said: "In the last two years we've seen a real increase in people coming forward. It was very rare for somebody to come to us with these issues before.

"Predominantly it's men who need help. It starts with men visiting porn sites and then it gets out of control.

"Some people recognise it's got out of control and then they see us. But for others it's being discovered which leads them to come to us.

"In extreme cases it's got to the point where it's affecting their day-to-day lives and causing them big problems.

"It stops them doing day-to-day things and can have a big impact on them and how they live."

The Relate sex therapy service offers help to individuals and couples with the charity reporting a 93% success rate.

Mrs Miller said: "There are very few places where people can get help and this issue is a taboo. We're one of the services that offers the therapy away from the NHS.

"Much of internet porn is not real. It's a distorted view of sex. It can stop people from interacting with society, their families and it costs a lot of money.

"It can also have huge impacts on people's well-being and health.

"But it can take a long time for people to realise that before they recognise they have a problem.

"It's a pattern and a vicious circle. The issue can become so debilitating; it has such an effect that they can no longer keep employment and they struggle to maintain their routines.

"They are struggling to get up in the morning and they are more interested in watching the porn and the obsession becomes the priority.

"Day-to-day things get pushed out of the way and it takes over, making people out of control. People have been sacked, it really is that extreme."

Julie Maxwell is a therapist who runs New Beginnings Therapy, an organisation which helps people in Derby with sex issues. She charges £50 a session, the same fee as Relate Derby.

She said: "People can use porn as a way of coping with the stresses of everyday life, when they feel overwhelmed by pressure or out of boredom.

"Out-of-control sexual behaviour can be described as sexual addiction – behaviours range from visiting prostitutes, viewing internet porn (which is so easily accessible), engaging in risky behaviour and multiple affairs, to name a few.

"The feelings of shame that follow this behaviour and the devastating effects on the couple relationship are often reasons people seek help with their addiction."

Mrs Maxwell said the most difficult step for all of her clients was to admit to their addiction in the first place.

She said: "Once they have admitted it then, via therapy, we can look at alternative ways of dealing with problems to help break the cycle of behaviour.

"Depending on the severity of the addiction, I may refer some clients on to specialist addiction services.

"It can often be the partner who suggests the addict sees a therapist – sexual addiction and porn use can have a hugely detrimental effect on the couple's relationship.

"And it's also important to remember that the partner may need help and support, too."

JONATHAN Cullingford, 22, of Spring Street, Derby, was fined £600 and was ordered to pay £85 costs, a £60 victim surcharge and had his licence endorsed with six penalty points for driving without insurance in Addison Road, Derby, on June 26. No separate penalty was imposed for driving without a correct licence on the same date.

LUKMAN Mohammed, 39, of Arran Close, Sinfin, was fined £36, and was ordered to pay £85 costs, a £20 victim surcharge and had his licence endorsed with three penalty points for driving while using a mobile phone in Grove Street, Derby, on June 23.

ROBERT Monk, 31, of Bradshaw Avenue, Riddings, was fined £400, was ordered to pay £85 costs, a £40 victim surcharge, and had his licence endorsed with three penalty points for driving with illegal tyres in Birchwood Lane, Somercotes, on August 1.

CLAIRE Ashworth, 30, of Chambers Street, Derby, was fined £110, and was ordered to pay £85 costs, a £20 victim surcharge and disqualified from driving for 20 months for drink-driving in Osmaston Road, Derby, on December 19.

TAHIR Zarif, 23, of Osmaston Park Road, was fined £200, and was ordered to pay £85 costs and a £20 victim surcharge for driving without a correct licence in Pear Tree Road, Derby, on May 8.

WAYNE Bell, 40, of Hanbury Road, Chaddesden, was fined £135 and was ordered to pay £85 costs and a £20 victim surcharge for driving while not wearing a seat belt in Swarkestone Road, Chellaston, on August 8.

BETHANY Carvell, 24, of Thornewell Drive, Street, Burton, was fined £120 and was ordered to pay £85 costs, a £20 victim surcharge and had her licence endorsed with five penalty points for speeding in Church Road, Egginton, on July 29.

SEAN Nagy, 31, of Wilsthorpe Road, Chaddesden, was fined £250 and was ordered to pay £85 costs, a £20 victim surcharge and was disqualified from driving for 12 months for failing to give a specimen of breath when required to do so in Derby on December 10.

