Time Team presenter Phil Harding spent a day filming at Credenhill hill fort in Herefordshire as part of a planned documentary which will be screened on Channel 4 next spring. Herefordshire Council's county archaeologist, Dr Keith Ray MBE, showed the Time Team presenter and his team of researchers around the hill fort, which is the largest one in the Welsh Marches.

Footage from Credenhill will be part of a special Time Team documentary about hill forts throughout the United Kingdom. Phil, wearing his trademark hat, said, 'There are more hill forts in Herefordshire than any other county in the country. The fact the one at Credenhill is being excavated provided a perfect opportunity to explore hill forts further as part of our documentary'.

Continued . . .

Excavation work, carried out throughout September under the direction of Peter Dorling of Herefordshire Archaeology and with the help of students from Cardiff University, is part of a longer-term project being carried out in partnership with the Woodland Trust. The Trust has been awarded a Heritage Lottery Fund grant to conserve and study Credenhill Park Wood which the fort stands within.

Excavations, the first being carried out on a hill fort in Herefordshire for 40 years, are being carried out to establish if there was an earlier enclosure on the hill. Dr Niall Sharples, senior lecturer in Prehistory at Cardiff University, said, 'The six trenches we have unearthed have already raised some interesting issues which will need to be answered in future digs. Interestingly, one trench at the top of the hill was found to be empty, suggesting the site was used as an open area for some form of gatherings.'

The Woodland Trust project will involve the removal of conifer trees (planted in the 1960s) from much of the fort, and restoration of the surrounding woodland to mixed deciduous cover. As part of the filming, Time Team members also visited the new Museum Store and Resource Centre in Hereford's Friar Street and were shown around the collection of Iron Age items which have been unearthed from the hill fort at Credenhill.

For further information about Credenhill hill fort contact Dr Keith Ray on 01432 383351 or Peter Dorling on 01432 383238.

Parents and guardians of the county's 2000 year six children are being asked to apply for secondary school places for September 2008. The council has invited all parents who live in the county to name up to three schools in order of preference by Friday, 2nd November 2007.

All preferences are treated as equal initially. However, if more than one school place can potentially be offered to an individual applicant, the single offer is for the school the parent ranked highest. All parents should have received a pack through their child's primary school which contains an information booklet telling them about admissions and transfers to schools in Herefordshire. The pack also contains an application form and dates for school open evenings.

Last year nearly 92 percent of applicants were allocated their first preference school. If parents put the school that serves their catchment are as their first preference, they usually get offered this school. However, occasionally parents wish to send their children to a school outside this area.

Starting school for the first time, and transferring to secondary school are two of the most important events in any child's life. The council aims to make it as easy as possible for parents to understand the procedures involved in applying for a school place and a Choice Advisor is available to offer help and guidance on the process.

Councillor Jenny Hyde, cabinet member for children and young people, said, 'There are lots of factors that parents need to take into consideration when stating their preference for a school, such as whether it is the nearest school, how good the standards of teaching and learning are, what facilities are available, whether their child will be happy there and how their child will travel to school. Parents also need to consider whether after school club facilities are available, which school their child's friends are likely to go to and, in some cases, religious preference. The council is working hard to make the system as simple as possible, so that parents and children can make real meaningful choices.'

The deadline for high school applications is Friday, 2nd November. Late applications may result in parents not being offered the school of their preference. Places will be allocated and offers made on 1st March 2008.

A racial incident occurred at the petrol station of Sainsbury’s in Hereford at 8.40pm on Friday, 15th June 2007, when a female in the waiting queue made racist remarks about another customer which were clearly offensive.

Police wish to trace the female customer, pictured left on Sainsbury's CCTV, in connection with this incident.

Anybody with information concerning the woman's identity is asked to contact PC Sean Lashley at Hereford on 08457 444888 or call Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.

As part of its commitment to promote lifelong learning, Herefordshire Council is staging a free taster workshop in sports coaching with applied Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP).

The free, one day workshop is being held at the Bromyard Centre on Thursday, 18th October, between 10am and 3pm and Eric Antony Moore will be the teacher for the day.

Eric trained in the United States with some of the leading pioneers of NLP such as Richard Bandler. NLP is not a scientific theorem but instead is a set of guiding principles, attitudes and techniques about behaviour in real life. It aims to give individuals a choice on their behaviours, emotional states and physical state of well being by understanding how the mind works.

Jo Alker, one of Herefordshire Council's learning champions, said, 'This one day workshop will provide sportsmen and women with the experience that makes the difference in sporting performance. My aim is to promote lifelong learning and to help people find a higher education route so they can train for as a career as a coach.

To book a place on the free workshop or for further details contact Jo Alker, Herefordshire North learning champion, on 07792 881073 or log onto the website at www.learningchamps.co.uk.

A missing 22-year-old woman from Hereford, Miss Sandra Herring has been found safe and well.

Police had appealed for the public to help find Sandra Herring after she had failed to return home or make contact with family or friends since Wednesday, 12th September. However, Miss Herring, returned home on Tuesday morning of this week and police have since confirmed she is safe and well.

