A former heroin dealer has been found guilty of supplying cocaine after £1,000 worth of the drug was found in the pocket of a red gilet at his home.

Levi Freeman told a jury the body warmer found at his Columbia Close home in Kingsholm was not his, nor was the 23.4 grams of cocaine found within it.

But the 27-year-old was found guilty of possessing the cocaine with intent to supply after telling a jury that someone dumb must have left it there – because if he had known about it, he would have sniffed it all.

Freeman was jailed for five-and-a-half years on Tuesday before a jury heard he had previous convictions for drugs including the supply of heroin.

During the two day trial at Gloucester Crown Court, the jury was told Freeman was pulled over by police in a taxi on Monday, April 14 at the junction of Kingsholm Road and Serbert Street in the city.

He was found in possession of £1,270 worth of cannabis as well as cling film, scales, two mobile phones and £695 in cash on April 14, this year.

Freeman admitted to being in possession of the cannabis with intent to supply, but denied he was dealing the cocaine police found in a search of his address after he had been arrested.

Prosecutor Mark Hollier told the jury unemployed Freeman regularly betted on the football and investigations had proven he had won £992.25 from a £3.50 bet at the Coral bookmakers in Northgate Street on January 29 to account for some of the cash.

But he said text messages on his phone stating: "Safe mate you got anything?" and "have you got any drugs? Showed evidence he was dealing.

In police interview Freeman said the gilet, nor the cocaine, belonged to him and asked police to test the clothing for DNA.

A mixture of DNA from at least three people came back following the forensic investigation and no fingerprints appeared on the packaging on the cocaine.

Freeman told the court he was a regular user of drugs, including cocaine, and said between 20 and 30 friends were often around his house.

He said: "I don't know whose it (the gilet) is, but whoever has left it in my house is a dumb because if I found it I would be sniffing it out."

He told the jury he had been kicked out of his home after neighbours complained of the cannabis smoke, loud music, people coming in and out and other things he described as "unacceptable behaviour".

He added: "I am surprised that someone left it there. Clearly it is disrespectful because I have been sat in a cell for seven months for something that is not mine. It is outrageous."

He told the jury he had been offered the cannabis from a "crack head junky" in Gloucester Park for £200 and bought it with some of his gambling winnings.

A DOMESTIC abuse victim told a judge "with two girls already dead expect a coroner's report on me" after her violent her ex-husband was allowed to walk free from court.

Rebecca Morgan said she was subjected to a campaign of terror by her former husband, Phillip Collings, which only ended when her brave 10-year-old daughter told a police officer at school of the violence in their household.

Gloucester Crown Court heard Collings had used a pickaxe handle to break two of the 37-year-old's fingers in October 2009 and even slapped and punched Cleo, 10, in two attacks in February, this year.

Judge Jamie Tabor QC handed down Collings, 43, a suspended sentence and a seven year restraining order to stay away from her and her children after he admitted the violence.

She told the judge her life would be limited while vengeful Collins was free.

She said: "This is a game to him and you have played into his hands.

"He has told me if he gets to me he will kill me."

Referring to the recent murders of Hollie Gazzard in Gloucester and Kay Palmer in Cheltenham, both at the hands of their partners, she said: "With two girls already dead in our borough expect to see a coroner's report on me in the next few years."

Prosecutor Julian Kesner said Collings, of Highfield Road in Stroud, subjected Ms Morgan to mental and physical abuse for years, but she was only able to make a formal complaint after the violence on her daughter.

He said: "The defendant controlled Rebecca – who she saw, who she spoke to and for over a year he took her mobile phone away and prevented her contacting family and friends. When she went to exercise he accused her of seeing other men. He stopped her exercising and accused her of being fat and ugly."

Mr Kesner said when Ms Morgan first made a complaint to the police she was curled up in a ball, anxious and scared and said she had been living on "tenter hooks".

The court heard Ms Morgan suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder after being terrorised while she ran a pub in London and had moved to Gloucestershire to escape the violence when she met Collings.

