Leicestershire

A man has died and two others have been injured in a suspected terrorist incident in London. The attack happened at 2.20pm this afternoon in Woolwich in south east London. According to BBC sources, two people armed with weapons killed a man in the street and the two attackers were then shot by police officers. The local MP Nick Raynsford has said the dead man was a soldier at Woolwich barracks. Mr Raynsford said police have removed a "substantial number of weapons" from the scene, including knives and at least one firearm. Prime minister David Cameron has said the attack was "truly shocking" and the government is reported to be treating it as a suspected terrorist incident. London Ambulance Service confirmed one man had been found dead at the scene and two men had been taken to hospital, one in a serious condition. All three men were described as being in their 20s.

It has been another golden year for Leicestershire and Rutland's gardeners at the Chelsea Flower Show, with five of this year's crop scooping top awards. Nurseries and garden designers have been showing off their pride and joy to hundreds of thousands of visitors at the Royal Horticultural Society's centenary show, held at the Royal Hospital, in West London. The medal haul includes three gold awards, a silver medal and a silver-gilt flora award. Top of the tree was Rutland gardener Adam Frost – a former Best in Show winner – who earned his fifth Chelsea Flower Show gold medal. The 43-year-old wooed judges with Sowing the Seeds of Change, an ornamental kitchen designed for DIY retailer Homebase, in association with the Alzheimer's Society. Bringing together floral and edible plants, Adam's brief was to show how both can compliment each other and help a younger generation to understand more about the natural world. A delighted Adam, who is based at Barnsdale Gardens, in Exton, said much of his inspiration came from the late Geoff Hamilton, who created the Barnsdale Ornamental Kitchen Garden in 1990 and who Adam trained under in his early years as a gardener. "It was designed with a small family in mind," he said. "The idea was to provide them with a space to enjoy an every-day connection with their food and nature. "I've really enjoyed bringing it to life and would like to thank Homebase for its support." His garden was the setting for a fund-raising tea party for the Alzheimer's Society, at which guests included actress Lynda Bellingham, The Great British Bake Off presenter Mary Berry, TV presenter Ruth Langsford and actor Christopher Biggins. Matthew Compton, of Homebase, said: "We are hugely grateful to Adam for creating the garden with us and we hope Adam's vision and creativity will inspire even the most novice of gardeners to grow some Chelsea magic in their own gardens." It was a double celebration for Barnsdale, which won a silver medal for a display designed by owner Nick Hamilton, son of Geoff. "It's a great way to celebrate both our 30th anniversary and the flower show's centenary," said Nick, 51. The display was based on his father's ornamental kitchen garden at Barnsdale, featuring flowers mixed with organic vegetables such as purple podded peas. "The display really represents what Barnsdale is all about,' said Nick. Husband and wife team Linda and Philip Smith, of Waterside Nursery, Sharnford, also struck gold – their third gold medal in four years – for their aquatic garden, featuring flowering plans, foliage and different coloured water lilies charting the plant's history in Britain over the past 100 years. Philip, 61, who set up the family nursery 17 years ago, said: "We are more than thrilled – we're absolutely delighted! "Three golds in a row is a great achievement, especially for a small village nursery like ours. "We were also nominated for Best in Show and finished in the top five, which isn't too bad at all." A third gold medal went to Philip Tivey & Son, of Syston, for its floral marquee display of cut alstroemeria flowers. Oska Copperfield Nursery, in Birstall, scooped a silver-gilt flora award for its display of chrysanthemums.

Police investigating an armed brawl in a Leicester park have questioned three teenagers. The three 16-year-olds were released on bail today after being questioned about a fight in Leicester's Abbey Park on Bank Holiday Monday, earlier this month. Members of the public called police to the park at 6.20pm on Monday, May 6 after they saw a group of men fighting. Some of the callers suggested the men were armed with knives and, in one case, an axe. Police believe up to a dozen men were involved in the running fight Police said yesterday that the investigation into the incident was continuing. The force urged people to contact officers if they saw the incident. Detective Sergeant Ian Warner, of Beaumont Leys police station, said: "We would like to reassure the public that there will continue to be high visibility patrols in the area of Abbey Park and we would still like to speak to anyone who may have information regarding the incident." Contact Pc Richard Wightman on 101 or Crimestoppers, which is anonymous, on 0800 555 111.

