Steve Lansdown

Bristol City FC owner Steve Lansdown has been revealed as Bristol Rugby’s new owner, and has promised to deliver sporting success across the city.

Mr Lansdown, the majority shareholder at Ashton Gate, has been bankrolling the rugby club for the last three years and revealed today he had become the majority shareholder at the club.

His financial input saved the club from going out of business during the 2008-09 season – when Mr Lansdown, referred to in official documents only as “White Knight”, ploughed in the hundreds of thousands of pounds that essentially kept professional rugby in Bristol.

Chairman Chris Booy said, going forward, “it will be very much be business as usual. I will continue as Chairman, with Steve Gorvett as Chief Executive”.

Speaking this morning, Mr Lansdown said: ““The city and supporters need a rugby club they can be proud of. We want to give Bristol Rugby a focus and we want to get to the top.

“I want to see sport in Bristol to be successful across the board. It’s important that Bristol is financially stable and has the potential to develop into an even more successful Club in the future.”

Referring to the 10 new players brought into the club recently, as the team pushes for promotion, Mr Lansdown added: “We’ve recruited strongly for the end of season play-off push and it’s a question of Bristol living within their means and earning the right to receive investment.”

The new owner said the club would remain at its “spiritual home” at the Memorial Stadium, adding his involvement “in no way diminishes my commitment to Bristol City”.

In light of the announcement, and the expected surge in interest in the club, a push for sales of season tickets for the 2012/13 season has begun today.

A bushcricket or Katydid

Forget the Lady in Red – scientists have recorded the world’s oldest love song … strummed by amorous crickets 165 million years ago.

Scientists at Bristol University claim the mid-Jurassic tune – created by reconstructing microscopic wing features from a cricket fossil – is the most ancient known musical song documented to date.

They made the sound created by reconstructing microscopic wing features from a cricket fossil discovered in North East China.

The mating call of the cricket would have been heard by dinosaurs and other creatures roaming the Jurassic forests at night.

Male crickets made their music by seductively strumming one wing over another to serenade nearby females – who would then seek out their location.

Professor Daniel Robert, from Bristol University’s School of Biological Sciences, was part of a six-man team which spent six months making the noise.

Prof Robert, an expert in the biomechanics of singing and hearing in insects, said: “This discovery indicates that pure tone communication was already exploited by animals in the middle Jurassic, some 165 million years ago.

“For Archaboilus, as for living bushcricket species, singing constitutes a key component of mate attraction.
“Singing loud and clear advertises the presence, location and quality of the singer, a message that females choose to respond to – or not.

“Using a single tone, the male’s call carries further and better, and therefore is likely to serenade more females.

“However, it also makes the male more conspicuous to predators if they have also evolved ears to eavesdrop on these mating calls.”

Crickets have a ‘plectrum’ on their left wing which they used to strum ‘teeth’ on their right wing – with the primitive species making the motion six times in five seconds.

Modern-day crickets make their buzzing noise by the same movement – known as stridulating.

The music from the primitive crickets – which became extinct 130 million years ago – was discovered when a group of Chinese palaeontologists found fossils last year.

The fossil, from the Mid Jurassic period, had such well-preserved wing features that the details of its stridulating organs were clearly visible under a microscope.

Chinese experts identified the fossil as a new species and named it Archaboilus musicus. The A. musicus would have measured a staggering 12 cm long.

Dr Fernando Montealegre-Z (corr) then analysed the wings of the creature and could amazingly establish that it sang at 6.4kHz for 16 milliseconds.

He then used this information to acoustically reconstruct the song, which would have competed with Jurassic sounds of waterfalls, streams and wind.

Dr Montealegre-Z said: “Using a low-pitched song, A. musicus was acoustically adapted to long-distance communication in a lightly cluttered environment, such as a Jurassic forest.

“Today, all species of katydids that use musical calls are nocturnal so musical calls in the Jurassic were also most likely an adaptation to nocturnal life.

“This Jurassic bushcricket thus sheds light on the potential auditory capacity of other animals, and helps us learn a little more about the ambiance of a world long gone.

