AUCTION - A charity auction will be held today (Thursday) to help buy a vital scanner for medical first responders. Mercia Accident Rescue Service (MARS) is made up of practitioners who turn out to incidents such as crashes around Herefordshire and Worcestershire, delivering emergency care to the injured. The group needs to raise £12,000 for a portable ultrasound machine, which will help volunteers make important lifesaving decisions about how to treat seriously injured patients. Among the lots at the auction at the Bell Inn, are a hot air balloon flight, the use of a Jaguar for a weekend and a spa day for two at Holme Lacy House.

A tennis ball signed by Andy Murray, a signed photo of Bond star Daniel Craig, and a Weber Smokey Joe barbecue are also on offer. The event is organised by villager Dawn Charles, who benefitted from fast medical help before being airlifted to Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital following a car crash in October 2010.

CHARITY GRANTS - Young people wishing to apply for a grant from the Bosbury Educational Foundation should do so by August 31. The grants are for school leavers going on to further education and applicants must have lived in the parish of Bosbury for at least three years.

This year the charity is also inviting students from Bosbury, who are pursuing a practical or vocational course to apply for the Jack Mason Grant. Grant amounts are at the discretion of the governors of the foundation.

Apply in writing to clerk Mrs J Bulson, Willow End, Bosbury HR8 1PZ with details of the course to be taken, plus age of applicant and time resident in Bosbury.

Anyone who has had a grant and whose course is ongoing will need to re-apply.

CONVERSION - An application to change the use of Great Catley Farm from a farmhouse with holiday accommodation to a farmhouse with three self-contained homes has been made to Herefordshire Council by Harold Powles.