Green MEP for the South West, Molly Scott Cato, has reacted with fury to the news that the EU is set to approve billions of pounds of public funding for Hinkley C, the UK's first new nuclear power plant in a generation. Today she met Mr Joaquín Almunia, the European Commissioner in charge of state aid to hand him a letter, sating how 'shocked and disturbed' she is that concerns raised over the deal have been ignored.

For several months, the EU has been investigating whether the Hinkley C deal is in breach of EU competition and state aid rules. Greens have always maintained that the contract with EDF, offering a strike price for its electricity of £92.50 per MWh – roughly twice the current wholesale price of power – as well as state credit guarantee of £10bn, are illegal state aids which breach European market rules.

Responding to the news, Molly Scott Cato said: "A decision like this demonstrates why so many British people are sceptical about the EU. The rules on fair competition are perfectly clear but can apparently be ignored when there is a political deal to be made. Agreeing such a huge implicit subsidy for Hinkley will make it impossible for those who generate electricity in a clean and sustainable way to compete. It will destroy thousands of potential jobs in the renewables sector and set back South West innovation in the energies of the future."

In the letter handed to Mr Almunia today, Dr Scott Cato demands a full justification for the decision to approve the deal and calls for the Commission to make public the full evidence on which the judgment was based. She urges constituents in the South West to write to Mr Almunia to express their shock and disappointment, asking him to think again.

The deal will still require approval from the outgoing EU commissioners, which includes several nuclear sceptics. Greens and a cross-party group of MEPs are now campaigning hard for the contract between the UK government and EDF to be dropped. As well as contravening EU rules, Greens in the Parliament argue the deal threatens the EUs sustainability objectives.

A man from the Bristol area has been arrested on suspicion of common assault by officers policing the badger cull.

The 30-year-old was detained following an incident at a farm on the Herefordshire-Gloucestershire border on Monday.

It allegedly took place in Bromsberrow Heath, Ledbury, at around 10pm, Gloucestershire Police said.

"A 30-year-old man from the Bristol area has been arrested on suspicion of common assault by Gloucestershire Police officers working under Operation Themis," a force spokesman said.

"The suspect is currently being questioned at Cheltenham police station."

Ministers and farmers insist culling is necessary to address TB in livestock, which saw more than 26,000 cattle slaughtered in England last year and multimillion-pound losses.

But opponents say culling, which is taking place in two pilot cull zones in west Somerset and west Gloucestershire for a second year, is inhumane and ineffective, and alternatives such as vaccination should be pursued. 

A police officer faces the sack after being convicted of throttling his partner and kicking her in the stomach in a drunken rage because he left £30 in a cashpoint.

James Vosper, a former firearms' officer, started boozing after realising his blunder and texting his girlfriend Melissa Mustoe that 'everything has gone to rat sh*t'.

He drank red wine for two hours before the petite mum-of-two arrived home and he launched his vicious assault.

The attack was recorded as 37-year-old Ms Mustoe frantically dialled 999 to call from help from Vosper's colleagues in Gloucestershire police.

The thug grabbed her around the throat and kicked her in the stomach before she managed to escape his clutches and lock him out of the house.

Ms Mustoe remained on the phone for 40 minutes until police arrived at the house in Abbeymead, Gloucestershire and arrested Vosper, who also has two children.

He tried to claim that he was the victim of assault and had only acted in self-defence.

But magistrates in Bristol rejected his story and he was found guilty of assault by beating after a two-day trial.

He was released on bail for sentencing and ordered not to contact Ms Mustoe who had been his partner for five years after both their marriages failed.

Ian Jackson, defending, said that Vosper, 41, had previously been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress disorder and as a result had started drinking heavily.

Although he claimed he no longer had a drink problem he admitted he probably drank up to a bottle and a half of wine on the night of the attack which wasn't uncommon.

Ms Mustoe said she returned home to find him in a bad mood because of the cashpoint incident and a fight broke out.

Prosecutor Ian Jackson said: "He wrapped around her neck and pinned her to the sofa with one hand. She was unable to breathe.

