Ferndown firefighters, called to Boundary Lane, Matchams, just after 3pm on Thursday, found an area of burning heathland, including trees and scrub. Another engine from Ringwood and a Land Rover from Ferndown were sent to the scene and the
A CHRISTCHURCH family have thrown their weight behind a campaign to save Southampton’s heart surgery unit. Tamara Armstrong and her husband Ian are urging others support the fight to save the high-quality heart unit after their son Eden was
CIVIC officials in Wareham have agreed to mark the Royal British Legion’s landmark 90th anniversary with a street party on the Queen’s Official Birthday weekend. The Wareham Great Poppy Street Party will take place in East Street, close to the town hall
REGULAR readers may have noticed that my blog submissions have been a little erratic over the last few weeks; this has been due to holidays, being out of my usual routine and general laziness! I hope that I will get back into a routine fairly soon
CABINET bosses at Dorset County Council have been given a “red alert” on projects that are not on track to deliver vital savings as the council bids to save £55million over three years. The council has about 160 projects under way in its Meeting Future
ONE of the Royal Navy’s finest will sweep into Poole on Friday. Visitors will be able to board HMS Cattistock, which has just returned from a seven-month tour in the Gulf, over the weekend. The mighty 750-tonne vessel is used on anti-mine missions
POOLE-based midwife Louise Mulcahy used to teach geography and PE, but shows no sign at all of missing her old job in a Home Counties prep school. After her youngest daughter was born 11 weeks prematurely, she spent long periods of time at her local
WHILE two million people anxiously wait on London 2012 ticket news, a pregnant Bournemouth doctor has been announced as one of the first 500 spectators worldwide to win a dream ticket to next year’s Olympics. Jane Adams, 34, has secured a chance to potentially
GRAVE concerns over the future of Christchurch town centre’s vitality led to councillors refusing an application for a major supermarket in Somerford. The application for outline planning permission for the former Stylesouth Interiors site in Somerford
CHILDREN were in a primary school playground when a naturist wearing only his training shoes and socks cycled past, Bournemouth magistrates heard yesterday. Electrical engineer Richard Collins, 54, was arrested later that day as he prepared
POLICE are appealing for the owners of a dog responsible for killing a swan on the River Stour to come forward. The mute swan was attacked at 6.45pm on Saturday, while sitting on a nest downstream from the Iford Weir at Christchurch.
Children love gardening. Getting their hands dirty, digging and especially watering, so with this in mind, I have been testing some gardening tools designed for mini gardeners and I have found two companies, who have approached these children’s
THE residents of Bournemouth are a cheerful bunch. People love living in Bournemouth so much they have voted it as one of the happiest places to live in the UK. A new study has been launched offering a guide to the happiest places to
Blueberry Muffins 250g plain flour Half tsp salt 4 tsp baking powder Half tsp ground cinnamon 75g light muscovado sugar 2 eggs, beaten 75g butter, melted 150ml milk 250g blueberries
A HIGHLY-trained Royal Artillery Commando who toured in Afghanistan and Iraq has been named as the motorcyclist who died on the A31 last Friday. Flowers have been left at the spot between Stag Gate and the Worlds End pub where Warren Jackson
THERE will be more tears, tantrums and bloodshed in the boardroom as 16 hapless hopefuls try to catch the eye of Lord Sugar in the new series of The Apprentice. But this year the prize is not a job with a six-figure salary, but a start-up fund
A TEAM of people behind plans for a free school in the Bournemouth and Poole area will submit detailed plans to the government in two weeks. More than 500 parents have registered an interest in the proposed new school, which will follow the Montessori
A NEW show is aiming to put the soul back into Bournemouth. Arriving direct from the USA, The Magic of Soul and Motown features the music of Aretha Franklin, James Brown and Tina Turner. Not to mention Diana Ross, Marvin Gaye, Michael Jackson, Stevie
AS the fever surrounding social media continues unabated, such as the massive publicity that accompanied Twitter's fifth anniversary last month, it’s great to see that it’s not just the trendy ad-agencies in London benefiting from these new communications
