FORMER Nottingham Forest star Alan Hinton has vowed to beat his cancer after being diagnosed with the disease for the third time.

The 72-year-old former flying winger – who played more than 100 games for the Reds – is battling bladder cancer and will undergo surgery in the new year.

And Hinton, who signed for Forest in January 1964 and scored 24 times before being signed for rivals Derby County by legendary manager Brian Clough, has issued a health warning to raise awareness about the disease.

He said: "Don't be afraid of going to your doctor. I'm getting old and these medical problems come and find you."

Hinton broke the news that his cancer had returned for the third time to his 10,000 Twitter followers. For the past four years, he has been receiving treatment for his aggressive cancer.

He said: "I'm not shy about it. I'm going to have to have my bladder removed, but I'm all right with it.

"I'll have different plumbing, but that's OK with me.

"I asked my doctors how long I would live if I did nothing and they told me – not long.

"I'd get another two or three years, that's all. For me that's not what I want. I've got too much to live for.

"My wife, Joy, my daughter, Tania, and my three grandkids mean everything to me. I do the school run every day."

Hinton, who played for Wolves and Derby before moving to America, wants to send a message to his loyal fans.

He said: "Don't worry about me. I'm going to be OK.

"I told my followers on Twitter because I wanted to raise awareness about cancer.

"Men need to look after themselves and get checked regularly. It doesn't matter who you are. Cancer can come.

"Sportsmen, fit people, still get it. I didn't even know I had it until I went for a check-up. The cancer was discovered from a simple blood test."

Hinton has lived in America for the past 34 years. In that time, he played and coached with Dallas Tornados and Vancover Whitecaps. Later, he coached at Tulsa Roughnecks and Seattle Sounders.

"I'm known here as the Godfather of Soccer," he said. "My career has been wonderful. Coaching the Seattle Sounders has brought me many successes. The club has steadily grown and now thousands of fans love to come and watch."

TWO men were assaulted and robbed by a group of youths as they walked down a street in Long Eaton.

The pair went down Derby Road and into Fletcher Street, where they were confronted by a gang of four males and a female, according to the police.

One of the gang demanded the pair hand over their belongings before punching one of the men and pulling his coat and bag from him.

His friend was attacked as he tried to help.

Police say they are interviewing the victims today to get descriptions of the gang, one of whom was riding a bike.

The incident happened at 9.40pm on Wednesday and witnesses, or anyone with information, is asked to call 101 quoting crime reference number 52400/14.

TEENAGERS are befriending elderly people with dementia as part of a trailblazing new scheme to combat loneliness.

Twenty-six sixth-formers from Rushcliffe School have been making friends with the residents of a West Bridgford care home.

Some of the old folk have conditions like Alzheimer's, so the students have been trained to deal with situations like being forgotten from one visit to the next.

Hannah Colley, 16, joined the befriender scheme because her own grandma has dementia.

She said: "My dad felt he had lost his mum before she had even died.

"I went to her care home once a week for two years and I remember that some of the elderly people were very lonely and bored."

The scheme was set up by Young People of the Year , an organisation that gives awards to young people who "give to others".

Student Hannah Edwards, 16, said: "I hope to make a positive impact on the residents' lives and remind them that they are still cared about in society, especially by young people like myself."

Scheme founder Tony Gearing, who is overseeing the West Bridgford trial and another in Mansfield, said he was "blown away" by the sixth-formers' enthusiasm.

He said: "They have been offered a range of opportunities to suit all abilities and levels of confidence and grabbed them with both hands.

"I am particularly keen on the life histories, where a young person will work one-to-one with an elderly person to record their lives in words and pictures. This can draw out the elderly person's likes and dislikes and help the home to care for them, as well as making a beautiful memento for the resident's family.

"Some of the young people are doing this with residents with dementia, which poses extra challenges. But they are giving it a good go and that is courageous and fantastic."

Logan Logeswaran, managing director of Runwood Homes ,which owns Leawood Manor, in Hilton Crescent, wants to expand the scheme to other homes in the 60-strong chain.

For more information visit youngpeopleoftheyear.org and follow the links to YOPEY Befriender.

NOTTINGHAM Forest duo Andy Reid and Jack Hobbs are both still on track to return over Christmas and the new year to give the Reds the perfect festive boost.

