THE collapse of a modular accommodation manufacturer, Lightspeed in Stonehouse, has thrown 125 people out of work.

The firm, based at the Stroudwater Business Park off Oldends Lane, has ceased trading after running out of money to pay its employees for September.

The company only took over making the student and key worker pods from Unite three months ago.

Administrators are currently helping the former workforce with claims to the Government's Redundancy Payments Service and also hunting for a buyer for the business.

But the factory closure was a big blow for Stonehouse, the town's mayor Chris Brine said.

"It is dreadful. They did employ quite a few local workers. As a town council we really do feel for people who've lost their jobs," Mr Brine said.

"As the job market is at the moment I fear that 125 people are going to be out of work," he added.

Stroud MP Neil Carmichael said: "It is unfortunate and tragic for people who are losing their jobs. This is a significant number of people looking for jobs."

Mr Carmichael said he was doing all he could to promote employment and engineering in the constituency, including a meeting last Friday, with the Department of Work and Pensions, about unemployment.

A redundant Lightspeed worker said employees' monthly pay was several days late in July and August. "Then last month we never even got paid," he said.

"I am 64 in February. It is very unlikely I'll find another job. I might find a little part time one or something," he said.

"But I am a lot luckier than most. My wife works. But for the young with mortgages and young kids I think it is disgusting."

Joint administrator Andrew Sheridan said: "Lightspeed had run out of cash and had not met its September payroll commitments.

"Our priority now, as well as continuing to assist the employees, is to secure a purchaser for the business and assets and we are already in discussions with interest parties."

Mr Sheridan said it was too early yet to comment on the likely outcome of those negotiations.

SPONSORED walkers were really buzzing on their charity hike to and from Chalford.

Around 30 people joined the five-mile effort out to Bourne's Green, Oakridge, Bisley and back, mum Emma Cooper said.

Miss Cooper, 29, her partner Matt Davis and their children Billy, eight, Coco-Ella, three, and even family dog Bella all did their best to aid Lupus UK.

"It went really well. Brilliantly.

"We were really buzzing. We had about £80 donated in our bucket and I think we raised £900 to £1,000 altogether," Miss Cooper said.

She was inspired to arrange the charity challenge by her mother Kerry Hunt, 47, from near Bisley, who was told she had Lupus last year.

Since October is Lupus awareness month, Miss Hunt, her family and friends organised their fundraiser to coincide.

There is currently no cure for Lupus, which is a multi-symptom condition where the body's defence mechanism begins to attack itself.

Problems are then caused such as joint aches and pains, and chronic fatigue.

The walk started and finished at the Old Neighbourhood pub in Chalford which supported the event with refreshments for the tired team when they returned.

County agents say there are encouraging signs in the market but warned sellers against overpricing after a property website revealed asking prices have risen by more than £8,000 in October.

It is the biggest jump seen in eight months, Rightmove said this week, adding the autumn rebound showed "evidence of some life in the market".

The typical property asking price rose by 3.5 per cent month-on-month to £243,168, as all regions across England and Wales saw prices increase.

James Birt, partner at Naylor Powell, which has three branches in Gloucestershire including Stonehouse, said higher prices in the county were a sign of a healthier market.

He said: "I think there has been a significant increase in confidence in the Gloucestershire property market over the last few months which in turn has led to these higher asking prices.

"There is also a shortage of property, creating competition for new instructions and some less regulated estate agents are getting a bit carried away with the asking prices in order to secure the instruction.

"There is no doubt about it though, the property market is significantly healthier than it was a year ago. We are seeing a large increase in activity at our Newent branch, with a record number of sales being agreed for the last three months. Both Gloucester and Stonehouse branches are also performing well."

Sacha Cresswell, of Philip Pugh and Partners in Cheltenham, said prices were high in the town but put it down to over generous valuations by agents.

She said: "I think there are some very high asking prices out there but I think that's down to competition between estate agents because there is not a lot of properties coming onto the market."

She added this behaviour was "hindering" the market and frustrating sellers.

In a message to vendors, she said:

"Unless you price your property at the right price, you will not get viewings.

"That is one of the big problems and there are a lot of frustrated sellers out there."

The jump means prices in England and Wales are 1.5 per cent higher than a year ago and goes some way to reversing a drop in prices between June and September, when the market saw a lull amid distractions like the Olympics.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders said last week that mortgage lending to home-buyers hit a two-year high in August.