“It also suggests the evolutionary mechanisms that drove modern bushcrickets to develop ultrasonic signals for sexual pairing and for avoiding an increasingly relevant echolocating predator, but that only happened 100 million years later, possibly with the appearance of bats.”

Listen to the song on the Bristol University website…

A driver had a lucky escape yesterday after a collision left his cement lorry hanging precariously over the River Avon in Bristol.

The lorry was involved in a collision with a car on Clarence Road and stopped on the river’s edge after crashing through two sets of safety barriers.

Crews from Avon Fire and Rescue received the call during rush hour to the incident which involved two vehicles, a Renault Clio and the cement mixer.

A spokesman said the drivers of both vehicles were unhurt, with the driver of the truck having “a particularly lucky escape”.

Clarence Road was closed for several hours on Monday morning so the lorry could be recovered and towed away.

Sgt Adrian Tucker from Avon and Somerset Police told the BBC: “It could have been a lot, lot worse. It came very close to going over the edge and dropping into the water.”

Couple ‘battered man to death’, Bristol Crown Court told: A couple battered a man to death in a “prolonged and vicious assault”, a court has been told. Timothy Crooke, 47, was living in a hostel for the homeless in Fishponds, Bristol, when he died last March. Thomas Tibbatts, 33, and Zarah Bryant, 23, both from Fishponds, deny murdering him. More from BBC News…

One in four shops in Bristol stands empty, claims research: Almost a quarter of shops in Bristol city centre are currently standing empty, researchers have found. Retail analyst the Local Data Company claims the city is struggling and that the proportion of empty stores on its streets and precincts is one of the highest in the South West, at just over 22%, compared with a national average of 14.3%. More from Bristol Evening Post…

Ed Sheeran to perform in Bristol: Ed Sheeran has confirmed he will be appearing in Bristol on May 22nd for one exclusive gig at The Fleece, on behalf of Charity One25. It is currently the only way to see the Triple Platinum selling artist in the City, as his tour is sold out around major venues outside Bristol.  Tickets to this intimate Bristol gig are only available to those who raise £125 or over through One25′s ‘Give it up for One25′ campaign. More from Jack FM…

Better support for domestic abuse victims: Bosses at North Somerset Council say they’re looking at ways to improve what services they offer for domestic abuse victims in the region. It’s after a charity published a report saying they needed to better understand the needs of those affected and for more money to be made available. More from Jack FM…

Party to select would-be MPs from all-women list: Labour’s candidate to fight MP Stephen Williams at the next General Election will be picked from an all-female shortlist. The decision was made at a meeting of Labour’s Bristol West executive committee, made up of local party members. More from Bristol Evening Post…

News in brief

eBooks available from libraries: Some 700 eBook titles are available for free download thanks to a new pilot service being launched through public libraries in Bristol. The new eBook service can be used with a number of products such as the Sony Reader, Kobo, Nook, iPad, iPhone and Android devices, but Kindle devices are not catered for.The eBook initiative is in partnership with other library authorities throughout the region and library members can choose titles they wish to read, and download them for up to 21 days each by visiting www.librarieswest.org.uk.

Help keep your car safe: Motorists in Bristol can protect their car’s identity and help prevent vehicles being used for criminal activity by taking advantage of a free scheme being offered by a local car dealer. Brunel Ford on Winterstoke Road, Ashton Gate, and Muller Road, Horfield, are working with police tomorrow to offer free fitting of anti-tamper number plate screws.

Budding designers, from schoolchildren to professional graphic artists, are being asked to come up with the designs for the new Bristol Pound notes.

The Bristol Pound, which will be available to use from May 21, aims to boost the city economy by allowing traders in the BS postcode area to exchange the local currency for sterling.

It is a complimentary currency that can be used alone or alongside sterling, to encourage and strengthen economic ties between the people and local traders.

Organisers believe the scheme, backed by the city council and Bristol Credit union, will be the largest of its kind in the UK when it launches. Ciaran Mundy, director of the Bristol Pound, said the currency would keep people’s wages in the community.

“People in Bristol who love the range of independent traders will be putting their money where it matters and reduce the need for lorries constantly moving goods up and down the country,” he said.

