IT'S well over 15 years ago that I sat, transfixed, in the newsroom of the Advertiser Series in Poole High Street listening to the old journalist's tales of guts, glamour and glitz from the 1950s. After cutting his reporter's teeth in Brighton, Bob
The crowds claim their spot along the seafront from the East Cliff to the Pier Approach. Picture: Hattie Miles.
A WEST Moors couple are battling to save their minibus business after their one vehicle was destroyed by arsonists. The minibus belonging to local company 2&4th was one of several vehicles vandalised in the early hours of Saturday morning. Dorset Police
THE BEGGING bowl is being held out to Shaftesbury residents in a bid to double the size of the town's arts centre. Overwhelming support has been given to the plan to buy the old Strattons building next door in a bid to bring increased space for rehearsing
THE National Trust has joined forces with the Purbeck Film Festival to host a season of films in the grounds of Corfe Castle this summer. Six nights of films will be screened between Thursday and next Saturday. The works, spanning 70 years of cinematic
FIRE chiefs have warned smokers to take extra care after a smouldering cigarette end started a late night blaze at a block of flats in Somerford leading to a dramatic rescue and the death of a pet. A young mother and her baby were rescued from the
A BOURNEMOUTH MP is among those calling for an end to the use of bearskin for headwear worn by the five Guards regiments, including those at Buckingham Palace. Sir John Butterfill, MP for Bournemouth West, has signed on to an Early Day Motion tabled
HALF a dozen New Forest car parks could be closed next year in a pilot project to protect heathland used by ground nesting birds to breed. The trials are designed to strengthen the populations of curlew, snipe, and lapwing, all on the RSPB's amber
HOW much does it cost to post a letter? A simple enough question, you might think - or is it? Following the introduction of Royal Mail's new Pricing in Proportion (PIP) system, critics say that Post Offices could grind to a halt as heavy queues of
FARMERS in Purbeck say the government's fear of upsetting the animal rights lobby by introducing badger culling could prove fatal for small livestock producers. Defra has announced increased testing over the coming months in a bid to eradicate bovine
A COLLEAGUE of refuse collector Colin Mason, who was killed in a hit-and-run accident, has slammed a decision to spare the driver jail. Twenty-two-year-old supermarket worker Antonio Lopez fled the scene after hitting Mr Mason as he stepped out from
I CAN'T remember exactly when it was that I was first addressed as "sir", but I do know it was a very long time ago. I was just a gangly youth, who'd barely started shaving. It happened in a clothes shop. There I was, rummaging through the kipper
GCSE exams could become harder under a shake-up being pioneered by schools minister and Dorset South MP Jim Knight. The announcement follows persistent claims that too many people are getting top exam grades - and complaints from employers that too
POOLE headquartered RNLI has extended its association with Britain's leading pick-up truck supplier by signing a new deal with Mitsubishi Motors UK to supply L200 4Work double-cab pick-ups for the charity's front-line beach rescue teams. Initially, 12
THE new man in charge of Lighthouse, Centre of the Arts at Poole has only one problem... it is so successful that any further improvement is going to be seriously tough going. "I know, I know," says Alistair Wilkinson, mockingly putting hand to brow
CITROEN is applying its Picasso treatment to the latest C4 range to create a new, compact, seven-seat MPV. Set to receive its world debut at the Paris Motor show at the end of next month (September), it features a number of aspects designed to make travelling
HUMAN skeletal bones found on a Dorset heath are those of an adult male, say detectives. Firemen discovered the bones as they damped down following a blaze at Parley Common, near Ferndown. DCI Neil Redstone, head of Dorset Police's major crime team
A DAILY Echo feature has sparked renewed calls for a memorial on the Bournemouth grave of the detective who led the hunt for Jack the Ripper. Blandford-born Frederick Abberline retired to Bournemouth in 1910 and lived there until his death in 1929.
JEWELLERY worth around £13,000 has been stolen from a house in Poole. Police are appealing for information about the theft, which involved watches, rings, bracelets and necklaces, from a house in Asbury Avenue, Wallisdown, sometime between 11am on
A DRUG dealer who was caught plying his trade in a Bournemouth nightclub has been jailed for three years and three months. Unemployed labourer Liam Buckley, from Wilmslow Road, Chickerell, Weymouth, admitted three counts of possessing class A drugs
THE EARNINGS gap between top flight executives and low-paid workers is widening, a new study suggests. Directors are now paid an average £171,509 - at least six times the UK's typical salary of £28,210. After that come doctors (£81,744); brokers (£80,233
POOLE Town have finally got their hands on the Dorset Funeral Plan Premier League - without scoring a run. Only a mathematical miracle would have denied them, but when Poole's clash at Blandford was cancelled because of an unfit pitch, that left rivals
A MAJESTIC century from opener Glyn Treagus and another fine spell of bowling from Dan Belt has put Dorset in the box seat to wrap up victory in their Minor Counties clash with Wiltshire later today. Chasing the visitors' 321 all out overnight, Treagus
DORSET are on the verge of winning the South East Counties League for the first time after a stunning 8-4 triumph against Surrey at Hindhead on Sunday. Yet their third successive victory, following home wins over Hampshire and Kent, looked improbable
JULIAN Hamilton-Taylor is just two games away from reclaiming his Sunshine Challenge title after booking his place at this year's finals day at Remedy Oak next month. The 2004 match play champion pipped Wareham's Stuart English at the final hole in their
NEW Dorset strokeplay champion Ben Churchill believes Ryder Cup star Sergio Garcia is having an influence on his game. After completing a double by adding the strokeplay to the matchplay championship he won a year ago, he admitted that watching Garcia
ENGLAND duo Alastair Cook and Monty Panesar will be thankful for some respite from the fall-out of the Test match chaos when they arrive in Bournemouth on Wednesday. The pair will be star guests at the ECB Portman Under-15 Club Championships finals day
NEIL Moss has been tasked with keeping Cherries in the Carling Cup while loan striker Leon Best has been given the green light to face Southend in tonight's first round clash. Moss will take over between the sticks from Gareth Stewart as Cherries look
SHE was one of the biggest challenges faced by Boscombe police. Prostitution, drug addiction, theft and intimidation were just a few of the habits, which ensured Kirsten Raven was constantly on the wrong side of the law. The 34-year-old was banned from
GOOD heavens! A derelict DIY store has been given a new lease of life - as a temporary church to hundreds of worshippers. Members of Bournemouth Family Church are praying amongst the former paint aisles at an empty B&Q store while, coincidentally, their
A LOG jump where a top horse rider was killed is likely to be removed from a cross country course. Sherelle Duke, 28, was fatally injured while competing in horse trials at Brockenhurst Park in the New Forest at the weekend. Her horse somersaulted and
DEVELOPERS of a £50 million restaurant and cinema complex overlooking Bournemouth Gardens have been asked to go back to the drawing board by civic planners. The borough's planning board last night deferred a decision to build West Central on the former
