Hereford Voice

The Midlands Air Ambulance arrived at the scene in Whitecross just after 09:00 and joined other emergency responders and ambulance crews. A spokesperson from the West Midlands Ambulance Service told Hereford Voice; 'West Midlands Ambulance Service were called to reports of a medical emergency on Marlowe Drive at 09:06 and sent two ambulances, a paramedic officer and the Midlands Air Ambulance from our Strensham base to the scene" "Upon arrival we discovered one male patient who was in a critical condition and already receiving medical attention from bystanders. Ambulance staff administered advanced life support but sadly, despite everyone’s best efforts, it became apparent nothing could be done to save the man and he was confirmed dead at the scene"

😂 We Gotcha !! 🤣 Sshh 🤫 Don't tell anyone, we need to see how many fall for this one!

New parking charges will come into force from tomorrow (Friday 1st April 2022) at the Old Market Shopping Centre in Hereford. We have created a table below showing the existing charges on the left and the new charges on the right. There are 606 parking spaces with 26 disabled and 18 parents and child spaces (height restriction of 2.25 metres for the car park).

WOW! Our latest LIVE HD Camera today reached 50,000 unique visitors and this camera only went live last month!! How is that for promoting Hereford!! The view overlooking the Old Bridge looking beautiful this morning. LIVE view captured at 07:50 today Check out the Panoramic views of The Old Bridge and River Wye in Hereford with our 24/7 LIVE Stream, hosted by our good friends at The Left Bank Village LIVE FEED https://hfd.news/i50 Hereford Voice are members of the Skyline network of high definition panoramic webcams scattered around the world with the sole goal of promoting tourism, art and culture! Web | www.herefordlive.uk Host | https://theleftbankvillage.co.uk Follow us to keep up to date with all the latest news and events in Herefordshire #HerefordVoice | #HerefordNews | #HerefordLIVE

Herefordshire Council’s museum service has launched a campaign to raise the funds necessary to ‘bring the hoard home to Herefordshire’. The Herefordshire Hoard is a very significant treasure that experts believe may have been buried by the Viking Great Army over 1100 years ago. Discovered in a field near Leominster, it includes three items of gold jewellery, a silver ingot and 29 silver coins, including a number of rare ‘two emperor’ coins. Organisers are applying to heritage and art funders, corporate bodies and other interested parties to help raise funding towards the £776,250 purchase price of the hoard. The aim is to raise most of the necessary funding through those professional bodies. If successful, the hoard could be given a permanent new home in the redeveloped, council-run Hereford Museum and Art Gallery*. More details on the hoard can be found at herefordshirehoard.org.uk. Hoard set to attract more visitors to Herefordshire The hoard has a truly significant heritage and cultural value and acquiring it would enhance the county’s heritage status and the museum’s collections, which are held in trust for the people of Herefordshire. As well as being of interest to the county’s residents, the hoard is expected to attract significant numbers of visitors from across Britain and beyond. This will help stimulate the visitor economy and benefit local businesses. This has been the experience of the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery and Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, which houses the Staffordshire Hoard. Councillor Gemma Davies, cabinet member for commissioning, procurement and assets, says: “The Herefordshire Hoard is part of the county’s history. The fact that some of the coins from different kingdoms share designs and features actually changes our understanding of the relationship between Wessex and Mercia at the time. The hoard would be an invaluable asset for Hereford Museum and Art Gallery, for the county as a whole and for anyone with the slightest interest in history. I really look forward to seeing it where it belongs, in Herefordshire.” Jane Adams, chair of Herefordshire Museum Service Support Group (HMSSG), adds: “It’s really important that this collection is on public display where it was found. For example, bringing the Herefordshire Hoard home will mean that all schoolchildren studying the Anglo-Saxon and Viking period will be able to examine evidence from our local region.” Vikings to invade Hereford on Sunday 10 April! HMSSG also hopes to raise £70,000 from the public towards the purchase of the hoard. People will be able to give cash donations during an event held between 10.30-3.30pm on Sunday 10 April at Hereford Rowing Club. This free, fun family day will feature a Viking village as well as a range of activities to suit all ages. The rowing club will be serving hot and cold snacks and drinks as visitors enjoy a flavour of life during Viking times. Treasure hunters will be able to meet members of a metal detector club, who will offer advice on declaring valuable finds. Visitors will be invited to dress up in traditional Viking clothing and try their hand at everyday Viking crafts and enjoy displays of shield and combat skills. And experts will be on hand to explain the hoard and tell you about the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse invaders during the event. Judy Stevenson, team leader at Herefordshire Museum Services, says: “The stretch of River Wye alongside Hereford Rowing Club will provide a beautiful and appropriate backdrop to our Viking-themed family fun day. “In many ways, we’re very fortunate because Viking culture seems to be more popular than ever, thanks to series like Vikings Valhalla and The Last Kingdom on Netflix. They have helped renew interest in Anglo-Saxon history. Among activities to suit all ages, we also have real experts providing some surprising details of our Viking invaders. Many people know the Vikings caused mayhem in small towns and villages over 1000 years ago. But there is much more to them than that, as our experts will reveal. We also have replicas of the Herefordshire Hoard on display so people will be able to get a sense of how skilful people were over 1000 years ago. The hoard is a really beautiful and surprising treasure. “The event hopes to raise awareness of what life was like in 9th century England, before it was a united kingdom. We also hope those who can will make a small donation towards our campaign to bring the hoard home to Herefordshire.”

