The public are being asked to follow the new rules, which replace the current tiers system, from this evening and with people instructed to "stay at home" as they did during March's first lockdown.

All schools will close with immediate effect.

It comes as the UK recorded 58,784 new cases of the virus – the country’s highest daily increase to date, and the seventh day in a row it has registered more than 50,000 new infections.

The Formula One World Champion had been honoured with a knighthood and many awards have gone to people who have been recognised for their part in helping the nation cope with the coronavirus crisis this year.

Public figures including DJ Craig David and actress Sheila Hancock have also been honoured.

📸 Motor Sport Magazine

Local people recognised include Hugh Maclean VERNON for services to the community in Eardisland, Herefordshire.

Catherine Jean LINDESAY for services to the community in Clifford, Herefordshire.

David Fraser OWEN for services to Scouting.

George Arthur Somers HERVEY-BATHURST, Founder, Ben Bathurst Memorial Trust for voluntary service to Armed Forces Personnel and to their Families.

Ian Fryer PEAKE, Principal and Chief Executive, Herefordshire, Ludlow and North Shropshire College for services to Education.

Professor Dawn June BROOKER, Professor, Association for Dementia Studies, University of Worcester for services to People Affected by Dementia.

Freda May DAVIES for services to the community in Worcester.

Patricia Ann McCULLOCH for services to the community in Gloucester.

Tracey Helena WREN, Police Staff, Gloucestershire Constabulary for services to the community in Gloucestershire.

Felicity Ann WAGGETT for services to Young People and to the community in Gloucestershire.

The full London Gazette list is available to download below;

NEW YEAR HONOURS LIST.pdf

A Wallaby was spotted hoping around during the snowfall last night in Breinton Hereford.

Our friend and local resident Crispin Abel got in touch and said he could not believe his eyes and wrote on his Facebook page; 

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2021 has already surprised me. I drove my son to work this evening. Things to expect. Snow yes, ice yes, slush yes, Wallaby nope.

As I drove along Breinton Road, I saw a figure in a gateway. 30 metres later, I stopped the car. My brain registered a small kangaroo shape. I asked, "Did you see a kangaroo back there?" Following a brief discussion, we decided it was a wallaby. I reversed back and saw the wallaby hopping down the road. I then phoned West Mercia Police, because.....well. The call went as expected....."I would like to report that there is a wallaby loose on Breinton Road." (Silence......) ,"Pardon!". "Yes, there is a small, Australian, marsupial hopping down Breinton Road, Hereford.

So, if this is how 2021 is going to start, who knows what surreal things are going to happen next!

Hereford is a fabulous City and always full of surprises! And there is nothing better than a happy and positive story to start the day..

The driver of the Volkswagen that was involved in a collision with a Monmouthshire Council gritting lorry over the weekend has written to us saying he cannot believe he is still alive!

Billy Gurney was travelling near Grosmont when the accident happened.

He wrote

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"I was the driver of the Volkswagen I can't believe I'm alive"

Billy later explained to us today what had happened..

In an exclusive interview with Hereford Voice today the driver of the Volkswagen which was involved in a collision with a Monmouthshire Council gritter lorry over the weekend said

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"he was lucky to be alive"

William (Billy) Gurney explained to us today what had happened..

He was travelling home and got stuck going up the hill, his car started sliding all over the place so he stopped with his hazards on, he looked up and saw a large HGV vehicle coming toward him with amber flashing lights, clearly the driver of the HGV hadn't seen him initially and Billy said that he feared for his life, he said

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I was beeping my horn and shouting and screaming.

Once he had got the lorry drivers attention it was too late, the driver tried breaking but just slid towards him. The gritter lorry driver tried to put the lorry into the hedge in an attempt to avoid a collision but it was too late and the lorry overturned and landed on my bonnet he said.

Billy thought this was it and he was about to be seriously injured or even lose his life, he blacked out for a few seconds and was relieved to have survived the ordeal and walk away unharmed.

Thankfully there was no casualties and both drivers survived.

Our original article can be found here https://hfd.news/k1b

An RTC involving a gritting lorry and another vehicle as ice and snow falls across the county. 

photographs courtesy of Peterchurch Fire Station

Crews from Peterchurch Fire Station along with colleagues from Ewyas Harold Fire Station and South Wales Fire and Rescue Service assisted at the scene.

Thankfully there were no casualties, vehicles were made safe and diesel spill dealt with.

Hereford 1642 is a free project created by Jack Hodges about the city of Hereford England.

The city has been rebuilt using Unreal Engine 4 so that you can now explore on foot or horse back this magnificent city.

The Model has been made to be as accurate as possible using old maps from that period and other models and paintings so that the city you explore is as close as can be to the period.