SHAUN Chambers, 19, of Brookhouse Street, Allenton, was jailed for four weeks for possessing mephedrone in Derby on September 13. No separate penalty was imposed for being drunk and disorderly on the same date.

SHERZAMAN Husainkhail, 21, of Normanton Road, Derby, was handed a six-month community order and was ordered to pay £85 costs and a £60 victim surcharge for possessing cannabis on December 9.

JAMES Jackson, 32, of Penn Street, Belper, was fined £600 and was ordered to pay £85 costs, a £60 victim surcharge and had his licence endorsed with six penalty points for driving without insurance on the A38 at Coxbench on July 4. No separate penalty was imposed for driving without an MOT on the same date.

KAMIL Kesel, 25, of St Giles Road, Derby, was handed a 12-month community order and was ordered to pay £85 costs and a £60 victim surcharge for stealing £48.99 of toiletries from Boots in Derby on December 5.

IHTIANDRS Izops, 21, of Dashwood Street, Derby, was fined £600 and was ordered to pay £85 costs, a £60 victim surcharge and had his licence endorsed with six penalty points for driving without insurance in Upper Dale Road, Derby, on June 27. No separate penalty was imposed for driving without a correct licence on the same date.

DANIEL Rees, 22, of Bangor Street, Derby, was fined £110 and was ordered to pay £85 costs and a £20 victim surcharge for resisting arrest in Derby on December 31.

JAKE Milner, 24, of Gerard Street, Derby, was handed a 12-month community order and was ordered to pay £85 costs and a £60 victim surcharge for possessing cannabis in Derby on August 20.

JIMMY Christianson, 48, of Abingdon Street, Derby, was handed a 12-month community order and was ordered to pay £85 costs and a £60 victim surcharge for stealing six bottles of wine, worth £24.44 from Savers, in Derby, on December 18.

CHRISTOPHER Beckett, 37, of no fixed address, was handed a 12-month conditional discharge and was ordered to pay a £15 victim surcharge for begging in the Morledge, Derby, on January 12.

GABRIELA Danila, of Eden Street, Derby, was fined £73 and was ordered to pay £85 costs and a £20 victim surcharge for stealing a motorbike in Egginton, on August 30.

ALI Bakhtear, 35, of Loscoe Road, Heanor, was fined £300 and ordered to pay £300 costs and a £30 victim surcharge for twice selling cigarettes to underage people in Heanor on February 8 last year.

DAVID Wood, 55, of Wilkins Drive, Allenton, was jailed for a total of eight weeks, suspended for 12 months for two counts of shoplifting in Derby on November 26 and 29.

FRANCES Doherty, 51, of Staunton Avenue, Sunny Hill, was handed a 12-month community order and was ordered to pay £3.79 compensation, £85 costs and a £60 victim surcharge for stealing a bottle of cider from the Co-op store in Littleover, on September 19.

STEPHEN Clowes, 51, of Smithy Close, Parwich, Ashbourne, was fined £100 and was ordered to pay £35 costs, a £20 victim surcharge and had his licence endorsed with five penalty points for failing to stop following an accident in Ballidon, on September 27.

ASHLEY Maloney, 36, of Renals Street, Derby, was handed a 12-month community order and was ordered to pay £20 compensation, £85 costs and a £60 victim surcharge for stealing chocolate from Poundland in Derby on December 4 and 5.

A SERIAL sex offender who is "a danger to women" is the first person in Derbyshire to be forced to wear a satellite tracking device so police can monitor his whereabouts.

In his latest set of offences, Alex Ormston, 26, made lewd remarks and exposed himself to three lone women in Normanton Park. This was less than three weeks after he was given a community order for similar crimes.

In 2008, Ormston, of Chandlers Ford, Oakwood, was jailed for four-and-a-half years after he violently and sexually attacked a young mum in a Derby street.

In the most recent case, Judge Jonathan Gosling said he considered Ormston to be "a danger to women" and ordered him to wear a satellite tracking tag for five years.

This will allow Derbyshire police's dangerous persons management unit to monitor where he is and has been at any time, by logging on to a computer system.

His movements will be plotted on a map.