The pair will miss today's Championship clash at Rotherham United.

But boss Stuart Pearce has given an update on their recoveries from injuries, saying: "They are both out on grass at this moment in time, both running outside, which is fantastic.

"I think that Christmas to early January time, if they have no setbacks, is the sort of period we hope to see them back in full training so fingers crossed on that.

"You just hope there are no setbacks on that process."

Centre-back Hobbs (pictured) and midfielder Reid have not played since Forest's 1-1 draw against arch rivals Derby at the City Ground in mid-September.

And they both also missed the end of last season with injuries, so Pearce says they have been extra careful with them during their rehabilitation.

"We certainly are with Hobbsy," he said.

"The timescale we are working to at this moment in time has not been rushed.

"He's kept coming to us saying he's feels fantastic with every step that he takes.

"We've made sure he is right.

"If ever there has been a down side in anything he has done we've stopped, we've gone back and started again.

"We're acutely aware of Reidy's injury record."

The timing of the pair's expected return could not be better for Pearce, who might find his ability to strengthen his already impressive squad in January affected by a potential transfer embargo under Financial Fair Play rules, although that has not been officially confirmed.

"The chief exec keeps me informed on a daily basis of anything that might happen," said Pearce.

A RESTAURANT acted quickly to clean up its rubbish after this picture was snapped by a Post reader.

Staff at Fat Cat, in Angel Row, got its bin days wrong – leading to this ironic photo being taken by Neil Smith.

Nottingham has recently been named as the cleanest city in the country, and the city council said it was ready to clean up the rubbish as soon as it was notified.

But workers at Fat Cat held their hands up and removed the rubbish from Mount Street yesterday after getting their bin day wrong.

Mr Smith, 41, of Gedling, said: "I'm a buildings manager, so I deal with our rubbish collections and it caught my eye.

"I just thought it was quite ironic that the rubbish was opposite the poster."

Dave Halstead, head of neighbourhood operations at the council, said: "Every business has a duty to ensure they have enough bins and collections so waste does not spill out on to the streets and spoil the environment.

"We work hard to support businesses in managing their waste and will continue to do so to ensure we can maintain our cleanest city status."

Lester Riley, 64, from Bobbers Mill, said: "I guess it is quite unfortunate. You don't often see rubbish like that on the streets.

"It looks disgraceful though, and isn't sending a good message to anyone who is visiting the city."

Flights to and from East Midlands Airport are back to normal after yesterday's air traffic problems.

Nearly forty flights from Heathrow were cancelled on Friday afternoon after a computer fault at the air traffic control centre in Hampshire.

Airspace over the London area was restricted following the error at 4pm and it led to delays on flights heading to East Midlands Airport.

And while flights in the south east are still disrupted, the arrivals and departures into the Castle Donington site are back to normal.

WALK into Chris Sleigh's workshop and the smell and sight of wood is particularly prominent. There's a log fire, boards of wood stacked up against the walls and, of course, completed pieces of custom-made furniture.

On display on one of his worktops is an eye-catching lamp, aptly named Crescent. The collaborative piece with Wirksworth-based lighting designers Curiousa & Curiousa has a handcrafted walnut frame and a hand-blown purple glass lampshade.

"I used the shape of the Greek letter lambda as inspiration for the design as it really works as a frame to hang a pendant lamp from," he says.

"If I was given free rein to do anything I'd keep things very straightforward. I like simple lines and minimal details – I'm very inspired by the clean lines of Scandinavian-type furniture."

The workshop itself is based in the Old Stables of Holme Pierrepont Hall.

"There are other small businesses around here and we'll all help each other out if needs be. I like the quiet environment as it allows me to get on with my work without being too distracted," says the father-of-two.

All of the wood has been sourced from local timber yards. The 42-year-old says: "I go and choose my own wooden boards so I can look at the grain and decide exactly what I like – that's really important to me."

In October, the artistic designer visited Birmingham's National Exhibition Centre to showcase a range of his work at Grand Designs Live, where he walked away with the prestigious Grand Designs Magazine 'Loves' award.

"It was a complete surprise. In fact I didn't even know they were judging the stands," he says. "The award made the show for me. It gave me a buzz and made it all worthwhile."

