Lawful owners of certain weapons can begin to surrender them to the police from today as part of a three month scheme launched by the Home Office.

The weapon surrender scheme runs from today, Thursday 10 December 2020 until Tuesday 9 March 2021, where those owning particular weapons can hand them over to police and submit a compensation claim from the Home Office.

The Offensive Weapons Act 2019 contains measures to make it unlawful to possess certain offensive weapons– including rapid firing rifles and specific types of knives such as flick knives and zombie knives.

West Mercia Police will be accepting offensive weapons – those detailed in the Offensive Weapons Act 2019 - at front counters at the following police stations; Kidderminster, Redditch, Worcester, Hereford, Telford and Shrewsbury.

Those with legally held firearms that are affected are being contacted directly by the Firearms licencing unit with specific instruction on surrender and compensation.

Assistant Chief Constable Rachel Jones said: “Supporting this Home Office initiative is part of our commitment to tackling violence together with our partners and the public. It is only by working together that we will reduce violence including street violence and domestic abuse.

“For those weapons that are not detailed in the Offensive Weapons Act, there will also be knife bins at every station so they can be deposited safely.”

If you have information about someone you suspect to be in possession of an illegal weapon, you can contact West Mercia Police through the 101 number or via our website. Any information received is always dealt with in the strictest confidence.

If you have information but don’t want to speak to police, then you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or by visiting their website Crimestoppers-UK.org They are 100% anonymous and totally independent of the police. They never ask your name, they cannot trace your call or I.P address and no one ever knows that you’ve passed on information.

Young people can find advice by visiting Fearless.Org Full details on the Home Office surrender scheme can be found here.

It may be the season of good will but please consider that everything may not be as it seems.

In recent weeks Hereford Cops (Hereford city SNT) has seen an influx of Romanian Nationals who are begging and claiming to be homeless and hungry.

On making enquiries the Police have established that these individuals are part of a travelling group of beggars from South Wales.

Police have also today removed 3 Romanian nationals from the City Centre again claiming to be homeless and begging.

CCTV tracked these individuals to a waiting vehicle where they were spoken to and established they are all housed in Boston, Lincolnshire and have travelled to Hereford to beg.

Please!!!! If you want to give money to the homeless please consider doing so through a registered charity otherwise you should consider that your “donation” to some of those on the streets may not be used for the purpose it was intended.

Source: Hereford Cops

Joe William Stafford pleaded guilty to being over the legal limit with 89 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath (legal limit is 35) when he appeared before magistrates in Hereford this week.

Police were called after receiving reports that a motorist had driven the wrong way along a one-way street and had crashed into the Central Bakery in Leominster before fleeing the scene back in November which we reported here.

We have been advised that Mr Stafford had sent the bakery and a letter of apology along with a cheque for £500.

Magistrates in Hereford disqualified Stafford from driving for 18 months and fined him £326 with costs of £135 and a £34 victim surcharge which he must pay.

Hannah Lewis who is a director of the bakery has been in touch with us and she has informed us that the police have not been in touch to inform her of the court case and merely took a statement over the phone. A police officer arrived the following day (5th of November) asking her to sign her statement but she is very disappointed not to have heard back from the police since.

Hannah also told us that she had received a letter from Mr Stafford along with a cheque for £500 and has repeatedly asked for advice from the police about this but is very disappointed that she has yet not received a single reply.

Massive congratulations to our good friend Giovanni Calandra who is today celebrating 10 years of trade in Church St, Hereford with his fabulous store Calandras Menswear.

Calandras Menswear Church Street Hereford.

In Giovanni's own words;

Quote

'Here’s to the future and many more years of trade in the greatest city on earth Hereford'

We couldn't have said it any better!!

Now is the perfect time to pop in if you're looking for that special gift for Christmas..

Resurfacing works scheduled to take place between Wednesday, 16 December and Friday the 18 December along Green Croft, Redhill Hereford have now been postponed. 

The works have been rescheduled to take place during the school half term week of Monday, 15 February 2021.

Here is a pick me up for all those people locked down and in need of getting back to normality.

https://youtu.be/yPDkCOJO3pc
 

A huge congratulations to firefighter John Nicholls. This week he was presented with his 30 year service award.

John joined Kingsland fire station in June 1990 and has given 24 hour “on call” availability throughout his long career.

A fantastic achievement. Well done John

#herefordnews #positivehereford

Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service have been at the scene of the fire at Special Metals in Holmer Road Hereford since late this afternoon with support from Leominster Fire Station crews.

Emergency services responded to reports of a serious accident in Moreton-on-Lugg early this afternoon.

A spokesperson for West Midlands Ambulance Service said:

Quote

"We were called at 1.41pm to a bridge near the railway crossing on Moreton on Lugg.

"An ambulance, paramedic officer and a Mercia Accident Rescue Service (MARS) BASICS emergency doctor attended and arrived to find a car which had collided with a bridge.

