ADRIAN Todd’s Olympic ambitions remain firmly on course after he became national champion in three events in his native Botswana. The Bournemouth-based 16-year-old recorded a string of personal best times as he won the 50 and 100m freestyle and 50m butterfly
TESS Carter will be heading for her second ASA National Youth Championships this summer after striking gold six times over at the Bournemouth Level 2 Open Meet. The 15-year-old from Swim Bournemouth collected six gold medals and one silver
POOLE Pirates' Elite League meeting against Belle Vue Aces at Wimborne Road tonight has been postponed due to a waterlogged track. Promoters called the meeting off at 5.15pm this evening.
A 29-year-old woman from Christchurch has died in hospital from injuries sustained in an accident on a section of the A338 near Fordingbridge this morning. The woman, whose black Citroen Saxo was overturned by the force of a head-on collision
A CANCELLED major rock concert that was set to take place in Ringwood this summer will go ahead in 2012, say organisers. Ringwood Rocks was recently called off following difficulties in finalising the arrangements for the event, which was due to take
TELEVISION presenter Ben Fogle has teamed up with Swanage lifeboat volunteers for a show highlighting RNLI heroes. The programme, to be aired later this month on the History Channel, features the Swanage’s RNLI crew and members of the town’
A POOLE businessman has received a suspended prison sentence after he admitted being involved in illegal money lending. Bournemouth Crown Court heard how property developer John Samtani, 61, had loaned money to several people including a building firm
A POETRY-writing soldier has given an insight into life on the front line and how the deaths of comrades made him question the war. Captain Noel Swales from Lulworth gave a lecture at Bovington Tank Museum to mark the launch of its new exhibition, Battlegroup
A SPECIAL regatta has been held to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Mudeford Sailing Club. The small, family-friendly club operates from a Dutch barge moored next to Strides Boatyard on Fisherman’s Bank in Mudeford. The barge is the third clubhouse
ESSEX Fashion Week, as debuted on ITV2’s The Only Way is Essex, is coming to Sandbanks. Reality TV stars Amy Childs, Mark Wright and Lydia Bright could be among those strutting their stuff on the catwalk at the June extravaganza. For
STAFF and pupils at Portfield School’s residential facility are celebrating after the provision was awarded “outstanding” in their latest Ofsted inspection. The service, which offers up to 52 weeks flexible boarding, was praised for its specialist support
DORSET’S Trading Standards chief has welcomed calls for a crackdown on rogue traders, with their victims given greater powers to get their money back. The Law Commission, which reviews and reforms laws in England and Wales, says scams and rip-offs are
I RECENTLY visited my daughter in Poole and as part of the week-end celebration for my 60th birthday I booked lunch at the Guildhall Tavern, Market Street, Poole. The service from Severine and her staff was first class. I have been in the seafood business
THE BBC said the reason for giving all its measurements in metric is that our children are taught at school in metric, and that to use British imperial measurements would confuse them. Did anyone ask you whether you wished your children to be taught
AM I the only one to find the phenomenon of shop mobility scooters a nuisance? They seem to have monopolised the Dolphin Centre in recent years. What really annoys me is the number of seemingly able-bodied pensioners whizzing around on them and loutishly
IT IS very difficult to those of us now at a certain age to watch our area being destroyed. For example, Canford Bottom. I remember that as a simple main road (A31) well before the dual carriageway. There was the Fox Inn and Colehill and Stapehill were
CONGRATULATIONS to David Cameron and his wife for setting an example in these harsh economic times by flying Ryanair and staying at a moderately-priced hotel for Mrs Cameron’s two-night birthday treat to Spain this week. Can anyone imagine Tony Blair
DID you ever serve on board any of the light fleet carriers HMS Bulwark, HMS Albion, or HMS Centaur? Our association – the HMS Bulwark Albion Centaur Association – is open to anyone who served at any time on these ships. We run events including AGM/social
I’M afraid GA Walker in his letter in last week’s Echo is wrong in saying the Vulcan bomber successfully destroyed the runway in Stanley. I served with the Royal Engineers during the Falklands campaign, so my understanding of events is as follows: The
I BROUGHT my elderly mother to my place today. She had to go up to the second floor by lift. That lift was adorned by a very large mirror. My mother saw herself in full bloom. She said to me: “You never told me that I looked so old!” I replied that
ALMOST 13 years ago, my first ‘public engagement’ as editor of this newspaper was the press launch of Bournemouth’s most eagerly-anticipated attraction. The town’s movers and shakers were in attendance, along with the PR gurus and creators
WAITING at a bus stop at Pottery Junction yesterday morning I was very nearly hit by a cyclist who was trying to avoid a young girl who was also at the bus stop with her mother. He did not even stop to apologise. When are the police going to take action
VOLUNTEERS who have run Wimborne’s Allendale Community Centre for 33 years have agreed to stay until June – soon after walking out over a funding row. The four-strong committee of the Wimborne and District Community Association will stay in post until
PLAYERS from Bournemouth Rugby Club will be making an emotional journey to Birmingham on Tuesday to say a final farewell to their teammate Sam Yarwood. Some of them will help to carry Sam’s coffin to the church and crematorium services.