Chris spent much of his childhood observing his father's carpentry skills.

"My dad definitely raised me to love practical work. Wood, in particular, is very inspiring for me," he says.

"I love what you can get out of the material and the different techniques you can use. None of my furniture is mass-produced and every piece is different.

"People come to me because they want something unique and they appreciate the craftsmanship."

After 16 years working as a research scientist in a chemistry laboratory, the opportunity arose for Chris to take redundancy and work on his passion for wood.

He says: "It was a difficult decision in the first instance to make. It was hard to leave the science but I thought, 'it's now or never,' so I knew I had to make the move and feed my desire."

He adds: "Chemistry is very different to working with wood but they do have their similarities. They're both practical and involve making things. But with chemistry you're very much part of a bigger team, whereas here I'm on my own."

Chris, who moved to West Bridgford in 2002, put his redundancy money towards retraining at the Williams & Cleal Furniture School in Somerset. He spent over a year travelling down to the county to take part in the practical course.

"I was in a workshop where a number of people were making furniture for their own clients, which allowed me to observe and learn a wide variety of techniques they were using," he says. "I thought that was the right environment for me at that point in my life."

Two years since the business opened, Chris has clients from as far away as Munich and London, although they come mostly from the Midlands.

"I'm really committed to the Midlands and it's where I'd like to make my success," he says. "People have different tastes and styles which makes every day different. That's what keeps me on my toes – I like the challenge of it all."

For further information on Chris' designs call 07745 480251, email info@chrissleigh.co.uk or visit his website at www.chrissleigh.co.uk.

THERE is a huge, bauble-covered tree, Christmas tunes blaring from a PA and seasonal food aromas wafting from nearby... an afternoon at the ice rink can provide hours of festive fun.

And in Nottingham it's never been easier to give this increasingly popular December activity a go, whether you head to the National Ice Centre, in Bolero Square, or to the Winter Wonderland ice rink in Old Market Square.

The place where it all began for Olympic ice skating legends Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean holds daily public skating sessions. The National Ice Centre is also the home of ice hockey team the Nottingham Panthers.

Players Bryan Schmidt and Robert Farmer hit the ice every week to compete in both home and away games in the Elite League.

But their biggest tip for ice skating novices? It's all about the bum.

American ice hockey player Bryan, 33, who plays in defence, says: "You've got to be solid and when you skate, you skate with your bum.

"You then balance on your legs with a slight bend in the knee. You can then push off and to stop, you slant your feet.

"As professionals you don't stop learning. We're still trying to perfect our stride and we still fall over!"

Bryan plays alongside Nottingham-born forward Robert.

"I started playing ice skating when I was five but first started ice skating when I was three," says the 23-year-old.

If you fancy a quick session of ice skating as a break from the Christmas shopping, the ice skating rink in Old Market Square is somewhere to dump the bags.

Racing around the Christmas tree, families can hit the ice for a quick hour of festive fun.

Heading the Winter Wonderland ice rink operation is site manager Lee Clarke, whose team of stewards include a figure skater, a freestyler and an ice hockey player.

Jermelle Banner, 20, has been ice skating only for three years but has already perfected the art of back flips, 360-degree turns and headstands.

His skills are so impressive that he and his team of five, the Birmingham Ice Freestylers, will be holding free displays every Saturday from 4.45pm.

"I started ice skating because it was a great way of clearing my head," says Jermelle.

"After I started, I noticed freestyling and saw it was a different kind of skating – it's a lot more extreme.

"My group and I will be doing flips and tricks. Last time, I had the tractor moving and I skated under it."

Competitive figure skater Abbey Jackson advises: "Always bend your knees and take little baby steps. Never lean back and make sure your head is up and don't look at the floor.

"Don't worry if you fall over. Just move up on to your knees and use your hands to push yourself back up."

For more about ice skating at the National Ice Centre visit national-ice-centre.com. For details of the Winter Wonderland ice rink go to nottinghamwinterwonderland.co.uk.

WHETHER you're mildly curious or a complete nosy parker, you'll be able to find out everything you need to know about one of the UK's most prestigious country estates thanks to a series of winter talks planned at Chatsworth.