A man has died and two others have been injured in a suspected terrorist incident in London. The attack happened at 2.20pm this afternoon in Woolwich in south east London. According to BBC sources, two people armed with weapons killed a man in the street and the two attackers were then shot by police officers. The local MP Nick Raynsford has said the dead man was a soldier at Woolwich barracks. Mr Raynsford said police have removed a "substantial number of weapons" from the scene, including knives and at least one firearm. Prime minister David Cameron has said the attack was "truly shocking" and the government is reported to be treating it as a suspected terrorist incident. London Ambulance Service confirmed one man had been found dead at the scene and two men had been taken to hospital, one in a serious condition. All three men were described as being in their 20s. One witness told the BBC: "Basically, two men carried out an axe attack on a young army cadet walking along the street, by the looks of things the police responded and then shot them."

More than £3 million is being invested in East Midlands Ambulance Service to help it raise standards. Bosses at Emas, as the service is known, will take on extra staff and buy more ambulances with the money. The news came as the Care Quality Commission (CQC) said that when it last inspected Emas, it found the service was failing to meet three of six key standards. It found some patients were waiting too long for treatment, staffing levels were too low and most Emas employees did not feel supported by their boss. Emas said the extra funding would help it address all of those issues. In its report, the CQC inspectors said staff at one care home had told them it had taken four hours for an ambulance to arrive. They added that an Emas employee had told them staff were "at breaking point", and another had said: "If we all worked to the rules the system would fall apart. More staff and more ambulances are needed across the board." The comments were made when the CQC inspection team spent two days, March 4 and 5, visiting ambulance stations, A&E departments and care homes, and talking to Emas patients and staff. The ambulance service has been given until tomorrow (May 24) to let inspectors know what action they will take to meet the three standards it failed to reach. Earlier this week, it emerged that Emas had suffered a £3.5 million penalty in the 2012/13 financial year for failing to meet one of its response time targets. Although it got to 75 per cent of life-threatening calls within eight minutes as required, it failed to get to 95 per cent of less urgent calls within 19 minutes as required. Despite the penalty, Emas broke even in 2012/13. Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) across the East Midlands which pay Emas have agreed to give it an extra £3.4 million this financial year to help it recruit a further 155 staff and buy more vehicles. A further £3.4million could be available from April 2014, if Emas meets performance standards. Dr Dave Briggs, of East Leicestershire and Rutland CCG, said: "It is vital that patients receive high quality care as swiftly as possible and clearly there is still work to do to ensure that Emas achieves the response standards required." He added: "All our patients can be assured that we have acted and invested to significantly uplift performance." David Farrelly, director of workforce, strategy and transformation at Emas, said a new way of working approved by the Emas board in March "already addresses the three areas which the CQC agree is where action is needed". He added: "For example, in response to needing more staff, the increase in funds from our commissioners means we are actively recruiting more people to work on our frontline so we have more resource to respond to the calls we receive – this is extra to the 140 announced in March. "Our new management structure will provide better support for staff, as will the new and more locally based training facilities and response times are already improving because of the changes we are making." Dr Mike Pepperman, from the Leicester Mercury Patients' Panel, said: "My view is that Emas has recognised areas of concern highlighted by the CQC and has been proactive in looking for solutions to them. "The restructuring that has started has already resulted in some improvements in these areas and hopefully these improvements will continue."

