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The B4362 between Orleton and Woofferton was closed at the railway bridge earlier this afternoon. Rail services between Leominster and Ludlow were disrupted and emergency services attended the scene. Unfortunately one patient sadly died. The road is now open. 📷 Google

Exceptional photographs again from our good friend Jon Simpson, the Knife Angel Monument looks even more incredible in the rain, we're just loving the reflections and another set of extraordinary images that Jon has managed to create. Jon wrote; Reflecting on the Knife Angel. The Knife Angel Hereford is free to visit and on display outside Hereford Cathedral until 12 July. Created by Alfie's Art and the The British Ironwork Centre, to highlight knife crime and educate young people of the harmful effect violent behaviour can have on their communities. It was absolutely chucking it down when I took these and despite the rain people were still stopping on their walk home from a night out to stand for a while and take it in. The 2nd photo is the reflection in the water on top of the Knife Bank Amnesty Bin, and is among my favourite photos I've ever taken. 👇

The B4224 Fiddler's Green to Fownhope road is due to reopen to traffic tomorrow (Friday 25th March) Mairead Lane, Head of Infrastructure Delivery, said:

A van driver has sadly died and two other people have been injured in a road traffic collision in Herefordshire this morning. West Midlands Ambulance Service was called at 11.09am earlier today to the junction of the B4203 and B4204, Upper Sapey to reports of a collision involving a car and a van. Two ambulances, a community first responder, a paramedic officer and the Midlands Air Ambulance from Strensham with a MERIT trauma doctor and critical care paramedic on board attended the scene. A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokeswoman said:

Herefordshire Council teams have recently completed a programme of resurfacing and drainage works on the C1059 - Common Farm Bungalow - Holloway Common Farm, Hampton Charles, Herefordshire.

Homes and businesses in Ross-on-Wye will soon benefit from gigabit capable broadband. Wholesale broadband provider, Full Fibre Limited, will build new Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) network across the town, providing access to some of the fastest broadband in the country. Fibre to the Premise (FTTP) known as ‘full fibre’ is the newest form of fibre broadband and is considered more future proof as it can deliver gigabit download speeds (1,000Mbps). The rollout is thanks to a small grant project to connect businesses in the Alton Road area that still require a superfast connection. Fastershire’s Marches & Gloucestershire business broadband grant is part funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and has enabled Full Fibre Limited to establish a foothold in Ross-on-Wye from which they will expand their network into the rest of the town using their own investment. Full Fibre Limited CEO, Oliver Helm, said Councillor Paul Symonds, said, Over 93% of Herefordshire properties can access a superfast connection of 30mbps or greater, according to ThinkBroadband’s figures, with over 35% mainly in rural areas able to access a gigabit capable full fibre connection, well above the national average of only 21%. Councillor Ellie Chowns, the Cabinet member for environment, economy and skills at Herefordshire Council said, To find out if your property can access faster broadband, visit www.fastershire.com.

Eight men have received prison sentences for Courier Fraud offences they committed in Herefordshire, Shropshire and Sutton Coldfield in 2019. The group of offenders based in London targeted elderly and vulnerable members of the public pretending to be police officers, encouraging them to help an investigation by withdrawing money from the bank. Couriers would then be arranged, also pretending to be police officers, to attend the victims’ addresses and collect the money. Two were arrested following a high speed pursuit in Hereford in which they rammed police cars and other vehicles before they were detained. More than 200 victims were identified by police, with many more targeted by the and with over 1,000 unique and known landline numbers contacted. The benefit amount of the conspiracy, for money stolen or attempted to have been stolen was just under £200,000. Full details 👉 https://bit.ly/3442FQQ

