Gloucestershire Police are asking drivers to be extra vigilant when leaving their cars parked at home.

It follows the thefts of two Audis in the past week.

The first was reported stolen on Thursday October 30 after thieves broke in to a nearby property in Innsworth, Gloucester and took the keys. The Audi A7 has since been recovered.

The second was reported stolen yesterday outside a property in Up Hatherley, Cheltenham. Again the keys were taken during a break in at the property. Description is: Black Audi A5 convertible, registration VA61 BWN.

A police spokesman said: "We are not sure at this stage if Audis are being targeted but would ask all motorists to be extra vigilant when leaving their cars outside their homes.

"Make sure they are locked and parked in a well-lit area if possible. Also make sure you hide your keys inside your home, don't leave them anywhere obvious."

In reference to the first Audi stolen, Gloucestershire Police would like to thank a member of the public for helping them recover this vehicle.

The person noticed the car today, parked in Fieldcourt Gardens, Quedgeley.

Police would like to hear from anyone who knows more about how the car got there by calling 101, please quote incident no. 44 of 04/11/14.

If anyone can help with the Audi stolen in Up Hatherley, again call Gloucestershire Constabulary on 101 - quoting incident no. 442 of 03/11/14. 

This Audi A5 TFSI convertible was stolen in the last 72 HRS from an address in Hatherley. Have you seen it? Log 442. pic.twitter.com/OhFQm9tjjo

— Glos Road Police (@GlosRoadPol) November 3, 2014

Gloucester scrum-half Greig Laidlaw has been named Scotland captain for Saturday's clash with Argentina.

The deadly goal-kicker will win his 32nd cap as he leads his country for the eighth time and head coach Vern Cotter has opted for continuity.

Laidlaw has been in fine form for Gloucester this season and is arguably the signing of the summer, having become an invaluable member of the starting line-up.

He has so far been involved in eight games for the Cherry and Whites, racking up 96 points.

"Greig offers us a bit of continuity, having captained the side on the summer tour. He's been playing well for Gloucester and I think he deserves this selection.

"He offers us a combination of good tactical nous and good leadership.

"He's got experience, he reads the game and communicates well with his teammates, so his appointment is due to a combination of factors.

"He's an exceptionally competitive player and everyone respects his desire to win, to drive Scotland forward and perform well."

Gloucester's hierarchy will be available to grill at the club's Fans Forum at Kingsholm tomorrow night.

Director of Rugby David Humphreys will be joined by head coach Laurie Fisher, chairman Ryan Walkinshaw and CEO Stephen Vaughan as the head honchos take questions from the floor.

The forum will kick-off at 7pm in the 1873 Ricoh Suite in the Mira Showers Stand. Admission is free of charge with doors opening at 6.30pm.

Those unable to attend can still post questions on Twitter using the hashtag #GLOSFANSFORUM , while the event will also be streamed live online. 

A cruel pet owner who cooked his rabbit to death in a microwave because he thought it was the most humane way to kill it was jailed for four months today.

Sick Paul Rogers bought the animal - which he named Fluffy George Fudge - from a pet shop and fed it dandelions in his guest house room.

But five days later he put the bunny in his microwave and switched it on for three minutes.

He stood and watched as it "screamed" around 30 times and writhed in agony before finally succumbing to a lingering and painful death.

Incredibly Rogers, 60, then bragged to a fellow resident and described how the animal was "stiff like a board" when he removed it from the oven.

He later said he was "reluctant to throw it out of a window" and instead believed the microwave was "the most humane way to destroy a life".

The rabbit was discovered by the resident lying on a saucepan lid next to the microwave in Rogers' room as he went to feed it.

Today Rogers was handed 16 weeks behind bars after he pleaded guilty to causing an animal unnecessary suffering.

Sentencing him at Cheltenham Magistrates' Court, District Judge Joti Bopa Rai said: "This is one of the most upsetting and unpleasant cases I have dealt with for a long time.

"Animal cruelty is bad enough when people abuse their pets but this has resulted in very extreme suffering by a helpless rabbit.

