Staff from a new multimillion-pound pathology and science quarter at Southmead Hospital in Bristol have been helping diagnose deadly diseases in Africa.

Scientists have been able to help with testing patient samples for ebola, and more recently for plague in Madagascar.

It is the first lab in the country to use robotic technology to test all of its samples.

Jonathan Turner is the Regional Head of Laboratory Operations:

Four-year-old Freddy Vallender is back home in Somerset after pioneering surgery in the United States to remove a tumour the size of a small orange from his heart.

Freddy, from Bawdrip, is only the 30th child in the world to have the surgery, which is currently only available in Boston.

His family used crowdfunding to help raise the £90,000 needed to fund the procedure.

Clinton Rogers found that Freddy appears fighting fit now:

Patients and visitors at the Gloucestershire Royal Hospital were treated to a flash mob with a difference today.

Around 15 dancers showed off their moves in the atrium alongside an opera singer, to demonstrate the benefits of ballet exercises when recovering from surgery.

The gentle movements have been proven to help to ease the joints following an operation.

People who watch online child abuse are being targeted in a new campaign by The Lucy Faithfull Foundation and police forces across the West.

Police believe that in 2016 at least 100,000 people across the UK regularly viewed online sexual images of children.

The charity runs the Stop it Now! Get Help, external website that hosts online self-help resources, as well as the Stop it Now! confidential helpline (0808 1000 900).

A report by Highways England finds no evidence of any savings at motorway service stations between Bristol and Exeter

The 'Beast from the East' is expected to hit the West on Thursday afternoon with snowfall predicted between 2pm and 8am on Friday.

The Met Office has issued an Amber warning for snow and ice and warned of delays on public transport.

"Some roads may become blocked by deep snow, stranding vehicles and passengers.

"Long interruptions to power supplies and other utilities could occur."

Image source, BBC Weather

Channel 4 programme reveals Prof Steve West received £43,000 in expenses over 18 months.

A grandmother is raising money by knitting woollen breasts.

Ruth Hepburn, from Lydney, began knitting the woolly bosoms after her grandson was given a doll for Christmas.

He uses it to 'feed' the doll.

Freddie's mum Emily posted a picture online and the requests for more knitted knockers began flying in.

Since then, the family have sold dozens and raised more than £500 for the Forever Friends Appeal at the Royal United Hospital in Bath.

If you want the knitting pattern to have a go yourself, click here., external

Image source, Google

The police and crime commissioner for Avon and Somerset says the licences at two strip clubs in Bristol shouldn't be renewed because their presence encourages sexual assault.

Her comments come as the police say they won't support the renewal of the clubs' licences to operate as the venues are "contrary to the message being promoted by the constabulary".

But some of the women who work at Central Chambers and Urban Tiger in the city centre have defended their work, saying they choose to work there, external.

Dan O'Brien
Political reporter, BBC Wiltshire

Image source, Brian Robert Marshall

After the recent collapse of the deal to secure the future Swindon's Lydiard Park, the councillor responsible for the plan has been replaced.

A community trust had been due to take over running the country park and house, after Swindon Borough Council said it could no longer afford its upkeep.

But talks broke down earlier this month.

Garry Perkins has been replaced by the West Swindon councillor Keith Williams.

Borough leader David Renard says he wants a "fresh start" for the park's future.

A yachting management firm director kept drinking after receiving an "urgent" email from the crew of a yacht saying it was taking in water hours before it sank, killing all four men aboard, a court has heard.

The Cheeki Rafiki yacht lost its keel as the crew were returning the 40ft yacht from Antigua to the UK in May 2014. The vessel got into trouble 1,000 miles from the United States.

Lost at sea were all four crew members - Steve Warren, 52, and Paul Goslin, 56, both from Somerset, skipper Andrew Bridge, 22, from Farnham in Surrey, and James Male, 22, from Southampton.

Douglas Innes, 43, director of Stormforce Coaching Limited, is on trial at Winchester Crown Court charged with four counts of manslaughter by gross negligence which he denies. The first trial did not finish.

Image source, PA

The weather warnings for the Westcountry have been escalated to Amber for later this week, as the snow begins to fall across the region.

Social media accounts have been sharing their favourite ice and snow gifs, but there are serious messages behind the fun:

Avon and Somerset Police said it believed the clubs were "contrary to the family ethos which the city centre is trying to promote".

The University of the West of England is defending itself after revelations about its vice chancellor's expenses.

Steve West spent tens of thousands of pounds on travel and hotels, a Freedom of Information Act request by Channel 4's Dispatches programme revealed.

A UWE spokesman said it had provided "full and transparent" data of senior management costs but was not given any opportunity to explain the figures.

Channel 4 said it considered the revelations "in the public interest".

A rescue Border Terrier from Somerset is among the finalists for Crufts' 2018 Friends For Life award - which honours dogs who play a leading role in helping people battle adversity.

Vanessa Holbrow, 47, from Burnham-on-Sea, said her re-homed Border Terrier, Sir Jack Spratticus, has "saved her life" after helping her to manage complex mental health problems.

"He's had the most profound impact on my life," she said. "Just owning him saved my life in many respects."

Once neglected, scared and aggressive, Sir Jack now helps Ms Holbrow in her work promoting awareness and raising money for others suffering with a variety of mental health issues.

Image source, PA

The death of a man whose body was found in Moredon, Swindon yesterday remains unexplained after post mortem examination results were inconclusive.

Police found the man outside sheltered housing at Park Farm, The Street at 7.30am yesterday.

Anyone who heard or saw anything suspicious in Locksgreen Crescent or The Street area on Sunday night or first thing on Monday morning is asked to contact police.

Formal identification of the man will now be carried out.

Image source, Google

Freeview viewers in Bristol, parts of Somerset, Dorset, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire may need to retune their TV equipment today.

Some Freeview channels are moving to new airwaves to allow for the future development of new mobile broadband services.

Transmitters across the UK are being updated region by region as part of a major engineering programme being carried out between now and 2020.

Freeview says retuning should be straightforward and some TV equipment will retune automatically.

It's hoped more women with cervical cancer could be successfully treated, with the opening of a multi-million-pound pathology and science quarter at Southmead Hospital.

More than 600 staff are working to diagnose diseases at the centre, with a million samples a year arriving from GPs and other hospitals.

It is the first lab in the country to test all patients by a robot for cervical cancer: in the past all smears would have been examined with the naked eye.

The center will enable patients in the west to be among the first in the world to benefit from the very latest research, which David Gibbs, Pathology Services Director for North Bristol NHS Trust, says will lead to more accuracy in diagnosis:

The four Cheeki Rafiki crewmen died when the yacht capsized more than 700 miles from Nova Scotia.