NEWPORT Gwent Dragons’ hopes of chasing down Cardiff Blues for a Heineken Cup spot have quickly turned into a battle for eighth place after a second successive woeful defeat at Rodney Parade. A first four-try bonus point of the RaboDirect Pro12
WORK has started on building new offices in Usk for Monmouthshire council, with staff set to move in by next March. Planning permission was given in September for the council to redevelop the site on the Coleg Gwent campus in Usk. The
ALL-ROUNDER Jon Clare took five for 17 and also contributed 40 not out with the bat as Derbyshire took the upper hand on the second day of their LV= County Championship Second Division clash with Glamorgan at the Swalec Stadium. Derbyshire ended the
A FORMER cricket pavilion in Varteg has been given a new lease of life thanks to the volunteers. The pavilion at Bakery Fields, which is the home of local football club Fairfield United, has had a makeover after housing organisation Bron Afon
A TEAM of 15 Newport businessmen will clock up more than 400 miles for charity in a cycle challenge from Paris to Cardiff next month. The cyclists, who work at businesses such as Bluegg Creative and MCL Logistics, have taken up the challenge
A SILVER pendant found in Monmouthshire was declared treasure at an inquest yesterday. The pendant, which could date back to the late 15th century, was found in Portskewett, Gwent Coroner’s Court, sitting in Newport, heard. The pendant
NEWPORT’S historic medieval ship will be preserved for generations to come following the start of a freeze drying process yesterday. The ship, believed to date back to the 15th century, will have all of its 2,000 timbers placed in a six tonne
A ROLLING road block caused tailbacks on the M4 in Newport earlier day. Welsh Government traffic officers put the block in place to clear debris from the eastbound carriageway after a HGV broke down between junction 26 at Malpas and 28 at Tredegar
ALLAN Yn Y Fan come to Blackwood Miner’s Institute on Saturday, May 12 as part of a major tour. The band spent the end of 2011 putting the finishing touches to their latest album, their fourth, entitled Pwnco which has just been released on Steam
SCOTTISH group Twin Atlantic – who come to Cardiff University’s Solus venue on Thursday, April 19 – have a new single which has been added to Radio 1’s playlist. Make A Beast Of Myself is out on April 23 on Red Bull Records. In addition, Twin will
TICKETS go on sale to see one of the UK’s top comedians Michael McIntyre at Monmouth’s Savoy Theatre for one day only tomorrow. He will perform two intimate ‘warm-up gigs’ on Friday and Saturday, June 8 and 9. Tickets cost £25 and will be available
THE BIG Splash is returning and preparing to make waves in Newport city centre this July. It kicks off on Friday, July 13 and runs until Sunday, July 15, containing live music, family friendly entertainment, BMX flatland, a circus, theatre shows
A PRESTIGIOUS gardening competition was launched in Tredegar yesterday. This year’s Wales in Bloom was introduced at the recently restored Bedwellty House and Park. The competition is run with help from the Royal Horticultural Society and is
FOLLOW Newport Gwent Dragons' clash with Treviso at Rodney Parade. Chris Kirwan will be giving live updates from 7.00pm.
3.55pm POLICE confirmed this afternoon that the bones found were not human. 1.28pm POLICE are examining bones found beneath a building in Pill in Newport to establish if they are human or not. Builders made the discovery beneath
A MAN accused of murdering a Newport man told a court yesterday, he hit him in self defence, but had nothing to do with him being set alight. Kamil Semrau, 28, of Chepstow Road, Pawel Lysonik, 22, of Capel Crescent, both Newport, Lukas Kalkowski
A VIRUS outbreak is being investigated after workers at Greenmeadow Community Farm in Torfaen contracted a bug. One adult and three teenagers tested positive for cryptosporidium, with a further 13 possible cases in staff and volunteers under investigation
A NEWPORT children’s centre which cares for children and young people with complex disabilities welcomed a £10,000 cash donation which helped fund an outdoor games area. Visitors to the Serennu Centre in High Cross will now be able to take part
THE brother of a reality TV singing sensation and a former soldier who served in cold war Berlin are among those looking for your vote in next month’s local elections in Monmouthshire. There is a total of 43 seats over 42 wards in the council
I WAS born, went to school, worked and have lived in Newport all of my life. I have been with Newport through its bad times and good. I believe it would be a step backward to depedestrianise the Commercial Street area of the city centre. It will
THE Welsh Tories chose the home turf of Newport Gwent Dragons to launch their pitch for the council elections. In their national manifesto, launched yesterday, the Welsh Conservatives say they will freeze council tax, scrap business rates for
The construction sector returned to growth in February but failed to offset fears over the pace of the economic recovery in the first three months of the year. Construction sector output grew at 6.1 per cent month-on-month in February, compared to a
