Here’s our weekly roundup of stories from across local websites in the West of England.
We have a daily round up as well. Make sure you look out for it on the website and the local section of the BBC News app.
Bristol Live reported on the picnic benches outside a seafront fish and chip shop which have been removed after police warned could be “used as weapons” by passers-by.
At a licensing review, owner Michelle Michael said the recycled plastic tables weighed about 100kg (220lb) each and were not “throwable”.
Elsewhere across the west of England, after more than a decade on death row, a Gloucestershire grandmother has returned home following a deal between the UK and Indonesian governments, Gloucestershire Live reports.
Lindsay Sandiford, 69, was sentenced to death on the island of Bali in 2013, after she was found with nearly 5kg of cocaine worth £1.6m ($2.1m) when she arrived on a flight from Thailand in 2012.
Meanwhile, there has been further developments that could bring Swindon and Royal Wootton Bassett closer together, with 200 more homes planned, the Swindon Advertiser reports.
And a video of a carnival club pausing mid-procession for a special tribute to a long-time supporter who died this year was shared by burnham-on-sea.com.
ITV West Country published a story looking at Bristol City Council’s announcement that it now has more powers to tackle van-dwellers.
Finally, a woman from Knowle is appealing for help after her beloved pet parrot flew away. Bristol Live reported how Phoenix, an African Grey was last seen in Redcatch Park on Thursday, and his owner, Kerry, is “desperate for him to return”.
A Bristol-based group is calling for Avon and Somerset Police to reform its policing practices around dealing with those who use cannabis for medicinal purposes.
Bristol 24/7 reported on the Bristol Cannabis Club, which is “mounting pressure” on the police to train officers on cannabis-based products for medicinal use.
The group was founded by Alister Flowers, who uses cannabis-based products to alleviate chronic pain, after he witnessed “how misinformation skewed the narrative around medicinal cannabis”.






