A recently published report is good news for landlords but less so for tenants.

The difficulty in obtaining mortgages has made it difficult for younger people to buy their homes. Together with the normal demands for rental property with people moving jobs, this has pushed up rents by about 3.2 per cent in the last year. Inevitably, some see this as landlords cashing in on the plight of the young and I certainly have sympathy for those forced into renting who would have preferred to buy their own homes.

However, interest rates being offered by banks and building societies are typically below the rate of inflation and with the stock market flat and uncertain, many people who are not necessarily wealthy have decided to invest in property as a way of securing their future, either as a supplement or instead of a pension fund.

These small landlords are just looking for a decent return on their money and their capital protected from inflation.

The property market is a good example of supply and demand at work. Demand is increasing and not enough houses are being built.

In these circumstances, it shouldn't surprise any of us that rents are going up.

I realise that some landlords have not looked after their properties as they should have done and may have given the industry a bad name. The majority, however, are diligent and have taken on board the various regulatory changes with stoicism.

I know from personal experience that being a landlord is not plain sailing.

It's not much fun being called on a Saturday evening by your tenant to be told that the washing machine has stopped working or that they have managed to lock themselves out.

In addition, not all tenants leave the property in a pristine condition at the end of their tenancy.

Landlords provide an important service.

They should obviously take their responsibilities seriously, but they should not be criticised for taking a commercial approach.

■ To see properties for let in Gloucestershire, turn to page 21.

A MOTORCYCLIST from Stroud has been killed in a crash on the A38.

The 43-year-old man died at the scene at Quedgeley after a collision with a lorry.

A 21-year-old Stonehouse woman who was riding pillion is in a serious but stable condition at Frenchay Hospital in Bristol.

The crash happened just before 9am on Saturday on the bypass between Cole Avenue and Waterwells Drive.

The lorry and black Kawasaki motorbike collided as they were travelling down the northbound side of the carriageway near the Kingsway junction.

Police closed the road for more than three hours, and traffic quickly built up along the B4008 and surrounding area.

The lorry driver, from Highbridge in Somerset, was later arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving. He was released on bail until January.

Witnesses who have not spoken to police should call 101.

A LOTTERY winner who could afford several homes is living in a Stroud council house.

The tenant who got lucky on the lotto was revealed to his Stroud District Council landlords at their latest housing advisory panel.

"We had someone who won on the lottery a large, significant sum," the council's housing advice manager Sue Leighton-Boyce told the meeting at Ebley Mill.

"They are still our tenant although they clearly had enough money to go out and buy several homes."

Her comment came as the councillors discussed a review of their council homes allocation policy after government consultation about ending lifetime tenancies.

A further suggestion was that households with a gross income above £60,000 shouldn't qualify for social housing.

The Government's Localism Act had given local authorities the flexibility of opting for renewable tenancies instead, Ms Leighton-Boyce said.

"We have had another lady who married a very nicely-off gentleman.

"They chose to live in their council house but he has another property, has a house abroad and a yacht abroad," said Ms Leighton-Boyce.

"Tenants were quite miffed about this and said 'why can't you do anything? Why are you still allowing them to live there?'" she said.

"Under the current rules they have their tenancies for life," she said.

The council's rainbow political alliance is expected to decide about tenancy issues at their next executive on November 8.

But panel member Coun Debbie Young (C Chalford), former cabinet member for housing, said renewable five-year tenancies would allow such situations to be dealt with.

"This lottery guy has highlighted the issue that people don't have to give up their properties even when they don't need them," she said.

There were 3,200 people on Stroud's council house waiting list and Mrs Young said: "Surely this person's conscience should be pricked now?"

Next week will mark the end of our successful getmoving campaign.

The campaign, to encourage people to move into and around Gloucestershire, has had a significant impact on home-buyers, sellers, tenants and investors in the county.

Launched in Property Life a year ago, it has monitored sales and enquiries across the industry, with leading commentary on how the county's market has performed and where it is headed.