"You thought about it, you planned it and then decided to carry out this sadistic act, and not only that, once you put the rabbit in that microwave you watched it while it was squealing in that microwave.

"Three minutes is an extremely long time for anything to be suffering in the way I have heard.

"The way you seemed to be thinking is that if nobody is looking after you you will cause suffering to somebody else.

"This case is so cruel and the suffering of that animal is so extreme that regardless of your personal circumstances I cannot suspend any sentence."

Rogers was also banned from owning or looking after pets for life and cannot appeal the decision for at least 10 years.

The court heard how Rogers bought the rabbit "to rescue it from hoodies" and took it to the Dorchester Guesthouse in Gloucester.

Just days later he approached a resident, who had been helping to look after the bunny, and told him he had placed it in the microwave for three minutes.

The man thought he was taking the mickey, the court heard, and the pair argued.

But he discovered the dead animal shortly after Rogers left the guest house "in a distressed state".

Rogers turned up at a nearby overnight homeless shelter where he told a support worker the rabbit had squealed and wriggled around for a while before stopping.

He was then interviewed by police at a local mental health facility where he confessed.

Rafe Turner , prosecuting, said: "He seemed distressed and said to the worker 'I put my rabbit in the microwave'.

"The gentleman thought he had said it flippantly and took him to another room where, unprovoked, Mr Rogers said he had taken the rabbit our of its cage and put it in the microwave where he had listened to it squeal and wriggle around before it stopped.

"He said he had held it afterwards and it was stiff like a board.

"He was openly telling people what had occurred, there was no secrecy."

The court heard veterinary pathologists examined the rabbit and said it had been alive for a "significant amount of time", at least a minute, before it died.

When Rogers, of no fixed abode, was interviewed by police he said he had done it because he did not believe he was being treated properly after being discharged from a mental hospital.

He added that he "felt no remorse, not even a grain of sand on the beach".

Helen Smith, defending, said the case was shocking and distasteful but said the facts needed to be put into context with Rogers' illness.

"I don't seek to minimise anything said by the Crown in terms of the incident or the level of suffering of the rabbit, it is extreme suffering by anybody's standards," she said.

"But I do ask you to put it in the context of Mr Rogers' situation. He was not psychologically stable."

Rogers was also ordered to pay £200 in court costs.

Speaking after the sentencing RSPCA Inspector Philip Mann said this was the worst case he had seen and dubbed Rogers "clearly evil".

"Obviously we completely welcome the ban, it is the most important thing to make sure the gentleman doesn't have anything to do with animals again.

"We think the prison sentence is completely appropriate in a case like this where we can only really describe the defendant as clearly evil in what he did.

"It is one of the nastiest incidents I have come across."

MATSON Under-10s are through to the semi-finals of the County Cup after a great day at Cirencester.

They lost their first two round-robin matches 10-5 against tough opposition before taking on Bredon.

They started well with an early try by Kayon Weir- Banks and Ronan Gribbon soon added a second.

Harry Williams scored try number three and Amelia Davis used her skills to score the fourth.

Brandon Liggett also scored three tries as Matson ran out 40-5 winners.

A try by Harry Williams earned matson a win over Cheltenham and set up a quarter-final clash with Clifton against whom Matson had earlier lost.

Matson took the initiative with a try by Harry Williams but Clifton hit back to level the scores.

The decisive try was scored by Naquan Smith to send Matson through.

 MATSON Under-8s enjoyed two good wins over Drybrook.

They won the first match 8-1 with Rio Ebanks scoring the first try.

George Davey was soon on the scoresheet and there were further tries for Luke Whitmore (two), Ebanks and Davey to score his second try. The scoring was completed by Libby Hyett who got a hat-trick.

Matson won the second game 7-2.

Captain Harvey Church soon got their first try before Rio Ebanks and George Davey touched down.

Matson took charge after the break with Luke Whitmore scoring two, Marshay running in one from deep and Church scoring his second.

  GOOD teamwork saw Matson Under-7s run out 17-11 winners against Drybrook under 7s.

Their tries came from Kai Ball 7, Damari Veale 3, Rhiante Holford 6 and one for Luke.