He added: "She didn't have the confidence in the police – that they would be able to protect her."

Mr Kesner told the court police officers had gone into Cleo's school to talk to them about cyber crime when she said she had been slapped by the defendant and punched the following day – leaving her with bruising on her forearm, leg and foot.

Ms Morgan read parts of her victim impact statement to the court and told them Collings had inflicted a reign of terror over her.

"He promised to protect me and love me," she said. "He became aggressive and abusive on a daily basis. Within one year I had lost all contact with the outside world apart from school runs. I was utterly defenceless and living in feat constantly."

She said Collings, a heroin addict, had made her take the drug, but she was now clean.

Defending, Joe Maloney said Collings, who admitted causing Ms Morgan actual bodily harm and two counts of assaulting her daughter by beating, wanted to apologise.

Talking of the attack on Ms Morgan, he said: "He realised what he had done and was absolutely mortified.

"These two people made it up to the point the following year they got married."

Judge Jamie Tabor QC said there were clearly periods of happiness, but others of violence and paranoia.

He told Collings: "It is quite clear the violence came from you and I make it quite plain, I take a dim view of your plea coming at a late stage.

"I regard you as an inadequate man, who lacks the force to control yourself."

He gave him a seven year restraining order as well as a one year jail sentence, suspended for two years along and told him to attend supervision along with a building better relationships programme, 200 hours unpaid work and pay £100 costs.

Ms Morgan burst into tears when she heard he had not been sent to jail.

The judge told her: "If I sentence him to imprison it will be a very short term because I am governed by guidelines. He will serve half and he would be back out and probably vengeful."

But Ms Morgan said she would rather him have gone to jail and alleged that he had already breached his bail conditions.

Shepton Mallet 1 Gloucester City 2

GLOUCESTER followed up their opening day victory with a hard-fought win at Davis Wood League Championship newcomers Shepton Mallett.

Soaking conditions and the absence of two major goal threats in Matt Dring and Iain Pritchard made it a tough test for Gloucester but they went ahead on the half-hour mark following a second corner.

Chris Harrington was found on the left post and he showed good composure to lift the ball over the Shepton keeper and into the net from a narrow angle.

Gloucester's threat on the counter-attack was seen to good effect soon after following a good defensive block from Richard West.

It resulted in a flowing move that saw Tom Newman roll the ball under the goalkeeper for a 2-0 lead.

Gloucester created a host of chances after the break, the best of which saw Craig Ellis bring a fine save from the home side's goalkeeper.

However, an Ellis misplaced pass allowed Shepton to get back into the game after which Simon Thompson made two crucial saves to maintain City's advantage.

Senior player and club chairman Trevor Done said: "We're delighted to maintain our winning run. The performance wasn't great, but being able to grind out a win is an important part of being a successful team."

Elsewhere, Gloucester City men's 2nd XI bounced back from their 9-0 opening day defeat at Aberystwyth by winning 1-0 against a strong Cardiff University side, the goal coming from Dominic Musgrove.

The Men's 3rd XI grabbed their first point of the season in an entertaining 2-2 draw at Lydney with Graeme Pratt and Danny Hammond getting their goals.

The Men's 4th XI put in a fine performance, beating Ross-on-Wye 11-0. Their goals were scored by Pete Palmer (3), Neil Stewart (3), Peter Tyrrell (2), captain Alex Tranter (2) and Andy McGuiness.

The Badgers won 2-0 against Lydney.

Gloucester City Ladies 4

Olton & West Warwicks Ladies 1

TWO goals for the in-form Zoe Burford helped Gloucester take the Investec Women's Hockey League Conference West points.

Gloucester took the lead when a well-placed pass from Burford released Emily Tompkins into the circle to win a short corner which Burford duly converted, deflecting home a Sarah Jennings slide pass. Soon after, Gloucester found the back of the net again. A well-worked set piece on the left allowed Jessie Dean to thread a pass to Jennings who, with some fantastic stick skills, seized the opportunity walking into the top of the D and hammering the ball into the bottom corner.

