COURSES for people with special needs, learning difficulties, physical disabilities or mental health issues are being offered in Quedgeley.

Sharp Life and Learning Skills, based at The Courtyard, off School Lane, is running a wide range of courses starting this month.

Subject areas include art and creativity, music and drama, life skills, communication skills, IT and computer skills, basic first aid and safety awareness, recycling projects, photography and gardening.

For more information, call 01452 690205 or visit sharplifelearning.webplus.net.

INTERNET videos that appear to show 'duck nabbing' and animal cruelty are being investigated by police.

Officers want to speak to boys, believed to be from Gloucester, who posted a series of videos on social media and video-sharing sites Twitter, YouTube and Vine.

In one clip, called 'forced migration', a duck is apparently carried in a small red rucksack away from a lake.

Later in the video, by the self-proclaimed 'duck nabbers', it is taken to what they say is a different lake and, during the journey, the small bag appears to be spun around numerous times. It then struggles out of the bag. This video has since been removed from YouTube.

In another, a duck and an injured gull, which the boys claim to have rescued and nursed, are put into the same chicken pen. The birds appear flustered while the people in the film are laughing.

Shocked police officers are now investigating after a worried reader contacted The Citizen and the paper passed on the footage.

Sergeant Simon Clemett said: "I am horrified by this footage and some of the associated comments on Twitter.

"Causing unnecessary suffering to an animal is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act.

"Removing a creature from its natural habitat can cause it a significant amount of stress, as well as depriving its young. We are grateful to The Citizen for bringing this matter to our attention.

"We will now be investigating this footage and looking at speaking to the people involved.

"If it is as it seems we will work to see those committing offences under the Animal Welfare Act put before the courts."

Their actions have been criticised on Twitter. One user said 'taking the duck away from his family' might scare it.

But hitting back at the comments, one person who posted a video said: "To people who say duck nabbing is animal abuse, it would be if the duck got hurt but they don't get hurt so it's okay."

He added: "All the people who cry about the duck stealing probably sit in their basement and have never seen a duck in their life." Another declined to comment in The Citizen.

A spokesman for the RSPB said: "Taking wild birds, such as mallards, is illegal under the Wildlife and Countryside Act. The crime carries a maximum £5,000 fine or up to six months in prison."

An RSPCA spokesman added: "The RSPCA is happy to assist Gloucestershire Police and offer any expertise in dealing with the investigation."

Anyone with information should call police on 101.

NATURE lovers descended on the Forest of Dean for England's largest Druid gathering.

The event, which is held in Gloucestershire every year, was open to anyone interested in deepening their spiritual connection with the landscape.

Founder and event organiser Mark Graham said: "It was an opportunity for those with an interest in the spiritual heritage of our lands to come together to share knowledge, enjoy community and celebrate with like-minded folk."

As well as workshops, presentations and ceremonies, the Druid Camp featured music and entertainment.

Special guests included radical folk music band Seize theDay.

Professor of History at Bristol University Ronald Hutton also gave a talk on pagan heritage.

CHILDREN in Stroud have been monitoring speeding cars near their school.

PCSO Joshua Griffiths and PC Charley Sallis took a group of nine Rednock School children to check the speed of traffic earlier this month.

PCSO Griffiths said: "It's brilliant to see that these children are getting involved in community matters. If motorists are deciding to speed outside a school, hopefully these children can relay the message that their speed affects them. That's why it's 30mph."

Overall, out of 161 vehicles, only four were travelling over 30mph.

Police want to remind motorists that the road is 30mph for a reason and to take more care when driving near a school.

HOT sunny days may have been great news for ice cream vans and Cheltenham Lido, but the heatwave has hurt traders in Montpellier.

Business owners believe footfall has dropped in the shopping district as potential customers have shunned a trip out in favour of staying cool.

Brian Crosby, owner of Fine Art, Fine Frames with Westend in Montpellier, has a simple message for shoppers: "We are still here and please brave the hot weather and come and see us."

He is asking people to "bear in mind what the sunshine and heat has done for small shops".

He believes there is a "decided lack" of shoppers in Montpellier Street at the moment which is "full of stunning stylish shops of all types".

