Shopping centres in Gloucester are preparing for one of the busiest weekends of the year.

After record sales on Black Friday and Manic Monday, shoppers across the country are set to shell out £1.2billion on the last Saturday before Christmas.

"Panic Saturday" as it has started to be known, is estimated to see £2.1million spent every minute as people get their last-minute gifts from the high street.

Jason Robinson, centre manager at The Eastgate Shopping Centre, said: "So far our Christmas footfall is higher than last year and while there is still just under a week to go, it's definitely shaping up to be a much busier shopping period compared to this time last year.

"This is great for the local economy, particularly small independents who offer niche products. Gloucester is a central hub for the county in terms of shopping and it's great to see shoppers coming into the city centre."

It is thought earlier sales and unpredictable deliveries from online orders are helping drive 60.9million shoppers to high streets across the county between today and Christmas Eve – up 14 per cent on last year.

In that time they will spend £4.74billion.

King's Walk Shopping Centre has seen a recent surge in shoppers bagging a late Christmas bargain.

Centre manager Peter White, said: "Worries over whether internet purchased items will be delivered in time for the big day have encouraged shoppers to visit the high street stores.

"Disney's Frozen toys have been flying off the shelves in The Entertainer and new releases at HMV are in big demand.

"Many people also get paid this early before Christmas so we do expect this weekend to be particularly busy."

Black Friday sales saw thousands of shoppers bagging big discounts from retailers, resulting in fights and arrests across the country and the discounts continue this weekend, with many stores at Gloucester Quays already into their winter clearances.

Centre manager Richard Rawlings said: "As Christmas is just around the corner, we're seeing shoppers take advantage of the great discounts available here at Gloucester Quays.

"We are expecting a flurry of last-minute shoppers this weekend, something that the staff and the retailers are ready to embrace."

FESTIVE parties can often follow the same format - a meal with workmates then a night down the pub.

But Over Farm, near Gloucester, has been hosting festive parties with a difference this month.

Its 'adult only' gatherings, featuring Mr and Mrs Claus as you have never seen them before, have proved popular in their second year.

Punters have been treated to a wild night of fun, laughter and sexual innuendos as frustration surrounding Mr and Mrs Claus' relationship is shared with the audience.

'50 Shades of Festive' also features comedy sketches, a cross-dressing elf, audience participation and a series of dares in Over Farm's 160-year-old barn.

The nights at the farm have been selling well this month, and this year's run of raunchy festive celebrations comes to an end on Tuesday.

Over Farm part-owner Matt Keene said: "I think we're quite stuck for events for adults at this time of year in Gloucester. Festive parties usually follow the same format wherever you go- but we wanted to do something a bit different.

"It's been fairly popular this year, just because it's so different, and in the barn it's quite an immersive experience. It's very tongue in cheek, very crude and very comical.

"Everyone has found it really refreshing for a festive celebration."

Lapdancing elves and a sing-along to Over Farm's own lyrics to 'The 12 Days of Christmas' have also been in store for punters during the parties.

The nights have also been popular with nurses, and has even once welcomed a whole GPs surgery.

"We don't know why it's so popular with nurses, but we've definitely had a lot of groups which would traditionally be associated with going elsewhere for their festive parties," said Matt.

"There's definitely a limited amount of parties in Gloucester of this kind of nature."

The nights include welcome drinks, a three course dinner, a festive gift, live comedy sketches with audience participation and music and dancing until 12.30am.

Bookings are still being taken for the night on December 23.

Events co-ordinator for Over Farm, Danielle Hannaford, said: "Most other festive parties have tribute bands, but we're offerings something completely different. I can't think of any events like this in the county.

"It's a bit rude and cheeky. Some parties in hotels have hundreds of people, but we're more intimate because we only have 90 people at each show."

To book your place call Danielle on either 01452 387447 or 07876 797357 or email christmas@overfarm.co.uk

CHRISTMAS is a time for giving and to treat ourselves, but it can leave some people severely out of pocket.

