As it happened: West of England

BBCCopyright: BBC

A new Avon Fire Authority is to be formed following a critical report into the way the current authority is run.

A Home Office report published last week unearthed an "old boys club" culture and called for reforms to leadership.

Local authority leaders met with the area's Police and Crime Commissioner earlier to discuss the report.

They called for a "radical restructure" and said a new "reduced" fire authority would be formed.

The move is expected to be appoved when the Authority meets on Thursday.

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New Avon Fire Authority to be formed

Local leaders call for a "radical restructure" of the current fire authority.

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Avon and Somerset Police say the owner of an American bulldog-type dog, which attacked and killed a poodle in a Bristol park, has come forward following appeals.

The poodle was out for a walk, with its keeper in Malago Park, Bedminster Down late on Saturday evening.

The larger dog attacked and killed the poodle almost instantly. The bulldog's owner, a man on a mobility scooter, left the scene.

But police say the man identified himself voluntarily, at a police station this afternoon.

Police enquiries into the incident are continuing.

Quote Message: This was a vicious and unprovoked attack... had it been a child, the consequences don't bear thinking about. from PC Thomas Thompson Avon and Somerset Police

This was a vicious and unprovoked attack... had it been a child, the consequences don't bear thinking about.

Got a plan for your retirement?

How many of you think you'd like to "just take off on the open road"?

We've been talking to a retired Wiltshire couple in Devizes who are "living the dream" and converting and old coach into motorhome.

They plan to rumble off into the sunset together, but first they have a lot of work to do...

Proposals to demolish 542 houses on an estate in Bath have been approved by Bath and North East Somerset Council, by a vote of 5 to 4.

The authority plans to build 700 new houses in their place in the Foxhill area of the city.

Housing provider Curo, which is behind the plans, owns many of the homes on the Foxhill estate, although some are owned privately.

The developer said: "We will continue to work closely with the local community to develop detailed plans for each phase of the regeneration."

Designs for the planned replacement homes and estate will now have to be approved.

BANESCopyright: BANES

Next week is the anniversary of the battle of Passchendaele, one of the bloodiest battles of World War One.

Walter Weston from Calne enlisted in Devizes as a signaller and fought on the Western Front with the Royal Warwickshire Regiment.

On his return home the 18-year-old wrote a journal about his experiences and how he survived in the trenches when so many died.

BBC Points West's Ali Vowles has been meeting three generations of the family who are all going to the commemorations in Belgium this weekend.

An inquest has heard that a man died after falling into the water and drowning following a night out in Bristol.

Jason Gurgul, 33, had been drinking and was last seen on CCTV stumbling near the waterfront. His body was recovered from the water by divers six days later.

Jason's family have started a campaign for better safety around Bristol's harbourside area.

This video shows the moment a manhole cover exploded in a Gloucester street and narrowly missed a woman.

Jode Wardell filmed the metal slab flying into the air and landing just a metre from his wife, Adriana after water pressure built up during flash flooding on Tuesday.

He said: "If she had been one step to the left of it, the weight of it would have killed her. "The blast of air was incredible, like a bomb."

The couple were taking daughters Rebecca, four, and Daniela, nine, out for a pizza by the docks in Gloucester when it happened.

Jode, 43, said: "It has really affected my daughter Daniela - she's terrified. "I don't think she will be walking over manhole covers for a long time."

As women's cricket enjoys a huge increase in popularity and thousands tune in the BBC local radio for the T20 Blast coverage, a crisis looms at local cricketing level.

There is a shortage of cricket umpires in the Bristol, BANES and Wiltshire area.

Wildcat military helicopters will continue to be made in Yeovil after Airframe Manufacture struck a new deal with the MoD.

There had been fears that the work could move to Poland.

Helicopters have been made in Yeovil since 1940.

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

A teacher who had sex with a student in an aeroplane toilet on a school trip has been banned from the profession.

Eleanor Wilson, 28, who worked in Bristol, kissed the pupil and drank alcohol with him while on the flight.

A National College for Teaching & Leadership (NCTL) panel found she engaged in sexual activity with a male pupil in August 2015.

The panel's report found her guilty of unacceptable professional conduct and banned her from teaching indefinitely.

An audio blip on Points West's main news programme last night had engineers scrabbling around the bowels of the BBC. So what happened?

BBCCopyright: BBC

Bristol Post: Flight from Bristol Airport loses 130 bags half way to Canada

Swindon Advertiser: Vicious fight at Tree Nightclub leaves man with broken teeth and split lip

Gloucestershire Live: Why police were swarming all over Gloucester Railway Station last night

Somerset County Gazette: Fatal A358 crash 'unavoidable', an inquest hears

West leaders have concluded that a new, reduced Fire Authority should be created.