Donations topping £2,000 have been made by a Gloucester computer support firm to aid the growth of the booming CitySafe scheme.

Severnside Software Limited is attached to some of the biggest names in city business, providing IT support for a host of major firms including Bruton Knowles and Signet Armorlite for Kodak.

When the wheels of CitySafe rolled into motion in May, a chord was struck with the company's managing director Roger White.

The former King's School pupil grew up in Gloucester and is keen to support a project aiming to improve the city's reputation.

"Gloucester has had a bad image in the past, particularly at night but it is obvious that is beginning to change," he said.

"In the last year things have noticeably improved.

"It used to be a case of as soon as the shops closed, people would leave as the city centre was a very different place to be at night. "Not everyone felt safe to go out.

"That is changing. When I found out about CitySafe, I wanted to support it any way I could and get behind it.

"I contacted the scheme and offered free IT support. We have since developed the website and also provided a laptop, as well as 24 hour technical support.

"The numbers they are producing, both in its members and the people given yellow cards is impressive.

"A ban seems to be a more effective deterrent than just a fine and a slap on the wrist. A safer city is better for everyone, particularly business."

Growing Severnside Software is looking to take on three extra staff and has taken on its first apprentice, a 17-year-old Gloucestershire College student.

The company has been shortlisted for a Believe in Gloucester award to recognise its customer service.

Although just 15 people have been handed 12 month exclusion orders from city centre businesses signed up to CitySafe, more than 200 yellow card warnings have been issued. More than 75 businesses have committed to the project so far.

The CitySafe board insists it is a clear sign the project is working.

CitySafe manager Richard Burge, who is looking to expand the scheme, said the support of firms is vital to its longevity.

"Up to now it has been a huge success," he said.

"With a limited budget, the support of businesses like SSL is crucial to our success. Roger has offered us some great advice and support in how to connect with the members of the scheme and to ensure they are kept aware of the known offenders to look out for.

"Without a solid IT foundation and the support he offers, CitySafe just wouldn't work."

Hopes remain high that funding for a solution to Gloucestershire's worst traffic bottleneck and a notorious accident blackspot could be announced in the upcoming Autumn Statement.

Gloucestershire County Council launched the A417 Loop campaign in January – a £255 million scheme to improve the road, that would include replacing the single-lane route from Cowley to Brockworth with a dual carriageway.

Now, David Cameron has promised the biggest programme of road-building since the 1970s to deal with around 100 of the worst "pinch points" on England's roads.

The Prime Minister told business leaders yesterday that he would spend £15 billion by the end of the decade on a road-building programme, understood to include hundreds of extra lane miles on motorways and trunk roads as part of a "roads revolution" to speed up journey times.

Speaking to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) conference in London, Mr Cameron said: "Between now and 2020, we have plans for £15 billion of road spending.

"That could lead to an extra 100 schemes being undertaken on our roads, and we are looking specifically at those pinch points, those problem areas, that businesses and people have told us about, and told us are so essential."

The Missing Link campaign, championed by the Citizen, has received cross-party support and thousands of people have signed a petition calling for action.

It includes a new dual carriageway bypass between the Cowley roundabout and Brockworth, avoiding the Air Balloon roundabout.

Councillor Mark Hawthorne, Leader of Gloucestershire County Council, said: "We are working really hard, along with local MPs, to push the case for upgrading the A417, whether that decision is announced in December, in March as originally expected, or later.

"We need to keep working as hard as possible to make the case for this vital improvement. We can't afford to be complacent at this stage."

There have been several fatalities on the road in recent months and numerous high-profile politicians have visited the problem stretch, including the Secretary of State for Transport Patrick McLoughlin and the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg.

County councillor Paul Hodgkinson (LD, Bourton and Northleach) and Lib Dem parliamentary candidate for the Cotswolds said he is hopeful that lobbying has paid off.

"Many people have campaigned hard for a solution to the problems in and around the Air Balloon," he said.

"I now want to see the Government put its money where its mouth is.

"The fact that the Prime Minister has given such a big hint is good news."