Staff at the historical venue will be delivering an entertaining insight into their jobs throughout January, February and March – including two special opportunities to hear from the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire themselves.

These two latter talks, entitled Life at Chatsworth, will see the 12th Duke and the Duchess give their take on a decade spent at the magnificent estate, which has been passed down through 16 generations of the Cavendish family and encompasses 30,000 acres of garden, farmland and parkland.

Taking place in the Hartington Room at Chatsworth Stables on March 5 and 10, early booking is definitely advised for these particular events.

Meanwhile, a number of other Chatsworth staff will also be leading sessions throughout the season, including head housekeeper Christine Robinson – who recently published her memoirs, Chatsworth: The Housekeeper's Tale.

Christine, whose family has worked at Chatsworth for more than 200 years, will reveal the motivation behind the book and will sign copies.

The talks also feature head of gardens and landscape Steve Porter, who will look at designers and fashion and their influence on the wonderful Chatsworth gardens.

Other contributors include textiles department supervisor Susie Stokoe, who will reveal the secrets behind the famous Mortlake Tapestries, and archaeologist Oliver Jessop, who will give a glimpse of the Tudor house as revealed by the original master plan.

The talks will run most Fridays from January 23 to March 6 in the Hartington Room. Places need to be booked in advance and start at £12 per person. In addition, winter visitors will be able to enjoy a collection of fine artwork as the Peak District Artisans return to Chatsworth for a second time, showcasing an eclectic line-up of artists, artisans and designer-makers from across the region.

Artists include the award-winning Sue Prince and Ingrid Karlsson-Kemp.

Earlier this year, Sue's work was chosen for London Stories, an exhibition for the Serco Prize for Illustration at the London Transport Museum.

Ingrid's display will include pieces created for her exhibition as part of Umea, Sweden's Capital of Culture celebrations.

The spring exhibition will run daily between 10.30am and 3.30pm, from January 7 to March 22, with works on display in the Carriage House at Chatsworth Stables. Admission is free.

Chatsworth House, garden, farmyard, shops and restaurants all will remain open until January 4 (apart from December 24, 25 and 26 and January 1). They will reopen for the new season on March 28.

For more information and to book a place at one of the talks, visit www.chatsworth.org.

Another bumper crop of Christmas events is planned in Notts over the next few days, including:

Festive Family Fun, Woodthorpe Grange Park, today, 9.30am-3.30pm: Head to the tropical Christmas grotto at the Nottingham City Council nursery for plant sales, Christmas trees, wreaths, decorations, face painting, food and drink and – OMG – a chance to meet characters from Frozen.

Nottingham Castle Free Fun, today and Sunday, from 10am: With free admission throughout the weekend, there's all sorts of festive fun planned – including I'll Be Home for Christmas, comprising a craft fair, nostalgic brass band music and a chance to tour the castle. Santa will also be at the Bastion (£3 per visit) and you can enjoy a vintage afternoon tea from 1pm to 4pm each day (£15 per person).

Christmas Carols in the Mill Yard, Green's Windmill, today, 3pm-5pm: You know the festive season has really arrived when this brilliantly atmospheric (and free) event takes place. It's a proper Yuletide treat for the whole family in the fabulous lantern-lit yard, with mince pies and mulled wine to accompany the traditional tunes. God bless us, every one.

Southwell Minster Lantern Walk, today, 5pm: Assemble at the magnificent minster for this lantern lit procession. This year's theme is Water and Waves, inspired by the Christmas song I Saw Three Ships. Bring your own lantern and look out for other decorative illuminations along the route, with music and refreshments inside the Minster.

The Great Nottingham Santa Run, Forest Recreation Ground, Sunday, from 9am: With a 2.5km or 5km route to choose from, it's time to make merry for this annual event raising money for When You Wish Upon a Star, giving youngsters with life limiting illnesses the chance to go and see Santa in Lapland. There will also be a Christmas market, refreshments and music. Adults £10, kids £5, infants free (including Santa suit). Details at www.thesantarun.org.uk.

Santa Fun Run, Rushcliffe County Park, Sunday, 11am-1.30pm: Support the wonderful Rainbows children's hospice with another delightfully daft festive fun run – choose from a route of 2.5 miles or five miles. Kids, babies, dogs and well behaved grown-ups all welcome. Adults £12.50, kids £6 (including Santa suit). Details on 0800 952 1133.