Developers and estate agents, in both sales and lettings, have reported an improved 12 months and have praised the impact our campaign has had.

To highlight this, we will be running a four-page special in Property Life next week.

It will include figures and comments from leading agents and house-builders, as well as case studies on single people, couples and families who have moved within this time period.

In a stable market, there are many positives to enjoy, such as an increase in buyer and seller confidence.

Schemes launched in the past year by the Government and developers, covered in our campaign, have aided buyers and in particular first-timers.

These young buyers continue to be a vital element in strengthening the market and Property Life will continue to support them, as well as all others involved in helping to drive the industry's upward momentum.

Next month we will launch a new format in Property Life, and online, with particular focus on specific areas in Gloucestershire and the range of different properties, suiting all types of home-hunters, in our county.

We are lucky to live in a county that boasts such variety in its culture, landscape and property.

Chris Campbell

■ We are always keen to hear your views, whether it be on our campaigns, content, re-designs or the property market in general. Email chris.campbell@glosmedia.co.uk. Don't forget to follow us on twitter @homebuyer and on Facebook by searching 'Home Buyer'.

The days may be over when house prices race up each year and make millions of us small fortunes, but latest figures show that they are on the rise again at least after four years of house price pain.

The value of the average home in Britain climbed by £3,373 (1.5 per cent) over the past year, according to new data released from property website Zoopla.co.uk. The average value now stands at £226,369.

The average asking price in Gloucestershire is £304,385, according to Zoopla.co.uk. In Stroud this stands at £352,928 and Stonehouse £276,624.

Increases were experienced in all but three regions of Britain: the North West, (-2.5 per cent), Wales (-1.4 per cent) and Yorkshire and The Humber (-0.55 ).

Prices in London have continued to rise at a far faster pace than the rest of Britain over the past 12 months. The average value in the capital increased by £30,259 (+7.3 per cent) over the past year, while the South East experienced a 3.4 per cent increase.

Within the top 50 cities and towns outside London, the Midlands faired the best with Wolverhampton experiencing a 12-month rise of 5.08 per cent, where values now stand at £157,884. In third place, Coventry has seen similar gains with growth of 4.45 per cent and an average price of £150,343.

Peterborough's house prices, unfortunately, dropped the fastest. Some 3.43 per cent dropped off values leaving its average house price at £161,974, closely followed by Aberdeen where values have dropped 3.36 per cent over the past 12 months.

Wigan rounds off the bottom three with property values now standing at £128,993.

While values are relatively flat, there is stability. However, transaction levels for the previous three months and next three months will be the most telling in terms of where the market could head next year and whether stability is here to stay.

PART of the one-way system in Cheltenham town centre has been closed while work is carried out on a collapsed sewer.

Severn Trent Water said works on the road between St James' Street and Sandford Road could be in place for up to two weeks.

A spokesman for the company says there is a dip in the road which indicated a loss of ground under the surface.

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PART of the one-way system in Cheltenham town centre has been closed while work is carried out on a collapsed sewer.

Severn Trent Water said works on the road between St James' Street and Sandford Road could be in place for up to two weeks.

A spokesman for the company says there is a dip in the road which indicated a loss of ground under the surface.

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OLYMPIC heroes from Gloucestershire were congratulated by the Queen and David Camerson during a glittering party at Buckingham Palace to celebrate their success.

Dressage gold medallists Carl Hester and Charlotte Dujardin, both from Newent, were among the Olympians who attended the event.

Rowing gold medallists Pete Reid, from Newent, and Alex Gregory, from Wormington, who found success in the Men's Four event, were also in attendance, as was hockey bronze medallist Ashleigh Ball, from Cheltenham.  

Star sportsmen and women who won gold for the nation during the summer's extravaganza of sport were invited to the palace to mark their achievements.