"Having released her he then kicked her in the stomach while she was on the phone to police.

"During the course of the 999 call you can hear part of the alleged attack taking place, you can hear her reaction.

"Very shortly in, about four or five minutes you can hear her explain she has just been kicked in the stomach by Mr Vosper.

"Throughout the call she sounds breathless, exasperated and scared. To have waited on the phone for 40 to 45 minutes she must have genuinely been fearful."

Police noted a number of marks on Ms Mustoe's neck and face and Vosper told him her skin "reddens easily".

More than 15,000 pubs, bars and restaurants across the UK will cut the price of food and drink by 7.5% today as part of a campaign to reduce VAT.

Campaigner Jacques Borel called on the hospitality industry to make Tax Equality Day their busiest day of the year to highlight the benefit of a VAT reduction.

Prices will be reduced for one day to show the benefits to consumers of a VAT cut from 20%.

Mr Borel has achieved VAT cuts in a number of European countries, including France, Germany, Belgium and Finland.

He said: "I am confident that Tax Equality Day will be a great success and that the price reductions will be welcomed by customers.

"At present all food and drink in pubs is subject to 20% VAT, compared to supermarkets which benefit from a zero VAT rate.

"Our message is clear – a reduction in the level of VAT on a long-term basis will generate growth and create jobs in the important leisure and hospitality sector."

A staggering £3.6 million pounds is being wasted every year on unwanted birthday gifts for children, whose toy boxes are already bursting with toys they don't play with according to a survey by One4all.

British children have 10 times as many toys as they need, with the average UK child owning 51 toys, but actually only playing with five of them on a regular basis.

But despite this, kids are being inundated with new toys as birthday gifts from friends and family each year.

More than a third of all parents surveyed believe their child is spoilt and has too many toys.

Over half also believe that their child would rather choose their own gift to avoid wastage, while one in five would prefer friends and family to club together and buy a bigger, longer lasting gift like a gadget.

However, 62% of parents surveyed admitted they are most likely to buy a toy as a birthday gift for a child, with gadgets such as hand-held consoles and food-based gifts such as sweets and chocolate being among the least likely to be purchased.

Duplicate gifting is also a big problem; with 15% of parents admitting their child always gets multiples of the same gifts, and the average UK child receiving at least three unwanted gifts per year.

And with 1 in 5 parents admitting to being heavily influenced by toy advertising on television, the chances of children receiving duplicate presents increases dramatically – in fact, toys make up over 60% of duplicate gifts when compared with items like books and clothes.

Does your child have too many toys? Do you have a Christmas/birthday list that you give out to relatives beforehand so that you aren't inundated with the same presents? Which toys do you think are the best? Are there any toys you think your children simply must have?

We would love to know. Comment below.

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A seriesof degrading and sickening acts were carried out on an unconscious man who later died from an drugs overdose, Bristol Crown Court heard.

Medics battled for an hour but failed to save 47-year-old Phillip Coombs after being told he had taken a drugs overdose.

Pathologist Dr Hugh White was unable to ascertain the cause of death, but he discovered two hard-boiled eggs inside Mr Coombs' rectum during the post-mortem examination.

Mr Coombs' hair had been shaved, one of his eyebrows was missing and an obscene word was written on his head in marker pen.

Two men, Nathan Smith, 35, of Mountain Ash, Mid-Glamorgan, and Daniel Yeates, 29, of Willow Close, Patchway, denied sexual assault by penetration and assault occasioning actual bodily harm in January last year.

Sarah Regan, prosecuting, said Mr Coombs after drinking alcohol and taking some sort of drug, passed out at Yeates' home.

"Daniel Yeates and his half-brother Nathan Smith then subjected Phillip Coombs to a series of degrading acts which included shaving his head, his left eyebrow, pubic hair; writing with pen on his head, cutting his right buttock and then inserting two hard-boiled eggs into his anus."

Miss Regan said that just after 5.30am Yeates called for an ambulance, saying Mr Coombs had taken an overdose and stopped breathing.