Friday 25th marked the official opening of the international Ferrous Festival of Artist Blacksmithing with a ceremonial ribbon cutting by the Right Worshipful, The Mayor of Hereford, Cllr Paul Stevens, accompanied by Cllr Sebastian Bowen, Chairman of Herefordshire Council. Ferrous 22 brings an abundance of exhibitions, talks and events to Hereford over 10 days, hosted in both established and pop-up spaces around the city centre. From international exhibitions, such as Sharing is Caring II, to live forging demonstrations, there is something for visitors of all ages. Now in its 3rd year, with previous festivals held in 2017 and 2019, Ferrous celebrates the craft of blacksmithing and Herefordshire’s own reputation for blacksmithing excellence. This popular festival welcomes visitors from near and far, through its offering of events and activities that allow everyone to discover the world of forged metal. “It gives me enormous pleasure and pride to declare the 3rd Ferrous Festival open. It is wonderful to see a world class event returning to Hereford and I encourage everyone to try to see it.” - Mayor of Hereford, Cllr Paul Stevens. The Ferrous team invite you to explore the various exhibitions, demonstrations, talks and workshops that are available both over the main weekend and throughout the full 10 days of the festival, including a free walking trail on the LoyalFree app, designed to connect visitors with nature, as they uncover the various permanent metalwork sculptures on display around Hereford. Ferrous Festival is produced in partnership with Hereford City Life and Hereford College of Arts.

A ten-day festival of artist blacksmithing begins on 25 March, bringing an array of exciting events to Hereford City Centre. Created in partnership with Hereford City Life and Hereford College of Arts, Ferrous Festival showcases cutting edge work and ideas, with international exhibitions hosted alongside popular attractions. Visitors are encouraged explore the city centre and discover the world of forged metal. Must-see festival highlights include: {Queer} + {Metals} This Craftspace exhibition is co-curated by Dauvit Alexander and Deirdre Figueiredo in collaboration with Rebekah Frank. It features artists including jeweller John Moore, jeweller and drag artist Fei He, knife maker Gilbert Hadden and metalsmith Theo Somerville-Scott, amongst others. Queer + Metals explores the multiplicity of queerness—whether as identity, lived experiences, thinking, cultures, aesthetic, influences, stories, place, and imagination—in relation to metalwork and metalsmithing. Planet of the Blacksmiths For the first time, Japanese photographer, Jun Ishikura’s photographs of blacksmiths in their forges around the world will been shown in the UK. Jun travelled to many different places to create the incredible collection of work on show and it is fascinating to see the similarities and the differences in the way that the blacksmithing community work in the many different countries represented in Jun’s photographs. Live Forging Forging at Ferrous has once again captured the imagination of visitors, with tickets for the popular Have a Go Forgingevent selling out in advance. Visitors can watch as experienced Hereford Anvils blacksmiths guide novice makers through forging their own tree support at the Live Forging tent in High Town or visit the Old Market Shopping Centre to see demonstrations at The Nowhere Forge, a mobile blacksmithing workshop run by Simon Bushell. Ferrous Festival will officially open tomorrow morning at 8:30am with a ribbon cutting by the Mayor of Hereford, Cllr Paul Stevens. Live forging begins at 9:30am, with exhibitions opening between 10:00am and 11:00am. Learn more at www.ferrousfestival.co.uk

