Headlines: Rainbow bridge, MBE awards and Bath Rugby celebrations
Here's our daily pick of stories from across local websites in the West of England, and interesting content from social media.
Our pick of local website stories
Bristol Live's story of a mum-of-four who died in a skydiving accident on the Somerset and Devon border has had a big response. Belinda Taylor, 48, from Totnes, and Adam Harrison, 30, from Bournemouth, died in the accident at Dunkeswell Aerodrome at about 13:00 BST on Friday.A 26-year-old cyclist died in a collision in Ringwood, the Salisbury Journal reports.WH Mitford and Son in Westbury-on-Trym is due to close in September. The hardware shop has been there for 160 years, writes Bristol World.Swindon Advertiser followed a trans solidarity march in the town over the weekend.And the Rainbow Bridge connecting Montpelier and St Andrew's in Bristol has been restored to its former colourful state by a team of volunteers, Bristol 24/7 reports.
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There were celebrations over the weekend following Bath's Premiership Rugby win.Congratulations are in order for Pier Pritchard who was awarded an MBE in The King's Birthday Honours List for her work in Wiltshire Council's children's safeguarding team.Swindon Borough Council will start work on a £55,000 project to refresh the Greenbridge roundabout next week.Phlebotomists are striking again, so there will be blood test disruption in Gloucestershire this week.
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The Guardian
31 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Country diary: A bumper year for orchids – the meadow is brimming with them
Last month, we made a choice on the farm in the midst of the spring drought. The grass was going to seed, risking the quality and amount of hay we could produce. We decided to 'top' the meadows early and hope for rain rather than settling for a poor crop. So far, it's paying off. There has been rain, and the grass, stimulated by mowing, is at last swaying in the breeze. A late hay harvest now looks possible. The drought, paradoxically, has brought a benefit. The grasses, so often dominant, have been suppressed, giving wildflowers a head start. The grazing pastures are no longer monocultures. This year, as horses swish flies, the fields are full of oxeye daisies, creating a landscape as bucolic as an Alfred Munnings painting. Also paying off is my prediction of a bumper orchid year. Wading through the wildflower meadows, I find bee orchid after bee orchid. Each has a pale pink, three-petalled flower with what looks like a fuzzy brown and yellow bee resting on it. If this were southern Europe, a species called the long-horn bee would think this was a female, misled not just by appearance but by the mimicry of pheromones. He'd have a go at mating. Whether the male ever realises he's been tricked into 'pseudo-copulation' with a fake bee I don't know, but either way, he has pollinated the plant. In the UK, the long-horn is so rare that the bee orchids self-pollinate. Then I start finding pyramidal orchids everywhere in the meadow. On top of each long stem is a flower spike, packed full of tiny, delicate individual flowers. Each has that distinctive orchid shape, varying in colour from light pink to strong purple. These ones are such bright magenta they almost glow, and will be pollinated by long-tongued butterflies, and hawk moths, whose proboscis can reach 25mm long. I pick a handful of the sainfoin fronds – loved by horses, naturally anti-inflammatory and anti-parasitic – and return to the stables where the leaves are gratefully munched. In the eaves, the baby swallows are also open mouthed, gaping and calling as the parent swoops in with food. I found a chick dead on the ground this morning, but three remain, looking more ready to fledge each day. Under the Changing Skies: The Best of the Guardian's Country Diary, 2018-2024 is published by Guardian Faber; order at and get a 15% discount
BBC News
5 hours ago
- BBC News
Lime bikes dumped in canals and rivers 'posing pollution risk'