It is possible, however, to have a cheap but just as cheerful festive celebration. Reporter Matt Discombe sought out Gloucester's best Christmas dinner bargains.

You don't have to splash out on an expensive turkey.

Iceland, in King's Square, is boasting Britain's best value Christmas dinner at £27.84.

Lidl is priced as the next cheapest Christmas dinner at £28.13, and luxury brand Mark and Spencers has the most expensive at £47.04.

Iceland offers turkey slices for as little as £3, and their cheapest frozen whole turkey can be grabbed for just £9.

Asda and Tesco's cheapest turkey offerings come for £12.

Sainsbury's and Aldi turkeys start from just over £20, while a Morrisons turkey can be picked up for £14.60.

If you want to go local for your meat, A.P. Meats of Evesham are offering two lamb legs for £20 and a pack of gammon steaks for just £1.

Madgett's Farm, in Tidenham, is also offering whole chickens for £16.17.

For the trimmings, a bag of parsnips can be picked up from as little as £1.75 from Iceland, which also offers packs of roast potatoes at just 89p.

Packs of 12 pigs in blankets are available for £2 from Tesco, and the nation's favourite Brussels sprouts are available from Aldi for just 49p.

A 2.5kg bag of white potatoes are available from Tesco for just 49p.

Lidl are offering British carrots for just 32p each and, to make things even easier, a bag of frozen mixed vegetables are available from Tesco for just £1.

Over Farm is also offering sprout stalks for £1.80.

Rob Keene, from Over Farm, said: "It's good value because some supermarket sprouts don't keep for as long.

"If people want to have Christmas for less they should go local. It's better value and its fresher."

Sage and onion stuffing is available from Asda for just 40p, and a jar of Bisto gravy is available at Tesco for £1 up until Christmas eve.

Festive drinks are also available on the cheap to wash down your cut-price Christmas meal.

Iceland is offering a cream liqueur for £6, and champagne is available from £10.

Sparkling wine is available from just £5 from Asda, and four-packs of Tesco Value two per cent lager are available for just £1.

For dessert, a chocolate yule log is available from Iceland for £2, and for £4 you can get a 56 piece dessert platter from the same shop.

No Christmas meal, cut price or otherwise, would be complete without snacks and nibbles to gorge on during the Queen's speech.

Pringles cans are available from Iceland for £1 a pop, while bags of sweets are available for under £1 at Asda.

Costcutter mince pies are also available for £1, and the cut-price stores are also offering tubs of Quality Street and Celebrations for £5 each.

But unless you want to be a real scrooge, presents will also need to be bought. Cards are available from 29p each from the Card Factory in Southgate Street.

Tesco is offering a range of cut-price present ideas, from £12 Hot Wheels sets for children, a spa weekend for £26 and stocking fillers for £1.50.

On the face of it, plunging petrol prices at the pumps may seem like good news for everyone looking to fill up on the forecourts this Christmas.

But the tumbling cost of oil has come with a long term health warning for consumers that the good news may be just a temporary boon.

Many supermarkets are leading the way in the war on fuel prices, with the St Oswalds Retail Park Tesco charging 110.9p for a litre of unleaded with Sainsburys Barnwood and Gloucester Quays following suit.

Experts at the RAC have predicted the price of petrol could fall as low as 99p a litre in 2015. That forecast has been backed up by economists at Goldman Sachs.

That would equal the biggest drop in prices, not seen since the 2008 fall of 11.5p a litre and the August-September 2006 dip of 7.9p.

But the AA has said the possibility of a similar price reduction remain a long shot.

Its president Edmund King told Sky News: "A 6.6p-a-litre drop in the price of petrol releases a potential £3m-a-day switch of consumer spending from fuel forecourts to other businesses.

"It will also lower the cost of transporting goods, hopefully also to be passed on to customers.

"However, the parallels with the 2008 crash, albeit that was a market in freefall while this one has been engineered by OPEC and could be stopped any time, carry a warning from the ghost of Christmas past.

"In 2009, a new year brought a new assessment of the market and pump prices started to rise again on January 5."