It is hoped this will deter him from further offending – knowing he will almost certainly be caught, as places where crimes have occurred can quickly be compared to the route he has taken.

There are only two such tracking devices, which are relatively new to the force, currently available to the police in Derby.

Previously, the tracking devices have only been used by Derbyshire police in voluntary situations, where serial offenders can choose to wear them as a deterrent to committing crime and to avoid suspicion falling on them in offences they did not commit.

In November, Ormston admitted three counts of indecent exposure and possessing MCAT.

Sentencing him this month at Derby Crown Court, Judge Jonathan Gosling said: "Your case has given me a great deal of anxiety because I'm extremely concerned your behaviour in the past and the risk of your behaviour in the future is deeply upsetting to women who come across you."

The court heard one of the victims in the latest offences, on November 3, had suffered "serious psychological harm".

In November, Ormston's sentencing was adjourned so that a psychologist report could be prepared, after the probation service said it did not believe it could work with Ormston to rehabilitate him.

Then in January, Detective Constable Neil Sanders, of Derbyshire's dangerous persons management unit, told the court that Ormston was likely to remain "a very high risk" of reoffending unless he himself cooperated in addressing his situation.

DC Sanders said that the opportunity to offend, in Ormston's case, came when he was alone in a park and intoxicated.

At that hearing, Judge Gosling adjourned the case again so a package to manage Ormston in the community could be compiled.

The judge said this was a better approach than sending Ormston to jail, because the sentencing guidelines meant he would soon be released with no help in place.

Judge Gosling gave Ormston a three-year community order, during which he will be under the supervision of the probation service and must attend a community sex offenders group-work programme. He was also ordered to complete a drug rehabilitation requirement.

Ormston must also obey a sexual offences prevention order for five years and wear the satellite tag. He must not make any approaches to any female in any public place.

He must sign the sex offenders' register for five years.

DERBYSHIRE police started using the trackers in 2013 in Chesterfield in a pilot trial where offenders being released from prison could volunteer to wear them. Due to its success, the force has used the tags in other areas of the county. There are two available to police in Derby. Detective Chief Inspector Julian Wilson, who got the project off the ground in Chesterfield, said the new technology saved time and money compared to more conventional methods. He said: "There are examples from other forces, such as Humberside, where they have been able to rule offenders in or out when crimes have been committed. And the likelihood is they would have made arrests if it hadn't been for the technology. So it saves all that time, cost and effort of bringing them into custody.'' He said the website monitor would be alerted if the tag had been tampered with. If people are banned from certain areas, for example a child sex offender may not be allowed to go within 300 yards of schools, then the system can send out red, amber and green alerts depending on the distance away. DCI Wilson said he had heard ex-offenders talk about how the tags had helped turn their lives around. "They said 'if I had not been wearing it someone might have encouraged me to go out and offend but because I knew I was wearing it, I have been able to be strong because I knew I would get caught," he recalled.* Read more of today's top news stories here. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter

FIREFIGHTERS are currently tackling a large factory fire in Melbourne.

Crews from Ascot Drive, Long Eaton, Kingsway, Nottingham Road, Swadlincote and Chesterfield were called to manufacturing company in Castle Lane shortly after 5.30am. 

Crews are still in attendance at the incident.

A spokeswoman for Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service said no-one was injured. 

A fire investigation to determine the cause of the fire is underway. 

AS a lawyer of 52 years, I am aware that it is far from satisfactory to judge a legal case upon the basis of media reports, but here goes!

In October 2013 a gypsy called Barry Smith was murdered in Kilburn near Derby. Two men and one woman, Vincent Aitken, Nathan Doherty and Emma Aitken, were handed sentences of 22 years, 18 years and 12 years respectively. These are all minimum terms.

Mr Smith had been beaten to death and then his body set alight. Police and the public were appalled at this horror but his family and former DPP Lord Macdonald are very concerned that the judge did not believe the attack was motivated by racism, even though Pamela Aitken, wife of Vincent, had made racist comments about the victim.

Lord Macdonald has said: "It seems the criminal justice system is still not recognising hate crime even where the facts seem plain... where it fails in its duty to protect people from violence and abuse".