One of the murderers of a Gloucester dad, killed in the street for his iPhone, has failed to convince Appeal Court judges that his low IQ robbed him of a fair trial.

Keith Soons was brutally stabbed in the head with a screwdriver after he begged muggers, Michael Andrew Sexton and Richard Smith, to give back his phone.

The iPhone tragically contained photos of his baby daughter.

Sexton, of Moors Avenue, Swindon Road, Cheltenham, was jailed for life, with a minimum term of 25 years to serve, at Bristol Crown Court in December 2011. He was found guilty of murder and admitted robbery.

However, the 31-year-old today launched a bid to challenge his murder conviction.

His lawyers argued his trial was 'unfair' - as his IQ was so low he was unable to understand everything that was going on.

However, rejecting Sexton's appeal bid today, Lord Justice Jackson said his trial lawyers handled the report with the care it needed and the judge managed the trial with Sexton's difficulties well in mind.

Smith was found guilty of robbery and murder, after denying both charges. He was ordered to serve at least 28 years behind bars.

Surgery to help super obese children should only be used as a last resort to improve their health, according to the mum of a Hempsted boy who lost two stone.

Slimming World consultant Becky Baker said her son Ollie has transformed his life after a hospital admission forced him to change his diet.

Hundreds of young people have gone under the knife in a bid to reduce their obesity over the last three years, a wide-ranging report into Britain's surgery numbers has revealed.

The National Bariatric Surgery Registry (NBSR) revealed 108 men and 462 women aged 24 or under had obesity operations between 2011 and 2013, and 62 of them were under the age of 18.

And 65 per cent of patients with type two diabetes who underwent weight loss procedures saw symptoms clear up within two years of the surgery.

But Becky has said that option should only be tried if all other lifestyle methods have failed.

"Surgery doesn't support the young person with the habits and lifestyle they have had all their life," she said.

"They need help and support and to build their confidence so they can begin to make real changes with their eating habits.

"The rate at Ollie was pilling on the pounds, he would be heading in this direction now. Relationships between children and food needs to change.

"By just changing Ollie's eating habits at home helped him to lose the weight but also teaching him how to look at food and make better choices also opened his eyes.

"Surgery in my opinion should always be a last resort but the NHS also need to help these young people before they get so over weight they need to think about surgery.

"Ollie's dream before weight loss was to have a computer based job. Now he wants to play professional rugby and one day for England."

The NHS has school nurses and health professionals offering healthy eating advice. At Slimming World there is a free to go programme supporting 11-15 year olds and subsidised fees for 16-17 year olds.

The report includes information on more than 18,000 weight-loss operations in 137 UK hospitals between 2010 and 2013.

The operations were made up of 9,526 gastric bypass procedures, 4,705 gastric band operations and 3,797 sleeve gastrectomy operations.

Dr Sally Norton, a leading NHS weight loss surgeon, said a bariatric procedure is the only option for some people who are losing their battle with obesity.

She said: "I am constantly asked why we are spending money on this surgery when surely people should just be eating less and exercising more?

"Of course, prevention is the key. I would love to put myself out of work by helping people to avoid becoming obese in the first place - but the reality is that there are hundreds of thousands of people out there who are already severely obese and suffering life-threatening illnesses as a result.

"The NHS is under threat of becoming bankrupt from obesity. Surgery is a safe, effective treatment – and saves us money in the long run as it is cheaper than treating type two diabetes and the other serious illnesses that go hand-in-hand with obesity."

Close friends of Nick Bonnie have organised a winter ball to raise money for The Prince's Trust.

Nick, who worked for the charity, died last year and five of his friends are taking on the huge challenge of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in October, in his memory.

They have organised a series of fundraisers ahead of the climb.

The Summit for Bonnie Winter Ball takes place at The New Lawn Stadium, in Forest Green, on Saturday, November 29.

There will be a drinks reception, three-course dinner, live music, a raffle and a silent auction, which includes a signed Jamie Carragher Liverpool shirt and a signed England Rugby shirt.

Organiser Craig Mayo said: "During Nick's eight years working for the Trust, he helped hundreds of young people.This is something that we aim to carry on.

