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A MAN accused of raping a 15-year-old girl has appeared in court. Mark Alan Reynolds, 37, of Innsworth Lane, Innsworth, faces four charges relating to sexual activity with two 15-year-old girls. He is accused of sexual assault, sexual touching, engaging in sex, and rape, between January 2005 and June 2006. Prosecutor Peter Ashby said three charges relate to one girl and another charge to another girl but he did not say which charges those were. He appeared before Stroud Magistrates' Court this morning. No pleas were asked for at this stage and the case was sent to Gloucester Crown Court for a preliminary hearing on Friday, May 2. He remains on bail.

Innsworth man accused of raping 15-year-old girl

SUSPICIOUS pharmacy staff caught a shoplifter on CCTV stealing Christmas presents. Stroud Magistrates' Court heard today that Matthew George Kingston, 24, of Westfields, Wotton-under-Edge, stole £24.97 of goods from a town chemist. After staff spotted him on CCTV, he was arrested and told police he had no money, and gave the stolen goods as Christmas presents, said prosecutor Peter Ashby. He was ordered to pay £24.97 compensation and £40 costs.

Wotton-under-Edge man stole for Christmas presents

Tim Harris has called upon the armchair supporters of Gloucester to show their support for the city's resurgent football club in a game that could define their season tonight. Gloucester City welcome Skrill North relegation rivals Oxford City to Whaddon Road (7.45pm) with Tigers boss Harris hopeful of seeing a bumper crowd roaring his team on. Victory would see City open up a 10-point cushion on the bottom three and a 15-point gap on their opponents with six games of the season remaining. After claiming five wins from his first seven games since taking over in the City hotseat in February, Harris is hoping that more of the club's floating fans can be tempted to click through the turnstiles. "We've had some really fantastic support in our past two away games at Histon and Boston – two really difficult treks across country," Harris said. "The dedication that the hardcore fans have shown is testament to their commitment to the club and we certainly want to see a few more armchair supporters tonight. "It should be a great game, they are right down there scrapping for their lives, we've given ourselves a little bit of a cushion and we have a great chance to make that a bigger cushion." Harris tasted defeat for the first time in his second stint as City boss on Saturday as Boston United overcame a rare flat performance to run out 2-0 winners in Lincolnshire. Aware that the winning run was never going to last forever, Harris has now turned his attentions to ensuring that his squad bounce back with a victory tonight. "We've picked up 16 points from 21, which is a brilliant run given the position we were in, but we want to build on that," he said. "We did all right on Saturday, we competed well but we didn't perform anywhere near as well as we have of late. "But that's no great drama given that we have been on a great run of form. "We obviously want to win every game we play in but we came up a little short on Saturday. "We need to bounce back and there is no better opportunity for us to do that in a big game against Oxford. "We don't want to put any extra pressure on the boys, we have seven games remaining, five of which are at home but we won't get ahead of ourselves. "It sounds boring, but we will just take every game as it comes and worry about what we can do and focus on putting in another good performance." Defender Billy Jones (hip flexor) and forward Adam Mann (back spasm) missed the trip to Lincolnshire, but are hoping to return to action against Oxford. Centre-back Ruairidh Winters misses the game due to work commitments, while Tom Webb (back) and full-back Mike Green (knee) are still waiting on a return to action. Oxford, who fought back from 3-1 down to draw 3-3 with Guiseley on Saturday, should include midfielder Darren Mullings, who made the move from Gloucester last month.

Boss Tim Harris in plea to Gloucester City's armchair fans

THE ever-popular County Primary Schools' Cross-Country Championships at St Edward's Junior School saw a one-two for Cheltenham and District. It was the fifth successive win for Cheltenham's boys and fourth in a row for the girls. The top six runners from each district count towards the team score and there was a maximum of 12 runners per district in each race. A total of 105 primary schools were represented at county level and many more at level two. Results: Boys, 1 Cheltenham 58; 2 North Cotswolds 117; 3 Wotton & Dursley 119; 4 Cirencester & Dist 124; 5 Forest of Dean 191; 6 Gloucester 239; 7 Stroud 267; 8 Tewkesbury 293; 9 South Gloucester 342. Girls, 1 Cheltenham 83; 2 Wotton & Dursley 94; 3 Cirencester & Dist; 147; 4 Gloucester 182; 5 Stroud 184; 6 North Cotswolds 191; 7 South Gloucester 266; 8 Forest of Dean 283; 9 Tewkesbury 295. Top 10 boys, 1 Joe McCroubie (Wooton & Dursley) Bluecoat; 2 Edward Leech (Forest of Dean) St Anthonys; 3 Jack Lovell (Wooton & Dursley) Wycliffe; 4 James Findlay (Cheltenham) St Edward's; 5 Jamie Parmar (Cheltenham) Richard Pate; 6 Ben Powell (Cheltenham) Charlton Kings; 7 Sam Howell (Cirencester & District) Powells; 8 Luke Buck (Cirencester & District) Hatherop Castle; 9 Louis Mecklenburgh (Cheltenham) Woodmancote 10 Alex Adams (N Cotswolds) Mickleton. Top 10 girls, 1 Olivia Rook (Cheltenham) Leckhampton; 2 Bethan Powell (N Cotswolds) Northleach; 3 Evie Green (Wooton & Dursley) Wycliffe; 4 Issy Cook (Stroud) Bussage; 5 Maddy Palmer (South Glos) Wycliffe; 6 Grace Pitman (Gloucester) Birdlip; 7 Molly Powlesland (Cirencester & District) Powells; 8 Bethsheba Kayley (Gloucester) King's; 9 Martha Heaps (Wooton & Dursley) Yate; 10 Grace Tavner (Stroud) Stroud Valley.

