📣 £1000 Reward 

Worcestershire antiques business Holloways is offering a substantial reward for information leading to the recovery of a £9,500 life-size bronze lion stolen from its courtyards.

Aslan has been guarding Holloways Garden Antiques courtyards in Suckley for the past five years.

Overnight on Thursday, a gang broke into the family business and lifted the 300kg bronze sculpture over a 6ft spiked metal fence before escaping across the fields.

It is thought it would have taken at least six people to lift the hefty cat, which measures 2.3m long and 1.2m high and weighs as much as a pony.

Bought from a private house sale in Leicestershire, Aslan has one paw half raised and dates back to the mid-20th century.

Since 2016, the £9,500 bronze has cut a striking figure in Holloways courtyards and was much-loved by staff and customers alike.

Now Edward Holloway, who has run furniture and antiques business Holloways with his wife Diana for the past 30 years, is offering £1,000 for information leading to the distinctive lion’s recovery.

“We’re incredibly upset that Holloways has been targeted and that Aslan has been taken,” said Edward;

“We’ve always struggled to move him around our premises and we’re absolutely astonished they managed to lift him over the fence.

“Thursday night was cold, dark and wet, and both Aslan and the ground would have been slippy.

“It would have taken six, maybe more, people to lift him and it’s highly likely they had a 4x4 to get back out across the fields without getting stuck.

“Someone must have seen something. Someone must know something.”

Edward fears the much-loved bronze was either stolen to order, or may already have been sent to be melted down – for a fraction of its value.

“We’re offering £1,000 for information which leads to Aslan's recovery,” Edward added.

“Please do get in touch with the police on the numbers below.

“This was a pretty audactious theft. Rural crime is escalating and the perpetrators need to be caught.”

The NFU Rural Crime Report 2021 shows theft in the countryside cost the UK an estimated £43.3m last year.

The insurer blames “skilled and highly-organised criminals” for the continuing plague on farms and other rural businesses.

West Mercia Police is investigating.

A spokesman said: “Anyone with any information or who may have seen the statue for sale is asked to visit https://www.westmercia.police.uk/tua/tell-us-about/ quoting reference 300 of 29 November.”

Alternatively, call Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.

Twinkling lights, mulled wine, a festive atmosphere and fabulous gifts – Christmas markets are one of England's fondest traditions.

Many cities enjoy wonderful Christmas Markets throughout the festive period, with their classic wooden chalets often showcasing local produce, wines, crafts, food and gifts.

Which is your favourite market and would you support bringing this tradition to Hereford ? Ho ho ho 🎅

Let us see if we can influence Herefordshire Council and Hereford City Council to get behind our idea to bring a tradtional Christmas Market to Hereford in the next few years.

Heartbreaking to see the devastation caused by the storm and we are sending our love to all the fabulous exhibitors who have been affected.

In a statement the organisers wrote;

IMPORTANT UPDATE | MEDIEVAL FAYRE 2021

It is with a heavy heart that we must announce that this year’s Ludlow Medieval Christmas Fayre is cancelled.

There has been too much damage on site for us to be able to make the event safe for visitors, exhibitors, performers and staff. We need today to manage the situation here at the Castle and to support our exhibitors who have been affected by the storm damage.

On Monday we will email all ticket holders with an update. If you can please bear with us on that. We are a small, family businesses and need to be here on site to recover what we can.

Thank you for all your well wishes and words of support. It means so much to us.

Abi and Prue x

Firefighters from Kington Fire Station were called out to attended RTC involving one car on the A44 at Floodgates near Kington just after 10pm.

Fire Appliance from Ross On Wye

Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service crews from Ross on Wye Fire Station attended an RTC on the A4137 St Owen's Cross at 12.39am involving one overturned vehicle and two casualties.

The A49 to St Owen's Cross was closed for several hours by Police while emergency services were at the scene of the accident.

This was the scene at Watsons Garage in Leominster this morning. Signage ripped off caused by the very strong #StormArwen winds.

Photo courtesy of Joe Warrington 

Council agrees ambitious new recycling and waste plans

Changes made for a greener future

Residents and business owners across Herefordshire will be provided with new rubbish and recycling collection arrangements from late 2023. The news follows a decision made by our cabinet members today (Thursday 25 November 2021).