Education bosses at the city council have called for a halt to a controversial staffing restructure at a city junior school, which was the focus of strike action on Tuesday. The council has written to trade unions to confirm it has called for proposals to axe eight teaching assistants at Uplands Junior School, in Highfields, to be put on hold, while an independent investigation is carried out into concerns raised by staff and unions leaders. It has also asked governors to suspend the headteacher, Tim Luckcock, while the investigation is carried out. The council's director of learning services, Margaret Libreri, has written to the school governors and unions to confirm the council's actions, and to invite them to a meeting to discuss the appointment of an independent investigator. Margaret Libreri said: "Governors are responsible for staffing matters within their school, and we have been advising Uplands' governors for some weeks on the course of action needed. "They have recently agreed that an investigation should be carried out, but we need to ensure that all parties have full confidence in the arrangements. "For this reason we are seeking an urgent meeting with governors and unions to agree the appointment of an independent investigator, with a view to making that appointment by the beginning of next week. "We have also repeated the call we made to governors some weeks ago, to suspend the headteacher – as a neutral act – while the investigation is carried out." Councillor Vi Dempster, assistant city mayor for schools, said: "This situation has already gone on for too long and we are certainly not prepared to let it continue indefinitely. "As a council we have considerable experience and expertise in successfully addressing such situations, and I'm surprised that the governors have not as yet taken the very clear advice offered to ensure a speedy resolution." More than a dozen teachers from the NUT picketed for two hours outside the city school earlier this week. The action forced Uplands Junior to shut for the day. They say plans to axe teaching assistants at the end of the summer term will add to their workload and inhibit Uplands Junior from obtaining high standards. Teaching and support staff at the school launched a formal grievance against the head teacher, Tim Luckcock, and Abid Matak, chair of governors, in March. It called on education bosses at the city council to request their resignation following a number of issues, including the redundancies. Mr Matak and Mr Luckcock were unavailable to comment.

Barkby United landed a first-round giant-killing. The Everards Division One side were emphatic seven-wicket winners at Premier Division Broomleys. Tom Foulds was the mainstay of the Broomleys batting but, when he had reached 71, he had to retire hurt after being hit on an arm by a straight drive while he was the non-striker. David Bates made 47 but Broomleys were restricted to 172-8 off 40 overs with teenage medium-pacer Jack Wood taking three wickets. Skipper Steve Flowers (82) and Ian Kirk (32) gave Broomleys a flying start and they won with 10 balls to spare. Sileby and Market Harborough won the two all-Premier clashes. Sileby restricted hosts Stoughton & Thurnby to 199-3 despite opener Waqas Akhter making an unbeaten 89. Rob Moore (52) and Liam Kinch (55 not out) helped Sileby home with six wickets and nearly four overs to spare. Chris Gordon smashed 123 as Harborough raced to 279-3 against Earl Shilton. Ben Collins (3-14) and his brother Max (2-2) helped to bowl out the visitors for 83. Kibworth and Loughborough Town set up an attractive second-round clash with convincing wins over Division Two sides. Tom Driver took 3-37 as Kibworth bowled out Leicester Banks for 114 and Aamir Mahmood followed up his two wickets with 47 runs as the home side galloped home with eight wickets in hand. Anish Patel scored 116 off 114 deliveries as Loughborough Town raced to 294-4 against Loughborough Carillon, who were held to 134-6 with Alex Relf hitting 42. A third-wicket stand of 103 between James Kirkham (59) and Danny Yeow (53) steered Leicester Ivanhoe to 228 all out at Electricity Sports, who were bowled out for 91 as left-arm spinner Chris Harvey claimed 5-14. An unbroken opening stand of 158 between Chris Davies (89 not out) and Craig Ashcroft (52) booked a 10-wicket victory for Kegworth at Thorpe Arnold. Ramesh Kara's century helped Barrow & Burton to an emphatic win over Enderby. Second-round draw (June 16): Leicester Ivanhoe v Syston or Cropston; Kibworth v Loughborough Town; Lutterworth v Maher Sports; Market Harborough v Atlantis; Sileby v Newbold Verdon; Barrow & Burton v Shree Sanatan Centre; Barkby United v Leicester Caribbeans; Birstall Village or Rothley Park v Kegworth.