7 cases of variant identified but contained within small work bubble Herefordshire Council is working with Public Health England (PHE) Midlands to support a farm in the county following an outbreak of COVID-19 among a small number of their seasonal workforce. The small number of workers affected had all been routinely tested during their period of isolation when arriving on the farm. Fourteen workers have been found to be COVID-19 positive, seven of which have been confirmed with the variant B.1.617.2 (Indian variant). The farm involved has strict control measures in place to limit transmission, including a period of isolation for all workers on arrival who then live and work in small groups (bubbles). Herefordshire’s Acting Director of Public Health, Dr Rebecca Howell Jones, said: If you have COVID symptoms, no matter how mild, you and your household should isolate and book a COVID test online or dial 119 from any phone to book. Everyone should also take twice-weekly rapid lateral flow device (LFD) testing when symptom-free. There are a number of testing sites available for residents who live or work in Herefordshire, alternatively you can pick up a test from participating pharmacies or you can order tests for home delivery. More information can be found on the council website. To protect yourself and others, you must remember: Hands. Face. Space. Fresh Air. Hands – wash your hands for 20 seconds with soap and water often, and as soon as you get home - use hand sanitiser gel if soap and water are not available. Face – wear a face covering in indoor settings where social distancing may be difficult, and where you will come into contact with people you do not normally meet. Space – stay at least 2 metres away from anyone you do not live with, or who is not in your support bubble. Fresh Air – it is safest to meet outdoors. If you do meet friends or family indoors stick to guideline limits, keep the visit short and ensure good ventilation. Vaccination – take up COVID-19 vaccination when you are invited to do so.

His family, friends and colleagues all paid tribute today in a fitting service for a true gentleman who was tragically killed in an accident last month. Photographs courtesy of West Midlands Ambulance Service

Bromyard Lions a community group of like minded people who wish to assist our community in any way we can. We act independently of the many other community groups, of which there are many in Bromyard already, without stepping on their toes but bringing something else to the community to enhance what is already there. We have made scrubs for the hospital when required, masks for groups as requested. We have embarked on a couple of big garden projects to assist with tidying the sites at the Hope Centre & Bromyard Community hospital and we are able to do so by fund raising to meet the costs. The rewards are in the pleasure we can bring in helping those in the community who are vulnerable. Other projects as and when funds allow. We also collect spectacles for recycling, some 500+ to date which will help third world countries improve sight. Also we have given over 100 Message In A Bottle pots for people to record allergies, people to contact in an emergency and medications, inside and place in the fridge. Stickers are supplied for the window and door for Police, Fire and or Paramedics to see on arrival in an emergency. We also collected and donated 14 laptops and 5 tablets to Queen Elizabeth High School Bromyard for pupils to continue their education from home during the pandemic. Lions Clubs International is the world's largest service club organisation. Lions are an international network of over 1.3 million men and women in over 44,000 clubs within 200 countries who work together through selfless, effective community service to answer the needs that challenge communities. Lions are individuals who volunteer their time to humanitarian causes in their local and global communities, conducting and supporting vision and health screenings, building parks, awarding scholarships, assisting youth, providing help in times of disaster and much more. In the British Isles and Ireland, and the rest of Europe, Lions donate over 5.7 million hours and £88 million to humanitarian causes each year. As a member of a Lions Club you become aware of the needs of your community and have the opportunity to make a difference. Each Club provides volunteers with project management experience, leadership training, personal development opportunities and organised fund raising programmes. Being a Lion empowers you to help others in a way that no one person could do alone. Lions International Foundation’s Global Causes • Diabetes - We serve to reduce the prevalence of diabetes and improve quality of life for those diagnosed. • Vision - We serve to prevent avoidable blindness and improve quality of life for people who are blind and visually impaired. • Hunger - We serve to ensure the community members have access to nutritious foods. • Environment - We serve to sustainably protect and restore our environment to improve the well-being of all communities. • Childhood Cancer - We serve to help those affected by childhood cancer survive and thrive. To find out more, or to join us please contact our President Tony John Richards. tjrichards60@gmail.com or 07885647675.

Hereford Council teams have recently completed a programme of resurfacing and drainage works on the A417 - Hillhampton to Burley Gate in Herefordshire.

