Motorists have been told to expect delays on the B4008 following a car crash.
One person is believed to be trapped in their car following a collision between two vehicles at Standish, between Gloucester and Stonehouse.
The collision occurred near the Oxlynch turning.
Gloucestershire Police has been called to the incident which happened just after 5pm today.
A British man has died of suspected Ebola in Macedonia, officials have said, possibly becoming the first UK national to die from the disease.
The Foreign Office has confirmed they are investigating reports from Skopje, as well as suggestions as second Briton is also showing symptoms of the virus.
A spokesman said: "We are aware of the reports and are urgently looking into them."
The man died at the clinic of Infectious Disease in Skopje.
The doctors, according to the symptoms exhibited when the patient was admitted, believe he had Ebola, Macedonian Alfa TV reported.
The patient is believed to have been was unable to communicate when admitted to the hospital and passed away shortly afterward.
Ebola has yet to be confirmed by tests, however doctors agree his symptoms were nearly identical to other Ebola cases in the US and Spain.
British nurse Will Pooley, from Suffolk, was cured of the deadly disease last month after picking up the virus while working as a volunteer nurse in Sierra Leone.
A serious collision on the A417 is causing chaos on Gloucestershire's roads this morning.
The Cirencester-bound carriageway from the Air Balloon Roundabout is closed following a crash between a lorry and a van at around 5.30am.
Traffic is already congested on roads near the junction and a diversion has been put in place.
Drivers of heavy goods vehicles have been warned that the diverted route may be unsuitable for them.
Update 7.32am
A Gloucestershire Police spokesman said: "Two vehicles have been involved in a collision on the A417 southbound by the BP garage/service station, near to the Duntisbourne Abbots turning, at around 5.30am.
"There are reports of one person being trapped. Emergency services are at the scene.
"The southbound carriageway has been closed between the Air balloon roundabout and Cirencester. The road is expected to be closed for several hours.
"One lane has been closed northbound near the scene of the collision, too."
The weather is expected to remain unsettled in Gloucestershire over the next few days.
Commuters will have welcomed blue skies and mild temperatures this morning but showers are forecast for later today.
There is expected to be the odd rumble of thunder and some decent spells of sunshine between showers, which are expected to be few and far between come this afternoon.
Heavier thundery showers have been forecast for tomorrow but there is hope for some sunshine later in the day.
The Met Office expects Sunday to be cloudy and rain is also possible on Monday and early Tuesday.
<A HREF="http://www.gloucestercitizen.co.uk/weather" TARGET="_self"><font color="blue">Latest Gloucestershire weather forecast</font></A>
Health campaigner Julius Marstrand has given his views on the fall-out from conference season as each political has placed the state of the NHS and its future firmly near the top of its agenda.
Mr Marstrand has questioned how promises made by the main three political parties will be implemented on the ground in Gloucestershire by the Clinical Commissioning Group.
The Conservatives are promising seven day GP access by 2020 with 5,000 more GPs being trained.
Labour has said it would plough an extra £2.5billion into the NHS, if it regains power, to hire an extra 8,000 GPs and to guarantee that everyone will be able to see a GP within 48 hours.
Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats have pledged an extra £1billion a year on the NHS with a focus on mental health. must relate to England only.
Mr Marstrand said:"In 2010, there were 41,349 GPs working in the whole of the UK, of which 34,101 work in England.
"In addition, England also has up to 6,663 sessional GPs, salaried and locum GPs.
"So 5,000 would be a 12 per cent increase in the number of GPsand 8,000 would be a 20 per cent increase.
"Where exactly are these GPs going to come from?
"When the Restore Emergency at Cheltenham Hospital group asked for Cheltenham A&E to be restored to 24/7 opening, with emergency doctors in attendance, they were told this is not possible because there is a national shortage of emergency doctors and it takes seven years to train a new doctor.
"So whether it is 5,000 or 8,000 new GPs, where are these new doctors going to come from?"
Mr Marstrand also questioned the real cost of funding extra GPs.
"In 2008/9 the average pay for salaried GPs was £57,300, so 5,000 additional GPs would cost at least another £286.5million.
"The average pay for a GP partner was £95,900, but the gross income, including expenses was more than twice this.
"So the real additional cost is more likely to between £1billion and £1.6billion.
"This is on top of the additional costs elsewhere in the NHS to cope with the ageing population and medical inflation which is significantly higher than retail price inflation.
"If the scheme is rolled out across the country, every area would be competing in a finite pool of GPs."
Dozens of children got stuck in and created their own sculptures at Gloucester Cathedral last weekend.
