DEBATE raged over the controversial Identity Cards Bill this week as figures on both sides argued their case in the Five Valleys. While the Green Party and human rights activists condemned the proposals as a threat to liberty, security experts and the
A CYCLIST was ignored by dozens of motorists as he lay at the side of the road bleeding and dazed after an accident - and even claims a police car went by without stopping. Nailsworth resident Oliver Mead, 20, nursed a severely damaged hand for 10 minutes
IMAGINE a world without sight. Where colours are baffling concepts and a simple trip to the shops is a test of memory, where you will never see a smile or a blue summer sky. This is the world of Stonehouse resident Chris Brooks, yet to hear him play the
FAMILIES sped off to the Stroud and District Autograss Club open event near Moreton Valence this weekend. Over 250 drivers from all over the country revved up their engines, racing cars of every shape, size and colour. Glen Robins, Wiltshire Autograss
Those who love their jobs often claim they were "born to do it", but some people seem to have been named for the purpose too. SNJ reporter Alli Pyrah has been compiling a list of aptly-named Five Valleys residents. You couldn't make them up. *Ron Birch
PETER REED'S stock continues to rise as the Nailsworth rowing sub-lieutenant scooped the Stewards Cup at Henley Royal Regatta on Sunday. Roared on by more than 50,000 people, Britain's flagship four of Reed, Cheltenham Olympic champion Steve Williams,
BEING a child of the 80s, I'm familiar with what a Rubik's Cube is, but always thought it was just a puzzle that sat at the back of the shelf, never to be solved. That was until I met Duncan Dicks, the one-time world record holder for solving the puzzle
GRAB a picnic blanket and hamper and head to Westonbirt Arboretum for a weekend of spectacular musical entertainment this month. Jazz and classical are on the menu when Jools Holland and his Rhythm and Blues Orchestra play at Westonbirt on Friday, July
MINCH golf duo Richard Cox and Clive Mills are one step away from national glory on the golf course. Cox, who plays off 15, and 20-handicapper Mills, beat off the challenge of 25 other pairs to win the International Pairs qualifier at Minchinhampton Golf
STROUD campaigners in Edinburgh for the G8 protest were swept up in a riot, in which 100 arrests were made. Concrete slabs, boulders and park benches were uprooted and hurled at police, with seven officers and 22 protesters being injured in the brawl.
FAMILIES let their creative energies run free, making pottery, candles and learning about woodturning. Crowds at the Make It In Stroud event also enjoyed a local 'pottery Olympics' featuring three potters. The trio competed in rounds including making
THE LITTLE Big Horns, otherwise known as Stroud saxophonist Patsy Gamble and trumpeter Steve Trigg, have just contributed to a big name single released to raise money for the Band Aid 20 charity and the Tsunami Earthquake appeal under the moniker ModAid
BEST selling novelist and former schools inspector Gervase Phinn returned to the classroom when he visited a Five Valleys school. The author of The Other Side of the Dale and Over Hill and Dale was guest of honour at Thomas Keble School's key stage four
STROUD'S massive new £10 million shopping and leisure centre is nearing completion as construction company Costain hand over to tenants for the final stages of work. The hoardings are due to be removed from the imposing Merrywalks building within weeks
THE proposed introduction of ID cards quite rightly sends shivers down the spine of anyone who values their liberty. The very idea that the state wants to force every citizen of this country to carry a card to prove who they are represents a reprehensible
ANGRY residents of a Stonehouse estate are horrified at a neighbour's plans to put a cattery in her back garden. Cat lover Hazel Tierney's plans for a cattery at her Cotswold Green home have generated more than 20 objections. Town councillors have also
THE undergrowth around Stroud will soon be home to slithering new arrivals after environmentalists set up grass 'maternity wards' for snakes. Special compost mounds have been piled up at four sites around the Five Valleys to provide threatened grass snakes
GARY OWERS is insisting he will have his squad in place well before the opening Conference fixture at home to Cambridge United on August 13. Rovers currently have ten players registered for next season and completed the latest piece of the jigsaw by adding
TWO old Marling School pals were together again in their adopted country of Canada recently - after one survived a near-fatal heart attack. In July last year, Reg Redston, 92, told doctors to pull the plug on his life support machine and said goodbye
GARY OWERS is insisting he will have his squad in place well before the opening Conference fixture at home to Cambridge United on August 13. Rovers currently have ten players registered for next season and completed the latest piece of the jigsaw by adding
THE Gloucestershire Warriors recorded their sixth consecutive win in the TOTALrl.com Rugby League Conference South West division, but were made to fight all the way by a tenacious Bristol Sonics side. Winger Ollie Bloom t ook his season's tally to eight
A WIDOW is distraught after yobs rampaged through a cemetery, destroying the grave of her late husband. Carmel Muller, 80, was horrified to learn from a friend that the headstone of Ted, a much-loved grandfather who died in 1991, had been toppled. Mrs
A MILLIONAIRE'S son from Stroud is in a Barbados jail after allegedly recruiting a gang to kidnap and torture his own brother. Magistrates on the tropical island heard how Arthur Watts, 40, and four accomplices wanted to force his brother John, 49, to
A POLICE crackdown on thugs in Stroud town centre is reaping rewards after nine young men appeared before magistrates to face charges of brawling. The area around King Street has become a flashpoint for late-night violence as weekend revellers emerge