Positive News | Herefordshire Council teams have recently completed a programme of resurfacing and drainage works on Stoney Street, Madley Herefordshire.

A40, Ross-on-wye closed for a brief time yesterday whilst this load was made secure. Driver reported for insecure load offences. Photograph courtesy of West Mercia Police OPU West Mercia Police (OPU) officers are trained to identify HGV load offences, with the aim of education and enforcement to make our roads safer.

Positive Hereford | There are lots of good things about our wonderful city. We have new independent retailers that will all be reopening again on Monday including all those lovely shops and boutiques in The Independent Quarter and Hereford Butter Market We have a new a pizza restaurant, fabulous coffee bars, take-aways, bistros, wine bars and pubs! A new eatery offering Korean BBQ at your table is coming soon to the Hereford Old Market Shopping Centre and we have some fabulous hotels too. We love our city and county and we like to shout about it and promote everything positive. It's all too easy to moan but we are privileged to live in such a beautiful part of the World. We will continue to promote local business and encourage people to visit Hereford and Herefordshire. The lockdown has been a very challenging time for people and businesses alike but there is light at the end of the tunnel.. Join us in our campaign and 'BE POSITIVE' about this fabulous city of ours. 'Positive Hereford' Follow our hashtag #positivehereford

A man who was tragically killed while riding his motorbike involving a collision with tractor near to Thruxton in Herefordshire last Friday has been named. Mr Gary Edward Houghton, aged 54, from Newton Saint Margarets died as a result of the RTC. An inquest was opened into his death today and was immediately adjourned until a later date in order to gather further information.

At Hereford Voice our slogan has always been 'Having Your Say' and through our network we are going to give you the opportunity to ask your questions to some of our Councillors. Cabinet Member - Infrastructure and Transport Councillor John Harrington has agreed to be put under the spotlight to answer your questions in the first of our 'exclusive' Q & A sessions. Rules: Abuse will Not be tolerated and offensive comments will be deleted and may also result in that person being banned. Please ask sensible questions on any subject that Cllr Harrington maybe able to address and answer in his capacity at Herefordshire Council. Hereford Link Roads (Bypass) Turning Off Traffic Lights or making them Part-Time (Hereford Voice Campaigns) River Crossings Closure of the Old Bridge Pot Holes Maylord Orchards Shopping Centre Electric Buses Roundabouts Please ask your questions below 👇 and Councillor Harrington will answer as many as he can in a video which we will publish over the weekend.

Have you checked your bank notes recently? Police are warning of a spate of fake £20 notes that have been found in circulation. Identifiable due to the barcodes & poor ink quality. When selling items check the cash being tendered & report any fake notes, even if it is only an attempt.