Historically Accurate

Built using maps ,models, painting and etchings of the town during the 17th century. Come and see the Cathedral of Hereford with its spire and west tower.

Fun to Explore

Pick up objects and transport them in your horse and cart to other locations. Gallop with your horse and run around the city and country side.

Visit the Castle and River Wye

Visit the now demolished castle of Hereford as it once was. With bailey and mote the castle stands on the river Wye bank and over looks the city.

OK I may be a bit biased!

Not delivered 

Transport Hub at the Station - how difficult is it?

Not fixed the road to Fownhope

Not fixed the path by the Old Bridge

Still paying for scaffolding at Fryers Court - how many years now

Thousands paid out to consultants 

Still no realistic prospect of the cycle lane in St Owens Street

Wasted money on cycle lanes in Commercial Road

Roads very poor - e.g. Folly Lane and and Eign Road

Effectively ripped up the Core Strategy

Still not building more houses by the Link Road

Blueschool Street/Newmarket Street still open to all vehicles - link road was meant to divert north=south traffic from them

Delivered

Please help with this!!

Am happy to be corrected on the above

Crews from Hereford Fire Station were called to the A49 at the Callow, Hereford early this morning. They extinguished a van fire fire, crews used breathing apparatus and hose reel jets.

West Mercia Police were also requested to attend as there was no owner present.

I just wanted to point out that I know the world is in a mess at the moment and we are all or should be doing our best to get beyond this problem by abiding by the rules that are put in place for us .. I think I'm pretty sure  that  people will grumbling at the smalls problems this topic will point out and to be honest I think we're all pretty fed up with covid and the rules.. but here it is we've got to do the right thing... now I've noticed that while this pandemic is going on there are little things that probably seem irrelevant in the grand scheme of things...that is the police it seems wish to ignore....I don't know if the issue  Im going to mention in this  blog is just in Hereford it could be widespread Across Britain in different towns I don't know I can only speak for where I am...but the amount of cyclists that have no lights on their bikes is absolutely astronomical... my son is a cyclist and his bike is kitted out with good lights on it I didn't even have to tell him he done the sensible thing he obviously doesn't want to end up under somebody's car which if you've got any common sense you know at some point that will happen.... here is the crazy thing I have seen in 1-week a phenomenal amount of people riding bikes with no lights on at night in Black??.... what's that about?? you have to be a congenital moron to ride a bike with no lights in the dark on the roads at night... I live towards rotherwas and that's where the majority of bikes come from the industrial area at shift change times and it is horrendous if you don't believe me go and watch the amount of people with no lights on their bikes its ridiculous and the police do nothing ...why?... I am expecting some smartass to turn round and say that I'm having a go at cyclist I'm not my son is a cyclist if I wasn't pointing it out I wouldn't be doing the right thing to protect cyclists... not all of them do it I saw somebody tonight on the road on tthere bike and I had a giggle to myself because this guy look like a Christmas tree all lit up going up the road but the fact of the matter is you could see him fluorescent jacket on as well to be fair it was probably a little bit OTT but the guy obviously wanted to live... and that's what it's all about but because of everything that is going on I feel that this situation is getting out of hand but you've got to remember it was going on before the pandemic it just seems to have got worse while the pandemic is ongoing... in the 80s you used to get a £15 fine for riding a bike with no lights on.... and it's still against the law to ride a bike on the pavement but the police see them and do nothing.... I know we have bigger issues going on in the world but there are still small issues with that need addressing that are there  for peoples safety and such like... just because we're all looking at the bigger picture of what is going on the smaller issues can be left to just go by the way... I really do wonder what has happened to the Fabric of society 2020 hasn't really been very good to any of us so hopefully 2021 we will come through the other side and will have beat this....and the police will do their job and stop cyclists getting stuck to car tyres because they've no lights... you see them on the road... whoever you are ...you seen them...and I know I've seen them there are plenty of  law breaking cyclists which gives cycling an unwanted amount of attention and then all cyclists are under the microscope...which is not fair for the ones that do it right.... Hereford Police get off your asses and stop people riding with no lights and on pavements  it's turning into an epidemic of people with no lights and dark clothes on on the roads especially coming from rotherwas.... don't see the point in somebody wearing a mask trying to get beyond covid and then they go and ride a push-bike in the dark with no lights on because on one hand they would be doing the right thing for yourself and everybody with a mask... and then there playing Russian Roulette with there lives on a bike because there not abiding by why the laws of the road.... I've actually witnessed this week twice on two separate occasions a police car passing somebody on a bicycle while they had no lights on in the dark and on the pavement I was absolutely gobsmacked and the police didn't even look at him ...but to be fair they probably didn't see him.... same with the other one tearing around no lights on Through town dodging the traffic.... why does the police not address it....before people grumble and say their under staffed what is the excuse when they pass them in their cars and they're on the pavement with no lights?...there is no excuse it's all about being bothered... it'll probably be one of those situations where nothing will get done until somebody gets seriously hurt or killed.... cyclist on the road with no lights it's in the dark and on pavements you should be ashamed because you are causing problems for the cyclists that abide by the rules.... and that's not right and that's not fair are what about the poor driver that would probably end up seriously hurting you or killing you you because you you were all in Black on a push bike in the dark with no lights that person has to live with that for the rest of their life I think the cyclists that do this with no lights it's putting their lives at risk should be ashamed of themselves

The New Year will soon be upon us, so I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a 'Happy New Year' and thank you for your continued support and feedback.

