A GOOD Samaritan who gave a student a lift to a Bournemouth hotel was given a £75 ticket - for just pulling up on the forecourt. Simon Lewis, 43, a dental technician from Charminster, was among a number of drivers issued with the charge from NuPark at
HOTELIERS reacted with fury after tourism minister Margaret Hodge launched an attack on the industry. She claimed British hotels were expensive and of "worrying quality" in an interview with influential magazine Holiday Which? And her comments have
"I PLAN to buy everything I land on." Monopoly fan Stuart Yates' strategy seemed simple enough. But would it be enough to get Stuart one of four prized top places in the Bournemouth heat to get into the grand final in London -and then a shot at competing
THE last time I sat down at a school dinner table - around the time some bloke called George Bush was at war in the Middle East (hmmm, sounds familiar) - I distinctly remember tucking into a greasy bacon burger and a double portion of chips. This was
SCORES of anxious residents packed a public exhibition, yesterday, detailing controversial housing plans on a former toxic landfill site. The land, off Kellaway Road and Verity Crescent, Canford Heath, Poole, is earmarked for 120 homes. Many neighbours
COMMERCIAL property landlords across Dorset are threatening to make empty premises unsuitable to rent in a bid to escape paying business rates in worsening trading conditions. Jonathan Sibbett, director of commercial property agents, surveyors and town
Bournemouth's former world champion ballroom dancer Karen Hardy is set to put sparkle and excitement back into our weekends as she returns to our TV screens for her fifth series of Strictly Come Dancing. And she told the Echo she is absolutely thrilled
BLOOMING boroughs from across Dorset are celebrating awards for civic pride. The annual In Bloom competition has seen green-fingered residents of Boscombe, Shaftesbury, Swanage, Upton, Wareham and Wimborne rewarded. Boscombe was rewarded for an "outstanding
THREE months of work starts on Monday (September 8) to replace a water main underneath a main road. Wessex Water said the pipe along the A352 Wareham Road needed replacing, as it was 40 years old and prone to bursting. It runs beneath the middle of
I've never really been a fan of toilet humour. I have, however, experienced some terrifying toilets in my time. Mostly in France, either in small towns on the Somme that would have made the first day of the Battle of the Somme look preferable, or in
ON the face of it, the three steps to sensible parking enforcement as outlined on Nupark's website appear reasonable enough. Nupark, to refresh your memory, is the company behind the parking controversy at the White Heather pub in Ferndown where landlady
PROMOTION hopefuls Bournemouth Lions look well positioned for a title tilt after capturing former Samoan international fly-half Ngapaku-Ngapaku. The number 10, who has joined from National League Havant, adds experience and talent to the Lions backline
DANIEL Lloyd (An Post/Sean Kelly) tried his best to stop the Tour of Ireland being a Mark Cavendish (Team Columbia) whitewash and thrilled spectators with a brave attack on the third stage from Ballinrobe to Galway. After the first two stages had finished
FOR me it isn't a holiday unless there's a bit of adventure involved. But this year the realities of household bills and fresh memories of 24 hours spent in Heathrow's Terminal 5 made a break close to home unusually appealing. My eager boyfriend quickly
A CHARITY has issued a warning about the dangers of meningitis as students begin to return to school, college and university for a new term. The Meningitis Trust is urging all parents, students and teachers to be vigilant of the signs and symptoms of
POST Office chiefs faced Blandford residents to learn what the closure of threatened counters will mean to the town. A public meeting at the Larksmead Pavilion heard concerns voiced by local people about counters at Salisbury Road and Bland-ford Camp
TWENTY cows and a bull on a road near Wimborne brought traffic to a standstill on Thursday morning. The cattle escaped a field close to the Fox and Hounds pub near the B3073 just before 9.30am. Frustrated motorists lit up the police switchboard with
AN elderly man had to be rescued when his powered buggy overturned on a section of dug-up pavement in Christchurch. Holidaymaker Sue Gaskin, from Derbyshire, said 100-yard sections of the pavement on both sides of the road at Stanpit had been excavated
CALLS from planning officers to build on east Dorset's green belt have been fiercely opposed by councillors. Anxious residents packed out East Dorset District Council's public gallery on Wednesday as members debated green belt land use and the affordable
CHERRIES' luckless new signing Alan Connell is set to be sidelined for between six and eight weeks due to a knee injury. The striker will go under the surgeon's knife on Tuesday after a scan revealed he had sustained a torn cartilage. Connell damaged
CHERRIES skipper Darren Anderton heralded the dawn of the Jimmy Quinn era and declared: "We're looking forward to the new regime." Anderton, appointed captain by Kevin Bond a year ago, has seen more than his fair share of managerial comings and goings
IN true Frank Sinatra fashion, Jimmy Quinn is vowing to manage Cherries My Way'. But the Ulsterman, a prolific striker during his playing days, says he has also learned much from a long line of illustrious tutors. Leading goalscorer during his one season
CHERRIES' luckless new signing Alan Connell was last night waiting to discover the full extent of a knee injury. Connell damaged his left knee just minutes into his first training session with the club at the end of last week. The striker, who completed
FOLLOWING recent incidents when a child was bitten and a dog died from venom, walkers are being urged to be adder aware when out and about on Dorset's heaths. Dorset Wildlife Trust and the Urban Heaths Partnership have issued advice on adders, one of
MAGNUS Zetterstrom admitted he was lucky to escape without injury after a nasty first-bend fall during Pirates' terrific 56-36 home Knockout Cup triumph over Coventry last night. Then he said Poole Castle Cover would not be "taking anything for granted
Happy As A Sandbag, Regent Centre, Christchurch EXACTLY 69 years to the day after the Second World War began, and precisely at 19.39 hours, this bitter-sweet whistle-stop musical tour through the 1939-45 period began, having first disgorged its participants
THEY say the property market is shrinking - but try telling that to the wealthy of Poole's Sandbanks. A Russian tycoon has defied the property crash by splashing out nearly £10 million to have a six-year-old mansion demolished to make way for a bigger
CHRIS Holder produced one of those magical moments that will live long in the memory as Pirates took a giant step towards prising the Knockout Cup away from holders Coventry last night. The Aussie ace has already pulled off some amazing tricks at Wimborne