The case has not been referred to the Court of Appeal under the "unduly lenient sentencing procedure" in spite of protests from Mr Smith's family, who are concerned this was a racist murder. It would appear there is a marked reluctance to apply the race hate legislation to protect Roma, gypsies and travellers.

Christopher Short

Aberystwyth Crescent

Barry

LAST week, the Prime Minister visited the Bombardier factory in Derby to lay out our plans to secure growth and prosperity for the Midlands. He and Chancellor George Osborne addressed issues such as employment, innovation and skills. Our long-term economic plan is helping the Midlands to reaffirm its manufacturing status

The Conservatives must win the general election to ensure we secure the additional £34 billion of funding in the Midlands by 2030, creating 300,000 more jobs in the engineering and manufacturing sectors.

In South Derbyshire our unemployment is incredibly low and these extra, high-quality jobs will see us strengthen further and move closer to our goal of zero unemployment. Brilliant news for school leavers and workers alike.

This increase in funding will also aid our ongoing aim to "reshore". We have many businesses who use overseas suppliers because they cannot source their required products in the UK and we are looking to support local businesses to bring this manufacturing back to the UK and restore our historic industries.

We have such a dynamic range of businesses, covering the rail industry and its supply chain; motor manufacturing; supplies for the coal and energy industry; high-quality food-processing as well as many more specialist firms who could all benefit.

Bringing jobseekers with the right skills together with suitable vacancies is essential if our economy is to continue to be successful. We have made incredible progress already, and now need to do more, which is why we have introduced the new initiative with Local Enterprise Partnerships.

It is shortly to begin being trialled in Birmingham, where the LEP will make and operate a central database of all job vacancies and, with 100 new job coaches, help to train people and equip them with the necessary skills to fill these positions.

This will remove some of the many barriers job seekers regularly face.for work can find it much more easily. We are hoping to see the same scheme rolled out into Derbyshire soon, centred through our growing LEP, D2N2.

We are also supporting businesses from another angle; by investing £5.2 billion in the local infrastructure, improving road and rail networks across the Midlands, helping to speed up the movement of people and products. This is crucial for some of our local employers such as Toyota and JCB who are well-known for utilising the "just in time" manufacturing method.

Building on this expansion of local infrastructure, we are looking to take inspiration from Derbyshire's rail heritage and HS2 by creating a specialised local college in the Midlands so young people gain new and specific skills for working in the industry. The college will be a centre of excellence and the only one of its kind in the UK.

Innovation must be allowed to thrive, which is why we are encouraging local universities and colleges to partner businesses to research and develop new products or improve existing ones. We are also working on a new and exciting project bringing together local universities with the British Geological Survey to create a national hub for energy research, based in the Midlands.

All in all the Midlands is a great place to live, work and raise our children. Our long-term economic plan has already laid a firm foundation which the additional funding and projects can only build on. In May the choice is stark, choose our competence with the economy or return to chaos.

DARRAGH Lenihan can make it to the very top in football, says Burton Albion boss Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.

The 20-year-old on-loan Blackburn Rovers prospect has made a big impression since he was signed by former boss Gary Rowett.

Hasselbaink gave the Irish Under-21 international his first start in a Brewers shirt – and he reckons Lenihan can go far in the game.

"I think he is a young man who can become whatever he wants to become in football," said the manager. "You have to be ambitious in football if you want to achieve something.

"Everybody dreams, you have to have dreams and goals in your life.

"Taking that away, he has certain qualities that a lot of players don't have and he's working at them as well.

"That's refreshing to see, a young man with his career ahead of him and a long way to go but I really believe this, not because he's playing in my team, he's got the qualities. It's just a case of understanding the game a little bit better."

As well as impressing on the pitch, Lenihan has also settled well into the club off it.

He has proved popular with his fellow players and has twice had his loan extended.

"I'm very pleased – he has come to us and enjoyed himself and also he is very well-liked in the group and well-respected," said Hasselbaink, who this week tied up a deal to keep Lenihan until March 15.

"He's done ever so well for us since he came in."

Albion would like to keep Lenihan at the Pirelli Stadium until the end of the League Two season but are having to make do with extending the loan month by month with Rovers still under a transfer embargo.

"We have asked the question, a while ago actually but Blackburn couldn't do that," said Hasselbaink.