The jury was told they were not trying the accused for Mr Coombs' undetermined death, but simply for the abuse inflicted on him as he lay unconscious.

Miss Regan said: "What they did that night went far beyond any drunken prank and was at a time when Phillip Coombs was unconscious, but more likely than that clearly suffering from the effects of a drug he had taken inside the flat."

The jury was told Mr Coombs was an alcoholic homosexual who lived at the Willow Close flats and had a long-term partner, Alistair Povey.

The jury was told that, earlier, Alisha Hutchings visited Yeates' flat, and saw Mr Coombs acting strangely and dancing on the sofa in a world of his own.

On another visit, she saw Mr Coombs laying on the floor, shaking in what appeared to be a very uncomfortable position.

Miss Regan said: "Despite that neither Nathan Smith nor Daniel Yeates were helping Phillip Coombs but Nathan Smith was shaving Phillip's head with a disposable razor.

"When she was asked specifically about the shaving of his head she said: 'I think they were just having some fun really'."

Ambulance staff and police noted obscene writing on Mr Coombs' head.

Daniel Yeates told police he had given Mr Coombs the drug DOC, which he got from the internet and described how he watched him for a couple of hours and made sure his tongue didn't turn blue.

Nathan Smith said after Mr Coombs passed out for four or five hours they noticed he had stopped breathing and he started mouth-to- mouth and Yeates called an ambulance.

Smith said Mr Coombs was awake when they wrote on his head, and referred to Mr Coombs as a "gay boy".

Mr Coombs' body was found to contain the drugs GHB/GBL and DOC as well as alcohol at nearly three times the limit for driving.

Following their arrest, a phone belonging to Smith was found to contain photos of a bald man with blue markings in his head and gaffer tape around his mouth.

That man was found to be Gary Jones, who confirmed the pictures were taken a year before and said it was the type of pranks his friends played.

The case continues.

The Bristol Half Marathon 2014 official photographs and videos of runners crossing the finish line are now available on marathon-photos.com

You can view photos of yourself - or people you know who ran it - by searching for the Bristol Half Marathon 2014 in the "Find your race" box and their race number or name in the next box.

Thousands of runners took to the streets of Bristol for the city's annual half marathon event on Sunday, September 21. Many were raising money funds for a host of charities, others sped around the course for the fun of the run and there was even a finishing line proposal for one of the competitors.

View our galleries of the event here

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Britain risks 'being left behind' in the fight against Islamic fundamentalists in Iraq and Syria because MPs are insisting on a vote, a leading West Country backbencher MP has claimed.

James Gray said David Cameron should decide to go to war himself, and not pander to 'populism'.

The North Wiltshire Tory said there could be 'no doubt' that action was needed, and Britain could not 'stand by as children are beheaded by ISIL because they refuse to renounce Jesus'.

In a hard-hitting statement, the Conservative MP said David Cameron needed to display 'statesmanship and leadership, not populism', and just send the RAF to bomb Syria and Iraq without asking MPs.

"There can be no doubt that the heart-wrenching scenes emerging from Iraq and Syria demand urgent Western action," he said. "How can we stand by as children are beheaded by ISIL because they refuse to renounce Jesus? What civilised nation would not act - and act with urgency - to stop this humanitarian catastrophe?

"Yet we in Britain risk being left behind. America is engaged in military action in Iraq. They are at this moment saving civilians' lives. So why is it that we are not doing so as well? The answer seems to be that despite the shambolic Syria vote in Parliament last year, the Prime Minister is apparently determined to secure a Parliamentary vote prior to any action.

"That of course is delayed because Parliament has broken up for the Party Conference Recess and because there are all sorts of workmen carrying out essential maintenance in the Palace of Westminster.

"Hang on a minute. Are we really delaying action to save children's lives so as not to interrupt Mr Miliband's gripping rhetoric at the Labour Party Conference, and to accommodate some decorators in the chamber of the House of Commons? Surely not.