Television presenter Oli Bell is hoping Kim Bailey wins the Crabbie's Grand National – because he owns the Andoversford trainer's big-race runner. Bell is a member of the four-strong May We Never Be Found Out Partnership whose colours will be carried by The Rainbow Hunter and jockey Aidan Coleman in the Aintree feature over 30 of the most difficult fences in the world on Saturday. Bailey is looking to win the Grand National for the second time in his training career after gaining a famous win with Mr Frisk in 1990 and Bell believes his chances of achieving the feat with 33-1 shot The Rainbow Hunter have been underestimated. The Rainbow Hunter unseated Coleman in his first crack at the big prize last year but goes into Saturday's race boosted by a win at Doncaster in January. Bell said: "That race at Doncaster, when you go through the history books, is one of the most recognisable Grand National trials. "He's beaten the right horses, like Unioniste who has run in Grade One races, and it was by far and away his best performance to date. "It was a tough race on soft ground so we thought the best thing to do was keep him fresh for the National – he's a horse that goes well fresh. "Kim is delighted with how the preparation has gone and, while things can go wrong in the build-up to a race, it's so far so good. "The horse has got a lot of flair and enthusiasm. I think he is a legend and that he's got more talent than people give him credit for. "If I were looking at the Grand National from a form angle, I would ignore everything he did up until last time out. "He's had a 'wind' operation and that's completely changed him. You can see it in his work at home and in his performance at Doncaster. "He enjoyed it last year, despite the fact we were unlucky. I don't have any idea why he is 33-1 and I think that if he were trained by Willie Mullins, Paul Nicholls or Nicky Henderson he would be near enough favourite. "I think he'll attract a lot of support on the day because of the horses in that big-price bracket he's the obvious starting point. Bell said he enjoyed working with Bailey – "He's one of the best trainers I'll have in my life" – and that he felt fortunate to own a horse capable of running the Grand National. The 26-year-old said he was trying to keep a lid on his natural enthusiasm because last year's race confirmed the Grand National cliché that over virtually four and a half miles and featuring fences such as Becher's Brook and The Chair, anything can happen in it. "Last year I was saying that I'd think he would run a really big race but I was kind of kidding myself into thinking he would, whereas this year I don't have to trick myself," said Bell. "It's easy to make a strong case for him and the hard part is reining it in. You could have a horse lined up for years in the Grand National but your race ends at the first fence – that's the Grand National. "Having that experience last year gave me the reality check I needed because it is very easy to get carried away, particularly when you're young, enthusiastic and naïve, like I am. "Now I know that anything can happen and I think I'll be able to enjoy it a bit more because last year I didn't know what to expect. At the end of the day, we're just very lucky, because people dream of having a Grand National runner and go through their whole lives not having one." The Rainbow Hunter is among 65 horses still in the frame for the Grand National following the latest entry stage. The other possible runners from Gloucestershire include the Jonjo O'Neill-trained quintet Alfie Sherrin, Burton Port, Lost Glory, Storm Survivor and Twirling Magnet. Wayward Prince, trained by Hilary Parrott, Tour Des Champs (Nigel Twiston-Davies), Alvarado (Fergal O'Brien) and Wyck Hill (David Bridgwater) and Martin Keighley's duo Any Currency and Merlin's Wish may also run.

Rainbow Hunter has what it takes to win Grand National for Kim Bailey says owner Oli Bell

