Gas danger averted after fire

Firefighters who were called to a blaze on Monday night managed to avert a massive explosion.

The fire, in a skip outside a shop in the Bedminster area had set light to a nearby gas main.

Gas leaked into the store and crews had to wait until engineers turned off the supply before they could break into the building to ventilate it.

A spokesman for the Avon Fire Brigade said the risk of explosion was very high.

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French strike grounds flights

British Airways (BA) is cancelling flights between Bristol and France on Tuesday due to a French general strike.

BA said services from Heathrow, Gatwick, London City, Birmingham, Manchester and Edinburgh were also affected and some Monday evening flights were called off.

The airline is advising passengers whose flights are cancelled off to contact reservations on 0845 77 999 77.

French workers are taking action in protest against proposed reforms to the state pension.

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New bladder for cancer patients

People who lose their bladders to cancer are now being offered a pioneering treatment which creates a new bladder from their own tissue.

Southmead Hospital is one of only a handful of units in the UK to offer the operation, which means patients no longer need to carry a urine bag.

Colin Barton, who has had the new treatment, said: "Apart from saving my life it's retained a quality of life which enables me to continue with virtually everything I did in the past."

Bladder cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer and affects mostly men.

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Watches taken in jewellery burglary

Watches worth more than £20,000 were stolen from a jewellers in East Street, Bedminster, on Saturday by burglars using bolt cutters and a sledge hammer.

The haul included about 50 Seiko, 50 Rotary, 40 Pulsar and a quantity of Dolce Gabbana watches.

Police want to hear from anyone who witnessed the break-in, who has information about where the watches are or who has been offered a watch in suspicious circumstances.

Officers are also keen to trace the occupant of a red Rover Metro car which was seen in the Bedminster area at the time of the burglary.