“The scheme is also a powerful way to promote local businesses trading with each other. We are hopeful we’ll have thousands signed up before the currency goes in to circulation. It seemed obvious that we should ask the people who’ll have the Bristol Pound notes in their pockets and purses to design them.”

Bristol-based entrepreneur George Ferguson OBE, added: “After a lifetime of championing local independent enterprise, such a practical and positive initiative as the Bristol Pound is a massive boost. I look forward to spending my Bristol Pounds – and even more to receiving them!”

Antonia Bowen-Jones, proprietor of The Arts House Café in central Bristol, said: “Times are tough for small traders, but we know our customers want lively high streets – not just empty shops. We’re looking forward to accepting the Bristol Pound, and helping keep local businesses at the heart of our city.”

The Bristol Pound will be in printed notes and electronic, with mobile phone text and web payments available to members of the scheme. The aim of the scheme is to include as many independent and locally owned businesses in Bristol and the surrounding region as well as the general public.

Meanwhile, council leader Barbara Janke has welcomed the move and given the authority’s backing to the project. This means council services will be able to be paid for using the local currency.

To mark the announcement of the launch, a competition has begun calling on the people to to find eight designs to be used on each side of a £1, £5, £10 and £20 bank note.

Entries are welcome from school children, students, professional designers and amateurs alike. The winning images are expected to capture something of the city’s character, perhaps celebrating its commitment to greener living, its cultural diversity, its creative spirit or its technological heritage.

Anyone interested in local currency, the Bristol Pound and the design competition can visit www.bristolpound.org to learn more.

Fact File

What is a local currency?

Essentially money that is used across a particular locality or region. The Bristol Pound will be spent like sterling and is backed pound for pound by sterling deposits. However it is different to sterling in that the money will typically be accepted only within the region so will continue to be spent in the region.

Who is behind the Bristol Pound scheme?

The Bristol pound is a community interest company (CIC). The Bristol Pound is a project sponsored by Bristol’s Green Capital Momentum Group. A CIC is a company established with specific social goals with the assets of the company being ‘locked in’. Any profits generated by the CIC will be paid out to the active members of the scheme.

The team of people involved in the scheme’s development so far are:

• James Berry, Bristol Credit Union
• Mark Burton, Researcher, Bristol University
• Stephen Clarke, Director CIC
• Owen Davis, Art director
• Adele Graham, Design and Marketing
• David Hunter, Project Manager
• Chris Sunderland, Director CIC
• Ciaran Mundy, Director CIC
• Dom Lane, Bray Leino PR
• Daniel Piddock, Website Development

How will it benefit local businesses?

Recent local currency schemes have successfully raised the profile of the member businesses through generating very significant media coverage. For example, after last years launch of the Brixton pound, Lambeth Council estimated that the scheme brought £100,000 of media exposure directly to businesses in the area.

Are there any charges for using the Bristol Pound?

There are no charges for the people of Bristol to use the Bristol Pound. The intention is for the scheme to be self-funded so that it is financially sustainable, and in order to ensure this is the case charges to businesses are low. The only charge to businesses for using the Bristol Pound is a transaction fee paid as a percentage of all electronic Bristol Pound transactions. Using the mobile phone payment system, this fee will be of the same order as existing credit and debit card transaction fees and so does not place additional burden on participating businesses.

Who will accept Bristol Pounds?

At launch in May, project organisers hope  there will be a large number of businesses from around the region already signed up and more businesses will want to join. The system is one of voluntary membership and complementary to sterling.

Can Bristol Pounds be spent outside the city?

While the scheme is clearly designed for use in Bristol and will be mainly used in the city, there is nothing to stop people from further afield using and accepting the paper currency.

Is this being done anywhere else?

Recent launches of local currencies have taken place in Brixton, Totnes, Lewes and Stroud. The Bristol Pound is different, however. Firstly, in terms in terms of scale, potentially involving a million or more people from the region. Secondly, in using new development of mobile phone payment technology. Thirdly, in the partnership arrangement with an established Credit Union, offering similar security to a private bank and, as of this month, legally capable of running corporate accounts.