The police would like to thank the media for their assistance with the appeal for Sandra's whereabouts.

Herefordshire Council's contractors, Owen Williams and Network Rail's appointed engineers are to undertake a new, more detailed inspection of the condition of Colwall Bridge before a decision is made on whether a bailey bridge needs to be constructed or not.

The railway bridge in Colwall Green on the B4218 was closed on Wednesday, 15th August due to public safety concerns after a routine inspection revealed signs of corrosion. Martin Jackson, Herefordshire Council's construction projects team leader, said, 'We have already been able to open the bridge to pedestrian traffic and are now carrying out a new inspection of the bridge to help us decide on the next step. This second report will be more detailed than the initial one and will help us to decide whether we can open up the present bridge to light traffic or whether we will have to install a bailey bridge instead.

The second inspection will enable us to assess with confidence the capacity of the bridge and Herefordshire Council will only remove or amend the restrictions on the bridge when it is safe to do so.'

A replacement bridge will be provided but, because this work will involve closure of the railway line, a starting date will first have to be agreed with Network Rail. In the meantime, Herefordshire Council is working on designs for a bailey bridge with a 20-metre span which would be able to carry heavy goods vehicles.

Martin Jackson said, 'Network Rail usually plan these major projects two to three years in advance, so we will be negotiating with them to get this work done as soon as possible. In Herefordshire, we have 700 bridges to maintain and repair as part of our transport plan and we already spend £700,000 a year on routine maintenance costs. The government allocates money for a wide range of highways works, but there are limits on what we can spend and the last major bridge project we were able to complete was a £1.5 million scheme in Bridge Sollars in 2003.'

Hereford's Nappaccino mornings, held on the third Monday of the month have been moved to a new venue at The Courtyard. The morning held on Monday, 17th September attracted a good number of mums-to-be, dads-to-be and grandparents-to-be, all wanting to learn more about the benefits of using real nappies. One of the mums-to-be said, 'My baby is due in January and I am very keen to use real nappies because of the benefits to the environment rather than sending disposable ones to landfill'.

Nappaccino mornings allow parents and parents-to-be the chance to see the benefits of real nappies while enjoying a free cup of tea or coffee. Waste Management officers from the council and a nappy consultant were also present to answer questions and offer advice. Lucy Fennesey, real nappy adviser, showed those attending a range of real nappies, in many shapes, sizes and colours, and answered questions about which ones were best for different needs. She said, 'Real nappies are reusable and washable. They come in many shapes, sizes and colours, are easy to use and easy to wash and dry.'

Cathy Hines, project assistant for Worcestershire County Council, said, 'I was delighted to see so many people attending the Nappaccino morning and want to remind any parents-to-be thinking of using real nappies that the council, in conjunction with Herefordshire Council, runs an incentive scheme.'

The Real Nappy Incentive Scheme gives parents the chance to either receive £30 cash back when they buy £50 worth, or more, of real nappies, excluding accessories. Alternatively, they can claim a free pack of 'pre fold' nappies, worth around £15 from Green Nappies, a social enterprise based in Ross-on-Wye.

To take advantage of the scheme parents must be a resident of Herefordshire or Worcestershire and can only take advantage of one scheme per baby. Application forms to take part in the incentive scheme can be obtained from Nappaccino mornings, nappy events or the Mission Impossible team.

The next Nappaccino morning will be held on Monday, 15th October at the Courtyard from 10am. Nappaccino mornings tackle the bottom line

For more information on real cloth nappies, Nappaccino dates and the Real Nappy Incentive Scheme visit www.wastemissionimpossible.org.uk or call 01905 766883.

Meetings were previously held at St. Peters Church House but the venue has changed to offer a convenient well known central location with car parking near to Hereford's town centre.

According to the Women's Environmental Network: · Each child can use up to 6,000 disposable nappies in their lifetime and eight million disposable nappies are thrown away every day in the UK. The average spend on disposables can be as much as £922.74 per child over two and-a-half-years. Real nappies can be used again and again, saving more money. More than 90 per cent of disposable nappies are disposed of in landfill and may take up to 500 years to decompose.

The September round of Community Forum meetings is coming to a close, with the final meetings taking place in Hereford today, Wednesday, 25th September and tomorrow.

Local Policing Teams and Herefordshire Council are continuing to encourage local people to attend the meetings and raise issues for the partners to deal with in the coming months. Community Forum meetings are held regularly across Herefordshire as part of the PACT (Partners and Communities Together) process, which seeks to give local people the opportunity to get involved in how the authorities manage the places in which they live, work and visit.

The current round of Community Forums has been running throughout September and this week’s remaining meetings cater for parts of the North Wye area of Hereford. Each meeting will have a representative of the Local Policing Team and Herefordshire Council on hand to discuss issues and meet members of the public. They will be happy to discuss any crime related and antisocial behaviour issues and other ways in which the area can be improved.