A 48-year-old, who was alleged to have breached her ASBO when she dropped her trousers in Gloucester, has appeared in court. Jacqueline Shields pleaded guilty to breaching her anti-social behaviour order on November 28, last year when she was found outside Chequers Hall in Painswick Road. She further admitted to causing PC Quay Voong racially aggravated intentional harassment, alarm or distress when she appeared at Gloucester Crown Court on Monday via video link from prison. Judge Jamie Tabor QC gave Shields of Eastern Avenue in Gloucester a 12 month conditional discharge for the offences and ordered the charge of exposure lie on file. Prosecutor Julian Kesner requested a change to Shields' ASBO, who has been an ongoing nuisance in the city. It means she will no longer be able to shout, scream, or swear in a public place in Gloucester; she is also banned from asking any person in the city for money, other than someone who owes her cash, and she was also ordered not to remain in any property, public place, business or home after being asked to leave. The court heard a care management plan was in place for Shields as she was released from prison. Judge Tabor praised those from the psychiatric and social team for their work saying Shields "was not an easy lady" and that he was "very impressed" by their humanity. He told Shields: "I have amended the order that forbids you to go to places, so you will have a little more freedom. Do you understand?" Shields began to talk about being hit on the head through the video link. "I don't suspect you do, for a minute," Judge Tabor added. It is not the first time the authorities have had to deal with Shields' somewhat bizarre behaviour. In August last year, a week after she was banned from a large part of Gloucester, she was back behind bars after having allegedly used the middle of Barton Street as a toilet - stopping the bus in the process. Before that she had served 40 days on remand for offences including outraging public decency when she defecated in the street on January 17, and an assault on March 3. Her previous ASBO, brought by Gloucestershire Constabulary and her landlord, Gloucester City Homes, banned her from the area between Eastern Avenue, Metz Way, Bruton Way and Tredworth Road for two years, unless she was with a care worker or an NHS worker. She previous made court appearances for making hundreds of hoax 999 calls, stealing a cardigan from a charity stop and harassing staff and customers of the Emmaus charity shop in the city.

Woman alleged to have breached ASBO by dropping her trousers in Gloucester, appears in court

Works to improve railways between Swindon and Cheltenham Spa are set to cause headaches for commuters in April. First Great Western are warning people to check journey times and routes prior to travelling. Network Rail is going into a crucial phase of their £45 million project to upgrade the line. Between April 12 and 15, road transport will replace trains between Swindon and Gloucester. On April 14 and 15, there will be a limited direct train service from Cheltenham Spa/Gloucester to London Paddington via Bristol Parkway. At other times customers will also be able to use First Great Western and Cross Country services to Bristol Parkway and change there for direct services to London Paddington. From April 18 to 21, trains will operate between Cheltenham Spa/Gloucester and Swindon to an amended timetable. Customers for London Paddington should change at Swindon. The upgrades will pave the way for increased capacity and reduce delays. Once completed in August, the line upgrade between Swindon and Kemble via Gloucester and Stroud will allow for future increased capacity as well as reducing delays, providing a more reliable train service. Mark Hopwood, First Great Western's managing director said:"This upgrade is vitally important to improve our customers' travel experiences for the future. "These works to the network infrastructure will pave the way for faster, more reliable services and makes the most of the Government's planned investment in electrification and new trains – whoever has the privilege of running the franchise beyond 2015." While the impact of the work will be minimised, some rail services will be affected during this project. Customers can expect journeys to take between 30-55 minutes longer than usual. FGW tickets will be permitted for use by other train companies. The planned work will include the reinstatement of the second line between Swindon and Kemble, upgrade to earthworks along the route to accommodate this new track and new signalling equipment. This capability will be essential during the planned electrification of the Great Western main line when Bristol Parkway and Severn Tunnel are closed and south Wales trains are diverted along this route. Network Rail will also need to close the line between Swindon and Gloucester on the week leading up to and over the August Bank Holiday weekend. Passengers are advised to check their travel plans online at www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk or www.nationalrail.co.uk, or to call FGW customer services on 03457 000125.

Railway works between Swindon and Cheltenham set to cause train delays and cancellations in April

PARENTS across Gloucestershire are being urged to learn more about how they can help keep their children safe online. E-safety has been placed at the top of the agenda in many county schools, but it is at home where children are most at risk online. Simply monitoring your child's online activity, adding content filters or placing parental control on the accessibility of websites are essential ways to help keep children safe. Chat rooms can be the perfect stalking ground for online adult predators, looking to exploit vulnerable children.] Amanda Wilsdon, from the Gloucestershire Domestic Violence Support and Advocacy Project in Kingsholm, said: "Child sexual exploitation has always been around, but the internet has had a huge impact. "If you are a young person on a chat website and say on there you are new to the area and don't have any friends yet, it could take minutes before an adult perpetrator would try to make contact. "Within ten minutes they could even be trying to arrange to meet up. That is very frightening for parents. These people have access to our kids that they have never had before. "We've also got adult perpetrators from outside of the country manipulating those children via the internet, getting pictures from them or getting them to self harm on Skype. They get them to do all sorts of things remotely, but they may have never touched a child. "It is hard to prosecute them as they are hard to find, but the long term impact on victims is huge." The new child sexual exploitation team at Gloucestershire Police launched in September and has been taking their safety advice onto the front line in schools. Detective Sergeant Nigel Hatten, who is leading Operation Garner, the investigation into child trafficking in Gloucester, said some parents are not aware of the online threat. He said: "A lot of the social networks are world wide sites so they are very hard to check, it is not just people in the UK who are looking to exploit children online. Some children don't realise that passing on a sexual image of their peers is a criminal offence. "Parents see national cases of CSE and don't think it could happen to them. It is not restricted to a particular demographic. "Our team is developing, but structured slightly different to other forces. We will look at anything that we would deem important, from safeguarding to linking in with our online team that examines the use of indecent images. The preventative side of things in school and in the community is just as important for us. "Our work is totally different to normal police work. We deal with the most vulnerable victims who generally don't want to engage with the police, parents or other social services." Key indicators that children may have been exploited online could be them going missing or that they have started receiving expensive gifts. Other signs could be that a child has started associating with older people or has become secretive with family members or other adults. Part of the schools team, PC Jenny Kadodia, said: "The problem has always been there, now it is about how to recognise how to report it. "Parents need to be aware of what their children are doing online. There will be 11-year-olds playing games in an adult's forum. "Parents need to get educated about social media, how they can check who is friends with their children and if there are adults who they have connected with on Facebook, for example. "There are good security systems available to keep children safe inline, but parents need to know how to use them. The internet is a public place "Reputation, consequence and ethics are three important factors that need to be considered by parents when their children are using the internet and social media. Young people are forgetting these things and putting themselves at risk. "Teenagers need to take responsibility for themselves. these things can come back to damage them in later life." PC Nicki Dannatt : "There is a virtual publication that can help parents to teach them about settings and apps to protect children online. "Older teenagers need to take more responsibility for themselves. We go into schools to get that message across, but there are some who are acting irresponsibly. Schools have been doing internet safety for around eight years. "It is not easy to get an audience of parents into schools to learn about internet safety. The opportunities for parents to learn are there, it can be difficult to engage them." For more online advice, visit www.vodafone.com/parents to report any online abuses visit www.thinkuknow.co.uk.

