The PTFA at Bridstow Primary School set itself the target of raising £5,000 over two academic years with which to purchase books and equipment for the new School Library. So far, with just three months to go, they have raised over £3,000. Fund-raising events from Bingo evenings, Christmas Fairs, Beetle Drives, Sponsored events with the children taking part and the annual Summer Fair have all helped to raise this money.

The next event, due to take place on Sunday, 22 April is just a bit different. There is a table sale on in the School Hall and the LaGrue family will be bringing their Legend race cars into the playground for people to admire, sit in and have a photograph taken. Poppy and Toby LaGrue both attend Bridstow and Mum Nicola is the driver of one of the Legend cars, which have speeds of up to 120 mph.

A table sale is a great opportunity to have a clear out and 'recycle' some of your unwanted items. Anyone wishing to have a table, which cost £5, can come along to the school from 10am on Sunday morning. Buyers and those wishing to see the race cars can come along after 11am and entrance to the event will be 50p per person.

Nicola is offering advertising space on her car for companies who would like to sponsor the only woman currently in the Legends championship. Please contact Conor on 01684 298700.

For further details about Sunday's event or to book a table in advance please contact Jules on 01989 568941 .

Continuing with their membership drive, the Ross-on-Wye Lions club signed up a new member at a recent meeting. Fifty one year old David Lingwood, who lives in Ledbury Road, Ross, with his wife Maureen, had been looking for some time to join an organization which did good work for the local community.

David has lived in Ross-on-Wye for three years and once his family and work circumstances were right he looked for a group who most met his ideals. His family are now old enough not to need his chauffeur services so much and he also works from home, which gives him some spare time. His work takes him abroad around a third of his working hours.

David looked at the website of the local Lions club (www.rossonwyelions.org) and decided that Ross Lions was the organization he wanted to join. He is the third new member to sign up within the last few months. David is an avid supporter of the Gloucester Rugby Club.

The Ross Lions club now has 23 members and is aiming to attain a maximum of 30. Anyone who is interested in becoming a Lion because they want to do something for the community and the wider world should contact a local Lion, give Jim Hamilton a ring on 01600 890830 or Bernard Fowkes on 0845 8335786.

Police officers from Ledbury were certainly in for a big surprise when they went down to the woods on Sunday afternoon and were confronted by a 8ft long Burmese python. The officers were responding to calls from several members of the public who had been walking along a footpath and seen the giant snake motionless on the ground.

Unsure as to whether the snake was dead or alive, Sergeant Emma Wright and PC Dan Underwood made their way to the scene, to find the serpent very much in the land of the living and needing to be removed. 'We were unsure of exactly what sort of snake we were dealing with, so I took a photo of it on my mobile phone and we contacted the West Midlands Safari park, who pretty quickly confirmed that it was a Burmese python,' said Sgt Wright. 'We then needed to make sure the snake could be safely removed from the area and then had to find a suitable home for it.'

Ledbury veterinary surgeon Derek Stoakes was called out to assist and, together with the officers, was able to coax the python into a box ready to be removed. 'I was very impressed by the way the officers dealt with the situation because this was a very large snake. I have treated snakes in the past but this was considerably bigger than anything I had seen before,' said Mr Stoakes. 'The snake was pretty still when I arrived but became quite active - possibly because it was quite a warm day.'

Once safely placed in a secure box for transportation, one of Herefordshire Division’s wildlife crimes officers, PC Kevin Le Good, drove the serpent to the Vale Wildlife Centre in Evesham where it has been given a temporary home. Dubbed ‘Monty’ by staff, the python is said to be enjoying the attention and is none the worse for his woodland escapades.

Police have not received any reports of missing snakes and it seems most likely that Monty was abandoned by his owner. PC Kevin Le Good said: “'t is not very often we get called out to deal with snakes - and certainly not ones as big as this. Fortunately this story has a happy ending and Monty is now enjoying his new home at the Vale Wildlife Centre.

Sadly, it seems most likely that Monty was abandoned by the roadside by its owner, who presumably no longer wanted to keep the snake as a pet. Clearly this was a very dangerous thing to do and was done without any thought to either public safety or the welfare of the snake itself.

People considering buying exotic animals should stop and think whether they really are suitable as pets and whether they are capable of looking after them correctly. Dumping any animal by the roadside is a particularly cruel thing to do, especially with domesticated pets who may not be able to fend for themselves.'

Anyone with information as to who the owner of the snake is should contact Ledbury Police on 08457 444888.

This short video clip of the Zebras was filmed by Ken Gascoigne of Avec Design at the Prince of Wales, Ross on Saturday, 7th April.

It is quite dark because it was recorded by the light of a fruit machine only.

The performance was a really good one which attracted one of the largest audiences to the Prince of Wales Saturday Live Music evenings so far.

Thank you to Ken for making the recording.

Power tools worth around £2,250 have been stolen from a workshop at Goodrich. A padlock on the door of the workshop was removed to gain entry, some time between 1pm and 5.20pm on Wednesday, 4th April. Once inside, the offenders removed several chain saws, hedge trimmers, strimmers and a rotary mower.

Anyone who saw suspicious activity in the village that afternoon is asked to contact PC Emma Terry at Ross-on-Wye Police Station on 08457 444888, quoting ref: 641-s-040407.

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