DISAPPOINTED campaigners booed councillors at Christchurch after a decision was made on the future of their beloved Druitt Hall. The Friends of Druitt Hall, formed to help prolong the life of the dilapidated building in the town centre, waved
A FASHIONABLE swap shop event will be held to raise funds for The Wessex Autistic Society on March 3. Bournemouth University students will be holding the event which gives people the chance to swap their old clothes with someone elses.
IT has been a long goodbye for one of the longest-serving NHS chief executives, who has stepped down after 20 years. Roger Browning chose not to have a big leaving presentation, but instead visited as many of Dorset HealthCare University NHS
MORE than three tonnes of unwanted textiles have been saved from landfill thanks to eco-minded school pupils. Twelve schools are currently reusing or recycling their unwanted textiles as part of the Green Goals Rags to Riches recycling competition
A CHARITY set up in memory of fallen Ferndown Royal Marine Lieutenant John Thornton has raised its first £250,000. The John Thornton Young Achievers Foundation was set up following the 22-year-old’s death in Afghanistan in 2008 to support young
A monitoring inspection by Ofsted which found satisfactory progress at a Poole school has been greeted as “extremely positive” by its new head. Jim Williams took charge of the 300-pupil Turlin Moor Community School at Hamworthy in January and the inspector
CREATIVE school pupils have risen to the challenge of designing a fitting memorial to Red Arrows pilot Jon Egging. Young pupils at Kinson Primary School are among those eager to help create a tribute to the 33-year-old Red Arrow pilot, who
When the going gets tough, the tough get soppy in Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, an old-fashioned, gung-ho adventure based loosely on Jules Verne. Father figures bond with spirited children, grown men cry and screenwriters Brian Gunn and Mark Gunn
Chris Huhne has resigned as Energy and Climate Change Secretary after being charged with perverting the course of justice over allegations that he asked his ex-wife to take a speeding penalty for him. Mr Huhne and his former wife, economist
As weakling Peter Parker discovered to his cost before his transformation into web-spinning superhero Spider-Man, with great power comes great responsibility. Three high school students learn a similarly harsh lesson in Josh Trank’s low-budget sci-fi
BOURNEMOUTH’S most famous hotel faces an uncertain future after it was put up for sale. De Vere Hotels has confirmed it has put the four-star Royal Bath on the market along with two other major venues. The company has said the sales will help fund the
The National Trust had a bumper December with more than half-a-million visitors to its properties, a 74 per cent increase on the previous year. The trust, whose property in the area include Corfe Castle, Studland beach, Kingston Lacy and Brownsea Island
A COUNCIL panel looking into the potential effects of the Poole Bay wind farm will hear evidence from a Bournemouth MP and an MEP tomorrow. Both Tobias Ellwood, MP for Bournemouth East, and Giles Chichester, the MEP for the South West and Gibraltar
“KILL the pig, cut his throat, spill its blood,” goes the chant from William Golding’s classic novel, Lord of the Flies. For actor Daniel Buckfield it’s a phrase that heralds his violent demise. “I get bludgeoned to death and then pushed off a cliff
For old times' sake, a host of top DJ’s are returning to the O2 Academy Bournemouth for The Superheroes of Slinky. The billing includes international DJ’s Judge Jules and Lisa Lashes plus a host of other favourites. Speaking to the Daily
DON’T Believe The Hype as Public Enemy once sang. Lana Del Rey has been tabloid fodder for the last three months, so let’s get down to the music on her debut album. Song titles Dark Paradise and Summertime Sadness sum up the sexy, summery and
THE Manic Street Preachers once said that Snow Patrol were ‘the most boring band in Britain’. A little harsh, but it’s easy to see how they could think that. Talking with Snow Patrol bassist Paul Wilson, you soon find that Snow Patrol
TWO devoted Christchurch teachers are pooling the talents of the local arts community to help raise funds for a cause close to their hearts. Art teachers Pippa Burnard and Gary Mant from Twynham and Highcliffe are organising a special art exhibition
THE lure of exotic Asian cuisine has seen droves of hungry diners flocking to Bournemouth restaurant chain Koh Thai. The first Koh Thai Tapas restaurant opened in Boscombe in late 2009 and soon became a fashionable night-spot. Spurred
BOURNEMOUTH old boys The Superimposers are faced with a modern dilemma. Which format do they release their latest EP? You see Miles Copeland and fellow Superimposer Dan Solo also run their own record label called Wonderful Sounds. “We
AT least 105 more lives will be saved thanks to kind-hearted Echo readers who have signed up to give blood since we launched our Mine’s A Pint campaign last month. Latest figures show a 12 per cent increase in the number of people who have
AN unemployed Poole man has been jailed for 33 months after admitting a string of burglaries. Ian Paul Collins, 31, pleaded guilty to 13 break-ins in the Poole, Parkstone and Bourne Valley areas. He was arrested on Tuesday, January 10 following an investigation
CHERRIES' clash with Exeter City at Seward Stadium tomorrow has been postponed due to a frozen pitch, the club has confirmed. The playing surface at Dean Court has been covered all week, while volunteers yesterday covered the ground with a
THE finishing touches are being put to Poole’s Twin Sails Bridge, which is due to open at the end of this month. With the wands being fitted to the top of the lifting leaves, each is now 55 metres high – taller than Hardy’s Monument, Nelson
A MUM whose son’s brain was retained after he died in 1994 wants to know why the practice is still taking place. Ryan Lee was one of triplets born prematurely at Poole Hospital in 1994. His mum Sue said he was given an overdose of a heart drug and died
A LONG-standing £50m cinema and restaurant scheme is set to be scrapped so the land can be used for a town centre bus station instead. Bournemouth councillors are expected to formally pull the plug on the West Central scheme at their cabinet
A RETIRED teacher from Poole has been accused of indecency offences in Cambodia. Reginald Blakeley, 70, now faces trial in tourist capital Siem Reap, where the penalty for those found guilty of such offences can be up to three years in jail and a fine
AN 11-year-old schoolboy was shot in the back of the head with a plastic pellet gun in a Bournemouth classroom. An investigation has been launched at Winton Arts and Media College into the incident, which has led to the suspension of another Year 7 boy
THERE’S nothing quite like a hearty, traditional Sunday lunch to cheer you up on a wintry weekend. And few places are more inviting than the picture-postcard Alice Lisle Inn, situated in glorious countryside on the edge of the New Forest at Rockford.