Parents urged to back e-safety campaign for children in Gloucestershire

ONE of the world's leading street artists has vowed to spray it again in Gloucestershire after an invigorating visit to the county. Portsmouth-based artist My Dog Sighs (MDS) is credited with creating the concept of Free Art Friday in which pieces of art are given away. He visited Hayley Kendal who is converting a Leyland double decker bus into a travelling art gallery called The Rusty Alexander and added his own unique touches. He also sprayed a stunning piece on an underpass on the Honeybourne Line in Cheltenham as well as meeting local street artists. My Dog Sighs said: "Hayley is doing an incredible job with the bus and it's been an honour to be part of it. "It's such a brilliantly simple idea to take art to the people rather than getting them to visit what are often intimidating gallery spaces. "Her attention to detail is incredible, she's got a very confident aesthetic for the entire look and feel of the bus and having looked through her artists rosta, she's going to be showing an incredibly high standard of work. "By taking the Rusty Alexander around the country she is really going to be an ambassador for the county's creativity. "My visit to Gloucestershire was full of visits from the local art scene, meeting with Beastie and dropping some of my free art for him to put out, hearing how well faf (Free Art Friday) Gloucester is going and his plans for a paint festival there, as well as panting a small piece to kick off the summer paint festival being organised by Dice 67 in Cheltenham. "It was my first visit to the area but with so many exciting creatives around, I'm keen to head back and get involved where I can." Hayley said: "After the last pictures in the Citizen of a grey primed bus it has since undergone an intensive six day paintathon to create a wondrous delight for the eyes. "Three amazing artists My Dog Sighs, Funns and Kazland have created my dream bus. "A mix of urban and outsider art with layers of rust to create an aged feel as if it was painted 50 years ago. "You could spend hours just staring at the detail of My Dog Sigh's painted eyes and Funns and Kazland's bizarre markings and creatures!!! "Just the inside to finish and then we will hit the fairs, festivals and events in the summer."The Rusty Alexander My Dog Sighs Funnsart Kazland Dice Sixty Seven Free Art Friday in Gloucester

Top street artist My Dog Sighs praises creative scene in Gloucestershire

JURORS heard a man accused of attempted rape boasted after the alleged attack. The 63-year-old alleged victim, who is gay, told the court she was left "feeling dirty" after the alleged attack by married father Ronald Paton. She said Paton, 60, invited her over to his Danby Court home in Yorkley before trying to rape her while she lay helpless on the floor having dislocated her hip during the assault. Prosecutor Kerry Barker said: "She managed to leave and go home. She broke down and told her son what had happened and she begged him not to tell anyone. "She felt totally humiliated as you can imagine. "She told the authorities six weeks later." Paton denies attempting to rape the woman and sexually assaulting her. Mr Barker said on arrest Paton told officers: "I can't believe this – she's a dyke." Gloucester Crown Court heard the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, attempted to call the rape crisis line in London after the alleged attack on June 30, 2012, but no one answered the helpline phone. The court heard she wanted to speak to a professional before reporting the incident to the police. She told the jury she was unable to get an appointment with a female doctor the day after the attack and when she finally managed to contact the Gloucestershire Rape Crisis Centre, her appointment was then cancelled as they could not visit her in her home. A month later, she was finally able to talk to someone from the county's sexual assault referral centre, who accompanied her to the police station to report it. But her problems did not end then as authorities lost her police video interview, leaving her to have to relive the whole attack in the court room. Mr Barker told the court it was "most regrettable somewhere between the police and the Crown Prosecution Service that the recording got lost". The woman told the jury Paton invited her around his home for a drink and she began to feel uncomfortable when he turned off the main light and the lamps on. She said: "In the middle of the evening he beckoned me to sit with him, but I tried to laugh it off saying 'you know I'm gay, nothing like that will ever be on the cards with me'. "He jumped on me and pushed me back and I was aware he was biting my breast. It happened so quickly, I was initially quite shocked, but I tried to push him away. "When I was saying 'go away', 'stop', it seemed to make him more determined and angry." The trial continues.