Buyers who are considering purchasing older properties or undertaking renovation projects can now access greater information about the overall condition of the property through a new survey.

The RICS Building Survey has been designed to attract consumers which it feels are becoming increasingly less inclined to rely purely on lender information when taking out mortgages.

It provides the buyer with an analysis of the property. Armed with this information, the buyer then has the option to potentially re-negotiate the price or take or leave an offer with increased confidence about their investment.

The survey's report includes a full breakdown on the fabric and condition of a property.

The Gloucestershire housing market has been given a boost after a leading house-builder confirmed plans to open 10 new developments over the next 12 months.

David Wilson Homes will start work on the South West sites, which will result in almost 1,000 new homes in the region. Of these, 145 will be built in Gloucestershire.

Four developments are underway in and around Gloucestershire and three are to start next year, including at Cooper's Edge in Brockworth.

They provide further evidence that the property market in the South West is recovering ahead of some other parts of the country.

Confirmation of David Wilson Homes' plans follows an increase in sales to £94.1 million across the region with legal completions on 506 homes during the 12 months to June 2013.

"There is strong demand for houses in these areas and we are committed to providing as many of these homes as possible," said sales director Louise Ware.

The average house price in the UK has crept up by less than one per cent so far this year, which is by most measures a flat-lining property market.

But such a weak national 'average' masks huge differences in performance across the UK.

While some places having been dropping like a stone, others have been surviving rising fast.

Towns with house prices rising at a faster rate than five per cent a year at the moment include Chipping Norton in the Cotswolds; Hampton in London's westerly suburbs; Hove, Hailsham and Uckfield in Sussex; Herne Bay in Kent; Teddington in Middlesex; and Walton on Thames in Surrey.

The differences are sometimes very wide – for example one town in Oxfordshire has enjoyed rising house prices of nearly 11 per cent over the past year while a village in County Durham is down by nearly 12 per cent year on year.

But how do you know how your area is faring when most house prices indices only drill down to large areas such as cities and counties?

According to PrimeLocation.com, the best are those impervious to the housing cold the rest of the UK has caught – and it's usually all about location, location, location.

The winners are almost all fashionable places to live popular with well-heeled rail commuters travelling into the UK's larger cities, with many but not all being those which are a manageable train ride into London.

Those that buck the London and South East trend include Crook in County Durham, Kettering in Northamptonshire, Leigh in Greater Manchester, Ilkely in West Yorkshire and Stalybridge also in Manchester.

INTIMIDATING hardly covers it where debuts in deepest, murkiest France for front-rowers are concerned.

Scrummaging is almost a national pastime across The Channel – but unfazed Koree Britton admitted he revelled in that pressurised atmosphere at Mont de Marsan.

The 20-year-old hooker lined up alongside 22-year-old prop duo Yann Thomas and Shaun Knight for Gloucester's Amlin Challenge Cup opener.

And the bullish Torquay-born competitor forged a formidable scrum trio with his coal face chums.

The young front-row dispatched their far more experienced Stade Montois counterparts, and Britton said the whole experience has filled him with confidence.

Buoyed by the backing of the Gloucester coaches, Britton explained: "It's a great honour to pull on a Gloucester shirt, and having the support of the coaches and their confidence behind me, to put me in that situation, for my first start, I feel that's quite a big step for me.

"Last year I was playing at Hartpury regularly, and now I've got opportunities like last week, and that's a great step.

"Hopefully it's my first of many starts, and I'd love this to be something of a breakthrough season.

"It was a great opportunity, and hopefully I grasped it with both hands, and did all that I could.

"The way everyone talks about French clubs, they are old-fashioned in their style, big, intimidating and hard.

"But that doesn't put any doubts in your head – it excites us to go up against that challenge.

"It makes you think 'Actually, I'm going to give you a run for your money and give you all that I've got'.

"Hopefully I did that, and I definitely enjoyed it."

Keen to sharpen up his set-piece work, Britton said Gloucester can be rightly proud of their scrummaging so far this season.

He added: "I've just got to tighten up my core skills, lineouts and scrummaging.

"Hopefully the other parts of my game aren't too bad, but you always need to keep sharpening up the lineouts and scrums.

"I've just got to keep working my socks off, keep my head down and get stuck in, and see where that takes me.

"Tony Windo has had a massive impact on all of us already.