"I think it is rather more pronounced with the Montpellier shops than those in the High Street because we are more pleasure shopping while the centre of town is more like essential shopping," he said.

"For the typical customer, if they don't need to go perhaps they won't.

"The tourist numbers have not been very good either and that is probably because of the heat."

Some shops in and around Montpellier Street have even taken to promoting sales and offers usually associated with the winter months as part of a bid to entice shoppers out of the sun, according to Mr Crosby.

Mark Daniel, from the Montpellier Association, described the slight downturn as a "seasonal blip" partly caused by people saving for their holidays.

He is confident that, as soon as the temperatures dip and the summer holidays are over, shoppers will return.

"People are saving money for buckets and spades and all the other things they need," he said. "In this sort of weather people are thinking about nipping out to the supermarket as quick as they can.

"It has never been a good time for retail at this time of the year, so I don't think it has been a surprise to anyone.

"Once the holidays are over I think we will find people wanting to spend time here.

"Montpellier is on the up and this I'm sure is just a seasonal blip."

LETTERS, P8

GLOUCESTER Park is the place to be this month.

Visitors have been flocking to the fun fair in the park to enjoy the rides, sunshine, games and food.

Families and thrill-seekers have been enjoying the biggest and best new white knuckle thriller to traditional children's rides.

Many have also taken part in side-shows and arcade games and enjoyed toffee apples and candy floss.

Bob Wilson's internationally renowned travelling Fun Fair has bought the park to life with laughter, screams and smiles all around.

And the fun is not over yet as people can still visit Gloucester Park to enjoy the atmosphere of the city's Carnival today.

A REPORT on Gloucestershire Hospitals involvement in this year's Time Science Festival has hailed it as a huge success.

The Extraordinary Everyday event was a chance for the hospitals to show off what goes on behind the scenes, and how staff use state of the art technology to improve people's health.

The weekend festival, staged at the Sandford Education Centre last month, was seen as an opportunity to develop the scientific reputation of the trust, engage with the community and encourage children to show an interest in science.

Dr Sally Pearson, said: "Feedback from the event has been overwhelmingly positive from visitors, the staff involved, volunteers and the festival itself."

DELAYS on the M5 yesterday were caused by a car on fire.

Fire crews from Gloucester South fire station and Stroud community fire station were called out to the blaze on the M5 southbound.

The fire service received a call from the owner of the car.

The fire crew from Gloucester got to the scene first and put out the blaze.

The Stroud crew were not required and were returned to their base.

It took around 20 minutes for the fire to be put out by the crew.

The incident followed on from a major fuel spillage and accident on the M4 on Thursday morning.

That incident saw junctions 15 to 16 closed, causing huge delays for people coming to Gloucester from the M4 during the rush-hour period.

AFTER surviving three stroke-like symptoms and a seizure that left him in a wheelchair, Scott Jones has overcome the odds to be crowned world champion.

The 15-year-old, from Swindon Village, collected his gold medal at the IPC World Athletics Championship yesterday, after breaking the world record in the F34 shot put event.

The teenager, the youngest competitor in his field by seven years, upset all the odds to be crowned world champion.

His throw of 13.38m beat the Moroccan Azeddine Nouiri's existing 13.10m record, and brought home the gold medal.

Destroying his official personal best of 11.41m, Scott said he never thought he would smash the world record.

He first suffered three stroke-like symptoms in 2010.

A seizure earlier this year left him in a wheelchair because he could no longer use both legs.

Speaking to the Echo from Lyon yesterday, he said: "I had to wait about an hour to know if I was going to win.

"There were still a few in front of me yet to throw, but when I found out I won, my arms just went up in the air.

"I was quite nervous when I was waiting, but I knew I had done well after my fifth throw.

"I was hoping for a top-six finish before the championships, and thought maybe a medal, but to win and get the world record is amazing.

"It was just surreal when I collected my medal. I had so many messages of support on Twitter and Facebook.

"I would like to thank my family for their massive support, coach Carolyn and certainly all my friends from Winchcombe and Cleeve School. Cheltenham Harriers have been brilliant as well. I couldn't thank them enough."