Prices of crude oil have dropped 40 per cent from $111 a barrel in June.

Analysis by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) also suggests petrol prices are unlikely to fall below £1-a-litre in the coming months, as the market is likely to level off and become more stable in 2015.

The latest piece in the new policing jig-saw for Gloucestershire fell into place today when new offices for investigators were handed over to the county's Police and Crime Commissioner Martin Surl.

It has been a whirlwind transformation for the three storey property in Davy Way, Gloucester, previously occupied by photographic film firm Kodak, which was snapped-up by the PCC for around £1.5 million in February.

Gloucester based company Barnwood Shopfitting completed the refurbishment ahead of schedule ready for the building to go into operational use in the New Year.

Mr Surl said, "It's a big upgrade on what the Constabulary had before. Bringing our investigative teams onto the Waterwells Estate makes operational sense and we've done it for much less money than was previously being planned

"It is a practical solution that is also cost effective".

Jason Wood, Barnwood Shopfitting Operations Director said, "Working with the police has been a real team effort. It's been a very rewarding project and we are proud to have completed it on budget and ahead of time".

The building has been re-named Prism House and has been refurbished to a higher specification, but for less money, than recommended in other plans put forward. It also means that a proposal to construct a purpose built facility on a 2.8 acre site currently owned by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) at an estimated cost of around £4m – has been been scrapped resulting in a saving to taxpayers in the region of £2.5m and the freeing-up of land for other purposes.

Work will now begin to make Prism House home to a number of the Constabulary's investigative teams.

Securing suitable premises is part of the Commissioner's aim of providing a secure, long-term future for the Constabulary. 

Waiting time targets in Gloucestershire are being missed as hospitals struggle to cope with the number of admissions.

Figures released by NHS England show 81.6 per cent of patients at Gloucestershire Royal and Cheltenham General hospitals were seen within four hours last week, compared to the national target of 95 per cent.

A total of 435 patients were forced to wait longer than the target of four-hours to be seen or admitted into hospital.

When it came to 'trolley waits' – the time it took for a patient to be given a bed after being admitted to hospital by A&E staff – 98 people had to wait between four and 12 hours.

The Winter Health Check monitors the performance of hospitals between December 8 and December 14 during what is often a high-pressure period.

It shows 2,370 people visited A&E departments in Gloucestershire while 788 people were admitted.

A "major incident" was declared at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital and Cheltenham General Hospital on December 15 due to a lack of beds.

A spokesman for Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the two hospitals, said: "As expected at our trust, there has been pressure on the A&E four-hour wait target as well as emergency admissions.

"We have also had to postpone a number of elective operations.

"We do everything we can to avoid this but it is sometimes unavoidable due to factors including pressures on beds and staff sickness.

"We know that this is frustrating and inconvenient for our patients and make strenuous efforts to re-arrange those appointments in a timely and convenient manner.

"Records show that this weekend is likely to be one of the busiest of the year in our emergency departments and pressures on our services continue.

"We ask people to think very carefully whether their injury or illness is an emergency as inappropriate use of our emergency departments can divert medical teams from providing real emergency care to those who are seriously ill or injured.

"As the party season reaches its peak, we also urge people to drink responsibly and save our emergency departments for real emergencies."

The Winter Health Check figures also show that 283 hospital bed days were lost between the two hospitals last week due to norovirus.

This figure is calculated by adding the number of beds unavailable each day due to diarrhoea and vomiting symptoms over the week.

The Winter Health Check also showed that 53 planned operations were cancelled that week.

The spokesman for the trust said: "At this time of year norovirus tends to be present in the community and we do on occasion have to restrict visiting to certain wards to protect vulnerable patients.

"We strongly urge people to take notice and act on the Combat Norovirus campaign messages."

HOT, tasty meals have been delivered to the Matson community free of charge by charity hoping to eradicate child hunger in Gloucestershire.

Wiggly Worm, a food charity based in Cheltenham has for the last year been delivering thousands of tonnes of food to those that need it most in the county.