"Even something as small as moving your feet in your standing position two inches can make a massive difference.

"The way the pack has scrummaged, whoever has played, that's been a big feature, and we're working hard to ensure that continues."

NATURAL forager Matt Cox has all the attributes to become Gloucester's long-term openside flanker successor to Andy Hazell, believes Nigel Davies.

Cherry and Whites boss Davies has told Cox he wants him to flourish at seven for the Kingsholm club – and has backed him to seize his chance in the coming weeks.

Redditch-born Cox was recruited from home club Worcester two years ago, with Gloucester initially earmarking him as a long-term openside.

But since then he has operated just as much at blindside and number eight.

Former Llanelli Scarlets boss Davies has wasted little time in asking Cox to switch to openside more regularly.

And now the Kingsholm club's rugby director believes there will be opportunities for Cox in that role in the wake of stalwart Hazell's red card at Mont de Marsan.

Gloucester-born Hazell faces an ERC disciplinary hearing on October 26, where he will receive sanction for his flurry of punches at Stade Guy Boniface last week.

Hazell is unable to take the field in the period leading up to that hearing, and the expectation is that the 34-year-old will be slapped with a ban.

Backing Cox to step forward in the interim, Davies explained: "I think it is probably time for Coxy to nail down into one specific role now.

"He's played more of his rugby at six overall, but I think he's got the makings of an excellent openside.

"From what I've seen so far he's more suited to seven, he's quick, very aggressive over the ball, has good footwork in attack and he's probably not as heavy as your top-end eights and sixes.

"So for me he fits the seven position very well."

Admitting Gloucester's coaching staff have been working closely with Cox on the finer points of openside play, Davies said he is improving all the time in appreciating the intricacies of one of the game's most specialised roles.

He continued: "Coxy's brilliant: he'll do anything for you, anything you ask, but I think we've got to give him a bit of freedom in that seven role, and see what he can do.

"There's a rhythm in any game and the good sevens get into that rhythm and they pick their moments and are very effective in them.

"Sometimes Coxy is so committed, he's so desperate to win and do well that he can almost negate his contribution by trying to do everything.

"So we're just working on that and having a feel for the game, and for the rhythm of the game, and when he does that and gets a run of games, I'm sure we'll see the best of him.

"I said to him in pre-season that I saw him more as a seven, but we haven't really had too much opportunity to play him there so far.

"But I'm sure he'll get some opportunities now, that's for sure.

"Someone like Hazey offers great balance to our back-row: it allows us to carry to predominantly ball-carrying players in there as well, because of his work-rate, ground work and decision-making.

"So those are the sorts of things we're focusing on with Coxy at the moment."

Evergreen Hazell made his Gloucester debut all the way back in the 1997-98 season, but remains in vintage form.

He cannot go on forever though, and Gloucester clearly need to start ushering in a long-term replacement.

Cox has the first crack at that ball-stealing 'jackal' role then, but Davies conceded he has cast an admiring eye on Cornish Pirates' seven Phil Burgess.

The former Harlequins and Loughborough University flanker is tearing up the Championship, no doubt winning glances from a host of Premiership clubs.

Rob Cook's one-game loan back to former club Pirates earlier this term indicates the strength of relations between the two outfits.

But even if that gives Gloucester an edge, Davies said he does not expect to make any swoop this term, given the salary cap.

While Davies is already making preparations for next term's squad, he reiterated that retention must come before recruitment – and he hinted Burgess is not the only openside on his radar.

He added: "There's a couple of players within our current system that could possibly step up to the seven role in the long-term.

"Burgess is a very good player, I've seen footage of games he's played and he's an exceptional player.

"But there's a number of things we're looking at at the moment, and based on that we'll make some decisions for next year.

"Recruitment for right now is difficult because of the salary cap, but obviously we're certainly looking very closely at next season already.

"We've got a very strong squad at the moment, and I'm delighted with the talent available to us and that's emerging all the time."

NEW pavements in Cheltenham town centre have received a mixed reaction as traders and shoppers have called them a "big improvement" and "really dangerous".

Gloucestershire County Council has been repaving the Promenade between Imperial Square and Ormond Place since April, and the work is due to be complete early next month.

Richard Austin, a director of home and gift store Vinegar Hill, has praised the new pavements, saying they are "much better" than the previous surface. He said: "I think they are a big improvement. They look fantastic, and the risk now of slipping over is much smaller than it was before."