Man 'boasted after attempted rape on gay woman', court told

UKIP parliamentary candidate Luke Hindhaugh has announced he will be fighting for the Gloucester seat. The 27-year-old will be appealing for the support of voters in the May 2015 General Election. The UK Independence Party selected Mr Hindhaugh to go up against current Conservative MP Richard Graham and Labour's Sophy Gardner. The Liberal Democrats have yet to announce their candidate, but it is widely tipped to be city and county councillor Jeremy Hilton again. Mr Hindhaugh works for the Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service and lives in Coney Hill. Mike Smith, UKIP's branch chairman for Gloucester, said: "Luke is young and passionate about our city. He lives here so we haven't had to 'parachute in' a candidate like certain other parties." Mr Hindhaugh said: "It is a great honour to be selected as the UKIP candidate for Gloucester. It is an amazing city full of beauty and history. "However, for too long politicians have ignored the potential of the city and have failed to invest. Not only have they failed to invest but the Conservative-run city council has increased the council debt by 12.64 per cent over the last four years. "I have lived in Gloucester since 2008 and already have been actively campaigning in the city. I will continue to do so as a UKIP parliamentary candidate. My aim is to meet as many people as possible and make sure that they are aware that it is UKIP that offers real change. We are the only party that has the opportunity of setting policy outside of an EU framework." City council leader Paul James hit back at Mr Hindhaugh's comments. He said: "We only finance our spending through borrowing for capital projects when there's a clear business case for it and when we know were the money is coming from to repay it. I suggest there maybe better areas for Luke to campaign on." Former RAF wing commander Sophy Gardner also hit back, revealing she has bought a flat in Moreland which she has just moved into. She said: "When you have served your country for 19 years and moved more than 30 times you don't come from anywhere but I have said this before and I will say it again that I was selected by Gloucester people who are Labour party members. I was chosen in an open contest to represent Gloucester."

UKIP's Luke Hindhaugh, 27, will fight Gloucester constituency

Small businesses had a lot to shout about today when Labour's shadow secretary for small business came to Gloucester. Training up new skilled workers is a big must for Excel Precision Engineering, a highly specialised small business in Quedgeley, which prepares parts for the space, aviation, oil, gas and medical industries. Toby Perkins MP, joined by Labour's parliamentary candidate for Gloucester, Sophy Gardner, toured the business at the Olympus Business Park. He met with Adam Masters, a 20-year-old trainee, who said: "I started here in January and I'm earning money whilst learning new skills on the job. It is really exciting to be a part of this industry." His boss Tony Sitek, manager director of the firm, said: "There are not enough skilled workers out there. They have got to have the basics in numbers and computer skills. "We want to bring 14 and 15-year-olds into the workshop and show them that engineering is not like being down in the pit, it isn't messy – it in fact holds great opportunities for them to work all over the world with hi-tech equipment." Other small businesses in the city met at City Works, in Alfred Street, to tell Mr Perkins over lunch what they need more help with. John Down, a board member for Co-operative Futures, an organisation which supports community-led companies and co-operatives, said: "Businesses need to have someone who they can call on for support. "You can have the best idea for a business but you need someone to challenge and encourage the thought process to make it a reality." Pottery class leader Patrick Esson, who runs classes to help vulnerable people, has lost some of his long-term clients because of cuts in social care funding at Gloucestershire County Council – but he still has high hopes of working with other small businesses to one day create a new gallery space in a warehouse, in which creative industries can show off the work they are doing. Mr Esson said: "I have been doing this for 20 years but the last three years have been difficult. I have lost some clients who have been coming to me for 10 or 15 years and that is hard because when people come here you really see them come out of their shell. "We keep on pushing for our ambitions of opening a gallery one day. We are quite positive that the only way is up but it would be nice to see more support for this." Mr Perkins set out key policies which Labour would introduce to help small businesses. They include:

Linking up small businesses with resources available to them and supporting the creation of regional banks.
More consistent support for business start ups from area to area, with the creation of new bureaus in major cities and towns.
Clampdown on late payments by big business to small firms.
Further support for business rates to encourage occupation of empty units in city centres such as Gloucester.