A Bristol financial adviser who duped money from a 97-year-old relative has been made to pay back £75,000 by a court.

Terry Pocock, 54, from Hanham, was jailed for nine months last October after admitting he took the money to pay off his debts.

At a confiscation hearing last week, benefit of £75,380.84 was declared and a confiscation order made for the same amount.

Pocock was given six months to pay the order. Failure to pay will mean a further jail sentence of 21 months, after which he will still be liable to pay the order, plus any interest accrued.

Dr Kirstie Cogram, manager of Avon and Somerset police’s financial investigation unit said: “We are committed to seizing any assets that criminals have gained as a result of crime. It is not acceptable that criminals benefit from illegal activities and we will relentlessly pursue them through the courts to ensure their money is taken. By doing this we show criminals that they will not benefit from crime and hopefully deter others from entering a life of crime.”

In 2002, the victim – who was related to Pocock and lived in Devon – signed an Enduring Power of Attorney to take care of her property and affairs. This was never registered and therefore never validated.

In 2006 the victim moved into a care home and the following year her home was sold and the funds – £124,470 – were paid into her bank account.

In June 2010, Pocock informed Torbay Care Trust that the funds in the victim’s account had fallen to below £23,500 and requested financial help. This was queried by the trust, the police were informed and inquiries revealed that £75,380.45 had been withdrawn from the victim’s account.

Pocock admitted taking the money for his own purposes, after getting into financial difficulty and trying to use the funds to pay off his debts. He stated that he didn’t know the amount he had used and did not have records to show amounts. He did state that the Power of Attorney allowed him to do what he wished with the account and that he was to be the sole beneficiary of her will.

On April 15, 2011 Pocock was charged with making false representation to make or gain for self or another or to cause loss to another, or expose other to risk.

He admitted the offence and was charged and on October 27 last year at Bristol Crown Court, where he was subsequently jailed for nine months.

Bristol City boss Derek McInnes could not disguise his frustration at Leeds players’ antics during the 3-0 home defeat on Saturday.

City were forced to play with nine men, after James Wilson and Yannick Bolasie were both shown red at Ashton Gate.

While the Robins had the better of the first half, they were already a goal down when Wilson was sent off for bringing down Scottish striker Ross McCormack.

Bolasie was shown a second yellow after the break, leaving City to play “damage limitation” afterwards. But they could not hold out and two goals in the last 10 minutes confirmed the defeat.

For McInnes, there was plenty to be pleased about in the first half performance, but while he accepted the first sending off he hit out at the way some Leeds players easily went to ground.

“With Yannick, the same boy was involved in both bookings. For the first one, Yannick hasn’t touched him,” he told the club website.

“The second one was just a coming together. It was really harsh. We can’t point the finger at the referee, but once you go down to nine men, it’s damage limitation to be honest.

“There’s a lot of frustration there, because I felt there was a lot of rolling about today from a few Leeds players making a meal of things. There were a lot of worse challenges than that which went unpunished.”

“We were the better side. There was a lot to be pleased about with the first-half performance, but it was a game that ran away from us and it would be wrong to say it was just down to officials. I’m sure the younger lads will learn from it.”

City remain in 20th place in the Championship, six points clear of the relegation zone, and face a tough trip to play-off chasers Hull City next Saturday.

‘All our dreams will be lost if this rink is closed’: Campaigners trying to stop Bristol ice rink from closing down marched through the city to protest at the loss of the well-used complex. About 100 people of all ages set off from the Frogmore Street rink to walk through the Centre, on to Broadmead and Cabot Circus, and back through Castle Park. More from Bristol Evening Post…

NHS payout for girl left disabled: A girl left “very disabled” after her brain was starved of oxygen during her delivery at Southmead Hospital has won a multi-million-pound damages settlement. The 12-year-old, who is from Bristol but cannot be named for legal reasons, was left with severe cerebral palsy after suffering hypoxia – severe oxygen deprivation – during her birth in 1999. More from Bristol Evening Post…