Verging on Wild is a group of volunteers working to improve biodiversity on our roadside verges. We are working with Herefordshire Council, Balfour Beatty Living Places, Herefordshire Wildlife Trust and several other wildlife organisations. We want to see a change in verge management across the county and we want to protect the best verges by listing them as Roadside Verge Nature Reserves (RVNRs) and managing them for biodiversity. Protection for our rich and varied verges Road verge flora is deteriorating in many parts of the UK – 87 of the verge species are facing possible extinction – including favourites like harebell, field scabious and ragged robin. The decline is caused by the way we cut and manage verge habitat and the increasing fertility of roadside soils. Cutting begins in the spring and is repeated in the summer so that few plants have a chance to set seed before the mowers arrive. Summer flowering plants, many of which typify our beautiful hay meadows, are disappearing from our verges. The result of this mowing regime and the practice of leaving the cut vegetation to rot down in situ, has caused a decline in roadside species and an increase in weed species such as nettles, cow parsley and hogweed. This is bad news for wildflower numbers and diversity. It is also bad for populations of bees, beetles and butterflies that rely on these plants for food, and for the birds that eat these invertebrates. What a gorgeous welcome to Bishops Frome! There are nearly 300,000 miles of rural roadside verges in the UK, so if this decline can be reversed, the contribution to nature will be huge. Rural verges are equal to half our remaining grasslands and meadows, so if we can change verge management to benefit wildlife, it will make a significant difference. A rural county like Herefordshire can make a great contribution to this with good verge management. Reversing the decline – “Cut Less, Cut Later” Plantlife, the UK’s wild plant conservation body, is behind a national project proposing a new wildlife friendly approach to managing verges. They produce clear verge management guidelines for landowners, local councils and authorities, the gist of which is “cut less, cut late". In Herefordshire in 2018, three friends decided to take action to improve our local verges and “Verging on Wild” (VOW) was formed. VOW is now affiliated to Herefordshire Wildlife Trust and working to encourage Herefordshire Council, Parish councils and their contractors to follow the best practice guidelines. Herefordshire Council and Balfour Beatty Living Places are now considering changes to the verge management in Herefordshire. Herefordshire’s listed verges Verging on Wild is also working to reinstate good management for a list of special verges which are the best wild flower verges in the county. These are called Roadside Verge Nature Reserves (RVNRs). VOW is organising groups of volunteers to do signage, monitoring and management on the listed sites. Many enthusiasts have already proposed their own local sites which have now been surveyed and added to the list for their protection. It is wonderful to see these verges in flower and alive with bees and butterflies, so if you would like to be a verge guardian and help look after a listed verge near you, please contact Verging on Wild. suzanne@lowerhazelfarm.co.uk, annecrane59@gmail.com, sally@sallywebster.net Further Information See “The good verge guide” and “Managing grassland road verges” here Sign Plantlife’s petition here Watch a brilliant presentation on verges from Phil Sterling of Butterfly Conservation here Source | Herefordshire Wildlife Trust

A West Midlands Ambulance Service technician has tragically died whilst on duty in Herefordshire this morning. The ambulance crew were on route to a 999 call when an object struck the ambulance’s windscreen at 8am. It happened at the junction of Moreton Road and the A49. Multiple resources attended the scene, which included two emergency ambulance crews, paramedic officers, the Midlands Air Ambulance from Strensham and two Mercia Accident Rescue Service doctors.A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokeswoman said: West Midlands Ambulance Service Chief Executive, Anthony Marsh, said: West Mercia Police are asking anyone who may have seen the incident or have dash-cam footage to contact them on 101 quoting incident 00101i of 24 April.

Our fabulous local independent retailers have all reopened in the last few weeks including all those lovely shops and boutiques in The Independent Quarter and Hereford Butter Market We have a new a nail salon, mobile phone shop and the new tasty Yorkshire wrap! A new pizza restaurant, as well as some fabulous coffee bars, take-aways, bistros, wine bars and pubs and the all new outside seating! New eateries offering Korean BBQ at your table and Amazing Asia all coming soon to the Hereford Old Market Shopping Centre and we have some fabulous hotels too and let's not forget Saxtys Bar & Club which is reopening in May!! June brings Knife Angel Hereford to the Hereford Cathedral We also have some wonderful new planters with seats and trees in the city centre which will look superb once they fully blossom. We love our city and county and we like to shout about it and promote everything POSITIVE. It's all too easy to moan but we are privileged to live in such a beautiful part of the World. We will continue to promote local business and encourage people to visit Hereford and Herefordshire. Keep looking out for our continuous opening headlines POSITIVE NEWS | POSITIVE HEREFORD The lockdown has been a very challenging time for people and businesses alike but there is light at the end of the tunnel.. Join us in our campaign and 'BE POSITIVE' about this fabulous city of ours. 'Positive Hereford' Follow our hashtag #positivehereford

Sad to learn the sad news of the passing of Sir Clive Richards, he was a great supporter of so many good causes in Herefordshire and throughout the UK, including a huge generous donation of 1 Million pounds to St Michael's Hospice - Hereford. Sir Clive Richards - Photograph courtesy of St Michael's Hospice Hereford. The Hospice said; Charity The Clive and Sylvia Richards Charity (CSRC) was established on 16 May 1986 by Clive Richards, a serial entrepreneur and his wife Sylvia. The Clive and Sylvia Richards Charity is committed to supporting Education, Healthcare, Heritage and Arts CSR Charity Website

