Ian Parker
BBC News

People enjoying the April sunshine in Little Stoke Park keep asking me what all the fuss is about.

Satellite trucks are parked in the car park and camera crews are interviewing the many dog walkers and joggers out this lunchtime.

No-one I've met so far thinks there is a problem with the Saturday morning runners, with one gentleman who was nearly 90, telling me if he was 40 years younger he'd be running with them.

The park, on the outskirts of Bristol, is largely flat with a number of rugby pitches and football grounds.

It has a path around the perimeter which is wide enough for two people at a time with grass on one side and bushes on the other.

I cant see any evidence of the grass being churned up other than at the top of the park, where people playing rugby have walked across the grass in their studs.

Today Little Stoke Park is certainly popular with joggers and dog walkers perhaps oblivious to all the national media attention it has attracted.

One of the Parkrun organisers told me the group had been given to the end of May to sort things out.

People across the country are waiting to see what the outcome will be and whether it will encourage other councils to consider charging too.

That's it from BBC Local Live for today. Back tomorrow at 7am.

Bristol Post: Date set for inquest into death of Bristol DJ Derek Serpell-Morris, external

Bath Chronicle: Archaeologists begin digging up two hidden Roman baths in centre of Bath, external

Weston Mercury: Patients not protected against ‘unsafe care’, external

Western Daily Press: MP urges ministers to 'do the right thing' and scrap Severn Bridge tolls, external

Image source, Getty Images

Bristol City has agreed contract extensions with two of its players.

Midfielder Bobby Reid and forward Wes Burns will stay with the club until 2017.

Read more here.

So what is all the fuss about? 

Well, this is what a lap of Little Stoke Park looks like. Multiply it by three, add a few marshals and invite anybody and everybody to run the course - for free - every Saturday morning at 09:00 BST.

Everyone happy? Not quite. Parish councillors want some financial reimbursement for the wear and tear of the park and last night decided to ask Parkrun organisers to contribute.

Pupils at a South Gloucestershire primary school have been learning how to sell advertising space.

Why? For their newspaper of course. It's all part of a scheme to help young people prepare for the world of work.

Just 48 hours ago this park was not widely known about outside of Stoke Gifford, but it's a very different story now. 

BBC reporter Ian Parker has been to meet some of the local residents enjoying a quiet walk in the sunshine today.

David Bennett, 87, visits the park every day with his dog. 

He said he'd never experienced any problems with the runners and he was much in favour of the Saturday run.

How Facebook 'likes' helped David Talbot, from Olveston in South Gloucestershire, through his battle with breast cancer.

Britain's marathon world record holder has her say:

The council is certainly not alone in its decision to ask Parkrun to pay its way. 

Among the thousands responding on social media are some who can see the predicament.

And on the BBC Points West Facebook page, external...

Ali Huntley said: "This is not just a few friends getting together for a run. This si a big organised event. Other events in the park (football ) pay so why not Parkrun."  

Tom Baker wrote: "£1 a head wouldn't kill anybody, money to keep up the park and perhaps the rest could go to the NHS, Now is that really a big deal !!!!"

According to James Harrison: "It is an organised 'mass' event, rather than a handful of joggers. If the run were to be placed on the streets, then a charge for the closures and emergency services would be made. Just take it and swallow."

And Caroline Harrison posted: "If it's an organised event and the money paid goes towards the upkeep of the park then that's great but if it's just going into someone's pocket then that's wrong."

Becky Bushnell, the co-organiser of Little Stoke's Parkrun, said the parish council's decision to introduce a fee would mean a loss to the community.

Cllr Ernie Brown, also speaking live to Andy Howard on BBC Breakfast, said he fully understood the upset but the council was imposing a charge on the organisation, not the individual.

An unwell South African woman who is living illegally in Bristol has appealed to the government for clemency over her deportation.

Irene Nel, 73, came to the West Country on a tourist visa in 2012 but later became ill with kidney failure.

Her daughter said she will die if sent back.

The Home Office said "all cases were carefully considered" but Mrs Nel cannot remain in the UK.

Read the full story here.

Image source, Getty Images

Thousands of free, timed, runs are held every Saturday morning across the country.

But how did Parkrun become a phenomenon?

Read more here.

Ernie Brown, chair of Stoke Gifford Parish Council, said the weekly organised running of hundreds of people causes wear and tear on the park, for which somebody has to pay.

Even the team behind the London Marathon has shifted its focus to those who run each Saturday morning in Little Stoke.

Oh, and double Olympic gold medallist Dame Kelly Holmes.  

The petition, calling on the parish council to drop the charge, has been signed by more than 15,000 people.      

Last night a group of councillors in South Gloucestershire took an opportunity to do what no council in the world has done before.

Stoke Gifford Parish Council voted "yes" to charge Parkrun a fee for the weekly use of one of its parks.

But their decision has not been without its critics. Thousands of them.

To get the ball rolling, thank you to Lynette Smith for sharing this picture of the sunrise over Peasedown St John this morning.

"It was beautiful," she said.

Image source, Lynette Smith

A better start to the day weather-wise - enough to put a spring in our step.

Welcome to Local Live.

We'll have the latest news and information for Bristol, Bath and Weston-super-Mare through the day.