The Cleeve School pupil, who will be doing his 11 GCSEs next year, will now have to face another hurdle – homework.

Mum Liz paid tribute to the mental strength shown by her son to bounce back from his ordeals.

She said: "I think he thought to himself he was not going to let it get him down, and he was going to persevere. He has that mental toughness about him.

"We were nervous wrecks while we were waiting for the result. He has got school work to complete now, and he came here with a lot of homework. I don't think many of his competitors actually have to think about homework!"

FORTY children are piling through the doors of a Quedgeley group each week providing there is a "real need" for support groups for parents.

A baby and toddler group, which meets at St James Church every Tuesday from 10am until 11am, started little over a month ago – but the group is already brimming with activity.

Organiser Jackie Hall said: "There is clearly a real need for a group like this where parents can come along with their young ones for some quality time doing fun things together."

AS the warm and dry weather continued yesterday, families gathered for a Community Play Day organised by Play Gloucestershire.

Children enjoyed arts and crafts, making dens, dressing up and much more.

Many youngsters were given the opportunity to show off their sports skills.

They played each other at tennis and raced each other, too.

The fun day took place in Tudor Mead Park in Churchdown.

THREE members of a cocaine racket, who between them made nearly £500,000, will have to pay back less than £50,000.

Craig King, Matthew Howe and Simon Yates all admitted conspiracy to supply drugs along with eight other defendants last year.

The gang were together sentenced to more than 50 years in prison following a year-long undercover surveillance operation which saw them holding secret meetings in county car parks.

Gloucester Crown Court heard yesterday that King, of Tuffley Avenue, Gloucester, who was sentenced to 10 years' jail, had made £460,000 from the venture.

However, the 33-year-old had just £41,360.01 in assets, which he has six months to pay under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

Howe, 34, of Locking Drive, Kingsway, was ordered to pay back £486.51 of the £3,205.79 he benefited from the crime, while Yates, 50, of Bodiam Avenue, Tuffley, has three months to fork out the £4,445 he gained.

Both have since been released from custody after each being jailed for three years and four months.

Prosecutor Paul Grumbar told Bristol Crown Court last year King was the principal player in gang.

In one police raid in Sidney Street, in June 2011, more than five kilos of cocaine with an estimated value of £205,506 were seized, said the barrister.

The following September, another member of the gang, Neil Philips, 32, of Linden Road, Gloucester, who was jailed for seven years, four months, was stopped in Hucclecote Road with three kilos of the drug, worth an estimated £153,000, in his rucksack.

The gang also included Roland Kuka, 28, of Russet Close, Tuffley, who was jailed for five years, four months; James Coltman, 37, of Main Road, Shurdington, who got five years, six months; Stuart Bace, 36, of Kitchener Avenue, Gloucester, who received four years, eight months; Anthony Campbell, 30, of Hazelton Close, Robinswood, who received three years, six months; and Aaron Bace, 22, of Bisley Road, Tuffley, who was sentenced to three years, four months.

SEVEN men accused of involvement in a cocaine dealing plot have been remanded in custody.

All are accused of conspiracy to supply almost £44,000 worth of the class A drug following an operation by Gloucestershire police earlier this week.

Gloucester men Mohammed Tagari, 42, of Blenheim Road; Richard Neil Hoskins, 26, of Howard Street; Kieran Cox, 21, of Hartland Road, all in Tredworth; Aaron Warmington, 26, of Elmleaze in Elmbridge; Kyle Ashley Silk, 25, of Linden Road; Mark Ian Jones, 27, of The Rushes in Tuffley; and Simone Cicilloni, 41, of Boulter Crescent in Wigston, Leicester all appeared before Cheltenham Magistrates' Court yesterday morning.

Silk was also charged with production of cannabis and Jones was also charged with possession with intent to supply fluoromethcathinone, a class B 'designer' drug known as 3-fmc.

No pleas to any of the charges have been entered at this stage.

All seven are accused of being part of a plot in which a cutting agent for cocaine was alleged to have been ferried from Grimsby to Gloucester.