Meals are always wholesome and full of fruit and vegetables, including beef casseroles, lentils and chicken kormas, which are all made without salt.

In Matson the team of volunteers offered 100 meals of spaghetti bolognaise along with apples and bananas to grateful families and children.

Community leader at the Redwell Centre in Matson, Hayley Huntley, said they were impressed by the quantity and quality of food provided.

"The feedback was brilliant," she said.

"The best thing about it was you could tell which families were really grateful for the food.

"There were some that came in for a free meal but there were young families that showed real gratitude for having a hot meal in front of them."

Wiggly Worm, on average, delivers around 300 meals a week and in the new year hopes to up to 5,000 meals by March.

The meals cost around £2 each to the charity, which includes preparing, cooking and delivering them and have served communities in Cheltenham, Stonehouse, White City, Kingsholm, Dursley and Matson.

Chief executive Rob Rees said the work the charity carried out was a "necessity" as 16 per cent of people in the county are thought to be living below the poverty line.

"We do not want to be doing this but there's a need," he said.

"It's a disgrace of our society that there's this problem but that's what we're trying to solve."

Because of the success of the scheme Ms Huntley is hoping to start a free-meal initiative at the Redwell Centre itself.

"I think if we could get the funding in Matson to hold it once or twice a week that would be amazing," she said.

"With the elderly and disabled mixed with families and young children it could get quite hectic so it would be good to split it into groups to maje sure everyone could enjoy it more."

BUILDERS and tradesman in Gloucester are suffering at the hands of opportunist thieves stealing tens of thousands of pounds worth of power tools.

Equipment used in the construction industry is often high quality, meaning drills can cost up to £400, nail guns are around £600 and electric saws can reach the £1,000 mark.

Because of the high value of tools and their relative ease to carry, construction workers are becoming easy targets for criminals as a quick snatch and grab can earn them thousands, with plenty of willing buyers for the knock-off goods.

There has been a sharp rise in this type of crime just before Christmas, with B&Q reporting Ryobi power drills worth thousands stolen from its St Oswald's store this week.

Then on Thursday, a spate of van break-ins took place, particularly in Longlevens.

In five separate thefts, a series of expensive power tools were taken, including drills, saws and electrical equipment.

One builder from Longlevens, who asked not to be named because of a fear of reprisals, has lost up to £4,000-worth of power tools from thieves in recent years.

The builder, who has been in the industry for 36 years, said there needed to be tougher penalties because it was a regular problem.

"It makes me so bloody angry because it's how I make my living," he said.

"You have to pay for them because you can't work without tools.

"The threat is always there. You're always hearing somebody has been broken into."

Nigel Rose from NCR Building in Gloucester said it was not just vans being targeted with thieves taking off with tools from construction yards when builders have their backs turned.

"It is an easy sell for a criminal," he said.

"Anything that's too much hard work they won't bother but if its small and its out in public, its gone.

"If they get their hands on a drill worth £200 they will sell it down the pub for £20, just so they can get some quick cash.

"The problem for builders is that they don't have the money to replace it sometimes because they are one of the only industries left where they do the work before they get paid."

Head of harm reduction at Gloucestershire Police, David MacFarlane, said theft of power tools occurred throughout the year.

"We do not regard this area of crime as a major issue in the county, nevertheless owners should ensure they remain security minded at all times," he said.

"Retain all serial numbers and receipts and forensically mark the tools, as well as keeping them out of sight when possible.

"Don't make it easy for burglars."

Alastair Cook has been replaced as captain of the England One Day side, just two months ahead of the World Cup.

The Glouceter-born batsman has been under fire after a string of poor performances in the white ball game.

Cook's removal as captain represents a remarkable turnaround by England's four-man selection panel.

The quatet of James Whittaker, Angus Fraser, Mick Newell and coach Peter Moores, threw their support behind Cook in September.

Despite increasing pressure from former players, pundits and the media to replace the Essex opener as One Day skipper, the selectors stuck by their man.