Gloucester retained control of the half until a lapse of concentration on the stroke of half time allowed Olton a corner, against the run of play, which they scored.

Gloucester had to wait until five minutes before time for their third goal, when a break into the D fed by Becca Sangwin saw Burford's shot saved only for Tompkins to tap the rebound home.

Goal number four was real team effort, starting with Green at left back and passing through each player until Teri Brown's cut run found Tompkins on the right. Tompkins crossed the ball to the penalty spot for the prolific Burford to volley home.

Gloucester remain in second place in the table with 10 points from a possible 12. Burford is currently the top scorer across the national league with six in four games.

A young Gloucester 2nd XI travelled to Bristol to take on BAC and they were well beaten 5-0.

Gloucester 3rd XI secured a convincing 6 -0 win at Bretforton 2nds. Gill Hutchings, Claire Ratcliffe and Emma Dann all scored twice.

Gloucester 4th XI went down 4-0 at home to Chipping Campden.

Police still wish to speak to a man in connection with a theft at a petrol station in Stroud in July.

The burglary, in which a bottle of cider was concealed by someone in a rucksack who left the store without paying, took place around 12.20pm on July 8, at the petrol station in Dudbridge Road.

Officers have released the image of a man they want to speak to in connection with the offence.

The suspect, thought to be aged 40 – 49, with short brown hair, was believed to be wearing brown trousers, beige T shirt, sunglasses, and carrying a blue rucksack.

The filling station has been victim of shoplifting on a number of occasions, and it is believed the suspect is a local man.

Anyone with any information about the incident is asked to contact Gloucestershire Police on 101, quoting Crime Number CR/015497/14.

You can also give information anonymously by contacting the charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or via www.crimestoppers-uk.org and you may receive a reward if someone is arrested and charged.

iPhone 6 users say they have discovered a new woe to add to their apparent growing list of complaints.

Following #bendgate, some owners of Apple's new handsets have taken to Twitter to claim their new device is pulling hairs out of their beards and heads.

And it also has its own hashtag: #hairgate.

Kim Tobin posted: @nicolebradykob and I are testing her I-Phone 6 to see if we can get our hair stuck in it. What is this #hairgate?!!?! #firstworldproblems

MegaTech said: #Hairgate – Apple iPhone 6 Starts plucking beards And Hairs: As if Apple #bendgate was not enough.

Mike Gavin also posted: Is #beardgate #hairgate a plot by Apple to take down hipsters?

According to tweets, hairs have been getting stuck in the fine seam between the glass and the aluminium on the new handsets.

People have complained that some of the new phones have bent while kept in their pockets.

Apple says it has only received a handful of official complaints about the issue. Apple said that with "normal use" a bend in the iPhone should be "extremely rare," and that the new handsets feature steel/titanium inserts to reinforce stress locations and use the strongest glass in the industry.

IT was smiles all round as excited youngsters posed in front of the camera for our Baby and Toddler of the Year competition.

The Citizen's annual contest is back and parents are heading in their droves with their young charges to photoshoots at The Eastgate shopping centre in Gloucester.

All dressed in red, baby Georgia Smith came along to the shoot with her mother, Emily. Ayaana Haque, was full of laughter as she showed off her cute smiles for the camera.

The photoshoots will run until tomorrow, between 10am and 4pm each day.

They will then be invited back to the venue to pick their favourite picture for the competition and to buy any photo packages.

Viewing days will be held on October 14, 15 and 16. There are four age categories: birth to nine months; 10 to 18 months; 19 to 36 months; and three to five years.

The winner will receive a £1,000 cash prize.

A photo special supplement will be published on November 3, from which readers can vote for their favourite.

This year's competition will be judged by modelling agency Mustard models, which will determine the overall winning child from the top five voted for by readers in each age category.

The deadline for voting is November 24 and the winner will be revealed on December 12.

A defendant told a jury a girl he was accused of raping with another man in the back of car high fived the pair of them and said she wanted to do it again after their threesome.