"I'm just happy they've given us another month and really appreciate that.

"When the month is finished, we will talk again to extend it longer."

LOVE France? Lakes? Skiing? Gorgeous views?

If you want to escape to the French countryside, this fantastic six-bedroomed bedroom property, with incredible views across Lake Annecy, will give you luxury lakeside living, and easy access to ski resorts.

With a large, open plan living area and garden with barbecue terrace, plus the ability to split the house into two apartments, this property is an ideal family home or overseas investment. 

Sitting on the hillside, overlooking Talloires Bay, the first thing you will admire about this house is the stunning view across Lake Annecy. Set back from the main road, it offers the perfect position to enjoy the scenery in a peaceful environment.

The house itself is similarly impressive. The main two floors of the house have been decorated to a very high standard. 

The living area consists of a large lounge, with wood-burning stove, a sitting area, overlooking the bay, a dining area, with views across Talloires and a large, fitted kitchen, to a very high standard. Open the doors from the sitting area and you can also enjoy outdoor living at its very best from the large terrace surrounding the house. This leads out to a large garden, with a covered BBQ terrace and patio, to enjoy the sunset. 

The villa is on the market with Leggett Prestige at €1,695,000 (approx £1,249,554).

JUSTIN Freeman, 32, of Goodale Street, Derby, was jailed for 12 weeks, suspended for 24 months, and was ordered to pay a total of £150 compensation, £625 costs and an £80 victim surcharge for assault, harassment and resisting arrest in Derby on April 20.

LIAM Belcher, 22, of Woods Meadow, Thulston, was handed a 12-month conditional discharge, and was ordered to pay £85 compensation, £85 costs and a £15 victim surcharge for stealing money from a named person in Ilkeston between December 31 and January 9.

CRAIG Dickens, 43, of Dovedale Circle, Ilkeston, was fined £37 and was ordered to pay £85 costs and a £20 victim surcharge for driving while not wearing a seat belt in Nottingham Road, Ilkeston, on July 23.

THOMAS Clavin, 29, of Nettlefold Crescent, Melbourne, was handed a six-month conditional discharge and was ordered to pay £115.51 compensation for criminal damage in Etwall on August 9.

FRANCIS Morgan, 25, of City Road, Derby, was fined £200 and was ordered to pay £85 costs, a £20 victim surcharge and had his licence endorsed with three penalty points for driving while using a mobile phone in Harvey Road, Derby, on July 31.

ANTHONY Harvey, 44, of Wiltshire Road, Derby, was fined £600, and was ordered to pay £85 costs, a £60 victim surcharge and had his licence endorsed with six penalty points for driving without insurance in Gary Close, Derby, on June 14.

JOHN Matchett, 46, of Queen Street, Long Eaton, was discharged conditionally for 12 months, ordered to pay £5 compensation and a £15 victim surcharge and £85 costs for stealing copper piping worth £5 on November 11.

GARY Parkin, 45, of Princes Street, Eastwood, was given three eight-week concurrent jail sentences and ordered to pay a £80 victim surcharge for stealing candles worth £107 from Clinton Cards in Heanor on November 25, stealing two beef joints from Asda in Langley Mill on January 10 and for stealing seven legs of lamb from Farmfoods at Heanor on January 16.

RANJIT Singh Olk, 51, of Birchover Rise, Chaddesden, was given a restraining order, fined £73, ordered to pay a £20 victim surcharge and costs of £85 for being drunk and disorderly in public on January 6.

DERBY is the fourth worst in a list of 50 UK cities hit by cyber attacks, according to a new report.

And internet porn websites could be partly to blame.

Derby city residents are nearly three-and-a-half times more likely to get hacked than the national average.

Home to the nation's biggest population, London had the most computer infections last year with 1,928,098.

But, calculated per head, the capital ended up way behind first-placed Manchester with 280,905 infections – nine times the average rate.

Derby came fourth by that reckoning, with a total of 51,438 infections.

US-based anti-hacking specialists EnigmaSoftware.com analysed more than three million infections that hit British computers last year to come up with the statistics.

Patrick Morganelli, senior vice-president of technology at the firm, who are makers of anti-spyware products, said one of the most common means of cyber attacks is from web sites that contain infected content or that ask users to download infected files. Many times, those are adult websites.