"The reality is that this populist call for Parliament to vote on every single military action around the world is seriously misjudged. The Prime Minister of course needs the support and backing of Parliament for it. If he did not have that, he would not survive as PM for very long.

"But I do not believe that he should be delegating the awesome responsibility of committing the country to war to backbench MPs in this way. We backbenchers do not have the secret intelligence necessary to know whether air strikes, ground action, containment, or destruction is best.

"We do not have access to the strategic analysis nor technical information we need to come to this kind of decision. We do not have the legal advice as to whether or not airstrikes, for example, are justifiable and allowable under international law. So how can we come to a clear and correct decision to allow us to vote on the matter?" he said.

"As the PM accepts his seals of office, he is also accepting the awful responsibility of committing our armed forces to war. He must bear that responsibility personally, albeit always taking Parliament with him. There have been only two exceptions to that over hundreds of years of history. The first was in 2003 when Tony Blair sought camouflage for his illegal invasion of Iraq from a Parliamentary vote; the second was last year with the Syria vote. Neither inspires us with any confidence about Parliamentary votes on going to war.

"We don't want a vote on going to war: we want statesmanlike leadership from the Prime Minister on it," he added.

Radio 1 DJ Dave Lee Travis has been convicted of indecent assault by a jury at Southwark Crown Court.

Wearing dark grey trousers and a light grey blazer, Travis stared straight ahead with a stony expression and held his hands in front of him as the verdicts were read out.

He glanced over his shoulder to his wife Marianne, who sat at the back of court, before sitting down.

The jury of six men and six women came to their verdicts after 19 hours and 15 minutes.

Prosecutor Teresa Hay told the court that the Crown would not be seeking a retrial on the count of sexual assault which the jury was hung on, and a formal verdict of not guilty was entered.

The forewoman told the court the jury had found Travis guilty of a single count of indecent assault by a majority of 10 to two.

Judge Anthony Leonard QC warned the former radio star that he was looking at "all options" when he considered his sentence.

Sophie Wood, defending, told the judge they would be asking for Travis to be given a non custodial community order sentence.

She said: "It is the defence position that we will seek to persuade your honour that this is a community order penalty. That is where we submit it fits.

"It's the defence position that a pre-sentence report would assist."

Judge Leonard said "all options remain open", including jail.

Travis left the courtroom accompanied by his wife Marianne, who put a protective arm around her husband's back as he left.

He declined to comment on the verdict, saying: "I'm not speaking to anybody right this moment."

Campaigners in Somerset stressed that no decision has yet been made concerning the news that the deal between the UK Government and EDF Energy to subsidise the proposed Hinkley Point C nuclear power station is on the verge of winning approval from competition authorities in Brussels. 

The Stop Hinkley Campaign welcomed a letter sent by a group of over 20 academics, politicians and renewable energy companies to the European Competition Commissioner as well as Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and his successor Jean-Claude Juncker to urge them not to rush through any decision and warning that doing so could mean the decision would face legal action. 

The two proposed nuclear reactors at Hinkley Point will infringe single market rules on the internal energy market, if the £16 billion mega-project proceeds on its present basis. The project has not been subject to any kind of competition with alternative ways of providing the same service.

"Irrespective of what we think about the possibility of an accident or routine emissions of radioactivity into the environment, or the fact that there is no solution to dealing with the dangerous waste, this deal is economically bonkers", said Stop Hinkley Campaign spokesperson Allan Jeffrey.

"Britain has 7 million homes with lofts that need to be insulated; 5 million with cavity walls that need to be filled and 7 million with uninsulated solid walls, yet this deal will lock consumers into paying about twice the going rate for electricity until almost 2060 while the cost of renewable energy is falling rapidly. It would be hard devise a worse deal for consumers or tackling climate change if you tried."

Breakfast show host Nick Grimshaw is undergoing intensive training in an effort to set a new world record – for twerking.

The BBC Radio 1 star is practising to establish a duration record for the dance craze by constantly wiggling his hips and thrusting his bottom out for an entire hour.