WHY are we sending millions each day to the profligate European Union when our own country is in financial difficulties. Several countries in the eurozone are also in dire financial difficulties. Is this as a result of their membership of the eurozone
I WOULD like to say many thanks to the Bournemouth football club and chairman for sponsoring the coaches to Hartlepool Saturday. They did not have to but they did… and the supporters were great. DAVE SMITH, Shakespeare Road, Bournemouth
I EXPECT that, in the last few days, most readers will have had visits from prospective council candidates. Yesterday I was in that situation and, in discussions, the subject of church came up. The candidate, who wanted me to vote for him, said that
I WAS a ‘tad’ disappointed at the amount of interest shown at the commemoration of the 25 years of the Chernobyl disaster down at Baiter Park (April 26). After reading about it in the Echo, I really did think it was going to be a bigger turnout than
Dave Wells, in the Echo on April 28, says there are too many rehabilitation centres in Boscombe, hindering regeneration. But rehab comes AFTER treatment. Effective treatment is residential, very long term and very expensive, e.g. Gilead in Devon charge
I AM writing in reference to the article ‘One in five miss out on preferred school’ to comment that in my local area the statistics are even worse than the headline suggests. In Parkstone, for Courthill First School, only 60 per cent of children who
WARREN Jackson was a hero and not just to his young son and the rest of his family and friends. As a Royal Artillery Commando, he served his country in both Afghanistan and Iraq – part of a distinguished career in the military which is outlined in detail
IT’S the biggest day in politics since the general election. Polling stations are open until 10pm today as the public not only choose their elected representatives but also take part in a nationwide referendum. Thousands of council seats
MORE than 40 fire fighters were called to a thatch fire at acottage in Winterbourne Tomson, near Blandford on Wednesday night. Eight crews used hose reel jets and breathing apparatus to extinguish the fire, with 10 appliances attending the
AN ELECTION day row has kicked off between councillors and officers in Bournemouth over a decision not to serve alcohol at tonight’s count. In particular, two independent councillors seeking re-election are angry at the decision to close the
A visit to the Ukraine may not be on everyone’s itinerary, so conductor Kirill Karabits’ passion for his native land inspired this assembly of music; rather like bringing the mountain to Poole! And living as he did under its shadow, Karabits brought
ALL eyes were on the birthday boy but it was Chris Holder who stole the show at Wimborne Road. Darcy Ward, deservedly the centre of attention in recent weeks, was the talk of the town as he prepared to line up for Pirates on his 19th birthday. Ward
DORSET-based commentary legend Dave Lanning has declined an invitation to make a farewell appearance in his home town tonight. The 888.com Premier League darts arrives in Bournemouth this evening for its popular appearance at the BIC. Lanning, 73, was
THE world's best darts players return to Bournemouth tonight, as the 888.com Premier League Darts visits a sold-out BIC for the latest night in the roadshow event. The Premier League, which runs from February-May featuring the world's leading eight players
SWIM Bournemouth’s Tess Carter and Naomi Vides both struck gold at Millfield as they improved their qualifications for the National Youth Championships. Carter, 15, qualified fastest from the heats of the 14-15yrs 200m butterfly in 2:26.64, which gives
RISING star Danny Ings has been nominated for the April League One player-of-the-month award. The homegrown striker has emerged as an important player for Cherries this season in his first year in the professional ranks. Ings, 18,
POOLE’S relay girls made themselves contenders for national qualification with a bronze-winning performance in the South West Youth Championships at Millfield. The 4x100m freestyle quartet of Fiona Hardie, Dani Burry, Katie Mills and Courtney Rowan were
EXPERTS were called out to deal with a hive of African bees that was discovered on a plane flown into Bournemouth Airport. The insects were discovered in the tailfin of a private plane and the National Bee Unit was asked to investigate.