Users are often asked to download updates to their web browser video players so they can watch adult videos. Instead of an update, the user downloads an infection.

Mr Morganelli said: "We're not saying that people in Manchester, Sheffield, Derby, and London are visiting more adult web sites than people in other cities.

"But that still is one of the biggest sources of the malware that our software detects."

Nonetheless he may be on to something. On Wednesday, the Derby Telegraph reported that therapists are seeing a significant rise in the number of Derby mean who are addicted to sex and internet porn.

Mr Morganelli said: "I wish there was an easy way to determine what makes people in one area more susceptible to malware infections.

"But there are so many different ways that infections can end up on computers that it's tough to make any generalisations about why certain people in certain cities seem to have more than others."

Another big source of infections is when people are tricked into clicking on links that either download malware or take them to a website that has malware on it.

Those links can come in the form of e-mails that look like something legitimate, or in social media messages that have been hijacked by hackers.

Mr Morganelli said: "Because of the growth in online communication – be it Facebook, LinkedIN, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram – there are now more and more ways for bad guys to reach out to people and trick them into clicking on links."

Online shopping is another source of infections. People who click on links in e-mails promising great deals, or people who scour the internet looking for the best prices can sometimes end up clicking on a link that leads to infection.

MORE than 80 pupils from two city schools are working with Derby-based regional orchestra Sinfonia Viva to create a performance which explores the energy industry past and present.

The education residency for Landau Forte College and Becket Primary School pupils marks the 30th anniversary of the end of the national miners' strike.

Viva composer James Redwood and orchestral players are working with the pupils to help them compose their own music and write songs for the project entitled An Honourable Dispute.

They will then come together to perform alongside the orchestra under the baton of Viva principal conductor Duncan Ward at Landau Forte on Tuesday, March 10.

Marianne Barraclough, Viva education manager, said: "The residency focuses on various aspects of the energy industry which is very relevant to this area's industrial heritage that has been so dependent on the developments in energy sources.

"Subjects that the young people will be exploring as part of the creative process will include how coal was discovered during the excavation for the railways, new inventions powered by electricity, the impact on families and whole communities of the miners' strike."

Encore Re-use on Mayfield Road, Ashbourne, is challenging members of the public to make-over one of its show pods in just one hour. The Recycled Interior Design Challenge 2015 will be judged on Facebook, and three finalists will have the opportunity to design Encore's shop window. To arrange a challenge spot, or for more information, call 01335 300 907.

A NEW 18-month lease for the Ilkeston Citizens Advice Bureau to continue to be based at the Albion Centre is expected to be confirmed next week.

The bureau has been at the Albion Centre for the past five years.

Councillors at next week's Erewash Borough Council meeting are expected to approve extending the lease, which will ensure the Citizens Advice Bureau team, part of the Derbyshire Districts Citizens Advice Bureau, can remain in the centre.

The council converted part of the centre into offices for the Citizens Advice Bureau offices in 2010, when it moved in.

The current lease runs out on June 23 and terms for the new 18 month lease to run until December 24, 2016, have been provisionally agreed.

Councillor Carol Hart, Erewash Borough Council's deputy leader and lead member for community engagement, says: "The Citizens Advice Bureau team offers an important service to the residents of Erewash and we are pleased to be able to offer the new lease so they can continue to be based at the Albion Centre.

"The 'rolling' short-term leases ensure flexibility in the use of the building for both the council and Derbyshire and Districts Citizens Advice Bureau."

The council executive meeting will be held at Ilkeston Town Hall on Thursday, February 26, at 10.30am.

DARRAGH Lenihan is having a dream breakthrough season in senior football – and is desperate to see it out at Burton Albion.

The 20-year-old Blackburn Rovers midfielder has made 13 appearances on loan to the Brewers and is set to add another away to Dagenham & Redbridge today.

It is his first taste of senior football and he wants it to continue as long as possible – hopefully all the way to a promotion party.

"I had two years out of the game from when I was 17 to 19 with a double stress fracture of my back and one or two little niggles," said the Irish Under-21 international.

"This year has been fantastic and I couldn't have imagined it would go this well.

"I said last year that being on loan at a team looking to win promotion was my aim.