The changes include a new weekly food waste collection service and a fortnightly, seasonal garden waste collection service. Currently, 40 per cent of the contents of residual waste (black bins) could be recycled. We are planning to meet stringent environmental targets identified in our waste strategy and we are introducing the service after residents told us in a consultation on collection options that more needs to be done to help increase recycling.

♻️ New rubbish and recycling collections being introduced from late 2023

The enhanced service, providing much more recycling capacity, comprises the following collection “streams”, which will improve both the quantity and quality of recycling:

♻️ New bin. Paper and cardboard will be collected separately in new 240-litre wheelie bins

♻️ Existing green bin. Metals (tins and cans), most plastics (pots, tubs, trays and bottles) and glass

♻️ Existing black bin. Anything that cannot be recycled or put into food waste

♻️ Food waste. We will provide all households with a new, 23-litre food caddy and liners 

♻️ Garden waste bin. Residents can opt for a seasonal garden waste collection

Herefordshire Council wrote, we will work with managing agents, residents associations and people who live in flats to ensure they have a service that reflects their needs and provides maximum opportunities for them to recycle. 

As is currently the case, larger families, families using disposable nappies and those with medical needs will still receive additional capacity. These are considered on a case by case basis.

The cabinet also agreed changes to our waste disposal contract that will see a 95 per cent reduction in waste being sent to landfill to just one per cent from April 2022.

Welcome news

News of the new waste arrangements was welcomed by Cllr Gemma Davies:

“We have listened to our residents who told us they wanted more opportunities to recycle. Our new system provides more capacity to recycle from 2024. We know that for people living in flats or for larger families this will not be easy. We also will be looking for ways to help people in those circumstances and will say more about that in the future.

“This is just one part of our ambitious plans for helping people to reuse more, recycle more and waste less. I am also very pleased to have secured savings on our waste disposal contract and greater protection for when recyclers want to send materials outside of Europe. I am delighted that we will be achieving a 95 per cent reduction in waste going to landfill from next April to just one per cent.”

During Lockdown, like many of you bewildered poor souls bereft of any hope for a normal life, my fragile mind became addled and it began to drift into areas that perhaps I should have avoided. One particular morning I woke up with an unusual determination to build my own Hadron Collider. I thought that if I could capture The God Particle by building my own devilish machine in my backyard shed, I’d become a wealthy man and become Herefords greatest ever living citizen.

With zeal and unbridled determination I began to diligently acquire materials and explosives that would enable me to build the Collider and capture this monumental scientific discovery, the legendary God Particle. After banging away relentlessly in the shed nailing wooden pallets together and welding a trigger mechanism that I could belt with my sledgehammer, creating a combustible explosion, it suddenly dawned on me that I didn’t know what the bloody hell i was doing and belting something with a sledgehammer was unlikely to yield anything of any importance.

And so, fully cognisant that I hadn’t got a clue about what I was doing, I went onto Google and typed in ‘How Do I Build A Hadron Collider’. Frankly, the search didn’t reveal much. Most responses were either, ‘We Don’t Know’ or Clear Off You Mad Barstard’. Anyways the point is that when you go on the internet and type in I Want To Build A Hadron Collider, this electronic transmission circulates across the globe and the great beyond.that you might be either off your head or you’re seriously thinking about creating a death machine that may bring about the end of days for all of humanity.

Happily, the security services in the United Kingdom didn’t pick up on my need to build the Hadron Collider. Chances are they concluded the idiot was no threat to humanity and the whole project was doomed to fail. Sadly, beings from beyond our own Galaxy did pick up on my message and for one reason or another they decided to journey many light years, find me, abduct me and work out whether or not I was a menace to mankind or indeed to them.

Anyways, my first abduction, one of twenty six other alien abductions, involved me laid in bed minding me own bloody business dreaming that thirty six gorgeous woman had secreted themselves in my attic.Then, at the stroke of midnight they all came tumbling out from my loft space, burst into my bedroom and over a period of several hours they violated me because they and many other women couldn’t keep their hands off me.