A free workshop was held on Saturday and children were encouraged to use natural materials to create their masterpieces.
There will be another workshop today in the garth at Gloucester Cathedral from 10.30am to 3.30pm.
The event comes as the Crucible 2 exhibition continues at the cathedral.
The free event, which runs until October 31, features 100 pieces created by 61 artists in the Cathedral and its grounds.
It has already attracted thousands of extra visitors.
Gallery Pangolin began installing the artwork in August with work from some Britain's most renowned sculptors, including Damien Hirst, Lynn Chadwick, Antony Gormley and Kenneth Armitage.
A number of sculptures have been set up outside the Cathedral, including a giant bull, a hippo and a tortoise.
Others have been installed inside.
A new dawn for Kingsway has started with commercial properties on the business park finally being marketed.
Commercial property consultants Bruton Knowles has been appointed alongside Alder King to market new commercial opportunities at Kingsway Business Park.
Around 2,000 Kingsway homes have already been built, as well as a new community centre and retail units, including Asda and Tesco Express.
Now, Gloucestershire developer Robert Hitchins is pressing ahead with the commercial area of the site.
Robert Smith, of Bruton Knowles, said the business park will help to re-energise the expanding Kingsway development and will provide hundreds of jobs for the community.
"The new Asda store has already created about 230 jobs and brought a brownfield site back into economic use but this is clearly the tip of the iceberg," he said.
"The location takes full advantage of the wide range of local amenities and a skilled workforce.
"Kingsway Business Park is a sustainable development with excellent connectivity and transportation links for pedestrians, cyclists, road and bus users."
The news has been welcomed by residents and councillors in Kingsway.
County councillor Barry Kirby (L, Grange and Kingsway) said he would like to see a mix of businesses on the park, including manufacturing and provision for small and medium enterprises.
"It is about time that this happened," he said.
"Kingsway Business Park was meant to develop hand in hand with the village with the aim that it would provide jobs for local people.
"This is a good sign. I hope they can get businesses in to make use of the skills that people in Kingsway have to offer.
"So many residents commute to Birmingham, Bristol and Cheltenham so it would be great to entice businesses to move to Kingsway."
Kingsway resident Sarah Churchill said that while she was concerned about access to the site, commercial development was a positive sign for the area.
"It is fantastic news that this is finally happening," she said.
"It is very late coming, but it will provide lots of job opportunities which are definitely needed.
"I would love to see independent businesses as well as big chains.
"My only concern is traffic coming in and out of Kingsway and that is something that needs to be looked at."
A man punched a woman in the face after being thrown out of a pub in Lydney.
The incident happened between 10:10pm on Saturday September 27 and 12.15am the following day at The Swan Inn.
The offender was being thrown out of the pub in Newerne Street and while being comforted by the victim who he then punched in the face.
Anyone with information are asked to call Gloucestershire Police on 101 quoting 541 of September 27.
A large amount of jewellery was stolen from a house in Frampton-on-Severn last weekend.
The burglars entered the house on The Street through a side window between 4.30pm on Friday October 3 and 8.15pm on Sunday October 5.
Once inside they stole a large amount of jewellery including bracelets and rings.
Anyone with information are asked to call Gloucestershire Police on 101 quoting 459 of October 10.
WHEN the Gladiator Inn closed for two months this year many drinkers in Tuffley were left bereft without their spiritual home.
But when new landlady Clare Mount took over the community was so delighted at having their pub back that as soon as they downed tools at the end of their working days they were there pitching in with the DIY.
When the Tuffley Lane pub frantically reopened last month it was packed full of locals who have called it home since it was built along with the rest of the estate in the 1960s.
Since its relaunch it has stayed close to its working men's club roots, with its traditional interiors, regular sing-a-longs to Tom Jones and Dean Martin at the jukebox and pub games such as skittles.
It has been a good opening month for Clare, 35, who has already been christened the 'Tuffley Taff' by the regulars for her Welsh roots.
She said: "When we reopened they said it was good to be home. It's a community pub and they just feel comfortable here.
"The support we've had from the community has been amazing. They would come here as soon as they finish their jobs and start picking up paint brushes for us.
"When I came here as a customer this was the only pub I felt comfortable coming on my own as a girl.
"The people here welcome you when you come in, they don't just sit and stare at you because you're not part of their crowd."
Despite the help Clare received to get the Gladiator up and running the reopening got off to a frantic start.
It took Clare, her mum Debbie and the helping hands of Tuffley's pub community a week to spruce up the pub before it opened on September 9.
The Gladiator is split into a bar area, with a pool table and long skittles alley, a lounge and a restaurant area.