Gloucester's small firms buoyed by visit from top Labour MP

CHARLIE Sharples insists Gloucester can still salvage success from their season after surviving a scare against Exeter Chiefs. The hosts threatened to snatch the spoils at Sandy Park as Don Armand barged over in injury time but Gareth Steenson missed what would have been a match -winning conversion And Sharples, who capped his 100th Cherry and White appearance with a try, reckons the Sandy Park victory can act as a springboard as Gloucester set their sights on the top half of the Premiership table. He said: "It was a little bit tense at the end, certainly closer than we would have liked. We showed some good stuff, fronted up in defence and while we still have plenty of stuff to work on, ultimately we have gone down to Exeter and come away with four points. "We were playing the better rugby and didn't deserve to go in at half-time trailing but we stuck in there, managed to get in front and hung on at the end. "It wasn't pretty and there are things to improve but we did the best we could and came away with the win. "In terms of the table it puts us ahead of them and if we want to make the top six or seven it was really important that we went down there and got the result. "We have a pretty decent run until the end of the season and we will definitely try to get as many victories and points so we can try to salvage something from the season." Gloucester take on London Wasps twice in the next month, either side of a home derby with Bath, first in an Amlin Challenge Cup quarter-final clash on Sunday and then the Premiership. The Wycombe-based outfit triumphed on the last occasion the two sides met with Christian Wade scoring two sensational tries to seal the win. But Sharples insists Gloucester are now a much improved outfit and Wasps will be without Wade and potentially Elliot Daly, who suffered a shoulder injury in their defeat to Saracens on Saturday. Sharples said: "It's nice to be going into knockout rugby on the back of two wins, that will give us confidence but it will be tough going down to Adam's Park. It's a difficult place to play but it's a game we can win. We have nothing to lose going down there. Christian Wade scored a couple out of nothing. But he's injured at the moment which is a good thing for us – obviously it's a boost to us that some of these danger men aren't playing "But we're probably a different team to the one we were at the start of the season, we're definitely playing better and will go there full of confidence."

Police are appealing for information after a man was assaulted in Stroud. The incident happened on Home Orchard in Ebley at around 7.40pm on Tuesday March 18. The victim, a 29-year-old local man was driving along Home Orchard when he stopped to wait for a silver Vauxhall Astra or Vectra estate car parked on the left-hand side of the road to move as the victim couldn't pass the car as the road was too narrow. After the victim had passed the car he saw a man, believed to be the driver of the silver Vauxhall run towards him. The offender then swore at the victim before hitting him, causing injuries to his cheek and eye. The victim was taken to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital for treatment. The offender is described as white, male, around 6 feet tall and in his 20s. He was wearing a dark coloured baseball cap, a navy blue coloured zip-up hooded top, dark coloured jeans and white trainers. He had an accent described as not from Gloucestershire. Anyone with any information is asked to contact Gloucestershire Police on 101, quoting incident number 429 of March 18. Police are appealing for information after a man was assaulted in Stroud. The incident happened on Home Orchard in Ebley at around 7.40pm on Tuesday March 18.

Driver injured in Stroud road rage incident

ONCE hailed as a revolution in smoking, e-cigarettes are now in the firing line. Advertising for the alternatives to tobacco cigarettes has been criticised for targeting younger people with fun cartoon characters and offerings of flavours such as bubble gum and candy. Now Gloucester city councillors have joined national calls for such adverts to be banned. E-cigarettes do not contain all the harmful chemicals that are found in normal cigarettes, but they still use nicotine, which creates the addiction for smokers There are concerns that younger people may be enticed to take up e-cigarettes and become addicted, rather than the intended purpose of encouraging existing smokers to switch to a safer alternative. Councillor Janet Lugg (L, Matson and Robinswood) has spearheaded a campaign in Gloucester to back calls for a ban on certain types of e-cigarette advertising. She said: "E-cigarettes are a great way to get addicts of cigarettes on to a safer alternative but there is a concern that young people may actually take these up too. "I was at the cinema the other day watching a film rated 15 and there were adverts for e-cigarettes, for example." Gloucester's smoking habits are above the national average. Annually there are around 201 deaths in an area of Gloucester's size, compared to 226 deaths in the city on average. Councillor Jeremy Hilton, leader of the Liberal Democrat group, backed the calls. He said: "They can be just as hazardous as the real thing because of the increased nicotine people will consume. "We should be discouraging youngsters from taking these up." Councillor Declan Wilson (LD, Hucclecote) said: "It is absolutely shocking. They are offering bubble gum and candy flavours which are clearly targeted at younger people. We should definitely get behind this campaign." Councillor Kate Haigh, leader of the Labour group, said: "I have seen adverts with cartoon fruit such as smiling bananas. These e-cigarettes may be useful for people coming off cigarettes but they should not be advertised in this way." E-cigarettes – or electronic cigarettes – are not a new invention. They were first patented in 1963 but in recent years, following the smoking ban, they have seen a huge rise in popularity. They contain a heating element which vaporises a liquid, which usually contains nicotine and an added flavour. The e-cigarette market has been criticised for being largely unregulated despite uncertainties still remaining over their health impacts. Some countries such as Turkey have banned their use. Dee Power, owner of E-Vapor, in Westgate Street, which sells e-cigarettes, said that his company does not sell products to anyone without ID to prove they are over 18 and he would discourage non-smokers from taking them up. Mr Power said: "We are providing an alternative to smoking for existing smokers. I have only had on non-smoker come to us in the six months we have been open and I discouraged him from buying a product, but he insisted on buying one, although it did not contain nicotine. "You should see the number of youngsters smoking outside the shop. Obviously I prefer to sell them a safer alternative, but we do not. "None of our advertising contains cartoon characters and is not targeted at youngsters in anyway. In fact we don't advertise at all, just outside the shop." He also hit back at claims that sweet flavours were targeting youngsters. "Since when can you not enjoy bubble gum just because you are an adult," he said. "We have flavours such as banana, vanilla and fruit punch. The flavours are part of the attraction for smokers because they taste better than cigarettes. It helps to encourage them to make the switch. Only the other day I had an old lady ask for a fruit punch flavour."