"Touch wood, I can fulfil my aim at Burton in the next few months. They're a great club to come to and I'd like them to be in League One this time next year. That's the plan."

Lenihan says that Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink has given him the confidence to go out and play his natural game.

The Brewers boss caused a stir when he dropped club skipper Lee Bell – now on loan at Macclesfield – in favour of Lenihan.

But that faith has been rewarded with a string of mature displays.

"He's given me a lot of confidence to express myself," said Lenihan. "That's what he says to a lot of the lads.

"He always tells you to express yourself and play your football – that's what we try to do.

"I like being in that type of role with the freedom to play my own game.

"It reminds me of playing schoolboy football – that's what he's giving you the confidence to do."

Now, Lenihan is hoping to stay at the Pirelli Stadium until May but accepts a final decision is not his to make.

"I'd love to stay for the rest of the season but at the end of the day it's out of my hands," he said. "I'm a Blackburn player and they make the final decision.

"But if it was up to me I'd like to stay and, hopefully, be able to put on my CV that I won promotion in my first loan spell.

"There's another five games this month, so touch wood I can play in all of them and, hopefully, win them all."

DERBY Athletic Club wants to take over the city's Moorways Sports Centre and has other organisations interested in helping with a bid.

The popular venue, which is currently run byDerby City Council, is due to close on Tuesday, March 31, at 10.30pm because the authority says it cannot afford to run it alongside Derby Arena.

But the council admits that the future of Moorways after that date has not yet been decided.

Derby Athletic Club had already revealed it was interested in taking over the running track, which is part of the Moorways complex.

Now it has said work was under way to see how feasible it would to be to take on the running of the sports centre as well, where it uses the sports hall for training.

Councillor Alison Martin, the city's cabinet member for leisure, said that "various bodies have shown an interest in taking over".

She said: "We have to look into whether that's feasible. It's going to close as a council-run sports centre. We've got the arena and we can't afford the maintenance cost to run both."

Athletic club chairman Keith Bullock said that two organisations had expressed an interest in joining with his to run the sports centre and track.

He did not want to name either for commercial reasons. But he said one was a Midlands-based sports and social organisation which already had experience of running places like the sports centre. The other is a football club.

Mr Bullock said: "It behoves us all to try and keep as many sports facilities in the city as possible. It would be wonderful if we could keep sport in that building.

"We are trying to put forward a proposal to the council to see if they would be interested in trying to develop that into a full-scale bid. At the moment we don't know whether the council will accept an offer.

"Let's face it, the council are running the centre at the moment and they've not spent a lot of money on it. It looks a bit tired but a lot of that is superficial.

"A good coat of paint would make a difference. I'm not denying there may be some work needed on things like heating and ventilation systems, rewiring perhaps.

"But first impressions from the sports and social organisation involved were that it was nowhere near as bad as they thought."

He added that the athletic club did have money set aside that could be used to make improvements to the track and clubhouse.

Mr Bullock said: "Our clubhouse is bursting at the seams so we need to extend that.

"We wanted to do that some time anyway but we've sat on it because we didn't know whether the club was still staying at Moorways.

"We didn't want to invest if we had to move elsewhere. What we'd be looking for is to use that with match-funding to get a considerable investment to develop the clubhouse or the club facilities."

He said that the possible joint-bidders would probably bring money to the project but would also bring expertise at running a facility like the sports centre.

Mr Bullock said the football club had apparently wanted to establish a base at Moorways for some years.

He said: "There are other football clubs interested I believe but this is the only one I'm concerned with."

A council spokeswoman said that, after the sports centre closes, the authority's first priority would be to secure the building.

She said: "Once this has been achieved, the council will be able to consider the options that could be explored for the future of the centre.

"The council will consider all the potential options before making any final decision."

When asked if the council had offered the clubs and organisations that use Moorways sports centre places elsewhere, she said: "Yes – all current clubs and organisations have been offered alternative slots at Springwood and/or Derby Arena.

"They have been asked to return their expression of interest to relocate to the other facilities."

Moorways swimming pool had also been under threat of being closed in April. The council announced in December that it was proposing shutting it to claw back £350,000 to help towards multi-million-pound savings it needs to make. But, earlier this month, the authority's Labour leadership announced money had been found for it to stay open for at least another year.