Inside, the pub has stayed true to its traditional 1960s roots with brick flooring, wooden beams and a trophy cabinet for the sporting exploits of the regulars in the past.
The walls are adorned with pictures of the Gloster Gladiator aircraft, which gave the pub its name, and Clare's favourite boxer and fellow Welshman Joe Calzaghe.
Clare said: "The day we opened we were opening our doors at 4pm and at five to four we were frantically putting everything in place and hiding the paint brushes."
In the past month The Gladiator has already regained its established locals despite being one of four pubs in the Tuffley area.
The Gladiator Inn is also looking to regain its reputation for good food by bringing back carveries on Sundays, starting from October 19, and is planning to host entertainment nights for Hallowe'en.
Clare, who has previously managed pubs in Wales, said: "All our customers are different.
"There's an older crowd who sit in the lounge, who we call the lounge lizards, and at four in the afternoon we get the workmen who stop here for a couple of pints and a sing song before heading home.
"I love to be around people all the time. When you have a laugh with them and you make them smile it just makes the job for me."
FIVE Gloucestershire police officers are in the running to receive a bravery award from the Prime Minister after their heroics saved a pregnant woman from her disk-saw wielding boyfriend, described as acting like an "animal".
PCs Mark Robinson, Matt Wainwright, Nigel Fullerton, Oliver Sargent and bronze commander PC Mark Alcock were given commendations last year for their tackling of Slovakian criminal Peter Pavlisin in Gloucester in September 2012.
The officers recounted the siege to the Citizen, which began when 23-year-old Pavlisin had become paranoid in the early hours of the morning after a three-day drug and alcohol binge.
He grabbed his girlfriend Natasha Motala and put a disc-cutter power tool to her throat after barricading them in his one-bedroom flat on Barton Street.
The team, which form part of the armed response unit, were the first at the scene and their quick reactions and decision-making under pressure saved the 20-year-old woman and her unborn child as well as Pavlisin himself.
PC Sargent described how on arrival he went to the outside window, which had been blocked by a wardrobe, and was shocked to see through a crack a woman being pinned against the wall and Pavlisin putting the revving cutter to her throat.
The immediate danger to life meant the officers had no time to don full tactical gear or weapons or undergo a briefing as would usually happen, but instead had to make an emergency entrance into the flat.
"It was just unbelievable. We get sent to a lot of things all the time, but nothing like this," said PC Sargent.
"We knew we had to rescue her. We're the last response to that kind of situation.
"We made a plan to force the door very quickly and confront the man."
When the team rammed the door, Pavlisin smashed a window by throwing the disc cutter out and over the officers' heads.
However their entrance was hampered by a large pile of clothes behind the door, giving the mentally unstable and violent man valuable seconds to take his girlfriend hostage and to hide in a wardrobe, with the pregnant woman shielding him from the officers' weapons.
The team faced a further challenge as they saw what they thought was a gun in Pavlisin's hand which he quickly hid behind his girlfriend's back and threatened to shoot her with as he strangled her with his other arm in the confined space.
PC Wainwright said: "He was completely irrational and was out of control.
"He was making threats all the time, to her and to us.
"He was definitely under the influence of alcohol and drugs."
The team, which were armed with small lethal and non-lethal arms including tazers and Glock SLPs, entered a tense standoff with the screaming man for an exhausting hour and a half, always on the alert and with their weapons trained on him trying to coax him into giving himself up.
The situation suddenly escalated when Pavlisin started punching the pregnant Natasha savagely in the stomach.
PC Alcock, who was in charge of the team, said his attacks had angered them but they maintained their professionalism as they did not have a clear shot.
"They were proper haymakers. You could hear the impact. It was sickening," he said.
"She was absolutely terrified, she was being hit and being dragged about.
"There was anger but we kept in control."
However the attack gave the policeman what they needed when they saw it was not a gun the man was holding but a metal object.
As the team decided they would take him down, Pavlisin, who had a knife in his pocket, threw Ms Motala towards the team and attempted to grab weapons off his bed including a hammer and baton.
He was tazered twice and grabbed by the officers but such was his unstable condition that he was still able to them fight off, with nobody leaving without minor injuries, forcing him to be tazered a third time.
PC Alcock said: "He was lifting all five of us off him, he was like the Hulk."
While the incident ended successfully all officers admitted they thought it was not going to end so well, and that they thought they would have to shoot Pavlisin.
PC Sargent said: "You just expect an element of fear but you put it at the back of your mind otherwise you wouldn't be able to do anything.
"It was a really testing situation and shooting him did go through your thought process. It was definitely one of the options.
"I do not think we will experience anything like that again."