It has been a challenging year for many people so let us hope that 2021 is better for us all.

Regards

Colin

Good luck to our lovely friend Laura over at Hey, Honey who will be opening her new store in Church Street Hereford in January 2021 in the meantime, you can still find this fabulous honey shop in Capuchin Yard and also online here

Tier 3 for Herefordshire from midnight.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced the changes to MPs in the house of Commons this afternoon.

Full details and a breakdown of what Tier 3 means can be found here

Ross on Wye fire station has taken delivery of a brand new 20 plate Scania fire appliance.

Crews have been working hard training with all the new equipment over the last month. 

Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service have taken delivery of three new fire appliances with significantly greater capability.
The new Scania ‘CAFS’ or Compressed Air Foam System models have been deployed to Ross-on-Wye, Bromsgove and Upton-upon-Severn stations to replace the Service’s three ageing CAFS appliances.

CAFS can carry 300 litres of foam and 2,400 litres of water each – significantly more than previously.

Sourced fully from UK outlets, the new models are built on an 18 tonne Scania chassis, and fitted with the ‘Godiva Smart CAF system’, putting them at the centre of the Service’s bulk foam strategy for tackling bigger incidents that need a large quantity of foam to handle the situation.

Designed for maximum versatility, they can deploy equally to more routine incidents as well as those requiring bulk foam.

Due to improved technology the system can simultaneously deliver water through both their main jets and hose reels at the same time as producing compressed air foam, offering a significant upgrade on existing appliances CAFS’s combination of water, compressed air and foam solution can produce 21,000 litres of finished foam, needing considerably less water than traditional appliances and achieving a greater cooling effect, resulting in reduced fire and water damage.

Deployable to any kind of incident, and especially effective where there are poor local water supplies, CAFS will have particular advantages for tackling basement, large building, hazardous material, watercraft and agricultural incidents, as well as thatch and fuel/oil fires.

Other CAFS benefits include greatly reduced environmental impact, quicker handling of incidents, better deployability of aerial appliances and lighter hoses, helping reduce fire fighter fatigue and risk.

Additionally, the new appliances will have greater serviceability than the outgoing ones, reducing the need for expensive repairs by specialists and therefore driving down costs.

Group Commander Jon Butlin said:

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“This is great news. The new CAFS will really boost the Service’s firefighting and incident handling capability. Not only does it have considerably greater foam and water storage and pumping capability, but it will be far more versatile, offering a wide range of incident responses from large buildings to water and agricultural call-outs"

“The lighter hoses and high pumping capacity also mean that we can handle call-outs more rapidly, resulting in less fatigue and risk for our crews as well as reduce damage and environmental impact on the local area.”

Crews from Hereford Fire Station attended a car fire on Westfaling Street, Hereford during the early hours.

Government confirms plans for the return of primary and secondary schools and colleges in January 2021

Today’s announcement by the Secretary of State for Education, Rt Hon Gavin Williamson CBE MP, has confirmed that Herefordshire’s primary schools and special schools will return from week commencing 4 January 2021.

Secondary schools will be open from 4 January for vulnerable children and for the children of key workers. From week commencing 11 January, secondary schools will open for years 11 and 13 (exam year pupils). The remaining secondary pupils and college students will work from home initially and then return to face-to-face education from Monday 18 January.

Individual schools and colleges will be making their own arrangements to contact parents, carers and students to confirm the return date. Parents, carers and students are advised to check their school or college website and normal channels of communication for the latest updates.

School transport provision will continue to run as normal from week commencing 4 January 2021.

The MHRA, the UK drug regulator, has given approval to the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine to be used for immunization on British soil. The formula is the second one given the green light in the country.

The first doses due to be given out to people from Monday 4th January 2021 amid rising coronavirus cases.

The UK has ordered 100 million doses - enough to vaccinate 50 million people.

For safety reasons, the A49 Victoria Street underpass in #Hereford remains closed to pedestrians due to flooding. Highways England have put up additional signs pointing the way towards the nearest crossing point.

For updates follow the @HighwaysWMIDS Twitter feed or call them on 0300 123 5000.