Call for ban on e-cigarette advertising targeting youngsters

BULLDOZING prop Elliot Booley is refusing to bow to relegation pressure after Cinderford's stunning comeback to defeat Loughborough Students 22-19 last weekend. The Foresters are in the drop zone, 14th of 16 in National One, and have a long trip to 11th place Tynedale beckoning on Saturday in a season in which they have only won two games on the road. But they have two games in hand and are just one point from safety after a vital win at Dockham Road. Former Loughborough tighthead Booley knows that no matter how hard Cinderford have made it for themselves, if they display the same endeavour that overhauled the 19-3 half-time deficit against Loughborough, they will win the fight for the survival. He said: "Relegation pressure is always lingering in the back of your head. "But I think we showed last week that no matter how hard we make it ourselves, we will eventually come back and push through. "We know the situation we are in, the lads know, but it's just a case of pulling together as a team and grinding out the results. "The team is refreshed, we went up to Fylde and they were lucky to come away with that win (35-29) in the end. "If we take that kind of attitude off to Tynedale and do what we did in the second half last week – really try to outmuscle their pack – we'll blow them away." Roger Birkin and Jack Adams scored tries in Cinderford's great escape last week, before a penalty score overturned the Students' lead. But once again Cinderford allowed Loughborough to gain a foothold in the game through three soft first-half tries and Booley knows it was far from acceptable. He continued: "It was scrappy - a standard Cinderford home performance. "We wait until 50 minutes in, until we are completely under the cosh, everyone thinks we are dead and buried, and then we bring it back. "It's a great feeling, but I think we're going to put Deacs (director of rugby Andy Deacon) in an early grave if we keep doing it. "Lee Fortey spoke to us emotionally at half-time. He told us it wasn't acceptable.We were dropping off tackles and there wasn't much urgency. "The tries we gave away were soft. We are much better on the front foot, when we put teams under pressure. They couldn't live with us in the second half – we outmuscled them."

Cinderford RFC: We will win fight for survival, says Elliot Booley

Minchinhampton 36 Cirencester II 7 MINCHINHAMPTON stormed through to the semi-final of the Stroud Combination Junior Cup with victory over Cirencester II. From the kick-off, solid scrummaging from the pack and great work from number eight and captain Austin led to flanker Brookman scoring. That score woke Cirencester up and they started to use their heavyweight pack to gain ground. Phase after phase of attack were repelled by very robust defence from Minch but eventually the pressure told as Cirencester scored under the posts after 20 minutes. With fly-half Hester kicking to the corners beautifully, Minch started to build some territory. After three phases Cooper secured the ball and just had backs to beat from five yards out. The try was converted and the score was 12-7 at the break. Using the offload game Minch gained good yardage from the restart and an opportunist snipe from scrum-half Haitt fed wing Himberstone to score. Cirencester gained ground but the home defence stood firm for Allen to score a converted counter-attack try under the posts. Hiatt scored a magnificent try after a team effort as Cirencester got frustrated and a player was binned. In the dying minutes, Allen beat the defence and scored his second converted try under the posts. Minchinhampton Rams 36 Old Cryptians II 25 In a double-header of home games at Holly Bush there was something a festival atmosphere as Minchinhampton emerged doubly victorious in front of a good number of supporters. Minch first XV staged a superb defensive effort to prevail 19-17 against second-placed Smiths. The Rams' final game of the season was an end-to-end affair with each side repeatedly cancelling out the other's score until Minch finally stretched away from a depleted Old Cryptians in the last ten minutes to secure third spot in the Gloucester Reserve League North Three. Man-of-the-match Tom Jenns scored three tries, the pick of which was a catch and run-in from his own well-judged chip.

