Latest news with #BBCGloucestershire
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Businesses welcome changes to motorway junction
Businesses close to a motorway junction, which is being upgraded to having full access in both directions, are welcoming the £229m scheme. The Secretary of State for Transport gave approval for the project at the start of June, with work due to start in early 2026. It will allow traffic to join and leave the M5 in Gloucestershire at junction 10 both northbound and southbound. Ruth Powell from Elmwick Camping said her customers have to make the journey to them "through an awful lot of traffic" because they can't currently rejoin the motorway where they left it. She added visitors coming from the north will most appreciate the improvements to the junction. "Getting off at Junction 10 is really easy for them. "But when they want to go southbound they have to either drive back up to Tewkesbury to Junction 9 and then turn around, or go down to Junction 11 [through Cheltenham]." Michael Cassidy, director of nearby brewery Clavell and Hind, says there will be short-term pain for long-term gain. "We feel it will be a good thing for our business in the long run," he said. "It will help transport links into the local area. Obviously there will be some short term disruption but we're quite positive about it. The roads around here definitely need some improvement." As well as the motorway junction upgrade, the scheme also includes widening the A4019 Tewkesbury Road, and a new link road connecting the A4019 to the B4634 in west Cheltenham. Cheltenham Borough Councillor Alisha Lewis says this is vital for the 5,000 new houses that are due to built in the area. "We mustn't just think about the residents who currently live in Cheltenham but all the residents who will move into and become residents of Cheltenham, like the Golden Valley development. "It is a fantastic new neighbourhood with great new homes, great new schools and great new facilities, but without the transport infrastructure it simply wouldn't work. "Junction 10 is a big part of the puzzle," he added. However Charmaine Smith, the owner of the Uckington Layby J10 breakfast van, says the scheme will mean the end of her business, which she has run with her husband for more than a decade. "It's our livelihood. It's how we pay our mortgage," she said. "To be just suddenly told one day it's going to go, we can't just close the business down and go elsewhere. We've been here for the last 14 years and built up a customer base." Public information events are set to be held during the summer, with construction getting underway from spring 2026. Completion, the council said, is expected in 2028. Follow BBC Gloucestershire on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Yahoo
Arson probe after tent with dog inside set on fire
An arson investigation has been launched after a tent which had a dog inside of it was set on fire. Police say the dog was rescued unharmed from the tent which was set alight outside Tesco Express on High Street, Cheltenham on 30 March between 03:15 and 03:30 GMT. Fire crews believe the blaze, which was put out by members of the public, was started deliberately. Gloucestershire Police have released a CCTV image of a man who might have witnessed what happened. More news stories for Gloucestershire Listen to the latest news for Gloucestershire Passers-by helped extinguish the fire and moved it away from buildings to prevent it spreading, the force said. They believe a man who was seen wearing a white top and dark trousers in new CCTV footage could help them. "He was seen talking to a man who was dressed in dark clothing with his hood up prior to the blaze", police said. They also want to hear from anyone else who might have interacted with the man in dark clothing. They have also urged anyone with any CCTV, doorbell or dashcam footage to get in contact. Follow BBC Gloucestershire on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630. Gloucestershire Constabulary
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Yahoo
Arson probe after tent with dog inside set on fire
An arson investigation has been launched after a tent which had a dog inside of it was set on fire. Police say the dog was rescued unharmed from the tent which was set alight outside Tesco Express on High Street, Cheltenham on 30 March between 03:15 and 03:30 GMT. Fire crews believe the blaze, which was put out by members of the public, was started deliberately. Gloucestershire Police have released a CCTV image of a man who might have witnessed what happened. More news stories for Gloucestershire Listen to the latest news for Gloucestershire Passers-by helped extinguish the fire and moved it away from buildings to prevent it spreading, the force said. They believe a man who was seen wearing a white top and dark trousers in new CCTV footage could help them. "He was seen talking to a man who was dressed in dark clothing with his hood up prior to the blaze", police said. They also want to hear from anyone else who might have interacted with the man in dark clothing. They have also urged anyone with any CCTV, doorbell or dashcam footage to get in contact. Follow BBC Gloucestershire on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630. Gloucestershire Constabulary
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Yahoo
HGV driver caught rolling cigarette while on M5
A HGV driver who rolled a cigarette with no hands on the wheel was among 58 motorists caught in a police crackdown last month. Gloucestershire Police used an unmarked lorry to catch unsafe driving behaviour on the M5, leading to court summons and traffic offence reports. The HGV driver was stopped by officers after being filmed between junctions 8 and 14. Sgt Matt Firth said cutting the number of people killed or seriously injured on the county's roads "continues to be a priority" for the force. More news stories for Gloucestershire Listen to the latest news for Gloucestershire National Highways has three unmarked HGV cabs which it loans out to police forces across the country as part of Operation Tramline. The driver of a tow truck was pulled over and received a ban as officers found it had no brakes and an insecure load. Officers also pulled over two drivers towing vehicles while in the third lane of the motorway, which is not permitted according to the Highway Code. Drivers were also stopped for offences such as not wearing a seatbelt and using a mobile phone behind the wheel. Sgt Matt Firth from the force's roads policing unit said: "We will continue to run these operations to detect and deter those who choose to drive in this manner, remembering that any of us or our loved ones could be impacted by such behaviours whilst using the county's roads." Follow BBC Gloucestershire on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630. Children 'dodge cars' as car park remains closed Major motorway project 'unlocks' thousands of homes Police crackdown on dangerous parking as trial begins Gloucestershire Constabulary
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Suspected people-smuggling gang arrested in raids
Six people suspected to be part of a people-smuggling gang supplying fake identities to illegal migrants have been arrested. The Home Office said that five men and one women were arrested in dawn raids on Tuesday in Cheltenham, Manchester, Nottingham, Sheffield and Bradford. The lead suspect, a 37-year-old Botswana national, was arrested in Cheltenham on suspicion of assisting and planning the illegal entry of more than 200 migrants from Botswana into the UK. The Home Office said the suspects are thought to be involved in a criminal network exploiting vulnerable people by making them work in the care sector without proper training. Chief immigration officer Mick Wilson said it was thought the gang had brought up to 200 people into the country illegally over the last two years. "Our objective is to arrest those who are involved, who were making money out of the facilitation, and also providing them with false documents and false identities," he said. Once in the country, it is believed the suspected gang submitted false asylum claims using fake documents. They are also believed to have helped migrants get jobs in care homes, despite them not having adequate training. As well as the man arrested in Cheltenham, a British man aged 36 was detained in Sheffield, a 33-year-old woman in Oldham and another man, aged 46, in Bradford. Two further men, aged 39 and 50, were arrested in Swinton and Nottingham respectively. The suspects were arrested on suspicion of conspiring to help asylum seekers enter the UK, and conspiracy to breach UK immigration law. The arrests come as part of the Labour government's Plan for Change, which was launched to target people-smuggling gangs. Security Minister Dan Jarvis said: "This operation demonstrates that we will use the full force of the law against those who facilitate illegal entry into the UK for exploitation." Immigration enforcement criminal and financial investigation inspector Phillip Parr said: "There is no place for those who profit from human misery, and we will continue to use all available powers to pursue and prosecute those involved in these despicable crimes." Follow BBC Gloucestershire on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630. Labour's immigration plans at a glance Thirty-five arrested in people smuggling crackdown Lorry driver disputes fine over stowaway immigrants Home Office