"We have hosted several fundraising events in the last year raising around £8,000.

"Our target is £12,500 and we are hoping that our Winter Ball can push us closer to that. We are sure it will be a fantastic evening."

Tickets are £50 available from summitforbonnie@gmail.com

Students from more than 30 secondary schools in Gloucestershire will create their own poetry inspired by some of the 20th century's most famous county writers.

Their work will form part of a wider centenary celebration of Dymock poets including Lascelles Abercrombie, Rupert Brooke, John Drinkwater, Robert Frost, Wilfred Gibson and Edward Thomas.

They wrote some of the best known and well loved poetry of the century, inspired by experiences in the world wars.

To help preserve their place in history, a grant of £26,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) is helping provide a modern interpretation of their national importance by the Dymock Forest Rural Action group.

The group founded in 1993 to celebrate the lives and work of the six poets and their relationship with the Dymock area before and during the First World War.

Nerys Watts, from the south west HLF, said: "The era including the First World War was far reaching, influencing and changing every corner of the UK and beyond and inspiring great literary work such as that of the Dymock poets.

"The Heritage Lottery Fund has already invested more than £58 million in projects – large and small - that are marking the context and centenary of the conflict.

"We were delighted to be able to support DyFRA's important exploration of this significant literary group and the period in which they lived and wrote, helping local people and especially young people to broaden their understanding of how those times shaped our modern world."

A programme of community activities is also being lined up by the group to help tell the poets' story and keep their words alive for future generations.

Volunteers will catalogue existing material held on the poets at the Gloucestershire Archive and the University of Gloucestershire. People across the county will also be encouraged to identify any similar materials held in their own homes to donate to the project.

Existing displays and exhibits about the poets at Dymock Church and at the Garland Hut will be properly conserved, updated and augmented by the project, also creating additional smaller scale displays at new locations.

John O'Keefe, chair of DyFRA, said: "We are excited at the opportunity to work with so many people who have an interest in conserving and disseminating our rural heritage and landscape."

The best work taken from pupils in county schools will be included in a book to be published as part of the project. Parents and grandparents will be invited to share their memories of war and its aftermath to inform and inspire young people.

It will be published online, along with a special mobile phone app to help relive the poets' story.

One app will take users on a journey along the Poets' Paths. A second will tell the story of the nine war dead of Kempley, guiding users to where they lived and the landscape that they left behind.

A spaceship crash landed in a school playing field in Gloucester today - that's what pupils were led to believe.

Teachers at Upton St Leonards Primary School staged the alien invasion and actors were drafted in to play the part of NASA scientists, government officials and eye witnesses.

Police Community Support Officers were also in on the act and attended the scene of the crash.

Teacher Richard Jones said: "It was a really great day. It fooled most of the children for most of the morning.

"We made the spaceship out of cardboard and tinfoil with bits of debris around the playing field.

"It has been all over social media and even some of the parents have been asking what's going on."

Staff have also created a video of an alien running away from the aircraft

invasion which will be shown to the classes today.

The fake crash is aimed at inspiring creative writing. This term, the topic is stargazing and all of the work is centred around the theme.

Mr Jones said: "This week they will be writing newspaper articles about the crash."

The special service which would have marked the Bishop of Gloucester's retirement is no longer going ahead due to an ongoing investigation by the church, it has been reported. 

The Rt Rev Michael Perham is due to retire officially from the role on Friday, November 21 and a service was planned for Saturday, November 8.

However, after Mr Perham was questioned by police in August over two claims of indecent assault from a woman and a girl aged under 18 in the 80s, he stepped back from the role.

He was told last month he faces no action over the claims by police but the continuing church investigation means a special service will not take place before he officially leaves the role.

The Bishop of Tewkesbury, the Rt Rev Martyn Snow, who has taken over Mr Perham's duties, told the BBC: "I know this will be the cause of huge frustration and deep disappointment.

"Church House, Westminster has confirmed to me the process is still ongoing and there is a formal timetable for this process as it must be completed with fairness to all.

"The diocese must therefore await the conclusion of that process."