Dursley 10 Stroud 38 RELEGATION threatened Dursley had everything to play for in this local derby, but Stroud were too strong,writes Trevor Hodges. They sprang into action on ten minutes with Sam Leworthy running onto an inside pass after a mazy Pete Sykes run to score under the posts, and convert himself. It was not long before they were on the board again. On 15 minutes, Dan Gordan retrieved possession on the halfway line. After weaving his way through Dursley's defence to the 22, he threw a deft overhead pass to the supporting Harry Phillips for a clear run to the line for an unconverted try. On 30 minutes, Stroud progressed deep into Dursley's half, and the ball squirted out to Gordan. He pirouetted out of Dursley tackles and placed the ball over the line unopposed, with Leworthy kicking the extras. Before half-time, Stroud went down to 14 as Chris Jones was sin binned for retaliation, but after the restart Dursley were again on the back foot. On 45 minutes, Phillips rounded Dursley's defence for his second try and 24-0 to Stroud. It seemed floodgates were about to open but Dursley hit back within five minutes following a series of drives that were rewarded with a try close to the touch line. With Stroud's pack providing time and space, Gordan was able to show his deft kicking skills, and on 55 minutes put Stroud deep in Dursley's 22 with a clever kick for Matt Hunt to barge over, and Leworthy to convert. On 70 minutes, Dursley gifted Stroud a converted try when Foote pounced on a midfield fumble and ran in from the 22. But they never gave up and were rewarded with their second try after Stroud failed to clear their lines. Stroud face Frampton Cotterell in two weeks which will decide who claims fourth place.

Dogged Stroud too strong for derby rivals Dursley

Longlevens 44 Brockworth 10 LONGLEVENS' outstanding second-half performance blew Brockworth away following five unanswered tries. This has elevated Longlevens to fourth in the table with two games in hand while Brockworth lie in sixth. The first half was a fiercely-battled event with the Badgers looking to start strongly. With their first real attack, Brockworth caught Levens sleeping as their ten crashed his way through for the first try of the game before Mike Hagan slotted a penalty to reduce the score line. Fly half Ross soon made amends for allowing his opposite number through by avoiding a handful of covering defenders to crash over under the posts to put the travelling side 10-7 up at half-time. The second half was a different story with Levens dominating from start to finish. Flanker Andrew Royce took the kick-off setting up Craig Barden who beat his man. A neat interchange between Mike Yorke and full-back Tom Evans saw the latter dart over for a well-worked team try and he could not believe his luck as he scored a second interception try minutes later. The Levens pack were now in ascendancy and creating huge amounts of possession for their free-running backs. Ross Preedy rounded off his second senior game after moving up from the junior section with two further tries to end his afternoon with a hat-trick. His kicking out of hand was at times sensational and pinned Brockworth back time and time again. Barden enjoyed a change of position to centre, and made a fine break that saw him run nearly 60 metres before letting Jack Beck dive in under the posts. Levens missed several opportunities to get to the half century but were happy with the bonus-point win. Hagan had another decent afternoon with the boot, after missing just one conversion. This week is a huge game for Longlevens against promotion rivals Widden, who knocked Bream off the top of the table with a fine win.

Newent 74 Painswick 0 NEWENT shrugged off last week's defeat at Whitehall with a high-octane performance against Painswick. With George Phelps returning from injury, Barney Goatley moved from the openside to left wing, where he made an immediate impact with a hat-trick of tries in the first ten minutes; each time finishing a sweeping move. Newent added two more tries before the end of the first quarter; full-back Richard Merrett getting on the end of another flowing move before outside centre Charlie Gellert finished the next attack by touching down beneath the posts. With Ross Webb adding three conversions, Newent were out of sight at 31-0 after 19 minutes. James Dean limped off with an ankle injury but replacement Tommy Devries made the most of his opportunity and crossed for a try. He then started a counter attack which was well finished by Goatley, claiming his fourth and his team's seventh trywithin the first half hour. Fred Nottingham made a key incision behind defensive lines, finished by Richard Merrett in the right hand corner. Ross Webb's fine kick from the touchline made the score 50-0 at half time. The second half was something of an anti-climax, as Newent became less cohesive and Painswick set about with much more resolve and came close but poor handling let them down. Phelps, relishing his return to action, claimed Newent's ninth try with a trademark rampage early in the second half. Newent rediscovered something of their best selves in the last 15 minutes of the game. Devries was held up over the line after a good break and the resultant five metre scrum produced a pushover try, Phelps claiming the touchdown. Devries scored the next try and then with the last play of the match Chris Steward fed Will Mansfield for the simplest of run-ins, capping an assured performance back in his old position of fly half, and Webb converted. Newent: R Merrett, J Harkness, C Gellert, R Webb, B Goatley, W Mansfield, J Dean, M Morris, L Williams, C Steward, T Veale (cap.), L Marriott, F Nottingham, G Phelps, J Duffin. Subs: T Devries, J Meek, T Freeman. Newent II 26 Stags 19 Cinderford opened up an early lead with tries from Micky Jelf and Chris Morse before Newent hit back with tries from prop Dave Boon and scrum half Gary Smeaton. Three penalties and a conversion from the prodigious boot of young fly half Rory Gunning gave Newent a 23-12 lead, before Lewis Smith finished a good handling move and Ryan Walden converted to put the visitors right back in the game. Another penalty from Rory Gunning steadied Newent nerves and they held on to win.