The Prime Minister joined the athletes and senior figures like Lord Coe who helped make the Games a success at the palace, where the Queen celebrated their efforts with the Duke of Edinburgh, Duchess of Cambridge and other members of the Royal Family.

Mr Cameron said last night: "I think people will look back and just think, 'what an incredible summer' – success after success, medal after medal and the whole country putting on its very best face for the world.

"What matters now is that we maximise the momentum and the legacy following the Olympics and Paralympics.

"We had a cabinet meeting about that today and Seb Coe was there, and we were talking about the physical legacy of east London, the important economic benefits we want, there's the sporting legacy carried through to Rio and school sport, there's also the legacy in terms of attitude to disabilities, which I think is a real chance of a step change in our country."

Team GB began the summer's medal rush by winning 65 in total, including 29 golds, an achievement that was hailed as the athletes' "greatest ever" performance by Andy Hunt, their chef de mission for London 2012.

Amongst the sports stars who delighted the home crowds and the world with podium-topping performances were heptathlete Jessica Ennis, cyclist Sir Chris Hoy and sailor Ben Ainslie and double gold-winning runner Mo Farah.

The Paralympics saw Great Britain achieve unprecedented success with 120 medals, including 34 golds.

Memorable performances included wheelchair athlete David Weir winning four golds, swimmer Ellie Simmonds powering home to two victories in the pool while sprinter Jonnie Peacock lit up the stadium with his blistering win in the T44 100 metres.

Sarah Storey cemented her place in the history books by winning four golds on her bike, taking her to 11 titles overall in a Paralympic career as both a swimmer and cyclist.

She described the evening as "just incredible", adding: "It is just such an honour and we are all very privileged to be part of such an amazing team. To have the Queen throw a reception in our honour makes everything that has happened even more amazing.

"The British public has been so supportive over the Paralympics and it has captured everybody's imagination."

A number of household names like Hoy, Farah and Ennis were missing due to other commitments but one well-known face was available Zara Phillips, who won a team silver in the Olympic Equestrian competition.

Guests sipped champagne, wine and apple juice but towards the end of the evening many politely declined a drink as they have already begun training in earnest.

A line-up of Olympic and Paralympic athletes who have all won three or more golds met the royal party, who included the Duke of York and daughter Princess Beatrice, the Princess Royal, President of the British Olympic Association, and the Earl and Countess of Wessex.

They included three-time Olympic cycling champion Jason Kenny, who won two golds at London 2012, swimmer Ellie Simmonds, who now has a total of four Paralympic titles, plus cyclist Sarah Storey and wheelchair racer David Weir, who each won four golds.

Proudly wearing her three golds from London 2012, Para-equestrian rider Sophie Christiansen, who is now a five-time Paralympic champion, said she was very excited to see the Queen.

Christiansen said: "She asked me whether I enjoyed the Games, which obviously were phenomenal.

"I just want to do it all again because now I know what it takes to win three gold medals.

"Perhaps I could ask the Queen if she will lend me a horse (for the Rio 2016 Paralympics).

"My current horse is called Rio and he is still in training, but he is 15 now. He would be too old for the next Games."

Para-equestrian rider Lee Pearson, who won his tenth Paralympic gold medal at the Games along with a silver and bronze, met Kate who picked up his gold medal, won in the mixed team championship.

The Duchess revealed she has developed a passion for horses and is learning to ride.

The horseman joked: "Kate said she's learning to ride so I offered to give her some lessons.

"She held my medals and said how heavy they were, and asked if me if I'd been riding all my life."

The Duchess moved on to meet Team GB's women's hockey players, who became a firm favourite of the royal.

Kate was a keen hockey player as a student and she enjoyed watched the national team win their Bronze medal in a game against New Zealand.

The royal stood among the group of 12 women and the party looked like old friends as they chatted away together.

Emily Maguire, from Glasgow, said afterwards: "The Duchess just said how much she enjoyed watching our games. She's lovely, she's just so easy to talk to and because she herself played hockey she has a real connection to the sport."