Have your say on the future of rubbish and recycling in the county. Monday 7 December 2020 to Sunday 7 February 2021. This consultation is closed. Consultation reports are available. The council's current rubbish and recycling collection contract is due to end in 2023. Since the current service was introduced the government has announced a new national resource and waste strategy and we will have to make changes to collections to ensure these new requirements are met. Also, in 2019 the council declared a climate and ecological emergency and has an ambition to make changes for a more sustainable county. In December 2020 – February 2021 we asked for your views on the future of rubbish and recycling collection services in the county. You can read the outcome of the consultation in the documents below: Summary consultation outcome Full consultation outcome report All of the feedback gathered during the consultation will now be considered along with other reports before councillors make a final decision on how rubbish and recycling collection services are provided in the future. This decision is expected to be taken in April/May 2021. Other documents: Future of waste summary - residents Future of waste summary - businesses

Herefordshire Council asked people across Herefordshire to let them know their thoughts on the future of waste and recycling in county. Find out what was said, take a look at the results of the consultation & find the next steps, HERE

Herefordshire Council teams have recently completed a programme of resurfacing and drainage works on the U92415 - Easthampton Lane, Easthampton, Shobdon in #Herefordshire.

Online marketplace Local E Sourced has been chosen as a finalist for Britain’s best environmentally sustainable business 08th APRIL 2020: Local e Sourced based in #Herefordshire has been shortlisted for the UK’s best environmentally sustainable small business at this year’s Small Awards. In its fifth year, The Small Awards is a nationwide search for the smallest and greatest firms in the UK, across all sectors. It is organised annually by Small Business Britain, which champions, inspires and accelerates small businesses in the UK. Local E Sourced is an online marketplace exclusively for independent businesses, founded in March 2020. Offering the ability to buy multiple products from any number of suppliers with a single delivery charge. Makes products more accessible, helping reach new customers while creating a unique shopping experience with a focus on celebrating and promoting local businesses and products. By shopping with Local e Sourced, you are minimising the need to import food leaving behind it a huge carbon footprint. Instead, you are supporting small, independent suppliers. By shopping local, we are keeping a significant amount of money within the area, that will help grow local businesses, create jobs, improve tourism and generally improve the quality of life in the local community and become less focused on cheap imported, lesser quality goods and support those who work hard to provide on our doorsteps. Local e Sourced has been chosen as one of five finalists for the new ‘Net Hero’ Small Award, launched in the run-up to this November’s UN Climate Change Conference (COP26), to recognise small firms demonstrating exceptional commitment to environmental sustainability. With eleven unique categories, the Small Awards celebrate the dynamism of the UK’s small business sector, across everything from longstanding family businesses and innovation-led start-ups, to social enterprise champions. said Michelle Ovens CBE, Founder of Small Business Britain. Hamish said, Hamish Light Judged by a panel of leading enterprise experts, the winners of all award categories, along with the overall winner of Small Business of the Year, will be announced on 13 May 2021. This year, in light of current covid-19 restrictions, Small Business Britain will again be hosting its award ceremony as a lively virtual event, instead of the traditional glittering gala dinner. Small businesses across the country will zoom in together for an evening of fun celebrations, featuring entertainment, special guests, speeches, networking and more! About The Small Awards The Small Awards, launched in 2017, targets the whole small business sector focusing on businesses often overlooked by other awards. The Small Awards is run by Small Business Britain, the UK’s leading champion of small businesses, supporting all 5.8 million small businesses in the UK – no matter their location, their sector, or their ambition level. Through a series of reports, events and campaigns, Small Business Britain champions, inspires and accelerates small businesses in the UK to foster growth and increased confidence. https://thesmallawards.uk https://smallbusinessbritain.uk