PC Alcock added: "The officer takes that decision of shooting at the time but I thought this was the one, this could happen."
The team are Gloucestershire's entry to win a regional bravery award from Prime Minister David Cameron and Home Secetary Theresa May next week when they are special guests at No 10 Downing Street.
They are also in the running for the national bravery award but the officers are modest about their efforts.
PC Robinson said: "We did something good that day but it was our job and the next day it was forgotten about, that's how the job works."
Pavlisin, who had 13 previous court appearances for 21 offences since he moved to the country in 2008, was jailed for four years and eight months in prison, with a further two years and four months on license and is expected to be deported soon.
POPULAR children's author Shoo Rayner has backed a Citizen campaign to encourage childhood reading.
The Gloucester Citizen launched its Bedtime Reading campaign this week with the aim to improve child literacy in Gloucestershire.
Every day, the paper is carrying the serialisation of a children's book which mums, dads, grans and granddads can collect to read with their young charges at home.
The first book, a version of Charles Dickens' classic David Copperfield, has been specially adapted for children. Chapter six is printed on the opposite page.
The story follows the trials and tribulations of young David as he endures misery in an unhappy home before escaping to happier times.
You can follow his journey as he meets a cast of wonderful characters including the cruel Mr Murdstone, formidable Aunt Betsey and Uriah Heap.
Children's author and illustrator Shoo, who lives in the Forest of Dean, said: "It is the best gift to read to your child. This campaign is a great idea, because reading to your child, really is the best gift.
"I write books for children who are just starting to read on their own and can manage to finish it confidently, without stumbling.
"I think parents should read to their children from day one. It is never too early to start reading, I did with my two children.
"My daughter now loves reading. At first my son was not keen until he discovered Maisy Mouse books."
As part of the campaign the Citizen is also encouraging coffee shops, offices and libraries to set up book swap bins where people can take in a children's story they have read and exchange it for another which has been donated.
According to the National Literacy Trust, one in six people have a literacy level below that of an 11-year-old. In response to this worrying figure, yjr Citizen decided to team up with Usborne Publishing to run three Young Reader novels over the coming weeks. These books are aimed at seven-year-olds.
BROCKWORTH could see 20mph speed limits imposed on every residential street in the area in a bid to make the roads safer.
Councillors at the local authority are keen to see drivers take their foot off the pedal around built up areas of the village and have earmarked funding to make it happen.
Brockworth Parish Council clerk Julie Shirley said the council was working with Gloucestershire Highways to make the move come about.
"Gloucestershire Highways is matching the parish council's own funding to reach the £7,500 necessary to put the scheme in place," she said.
"It came up in our parish plan that people would like to see the speed limit reduced.
"We have had people complaining that cars go in residential areas in excess of 30 mph where you have children playing and walking to school. It can be quite concerning."
There have been several minor accidents on Brockworth's residential roads in recent years with particular problems at Westfield Road and Bolton Drive.
Mrs Shirley added that a big number of parked cards was exasperating the issue.
As part of the move the parish is looking for volunteers to help setup a community speedwatch scheme to help ensure motorists keep their speed down.
The scheme would include arming volunteers with a speed gun to make a note of speeding offences as well as providing stickers to go on people's wheelie bins so when they are out they remind people the speed limit in the area.
When drawn up, the plans would have to go to public consultation after a survey of the average speeds on the routes would mean it would be suitable for a 20mph.
Brockworth Parish Council chairman Jim Hunt said he was very keen to see the restriction put in place.
"As a council we all support this speed limit because there's so much traffic these days in this area," he said. "We have two primary schools and a lot of roads that are straight so people put their foot down."
Gloucestershire County Council Cabinet member for Highways Cllr Vernon Smith said: "We have been working with Brockworth Parish Council with a view to reduce the limit to 20mph in residential areas.
"Preliminary work including speed surveys have been carried out and the next step is to begin work on the traffic order and scheme design."
Gloucester MP Richard Graham will show Sports Minister Helen Grant the city's sports facilities and how they support all members of the community during a visit on Monday.
The visit will begin at Kingsholm Rugby Club to meet youngsters from the HITZ programme which tackles some of the greatest challenges facing young people today- unemployment, crime and disillusionment by using rugby to increase young people's resilience, self-reliance and confidence and to give them the skills to get back into education, training or employment.
Next stop will be the Blackbridge Jubilee Athletics track where the Minister and MP will join students as they run a lap of the new purpose built track, she will then have an opportunity to view plans for the new multi-sport hub development which will include community sports facilitiesfor a number of sports including hockey and football.
