Thames Water has relaxed its hosepipe ban for gardening businesses after record rainfall reduced the severity of drought conditions.Landscaping, turf and gardening firms will be allowed to use hosepipes to water newly-laid turf and plants, for up to ... (Read More)

Details have been released of a free Olympic torch relay event taking place at Cheltenham Racecourse on 23 May.A main stage will be situated opposite the racecourse grandstand. The official celebration show will begin at 17:00 BST and end at 19:30.Th... (Read More)

The Badminton Horse Trials have been cancelled after heavy rain waterlogged the course and sparked flood warnings across the South West.Tewkesbury, which was devastated by flooding five years ago, is also among the areas affected by heavy rain.And a ... (Read More)

The death of spy Gareth Williams - whose body was found in a locked sports bag at his London flat - was not linked to his MI6 work, an inquest has heard.Counter-terrorism officer Det Supt Michael Broster also denied claims the inquiry into his death ... (Read More)

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are to visit next month's Badminton Horse Trials, it has been announced.The couple will attend the final day of the Gloucestershire equestrian event on 7 May and present prizes.The last day of the five-day event will... (Read More)

A consultation is to be launched into a plan to move a school to meet rising demand for places.Gloucestershire County Council is proposing moving Watermoor Primary School closer to Cirencester's new Kingshill housing development.The new school would ... (Read More)

A false hijack alert in which two Typhoon jets caused a sonic boom is to be investigated by the Department for Transport (DfT).The jets were responding to a distress signal from a helicopter when they caused the sonic boom, heard in the West Midlands... (Read More)

A loud bang which sparked a deluge of calls to emergency services across a large part of England was a sonic boom from a Typhoon aircraft, the MoD said.Mystified residents across the West Midlands, Warwickshire, Oxfordshire, Somerset and Wiltshire re... (Read More)

A nine-year-old girl from Devon has "talked down" a US Air Force spy plane in Gloucestershire.Plane-mad Ellie Carter rode in a chase car from where she and another pilot spoke to the U-2 captain to say how close he was to the runway.She was given the... (Read More)

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