However, poor performances from the team - and from Cook at the top of the order - during the 5-2 defeat in Sri Lanka have seemingly led to a change.

Eoin Morgan is poised to take the captaincy of a 15-man squad for the tri nations tournament with Australia and India ahead of the World Cup.

England get their World Cup campaign underway with a match against old rivals Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on February 14.

Police are looking for the owners of two horses found on the Cirencester Road at Severn Springs on 19 December.

The two bay horses, with blue rugs and white stars (forehead markings) were found on the A435 near the junction with the A436 (the double roundabout) at about 5.30 am.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Gloucestershire Police on 101, quoting incident number 50 of 19 December. 

Michael Wasley fired in two centuries to book his place in the final stages of the German Masters after a 5-1 win over China's Lu Ning in Wigan.

Wasley, who will fly the Gloucestershire flag in Berlin in February, had breaks of 131 and 121 in a confident performance.

Given a walkover in the first round after opponent Mike Dunn withdrew, Wasley lost the first frame to Lu, who knocked in a 70 break.

But it was one way traffic from then on, with Wasley having breaks of 95 and 81 as well as his two tons on his way to the last 32.

Lu Ning had beaten Stroud-based Dominic Dale 5-1 in the first round, while Robert Milkins was shocked 5-2 by amateur Ashley Carty and Jack Lisowski went down 5-1 to teenager Oliver Lines.

Dale is in action this weekend in Wigan in the qualifying rounds for the World Seniors Championships.

Liverpool could bolster their back-line with the signing of Celtic's Dutch centre-back Virgil van Dijk. Arsenal and Tottenham are also interested in the 23-year-old.

Xherdan Shaqiri could be allowed to leave Bayern Munich for as little as £12.5m, putting Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham on red alert. The skillful winger has been deemed surplus to requirements given Bayern's wealth of attacking options.

Jermain Defoe could be in line for a return to the Premier League with QPR. Defoe, who played under Rs manager Harry Redknapp at Tottenham, Portsmouth and West Ham, has had a disappointing spell in the MLS with Toronto.

Home owners along a stretch of the River Wye have been put on alert tonight due to rising water levels.

The Environment Agency issued the flood alert this afternoon for a section of the river between Ross-on-Wye and Lydbrook.

A warning posted on the agency's website says water has reached a height of just under three metres but is expected to rise.

It says it anticipates the water to reach a peak level of between 3.8 and 4.1metres at gauges positioned at both locations.

The warning is the second time residents living near the river have been put on flood alert this month.

A previous warning was delivered for December 12.

Police checking CCTV after an incident involving a Samurai sword spotted Faheem Kadodia, 26, hiding drugs under the doormat of a Gloucester house, a court heard today.

Kadodia, of Pembroke Street, Gloucester, who has served two jail terms for hard drug dealing offences, placed more than £200 worth of heroine, cocaine and cannabis under the mat of a house in Lysons Avenue, Gloucester Crown Court was told.

At the time of the offence on March 31 this year he was still on parole licence from his last jail sentence.

Kadodia pleaded guilty to illegal possession of the drugs after the prosecution accepted there was no evidence he was dealing on that occasion.

Recorder Stephen Hall sentenced him to a 12 month community order with a 3 month electroncially tagged curfew every night from 7pm to 7am.

"You have an appalling record in relation to the misuse of drugs and you have seen the inside of prison," said the Recorder,

"You were fortunate you were not recalled to prison after your arrest for these offences. But it is accepted by the prosecution that the amounts of drugs involved were so small that no other charge could be preferred against you."

Prosecutor Oliver Willmott told the court that it was after an incident involving a Samurai sword in a flat in the city that police were checking CCTV and saw Kadodia in the act of leaving the drugs under the doormat.

Police went to the house and found 5.8 grams of 51 per cent pure heroin, a gram of cannabis and 68mgs of crack cocaine under the doormat.

Kadodia had made seven previous court appearances, mostly for drugs offences, and had been jailed in 2009 and 2012 for supply, added Mr Willmott.

