The Bradley Stoke Journal

Police in Bradley Stoke are asking for help in identifying two youths who assaulted a man and stole his bike and mobile phone.

The incident happened on Wednesday 27th October between 5:15pm and 5:30pm as the 35-year-old rode along the Three Brooks Local Nature Reserve cycleway, towards Bowsland Green Primary School.

He was stopped by the two youths who pushed him off his bike, then punched him and stole his black Nokia 6300 phone. He was treated at Frenchay Hospital for cuts and bruises.

One of the attackers is described as being of mixed heritage, 15-16 years old, 5ft 8ins tall with broad shoulders. He was wearing a black woolly hat, a cream cardigan with a hood, dark trousers and a black bandana across his face.

The second attacker is described as black, 15-16 years old, about 5ft 6ins tall. He was wearing a black coat with the hood up and a red scarf over his nose. He had dark trousers on and was of slim build. He was riding a small, pink, mountain bike with gears and thick black tyres.

The stolen bike is a green hybrid with black rubber handlebar grips, 18 gears, a black synthetic leather-type saddle with some rust patches on the saddle bar. The rear tyre was of the make ‘Schwalbe’.

Anyone with information is asked to call Staple Hill police on 0845 456 7000, or call the charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Young fighters from Bradley Stoke Judo Club finished off a remarkable year of achievement with Louis Arsac, Pete Miles and Stephanie Walker winning two Gold medals and one Bronze medal at the British National Judo Championships for 12 to 18-year-olds in Sheffield [full results].

Their outstanding success brings the club’s haul of national medals won this year to ten – their best yet.

Coaches Nick Brace (35) and Pete Douglas (47), who both won Gold medals at the British National Masters Championships this year, said:

“We are exceptionally proud of all our competitors.  To compete at the very highest level in the country and come away with medals is a great personal triumph for the individuals and an inspiration to all the younger members of the club.  Everyone has worked extremely hard and had a lot of fun as well.”

Read more about the club’s medal-winning achievements in 2010 »

The Journal’s campaign for better broadband speeds in Bradley Stoke and the surrounding area has got off to a flying start with more than 270 residents registering votes to have the Almondsbury telephone exchange fast-tracked for upgrading to fibre optic broadband.

The Better Broadband for Filton, Almondsbury & Bradley Stoke (BB4FABS) campaign was launched a fortnight ago and began by urging residents to vote in BT’s Race to Infinity competition.

In its first week, the campaign received coverage on the BBC website and also on BBC Radio Bristol’s Breakfast Show, where local businessman Rob Wilson of Fortyfour Creative described the difficulties of trying to run a high-tech business on the 0.63Mbps connection that he gets at his Diana Gardens home.

Bradley Stoke Town Council is helping the campaign by promoting the Race to Infinity competition on its website and Mayor Ben Walker says he has written to neighbouring Councils asking them for support.

The Race to Infinity competition is open to both business and residential telephone users and it is important to note that you don’t need to be a BT customer in order to vote. So, even if you are a Virgin Media customer and already have fast broadband, please help your less fortunate townsfolk by registering a vote now!

The Journal’s Editor has urged all Town Councillors to register a vote for their private lines and (where applicable) for their business numbers. The Town Council itself has also promised to register votes for all its premises.

Read on for news of a possible change of heart by Virgin Media »

Bradley Stoke Community School has announced that it will no longer tolerate the wearing of “inappropriate” figure-hugging trousers by female students.

The school says that ‘Miss Sexy’ (or similar) trousers are inappropriate for a learning environment because they “accentuate body shape in an unhelpful way … [being] particularly unflattering when worn by some students”.

The low-cut of the trousers leads to undergarments and “sometimes more” being revealed and can “take attention away from the learning focus of lessons”, adds the school.

The school’s uniform policy has always forbidden the wearing of such attire but some girls have persisted in wearing the “wrong trousers”.

Its patience having been tested to the limit, the school has now decreed that:

“… in order to ensure fairness to all who are wearing the correct uniform, with effect from Monday 8th November, we will be supplying tailored trousers to all girls who come into school wearing Miss Sexy or similar style trousers.”

Girls ordered to change their trousers on arrival could also end up having to surrender their cherished mobile phones for the day as the school will require something of value to be left as a deposit, to ensure that the approved trousers are returned at the end of the day.

A similar clampdown on Miss Sexy trousers by a Nailsea school in October 2009 [the Daily Mail reported] led to protests from some parents, who claimed the ruling was “over the top”.

Police are appealing for witnesses and information after Christ the King Church in Bradley Stoke was damaged by graffiti.

Overnight Thursday to Friday 14th-15th October, graffiti that included a swastika, expletives and racist terms was daubed on the glass doors of the church and the columns either side.

Neighbourhood Inspector Bob Evely said:

“I can assure the community that we are following all lines of enquiry. I have written to councillors, youth workers and schools to tell them about the incident.”

“I would ask anyone with any information about those responsible for this damage to contact Filton police on 0845 456 7000. Alternatively contact the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or through www.crimestoppers-uk.org. They never ask your name or trace your call.”