Rising oil costs pushed up factory gate prices last month, official figures showed today, but economists said overall inflation is still set to ease. The prices charged by manufacturers increased by 0.6 per cent between February and March, the Office
ONE reason for the relative lack of interest in local government elections, and increasingly in parliamentary elections, is a perception that “they” (the political parties) are all the same. Such a view is no excuse for apathy, of course, but it
WHAT a shame people choose to put Pontypool down. I have lived here for just over 12 years. That’s the longest I’ve lived anywhere since leaving home for college in 1969. I like Pontypool and want to see it grow again. John Howells complains ‘
I’VE JUST received my annual invoice for my allotment. The rent for my plot is £6, fantastic, but the administration charge is £20. This is per plot, so anyone with two plots has to pay £40. This charge was introduced in the last year, and
COULD someone possibly tell me the reason behind the apparent killing off of huge swathes of grass at Shaftesbury, between the Harlequin Roundabout and the railway bridge? They are defined areas, and it is obviously being done for a purpose
COULD someone explain why, other than for reasons of making large amounts of money, such a fuss is being made of the centenary of the sinking of the Titanic? Between 4,000 and 9,000 British military and civilians (no-one knows the exact number
A VICAR said he feels numbafter vandals smashed up a Newport church, taking money and a sacramental chalice. Police were called to St Matthew’s Church, Church Road, Maindee, at 7.25am yesterday after vandals damaged the church overnight. Father
ABERGAVENNY woman Natalie Silcox used to live on a diet of fast food and enjoyed a drink – but now she’s binned the takeaways and lost five stone in 16 months. The 23-year-old weighed in at 16st 9lb and found everyday activities such as walking
A ROYAL marine from Pontypool was handed a suspended jail sentence for harassing the wife of his best friend who was killed in Afghanistan. Exeter Magistrates’ Court heard Corporal Ben Wilmott, 26, of High Street, Abersychan, began a relationship
TWO Gwent nurses have returned home after carrying out charity work in poverty-stricken Haiti. Friends Gillian Smith and Sian White spent two weeks in the country to provide medical help with the charity One Mission Society. Ms Smith, who is a paediatric
AMID all the Swalec Cup excitement tomorrow afternoon is a Premiership derby match that will decide who finishes highest out of two fierce Gwent rivals. Tenth-placed Newport head to 12th-placed Pontypool with a five-point advantage over their hosts.
A MASSIVE 15 tonnes of rubbish was pulled from the River Usk as part of efforts to improve the appearance of Newport city centre. The huge bounty – which will now be recycled – was collected from the river’s banks between the Town Bridge and
COACH Andrew Gibbs knows that it won't be down to a shortage of effort if Newbridge fall to a Swalec Cup semi-final defeat tomorrow. The Welfare Ground outfit are huge underdogs for their last-four clash with Pontypridd at Cardiff Arms Park. Ponty
CROSS Keys captain Rob Nash relished being part of a cup upset last weekend and now he wants to avoid being a victim. The openside flanker led the way as Keys beat professional English Championship side Cornish Pirates in the semi-final of
STAND-IN Ebbw Vale captain Tristan Davies knows from past history that Swalec Cup semi-final shocks do happen. The centre was skipper of the Carmarthen Quins side that beat Pontypridd 41-12 to seal a Millennium Stadium showdown in 2010.
MYSTERY surrounds the future of the two Mothercare stores in Gwent. It is still unclear if the retailer will close its stores on Commercial Street in Newport, and in Cwmbran. Mothercare said it will be closing 111 UK stores over the next three
WITH around 100 days left until the start of the London Olympics, an Ebbw Vale artist has started the celebrations off early with some edible creations. Nathan Wyburn has amazed audiences with his portraits of celebrities such as Lord Alan
NEWPORT County striker Jake Reid admits he is playing for his future between now and the end of the season. The 24-year-old, who scored after just 11 seconds against Kidderminster Harriers on Monday, is determined to fire County to safety in
FLANKER Lewis Evans is hoping to prove that he is not a thorn next to two roses when he takes his place in the Newport Gwent Dragons back row this evening. The 24-year-old dons the number 7 jersey against Treviso in the RaboDirect Pro12 at Rodney Parade
A RISCA cameraman nearly got thrown out of the White House after taking a photo in support of a little boy back home. Dai Baker, 39, managed to take a photo on his phone of American president Barack Obama in the Oval Office on Wednesday while
NEWPORT Gwent Dragons aim to take their frustration out on Treviso this evening after two weeks of “mental torture”. The Dragons welcome the Italians to Rodney Parade after suffering a humiliating 27-19 defeat to Connacht a fortnight ago. They headed
DURING a two-week crackdown, 281 people were stopped in Gwent for not wearing seatbelts. Officers carried out targeted patrols during March, where people were stopped and offered the chance to watch a hard-hitting presentation to avoid an £80 fine and