Atlantis produced a spectacular performance to beat Ibstock by 269 runs in the first round of the County Cup. The Atlantis batsmen clocked up the highest score of the round, 329, despite being bowled out in 36 overs of their 40 overs. Asfaaq Patel hit 107, Mubarak Patel 102 and Soyub Patel 65. Pace bowler Younus then took 5-16 off eight overs as Ibstock were skittled for 60. Atlantis secretary Iqbal Haidar Ali said: "We've got some batsmen in good form at the moment, Asfaaq hit about 12 sixes." They will be hoping for a repeat at Market Harborough in the second round. Shree Sanatan Centre and Maher Stars will also represent the Leicestershire League at that stage. Prakash Modha (96) and Kapil Dhabhi (53) helped SSC to 227-8 against Narborough & Littlethorpe. Badal Pandya then took three wickets as the home side were held to 201-7 despite an unbeaten 61 from Nick Cooper. Maher Stars had a walkover against Shepshed Town. But Asian Sports lost by 21 runs to Newbold Verdon of the Senior League. Ryan Wykes (73 not out) and Gareth Bell (58 off 44 deliveries) steered Newbold to 212-5. Mark Wilkinson (4-8) and Joe Cartwright (3-45) reduced Sports to 148-9 before Nimesh Patel (59) and BD Patel (22 not out) ensured a thrilling finish with a last-wicket stand of 43, but it was not quite enough. Leicester Caribbeans are the second Senior League team through after they overhauled Kirby Muxloe's 134 all out with two wickets in hand.

No action will be taken against a company accused of supplying halal burgers containing pork to city schools, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) has said. Leicester City Council withdrew a lamb burger supplied to 19 schools by Doncaster-based Paragon Quality Foods last month after it claimed tests showed up to 50 per cent pork in a sample burger. However, further tests of the company's products conducted by Doncaster Metropolitan Council have found no trace of pork. A spokeswoman for the FSA said: "We were notified of the findings by Leicester City Council and instructed colleagues at Doncaster Metropolitan Council to liaise with Paragon. "The local authority enforcement officer's role is to investigate whether any contamination has occurred and, if so, identify the possible causes and ways to prevent future occurrences. "We have now received the report from Doncaster and are satisfied that there are appropriate controls in place and no further action needs to be taken in this instance." Peter Dale, director of regeneration and environment at Doncaster Metropolitan Council, said: "We have carried out an extensive programme of formal sampling and so far no traces of meat other than those labelled have been detected." Eastern Shires Purchasing Organisation (ESPO), in Leicester, which tested the original burger on behalf of the city council, declined to comment today. Paragon bosses are now considering legal action against Leicester City Council, saying its reputation had been "unfairly damaged". A spokesman for the company said: "The test by ESPO wasn't a formal test under controlled conditions and all other results have come back negative for any traces of pork, therefore we're seeking advice about possible legal action." Leicester City Council was understood to be carrying out further tests on the burgers, the results of which are not yet known. The burger had only been available on its school menus since January and was the only product supplied to the city council by the firm. Regular tests on school food have been carried out on behalf of the council since February, when evidence of horse meat was found in beef products across the country. The council was informed of the burger test results on April 18 and withdrew the product the following day. All other Halal products used in the council's kitchens are supplied by another company, The Punjab Kitchen Ltd, based in Tyneside. Tests have shown they are Halal compliant.

Police have arrested seven men in connection with the fatal shooting of a mother-of-two. The men – aged 21, 23, 24, 26, two aged 28 and a 38-year-old – were today being questioned about the death of Hayley Pointon earlier this year. Hayley, 30, died following an incident in Sunnydale Road, Hinckley, at 10.45pm on February 3. A postmortem examination found she died from a single gunshot wound. Police today announced the seven arrests and confirmed the men were in custody where they were being quizzed by detectives. Last week, Hayley's mother, Kerry, issued an appeal for witnesses to come forward. She said: "We appeal for any information to help catch and convict the people or person who took Hayley away from her two young children, family and friends. "This crime cannot go unpunished as we are all suffering each day it continues while we wait for justice. "We will not rest until those responsible are caught and punished. Please come forward – this won't end until justice is done."

Tickets for the sold-out Aviva Premiership final have been on sale for more than four times their original face value.