Herefordshire Council continues on its improvement path with planned major investment in Children’s Social Care Services. A recommendation to Cabinet, published today, requests a £11.49m investment to help ensure Children’s Social Care Services are adequately resourced and that we provide the foundations for a more secure and resilient service for the future. Chief Executive, Paul Walker said: Corporate Director for Children and Young People, Darryl Freeman said: Previous investment in Children’s Social Care Services has already led to increased stability of workforce, reduced caseloads for some staff, increased levels of personal and case supervisions, and increased frequency of visits to children and young people and their families. The additional £11.49m funding will allow for significant and lasting improvements to reduce caseloads for Social Workers, provide more frequent and better supervision and management of our social care staff, and allow us to make more changes, more quickly to improve our social work practice for children and families in Herefordshire. Funding for the investment is being allocated from the Resilience Reserves, which is a fund to address unexpected organisational costs and help support the organisation in a time of need. The total amount currently held in Resilience Reserves is £16.7m. Herefordshire Council Cabinet will consider the decision at its meeting on Thursday 31 March.

Humour | Our friend and local DJ Ian Davies posted this earlier and we thought it was hilarious and thought we would share it will our followers, certainly made us laugh! Ian Davies wrote - "Only in Hereford, photo taken 23rd March 2022"

A political row has broken out after plans to improve England’s most expensive piece of tarmac with tree planters was linked to council tax increases. Conservative Herefordshire councillor Ann-Marie Probert has slammed the proposals to install tree planters along Hereford’s City Link Road as ‘disgusting’, arguing that the money should be used for other purposes, including lowering council tax but Independent for Herefordshire's Cllr John Harrington said: ‘The City Link Road, which Coun Probert criticises, perhaps not realising was a Conservative led scheme, was badly designed and badly thought out and has cost £30 million for less than a mile of tarmac, with no segregated cycle path and a huge ugly central reservation.’ ‘We have managed to secure funding to put tree planters along the road that can be re-used when we are able to put in a proper tree planting system. This is not money raised through council tax, this is capital funding, raised and ring-fenced, that can only be used for this purpose - I know Ann-Marie is a relatively new councillor but she needs to get her basic facts right.’ The furore has been caused by calls from the Conservative councillor to ‘help residents first’. Defending the decision Coun Harrington said: ‘We have done exactly that. We have trebled the support for anyone who is struggling with council tax, but we cannot divert money from capital projects specifically for identified works, into revenue pots for running services. If Ann-Marie wants to help residents first then she should lobby her political masters in Westminster who have told councils they must ‘wash their own faces’ and ensure that services are funded by local taxes.’ ‘We've lost £100 million a year in revenue coming in when you compare 2022 to 2010 and both her Conservative MPs voted for those devastating cuts - has she expressed her disgust towards them? This is not our decision; this is Conservative Party policy. We know how hard increased cost of living will be for many and therefore set aside wide-ranging support for anyone struggling.’ Coun Harrington said that deadlines for spending £6 million budget, half of which was from a grant from the Marches Local Enterprise Partnership, for the city centre improvement scheme were looming. ‘I took the decision not to dig up High Town, as planned by the previous Conservative administration, because I couldn’t justify two years of disruption to traders as a building site moved around High Town simply to replace a surface, that needs minimal repair, with a complete excavation and relaying with several millions pounds worth of Chinese granite.’ Coun Harrington said he had instructed that some of the funds were diverted instead to make improvements to the Widemarsh pavements which ‘have long been overdue and which the Conservatives refused to address’. The funds also ensure the Cycle Contraflow proposals for St Owens Street go ahead and improve the street scene around Hereford. Tree planters were chosen as they could be moved for the May Fair in the City and would give planners time to consider where to plant the planned increase of trees in the ground. ‘This has nothing to do with council tax’ said Coun Harrington, adding: ‘every councillor should know that. This is about spending funds ring-fenced for specific jobs that are important to Hereford, have been identified as needing attention for many years, and will start the process of improving air quality and the aesthetics of the county’s important mother city.’

Test your detective skills as the game opens at Hereford Cathedral starting 21 April 2022. Exciting challenge for all ages To celebrate National Lottery Open Week, Hereford Cathedral is excited to announce the launch of its new Escape Room; an immersive clue-cracking and decoding game, hosted in the Old Chapel in the Cloisters. Get a team together and book a session to test your skills this Easter! It is 1890. You have been accused of embezzling money from the funds of the Vicars Choral. The police have been called and are on their way. You have been shut in the Old Chapel until the police arrive, and you have just one hour to work out who has committed the crime. If you can successfully convince your guard that you are innocent, you will be released before the police arrest you...Can you prove that you are innocent? Jess Stallwood, Events Officer, is very pleased to launch the Escape Room and welcome visitors in to try out the game; “this is such an exciting thing to introduce to our current events programme! We believe this is a unique offering and one which the team here at Hereford Cathedral can be proud to own.” The experience lasts one hour and is suitable for groups of up to six people. Each session costs £45. Booking is available on selected days throughout the year, so please keep an eye on the cathedral website for future dates across the year. The first sessions are available to book on Thursday 21 & Saturday 23 April. For more information, please visit https://www.herefordcathedral.org/.../escape-room-april2022. The Escape Room was developed as part of the Eastern Cloisters Project which was supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and other donors. The Eastern Cloisters Project was a major project to renovate the buildings of the College of Vicars Choral, built in 1475, which are home to many of the cathedral staff as well as housing offices. The project was completed in 2021, and has enabled this beautiful and tranquil area to be opened up to the public for events and activities by creating a more accessible space, improving the facilities throughout, and offering new reception rooms for hire.

1️⃣ Capooches is a Dog Outfitters, Specialising in Collars, Leads, Harnesses, Coats and a selection of Premium Healthy Foods & Natural Treats for your pups! Opening today in Capuchin Yard just off Church St in Hereford If you love Dogs you'll just adore Capooches Pop along and say hello to Hereford's latest Doggy Boutique. 2️⃣ Pear-Laine Lingerie are opening their exclusive lingerie store in Broad Street Hereford this morning. They have a huge selection of bra's including first bra, maternity, post surgery, mastectomy, special occasion and sport! They have also teamed up with a couple of breast cancer charities. Against Breast Cancer have even supplied a bin so you can donate your old bra’s to be recycled for charity when you come in for a nice good fitting new one. Hereford Voice wishing Anna Barnes and her family good luck 3️⃣ Wren Kitchens grand opening is also today! Wren Kitchens have now moved into the unit formally occupied by Harveys on the Newtown Road Retail Park (next to Curry's) Wren Kitchens is a privately owned British designer, manufacturer, and retailer of kitchens. It has over 106 stores nationwide, employing over 4,000 people throughout the UK. The majority of their kitchen components are manufactured in England. Hereford Store is the latest state-of-the-art showroom offering a huge selection of kitchens. Let us celebrate Hereford and all the good things that our wonderful city has to offer. Hereford Voice will also be announcing some exciting news soon! ❤️ Please share our positivity ❤️ 🔸Shop local and visit some of our fabulous local independent retailers including all those lovely shops, cafes and boutiques in The Independent Quarter and Hereford Butter Market 🔸Outdoor markets and events in the city centre are very popular and bring vibrancy, together with some unique products and produce from many independent traders. 🔸Take a walk along the River Wye and stroll over the Victoria Jubilee Bridge or just relax on the Castle Green. We love our city and county and we like to shout about it and promote everything POSITIVE. It's all too easy to moan but we are truly privileged to live in such a beautiful part of the World. Hereford Voice will continue with our efforts to promote local business and encourage people to visit Hereford and Herefordshire. Join us in our campaign and 'BE POSITIVE' about this fabulous city of ours. 'Positive Hereford' 'Embrace Hereford' Follow our latest hashtag #EmbraceHereford #HerefordVoice | #HerefordNews | #PositiveHereford

Hope Maintenance and its director, Garry Ridley, pleaded guilty to three charges at Hereford Magistrates court on 22 February 2022. The company and director were ordered to pay a total of £318.00 in fines and costs. The court heard that in June 2021, enforcement officers from Herefordshire Council investigated a report of fly-tipping on private land at Caplor Farm in Hereford, where Hope Maintenance is based. Officers found evidence of fly-tipping and carried out a full investigation. Garry Ridley was discovered to be promoting waste collection services on Hope Maintenance’s Facebook page. He admitted collecting waste from an address in Hereford for £25.00 in cash. He then dumped the waste in a field at Caplor Farm to save paying to dispose of the waste legally. Hope Maintenance received a fine of £100.00, was ordered to pay costs of £100 and received a victim surcharge of £34.00. Garry Ridley was fined £50.00 and was ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £34.00. Marc Willimont, Herefordshire Council’s head of public protection, says: “Although we are very disappointed with the low level of fines and costs awarded by the court, despite the evidence we provided, we are pleased this case was proven. We very much hope it will deter others from breaking the law by exploiting their own land to dispose of their waste. “Unlawful waste disposal and fly-tipping costs council tax payers tens of thousands of pounds every year. Businesses do this to avoid the cost of disposing of their waste lawfully. All businesses must ensure appropriate measures are in place so the waste they produce is disposed of correctly. Businesses must also have documentation to show who they have transferred the waste to and keep those records for at least two years. Anyone found fly-tipping waste will be prosecuted.” The maximum penalty for fly-tipping is a £50,000 fine and/or five years’ imprisonment. The council’s community protection team regularly carries out spot checks on waste carriers. The team investigates unlawful waste disposal and fly-tipping cases reported via Herefordshire Council’s website or by calling 01432 261761. Residents and businesses can visit www.herefordshire.gov.uk/rubbish-recycling for information about responsible, legal waste disposal.

Update | The application for planning by Lidl is correct and will appear on the Council website portal within the next 10 days or so. The hotel is still operating and fulfilling current and future bookings as normal.

Hereford Voice have learned that plans are about to be submitted to turn the Three Counties Hotel on the notorious Belmont Road in Hereford into a Lidl Supermarket. The A465 is possibly the worst main road into the city with daily congestion, adding another supermarket here would just make this road even worse. There are often huge queues of traffic waiting to enter the McDonalds Drive-Thru regularly blocking the road in both directions. On the plans below there is also another Drive-Thru earmarked which could possibly be a coffee Drive-Thru near to to the Brook. Local residents have already started a petition in an attempt to block this going ahead.

Bikers across Herefordshire and Worcestershire are invited to attend a free 3.5 hour ‘Biker Down’ course next month, offering potentially life-saving skills. The courses are available at: Wyre Forest Fire Station – Friday 8 April (10:00 to 13:30) Ross on Wye Fire Station – Friday 22 April (10:00 to 13:30) Worcester Fire Station – Friday 29 April (10:00 to 13:30) The Biker Down course is 3.5 hours long, and each course is limited to 15-20 attendees. Places will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis. The first course will take place at Wyre Forest Fire Station and is being run by Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service. 🔸Places must be booked in advance. Full details will be provided to course attendees once their place is confirmed. The Biker Down course is being delivered in partnership with a number of organisations who all have a vested interest in reducing motorcycle-related casualties and reducing the severity of injuries sustained, including: Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service, West Mercia Police, IAM RoadSmart and Midlands Air Ambulance Charity Designed for motorcyclists of all ages and abilities, Biker Down is a free course which offers bikers the chance to benefit from essential first-aid training and advice on what to do should they find themselves first at the scene of a collision where a motorcyclist is injured, as well as learning practical skills to help avoid being involved in a collision. The course is made up of three modules: Collision scene management, basic first aid and casualty care (including CPR and helmet removal) and ‘The science of being seen’ – advice on visibility and positioning. Biker Down is a national course which originated in Kent, and has already been adopted by numerous other areas across the UK including Warwickshire, Gloucestershire, Dyfed Powys and West Midlands. To book a place on one of these courses, please email dying2drive@hwfire.org.uk with your details (name, email address, contact telephone number, preferred course date / time) as soon as possible.

New cycle shelters to be installed in Gaol Street car park, Hereford City. Cyclists will soon have more options for where to store their bike when they visit the City, with two new Sedum (hardy, small water storing plants) cycle shelters being installed in Gaol Street car park. With room for 16 bikes, the new shelters are located close to the historic City centre offering cyclists a covered place to leave their bike during their visit, while they work or shop. The new cycle shelters, which will have lighting, have Sedum, herbs, grasses and plants on the roof, known to have many benefits for the environment. The plants will help absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen while their flowers are a great food source for bees and other pollinators. The living roof will also help to filter fine dust particles from the air and help to capture rain water. Work on the new cycle shelters is starting this week and is due to be completed by end March. The shelters are part of the improvements taking place in Hereford to further enhance the City Centre environment thanks to investment of £6million over the next two years. The investment, funded jointly by the council and Marches LEP, comes following a difficult period for local traders due to government covid restrictions, and aims to encourage people to spend more time in the City when they visit, helping to boost the local economy. Cllr John Harrington, Cabinet member for Infrastructure and Transport, said: “The new cycle shelters will match the Sedum roofed bus stops we brought in last year and will do a little but significant bit towards making the City air a little cleaner, absorbing CO2 and particulates. More significantly they will hopefully encourage people to travel to the City by bike instead of by car, knowing their bikes will be kept safe and dry, and the attractive living roof on the shelters will encourage bees and other pollinating insects. “The new cycle shelters are part of our continuing investment in our beautiful and historic City, so that everyone who visits or works there has the best possible experience and enjoys spending time there.”

Herefordshire Council has appointed its new director of public health. Matt Pearce takes up the role that puts him in charge of the health of the population of Herefordshire. Matt brings considerable experience to the role, having worked in public health for over 15 years. His career has included roles with the NHS and local government. He has a strong background in building partnerships across the public, private and community sectors to improve people’s health and wellbeing. Matt led West Berkshire Council’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic and played a key role in the integrated care partnership. A sports science graduate, he also holds a postgraduate diploma in sports development and a master’s degree in public health. Matt has a range of research interests and is visiting lecturer at the University of the West of England. He has been published in international, peer-reviewed scientific journals and has presented at national conferences. Matt Pearce says: “I am excited about joining Herefordshire Council as director of public health. The last two years have been very challenging and, as we move to the next phase of the pandemic, I am looking forward to re-focus our efforts on the general health and wellbeing of all Herefordshire’s residents.” Matt’s appointment means Dr Rebecca Howell-Jones will return to her role as consultant in public health for Herefordshire Council. Paul Walker, Herefordshire Council’s chief executive, says: “I’d like to welcome Matt Pearce as Herefordshire’s permanent director of public health and I’d like to thank Rebecca Howell-Jones for the remarkable job she did in stepping up to lead the Herefordshire Covid public health response over the last two years. This really was as big a challenge as any health chief could expect to face.”