Hundreds of Lime e-bikes have been dumped in rivers and canals since hire schemes were introduced across England - raising concerns about pollution and Canal and River Trust said it was a national problem and was having to spend thousands of pounds retrieving the bikes from waterways. The charity said Nottingham was a particular hotspot, with eight or nine Lime bikes pulled from the canal each the US company that runs the hire scheme in Nottingham and other cities, told the BBC it is working with various authorities to tackle the problem. According to the Environment Agency, electric bikes pose a pollution risk because the batteries contain substances that can enter a watercourse if they remain submerged in Canal and River Trust said the number of Lime bikes being dumped nationally "could be into the thousands"."Whilst the quantities are a concern, and this is a drain on our resources, it's worth remembering one bike alone can easily cause thousands of pounds worth of damage to a boat, tens of thousands of pounds of damage to canal infrastructure, and an incalculable value of damage to wildlife," said Dick Vincent, the charity's national towpath charity has asked Lime to cover the cost of retrieving the bikes, but an agreement has not been reached."If I'm being honest, I would like them to answer their emails and get back to us," said Mr Vincent."They seem to be ignoring this as a problem, and that's a real shame." Toni Robinson, founder of the Little Litter Pickers of Nottingham, said her group had retrieved 23 Lime bikes from just a short stretch of the River Leen, in the Bulwell area of the said she had written to Lime but the company had not responded to her."I would like them to stop them ending up in the river," said Ms Robinson."We're trying to keep the river clean from pollution and then we've got these bikes that are polluting the river more than probably any rubbish we've ever found was."Ms Robinson is particularly concerned because e-bikes are powered by lithium-ion batteries, and she is worried about substances entering the believes Lime should have docking bays to keep the bikes locked up unless people pay to ride them."I think young people get bored and think 'I'll throw it in the river'," said Ms Robinson."It's just been ongoing. We pick one out and there's another one in there." Ethan Radford, deputy leader of Nottingham City Council, is so concerned he has been putting on waders and entering the River Leen himself to retrieve the Lime said it started happening after the Lime scheme was introduced two years ago, in spring 2023."On one particular occasion I think we pulled out about five bikes in one day," said Radford, who has been helping Ms Robinson's group."There's obviously the environmental concerns. These things don't belong in the river. It's a natural habitat." The Environment Agency said it was in the process of setting up a meeting with Lime following "repeated attempts" to do so."The disposal of electric bikes or other waste into rivers can cause environmental damage, affect water quality, and harm aquatic life," a spokesperson said."Whilst we have pollution concerns, we primarily remove the Lime bikes from the River Leen in Nottinghamshire and other watercourses in the area such as Nethergate Brook and Ouse Dyke, to prevent blockages and reduce flood risk to local communities." Who is dumping the bikes? The consensus is Lime bikes are being dumped in water by people who steal them, rather than paying bikes do not need to be physically locked in place at parking locations, which makes it easier to steal bikes do have a pedal-locking mechanism, but this can be "hacked" so that people can ride them without Robinson said she had witnessed this herself."I know people can ride round with them with the alarm going off, so they can still use the bike without inputting any details," she said."There are often kids going past me on the street and it's going 'beep beep', and they're riding past as normal."In a statement, the city council's transport team said: "Evidence shows that it is exclusively non-customers who are causing issues, including abandoning bikes or dumping bikes in rivers and canals."Radford agreed. "It's not the people who are using the scheme that are causing the problem," he said."It's people who come along after that, see a row of bikes, take advantage and do something stupid." Can anything be done to prevent thefts? Radford believes the problem could be resolved if Lime required customers to lock the bikes in bays, as some hire bike operators do."There's nothing stopping you from pushing it around, putting it on the floor, putting it in the road, taking it over to the river, for example, if it's not locked into place," he Robinson added: "It would stop them being stolen and polluting our rivers."The BBC put this suggestion to Lime, and asked why it does not require customers to lock bikes up.A spokesperson said: "Lime has operated a mandatory parking scheme in Nottingham since the launch of our e-bike service here two years ago."This is enforced by accurate on-vehicle GPS technology and our new mandatory end trip photo process. Users that leave bikes outside of designated parking locations are warned and fined, with repeat offenders banned." How widespread are these problems? The Canal and River Trust, which manages waterways in England and Wales, said it was a problem wherever Lime had hire of the Lime bikes are concentrated around London, but there are also schemes in Greater