He aims to set his record beginning at 8.30am next week, on September 30, with live coverage during his programme as an official from Guinness World Records monitors his progress in the studio.

Grimshaw is limbering up with a tough regime of squats, and tutoring under the eye of an expert fitness teacher.

Nick Grimshaw said: "I can't wait to be etched into the history books for such a noble, worthwhile cause. Twerking has always been close to my heart...and arse."

Guinness World Records adjudicator Anna Orford, who will oversee the attempt, said: "Twerking for a whole hour is no easy feat and Mr Grimshaw will have to seriously prepare if he wants to achieve this official Guinness World Record title. We wish him luck."

Earlier this year Grimshaw tackled other feats of endurance by cycling in a perspex box for 12 hours outside BBC Broadcasting House for Sport Relief, and accompanied Davina McCall during a running stint on her 500-mile triathlon from Edinburgh to London.

Google has marked the first day of autumn, the Autumn Equinox, with its animated Google Doodle today.

The search engine's home page five grey trees and a cartoon figure standing next to them. When you click the play symbol in the centre of the illustration the animation starts.

The cartoon man then jumps up to every grey-leaved tree in turn, touches them and turns them into autumn reds and oranges. There is a slight pause as the man stands back admiring the colours before all the leaves drop to the ground and the last one flutters down onto the man's head. The bare branches spell out the word Google.

A police chief has told of how he promised the parents of Becky Godden-Edwards he would 'do everything it takes' to get a conviction for her murder, as a new appeal was issued for information about a car he believes was used in the murder.

Police want to trace a T-reg Volvo S80, and said they think Becky somehow got into the car and ended up being murdered, probably back at New Year 2003.

All Det Chief Insp Sean Memory knows about the car since is that it was sold for around £5,000 at auction in Oxford in June 2004, probably to an Irishman who bought other cars that day.

But it was never registered again in this country, has never been caught on speed cameras, and disappeared without trace.

Becky would have been in her early 20s when she disappeared from Swindon, Wiltshire, back in late 2002. She was last seen two days after Christmas, and no one saw her in 2003, leading DCI Memory to conclude she was murdered before or after the New Year.

No one has ever been charged with her murder. Swindon taxi driver Christopher Halliwell admitted killing Becky, and led police to her body – which was discovered buried in a field near Lechlade in Gloucestershire – when he was detained by police searching for missing office worker Sian O'Callaghan in 2011.

Police would not talk about Halliwell, who is currently in prison for Sian's murder, at yesterday's appeal launch. But DCI Memory did say that since he took over Becky's case in January, there have been a number of breakthroughs.

Sian's boots were found at a remote woodland spot in Ramsbury, near Marlborough, earlier this year, and some 660 items found in a fingertip search of the location are being reviewed by detectives. There were around 60 items of female clothing buried nearby, which are currently being forensically analysed.

Now, the public is being asked to find the silver Volvo S80 car, which has a registration number T661 LGP, although DCI Memory conceded, given it was manufactured in 1999 and last sold ten years ago, it may well have been scrapped by now.

"It may well be that someone knows this man, or recognises the vehicle," he said. "I believe it was the vehicle used in the commission of the murder of Becky Godden-Edwards. I think that Becky has been in that car at the time she was murdered.

"It may be that the car is still on the road, has gone overseas, or is in a farmers' field somewhere. It might have been scrapped, or crushed, I just need to know what happened to it either way. At least then I can finalise that line of inquiry. The Irish man who bought it is not in any way connected with the murder – only as a witness to what happened to the car next.

"It was bought for £5,000 so it certainly wasn't bought for parts or to be scrapped. I can't be sure where it is now," he added.

DCI Memory said Becky's parents were fully behind the latest appeal. "Both sets of parents are really very very supportive – both John and Karen know we are with them in seeking justice for Becky. It will take as long as it needs. I follow every lead I can and I'm determined that the person responsible for killing Becky is brought to court and faces justice," he added.