The court heard that the estimated street value of the cocaine seized was £43,890, but that could have run into several hundreds of thousands of pounds if mixed with the cutting agent and sold.

A number of warrants were instigated by Gloucestershire police and carried out in Gloucester, Leicester, Middlesex and Bedford this week.

District Judge Joti Bopa-Rai remanded all seven in custody ahead of a plea and case management hearing on August 22 at Gloucester Crown Court.

"I STOOD guard outside my children's door with a heavy vase."

Those were the words of a Tuffley mother who suffered a terrifying ordeal during an attempted burglary on Wednesday night.

It followed a spate of incidents in the area, with police warning people to keep windows and doors shut, despite the warmer weather.

Hayley Johnson, who lives near The Gladiator Pub in Tuffley Lane, said: "I was awoken by someone trying to get in through my front door with a lot of force. I stood guard outside my children's door with a heavy vase and my phone talking to the police. They had tried to get into my neighbours', too."

She added: "I've lived in Tuffley a long time and do not find the area rough in the slightest. This is the first crime-related issue I have had. There's not any area safe from crime, I'm afraid, as sadly there's dirty scumbags everywhere."

Hayley was alerting people on Facebook page 'Spotted: Gloucester' to crimes, and Gemma Cresswell, who lives near The Gladiator pub, said she, too, had been affected.

She said: "Someone came into my garden at 2am and walked up my path. I heard rustling about for 10 minutes and was too afraid to look out of my bedroom window. Scary."

One anonymous person said: "I live in Tuffley. At 3am, someone tried to break into my house. The window was cracked open a tiny bit – not noticeable unless you were right next to it. They put their hand through the window and pulled the blind back. My partner made a noise and startled them and they withdrew it. I know it's hot, but people will find those windows that are only slightly open and use it as an advantage."

Police received two reports of suspicious activity in Tuffley in the early hours of Thursday. One was in Tuffley Lane, while the other was in Tolsey Gardens.

Officers searched the areas, but no one was found. No homes were broken into in either incident.

A spokesman for Gloucester police said: "In both of these instances, the homeowner did exactly the right thing by calling us.

"So far this month we have seen an increase in the number of burglaries in the Tuffley and Grange areas – from three last year to eight this year.

"The areas are regularly patrolled and any incidents reported are thoroughly investigated, but we would also like to remind the community that in this hot weather they should ensure that windows and doors are kept shut and locked when a room is unoccupied.

"If you are suspicious of any activity at all, please call 101. We would much rather be called to something that turns out to be legitimate than to miss an opportunity to prevent a crime or catch a thief."

HEAVILY pregnant Samantha Rees and her family say more needs to be done to help mums-to-be after she was stopped from using a loo in a Gloucester cafe.

Samantha, 28, from Stroud, was in urgent need of the toilet during a trip to Gloucester Quays and she and her father Mark went to Cafe Tucci, where they asked for her to use the ladies'.

Mr Rees, vice-chairman of Stroud District Council, said he was then shocked and offended when their polite request was refused.

"I walked into the empty cafe with my daughter and asked the lady if my daughter could use their loo. I pointed to Samantha's tummy and said she was pregnant. The cafe employee said, 'Sorry it's for customers only'. I was shocked and offended," said painter and decorator Mr Rees.

The incident happened during the Gloucester Quays Food Festival last weekend when Samantha found all the mobile conveniences were locked up.

So Sam, whose baby is due on Friday, went in search elsewhere.

Her mother, Tina, said Samantha, on maternity leave from a family run Stroud sports' shop, was very upset. She said Samantha, who lives at Cashes Green in Stroud with her fiance Taz Measures, was currently unwell and was resting in preparation for her baby's arrival.

Mr Rees said: "My wife Tina went back into Tucci and spoke to the same lady who denied she saw Samantha was pregnant and then offered her the loo. But thankfully we had already found a friendly hairdresser's who offered her their facilities."

Jenni Silver, from Gloucester, who is also pregnant, said: "It drives me mad finding a loo in Gloucester now the public ones are closed. I do think shops and cafes should be understanding with pregnant women."