Lauren Mullen, a supervisor at shoe shop Russell & Bromley, says the new surface is much safer.

She said: "Before the pavements were replaced, a lot of customers were slipping over and we were having to bring them inside because they were hurt. It was really difficult for people in wheelchairs too.

"It's much better now. It's more even and looks better."

However, town centre shopper Julie Stanley, 51, says the new surface is "far worse than it was before".

The nurse, who lives in The Reddings in Cheltenham, said: "When it has rained and the leaves are on the floor it's treacherous.

"Myself and my colleague have slipped, so we worry about elderly people. I'm concerned about health and safety.

"I walk along the gravel part by the road now because it's safer there than the pavement. It's really dangerous."

York stone paving slabs have been used for the £200,000 project, which was jointly funded by the county council and Cheltenham Borough Council.

County council local highways manager Chris Riley said: "At this time of year, when the autumnal conditions arrive, it is normal to find leaves on the ground and this can make surfaces more slippery.

"Cheltenham Borough Council is responsible for clearing leaves away and we have contacted them regarding leaves on and around newly laid paving slabs on the Promenade."

BETTING shops have been taking a gamble on Cheltenham.

The town centre has seen the opening of Paddy Power in the last few weeks while William Hill opened the doors to its new premises yesterday.

Channel 4 Racing presenter Derek 'Tommo' Thompson was on hand for the grand opening.

The new shop, which has been relocated from the corner of Albion Street to a larger unit on Winchcombe Street, includes an innovative video wall - the only one in the country.

It is part of the chain's introduction of new technology into its shops.

Bosses said the town had a special place for racing fans given the history at Cheltenham Racecourse.

William Hill spokesman Jennie Prest said: "Cheltenham is a special place for all racing fans so it was important to launch our new shop with a bang.

"It was great for all our customers to meet Tommo and a good opportunity for everyone to view our shop and see the fantastic video wall."

But fears have been raised that the growing number of bookmakers could be putting temptation into the path of people who can ill afford them.

Councillors have now agreed to look more closely at the issue to see if they can limit the number in Cheltenham.

Concerns were aired during a meeting of the borough council on Monday when the authority adopted the statement of principles for the Gambling Act 2005.

The statement has to be approved every three years to help the council decide matters of licensing.

Councillor Anne Regan (C, Warden Hill) warned there was a danger the shops would encourage people on low incomes to try to increase what little money they had through gambling.

"Because of the present financial restraints people are under, I am worried," she said. "It is a temptation for people who desperately need money.

Councillor Peter Jefferies (LD, Springbank), cabinet member for housing and safety, said measures were already in place to ensure some degree of protection to vulnerable people.

But he said it was something the council needed to look into.

"On the one hand, the council is the authority issuing the licences," he added. "On the other hand, we have to remember we have a social conscience and look at the effect this can have on residents."

PLANS to revamp the Royal Well part of Cheltenham's town centre will be made public on Monday.

Cheltenham Borough Council is starting a six week consultation on Monday over proposals to revamp the area surrounding the bus station.

It could include looking at what will happen to the Municipal Offices if council bosses move out, as well as changes to the bus routes and pedestrianising some of the area's roads.

The development brief will be on the council's website www.cheltenham.gov.uk/civicpride as well as at libraries and resource centres in the town.

Residents will be given the opportunity to discuss the proposals at its offices on November 6 from 6pm to 8pm.

A report on the consultation results is planned to go to Cabinet on 15 January 2013, however this is subject to change depending on the number of responses. Recommendations will go before full council on 8 February 2013.

Officers are calling on hoteliers to come forward with information if they saw a group of two or three men, maybe with Liverpool accents, around the time of the robbery on or around October 4-5.

A vehicle was driven into a glass door before two men wearing balaclavas entered the building and snatched the cash being loaded into a cash machine.

A green Nissan Navara double cab pick-up truck that detectives believe was used in the robbery was found abandoned in Carters Orchard in Quedgeley a couple of days later on Sunday October 7.

The vehicle was reported stolen from the Merseyside area.

 A second vehicle, believed to be a white transit type van, may have been used by the suspects in their getaway.

Anyone with information should ring 101, quoting incident 120 of October 5.

Alternatively information can also be given anonymously on 0800 555 111, or via www.crimestoppers-uk.org. In some cases Crimestoppers offer rewards of up to £1000 where information leads to a conviction.