Christmas Clowning, Sherwood Forest Country Park, from 11.30am: Circus skills workshop for those after some new party tricks this festive season. Parking £3.

Christmas Steaming Extravaganza, Nottingham Industrial Museum, Sunday, 11am-4pm: No, it's nothing to do with alcohol – this is a chance to see Santa in his grotto amongst a gallery of historic working steam engines. Adults £2, kids £1.

Christmas in the Arboretum, Sunday, 4pm-6pm: See the trees and bandstand area lit up for the festive season, with live music, kids' activities, non-alcoholic mulled wine and mince pies. Free.

Midwinter Lantern Walk, Sherwood Forest Country Park, Sunday, 4.30pm-5.30pm: Wrap up warm and bring a torch for this walk through the ancient oaks in winter. Enjoy hot drinks and refreshments at the Forest Table restaurant afterwards. £4. Book on 01623 823202.

MOBILE phone company EE is to stop running its Orange Wednesday promotion in the New Year.

The deal allowed people to get two for one deals at cinemas on Wednesdays, as well as offering cheap deals on pizza.

It was launched over a decade ago, but EE said it was "time to move on".

The company said: "After 10 great years our brand has changed and our customers' viewing habits have also evolved so it's time to move on.

"That's why the final credits will roll for Orange Wednesdays at the end of February 2015. We're working on new customer entertainment rewards and we'll provide more detail soon."

But people in Nottingham have been tweeting their thoughts...

RIP Orange Wednesdays. Th I am switching from EE/orange to a better network coz I can't deal with any more pain. #CantAffordCinemaTicketsNow

— Abbey (@abbeyyalishaa) December 11, 2014

Orange Wednesdays coming to an end in February. No chance is a cinema ticket worth the full price

— Pete Roughton (@peteroughton) December 11, 2014

So cheeky how they're getting rid of orange Wednesday, they get enough money off us

— becca (@rebeccab97) December 12, 2014

BEESTON'S Adam Dixon and Tim Whiteman were both handed starts as England's men finished seventh at the Champions Trophy in India thanks to a 3-2 victory over Belgium.

Bees team-mates Sam ward and Ollie Willars were both also involved off the bench as England ended the tournament on a high note after their quarter-final disappointment.

It was a second meeting in a week against the Belgians after the two sides had drawn 1-1 in the group stages.

England had been looking good to reach the medal matches after topping their group only to come unstuck in the last eight and then lose to Argentina as they contested fifth to eighth.

But two goals for East Grinstead's David Condon in the first and second quarter and one for his club team-mate Chris Griffiths on the stroke of half-time allowed England to see off Florent van Aubel's brace for Belgium in a contest to see who would avoid the wooden spoon.

England head coach Bobby Crutchley said: "Although we didn't play our best hockey I'm very pleased with the win.

"It was a difficult game with both teams missing players at the end of a long and tough tournament.

"We coped well with the physical demands out there and I think the victory was a justifiable reward for the overall performances during the last week of competition."

Many of the England squad, including the Beeston quartet, will now return to their clubs for the indoor season, which culminates in the Hockey 5s Indoor Finals at SSE Arena, Wembley on Sunday, January 25. 

ONE of the biggest supporters of extending Nottingham's tram system is to step down as a councillor in May.

Steve Barber, Labour, has represented the Beeston Rylands on Broxtowe Borough Council for the last eight years.

He was chair of a group supporting extending the tram to Beeston before he was first elected in May 2007.

And since then, he has continued to back the extension until it was approved by Government in 2011 and has said he would like to see further extensions to Kimberley.

Mr Barber said he would continue "playing until the final whistle" at the elections in May.

He added: "The over-riding reason is health. I have high blood pressure which was the reason for my early retirement and I am not a person who can sit back once in a position.

"When I took office 8 years ago I set out a series of major aims and I now look back on these. The tram, although more painful largely due to the Utilities, it is now almost finished.

"Beeston Station, I wanted to see patronage top 500,000. It's easily broken this record with year on year growth to become the third busiest in Nottingham and Notts.