Demand to see the East Midlands derby at Twickenham on Saturday has been unprecedented in the history of England's premier competition.

The Premiership's showpiece occasion has sold out faster than any other final in its history, and a crowd of more than 82,000 people will watch Leicester Tigers hunt a ninth English title, while Northampton Saints are aiming for their first.

Both Leicester and Northampton have sold out their allocation of 7,500 tickets for the game, with Tigers getting rid of their number in just 48 hours after the semi-final win against Harlequins.

While most supporters were able to snap up the vast majority of tickets at face value – and those sent to the participating clubs were priced at £40, £50 and £60 – others are now being advertised at well over that amount.

On the buyers and sellers website Viagogo on Monday, four tickets for the middle tier of the West Terrace were selling for £315 apiece.

Another website, Stubhub, had just 18 tickets for sale yesterday lunchtime.

Organisers have said they could have sold "more than 100,000 tickets" for the game, had Twickenham had the capacity.

It is obvious that the prospect of Tigers and Saints going head to head with the league title on the line is whetting the appetite of the country's fan-base in a massive way.

Dominic Hayes, Premiership Rugby's commercial director, said the interest in the game was great news for all concerned.

"The appeal of Aviva Premiership Rugby is at an all-time high and selling out the final so quickly this year is great news for professional club rugby in England," he said.

"Saturday's game has captured the public's imagination, and the buzz around a Tigers v Saints match on domestic rugby's biggest stage is huge.

"All 12 of our Premiership clubs will also be well represented at Twickenham on Saturday."

This is the sixth consecutive year that the Premiership final has sold out.

The match will be broadcast live on ESPN, Five Live and Talksport, with an extended highlights programme on ITV4 at 11.0 on Saturday night.

Kasabian are offering fans who want to see them at Hard Rock Calling festival a discount coach package. The Leicestershire band have teamed up with Big Green Coaches to offer home townfans a discounted ticket bundle to the festival next month. The event will see the local boys become the first band to headline the brand new Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park stadium. Kasabian headline on Saturday, June 29, followed by Bruce Springsteen on Sunday 30. Fans can purchase a Saturday ticket for Hard Rock Calling with a return Big Green Coach journey to and from the event for £49.50 (subject to booking fee) - a saving of £30 per person. To buy the ticket package, visit: http://www.biggreencoach.co.uk/hardrockcalling

Day two of Leicestershire's championship game with Glamorgan at Grace Road was proving to be one of almost total struggle for the home side. Glamorgan piled up a massive total of 442-9 before declaring in their first innings, former County favourite Jim Allenby scoring a championship-best 138 not out. The early Leicestershire batsmen were unable to follow that superb display and at tea they had slipped to 41-3 in reply. Greg Smith, who had batted so well at Northampton last week, made just 11 before he edged to slip where Allenby took the catch. Michael Thornely, recalled to the side with Niall O'Brien unavailable, had just three on the board before he was trapped lbw without offering a shot. And County's plight became worse when Ned Eckersley clipped Michael Hogan straight to mid-wicket for four. Joe Burns, on his Leicestershire debut, and Shiv Thakor saw their side through to tea without further loss with the Australian 17 not out and Thakor with a single to his name.

Former Leicestershire all-rounder Jim Allenby helped Glamorgan take control of the championship match on the second day at Grace Road as he made an unbeaten century. The game had been relatively evenly balanced at the start of play with Glamorgan on 256-5. But the Welshmen lost only the wicket of skipper Mark Wallace during the morning session as they went to lunch in a commanding position on 381-6 finding runs all too easy to come by as the home attack laboured. Allenby, who had been dropped on 20 yesterday, punished the County as he reached his century from 160 balls including nine fours and a six. He and Graham Wagg, who was 51 not out at lunch, had added 103 for the seventh wicket by the interval as they helped their side to claim a fourth batting bonus point