Residents from the St Nicholas and Three Elms areas can attend the meeting at Whitecross School on Three Elms Road in Hereford this evening whilst those from the Aylestone and Tupsley areas have their own meeting at Aylestone School in Broadlands Lane, Hereford tomorrow. Both meetings begin at 7pm.

These meetings will bring the round of forums to a close as all other parts of Hereford City and the county held their Community Forum meetings earlier in the month.

'These meetings provide the public with a great opportunity to find out what West Mercia Police, Herefordshire Council and other partners have been doing to reduce crime, disorder and antisocial behaviour in their neighbourhood,' said Chief Inspector Sue Thomas, who is charge of Local Policing in Herefordshire. 'Updates on actions taken since previous meetings will also be available and there will be an opportunity for the public to let us know if their problems have been resolved and to tell us of any issues which need some new action.'

Herefordshire Council Leader, Councillor Roger Phillips said, 'The council and its partners are committed to making Herefordshire a safer and better place in which to live and work. We are continually striving to improve our communities, but we can only do so with the help of the people who live here. Please get along to your local Community Forum and let us know the issues which concern you.'

Don’t worry if you are unsure which Community Forum or Local Policing Team covers your area. Simply visit www.westmercia.police.uk and click on the Local Policing link, enter a postcode into the postcode locator and the policing team for that area will be displayed. Information about each of the Community Forum / PACT meetings is also displayed alongside. A full listing of Community Forum meeting dates and venues is also available by visiting the Herefordshire Council website at www.herefordshire.gov.uk and, as a handy reminder, the myherefordshire.com website is also displaying information about forthcoming meetings.

Children, staff, governors and parents are celebrating following the publication of an Ofsted inspection report which judges the Brookfield school to be outstanding, the highest accolade the inspection team could give. The Brookfield School caters for seventy children aged between five and sixteen, who have emotional, behavioural and social difficulties, with each having an individual education and behaviour plan.

In the Ofsted report, the inspectors judged the school to be outstanding across the board. The school's philosophy is built around mutual respect and understanding with a focus on building self-esteem. This was praised along with the school's warm and welcoming ethos which was attributed to the pupils' excellent behaviour and personal development. The report said the school has a very caring atmosphere and pupils thrive because they are highly valued. As a result, the advances pupils make in learning to manage their behaviour are outstanding. The report said that on entry to the school many of the pupils have significant difficulties with learning and struggle with attendance, but during their time there, almost all pupils achieve well with many making excellent progress. The achievement of all pupils in their personal development, particularly their behaviour, is outstanding. Pupils' achievements were attributed to the excellent quality of teaching and learning and the report stressed that relationships are very strong with teaching assistants playing a valuable part in helping the pupils' learning.

The school's leadership and management were also praised as outstanding. 'I am so proud of our children,' said Mrs Oremi Evans, Head Teacher. 'They always give their best and never let the school down which is a sign of the respect they have for the school'.

Explaining why the school had been so successful, Mrs Evans said, 'If children respect themselves and others and they are in a caring environment, the learning falls into place because they are happy to learn.'

Councillor Jenny Hyde, cabinet for children and young people, said, 'Congratulations to Brookfield School for such an amazing achievement. The staff and governing body have worked hard to make sure some of our most vulnerable children are given the best possible start in life. Many achieve qualifications and most will go on to continue their education. The Ofsted inspectors have clearly identified that Brookfield School is making an incredible impact on its children's education and personal and social development. It is heartening to hear that such dedication is making a real difference to children's lives.'

The school is now in the process of submitting its bid to become a specialist school for behaviour management. If successful, they hope to invest in additional sporting facilities for the children and to support other schools around the county who have children with similar difficulties.

If you would like to find out about Fairtrade products and why it is so important to support them, you are invited to attend a special event at The Courtyard Theatre at 6:30pm on Saturday, 20th October.

The event will include Fairtrade refreshments, coffee and exhibitions as well as an opportunity to see the film Black Gold (U) at 7.45pm. This film is a must for all coffee drinkers, being a fascinating documentary about the inequalities of the global coffee trade and the way faults may be fixed.

Oistein M. Thoorsen, associate producer on Black Gold, who is currently working as an economic justice campaigner for Oxfam GB, will be introducing the film and answering questions from members of the public. To find out more about the film log onto the website at www.blackgoldmovie.com

Trish Marsh, Herefordshire Council's sustainability manager, said, 'This event aims to celebrate Herefordshire's Fairtrade county status and offers interested people a chance to meet those who supply Fairtrade products in an informal setting and find out more about what is going on. Hopefully, they will then be inspired to get more involved in the Fairtrade movement, which can help both local and overseas communities to become more sustainable.'

Anyone wishing to attend should email Trish Marsh at gem@herefordshire.gov.uk, but they should also feel free to turn up on the night.

Tickets for the screening of Black Gold need to be booked separately with the Courtyard Theatre on 0870 1122330 and cost £6 for adults and £4.50 for concessions.

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