Four local authority leaders, representing Bristol, Bath and North East Somerset, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire and the Police and Crime Commissioner for Avon and Somerset, met to discuss the recommendations of a critical Home Office report.

The damning inspection report into the Authority was published last week. It said that sweeping reforms in the governance, leadership and culture of Avon Fire Authority and called for the leadership "to be revitalised".

In a joint statement following the meeting today the leaders today concluded: “we are not convinced that the Fire Authority can fix itself."

“As leaders we have a responsibility to our residents to ensure that the issues identified... are put right. We believe this can only be done with a radical restructure.

The Fire Authority will meet tomorrow to consider and approve the government's recommendations.

BBCCopyright: BBC

Quote Message: We have not taken this decision lightly and it is one that we have come to in the interests of residents and the many hard-working and dedicated Avon Fire and Rescue Service officers and staff who deserve strong accountability, support and reassurance. from Joint statement from four local authority leaders and the PCC

We have not taken this decision lightly and it is one that we have come to in the interests of residents and the many hard-working and dedicated Avon Fire and Rescue Service officers and staff who deserve strong accountability, support and reassurance.

Proposals to demolish 542 houses on an estate in Bath have been approved by Bath and North East Somerset Council.

The authority plans to build 700 new houses in their place in the Foxhill area of the city.

Housing provider Curo, which is behind the plans, owns many of the homes on the Foxhill estate, although some are owned privately.

The developer says all affected will be offered a place to live locally but many residents are against the plan. They say they are depressed and worried about their future.

Police are hunting the owner of an American bulldog type dog which attacked and killed a poodle in a Bristol park.

The dog was out for a walk with its owner and their other dog in Malago Park in Bedminster Down at 11.30pm on Saturday when it was savaged.

The larger dog attacked and killed the poodle almost instantly and its owner, a man on a mobility scooter, left the park.

He was seen heading up Hartcliffe Way and turning left into Novers Lane with the dog, which was mainly white with brown patches and a Jack Russell, also white with brown patches.

Quote Message: “This was a vicious and unprovoked attack on a couple’s dog which has left them shaken and traumatised. Whilst it is horrific enough for a couple’s pet to be killed in this way, had it been a child, the consequences don’t bear thinking about. from PC Thomas Thompson Avon and Somerset Police

“This was a vicious and unprovoked attack on a couple’s dog which has left them shaken and traumatised. Whilst it is horrific enough for a couple’s pet to be killed in this way, had it been a child, the consequences don’t bear thinking about.

A family had a lucky escape after a manhole cover exploded into the air under the pressure of torrential rain in Gloucester.

Jode Wardell filmed the metal slab flying into the air and landing just a metre from his wife, Adriana Catteneo, and young daughter Daniella. Mrs Cattaneo said she felt like she had "a close brush with death".

Severn Trent Water called it a "highly unusual" incident, and said they are looking at ways of preventing it happening again.

North Wales PoliceCopyright: North Wales Police

A former tennis professional turned coach who sexually abused a girl has been jailed for six years.

Daniel Sanders, 42, was told he "took advantage" of her during a six-month period.

The father of three pleaded guilty to seven counts of sexual activity with a girl and one of causing her to engage in sexual activity.

Sanders, now living in Merriott, Somerset, once played doubles with Tim Henman and played his last professional match in 1996.

A hide containing explosives and other equipment in Devon also contained a modified booby-trapped torch which, when armed, would explode if turned on, a court has heard.

A three-day hearing is under way at the Old Bailey to sentence Ciarán Maxwell, 31, originally from Larne in Co Antrim, after he admitted charges earlier this year of preparing terrorist acts.

Maxwell had hides across Northern Ireland and England, including in Powderham New Plantation, near Teignbridge in Devon. It was here the deadly torch was found.

Police Service of Northern IrelandCopyright: Police Service of Northern Ireland

Last March, police said bomb-making parts had been found in barrels hidden in a wooded area in Carnfunnock County Park in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Two months later, another "terrorist hide" was found in Capanagh Forest, near Larne in the province.

Officers described it as one of the most significant arms finds in recent years.

Of particular concern to security chiefs was the discovery of military grade anti-personnel mines (pictured).

Pipe bombs and parts for making explosive devices also made up part of the haul. Their serial numbers revealed they had been taken from the Royal Marines base in Somerset where Maxwell was based.

The hearing continues.