Mr Graham will then be taking the Minister to meet rowers and canoeists from the Gloucestershire College Canoe Club where Helen Grant will have the opportunity to join the students in their canoes and to see how they and other local young people are able to take advantage of the canal and the boat club's facilities.
The visit will finish at the Climbing Centre on Parliament Street that was once a Victorian warehouse and is now a key city centre facility.
Mr Graham said: "I'm delighted that the Minister has taken the time to visit our city and to see some of the fantastic sporting activities and opportunities that we have to offer.
"Gloucester is a real sporting city that has produced Olympic rowers, Women's and men's rugby stars, and paralympians – but the most important aspect is how much is available to the community, how the city can and does build on its sporting prowess and what opportunities this offers for everyone."
EVERY pupil at Widden Primary School has been given a toothbrush in a bid to encourage them to clean their teeth more regularly.
Manufacturers Colgate donated the toothbrushes for a special hygiene assembly.
Staff from Genix Healthcare in Station Road visited the school to talk to pupils and parents about brushing their teeth and how what they eat makes all the difference.
Year 5 teacher Nadeem Siddiqui said: "As a school we decided to trial an initiative to improve oral hygiene within our school.
"With tooth decay becoming more prevalent within younger children, this is something I am passionate about within my role as healthy schools coordinator."
He added: "We have teamed up with Genix Healthcare, which has run oral hygiene sessions for parents and children.
"Here they learned, how to brush their teeth, how long for and the impact of poor diet on oral hygiene.
"With thanks to Colgate, who supplied 200 toothbrushes, we have now established tooth cleaning as part of our daily routine. The children have been enthusiastically brushing their teeth each day."
According to a survey by Public Health England, more than one in 10 three-year-olds are suffering with tooth decay in Gloucestershire, Avon and Wiltshire.
The survey also found that 11.5 per cent of three-year-olds examined across the region had bad teeth.
Lauren Proctor, oral healthcare educator at Genix Healthcare, has been working with schools across the city to improve dental care.
She said: "I have been going to schools to talk about dental hygiene and how diet can affect their teeth.
"The children are finding them very useful. I have already given four assemblies at Widden and parents have been invited too. Parents find it useful to know about the types of food which are bad for teeth."
She added: "During my visit, I give a talk, along with a visual display and play dental games. We will be visiting a nursery soon. We are asking any schools interested to get in touch with us."
THE Great British Bake Off final may have been watched by more than 13 million viewers.
But pupils at Gloucester Academy showed their talents are certainly worthy of an audience when cooking guru Prue Leith visited yesterday.
Pupils and staff welcomed the cookery editor and restaurateur to their school where she gave a talk about catering.
Year 10, 11 and sixth form caterers heard the talk, which was part of the Speakers for Schools scheme.
She then officially opened the academy's catering facilities.
The scheme is an independent charity which launched in 2011, providing state secondary schools and colleges talks from a range of industry leading professionals and academics, free of charge.
Ms Leith said: "Gloucester Academy is a model school and how any school should be. I have been encouraging schools to give food lessons and I was behind the chocolate ban in schools."
Gloucester Academy provides fresh ingredients for their cookery lessons and all school meals are made on the premises.
Ms Leith added: "If every school was like Gloucester Academy we would not have obese children. It is amazing how many health problems are related to the diet.
"Not every child gets the chance to cook but many pupils here are looking forward to going to catering college.
"I once asked 40 headteachers if they cooked only two replied 'yes', one of which said toast. Since the launch of free school meals in primary schools, many teachers have said that a good meal at lunch times improve children's concentration and behaviour."
After the talk and opening the catering facilities, Great British Menu judge Prue tucked into a cake made by the catering staff and pupils.
Pupil Joe Neat, 13, said: "Food lessons are really good fun and you learn a lot of interesting things. The best thing I have made so far is pizza.
"I think it is really important to learn to cook at a young age because these skills always come in good useful."
Maria Taylor, head of catering and cooking at the academy, said: "We provide all the ingredients for our cookery lessons.
"All the food we make, we share together, whether that is sitting together to eat it or serve it at lunch times. We really wanted to emphasise that all pupil should get the opportunity to learn to cook."
Two motorists have been injured in a car crash which caused heavy traffic congestion along the Golden Valley Bypass last night.
Police were called at 6:20pm after two vehicles were involved in a crash along the bypass coming towards Gloucester.
One man was treated by paramedics at the scene, and another is currently being helped out of the car by Gloucestershire Fire Service officers. It is believed that they have suffered minor injuries.
The bypass was closed at Junction 11 of the M5.
Two fire engines were called to the scene and police were managing the traffic situation.
