Smokefreelife Somerset has helped more than 1,200 people give up smoking in the last financial year.

But now Somerset County Council is ending its contract for a local stop smoking service - a year earlier than originally planned.

He's burned 2,528,500 calories and got through 22 pairs of trainers - but what else has Bristol's "Forrest Gump" had to face on his 401 marathons in 401 days challenge?

Neil Hamilton has ruled himself out for the job of UKIP leader. 

The party's Wales leader, who lives in Hullavington near Chippenham, said he would be backing North West MEP Paul Nuttall instead.

It follows the resignation of Diane James, who stepped down from the leader post after just 18 days.

Mr Hamilton said he always thought Ms James was "too fragile" for the job.

Here's the moment Ben Smith finds out he's reached his fundraising target of £250,000...

A Cheltenham man is looking for a successor to take on "the nicest job in Britain".

Luke Cameron has finished his 12-month stint as National Philanthropy Manager - after being picked for the job by Utility Aid, external a year ago.

Image source, Luke Cameron

X Factor-style auditions to find his replacement were held at the Kings Head in Cirencester on Monday. 

The job will see one winner travelling around the country and working with 40 different charities over the course of a year.

Closing the Severn Tunnel for six weeks - to upgrade it ready for electric trains - is costing £10m, according to Network Rail.

The tunnel - which links England with Wales - is shut until 21 October as part of a wider £2.8bn scheme to electrify the main line from London to south Wales.

Three teams of 200 engineers are working 24 hours a day for six weeks.

Bristol-based Aardman Animations has a new feature film in the works,

It's a prehistoric tale called Early Man, set in a world of cavemen, dinosaurs and woolly mammoths.

We understand the stop-frame adventure will revolve around an inept tribe of cave-dwellers who unite against "a mighty enemy".

He's in the middle of running his 401st marathon in 401 days - now Ben Smith has smashed his £250,000 fundraising target for anti-bullying charities.

Around 5,000 people are expected to head to the Bath and West Showground today for the annual Dairy Show. 

More than 250 cattle will enter competitions in breed and calf classes.   

The event also attracts exhibitors from right across the UK and features a range of stalls, seminars and display classes.

A dog has been killed and a home severely damaged in a fire in Bishops Cleeve, near Cheltenham.

Crews were called to the blaze on Cutsdean Close just after 4:30pm yesterday. 

Up to 80% of the ground floor was described as severely damaged. The cause is still unknown and investigations are continuing.

Image source, PA

Runner Ben Smith is part-way into the final run of his 401 marathon challenge, which started last September.

And he's certainly getting plenty of support...

More than 80 people in Wiltshire who have psychosis have been helped by a project offering them climbing lessons.

It's organised by the local NHS and has been running for nine years. 

Those behind it say climbing offers physical, mental and social benefits.

Two people have been arrested in connection with the fatal stabbing of a 17-year-old boy in Cheltenham.

Gloucestershire Police have arrested a 31-year-old man on suspicion of murder and a 44-year-old woman on suspicion of assisting an offender.

The 17-year-old victim was stabbed in the stomach at a property on Shakespeare Road on Sunday. He died in hospital the following day.

Gloucestershire all-rounder Benny Howell signs a three-year contract extension to stay with the club until 2019.

A significant number of South Western Ambulance Service staff are facing physical violence or harassment from patients, relatives, and members of the public - according to the Care Quality Commission.

Inspectors have rated the overall ambulance service as "requires improvement" - although its services were rated "outstanding" for caring, and "good" for being responsive.

But the CQC said it was concerned that not all staff were reporting incidents of verbal abuse from callers.

Ken Wenman, the service's chief executive, said: "This time last year we would have had around 60 verbal or physical abuse or assaults on staff - they are now in the hundreds."

He has spent almost every day over the last 13 months running a marathon and later today he is running his 401st - and final - one.

It's all to raise money for anti-bullying charities, having suffered badly from bullying as a child.

Karin Giannone joined Ben Smith halfway through his penultimate run yesterday.

Bristol City Council has agreed to stop funding a deal that some councillors say should have expired years ago. 

They are also demanding an inquiry into how the authority has ended up paying out millions of pounds in subsidies - despite appearing to have no contractual obligation to do so.

Payments made to car park firm NCP to operate the Long Ashton Park and Ride service stretch back almost 20 years.

The council claims the agreement should have ended in 2002. 

NCP had asked for any decision to be deferred pending further talks.

Image source, RSPB

Adult common cranes - from the Great Crane Project in Somerset - have reared the first Welsh-born chick in about 400 years.

The chick, named Garan - the Welsh word for crane - was reared on the Gwent Levels after its parents, known as Lofty and Gibble, nested there earlier in the year.