A spokeswoman for Tucci, who asked not to be named, said yesterday: "Firstly, I did not know she was pregnant. I don't have to allow anyone in here. I do not legally have to let her in. It's not my fault if the council don't have toilets around here."

It is sometimes claimed that a pregnant woman is allowed to urinate in a policeman's helmet. But local by-laws ban relieving yourself in any public place, although discretion might often be used for pregnant women.

SPECIAL Forces training can help Gloucester's stars smash pre-season strength and speed test records, believes Nigel Davies.

Kingsholm's top dogs have battled through severe mental and physical endurance tests devised by military personnel in their first phase of pre-season training.

Rugby director Davies has pitted his men against weekly day-long extreme challenges, to steel his stars for the season ahead.

The Cherry and Whites will return to training on Monday after a week's rest, to face their second set of comprehensive fitness and power testing.

Gloucester's strength and conditioning team tested the Kingsholm squad on their first day of pre-season, on Thursday, June 27.

And now Davies' squad will go through the same challenges again, in order to gauge overall progress.

After Monday's tests Gloucester will fly out to the French Alps for their pre-season training tour.

Davies' men will spend eight days in Tignes, before travelling directly down to Toulon for their opening warm-up match at Stade Mayol on Friday, August 9.

The former Wales centre explained: "Those challenges have been extremely testing, both mentally and physically, up to the point where on occasion players fail.

"We knew they would, and then when that happens we look into why they failed, and looking to move on and progress from there.

"Invariably in the challenges that came after, more and more people passed and got through, as a result of growing mental toughness and resilience.

"Through the course of the last few weeks all the players have grown a great deal on that front.

"A lot of it was military-based, and we were very privileged to have access to and to have been out with some Special Forces units, and some of the tests that they do.

"And it has been extremely challenging.

"We've been fortunate to be allowed to work with these people, and for them to give us their time and expertise.

"And the specialists we've been working with don't want to talk too much about what we've done, they've asked for discretion around what we've done.

"So now the players will be tested on Monday, after a week's rest where they were doing a lighter programme.

"We'll be able to see the gains they have made in pre-season so far.

"You don't actually feel the full benefit while you're training, it's when you rest and then pick it up again.

"We'll expect all their times to be better than when we tested them on their first day back."

Gloucester capitalised on the benefits of altitude training last summer with their first pre-season trip to Tignes.

Davies believes it is right to return this year but admits it will probably be the last time the Kingsholm men do.

He added: "Everything has its life span, and I thought it was the right thing to do to go back to Tignes, because it works really well.

"We know the environment, they've actually improved their facilities there as well, so that will be even more beneficial for us.

"This will be the last year that we do this, but it's absolutely right and perfect that we go there again this season."

FOREIGN workers are "more dependable" than British workers, according to one county employer.

But businesses in the county say they always employ the best person for the job, regardless of nationality.

Matthew Hancock, the Business and Education Minister, urged firms this week not to take the "easy option" of filling vacancies with foreign workers when they could train local people instead.

Michael Bentley, owner of Bentley's Castle Fruit Farm in Newent, said: "I have found foreign workers to be much more dependable than British workers.

"Foreign workers are here to work, they don't have other commitments like families.

"When we are all go here we have 36 employees and 90 per cent of those are foreign. Most are Bulgarian, while the others are Polish.

"I have got nothing against employing British people, but the benefit system is against us, too. People can't come off benefits quick enough when the season arrives."

Stroud MP Neil Carmichael admits he would like to see more jobs given to local people.

He said: "It's about who has got the skills. That's why I am so passionate about engineering and manufacturing and making sure people have the skills for the jobs.

"What I would like to see is local jobs for local people who have the skills employers require."

Chris Pocket, a spokesman for Renishaw, the Wotton-under-Edge engineering firm, said: "It is fair to say we employ the best person for the job, wherever they are from.

"We need specialists. They might be here in the UK, they might not be. We have 2,100 employees in the UK and the majority are British, but we don't have a policy to say we should employ British people rather than foreign workers, we just look for the best person to fill a position."

Recently developers at the Railway Triangle and Gloucester Services have prioritised local people to fill their vacancies.