A local newspaper editor was quizzed by police after publishing an anonymous column suggesting homosexuality is an ''aberration'' - which could lead to anarchy.

Officers were called after the article said homosexuality is a ''phenomenon'' which people ''suffer'' from - and had previously caused great civilisations to collapse.

The diatribe appeared in the South Molton and District News in Devon under the pseudonym Grave Turner, a regular contributor to the monthly publication.

Under the headline, 'The road to hell is paved with good intentions', it said: "Clearly homosexuality is a naturally occurring phenomenon that is, nonetheless, an aberration.

"Such persons as suffer from it should-be treated with sympathy and understanding."

The controversial column went on: "It was not homosexuality per se that caused the collapse of the great civilising empires of Greece, Rome, Britain, et al, but rather public acceptance of it was the exclamation mark that signalled the end of empire.

"With it came the weakening of the disciplined social structures that support law and order. Slowly, but surely, anarchy will take over."

Editor Paul Henderson confirmed he was questioned by Devon and Cornwall Police's diversity unit after the column was published on September 3 but officers took no further action.

Mr Henderson said the article, attacking the Human rights Act, generated just five complaints.

Three were via email and one was made in person to the family paper, which has a circulation of around 2,100 copies per issue.

In a letter of reply, published by gay news organisation, PinkNews, Mr Henderson wrote: "I am deeply sorry that you have been upset by the published article, that isn't the intention of what we do.

"I regularly run articles with which I, in a personal capacity, do not agree with.

"It is there however to reflect the views/opinions/thoughts of the wider community across a wide range of subjects following the rules of legality, decency and honesty.

"This columnist in particular has very strong views on a number of subjects and inclusion in the paper is there to encourage debate, discussion and a viewpoint in areas that would not normally be carried in a small local paper.

Mr Henderson declined to reveal the identity of the columnist, who he says he has known for nearly 20 years.

He added: "It is common practice for local, regional and national papers to run columns under a 'non de plume'.

"The writer is of advancing years and is extremely well educated, has been known to me for close to twenty years and is not from this area."

"I'd like to assure you I personally do not share Grave Turner's views in this particular article.

"If I did, then my nephew whom I'm very close to and who is in a long-term same sex relationship with a rugby player wouldn't forgive me and neither would my own children as they care for him deeply."

North Devon MP Nick Harvey called for the controversial columnist to reveal his identity.

He said: "We can't stop people from having these sorts of views, but they ought to be brave enough to put their name to it.

"I understand the police have been in contact with the editor of the publication and I hope the matter is dealt with effectively."

Michael Halls, from the Intercom Trust, which supports the lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and trans community, said: "We have a lot of respect for the idea of free speech and we don't want to stop people expressing views and opinions.

"But this article is hurtful and offence and that is deplorable. It's also full of errors."

A spokesman for Devon and Cornwall Police said: "We are aware of the article, but at this time are unable to offer more information, until we have spoken to all those involved."

Two years ago Claudia Fragapane watched agog as Great Britain soared to gymnastics success at London 2012 and never dreamed that within two years it would be her own face beaming out beneath the headlines.

The Bristol 16-year-old has described her introduction to senior competition as a "massive bomb" and that to in no way overestimate the seismic impact she made in only her second open-age competition at this year's Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

Fragapane's four gold medals made her England's most successful competitor at the Games in over 80 years – and catapulted her to a kind of fame she had never dared to envisage.

Fragapane told Press Association Sport: "I sat at home watching London 2012 on the TV and if someone had told me I was going to win four gold medals in Glasgow I'd never have believed it would come true.

"I wasn't really picked for many big competitions when I was a junior and when the worlds came round last year I missed out because I was still quite young.

"Since then everything has been a massive bomb – the Europeans were my first really big competition and it was absolutely incredible to be going on to so many big events so soon."

Fragapane faces by far the sternest test of her short but sensational senior career when she heads out with the rest of the Great Britain team for the World Championships in Nanning, China which begin on October 3.

While the notion of an individual medal may seem fanciful, there are realistic hopes that the Great Britain women's team can build on the excellent silver medal they claimed at the Europeans in Sofia in May.