Jordan Mills took to the stand and said that the 17-year-old from Stroud had suggested the threesome that took place in a layby near Stonehouse on October 4, 2013.

The jury heard the girl had drunk vodka at Coaley Peak with Mills, 22, of Leeming Walk, Kingsway and his friend of five years Daniel Young and had gaps in her memory.

Prosecutor Martin Steen alleged that she was too drunk to consent to having sex with them and the pair took advantage of her.

But Mills, a trainee pharmacist technician at Sainsbury, said the girl instigated the threesome and was only tipsy when it took place.

He told the jury she had been on her phone that evening trying to get hold of drugs and was meant to stay at a female friend's house that evening, but instead wanted to stay at his so the pair could have sex.

He said: "We started off discussing sexual partners and how many each of us had had and she said she would like to have threesome with me and Dan.

"As I was driving she made some sexual advances. She undid my trousers and started to masturbate me.

"She continued to grab my steering wheel and said pullover to the layby.

"Nothing was said but by her actions, it was very clear what she wanted."

He said they got in the back of the car with his friend of five years and both had sex with her briefly, but stopped as it was hot and cramped in the car.

"At that point she gave a high five to me, a high five to Dan, said well done and can we go somewhere to do it again?"

Mills, a former student of Crypt School who suffers from cystic fibrosis, said he intended to then take her back to his parent's house, but changed his mind.

He told the jury: "Because she had slept with my friend I found it a bit awkward and I didn't want to have her in my bed at that time.

"She requested to be dropped at a bus stop – I presumed because it was late and she did not want to wake her parents.

"She was quite moody at that point because it looked like we had rejected her advances a second time.

"She appeared fine to me. I didn't see any reason to wait (to see if she got home)."

Mills told the jury he had felt "totally shocked and could not believe it" when he was arrested.

He said he had not slept for 22 hours and was mistaken about some of the details he told police during interview.

The prosecutor alleged the discrepancies in what he and Young, 23, of St Michael's Square, Gloucester had told police had happened and from his evidence in court was because they had since discussed the trial together.

"I had not slept for 22 hours. I was doing my best.

"I was just under pressure – I was tired."

When Mr Steen put to him they had treated the girl "like a piece of meat that night" he said he had respect for women.

Mills denies one count of rape, while Young denies two.

The trial continues.

EXPERIENCE with Gloucester United has given Dan Thomas the confidence to lead Hartpury up the National One ranks.

The openside flanker scored three tries in the second-string's 35-15 A League victory over Leicester Tigers at Kingsholm on Monday night.

And these experiences have shown the 20-year-old he must lead from the front as Hartpury continue their assault on National One.

This has been a relatively successful campaign so far in what is their debut in the third tier of English rugby. The side have won three of five games, and toppled Esher 30-19 last weekend.

"We knew National One would be a tough league," he said.

"A League games are a step-up in rugby and I'll always be happy with a hat-trick!

"After defeat to Newcastle last week we wanted to come out and put a marker down as a team and thankfully we pulled it together.

"The A League is a higher standard and I can challenge myself, and bring what I learn back to Hartpury.

"I look at myself as a senior player at Hartpury and I can't shy away from stuff. I have to lead from the front.

"We haven't come in to the league with the mind-set that we wanted to scrape through, luckily the boys have the right attitude – that we want to go one better and get up to the Championship.

"We've just got to take it game by game and come out with a win as many times as possible."

His man-of-the-match performance was no surprise to Academy manager Pete Buxton, who has seen the 20-year-old shine in training this season.

Former Gloucester flanker Buxton believes Thomas is one of the stronger players in the group, and his ability to score tries a credit to the hard work he puts in.

"Dan has been really good for us since pre-season," he said.

"He has really stepped up to the senior squad, his performances for the A league have been really strong all the way through and to get three tries is all credit to him.

"But he keeps performing well, he's very accurate around the breakdown, his defence keeps getting better and better and he's definitely got the ability to make line breaks or finish off tries as he showed on Monday." 

