VERWOOD Leisure Centre has been sold to make way for a supermarket extension and a petrol station. Now East Dorset District councillors have agreed to a deal thrashed out between officers and Morrisons bosses over the freehold in Chiltern Drive
PEOPLE are always sponsoring exotic animals, so how about adopting your very own Olympian? The Great Britain Women’s Volleyball Olympic team experienced a bit of a bump in the road to 2012 glory when all their funding was cut. But the 16 strong-squad
THINK you can mix a good Bloody Mary? Then pit your recipe against bartenders, chefs, publicans and restaurateurs from across the county. The second annual Dorset’s Best Bloody Mary competition takes place at The Larder House in Southbourne
THE work experience service for Dorset has been scrapped after a Government funding cut, leaving some schools struggling to arrange placements. The Department of Education has withdrawn the Business Link grant that paid for a team to arrange
IT’S not too late to sign up to pedal around some of Dorset’s beautiful villages and raise money for a very good cause. England cricketing legend David Gower is encouraging cyclists to get on their bikes and support the 23rd Macmillan Dorset
CASH-strapped motorists could save as much as seven pence per litre on petrol if they shop around for their fuel, according to new figures. The brief dip in the price of petrol at the pumps appears to be over with the average cost of unleaded now 136.7p
As the heat dies down on the devastating fire on Upton Heath, a call has been made for a joint review to see if lessons can be learned. The wildfire, which raged across 200 acres of scarce heathland last Thursday and took 200 firefighters to
THE defence case in the Heather Barnett murder trial is now likely to start next week. It was due to start today but Mr Justice Burnett said the delay was nobody’s fault and “entirely unavoidable.” Prosecution has resumed. The trial
TWO Dorset MPs have won their fight for a public meeting on the Canford Bottom roundabout plans. Annette Brooke, MP for Mid-Dorset and North Poole, and Christchurch MP Chris Chope appealed to the transport secretary’s office to get the Highways
BUILDERS are to sound-proof a church so it won’t disturb revising students. They are doing the work at a development in Bournemouth. It will house a potentially “unique” combination – a 750-place church auditorium and 588 students. The church will
A FILM about a man having a midlife crisis may not sound too unusual, but when that man is troubled star Mel Gibson and he spends most of the film performing with a glove puppet on his hand, you know The Beaver is going to be pretty offbeat.
A CORONER has returned a verdict of accidental death after two Dorset men were killed in a plane crash. Pilot Shorland Hosking may have died a hero after diverting his plane away from a motor show at Thruxton, Winchester Coroners Court heard
WHEN Dee Ringsell took over the Chequers Inn two years ago, it soon became clear that it would take a labour of love to restore it to its former glory. From the outside rather modest and unassuming, the inn actually boasts a fascinating history
ACTION is being demanded on a notorious stretch of road where drivers have lost control and crashed into the wall of an MP’s country estate. South Dorset MP Richard Drax has called for safety measures to be put in place after two more drivers went into
WHO hasn’t watched former Britain’s Got Talent winners Diversity perform and thought “I wish I could dance like that”? Well a group of Dorset youngsters had the chance to do just that when they were invited to take part in an exclusive workshop at the
WHAT has King Arthur ever done for us? He’s kept quite a few Brit actors in work over the years and oh yes, given a satirical comedy team a hit movie. So Channel 4 were brave to have another stab at the tale with Camelot (Saturday, CH4, 9pm
THIS dramatic picture shows the conditions faced by the Poole lifeboat crews near the Bar Buoy when they went on a rough weather exercise in Poole Bay last Sunday morning. With near-gale force winds, gusting at 38 knots, the hardy volunteers
CHERRIES will kick off their League One campaign with a trip to Charlton Athletic - for the second season in a row. Lee Bradbury's men will travel to Brentford on Boxing Day, while newly-promoted Stevenage visit Dean Court on Tuesday, August 16. A tough-looking
RESIDENTS of a Poole estate fear a return to the troubled bad old days if a school for disruptive teenagers is placed in their neighbourhood. “It will kick off,” said one worried mum, fearful of the consequences if Turlin Moor provides education
I’D love to see a show at the Pier Theatre but unfortunately I can’t make it from the nearest car park. Fit friends would like to attend but inclement weather and a dreadful wind puts them off. Why not allow the driver of the car to dump his passengers
MY father worked for the war effort when I was child and was away from home most of the time, so I was brought up by a woman, my mother, who taught me the basic rules of good manners. If I am sitting on a tram, bus or train that is full and a woman
PREMIER Resort Title Weakened. Danger ahead. We’re seeing our claim to be the Premier Resort of the UK being weakened by the constant loss of attractions and amenities which the typical visitor to our resort expects to be available. We have no indoor
COUNCILS cannot afford to repair our roads but they can afford to keep installing more and more speed humps. C CLAYTON, Viking Way, Bournemouth
PLAINLY, while we have vindictive, cowardly idiots roaming our streets, air rifles need to be regarded as much of a dangerous weapon as an ordinary gun or rifle. OK, they are air-powered and the pellets are made of a lead alloy, but over the past few
I NOTICE in Tuesday’s Echo you carried an article saying tickets for pavement parking are issued at approximately one per week. On the previous page, you carried a report of a pedestrian being seriously injured by a car on Charminster Avenue. This
Why do the cafes put bins out every night? WITH the subject of rubbish collection rarely out of the headlines these days, I wonder if anyone at the council department responsible for waste management can explain why restaurants and late-night cafes
REGARDING the article in Tuesdays Echo (June 14) I just could not believe that Poole Council is considering charging £31 per year to collect garden rubbish, whereas in fact they are not collected yearly but six monthly, 15 times in fact.
NOISY neighbours, loud parties and barking dogs are among the most reported noise nuisances in Bournemouth, according to new council figures. The environmental health department received 1,415 noise complaints last year, compared with 1,220 during the
IT is more than half a century since John Osborne’s revolutionary kitchen sink drama arrived on stage at London’s Royal Court and blasted the world of theatre into a new era. Yet this 55th anniversary production of Look Back In Anger by Creative
JAMES Park is aiming to realise two ambitions in the coming months – to fire Bournemouth up the table and earn a regular place in the Dorset team. The Wimborne-based batsman will lead the Lions when they host St Cross Symondians at Chapel Gate tomorrow
JAMES Wood revealed it took less than 30 seconds for him to accept the Poole Town’s assistant manager’s job. Wood last month joined the Tatnam coaching staff after Steve Cuss left to take charge of Dolphins’ Southern League rivals Wimborne
FURIOUS parents have slammed plans to axe Mandarin lessons at a Bournemouth School. Boys at the East Way grammar school were told the language will be dropped from the curriculum at the end of this term. Parents say many Year 9 students
MAXIMUM man Chris Holder turned in a world class display to destroy Swindon Robins on their own patch last night. Holder was unbeaten at Blunsdon as Pirates claimed their second win on the road this week following Monday’s hugely impressive 46-44 triumph
BOSS Lee Bradbury admits interest in Cherries’ coveted stars presents a difficult balancing act but he insists: “It is a good problem to have.” Bradbury, who remains keen to keep his top players amid continuing speculation, believes it is flattering
POTENTIAL Cherries transfer target Adam Smith has admitted he faces a big decision over his future after receiving contract offers this summer. The Tottenham Hotspur right-back starred for Cherries during a loan spell at Dean Court last
WIMBORNE Road chief Matt Ford says Pirates are desperate to land the Elite League title – for injured Leigh Adams. Adams, the speedway legend who retired from the sport last season, is recovering after being involved in a serious crash during practice