A semi-professional footballer from Bournemouth admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm when he appeared before Bournemouth Crown Court. Rico Wilson, who plays for Dorchester Town, pleaded guilty to inflicting GBH to Sebastian McWilliams. The 20-year-old
A central defender or right-back, Bowles was signed by AFC Bournemouth from Dorchester Town in August, for a transfer fee understood to have been around £4,000. Cherries sent Bowles straight back to Dorchester on a season-long loan.
JUBILENT supporters of Kelly’s Kitchen celebrated on Thursday night after councillors voted to allow the cafe to move into the former Jarvis Radio premises. The U-turn, following recommendations by officers to refuse the change of use for the
AN AFC BOURNEMOUTH footballer who was convicted of attacking his former partner was given a suspended prison sentence when he appeared before a domestic violence court. Gary Stephen Bowles grabbed his victim’s throat as she lay in bed, banged
IT was announced this week that there has been a decrease in reported crimes in England and Wales over the last year. But I suspect that this has less to do with fewer crimes having been committed and more to do with the fact that the public have come
THE letter “What’s happened to council homes?” (Have Your Say, January 30) letter suggests that Bournemouth Borough Council is failing to provide much-needed housing, which is untrue. Bournemouth is actively engaged in a programme to provide additional
There is has been much comment in the Echo in recent days about the results of St. Aldhelm’s Academy. As the MP for this part of Poole I know the school and its surrounding area well. I have worked very closely with the new principal Cheryl Heron and
I WAS so sorry to read of the demise of ex-MP Mr David Atkinson. He was such a lovely man, always very courteous, even though my political beliefs were not the same as his. Not once did he chide me because of mine. He was a customer of mine. He got
BOSCOMBE is not finished. I live here, and have never been pestered by salesmen or drunks. The majority of people outside cafes are normal people enjoying their coffee and watching the world go by. The shops that have gone either could not renew their
I DRIVE past the airport most days and thought what a good idea the new cycle path was. For a long time now I have worried about driving home at sunset, because there is a point, at the end of runway by Chapel Gate, where the sun totally blinds you,
IT saddens and annoys me how bad planning over the years has destroyed Bournemouth. I remember how nice the town used to be in the late ’70s and early ’80s. There were cinemas and an ice rink in Westover Road, large discotheques such as the Maison
PEDESTRIANS who try to cross The Square into the Lower Gardens in Bournemouth at a certain time of day can often have their journey delayed by a stream of buses trying to get in and out of Gervis Place. And in turn, bus drivers and their
THE owner of a fledgling restaurant says Borough of Poole rates are “crippling” his business. Ali Khan, the proprietor of the Cococabana restaurant at Canford Heath’s Adastral Square, has been hit with a £3,000 bill just weeks after opening. “I’ve asked
A SEASIDE hotel could be bulldozed to make way for a major redevelopment scheme on Bournemouth’s West Cliff. Plans have been submitted to replace the Bournemouth International Hotel and Ocean Palace restaurant on Priory Hill with a new larger eaterie
BIG-money signing Matt Tubbs is aiming to become a local hero with Cherries – but admits he first has to prove his worth at Seward Stadium. Tubbs is eager to get the chance to impress the Cherries faithful in tomorrow’s clash against Exeter City. Although
BOSS Steve Riley is hoping Bashley’s morale-boosting midweek victory over Chesham can act as a springboard to the start of a revival. Riley had been coming under mounting pressure after a dispiriting run of one win in 14 had seen Bash hurtle down the
BOSS David Dunn insists Bourne-mouth must be ready for a demanding physical confrontation against no-nonsense Newton Abbot. The Lions director of rugby is expecting the Devon outfit to pose a challenge up front when the teams lock horns at Chapel Gate
BOSS Lee Bradbury has tasked his class of 2012 with living up to expectations as Cherries look to gatecrash the League One play-off party. Bradbury this week put the finishing touches to his new-look squad by clinching the signings of Matt Tubbs and
PROLIFIC Cherries striker Wes Thomas is aiming high as he looks to maintain his rich vein of goalscoring form. Thomas has plundered 10 goals in 19 starts since stepping into League One for the first time in his career in September. The 24-year-old,
CHERRIES boss Lee Bradbury is unlikely to add to his squad once the emergency loan window has reopened – but says he will consider letting players go. Bradbury bolstered his resources by drafting in seven new signings during the transfer window, with
GLENN Burnett is confident that New Milton Town and AFC Bourne-mouth will reap the benefits of their continuing link-up. Cherries work experience trio Alex Moth, Harrison Gilkes and Ryan Case are cutting their teeth in senior football with
GRAHAM Kemp believes Tom Jeffes’s brief spell at Hurn Bridge can prove to be a winning scenario for both Christchurch and Wimborne Town. The former Priory striker has joined his old club, on dual registration, in a bid to enhance his match fitness.