MOTORISTS were caught in tailbacks yesterday because of temporary traffic lights on Gloucester Road in Cheltenham.

The traffic delays are likely to continue today and tomorrow as Severn Trent Water carries out water works.

The traffic lights are causing delays in roads around Cheltenham train station.

The utilities company has said it hopes to finish the work by the end of Friday.

THE name of a motorcyclist killed in a road crash on Saturday has been released.

Gloucestershire Coroner's office confirmed Martin Acock, 43, of Mathews Way, Paganhill, Stroud, died of multiple injuries after the collision on the A38 at Quedgeley.

A lorry driver from Somerset was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and released on bail.

GLOUCESTERSHIRE'S sporting heroes were celebrated at Buckingham Palace last night in a glitzy event.

Rowers Pete Reed and Alex Gregory, and equestrian star Charlotte Dujardin and Carl Hester were joined by the Queen, Princess Royal, Duchess of Cambridge and Prime Minister David Cameron to mark Great Britain's "incredible summer" of sport.

It came after there were gold medals galore for the county's sports stars including Reed from Nailsworth, Wormington's Alex Gregory, and the Newent horse riders.

Mr Cameron said: "I think people will look back and just think, 'what an incredible summer' – success after success, medal after medal and the whole country putting on its very best face for the world."

The Queen's granddaughter Zara Phillips was also at the palace.

THE consultant forensic psychiatrist who assessed the man accused of killing the Reverend John Suddards and retired teacher Betty Yates said that defendant Stephen Farrow had demonstrated many of the characteristics of a psychopath.

Farrow, 48, of no fixed address, denies two counts of murder but admitted Mr Suddards' manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

Dr Tim Rogers told the court that when he tried to speak to Farrow about the murder of Mrs Yates he would refuse to talk about her.

Dr Alan Lillywhite, a consultant forensic psychiatrist, also assessed Farrow after he was transferred to Broadmoor Hospital from Long Lartin Prison in August.

The court heard that Farrow had been diagnosed with a long-standing personality disorder.

He was not present in court, having refused to leave the prison.

BEEF farmer David Barton could be forced to give up his cattle because the pilot cull of badgers has been postponed.

The farmer from near Cirencester has had to slaughter 44 cows since February after they tested positive for TB.

Mr Barton has spoken out after a trial cull in Gloucestershire and Somerset, to assess the impact on cattle TB, would be delayed until next summer.

He said there was "no point" in restocking his herd, branding the cull postponement as "outrageous".

Mr Barton said: "There's no point in me restocking because of the level of infection in wildlife we have in and around the farm, so I'll most likely have to give up farming cattle,"

"Had the pilot culls gone ahead and been successful...it would have given us some hope that we can get on top of this disease, but to leave it out there is an outrage."

Dairy farmer Jan Rowe, director of GlosCon, the company set up to organise the cull locally, admitted there was no way the firm could have achieved the targets being set by the Government this year.

He said: "The delay comes from the number of badgers to be killed, which needed to be put on the licence.

"We were initially looking at 1,800 badgers which we felt, along with Natural England, to be the right target and we were geared up for this figure.

"Then, 10 days ago, we got a new estimate – which we don't know the rational behind – which put the figure at 2,900 badgers which needed to be caught in six weeks.

"We just don't have faith in these figures and, at this stage in the year, we do not have the facilities to do it.

"It was better to delay and sort out the figures so we can find out if they are correct."

Martin Horwood, Liberal Democrat Cheltenham MP, said: "I'm delighted at the postponement, it gives us time to convince the Government to abandon it."

Laurence Robertson, Conservative Tewkesbury MP, said the delay was "sensible", but added: "We have got to do something about the spread of this disease."

An extraordinary meeting called by Gloucestershire County Council to discuss culling practice is still due to go ahead at Shire Hall on Monday.

What's your favourite Gloucestershire day out?

Walking in the bluebells in the Forest of Dean, hearing the cuckoo.