THE Gascony region is one of France’s best kept secrets full of picturesque sleepy villages, long flowing rivers, gastronomy and, most importantly, top wine offerings.… Pujalet, Vin de Pays du Gers 2009/10 £4.99 Waitrose A great value white made up
THE horror begins with a loose grip on the iPhone, five bags of shopping and hard unforgiving concrete, a scene of devastation that will bring a tear to the eye of every 21st century man about town. The shards of broken glass reflected the look of disbelief
A “SADISTIC” attacker who threatened to kill a terrified man in his own home and eat his body parts has been locked up indefinitely. Bournemouth Crown Court heard how George Hopkins had bound and gagged Stephen Tate, repeatedly assaulted him
FOLLOWING some exciting heats and an impressive array of contenders, the Dorset Music Awards final is coming to O2 Academy Bournemouth on Saturday, April 23, to find the winner of the contest and celebrate the best of the South Coast’s musical talent.
UNLESS you knew Karen Hatchard’s medical history, you would never know anything was wrong. The glamorous 57-year-old mum looks full of the joys of spring. But that’s because she spends ten and a half hours every night attached to a dialysis machine
FIREFIGHTERS dashed to a burning bus on a busy Poole road on Wednesday morning. Two crews from Poole were on scene at Constitution Hill within six minutes of several 999 calls at 7am. They used breathing apparatus, hose reel jets and
TAXI drivers in Bournemouth say passengers are being put at risk by rogue operators. A group of drivers for United Taxis say that cars from outside the borough are hijacking their pick-ups by collecting passengers that have booked with them. They say
Even though I do a weekly menu plan, sometimes life just conspires against me and insists on throwing all my plans into disarray. I’d had a big taste of that disarray last week, which meant that two recipes had been carried over to this week.
The weather can fool you into thinking that it's May not April and I had a mild panic thinking that I was late in sowing my vegetables in the greenhouse, until I realised that this warm weather had confused me for a moment. Nevertheless
MARKETING a structure once voted England’s most hated building may seem a daunting task. But if location is the key then Bournemouth’s Waterfront building has much to offer, according to the firm appointed to find tenants for the landmark.
IT didn’t start well for Eliza Doolittle on the final date of her first headlining tour at Bournemouth’s O2 Academy. With the audience cheering expectantly as the chirpy girl-next-door appeared on stage in beribboned shorts and a pink crop
A large area of woodland along Redhill Avenue in Bournemouth was sealed off on Tuesday night after another day of intense police activity. Officers were posted every few yards along a 500 yard stretch of road at around 11pm and it’s understood
STAR midfielder Micky Hubbard has accused rival Wessex League clubs of being jealous of Poole Town’s continued success. And the former Cherries apprentice also claims some opponents have been revelling in the Dolphins’ failure to reach Wembley
PIRATES chief Matt Ford believes in-form Chris Holder is worth a wager ahead of this year’s world championship. The 2011 Grand Prix series gets under way on April 30 with the European round in Leszno, before moving on to Gothenburg for the Swedish GP
CHERRIES assistant boss Steve Fletcher believes the arrival of Martin Allen has given added emphasis to the latest instalment of the Notts County crunch. A colourful and controversial figure, Allen will take charge of the Magpies when Cherries
TALKS seem to have stalled between Poole Yacht Club and Poole Harbour Commissioners over controversial plans for a new harbour marina. While the club digests “new information” and postpones indefinitely its vital vote on the proposals, the