His life spiralling out of control was what led a senior police officer to kill himself by walking in front of a train in Gloucestershire, a coroners' court has heard.

Former Leicestershire assistant chief constable Gordon Fraser, 49, died on October 19, 2012 by stepping in front of and turning his back on a speeding train at Aston Magna in Moreton-in-Marsh.

It was three days before the father-of-three from Nuneaton was due to appear in court charged with perverting the course of justice after allegedly lying about a speeding offence with his wife.

Gloucestershire Coroner's Court heard how Mr Fraser was a family man who had risen swiftly through the ranks in the West Midlands Constabulary before moving to take on the senior role in Leicestershire in 2010 in a career spanning 25 years.

Mr Fraser was described by his wife Theresa, 42, of being a popular and revered figure at work, saying he was a "great dad, loyal friend and loving husband".

However his life started to spiral out of control in 2005 when investment ventures in America went sour during the recession after a few years of prosperity, which family and friends had also invested in.

The family lost all its properties in Florida apart from one, which Mr Fraser was determined to save to recoup some of his friends and families' money, ploughing in thousands of his own money, including savings and even his children's savings, according to Mrs Fraser.

"Property values plummeted and the end result was we lost the properties and so did family and friends," she said.

"He felt very very strongly that he had a responsibility to salvage what we could of the business and people's money.

"When we failed in doing that, it hit him very hard."

In December 2010 he was told he was being suspended from work and his investments were going to be investigated, with police officers searching his home and office.

Both him and his wife, who was a serving police officer with West Midlands Constabulary were charged with fraud and gross misconduct offences.

"He was convinced in the early days that the investigation would take a matter of months when we would get the opportunity to speak, he would be able to clear his name," she said.

"He felt very strongly he would return to work."

But after 13 months of waiting, he started taking anti-depressants as his mood lowered even further.

"He was very very low, I was extremely worried about him," said Mrs Fraser.

She added that a further cloud over her husband's head had been the loss of a close friend in 2006, something Mrs Fraser believed he never truly got over.

When she confronted him about his increasingly depressive behaviour and the effect it was having on the family he broke down.

"He said 'would you believe me if I said I had been standing by a railway line?' It was a great shock to me," she said.

In March the couple were both arrested for perverting the course of justice after Mrs Fraser said she decided to take responsibility for a speeding offence the family car had received.

By October he was starting to resume social activities and making plans for the future with the family and apparently making more effort with Theresa and the children.

But an incident on October 17 led to Mr Fraser leaving the home and staying in the family caravan in Evesham and he would not return.

The pair had received "upsetting news" which was to be revealed in the upcoming court case, but Mrs Fraser denied it had caused an argument between her and her husband when asked by the coroner.

At 11.30am on October 19 he texted his wife saying: "This will all be over by the end of today, you deserve much more than this."

She called him and described him as being incoherent and very upset and hung up after she asked him to come home.

At 12.30pm reports came in that a hooded Mr Fraser had been struck by an eight-coach train travelling 65mph at a railway bridge.

Senior coroner Katy Skerrett said it was clear Mr Fraser felt he had let his friends and family down.

"Towards the summer of 2011 he had expressed suicidal thoughts to his wife," she said.

"We have a man who was confident he was going to be cleared and that his life would be resuming soon.

"Despite all that I am satisfied there were a number of triggers which led to Mr Fraser deciding to take his own life."

Mrs Fraser was highly critical of the police forces' approach to her husband after the fraud charges were brought forward both during and after the court case, claiming he was targeted in a "witch hunt" because of his rank.

Outside court her barrister Brian Dean read this statement:

"Today's proceedings bring to a close another chapter for Mrs Fraser her children and their extended family.

"But in many ways this is just the beginning of a long journey for them.

"Mrs Fraser feels more strongly than ever as her legal team does that her own and Gordon's name will be cleared at her upcoming trial and that this will compound what a tragic and unnecessary waste of his life this has been."