Twas after I told one of their number, Anne Widicombe, the celebrated former parliamentarian to clear off, be gone and return to the attic because she wasn’t having any of my manly love, that my first alien abduction began. All of a sudden, still minding me own business, I was surrounded by a bright glow of searing white light. Unable to resist and despite me screaming, ‘Call the Constable I’m Being Abducted By Aliens’ I was levitated out of the house and upwards into what I believed was their means of galactic space travel.

'Harpers Law' which introduces a mandatory life sentence to anyone convicted of killing an emergency worker whilst committing a crime.

A spokesperson for Thames Valley Police told Hereford Voice

We are delighted to say that the Government has confirmed that Harper’s Law will be introduced in memory of our late colleague PC Andrew Harper.

The law will introduce mandatory life sentences for anyone convicted of killing an emergency worker whilst committing a crime.

This move follows an unwavering campaign by his widow Lissie - supported by Sgt Andy Fiddler and the Harper's Law Team - and comes after a number of meetings with the Justice Secretary and Home Secretary.

Henry Long, Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers each received custodial sentences of between 13 and 19 years in prison for PC Harper’s manslaughter. An appeal by the Attorney General to increase their time behind bars was rejected.

Ministers are determined to make sure that punishments fit the severity of the crime and are determined to introduce the law as soon as possible.

The move extends mandatory life sentences to anyone who commits the manslaughter of an emergency worker on duty – including police, prison officers, firefighters and paramedics – while carrying out another crime unless there are truly exceptional circumstances. Courts must already impose life sentences for murder, with a whole-life order being the starting point if the victim is a police officer.

Lissie Harper said: “Emergency services workers require extra protection. I know all too well how they are put at risk and into the depths of danger on a regular basis on behalf of society. That protection is what Harper’s Law will provide and I am delighted that it will soon become a reality.

“It’s been a long journey and a lot of hard work. I know Andrew would be proud to see Harper’s Law reach this important milestone.

“I’d like to thank the teams at the Ministry of Justice and the Home Office and Dominic Raab, Priti Patel and Robert Buckland for working with me to achieve this.

“I would also like to thank my incredible Harper’s Law team as well as the public for their unstinting support for such an important campaign. Those who believed that the right thing is worth doing despite the hurdles and challenges that we needed to be overcome.

“And for the families of those that this Law will provide justice for, we’re almost there. Your continued support has kept me pushing forward.”

Deputy Prime Minister, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, Dominic Raab said: “We are going to pass into law mandatory life sentences for those who unlawfully kill an emergency worker in the course of their duty. I pay tribute to Lissie Harper’s remarkable campaign.

“This government is on the side of victims and their families and we want our emergency services to know that we’ll always have their back.”

Home Secretary, Priti Patel, said: “PC Andrew Harper’s killing was shocking. As well as a committed police officer, he was a husband and a son. It is with thanks to the dedication of Lissie and his family that I am proud to be able to honour Andrew's life by introducing Harper's Law.

"Those who seek to harm our emergency service workers represent the very worst of humanity and it is right that future killers be stripped of the freedom to walk our streets with a life sentence.”

The move follows recent government action to protect police, prison officers, firefighters and paramedics and ensure those who seek to harm them feel the full force of the law. This includes plans to double the maximum penalty for assaulting them to two years’ imprisonment

Weapons and firearms surrendered for destruction to officers at Hereford police station following the current national knife amnesty.

'Operation Sceptre' knife amnesty is currently running nationally, where people can drop any knives into the drop boxes located at various police stations across the country with 'No Questions Asked'

Operation Sceptre is a national initiative which takes place twice a year, and aims to reduce knife crime by targeting those carrying weapons, disrupting the supply of knives, raising awareness of the dangers of knife crime, and providing young people with alternatives to crime.

Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service crews are currently at the scene in Eign Street. 

The street is currently closed from Steels Garage to Sainsbury's due to the on going fire at the building adjacent to the Old Eye Hospital location.

Firefighters bravely entered the burning building initially to get the fire under control.

The are 8 fire appliances currently on the scene as firefighters continue to deal with the blaze.

St Mary's C of E Primary School in Credenhill, Herefordshire forced to close due to increase in Covid-19 cases.

The school will close from tomorrow (Tuesday 23rd Nov) until Monday (29th Nov).