"The driver, a woman, was being given CPR by an off-duty nurse.

"Sadly nothing could be done to save the woman and she was confirmed dead a short time later on scene."

A planning application has been submitted to Herefordshire Council for consent of an advertisement sign at 16 High Town, Alban House Hereford.

'Cherries & Berries of Herefordshire' a new retail store at Alban House will sell fruit and vegetables.

Birmingham-based property developer Elevate Property Group redeveloped the Grade II listed buildings destroyed by a devastating fire in October 2010. This unit before the fire was previously occupied by the Card Factory and prior to that, was The Link phone shop.

Herefordshire is one of the first area's outside of hospitals to offer the vaccine as part of the national roll out.

Bridge Street Sports Centre in Leominster will initially receive 975 doses next Monday with the elderly and vulnerable being vaccinated first. Those people will be invited to attend for their inoculation either by letter or text message.

Once people have had their first vaccination, they will make an appointment to return for their second dose around 3 weeks later.

Police are appealing for witnesses following a collision at Moreton-on-Lugg, Hereford, where a woman sadly died.

At around 1.50pm on Tuesday 8 December a Nissan Micra was travelling along the C1120 towards the A49 when the collision occurred.

Police Sergeant Andy Wortley said: “The vehicle was travelling along the road when it was in collision with a bridge which crosses over the River Lugg.

“While investigations are on-going to establish the circumstances surrounding this incident, we are appealing to anyone who may have witnessed the collision or has dash cam footage to come forward.”

Sadly, the driver, who was in her 80s and the only occupant in the vehicle, died at the scene and our thoughts are with her family and friends at this very difficult time.

Anyone with information or footage is asked to report it here on the West Mercia Police website or call 101 quoting incident 301i of 8 December or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

The vehicle crashed into the main entrance.

Other vehicles in the area also suffered damage. Early reports indicate that the driver failed to stop.

In a message on their FB page Central Bakery wrote

Quote

"Despite the drama this afternoon/evening....the shop will still be open tomorrow at 8am until 2pm as usual.

We will not been beaten..#justcarryonregardless

Thank you for all your kind wishes and help. We appreciate it"

In light of this challenge to their business in these extraordinary times, it is wonderful to hear such a 'positive' response from the bakery. Well done to their team and we wish you good luck in the future.

#herefordvoice #positiveleominster #herefordshire

In future the council will need to provide a food waste collection. Will this reduce your household waste?

Herefordshire Council need to know your views on what the future of rubbish & recycling collection looks like to you in the county:

Take the survey

The application details:

Quote

Proposed refurbishment and amalgamation of existing building and site layout to create a single retail unit (Class E); creation of a new shop front and entrance extension with associated cladding; reconfigured car parking including parent and child spaces; trolley corral; bollards; and associated works.

Planning application P203578/F full details 

Vehicle failed to stop for Police and a pursuit commenced, after some handy work from Leominster Police and the bed of nails it soon came to an abrupt end! Both occupants arrested.

International singer Feargal Sharkey most widely known as the lead vocalist of punk band The Undertones in the 1970s and 1980s, and for solo works in the 1980s and 1990s has condemned the recent work carried out along the banks of the River Lugg in Herefordshire and has urged the Environment Agency and others to prosecute the perpetrator in a Tweet.

In another Tweet, Sharkey challenges the Environment Agency (Midlands) asking them why didn't they act after the were alerted to the work that was taking place at the River Lugg.

Environmental campaigning

Sharkey is a lifelong fly fisherman and has campaigned against the pollution of British rivers. 

We reported on this story and in a follow up article earlier this week and now many questions are being asked even though there are some local people who are pleased with the work that has been done.

What are your thoughts?

One of the Renaissance wall paintings at Church House Farm in Herefordshire. Photograph: Courtesy of John Stevenson

Quote

A discovery of exceptional Renaissance wall paintings at a Herefordshire farmhouse has prompted a leading expert to warn that the chances of such treasures surviving in domestic settings in Britain are falling because owners are destroying them by modernising their homes.

Stephen Rickerby, who is a consultant to the Getty Conservation Institute and works closely with the Courtauld Institute and English Heritage, was taken aback by the “stunning and extremely high quality” of paintings dating from the late 16th and early 17th centuries that have been uncovered at Church House Farm in Wellington.

Although the Herefordshire discovery was made in 2018, it has taken until now to expose the full scheme of paintings, as well as to consult historians, including specialists from Historic England, and to plan its conservation.

The owners have had to move out of their bedroom into a spare room. The coronavirus lockdown has delayed plans to apply for a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund as it could involve up to £20,000 for painting restoration.

Article: The Guardian 5th December 2020

It's not only rivers that are at risk with this urge to modernise and improve for the natural beauty of things to disappear.