In a statement, deputy chief constable Simon Edens said: "Gordon's sudden death was a terrible tragedy for his wife and children to whom the force continues to offer its heartfelt sympathies.

"It caused deep and lasting shock to everyone who knew and worked with him, in Leicestershire and in his previous force, West Midlands Police.

"During his service Gordon had become a very experienced and widely respected police officer.

"However in the autumn of 2010 serious allegations were made against him and other which whilst being thoroughly investigated by an outside force necessitated his suspension from his duties in Leicestershire Police.

"It is extremely sad that he found himself in a state of mind where he felt determined to take his own life."

Residents in Linden have been invited to the annual general meeting this evening.

People can share any concerns or ideas they may have at the Linden Residents' Association. It will be held at St Stephen's Church in Bristol Road from 7pm today.

Everyone is invited to attend.

WITNESSES are sought to a road collision which resulted in an 80-year-old man being cut from his vehicle.

The man suffered non-life threatening injuries after the Vauxhall Cavalier he was driving collided with a Ford Focus on the A48 at Wintles Hill, near Westbury-on-Severn, at around 9pm yesterday.

Police say the 80-year-old, from Luton, was travelling towards the Severnside village when the collision occurred and was taken to Gloucester Royal Hospital for treatment.

The driver of the Focus, a 40-year-old male from Gloucester, was also taken to Gloucester Royal Hospital for treatment to minor injuries.
As a result of the collision, the road was closed for five hours whilst police carried out an investigation.
Anyone who saw the collision is asked to call 101 quoting incident 470 of 08/10/2014.

PLANS for a new stadium at Meadow Park may have received unanimous approval from the city council but Gloucester City chairman Mike Dunstan has warned supporters that the hard work starts now.

After the club were given the green light to go back to Gloucester, Dunstan said that they must redouble their efforts to ensure their a return is a successful one.

He is determined that the club don't think of Tuesday's thumbs up as "job done" but use it as a springboard to catapult the club and their volunteers back to life.

Dunstan explained that the club's executive board will meet in the coming days to discuss the next steps, adding that they will move as quick as they can to end their seven-year exile.

"We're really pleased that the vote was unanimous as that gives us great confidence that the council wants the club to come home," Dunstan said.

"There were some good points raised throughout the meeting and we would reiterate that the club has taken our social responsibility side seriously.

"The plans show very robustly that any risk of increased flooding is in land in the club's ownership. We have a plan that protects our neighbours and brings us home.

"We will have to start planning immediately. Paul Duncliffe (planning agent) and Brian and Eamonn McGurk (owners) will get down to grant applications and working with the council.

"We will have to work closely with the council on all the matters raised in the plans but the aim will be to get this going as quick as we can.

"This will spring the club into life and give the club and the people working for it a boost because we are tired after so long away.

"But there is light at the end of the tunnel now and we now have one last surge to get there."

One of the first steps will be to secure the necessary funding to demolish the old Meadow Park Stadium, raise the ground on the site and then build the new stadium.

While that work will be undertaken by club owner McGurk and his management board, Dunstan said that the club will mobilise supporters to do their bit too.

"One thing we will have to do is set up a working group to get used to operating our own stadium again because we've forgetten how to do it," he joked.

"The aim is not to flop back into a new stadium and say job done, that's the beginning of the journey and not the end of it – the hard work starts now."

Tigers boss Tim Harris had to leave before the meeting start as he went to scout Saturday's FA Cup opponents Staines, who were playing Hayes and Yeading in a Conference South fixture.

But after learning of the news Harris, who was one of the first men on the scene when Meadow Park flooded in July 2007, could not hide his delight.

"I can only think of the people who love this club, the volunteers involved, every chairman and every supporter who has helped this football club," Harris said. "It's a momentous and emotional occasion.

"I couldn't understand the sheer amount of hurdles and obstacles we've had to deal with.

"It seemed ridiculous that so many people who are so, so proud to represent this City have had to go through so much. But we're here now and it is a relief."

"We now have the opportunity to establish this football club. These last few years we have been punching vastly above our weight.

