MAN FOUND INJURED ON SDR

A 23-year-old man is in a critical condition in hospital after falling from a moving vehicle in Newport. Police are trying to trace the driver of a dark coloured people carrier or Land Rover type vehicle involved in the incident in Newport on Saturday night.

Part of the A48 southern distributor road near Carcraft, where he was found lying at 2330 GMT, has since reopened. Gwent Police said they are "keeping an open mind" over how he came to "exit" the passenger side of the vehicle.

Detectives believe he was socialising in the Maindee area of the city and had bought a kebab prior to getting into the vehicle in Maindee Square. He was found later lying by the roadside and police said following the incident, the vehicle continued to travel along the distributor road towards the slip road to Stephenson Street.

CITY COUNCIL TO SHARE SERVICES WITH NEIGHBOURING AUTHORITIES

Newport City Council has agreed to formalise shared working with two neighbouring authorities as part of its drive to reduce costs.

Newport's Chief Internal Auditor will provide a similar role for Monmouthshire on a formal basis from now onwards as part of a new agreement between the two Councils.

In addition, Newport's Student Services function will be transferred to Cardiff City Council from April.

MEMBERS ALLOWANCES FROZEN

Members allowances for Newport City Council are set to be frozen for the 2010/11 financial year to reflect the difficult economic circumstances being experienced by residents.

Councillors currently receive a salary of £13,030 per annum. The Leader receives an additional £30,591 and Cabinet Members £15,396. The Leader of the Opposition receives an additional £9,236.

CITY PAYS TRIBUTE TO LIVE MUSIC LEGEND

Newport paid her respects today to John Sicolo, the inspiration behind the TJ's music venue in Clarence Place.

Mr. Sicolo died on Sunday March 14. A massive turnout at St. Paul's Church in the city centre commemorated the life of a merchant seaman from Pill who became a leading figure in Newport's rough and ready independent music scene. The funeral cortege started its route with a slow drive past TJ's greeted by a round of applause from those gathered to remember Mr Sicolo.

Later that evening hundreds gathered at TJ's as a number of bands played in his memory.

A tribute issue of the Frug zine has also been produced. See here. Donations will go towards a possible memorial for John Sicolo in Newport.

HELP WITH ST. JULIAN'S CLEAN UP

Police in St Julians, Newport, are appealing for help to tidy the local area at a special clean-up day during the Easter holidays. Newport East Neighbourhood Policing Team joined forces with Church of Christ minister Paul Halliday to organise the St Julians Clean-up Day on Wednesday 31 March.

Newport City Council, local councillors, Newport City Homes and Keep Wales Tidy are also involved. Car company Vauxhall have offered to supply the transport on the day. High school pupils under the age of 16, particularly those living in the Old Barn Estate area, are invited to take part on the day. The day will involve two-hour morning and afternoon sessions and lunch will be provided for all helpers at the Church of Christ on East Usk Road. Youngsters who take part will also be rewarded with a high street shopping voucher.

St Julians ward police officer Alex Jones said: “The clean-up day promises to be a fun event, which will be rewarding for youngsters who take part in a number ways.Helpers will see a visible difference to their local neighbourhood, but they will also be rewarded with a shopping voucher and a tasty meal for lunch."

DRAGONS GO BACK TO SCHOOL FOR TRAINING

Newport Gwent Dragons have signed an agreement to move the majority of the region’s training to Newport High School.

In a move that addresses many of the region’s concerns regarding training facilities, the Dragons will also be able to develop greater links with the local community. It is hoped that the deal will help raise the profile of rugby at the school and in the local area, as well as giving local pupils the opportunity to rub shoulders with professional sportsmen as role models.

Newport High School, which is in the final stages of a major redevelopment, boasts some fantastic sports facilities, including 2 football and 2 rugby pitches, a full-size Astroturf, hard court surfaces, an indoor gym and an indoor 25 metre swimming pool.

The school have also made office facilities available for the region so that analysis sessions and team meetings can take place on site.

"This is a very important step forward for the Dragons," said Rugby Manager Robert Beale. "We have lived a very nomadic existence up until now and to have resolved our training facilities issues at the same time as gaining closer links with the local community is a great position to be in.

"DW Sports Fitness will continue to play a vital role in our rehabilitation programmes and our partnerships with both DW and Spytty Sports village remain strong and crucial to our strength and conditioning plans, but to have a training base within the region is a very important breakthrough.

"We would like to thank Paul Lidster and his team at Cardiff University who have worked very hard to accommodate us at Llanrumney over the past few years and provided us with excellent facilities and support.

"The teams at Rodney Parade have always had strong community links and it is in keeping with this ethos that we are integrating further into the community instead of building more private facilities."

The Dragons marked the deal by inviting pupils from the High School to join in a training session on Friday morning before players Jason Tovey and Ashley Smith presented certificates at a swimming gala hosted by the school for primary schools.

Dragons Chief Executive Gethin Jenkins is also delighted at the move. "This deal enables us to address our training facility issues within the region as well as ensuring that the squad are accommodated during the regeneration works. It is a great opportunity for all parties to work closer together for the promotion of rugby and sport in the local area."

Newport City Council leader, Councillor Matthew Evans, said: "Newport City Council is delighted that the Newport Gwent Dragons has signed an agreement to use the new facilities at the Active Living Centre in Bettws.

"This announcement reflects the ambition of the rugby side who are performing well in the Magners League. We are pleased that they have chosen to train in the region and that they do not have to move outside the area to find first class training facilities."

SPORT RELIEF MILE TOMORROW!

People from in and around the city have been signing up for Sainsbury’s Sport Relief Mile taking place from 10am tomorrow (Sunday 21st March) at Newport International Sports Village, Velodrome Way.

An event for all the family to enjoy, from tiny tots to mums and dads, to sprinters. Money raised from the Mile will be spent by Comic relief to help transform lives of people here in the UK and across the world's poorest countries.

If you fancy taking part, choose a distance challenge from one, three or six miles and visit www.sportrelief.com/the-mile/newport-mile to sign up.

Manager of Newport International Sports Village, Neil Sargeant said: “The Newport Mile is set to be an amazing day. It’s fantastic that so many people of Newport are gathering together to show their support for Sport Relief 2010. But we want this to be the best Sport Relief event yet, so we still need more people to raise their game, enter the Newport Mile and join us to raise plenty of cash.”