"It has been a pleasure and honour to deal with the many items which have come from the people who matter: residents."

A café that once featured in Auf Wiedersehen, Pet could be knocked down and replaced with a Mercedes garage.

The Clifton Bridge Café, in Wilford's Clifton Lane, is subject to plans by landowner Pentagon Investments Ltd to turn it into a commercial vehicle sales dealership and workshop.

It was run by three generations of the same family for more than 50 years until it closed in January.

The transport café, often used as a resting point for lorry drivers, featured in TV shows Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, Z Cars, Woof! and Crossroads.

But now it could be demolished along with two adjoining houses as part of the planning application being considered by Nottingham City Council.

Lily Dawson, 86, has lived at the Stepping Stones Retirement Park next door for 26 years.

She said: "I was sad to see it close and miss the café because it was a good place to go for a quick coffee and we used to see some nice people."

Her son John Dawson, 64, of Ruddington, said: "I used to go there every day when I worked as a binman. It was open 24 hours a day and was well-used.

"It looks like a ghost town at the moment so it would be good to make the area look nicer - Mercedes would be a good addition."

Malcom Duck, 84, of Somerton Avenue in the Silverdale estate, Wilford, said: "I'd rather see it turned into an Aldi because the nearest one for us is in Radford. It would be a good size for that type of store."

Clifton North ward city councillor Roger Steel, a planning committee member, said he had "fond memories" of visiting the café.

He said: "I'd pop in for beans on toast at any time of the day and was given a great welcome.

"It was a local dynasty and I was sad to see it close. It was a well-used facility - like the McDonald's of it's day with food served at any time."

The last people to run the café were Frank and Sue Moran, who had been there since 1986. They said they worked there for seven days a week before selling it in November last year.

The proposed scheme would see the site taken over by Mertrux, owned by Pentagon Investments and an East Midlands dealer for Mercedes-Benz.

It would sell and maintain commercial vehicles, including lorries, vans and cars.

The dealer has another site on the Willow Road industrial estate in Lenton but it said in a planning statement it "falls well short of (Mercedes') corporate franchise requirement".

Mertrux would use both sites, with the sales operation and van servicing based at the 5,800 sqm Clifton Lane branch.

MUM Abbie Gillott says she is fed up with the persistent flea problem in her council house - and is worried that her newborn baby will start getting bitten if they stay there any longer.

Miss Gillott, who lives in a Nottingham City Homes rented house in Frinton Road, Broxtowe, said she has tried everything to get rid of the parasites since moving into the property on October 20, but nothing seems to work.

And she says she has been waiting weeks for Nottingham City Council to deal with the problem for the second time.

She said: "I was happy when I moved into the property but when I started to put the heating on I noticed the fleas coming out. They were everywhere - it was horrible."

The 19-year-old - who was eight months pregnant at the time - said she got in touch with Nottingham City Council straight away, and even sent them a sample of a flea when requested.

But she claims they took a while to respond, so paid £80 for someone private to come out and spray the house.

She said the property was sprayed again by the council a few days later.

"After it was sprayed the first time [by the council] there wasn't much of a change - I could still see odd ones hatching, so I called them again" she added.

At this point Miss Gillott had just given birth to her son, Kayle, and was worried about him getting bitten when she brought him home.

She said: "The council asked for me to send another sample but I said I couldn't do it because I had just come out of hospital and had a newborn baby. I said they should just come out because I have already had a problem."

Fearing for her son's health she took matters into her own hands and began putting down flea bombs, sprays, and powders - but to no avail.

She added: "I just need to get out of here. It is stressing me out. Nothing is working and they are still there. I have been bitten several times and if they are on me they are bound to be on him, although he hasn't been bitten yet."

Miss Gillott said in the meantime she has been staying at her partner's house David Hallam, in St Ann's.

Martin Cooke, team leader for environmental health at Nottingham City Council, said: "We are very sympathetic to Miss Gillott's situation and understand that she is concerned about her newborn baby.

"However, we were not made aware when we came out to treat the property that Miss Gillott had already instructed a private firm to do the same thing. She has also used products herself on the furnishings more than once.

"When a treatment is applied, it has to be left down for the full three weeks of the flea's breeding cycle to be effective. This is because the chemical can't kill the flea inside the egg, but only as it hatches, and the property has to be occupied and warm for this to happen.