Matthew Harbinson, defending, said: "He attended a good school but somewhat under-achieved and has since fallen in with bad associations."

RUGBY is at the heart of many of Gloucester's pubs but, perhaps, none more so than Teague's Bar at The White Hart.

In 2003, The Guardian said the Kingsholm Road pub was "the most rugby-crazed pub in the country's most rugby-crazed town".

Despite Gloucester being, in fact, a city, it's hard to argue with anything in that slogan.

The atmosphere comes to life on match days just across the road at Kingsholm Stadium and the pub is earning a following from rugby fans across the world.

It is a venue which welcomes fans from home and away and is gearing up for one of the biggest games of Gloucester's season with the visit of Bath tomorrow.

This year marked 11 years since the Teague family, which boasts three former Gloucester players, took over the 19th Century pub and turned it into the city's top pre and post-match destinations.

Gary Teague, the pub's current landlord, said: "It's a really unique pub on match days. We're really popular then and there's a great atmosphere.

"The Bath game is the biggest of the year. We're always packed to the rafters, as are all the pubs in Kingsholm.

"We show the games live on TV but you can always tell if Gloucester have scored 10 seconds before."

Few pubs in Gloucester are gearing up as much for the Rugby World Cup's next September as Teague's Bar at The White Hart.

Gary is busy collecting rugby memorabilia and preparing the pub's 2015 Lounge, which will be the centre of their World Cup efforts when it opens at the end of the current rugby season.

Outside, there are flags for each team visiting Kingsholm next summer and the pub has adopted Georgia as its team because they play in red and white, like Gloucester.

In the beer garden, there is the Shed Bar, named after Kingsholm's famous stand, and above the bar there are rugby balls for each current Aviva Premiership team, except newcomers London Welsh.

They are also expecting a large influx of fans from overseas during the World Cup thanks for the Kingsholm Supporters Mutual, which has brought rugby fanatics from across the world to the pub.

Gloucester-born-and-bred Gary has been involved with rugby for most of his life. He started playing for Gloucester All Blues in 1973 and retired just five years ago.

He began his career in the pub trade working behind the bar at the Gloucester All Blues.

Gary, who is now the chairman of the All Blues, said: "All the pubs along the road are different and cater for a different clientele. It's a community of pubs along the street."

Gary is also trying to enhance The White Hart's offerings during the week, away from the rugby match days.

It has regular music, including soul nights, and hosts live music in the Shed Bar.

The White Hart is also vying for a place in Gloucester's New Year's Eve scene this year. Ska band The Revolvers, Irish music and resident DJ Johnny Retro will feature, with tickets available for £10.

During the week, there is a 50p off a pint offer to tempt a younger student crowd on their way into Gloucester city centre.

He said: "Everyone associates the pub with match days but not during the week. We want to make it the number one destination bar in Gloucester.

"During the week the pub is the old White Hart but on match days it's Teague's Bar."

THE rise and rise of Gloucester Academy continues as its first batch of sixth formers get ready for the leap to university.

The school's sixth form is now in its second year and its first Year 13s are looking towards their next steps into higher education and the world of work.

Almost a third are applying for a place at universities across the country and a number of the students have already received conditional offers.

Academy students have been offered places at the University of Gloucestershire, Coventry and the University of South Wales in courses including sports therapy, sports coaching, geography and primary teaching.

Their successes come after a number of previously unfavourable reports on the school from education watchdog Ofsted.

But Gloucester Academy said the university offers show they are making progress.

Assistant principal of the Academy, Ben Craig, said: "I have been lucky enough to have been heavily involved with the setup and running of the new sixth form here over the past two and a half years and it has been fantastic to see the journey these students have been through.

"For the majority of these students, they will be the first in their immediate families to apply for and attend university.

"One of the key goals of the sixth form here at Gloucester Academy was to raise the aspirations of the students in the academy and the surrounding community and this is an important step in that process."

Luke Hayward, Jack Morgan, Tyler Church and Jesse Humphries are among the first Gloucester Academy students to have university offers.