Congratulations to The Royal National College for the Blind (RNC) 'Partially Sighted Football Team' who were proclaimed 'Championship League Winners' at the weekend with 15 points clear and 1 tournament to go. This is a significant achievement and a fabulous 150th birthday present for the College, well done to you all.

At just after 07:00 this morning Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service crews from Leominster Fire Station were called to reports of a high voltage cable arcing and giving off flames. The firefighters ensured scene safety, liaised with Western Power Distribution and assisted with access. HWFireLeominstr_480x852_1503304705795141637.mp4 Power supply to surrounding properties affected. Western Power Distribution told Hereford Voice that 86 homes in the HR6 8PR, HR6 8PP, HR6 8HW, HR6 8HP, and HR6 8HL postcodes are without power this morning due to a high voltage incident. Power is expected to be restored by 12:00noon today. HWFRS Leominster

We reported on the incident that involved emergency services closing the roads while they dealt with the casualty, which happened on the junction of union Street and Gaol Street just after 17:00 in our article here 👉 https://hfd.news/gb8 A spokesperson for West Midlands Ambulance Service told Hereford Voice "West Midlands Ambulance Service were called out at 17.07 to the junction of Union Street and Gaol Street, Hereford to reports of a low speed RTC involving a car and a pedestrian. Crews treated one woman on scene, the pedestrian, who had sustained a potentially serious injury before she was conveyed to Hereford County Hospital"

This weekend, HWFRS are contributing to an NFCC initiative to deliver kit and equipment safely and quickly to Ukraine to support the Ukrainian Fire & Rescue Service's response to the emerging crisis. Two Service volunteers are driving the fully packed vans to the UK collection point, containing a wide range of equipment that the Service is donating. The equipment includes personal protection equipment, filters for respiratory protection equipment, ventilation fans, scoop stretchers and chemical protection suits. Next week, following Government approval, the Service will be donating a fire appliance which will form part of the convoy being driven to Poland. The deployment of these donations is being supported by funding from the Home Office, Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and others and coordinated by the UK charity Fire Aid. When it reaches Ukraine, the equipment will be used to support firefighters, emergency services and volunteers who are battling together on the front line, dealing daily with fires and other emergencies to protect lives, people and property as the invasion devastates the country. Area Commander Jon Butlin, the Service’s Assistant Director - Response, said: “This is an extremely worthy cause for the Service to be supporting, and I would like to thank everyone who has volunteered to drive the equipment to the collection point this weekend, and those that have assisted in prepping the equipment and the appliance at high speed to get it ready in time.” For more information about the NFCC Initiative please click on the following our unique link 👉 https://hfd.news/q09

Wren Kitchens have now moved into the unit formally occupied by Harveys on the Newtown Road Retail Park (next to Curry's) and Hereford Voice were today given a sneak preview. Wren staff are taking booking and leads ready for when the store opens next Friday morning at 09:00. New store opening hours; Monday - Friday 09:00-20:00 Saturdays 09:00 - 18:00 Sundays 10:30 - 17:00 (10:30 - 11:00 viewing only) Web | https://www.wrenkitchens.com

Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service crews supported their colleagues from Northfield Fire Station at a very large fire at Kevs Cars and Coaches Ltd in Birmingham Road, Lydiate Ash in Bromsgrove North Worcestershire during the early hours. 📸 WMFS Northfield

A body located in the River Wye in Netherton, and recovered by officers searching for a missing woman from Hereford, has been formally identified. Sadly, the body found yesterday morning (Thursday 10 March) has been confirmed to be Janet Edwards. Janet was reported missing late last year and her next of kin have been informed. Detective Chief Inspector Emma Whitworth said: "We know there has been a huge amount of hope in finding Janet safe and well, and we are deeply saddened by this outcome. "I would like to express my thanks to the community for all of their support with our search for Janet over the past three months. "Our thoughts go out to Janet's family and friends as this very difficult time." Janet’s family have asked that their privacy is respected at this time.