"Unfortunately, our treatment has not been allowed to work its course and we feel that it would be unsafe to add more chemicals at this stage, especially with a young baby in the house. We will be contacting Miss Gillott this week to discuss the situation with her further."

Step back in time to the swinging 60s this Sunday with an old-school video of Nottingham's city centre.

The video shows clips of the Council House, the Old Market Square and the buses and traffic waltzing down the city's roads.

Tell us your favourite memory of Nottingham in the 60s in the comments below...

ENGLAND head into the final one-day international of their tour of Sri Lanka on Tuesday with question marks still hovering over the status of Alastair Cook as captain.

The 90-run defeat on Saturday at Pallekele, in which Notts' James Taylor scored only ten, meant England were 4-2 down in the series with just one ODI to play.

For Cook that is a fifth successive series defeat as captain, while his form with the bat in limited-overs cricket is also not pulling up any trees.

He has scored just 87 runs in five games on the tour thus far, as well as being suspended for one game due to a poor over rate, and has only managed one half century in his last 21 one-day internationals.

The England management remain fully behind their skipper as the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in January and February draws closer, although following their latest defeat at the weekend coach Peter Moores offered "no guarantee".

He told the media: "Alastair has said very clearly that he is very keen to carry on, and wants to remain as captain of England.

"He knows nobody has got the guarantee of that.

"I hear people say someone's unsackable. That would be a ridiculous comment.

"We've got four selectors, and we always pick what we think is the best team – and that will be no different, moving forward."

One of those selectors is Nottinghamshire director of cricket Mick Newell, who will help review the current series once over on Tuesday.

A 16-man England squad is then named on Saturday to head to Australia for a tri-series tournament against the hosts and India, with one of those players to drop out when the final World Cup squad is announced on January 7.

The Cook situation could impact on Notts duo Taylor and Alex Hales who are in competition with their skipper, as well as Ian Bell, for places at the top of the order.

Of his two games out of the six played in Sri Lanka, Hales has scored 27 batting at number three and then got a duck opening the batting when Cook was banned.

Taylor, meanwhile, has put himself in with a great chance after knocks of 90 and 68 in the fourth and fifth ODIs respectively, although his ten in the sixth fixture dented that good run of scores.

With England chasing 293 to win, after Kumar Sangakkara's 20th century in his last one-day international on his home ground, Sachithra Senanayake then got Cook out in the first over before removing Taylor for ten when the Notts Outlaws skipper went up the wicket only for the ball to slide past the closed face of his bat and dislodge the off bail.

For Harry Gurney, meanwhile, the Notts left-armer played in the first two one-day clashes on the World Cup warm-up tour but appears to have dropped out of favour as the selectors go for Steven Finn alongside Chris Woakes and Chris Jordan in their seam attack.

Unless he gets the nod in the seventh and final ODI of the tour this week in Colombo, Gurney's place in the squad for Australia and then the World Cup looks in doubt.

A60 Nottingham Rd, Mansfield

Nottingham Rd/Portland Rd/Annesley Rd, Hucknall

B6030 Sherwood Hall Rd/Clipstone Rd, Mansfield

A6191 Southwell Rd West, Mansfield

Kirkby Road, Sutton in Ashfield

Church Hill, Kirkby in Ashfield, Notts

B6040 Retford Rd, Worksop 40 limit section

A631 Gringley to Beckingham (Nr Mutton Lane)

A616 Ollerton Rd, Caunton

B6041 Kilton Hill, Worksop

Raymoth and Thievesdale Lane, Worksop

A611 Hucknall Rd, Nottingham

A6200/A52 Derby Rd, Nottingham

Beechdale Rd/Hollington Rd/Wigman Rd, Nottingham

Radford Boulevard / Lenton Boulevard, Nottingham

B6004 Strelley Rd/Broxtowe Lane/ Stockhill Lane

A6002, Bilborough Road, Nottingham

Glaisedale Drive, Bilborough, Nottingham

Nottingham Rd / Leake Rd, Gotham

B600 Nottingham Rd / Kimberley Rd, Nuthall

Shelford Road, Radcliffe on Trent

Clifton Road, Ruddington