‘Sawdust from plant ruining health of our street’: People living near Avonmouth docks claim their health has been affected by sawdust from a wood chip processing plant based there. Last week, the Stobart Biomass plant was told to stop chipping the wood by the Environment Agency after complaints about the dust. More from Bristol Evening Post…

Nicky Maynard’s Bristol City exit influenced by fans: Former Bristol City striker Nicky Maynard says abuse from fans influenced his decision to move to West Ham. The 25-year-old signed for the Hammers last Tuesday after failing to agree a new deal at Ashton Gate. “I was ready to move because it was hard for my family to come to games,” he told BBC Radio Bristol. ”The fans were giving me a hard time, which I could take, but for them to be how they were with my family was more or less the turning point for me.” More from BBC Sport…

Think again about pylons plan, campaigners tell National Grid: Campaigners fighting plans to erect a new 400,000-volt power line across the North Somerset countryside are calling on National Grid to go back to the drawing board. The calls have been made after an independent report revealed the cost of undergrounding cables is not as expensive as the energy giant first estimated. More from Bristol Evening Post…

Two secondary schools switch to academies: Two secondary schools in North Somerset have converted to academies – taking the number of schools coming out of local authority control to seven. Clevedon Community School and Broadoak Maths and Computing College in Weston-super-Mare have both converted to academies this month. More from Bristol Evening Post…

A public school deputy head yesterday has slammed Britain’s “soft” drugs culture after his 16-year-old son died taking ecstasy at a Bristol nightclub.

Joe Simons, who got nine A* grades at GCSE, was let into Lakota despite being underage and having no valid ID.

He bought 1.5g of the ecstasy powder MDMA from a dealer inside the Stokes Croft club but collapsed hours later and died in hospital the next day. The inquest into his death heard that it was just the second time he had dabbled with the drug.

Friends told the hearing that dealers were “openly” selling drugs at the club, which had its licence suspended after Joe’s death.

Yesterday his father Tom, 51, hit out at Britain’s “complacent” attitude towards drug culture, which is “spreading like a cancer”.

Assistant deputy Avon coroner Coroner Terence Moore, sitting at Flax Bourton near Bristol, said he would write to Avon and Somerset Constabulary regarding licensing laws.

In a statement read to the inquest, Mr Simons – deputy head of Prior Park College in Bath – said: “Joe is in many ways an indictment of our failure as a society to tackle the scourge of drugs.

“There are no easy answers of course and we are daily beset by the views and advice of the well meaning and the misguided – urging us to legalise drugs or build more jails.

“Experts’ in the field are legion, as sadly are the lives touched by the drugs culture that seems to have spread like a cancer across the globe.

“It is complacency that is the greatest challenge to us all. We never think it will happen to us or our loved ones. We trust that it will not be our child who will be tempted.

“After all, we teach our children the dangers of taking drugs and that is enough. Well sadly not, as poor Joe souls like Joe and countless others will attest to.

“Until society as a whole stands up and says no to the dealers and no to those in the media and entertainments industry who glorify and trivialise the taking of drugs, we will continue to count the cost in lives lost and families left bereft.

“It is our profound hope that Joe’s untimely death will serve as a warning to young people of the dangers of taking drugs like MDMA and the far from benign influence that some would have us believe the ‘soft’ drugs culture has on young people.”

The inquest heard how Joe, who aspired to go to Oxford or Cambridge University, had been to Lakota once before his death on May 2 last year.

In March he and three friends went to the club’s Tribe of Frog dance night where they got in without being asked for identification.

Joe, who had a friend’s brother’s passport on him, then bought some MDMA from someone in the venue for £20. They had been told it would be a good drug to take by one of the group’s older brothers.

Gabriel Wheatcroft, Joe’s best friend, in a written statement to his inquest, said: “We had researched it online and thought it would good to use it. Once in the club Joe purchased MDMA – there were dealers going around quite openly.”

After feeling no ill effects, they all left when the night finished – at 7am the next morning.

The group, along with four other mates – one aged just 15 – then decided to head back to Lakota on the next Tribe of Frogs night on April 30.

Joe, from Bitton, near Bristol, who attended Beechen Cliff sixth form, in Bath, once again bought around 1.5g of the white crystalline substance from a clubber.  He then split it up between his friends and washed it down with water, at around 11.30pm. The group separated – but a short time later pals saw Joe having to be supported.