Manchester, Nottingham and Milton previously ran a hire bike scheme in Derby, but pulled out due to what it described as "persistent issues with vandalism and antisocial behaviour".This included bikes being thrown into the River Environment Agency, which is responsible for managing large rivers in England, said it "regularly" pulled bikes out and took them to designated drop-off points. What has Lime said in response? Lime says it is "the largest provider of shared electric vehicles in the world", and it claims to provide a "sustainable" mode of transport by replacing car working with the agency and Canal and River Trust, Lime said: "We have engaged in ongoing conversations with the Environment Agency and Canal and River Trust and are eager to finalise a collaborative plan to address these issues."Lime says anyone who sees a submerged bike can report the location, and it will "recover it as soon as possible". "We always aim to promptly collect obstructive or misparked bikes reported to us via the 'report bad parking' function in our app within a matter of hours," a Lime spokesperson said."To improve our response time, we have significantly increased our on-street team by more than double in Nottingham."On pollution and environmental concerns, Lime said the deliberate dumping of bikes was "totally unacceptable"."It harms the environment and undermines our mission to create sustainable urban transport," the spokesperson added."We are committed to working with the local community, Environment Agency, and the Canal and River Trust to stop this behaviour."
Daily Mail
5 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Rolling pins for hammers and grouting with a credit card: How under-40s who don't have a toolbox tackle DIY jobs in their homes
If you want something done right, do it yourself, as the saying goes. But when it comes to maintenance around the home a significant number of us are botching DIY jobs by using the wrong tools – including swapping hammers for rolling pins. A survey found four in ten people under the age of 40 do not own a toolbox, while three quarters (74 per cent) admit that they regularly attempt projects without the proper equipment – often costing them thousands of pounds in the process. A further 65 per cent have used an object from around the home to try to get the job done. Some 72 per cent of respondents have had at least five DIY disasters in the last year, with the average cost per disaster coming in at £1,555 – totalling a whopping £7,775 a year. And half (51 per cent) admitted to having to call out a professional tradesman to fix the problem as a result of their DIY bungles. The research found 71 per cent have used a kitchen knife as a screwdriver, while 63 per cent frequently use scissors to trim plants and hedges. Credit cards to spread grout (40 per cent), kitchen bowls to mix wallpaper paste (37 per cent) and Sellotape to fix leaking pipes (36 per cent) also emerged among the most commonly used wrong tools for jobs. Other appropriated household items include broomsticks to clear gutters (33 per cent), Tupperware dishes to mix filler (32 per cent), rolling pins as hammers (31 per cent) and spoons to dig out weeds (31 per cent). And two thirds (66 per cent) have even tried to guess if a shelf or picture is level using just their eye, rather than a proper spirit level, with 72 per cent adamant that it was straight despite missing the right tools. One in four (23 per cent) say they are 'rubbish' and 'terrible' at DIY, with 13 per cent admitting they end up watching internet tutorials when they want to learn how to do something. It is no surprise that as a result, three quarters (74 per cent) were put off from DIY altogether. Rebecca Leversidge from insurance company Premierline, which commissioned the research, said: 'While innovation and initiative in the home is admirable, DIY is often a risky substitute for calling in a professional who will have the right skills and tools for the job – especially when it comes at an average cost of £1,555 per fix.' According to the 500 tradesmen interviewed as part of the survey, 43 per cent have noticed a decline in DIY skills in recent years and 30 per cent felt there has been a significant drop. One in ten say they are being called out at least once a week to fix botched jobs, with poorly fitted shelves and cabinets (40 per cent), electrical wiring issues (37 per cent), burst pipes (35 per cent), damaged walls (31 per cent) and poor paintwork and wallpapering (26 per cent) being the main problems. But that does not stop us, despite 10 per cent worrying about doing a bad job and 7 per cent panicking about damaging their property. The professionals have come up with a list of must-haves for the home toolbox, including a tape measure, spirit level and power drill.