A music festival saw a village unite in memory of a football club stalwart. Up to 1,500 revellers gathered at Kibworth and Smeeton Juniors FC, in Fleckney Road, Kibworth, for KibFest on Saturday. Twenty acts performed to raise money for the football club and Kibworth Primary School. Entertainment included a mini-football tournament, children's activities and music workshops. The event was organised by friends of the late Adam Bennett, a former committee member of the football club. He died in November, aged 41, following an accident while cycling near Bruntingthorpe. brightcove.createExperiences(); brightcove.createExperiences();

Police have arrested three teenagers in connection with a brawl in Leicester's Abbey Park in which men were reportedly armed with knives and an axe. A Leicestershire Police spokeswoman confirmed today that three 16-year-old men were in custody and were being questioned about the incident, which happened on Bank Holiday, May 6. Two groups of men – some reportedly armed with knives and an axe – were involved in a running brawl. Witnesses called police to report that two gangs of men were attacking each other. Some of the callers suggested the men were armed with knives and, in one case, an axe. Police believe up to a dozen men were involved in the running fight, which appears to have broken out near Abbey Road at about 6.20pm. Detectives have spoken to hospitals and other health services in an effort to trace anyone who has sought treatment for stab wounds or any similar injuries.

A company boss who was jailed for masterminding a £110 million fraud has been ordered to pay back some of his ill-gotten gains. Max Fraser is serving eight years and eight months for his central role in one of the largest "asset-backed" frauds ever seen in the UK. The 45-year-old and accomplices obtained loans worth £110 million between 2001 and 2007. He told the lenders the money was to pay for machinery at his plastics firm in Leicester. But the equipment was not ordered and instead Fraser used the money to fund a jet-set lifestyle. He was jailed in January 2012. The sum obtained amounted to £111 million, though the actual loss to the lenders was estimated at £53 million. Now, a court has given Fraser six months to pay more than £300,000 to some of the firms he tricked. If he does not pay in time, he will receive a further jail sentence of three-and-a-half years. Leicestershire Police obtained the forfeiture order under the Proceeds of Crime Act during a hearing at Northampton Crown Court last week. The force examined Fraser's finances and found he had available assets of £306,254. Paul Wenlock, who runs the force's economic crime unit, said: "Fraser had a company yacht and took flying lessons. "He lived the high life, while his actions put at risk the jobs of those who worked legitimately at his firm. "This order shows police are determined that criminals will not get to enjoy the fruits of their crimes." The fraud was committed while Fraser was running Nylacast Limited. The company was later sold and still exists. The firm has no connection with the fraud, has never gone bust and enjoys a good reputation. Fraser admitted conspiracies to defraud financial institutions, false accounting and fraudulently trading. Formerly of Gaulby, later of Main Street, Ufford, Lincolnshire, Fraser was also banned from acting as a company director for 15 years. Also part of the conspiracy were David and Elizabeth Liversidge, of Constable Burton, North Yorkshire, who were found guilty of conspiring with Fraser to commit false accounting. The couple ran Stoke-on-Trent business HTL Limited and received about £6 million from Fraser for producing 900 bogus invoices, which Fraser then used to persuade banks to loan millions. Leicestershire Police said it would apply for the forfeiture of their assets.

Talks between Leicester City and Bolton about a possible transfer for striker Jermaine Beckford are in deadlock over the possible fee.

Bolton are keen to recruit Beckford, who is surplus to requirements at City as he does not feature in boss Nigel Pearson's plans.

But the two clubs are some way apart in their valuations of the 29-year-old, who City signed from Everton two years ago for £2.5million.

While City know they will not recoup anywhere near their initial outlay for Beckford, they will not allow him to join the Trotters for next to nothing and there have been reports they have asked for £1m for the Jamaica international.

A resolution is unlikely to be reached within the next few weeks.

Meanwhile, City are reportedly among a group of clubs trying to sign defender Alex Baptiste.

Baptiste is out of contract this summer with Blackpool and there are a host of Championship clubs, and a couple of Premier League clubs, who have expressed an interest.

Derby manager Nigel Clough has publicly announced his interest, while Bolton are also known to be trying to woo the 27-year-old.

City are said to be interested, but yesterday Hull were also linked with Baptiste and the chance to return to the Premier League may prove to be the deal-clincher for the Tigers.