And your favourite place to eat out in the county?

The Blue Thai Kitchen in Gloucester.

What's the worst job you've ever had?

In a factory packing empty toothpaste tubes.

Have you got any unusual habits?

Spending an hour on Sunday mornings sitting in silence with Gloucester Quakers.

Who is your hero and why?

My two sons who never cease to surprise and inspire me.

What book are you reading at the moment or tell us your favourite?

Notes from an Exhibition, Patrick Gale.

What was the last film you watched?

The Fairy – absolutely hilarious, can't wait to see it again.

First single/record you ever bought?

Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floyd.

Facebook or Twitter? (And what is your twitter handle/name?)

Facebook.

HOCKEY star Ashleigh Ball enjoyed meeting royalty when she visited Buckingham Palace with other Olympic heroes.

Some of the county's top athletes were congratulated by the Queen and Prime Minister David Cameron at a glittering party to celebrate their success.

Ashleigh Ball, a bronze medalist at this year's Olympics, called the experience "fantastic".

The former pupil of St Edward's School in Charlton Kings, also got the chance to speak with the Duchess of Cambridge, who was a hockey captain at school.

"We had a bit of a giggle.

"If she wasn't so busy, I'm sure she would like to pick it up again," she said.

The following cases were dealt with by Stroud magistrates on October 1:

■ Sam Ashley Jones, 22, of Severn Road, Stonehouse. Being in possession of class B drugs. Fined £183, £100 costs.

■ Keith Anthony Ryder, 73, of Indalou, Upthorpe, Cam Dursley. Drink driving. Fined £340, £100 costs, disqualified from driving for 18 months.

■ Kemar Stewart, 23, c/o Claremont Court, Claremont Road, Kingsholm, Gloucester. Being in possession of class B drugs. Fined £110, £100 costs.

■ Tracey Elizabeth Yates, 46, of Berkeley Close, South Cerney, Cirencester. Drink driving. Fined £220, £100 costs, disqualified from driving for 19 months.

■ Christina Kate Young, 31, of Brick Row, Stroud. Criminal damage. Conditional discharge for 12 months, £85 costs.

The following cases were dealt with by Gloucester magistrates on October 2:

■ Katie Dunne, 20, of Worcester Street, Gloucester. Theft. Fined £75, £65 costs.

■ Frank Charles Illingworth, 36, of Bisley Road, Tuffley, Gloucester. Theft. Community Order for 12 months, £149 compensation, £50 costs.

■ Haitam Jaouhar, 23, of Finlay Road, Robinswood, Gloucester. Being in possession of class B drugs. Fined £50, £65 costs.

■ John Paul Stewart, 35, of Nettleton Road, Gloucester. Theft. Conditional discharge for 12 months, £35.10 compensation, £50 costs.

■ Wioletta Szargua, 32, of Cookson Terrace, Lydney. Driving a vehicle without due care and attention. Fined £150, £45 costs.

The following cases were dealt with by Stroud magistrates on October 3:

■ Jacqueline Ann Shields, 47, of Eastern Avenue, Gloucester. Assaulting a detention officer in the execution of her duty, assaulting a police officer in the execution of her duty, assault by beating (2 charges), theft (3 charges), harassment. Prison for 26 weeks.

■ Wayne David Davies, 22, of Woodland Road, Drybrook Village, Drybrook. Failing to comply with a traffic sign. Fined £60, £30 costs, three penalty points.

■ Michael Duignan, 38, of Clegram Road, Gloucester. Exceeding the speed limit. Fined £100, £100 costs, three penalty points.

■ Olivia Fallows, 24, of St Michael's Square, Gloucester. Exceeding the speed limit. Fined £100, £100 costs, three penalty points.

■ Robert Artur Krecicki, 39, of New Street, Cheltenham. Exceeding the speed limit. Fined £60, £45 costs, three penalty points.