West Mercia Police has reinforced its commitment to tackling heritage crime, including metal and rural thefts, at a recent event at Harvington Hall.

T

The event, attended by Chief Constable Pippa Mills, highlighted the use of SmartWater to help prevent metal thefts, and showcased some of the tactics utilised by the We Don’t Buy Crime team to prevent rural thefts, such as agricultural and plant machinery thefts.

During the event, CC Mills discussed the force’s efforts with Lord Faulkner, who also attended, and identified the link between heritage crime and organised crime. Lord Faulkner sits on the Metal, Stone and Heritage Crime All-party parliamentary group.

She said: “We have some vast and beautiful rural areas across the counties covered by West Mercia Police, many home to iconic heritage sites and it is vital we protect these. Understandably, rural crime has a huge impact on our local communities and I’m pleased with the work that goes on by teams right across the force. However, of course, there is always more we can do.

“We know there is often a link between heritage crime and organised crime, those involved in heritage crime are often also involved in other organised criminality, including drugs and trafficking. Heritage crime doesn’t just have an impact locally, but further afield.”

The event was led by Wyre Forest Safer Neighbourhood Team Inspector David King with support from the We Don’t Buy Crime. Insp King is also West Mercia Police’s heritage crime lead and regional lead for the West Midlands.

Heritage England recently extended funding for the National Police Cadets “Solve It” initiative. The initiative gives Volunteer Police Cadet schemes the opportunity to propose projects in response to a Heritage Challenge, giving the opportunity for young volunteers to be directly involved in looking after and making the most of their historic environment.

Heritage crime is any offence which harms the value of heritage assets and their settings, such as theft , criminal damage, arson and anti-social behaviour.

STATEMENT | "Yeomans Travel have made the difficult decision to withdraw most of their commercial bus services in the City of Hereford, the last day being New Year’s Eve, Friday 31st December 2021.

Yeomans Travel has been family owned for over a century and currently provides bus and school services, contracts, private hire and holiday tours. In September 2015 we stepped in and kept the bus services running when First closed their Hereford depot citing that it was not viable to operate with such low passenger numbers.

Most of the Hereford city bus services are run on a commercial basis without any Council subsidy. The Government had given financial support to all bus companies during the Covid crisis to keep some services operating but this finished at the end of September. Since then we have continued to operate these services without support but this is not sustainable.

In recent years, and especially since the start of the Covid pandemic, the number of passengers carried has been in slow decline as more people have bought cars and traffic congestion in the city has got steadily worse. The rise of out-of-town shopping and employment centres has also reduced demand for travel into the city centre. There have been no discussions with local operators about bus priority or traffic issues until recently when the Government unveiled a package to local councils to assist bus travel.

We are now carrying only 50% of the numbers of bus passengers that we were carrying in 2019 and this is unfortunately typical of bus services across the whole of England and like many others are also having to absorb the large increase in fuel costs.

Whilst Yeomans Travel is aware that Herefordshire Council is working on a new Bus Strategy that will involve support for bus services across the County, we are having to act now to protect the future of the Company. We are upset that the Council have not even mentioned the reason we are stopping these services in their press release. When we informed them, with the reasons behind it, they offered no assistance or asked what they could do to help other than to ask us to carry on until April. If it is not financially viable, why would we continue until then? There was not even a thank you for stepping in with six weeks’ notice and solving the problems 6 years ago when First did the same thing only on a bigger scale.

Therefore the following services will be affected from this date:

City services 71 (Credenhill), 72 (Bobblestock), 74S (Bishops School), 77A (College Green and Bobblestock circular), 79A/88 (Putson and Redhill) will be withdrawn.

Service 74 to Newton Farm will continue to operate but the route via Hunderton will be withdrawn. Service 78/78X to Rotherwas/Skylon Park will also continue to run.

We had given Herefordshire Council the statutory notice required before withdrawing these bus services and they have already published a tender to operate emergency timetables on these routes, which they also failed to mention. These will now be financially supported, if we had been offered this we would have continued operating these services which would have meant no disruption to services at all and saved a lot of time and effort all round.

There are no job losses created by these changes and we will still be operating our subsidised services throughout Herefordshire.

