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Newspapers: Mattresses for Ukraine and fire devastates business

News imageGreat Western Hospitals NHS Trust Two middle-aged men and a woman are standing outside in a concreted area smiling to camera, holding a large Ukrainian flag and behind them is a pile of blue mattresses in front of a white van. Great Western Hospitals NHS Trust
A humanitarian team at Great Western Hospital in Swindon has sent 46 mattresses to Ukraine

Here's our weekly round up 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.

What have been the big stories in the West this week?

Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has sent 46 mattresses on a journey of nearly 1,400 miles (2,250km) from Swindon to Ukraine as humanitarian aid. The hospital team worked with UK charity PhysioNet to find the mattresses a new home, rather than ending up in landfill.

A shoe repair shop in Street, Somerset, is to close after 40 years of trading. The owner of Express Shoe Repair, Steve Lukins, has been in the trade for 55 years and said it was "with a heavy heart" that he was finally shutting up shop.

A business owner in Highbridge, Somerset, said he was left "devastated" after a major fire destroyed his unit, according to Burnham-on-Sea.com. Eight crews tackled the blaze at Oaktree Business Park on Monday. Alec Chick said the fire had been "catastrophic", for his scotch eggs business.

A Palestinian student secured safe travel to Bristol to take up a university place studying Earthquake Engineering and Infrastructure Resilience. Mohammed hopes to return to the war-torn country and use his skills to help rebuild his community, according to Green MP Carla Denyer.

Top five local stories for the BBC in the West

Something longer to read

Bristol Live reported on the problems for pedestrians and cyclists in Bristol. The Bristol Walking Alliance took a walk through the city to find potentially dangerous hotspots.

It was part of Bristol Walk Fest, which was looking at recent street changes that have already been made or are planned - in order to create more pedestrian-friendly spaces.

The walk leader, Alan Morris, said: "Continuous footways are saying to pedestrians, 'yes, we do value you. You have priority'. It's a relatively small thing but it's recognising the pedestrian."

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