Clearly Fragapane will be the main focus of attention after her extraordinary success in Glasgow when she came out on top in the all-around, vault and floor disciplines as well as leading England to team success.

"I think I've grown up and matured quite quickly and when I go into a big competition I don't really see it as pressure," added Fragapane.

"We are a good group of friends and we are always pushing each other. It's not an individual thing to us really – we are always together all the time and since the Europeans our confidence has really been boosted and we believe we can do it."

While Fragapane's success has been sudden, it is also the result of a gruelling year of training which saw her earn a mere five days off in the wake of her Commonwealth haul before refocusing on the forthcoming trip to China.

But having participated in the sport for 10 years without ever particularly expecting to find herself the focus of so much attention, Fragapane is determined to take the publicity spin-offs of success in her stride.

"It's nice to get little post-it notes from girls and boys who say I'm their inspiration – that means a lot to me," added Fragapane.

"I started to get a lot more noticed after the Europeans and obviously since the Commonwealths I have done a lot of interviews.

"That's great, because it means it's not just those in gymnastics who are watching but others outside the sport, and that gives the impression that it is a popular sport.

"We are hoping to get on the podium in China but as long as we all try hard, and go out there and perform to the best of our ability and enjoy it, we will be happy."

Bath's amplified buskers could soon be a thing of the past, after council chiefs vowed to act in the face of complaints from shops and the city's famous abbey.

Council bosses said they would be looking to enact new anti-social behaviour powers that give them the authority to designate certain areas where amplification equipment is forbidden, but did not want to ban buskers from the city centre altogether.

The council said it would be talking to Bath Abbey following Sunday's incident, where the afternoon Choral Evensong service was stopped halfway through because of the noise of amplified buskers in both the Abbey Churchyard at the west end of the abbey, and in the square to the side.

The Rector of the abbey, Rev Edward Mason, said he did not want to see buskers banned, but loud amplification not allowed in certain spots close to the abbey. He said in York, a similar measure has been introduced around the York Minster.

One councillor, David Dixon, has warned that buskers found using amplifiers around the abbey will be banned from playing there, and the council issued a statement which outlined how it could use the new powers.

Already, the council has the power to confiscate a performer's instruments under the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

A statement from the council said: "The council has been committed to achieving a balance where busking can continue to bring vibrancy to the city centre of Bath without impacting detrimentally on businesses, organisations and residents located close to the busking pitches.

"Council officers have been pro-actively monitoring in the vicinity of the abbey following concerns being raised, and have held a number of meetings with the Abbey to resolve the situation.

"The council is in the process of contacting the abbey after receiving a complaint on Sunday and will be investigating further," it added.

But Bath's buskers – or some of them, at least – hit back at the Abbey yesterday. Within hours of the Western Daily Press breaking the story of the Choral Evensong being abandoned, an anonymous video had been posted on YouTube with audio clips of a sermon by Rev Mason about the buskers, and an interview with what is claimed to be a member of the congregation at the service, who said the noise from the buskers was not too intrusive.

"The busker was playing reasonably quietly," the anonymous interviewee said. "You could just hear him in the abbey, but it wasn't distracting from the service and I thought it was very wrong of the bishop or the archdeacon or whoever was taking the service to stop the service abruptly by saying he wasn't prepared to carry on and compete with the busker outside.

"From my point of view I was in the middle of the abbey and there was absolutely no competition whatsoever. You are in the abbey and you concentrated on the service and not on the busker outside who was playing very discreetly and quietly at the time," he added.

The video poster also claimed Bath Abbey was 'bullying' the buskers, and that Rev Mason had a 'personal crusade' against them – something he strenuously denied. Later yesterday, Bath Abbey pointed to the audio clip of the entire sermon, in which Rev Mason said he was trying desperately to work with the buskers.

"Honestly I don't know what to do about buskers?" he also said in the sermon. "We are trying, tell the truth, listen to the heart, rely on good law and extend the hand – again."