We would like to thank our staff for their hard work and passengers for their custom and support over the years but we cannot continue to operate something that is not commercially viable"

Local bus operator Yeomans has provided notice that it intends to withdraw a large proportion of its commercial services in Hereford from 1 January 2022.

The council has held discussions with Yeomans to request that they delay their withdrawal of services until April 2022. This would provide time for the council and local operators to plan and put in place alternatives to ensure continuity of service for people currently reliant on Yeomans bus services. Yeomans have declined this request.

The council is holding discussions with other operators regarding replacing the withdrawn services, or putting in place alternatives on a commercial basis so that some continuity of service might be maintained. Due to the very limited timescales involved it is unclear if any operators will have sufficient time to put alternative services in place.

The council recently submitted an £18.3m funding bid to Department for Transport as part of the national bus strategy and hopes to receive additional funding to invest in buses from April 2022. Following the announcement made by Yeomans, the council has decided to bring forward plans for improvements to bus services and is requesting formal proposals from operators for an improved bus service for Hereford City. Depending on proposals and confirmation of funding from government it is hoped that new services could commence as soon as April 2022.

In the interim, the council will be seeking to tender some replacement services which will be in place from January 2022. This will guarantee the continuation of essential services, including school services, as the council progresses permanent proposals for the city network

Cllr John Harrington, Cabinet member for infrastructure and transport, said:

“The timing of the withdrawal of these commercially operated services is of great concern and does not appear to take into account the issues which will be faced by the people who use and rely on these services.

“We have been meeting with all of our local operators regularly since the beginning of the pandemic and more recently to develop proposals for an improved county network and it is disappointing that only minimum notice has been given for these significant changes”.

“There is great deal of work to do now to try and ensure that we put some temporary services in place but also to seek comprehensive proposals from operators which match our ambitions for a much improved service for the city. We have provided operators with an outline of the elements we think are important including better buses, increased service frequency and operating hours, a strong customer focus and a clear commitment to promote services and increase patronage. I think that that there are operators that share these ambitions and are keen to work in Hereford.”

How will this affect my journey?

The following routes are affected:

71/71A/71B – Credenhill - Hereford

71S – Credenhill – Whitecross School (School days)

72 – Bobblestock – Hereford

74 – Hereford – Newton Farm (Sunday service withdrawn)

74A – Hereford – Hunderton - Newton Farm

74S – Newton Farm - Hereford - Bishop's School (School days)

77A – Hereford - College Green - Holmer - Bobblestock circular

78A/78S – Skylon Park – Putson – Redhill (journeys serving Redhill withdrawn)

79A – Putson – Redhill – Hereford (peak hours)

88/88A – Hinton – Putson – The Pastures – Redhill (Saturday service withdrawn and all Monday-Friday journeys serving Redhill)

The withdrawals include school services from Credenhill to Whitecross school, and the City to Bishops school.

The council will be seeking to tender some replacement services which will be in place from January 2022. This will guarantee the continuation of essential services, including school services, as the council progresses permanent proposals for the city network

An update on alternative arrangements for school services will be provided through schools in early December.

Yeomans had already withdrawn the 75, 77, 81, and 81A services, and services to St Mary’s High school in September 2021.

Yeomans has provided the statutory minimum notice of 4 weeks to the council after which time it will provide the Traffic Commissioner with a further 6 weeks’ notice.

Further information can be found on the council website: http://www.herefordshire.gov.uk/public.../bus-travel/3

How is Herefordshire Council supporting bus travel in the county?

The covid pandemic has had a significant impact on bus patronage nationally. Herefordshire Council has supported local operators by funding them at 100% of their pre-covid rates for concessionary travel throughout 2020/21 and the current financial year. It has also facilitated direct grants from government which have aimed to supplement lost revenues (Covid Bus Services Support Grant).

As part of the council’s covid recovery plan there is free weekend bus travel for all journeys within Herefordshire, funded through the government’s covid recovery fund.

During 2021 the council has progressed development of the Bus Service Improvement Plan and submitted its proposals to Government with the aim of securing additional funds to support bus services from April 2022. Development of the plan has included public consultation and engagement with all of the local bus operators. The BSIP was submitted to government by the end of October 2021 as required by the national bus strategy and will be assessed and inform government funding for local buses for 2022/23 to 2024/25. Government has not confirmed when funding awards will be announced but it is hoped that this will be well before the end of the 2021/22 financial year to inform decision making about funding service improvements.

