Western Daily Press

Rabbit-Chasing Dog Is Rescued

Rescuers have revealed the story of a dog who survived a stormy night on a cliffside after chasing a rabbit over the 330ft drop in Dorset. The nine-year-old collie cross called Jack landed on a ledge 200ft above the sea and was stranded on Doghouse Hill, near Eype, at 4pm on Sunday.

Revolutionary Les Mis Heads This Way

A new production of Les Miserables will come to Bristol next year as part of a 25th anniversary tour, it has been revealed. The Bristol Hippodrome and theatre producer Sir Cameron Mackintosh will bring the famous musical to the city in July 2010.

It's the End of the World - As We Predicted It

It is the disaster movie to end them all; demolition day for Planet Earth as foretold by the ancient Mayan civilisation. And West film-makers Chris Morton and Ceri Louise Thomas played a key part in its birth.

Council Says Demolishing Historic Pool 'Not an Option'

Demolishing the historic Tropicana swimming pool in Weston-super- Mare is not an option say council chiefs, after the developer behind a multi-million-pound scheme to transform it pulled out. North Somerset Council released a statement on Friday evening saying the deal with Sheffield-based developer Henry Boot had fallen through, marking yet another disappointment in redeveloping the derelict structure, which has laid dilapidated on the Victorian seafront since the turn of the century.

Botched Suicide Pact Doctor Bailed Again

A terminally ill husband arrested on suspicion of murder after surviving a botched suicide pact has been re-bailed by police while the Crown Prosecution Service considers the case. Hydrogeologist Dr William Stanton, 79, who is suffering from bone cancer, was arrested on October 1 after his wife Angela, 74, was found dead at their home on the edge of Westbury-sub-Mendip, near Wells.

Inflation Increase Sparks Petrol Fear ; Pump Prices Will Rocket to More Than Pounds 1.11 Next Year

Petrol prices are set to rocket as a first rise in inflation in seven months prompted fears of more pain ahead for household finances hit by recession. The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rose from 1.1 per cent to 1.5 per cent in October - mainly due to a much smaller fall in forecourt prices than the record plunge a year earlier caused by tumbling oil prices. The first rise in the index since February was followed by warnings that soaring petrol prices would ratchet up the inflation pressure in ...

More Rain and Gales Forecast

Parts of Britain will be battered by gale force winds and heavy rain over the next few days, forecasters have said. The Met Office has put out warnings for downpours and gusts of wind of up to 60 mph for Wales, the North West of England and Northern Ireland for today, tomorrow and Friday.

Arrested for Smuggling

A man in Gloucester is among five people who have been arrested as part of an investigation into the suspected smuggling of thousands of illegal immigrants into Europe. Dawn raids in a number of other European countries resulted in 18 more suspects being arrested - 13 in France, one in Italy, two in Greece and two in the Netherlands, the Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) said. It added Iraqi Kurdish and Afghan people smugglers were the focus of the investigation.

Victorian Ruins

More than 12,000 Victorian houses across Bristol face ruin after their owners delayed repairs during the economic downturn. Nearly two million Victorian properties across the country are at risk because of the financial squeeze put on owners over the past two years.

Race to the Palace for Motorbike Star Maria

The highest profile female racer in the UK was forced to resort to her favourite mode of transport in the rush to get to Buckingham Palace on time. Maria Costello got stuck in traffic being driven to receive her MBE from the Prince of Wales, so jumped on a motorbike - despite being dressed up for the royal occasion.

Driver Is Named

A woman driver who died in a car crash in Somerset has been named as Rosemary Haynes, 50, who lived in the Castle Cary area. She died following a collision which happened on the A359 at Galhampton Hill, near Castle Cary at around 4.45pm on Sunday.

Sitcom has Five Noms for Awards

The "groundbreaking" family comedy Outnumbered is leading the way at this year's British Comedy Awards, bagging five nominations. Funnymen Michael McIntyre and Alan Carr will also have high hopes for the ceremony, with three nominations apiece.

Millionaire: No Point Prosecuting Stag Killer ; Landowner Says He Knows Who Shot His Deer but Will Not Be Pressing Charges

The multi-millionaire who offered a Pounds 15,000 reward after two prize red deer stags were shot on his West estate has said he knows who the culprit is, but will not prosecute. Fashion and restaurant mogul Richard Caring, one of Britain's richest men, offered the reward and drafted in ex-SAS security guards to patrol his Pixton Stables estate on Exmoor to attempt to catch the "lunatic killer".

War Veteran Loses Battle Over Fence

Gulf War veteran Simon Aldridge fought for liberty but he has lost his fight to keep a fence built by his father close to the family home in Taunton. And yesterday, as a council-set deadline to remove the fence ran out, the former Royal Artillery sergeant stood to attention beside the fence wearing all nine medals won in his 15-year service career, before dismantling the structure.

Sex Pest Is Locked Up for Wearing Women's Clothes ; Man, 42, Found in Car Wearing Bra, Tights and a Skirt Had Breached Court Ban

Asex pest has been jailed after being caught in a car in a layby dressed in women's clothes. Convicted sex attacker David John Harris, who wore women's clothes during one of his crimes, has been jailed for 18 months after breaching an order banning him from wearing women's clothes at night. When a police officer pulled in to investigate a white Vauxhall Astra parked in a layby of the A39 at Puriton Hill, near Bridgwater around 2am on October 18 he found a sleepy Harris inside wearing a black ...

Road Fatality

A young woman pedestrian was fatally injured in a road accident in Somerset and police are appealing for witnesses. The accident happened at around 8.30pm on Sunday on the A358 Taunton to Williton road at Samford Brett.

Non-Religion Ban Is 'Not a Breach'

The BBC's governing body has rejected a series of complaints about a ban on non-religious contributors to the Radio 4 Today programme's Thought For The Day. The BBC Trust said only allowing religious contributors on the slot did not breach either the BBC editorial guideline on impartiality or the BBC's duty to reflect religious and other beliefs.

Shotgun Safety

Thousands Had Mobile Details Sold

Thousands of T-Mobile customers' private details were sold on to rival firms in a major data selling scandal, it has been revealed. A spokesman for the company confirmed it alerted the data protection watchdog after it discovered contract information was being passed on "without our knowledge".

I'm so Sick of Buses I Put One On My House ; Dramatic Protest After Stop Put Opposite Home

Living next to a bus stop is driving Alan Grimmett and his family around the bend. After 10 months of arguing with his council over buses causing them noise, pollution and a lack of privacy, he has taken his protest to a new level.