■ Victoria Marais, 38, of Gumstool Hill, Tetbury. Exceeding the speed limit. Fined £60, £45 costs, three penalty points.

■ Andrew Neate, 23, of Campden Road, Tuffley, Gloucester. Failing to give information to a police officer. Fined £600, £100 costs, six penalty points.

■ Fiona Louise Thomas, 35, of High Street, Chipping Campden. Failing to give information to a police officer. Fined £600, £100 costs, six penalty points.

■ Michael Turner, 40, of Randwick Road, Tuffley, Gloucester. Exceeding the speed limit. Fined £135, £45 costs, three penalty points.

■ Neil Antony Wyman, 42, of The Plantation, Abbeymead, Gloucester. Failing to give information to a police officer. Fined £600, £100 costs, six penalty points.

■ Michelle Yeates, 30, of Pilgrove Close, Springbank, Cheltenham. Exceeding the speed limit. Fined £220, £100 costs, three penalty points.

■ Dean Robert Regan, 26, of Woodvale, Kingsway, Gloucester. Driving a vehicle without insurance. Fined £110, disqualified from driving for 12 months, £15 costs.

■ Lars Christensen, 54, of Lansdown Terrace, Cheltenham. Failing to give information to a police officer. Fined £60, £100 costs, six penalty points.

ARE you determined to look your horrifying best this Halloween?

Then why not head to the Plough Inn, in Prestbury, for a chilling cosmetic transformation?

Barmaid Lizzie Maloney, who is trained as a makeup artist, will be offering her expertise at the pub for free throughout Saturday afternoon.

With fake blood and pale white powder among the tools at her disposal, she will be turning children into vampires, aliens and other creatures of the un-dead.

She has even offered to paint the faces of anyone participating in the Echo's Monster Walk – which takes at 4pm in the town centre on the day.

"I am a makeup artist by trade so I thought why not use my skills to help people look their best for Halloween," she said.

"It's exciting for children to get dressed up for the occasion and if I can help them look even scarier by painting their faces then great."

Lizzie backed plans for the Monster Walk through the town centre – the first large scale fancy dress walk of its kind in Cheltenham.

"I think it's a really good idea and people taking part are welcome to come to me first if they want to have their face painted.

"We won't be charging people for a makeover but we are taking donations for charity throughout the day."

Money raised from the day will go towards anti-poverty charity Oxfam.

Lizzie will be available from noon until 7pm. The Mill Street pub will be hosting a Halloween party on Saturday evening, complete with a chilli meal and quiz. For more information on these events, telephone 01242 222180.

PETROL price wars are forecast to rev up again after Asda announced it was cutting the cost of unleaded by up to 2p per litre.

From tomorrow morning, drivers filling up at the supermarket's station in Up Hatherley will find unleaded prices capped at 133.7p per litre.

This is a nationwide price cap by Asda, and the news has been welcomed by Cheltenham based family-run firm Bob Lawrance Light Haulage.

Mr Lawrance, 67, drives around 65,000 miles a year, delivering aircraft propellers across Europe.

He said: "It's obviously a good thing for the average motorist.

"Petrol prices in the UK are ridiculous, so any drop in the cost is very welcome.

"It's particularly good that Asda is capping the petrol price, as in the past prices have gone down one week only to shoot up again a few days later. I'm sure there will be a lot of motorists in Cheltenham who are pleased by this news."

Asda's decision to slash the price follows reductions in the wholesale costs of unleaded petrol.

The supermarket's Diesel price remains at 139.7p per litre, as wholesale costs have not been reduced.

Last month Asda, Morrisons and Waitrose all cut their unleaded price by 3p.

Jeremy Walton, Asda's head of petrol trading, said "We always aim to be the first retailer in each part of the country to drop prices when costs are falling and the last to put them up."

Motorists can check how much they will save on fuel by using Asda's petrol price comparison site your.asda.comfuel-prices, which is powered by independent price checker petrolprices.com

The average cost of fuel was 2.8 per cent higher in September this year than the previous year.