Pause for thoughts..

Herefordshire recycling and waste collections may change for a greener future

Changes to the way they provide the county’s recycling and waste collection and waste disposal services are set to be considered at a cabinet meeting to be held next week (Thursday 25 November).

With tough new environmental standards on the horizon, keeping things as they are now is not an option, after the council received over 3600 responses to its consultation earlier in the year. In response, 86 per cent said ‘more needs to be done to reduce rubbish and increase recycling’; while 60 per cent accepted ‘the need to change the current rubbish and recycling system’. Over half (56 per cent) of residents favour a separate food waste collection.

If agreed, from late 2023, the changes will see a new weekly food waste collection service and a fortnightly seasonal garden waste collection service. Currently 40 per cent of the contents of the county’s residual waste bins could be recycled and residents have told us more needs to be done.

Herefordshire Council are therefore proposing an alternate three-weekly collection service of paper and card on week 1, plastic, cans and glass on week 2 and all other residual waste of week 3.

Separating paper and card from other recyclables will lead to more being accepted by recycling companies for recycling into new products than is the case now. Overall, residents will have much more recycling capacity and, if successful, will be part of an ambitious attempt by the council to achieve some of the highest recycling rates in the country.

Changes to the way they collect recycling and waste underpin ambitious environmental targets agreed by cabinet last July to reduce household waste by 36 per cent to less than 330kg a year and more than double the county’s reuse and recycling rates from 40 per cent to 85 per cent by 2035. Herefordshire Council hope to end sending any waste to landfill at all by 2035. All this is part of their commitment to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2030

The contract with the current waste and recycling collection partner is due to end in 2023 and cannot be extended. Cabinet will be asked to agree to readvertise the service to the industry. Cabinet will also be asked to exercise an option to agree extending the present waste and recycling disposal contract for a further five years.

If agreed, this will drive further savings for the council on the cost of the disposal contract to help pay for the new collection service. The extension would also secure immediate environmental benefits. These include a 95 per cent reduction in the amount of waste sent to landfill from 20 per cent to just one per cent from April 2022 and steps to ensure all recycled materials can be audited and traced if being sent outside Europe.

As is currently the case, they will work with managing agents, residents associations and people who live in flats to ensure they have a service that reflects their needs but provides maximum opportunities for them to recycle.

For very large families, or for people with medical needs, the council will continue to offer additional waste capacity as they do now.

Hereford planners have approved a proposed new office and manufacturing building and associated development including external timber storage racking, car parking and landscaping for Taylor Made.

Plans | Collins Designs & Build & Project Management Pontrilas Hereford

The company have outgrown their current premises in Twyford Road, Rotherwas in Hereford where they employ over 30 staff however, this new facility located on the Skylon Enterprise Zone will give the firm much needed additional factory space for machinery, and enough yard space for extra storage as well as creating over 10 new jobs in the future.

Plans | Collins Designs & Build & Project Management Pontrilas Hereford

Tailor Made Designs Ltd specialise in the design and manufacture of Roof Trusses and Posi-Joists with a nationwide delivery service. Their customers include individual home owners, builders, developers and builder merchants.

At 12 noon today the A49 remains closed in both directions following a fatal accident early this morning.

A force spokesman told Hereford Voice - "Officers from West Mercia Police were called to a single-vehicle collision on the A49 at Harewood End shortly after 7am this morning (Wednesday 17 November).

The car has hit a wall. Ambulance crews also attended and treated the male driver of the vehicle but sadly he died at the scene.

His next of kin have been informed. Road closures are in place for investigation work but are expected to be removed shortly.

Anyone who has any information is urged to call 101 or visit our website, quoting incident 063i of 17 November 2021 or report it online via our website www.westmerciapolice.uk/tua/tell-us-about/

Alternatively, if you have information but don’t feel comfortable speaking to police, you can speak to the independent charity Crimestoppers.

It is 100 per cent anonymous, they never ask your name and they cannot trace your call or IP address. You can contact them online or by calling 0800 555 111."