Gabriel said: “I saw Joe being supported. He looked grey and was staring into the distance. They came outside the club and laid him on the floor.

“I heard one of the door staff saying that if they were asked, they would say he bought it (the ecstasy) earlier from another club.”

Joe was taken to intensive care at Bristol Royal Infirmary in the early hours of May 1, suffering multiple organ failure and a temperature of 42 degrees celsius, and died the following day. Toxicology results revealed he had around 0.98 micrograms of the drug in his blood.

Pathologist Dr Edward Sheffield revealed a normal recreational level for the drug would be about 0.2 micrograms.

Karl Hall, who was with Joe at Lakota on the night he died told the inquest, in a written statement, that the distressing episode had made him realise the dangers of drugs.

He said: “I am shocked by what happened to Joe and cannot believe he has passed away.

“The whole incident has made me realise how foolish it is to take drugs and how serious the consequences can be.”

Mr Simons told the inquest that his son’s death had been a “tsunami” on their family – as Joe’s mum Brenda had died from lung cancer three years ago.

The deputy head at his son’s former school, Prior Park College in Bath, said: “To lose a child is every parent’s worst nightmare. It can seem as if the sparkle and magic that is life has been extinguished.

“Coming so soon after the death of his mother, Joe’s untimely death has felt to the family as if a tsunami has struck, and rebuilding our lives has seemed to be a task beyond our all to frail capacities.

“But rebuild we must. This strength has come from family and friends but mostly from our memories of Joe, an intelligent, compassionate and above all loving young man.

“He was in part our son, our brother, and our best friend, always with that cheeky smile, but always with a care for those who were lucky enough to be part of his life.”

Deputy coroner Terence Moore gave his verdict at the inquest as “death through non-dependant use of drugs” and said he would issue a report to Avon and Somerset Police.

He said: “I will be writing to the chief constable in relation to the use of powers and licensing laws. The sad but not unique thing about this inquest is the belief by those who take MDMA that it is somehow safe.

“The evidence I have heard is that it is an idiosyncratic drug and affects different people in different ways. Taking a drug when you don’t know how much you are taking or indeed what is in it, on the advice of a stranger, seems a particularly unsafe thing to do.

“Sadly in this case it cost the life of Joe.”

Lakota’s licence was suspended by Bristol City Council after the incident, but a police investigation resulted in no arrests and it has now re-opened.

After the tragedy, its owner Martin Burgess said: “As a nightclub and long-standing member of the community, we take the welfare of our customers very seriously and consequently we are conducting our own thorough investigation.”

A proposed train depot on the Great Western mainline near Bristol Parkway station has been given planning approval by South Gloucestershire councillors.

Agility Trains wants to build the depot on land at Stoke Gifford, but more than 700 residents signed a petition against the plans and 60 written objections were lodged with the council.

Groups such as the Green Party in Bristol though called for the plans to be approved. They said that, without the depot, the chances of local rail services being improved would be substantially reduced.

Agility Trains said it hoped it would take between 18 and 24 months to build the depot on land, called the Stoke Gifford triangle.

The company said repair work would be done in a sound-proofed building, external lighting would be kept to a minimum – thanks to regulations for safe driving of trains at night – and any noise would be less than the nearby motorway, ring road and Filton Airfield.

It added that  the existing Hitachi depot in Ashford has had no complaints about noise or light pollution, either before or after construction.

South Gloucestershire councillors decided at a planning committee in Thornbury to give planning consent, with 11 votes in favour and one abstention, after a debate which lasted nearly two hours.

They imposed a raft of conditions in order to protect nearby residents from the impact of the new depot.

But afterwards Lesley Cox, one of the residents, told the Evening Post: “I am appalled because the evidence on which the debate was based was flawed.

Another resident, Heather Moseley, said: “We’re disappointed but not surprised. The general feeling was that it was a done deal.

“We feel the residents’ misgivings were dismissed and we were sacrificed in order to knock 15 minutes off the travel time between Bristol and London.”