Latest news with #Avonmouth
BBC News
30-05-2025
- Climate
- BBC News
Avonmouth M5 traffic affected by smoke from nearby fire
People driving on the motorway in rush hour have been met with large plumes of smoke from a fire near a Fire and Rescue Service is tackling a pile of rubbish that caught fire just off King Weston Lane in Avonmouth, Highways has placed slow signs along the M5 in the area as the smoke travels across the carriageway.A spokesperson for the fire service said there were no reports of any injuries and that crews expected to extinguish the fire by about 19:00 BST. They said they had found some gas cylinders in the area and were making sure they were two thirds of fire has been fire engine from Gloucester is also assisting with extra water.
BBC News
27-05-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Author Louise Allen helping girls leaving care to find careers
A charity for young women leaving care is set to hold a programme that aims to empower girls in the next steps of their Louise Allen says she set up Spark Sisterhood after suffering sexual, physical and emotional while growing up in charity will now begin a project giving access to employers in the Avonmouth area, called Care to Career, which aims to give confidence and further educate young women who are coming out of the care system."Financially independent women are powerful women and we want them to believe in their own potential," said Ms Allen. The scheme is set to run for two weeks from 2 -13 June at Lawrence Weston Farm, Bristol. Ms Allen says she was put into forced adoption when she was a teen. She says her adoptive family left her without food, starving for periods at a was also abused by older children around her in her adoptive home."It took a long time to talk about because no one would want to hear that children could do that," she one occasion, she said that while on the way to an emergency home, the man who was taking her "lifted up her skirt", leaving her "in shock"."I was only a child and I knew it was wrong," she said but, when they arrived, she recalled him saying to the carers "watch this one she tells lies"."Hearing these words made me want to do the work I do now," Ms Allen explained. She said the new programme was about helping young women leaving care to "feel seen, supported, and genuinely excited about what's next".It is targeted towards care-experienced young women aged 18 to 25 and will be supported by the Allen Lane Foundation, which awards UK charities with for Careers will give the young women access to employers in the Avonmouth area including Bristol Port, Suez, Mathias and LW employers will also be able to offer interviews, work experience and job placements to successful candidates. 'Blown my mind' The programme will hold daily sessions, covering a range of topics from personal safety, CV writing and stand-up will also offer the young women one-to-one sessions on voice and self Allen says she is also currently working with authorities and a charity called Escape Line to help remove young people from gangs like county lines criminal groups involved in said gangs use tactics to recruit children like making them late for school and "blowing weed [smoke] on them so the schools think they are taking drugs".The new project aims to remove girls and young women from these environments and prepare them for professional careers."This has blown my mind," Ms Allen said, "It matters to the girls, this is their chance to get out of the poverty cycle."
BBC News
27-05-2025
- Automotive
- BBC News
M48: New restrictions on key crossing between England and Wales
Weight restrictions have now been implemented for heavy-goods vehicles on a key crossing between England and WalesIntroduced on the M48 Severn Bridge, the limits mean vehicles over 7.5 tonnes in weight will need to find other routes. It has been estimated that about 10% of the 32,000 vehicles that cross at Chepstow every day will have to to use a diversion via the M4 Highways said the restrictions are in place to ensure the safety of the 60-year-old bridge and to reduce the load on its are expected to be in place for 12 to 18 months while a medium-term solution is developed and installed. The crossing will remain open to all emergency vehicles, scheduled buses, coaches, gritters and recovery unplanned closures of the Prince of Wales bridge, vehicles over the weight threshold will be diverted via the M5 and M50, with Automatic Number Plate Recognition (APNR) cameras being explored by National Highways to support hauliers have said this diversion could be devastating for their businesses.A director of an Avonmouth-based haulage company warned the alternative route into Wales via the M4 Prince of Wales Bridge is not always reliable, and drivers could be forced to take lengthy detours around National Highways bosses said they had "no choice" but to impose weight limits in the interest of public safety, and that they are looking for a long-term solution to allow HGVs to return "in a controlled manner".
The Independent
06-05-2025
- Automotive
- The Independent
New driving test changes come into force in DVSA plan to save lives
New changes to driving tests will come into force from Tuesday as the DVSA have launched a new trial to make tests more realistic. The DVSA are trialing a three month change to the driving test with three major updates across 20 driving test centres. These centres will include: Avonmouth, Bishopbriggs, Cambridge, Oxford and Portsmouth. They will be reducing the number of stops carried out on a driving test from two to one, in order to allow more of the test to be spent on higher speed roads, including rural roads where possible. The DVSA will also change the frequency of emergency stops from one in three driving tests to one in seven, an element of the test which has not been reviewed since before the fitting of Anti-lock Braking Systems (ABS) became mandatory on new cars in 2004. There will also be more flexibility to increase the time of independent driving on the sat nav from 20 minutes to the full duration of the test, as the use of the navigation technology becomes more popular. Up to four driving examiners at each of the test centres will take part, using new routes in rotation with current established ones that will include the changes being tested in the trial. A DVSA spokesperson said: 'DVSA is committed to improving road safety. We continually keep our driving tests under review to make sure they present a rigorous, realistic test of using Britain's roads safely. 'Today (6 May 2025) we are beginning a 3-month trial at 20 driving test centres to increase the amount of time test candidates spend on higher speed roads, including rural roads, where available, during a driving test. 'High speed roads, including rural roads, are some of the most dangerous for novice drivers. We need to ensure that the driving test continues to test the skills needed to drive safely and replicate conditions new drivers will face in the real world to keep improving road safety.' These changes come as 48 per cent of killed or seriously injured casualties among young car driver collisions occur on rural roads, compared to 42 per cent for other aged car driver collisions. On top of this, young male car drivers aged 17 to 24 are four times as likely to be killed or seriously injured compared with all car drivers 25 or over. The latest test changes come a month after the Department for Transport (DfT)made changes to the driving test rules after the DVSA saw record high waiting times to book exams. It is now only possible to make changes up to 10 working days before a booked test slot, compared with three working days previously. DfT officials hope this will incentivise learners to wait until they are ready to pass before they book a test, and encourage people to pull out of tests sooner, meaning there is more chance their spot can be taken by someone else. There is also a campaign to recruit and train 450 new driving examiners.
BBC News
06-05-2025
- Automotive
- BBC News
Avonmouth driving tests to change as part of experimental trial
Future driving tests could switch to faster routes The trials aim to better replicate real-life road conditions for novice drivers Driving tests could include learners taking much faster routes if new pilot exams are successful. The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) are planning to run trial tests at 20 driving test centres across Britain, including areas like Avonmouth, Portsmouth and Dudley. Examiners will conduct less stops in every test, reducing from four to three, and have the option to increase time the examinee spends driving independently using a sat nav. A DVSA spokesperson said: "We need to ensure that the driving test continues to test the skills needed to drive safely and replicate conditions new drivers will face in the real world to keep improving road safety."