The fable of Jack and the Beanstalk has provided the unusual setting for a trial.

Youngsters at a primary school have been deciding if criminal charges should be brought against the son of the poor old widow for the alleged theft of a giant's bag of gold coins, a hen that lays golden eggs and a magical harp – and for the alleged murder of the giant.

The novel project at St Peter's CE Primary Academy, in Market Bosworth, has been run by law students from the University of Leicester as part of a study on children and the law.

In a mock trial, Jack was played by undergraduate Andrew Donaldson and the youngsters acted as jury members.

Dawn Watkins, senior law lecturer, who played the judge, said: "This helped us gain an understanding of what the children know about law and where it comes from.

"We hope to develop a programme that can be made available to other schools in Leicestershire. Its aim is to develop the children's legal literacy so that they develop an understanding of the law as an empowering force in their lives.

"At the same time, we hope to develop a module through which our students can work in schools as a part of their degree studies."

Final year law student Harriet Jones said: "The day started off with a trial, addressing the heinous acts of Jack, who came to infamy when he scaled the beanstalk.

"After this, the children were allowed to ask Jack questions and then decide upon their verdict.

"Jack was found guilty on the charge of theft and not guilty of murder, so he will no doubt soon be taken to Leicester Prison following his sentencing and mitigation hearing."

Surveyed afterwards, the pupils said despite his conviction for theft Jack was popular with most.

Cameron Collins, nine, said: "I enjoyed the play because I thought someone had actually been brought in handcuffs from the cells, but then I found out it was a role play.

"I liked it when we came in and talked about the different kinds of law and what we can and can't do."

Esther Button, nine, said: "I liked talking about really serious laws and not so serious laws."

In the fable, Jack meets a man on his way back from market who gives him five magic beans in exchange for a cow.

Overnight, they grow into a huge beanstalk which Jack climbs up, discovering a castle where a giant lives.

He steals a bag of gold, a magic hen and a golden harp, but the giant wakes and chases him down the beanstalk.

Jack and his mother cut it down and the giant falls to his death.

St Peter's head teacher Ralph Wood, said: "As a law graduate myself from the University of Leicester, I'm aware of how important it is for young people to get a good grasp of their rights and responsibilities.

"I very much look forward to establishing an ongoing project with the university that will be of great benefit to children and students."

A toilet tissue manufacturer has reported a five-fold increase in annual profits thanks to more upmarket products and higher output.

Sofidel UK, of Leicester, made an operating profit of £34 million in 2012, according to Companies' House figures. This compared to £6.46 million in 2011.

The company said it had increased production and efficiency after spending a seven-figure sum on new equipment.

Turnover rose from £90 million in 2011 to £230 million last year.

It sold 150 tonnes of tissue during the 12-month period. Two-thirds of this was supplied to supermarkets to sell under their own brands.

Operations manager Giuseppe Munari said: "We have made the company more efficient and reduced consumption of energy and water. Our output has been improved considerably."

A statement in the company's annual accounts said: "The strategy that led to this success consisted of focusing on achieving higher price lists and increasing volumes."

The increase in sales was also partly down to the fact some business was transferred from a sister business in Swansea.

Italian-owned Sofidel, Europe's largest tissue manufacturer, took over the manufacturing operation after buying LPC (Leicester Paper Convertors) in 2010.

The company has two paper mills in Waterside Road, Hamilton, which make the material used to create toilet and kitchen tissue and boxed tissues.

Production lines are based in nearby New Star Road and a site just off the A6 in Rothley. Toilet tissue accounts for around half of output and the company produces up to 2.8 million rolls of tissue a day.

It now employs about 500 people across the three sites after announcing 93 job cuts in 2011.

Pre-tax profit for 2012, which included interest payments and one-off earnings, was also £34 million. However, pre-tax profit in 2011 was skewed by a one-off sale of £83 million of shares.

LPC was founded in 1980 by Shiraz Dharamshi Tejani and his brothers. They are worth about £100 million, according to the Sunday Times Rich List.