"But now we have the chance to make Gloucester City bigger than it's ever been. Gloucester can sustain a successful football team. I have no doubts about that."

QUESTION marks have been raised over whether drive-thru cappuccinos are coming to Gloucester's Railway Triangle after all as Costa Coffee said it was considering its options on the site.

A new Costa Coffee was due to open next to the roundabout leading to the Morrisons supermarket, but a spokesman for the brand said they were considering their options.

It comes as Gloucester MP Richard Graham said businesses are expressing their interest in the site, currently home only to Morrisons, which is a "huge improvement" for the area.

A Mercedes plant is set to roll into the 3.5 acre development off Metz Way, bringing 20 engineer jobs to the area.

But there have been calls for more to be done to bring businesses to the site.

A Costa Coffee spokesman said: "We are currently evaluating opportunities in Gloucester's Railway Triangle area, but have no firm plans in place at this stage.

"We work closely with planning departments across the country to open new stores for the benefit of their local communities, creating new jobs and providing attractive and popular social meeting places."

Kate Haigh, leader of the Labour party on Gloucester City Council, said the development has been moving at a "frustrating" pace.

She said: "A lot of people hoped to have something more significant than a supermarket on the site. However there needed to be more businesses on the site and that has yet to materialise.

"Something needs to try and encourage businesses to set up there, possibly with grants for small start ups and investing in low cost buildings for the site.

"It is on a great route into the city where we should be showing the best of Gloucester. It's frustrating because this site was empty for a long time."

The Rygor Commercials plant in Tewkesbury, which supplies Mercedes vans and trucks, is due to move to the development.

Councillors had approved plans for the city's latest Costa earlier this year, but it appears that these plans are on hold.

New joining roads are currently being built by developers LXB ahead of the awaited new businesses on the site.

Morrisons moved to the site last year and brought 300 jobs to the area, employing 60 people from Gloucester who were long-term out of work.

Mr Graham said: "It's a huge improvement for residents. It's an exciting new development which shows Gloucester is on the up. It will create new jobs, and new apprenticeships.

"The site was a disgrace before the development. In a YouTube video I compared it to a bombed area of Yugoslavia during the civil war with all the collapsed buildings and contamination that was there. LXB came up with the plan in 2010 which got through planning and delivered it on time and on budget. It's a huge step for the city."

LXB's project manager for the site Nick Alford said: "We are just about to complete the Mercedes deal and they will be coming to the site shortly.

"We are now waiting to finalise the plans for the rest of the development. We are just now building some more roads on the site which will hopefully stimulate some interest from more businesses."

The Bishop of Tewkesbury, Rt. Revd Martyn Snow is to visit a Gloucester mosque on Saturday. 

Jama Al Karim Mosque on All Saints Road is opening its doors to all members of the community and encouraging people to learn more about the teachings of Islam and the role Muslims play in society today.

Bishop Martyn Snow said: "I am privileged to have the opportunity to visit Jama Al Karim Mosque along with other Christians from local churches. Our desire is to deepen our understanding of Islamic culture, religion and community.

"We would like to thank the elders of the Mosque for their invitation and offer of hospitality and hope others will join us on Saturday afternoon."

The Mosque will be open from 2pm to all members of the public. Mosque leaders will offer people of all faiths and none an introduction to Islam and its teachings. 

AMERICAN shoe retailer Hush Puppies is closing its Gloucester Quays store.

A 'closing down sale' sign has appeared in the window of the outlet and the firm is reportedly pulling out of the UK market.

The company, which has ten UK stores and is a branch of Wolverine Worldwide, has apparently decided to focus on digital and operation based sales.

Mark Owen, managing director of Moose Marketing and PR and chairman of the Gloucester branch of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), said: "This is an American decision made at head office and I am sure the quays will get the premises refilled very shortly.

"I am sure there will be better news on the horizon. The Gloucester Quays is a huge success."

Interest has already reportedly been shown in the unit soon to be vacated by Hush Puppies.