A dog walker in Bradley Stoke has been hit with a £50 fine after letting their dog foul on a pavement.

The walker was caught by South Gloucestershire Council wardens only “20 steps” away from two dog bins on Bradley Stoke Way.

The fine was dished out as the owner walked away and did not clear up the mess.

A spokesperson for the council says the fine is the second handed out in recent weeks.

A new forum which aims to link up small businesses in Bradley Stoke is to launch in February.

The Small Business Forum is aiming to be “a voice for the business community in the town”.

The idea for the group is the brainchild of Nick Wood who runs a counselling and psychotherapy service from rented space at the Bradley Stoke Community School.

“Having started my own small business over the last few years I have learnt a whole new set of skills and it has sometimes been a hard slog,” said Nick.

“There is help available but I also feel it would be great to share ideas and experiences with other local business people.

“Clubbing together might help us to pool resources, provide a marketing platform and, who knows even put something back into the community we serve.”

The other aims of the forum are:

• Provide mutual support for it’s members
• Be a place to share ideas and experiences
• Provide access to advice and specialist expertise
• Establish links with community groups and initiatives

The first meeting of the group will be at 5.30pm on Monday, 19 February 2007 at the Pitman Training Centre, Bradley Pavillions, Pear Tree Road, Bradley Stoke.

If you run a small business in the town and would like to get in touch with Nick ahead of the meeting then you can email him via nick4info@yahoo.co.uk

Two boys from Bradley Stoke are having trouble finding sporting memorabilia to sell off for charity.

Callum Howard and Adam Snook, 11, want sport items to auction in aid of the RSPCA, reports the Bristol Evening Post.
So far they have only bagged a Bristol City shirt and an email from Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger.

All of the letters have been sent on RSPCA headed paper with a letter from the charity confirming what the pair are doing.

Callum’s dad, Philip, is appealing to the community for more items. You can call him on 0771 858 2177 if you can help out.

The sale itself is planned for Saturday, 20 January between 11am and 2pm at the Bradley Stoke Community School.

Global warming has made its mark on Bradley Stoke with the creation of a giant new lake.

The rain has poured down next to Tesco and the Three Brooks pub to create the new water feature.

The lake is on the corner of the land where new housing is currently being built.

It will be a welcome sight for people hoping to buy new houses in the area - lakeside properties are at a premium.

It is hoped that ducks and other wildfowl will eventually make a home for themselves on the water.

* Yes, we know this is rubbish, but it’s a slow news week and we wanted to give you all a laugh.

The problems for Gipsy Patch Lane continue with drivers starting once again to do a dangerous u-turn around queues.

As cars drive northbound on Gloucester Road North and pull off past Filton Airfield many are turning near the Post Office traffic lights.

Some motorists are also driving past stationary traffic at breakneck speed in a bid to avoid queuing.

The Examiner has been keeping an eye on the problem since the summer after a reader tipped us off.

It seemed as if the problems had subsided but on Tuesday night the Examiner spotted no less than seven cars in one phase of the traffic lights using the u-turn.

One car had a very lucky escape missing a Post Office van, which had right-of-way, at the junction.

The u-turn is entirely legal but hardly in the spirit of good old British queuing …!

The Bradley Stoke Examiner is looking for more of your stories in 2007.

The Examiner is the town’s only independent and interactive news website and is attracting a big following.

Perhaps you have a news story you’d like to tell us about or maybe an event you want some publicity for.

All you need to do is email the details to news@sadlybroke.com and we’ll take a look.

The BBC has been celebrating Bradley Stoke’s 20th birthday with a series of features.

BBC Radio Bristol broadcast live from the town during their breakfast programme on Wednesday, 3 January 2007.

There is also a story on the BBC News website quoting former mayor Julian Barge saying BS32 is “misunderstood”.

He goes on to say the town is trying to develop a community spirit: “This is a young town which has a lot of young people and families.”

Points West also broadcast live from the BS Leisure Centre during the evening (watch again for 24 hours here)
It is lovely to see some positive coverage for the town and sets the 20th anniversary in 2007 off on just the right note!

Other links of note today:

• BBC Video archive from 1988: 30 mins documentary ‘Boom Town’
• Pictures from the Three Brooks Nature Reserve