Earlier this year the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) launched a review into whether or not reductions in the price of crude oil were being passed on to motorists.

It will explore a number of claims about how the road fuels sector is functioning, including whether supermarkets and major oil companies are making it more difficult for independent retailers to compete.

Economists have warned the rate of inflation is not likely to fall as rapidly as forecast due to pressure from oil prices.

FANS going to this weekend's rugby and football matches will have wrap up, as temperatures threaten to plummet to just above freezing.
Temperatures will fall from about 12C (53.6F) this morning to 8C (46.4F) tomorrow, according to the Met Office.
It will continue to drop throughout Friday, to about 3C (37.4F) at night.
Despite sunny spells on Saturday, temperatures will only hit a maximum of 7C (44.6F), with a low of 1C (33.8F) in the morning.
Gloucester plays Leicester at Kingsholm on Saturday at 4.45pm, while the Robins take on Exeter at home at 3pm.
It promises to get warmer on Sunday evening, with temperatures set to rise to 9C (46.4F), and should stay around the same for the start of Monday.

FAST learner Mike Tindall wants to commit his long-term coaching future to Gloucester, Nigel Davies has revealed.

Gloucester rugby director Davies hailed player-backs coach Tindall's work ethic, backing him to carve out a 'top-end' management career.

Former England captain Tindall's contract expires at the end of the season, and Davies said informal discussions about next term are already underway.

Cherry and Whites boss Davies said he has put no pressure on Tindall's off-field development – but revealed the 34-year-old has taken coaching matters into his own hands.

Explaining Tindall now has to work 'ten times as hard' as when he was just a player, Davies said: "I'm not pushing him too hard – the responsibility is mine, he's just got to develop his coaching over the next year – and I'm convinced Mike will be a top-end coach.

"We're in informal negotiations already – he still wants to play next year!

"But in all seriousness it's great that we're already talking about next year, and those discussions will certainly continue. It's a very difficult transition, I tried it myself for a year or two and Mike has done it very well.

"You're not only dealing with the conditioning, the weights and the rugby training, you're actually managing the group of players and the backs as well.

"Previewing opposition, reviewing performances, looking at developing his coaching as well. There's a huge amount of work for him to handle.

"I told him when he took the role that he would get paid a fraction of what he was paid as a player but work ten times as hard – and that's certainly been the case!

"He's termed backs coach but at the moment he's got a pretty floating role, all the coaches are engaged on a daily basis, we all work in each other's areas because that stimulates thought and ideas.

"But primarily he's working with the backs, he'll do attack and defence with the backs, and he'll have a view of other parts of the game as well."

Tindall's supreme strength of conviction came to the fore at last season's tail-end.

Surplus to requirements in Bryan Redpath's Gloucester, Tindall dug in heels and battled to extend his seven Kingsholm years. Fortune's favours fell his way when Redpath left and Davies was ushered in – with a revamped and extended coaching team.

One of Davies' first moves was to install Tindall as player-backs coach, a shrewd appointment given England's most-capped centre's Kingsholm influence on Gloucester's young, talented backline contingent.

As the season develops Davies said Tindall will assume more responsibility on the coaching front.

Delighted with the Otley-born midfielder's progress, Davies continued: "The first thing I had to do when I arrived at the club was meet with a lot of the senior players, Mike included.

"I had never met Mike before, but immediately he really impressed me with his understanding of the game, his knowledge of Gloucester and the club's players, and his passion for Gloucester too.

"Over the course of several meetings that became more and more apparent. I'm a big believer in keeping experience within the squad too.

"He captained the team in Mont de Marsan and the referee after the game came up to me and congratulated me on how well Mike actually engaged with him, and that comes from experience really as much as anything else.

"The work that he will eventually take over is all the stuff I can do anyway, although I've got a far broader remit than just coaching. But he's pushed the pace himself, he's the first into work every morning and he's the last to leave."