From the rest of the group, 12 per cent are looking at applying for higher apprenticeships in the new year.

And 18 per cent are intending to defer a year before applying to university. A further 30 per cent are looking at employment next summer.

Gloucester Academy was established in 2010 after a £15million merger between Bishops' College and Central Technology College.

In 2012, Ofsted graded the school 'inadequate' and expressed serious concerns about inadequate teaching and attendance.

It also told the new school it wasn't making enough progress to drive up standards.

The Gloucester Academy was even put in special measures in April.

But earlier this year headteacher Showk Badat was given the top job at the school and he has been working to turn its fortunes around.

He came to Gloucester from Essa Academy in Bolton, where he was principal and was hailed for helping standards soar in his five years at the helm.

Prior to that, he was in charge at Djanogly City Academy in Nottingham.

Mr Craig said the students' university offers demonstrate that Gloucester Academy is making progress.

He said: "This is one of the elements that demonstrates the progress the academy is making.

"In the April Ofsted report where the academy was put into special measures, the sixth form came out with a number of positive comments. Since then, the huge jump in results in the summer and the two Ofsted monitoring visit reports have also indicated the progress being made.

"The reports are on our website and show that the academy is making reasonable progress towards getting out of special measures."

Short back and sides may have made a comeback as the haircut of choice in young boys but the style has landed one youngster in hot water at Churchdown Academy.

Kyle Gibbs expected to be leading the fashion stakes in his class when stepping off the bus with a neatly cropped new haircut.

Instead, the 13-year-old was hauled in front of teachers for flouting strict rules on the length of hair allowed in school.

A phone call home to his dad Colin soon followed. But the school's decision to force Kyle to complete his studies in isolation until his hair grew back to a respectable length was met with an angry response.

"I asked what he had done wrong and when they said it was his haircut I thought they were joking," Colin said.

"I was shocked. I cut his hair and he has a neat short back and sides.

"It is grade 0.5 at the back and longer on top, in an old fashioned style. I couldn't believe it.

"The school said he would have to stay in isolation, on his own in a classroom from 8am until 5pm until his hair grows back. It is not his hair that is doing his reading and writing for him, it is madness.

"It is not like he has a Mohican or strips shaved into the sides. I can understand that may be a distraction to other pupils in class, but this haircut is neat and tidy."

Kyle has been told school policy states his hair can't be any shorter than a grade two.

It is not the first time keen footballer Kyle has landed himself in trouble for dodging school uniform regulations.

He has been taking part in trials with Birmingham City FC and wore black trainers to school as he had a heel injury that made wearing smart shoes painful. That also attracted a dressing down from teachers.

"I have been into the school to speak with the head teacher," added Colin, who lives in Elmbridge.

"He said it was school policy and he was backed by the governors.

"Kyle doesn't feel comfortable in school and I'm not going to let the teachers dictate my son's hairstyle."

Churchdown School Academy was invited to comment on the its uniform policy, but declined.

Head teacher Christopher Belli took over at the school in September.

Mr Belli made national headlines earlier this year after he was offered the job at Corpus Christi Roman Catholic High School in Cardiff.

But his contract was withdrawn by the 1,000 pupil school less than two months after his appointment after the school discovered he was no longer with his wife.

A welcome message by Mr Belli on the school's website said everyone in the Churchdown community is encouraged to live their life by three values.

These are a relentless focus on high standards, a belief that there are no excuses or barriers to learning or achievement and that pupils should take pride in themselves and to always be considerate of others.

Internet rumours that the world will be plunged into darkness in December are a hoax.

According to Huzlers.com, NASA has said that the Earth will experience six days of almost complete darkness in December.

A story on the site says NASA has confirmed that the Earth will experience six days of almost complete darkness between Tuesday December 16 to Monday December 22 because of a solar storm.

It is in fact a hoax story so no need to run for the candle stash.

NASA has also hit headlines after a private unmanned craft carrying supplies for International Space Station exploded shortly after launch, watch exactly what happened below: