JULIA’S House is looking for new supporters in the Shaftesbury and Sherborne areas. The Children’s Hospice has Friends Groups throughout the county that organise or help out at fundraising events, take collections, give talks and spread the
ONE tonne of humanitarian aid, collected by a Poole church congregation, has started its marathon road journey from South Africa to the Zimbabwean capital. The £15,000 cargo, including medicines, water purification systems and ambulance parts
BURGLARS have stolen £1,200-worth of horse-riding saddles from a struggling charity offering therapy for profoundly disabled people. Volunteers at Southfield Riding Group in Longham are reeling after offenders ripped padlocks off their stable
THE funeral of former Bournemouth East MP David Atkinson will be held in the town on Monday February 20. The service will be at Corpus Christi Church in Boscombe at noon. Family flowers only but donations can be made to Macmillan Caring
Yes folks, the next week has been dedicated to the lovely Bramley Apple. Seems a bit of an odd time, if you ask me, as it's not the beginning of the season for Bramleys but instead coming to the end of their season - but then, they're available
THESE two sets of twins know only too well the importance of giving blood which is why they are supporting the Echo’s Mine’s A Pint campaign. Clare Julyan, 39, of Merley has given more than 30 pints of blood since her first donation on her
A DRUG addict conned thousands of pounds out of vulnerable pensioners by telling them she could not afford food while using the money to fund her habit. Laura Crowhurst, 29, targeted five victims who in total handed out £4,050 because they
BOURNEMOUTH Conservatives look set to go for experience and a ‘safe pair of hands’ by choosing Cllr John Beesley as the next leader of the council. Deputy leader Cllr Beesley, who was installed as acting leader following Cllr Peter Charon’s
STRICT enforcement of disabled parking rules at a Bournemouth shopping park has led to a steady reduction in the number of offenders caught and fined. Bosses at Castlepoint believe that introducing a private enforcement company to monitor their disabled
THE Rock-A-Hula Club is bringing a new lease of life to one of Swanage’s most unlikely venues, The Royal British Legion. Swanage residents Dave Taylor and Jack Daniels are enticing acts from blues, jazz, folk and one-off comedy nights. The pair is
THEY are one of the hottest girl bands around and now The Saturdays are due to set the BIC stage alight. Tickets are on sale now for Wave 105 Live! which will see the girls joined by Dutch jazz singer Caro Emerald famed for hits including Back It Up
Angry Poole beach hut tenants have unanimously opposed council plans to restrict leases. A packed inaugural meeting of Poole Beach Huts Association, attended by 150 people, expressed outrage that Borough of Poole proposes to limit leases to five or 10
A generous and poignant tribute, by cellist Guy Johnston, of the Sarabande from Bach’s Cello Suite No1, was given in memory of Dr Peter Lowe, BCMS Chairman, whose sudden death was recently announced. In the programme Johnston was joined by pianist
PEOPLE that benefit the community, ex-forces personnel and residents on low incomes will move to the top of Bournemouth’s council house list under a planned shake-up. The council is currently reviewing how it allocates council housing in the
PEOPLE in Ferndown are being urged to help keep a popular annual fundraising event alive. The Relay for Life, at Ferndown Leisure Centre, raised £33,000 for Cancer Research UK’s vital work last year. But the committee has halved in size and fundraisers
THE wind farm proposed off the coast of Bournemouth and Poole could cost 500 jobs in Dorset’s tourism sector. Mark Smith, head of tourism for Bournemouth, gave the figure on Friday as councillors took evidence on the effect of the turbines
I WOULD just like to comment on how lucky we are in this area. Sadly, my sister passed away at the beginning of January and her wish was to die at home. With the help of the amazing Palliative Team, The Twilight Service and the Marie Curie Service I
WE WOULD like to thank you for sending us your used postage stamps. We have sorted them, cut them out neatly and sent them to the FSID (research into Cot Death). They sell them at stamp auctions and the money raised so far is £20,000. We also send
YOUR excellent newspaper often features the efforts of cash-strapped local councils to provide adequate services for the elderly. What prompts Christchurch Council, then, to allocate scarce resources to providing a mountain bike park in Highcliffe, where
After reading quite a lot of negative press regarding the quality of care in some care homes, I would like to let you know my experience. My wife, who is 82 and has been diagnosed with dementia, has been living at Castle Dene Care Home since May last
ALTHOUGH we may be sorry for the poor people who are fleeing their own overcrowded countries for a better life, if we do not control immigration Britain will be in the same situation eventually. This is already affecting employment, housing, hospitals
THE proposed steps to improve the safety of children going to and coming home from Sylvan First School is an excellent idea, but it has to be properly policed. Those of us who live close to Baden Powell Middle School in Whitecliff campaigned to have
WITH regard to Poole Council’s green bins, I must say how pleased I have been to partly pay for green bins at other residents’ houses for years when I have not had one myself. I do feel that the way green waste is handled in Poole is complete
COULD I draw attention to the absolutely diabolical standard of government we are being exposed to over the traveller sites issue. I refer particularly to the Park Road proposal in central Bournemouth. The residents of adjacent Cavendish
AS public relations cock-ups go, it’s somewhere in the middle of the range. The closure of the Canford Bottom roundabout yesterday after contractors apparently hit the main gas pipe through the site, was probably the last thing the Highways Agency would
A WOMAN was taken to hospital after being cut free from her car by firefighters on Saturday morning. The black Vauxhall Astra hatchback, registered to a Poole owner, came off Ringwood Road near Longham Bridge, at about 9.40am as it was travelling towards
A WOMAN and her family fled in terror from their blazing home after fire ripped through the first floor of the detached property. Police and fire crews were called to Hillmeadow in Verwood at about 8.40pm on Friday and found the blaze, which
THE millionaire’s playground of Sandbanks turned into a winter wonderland as sea water surrounding the peninsula iced over in the big freeze. Parts of Poole Harbour in Dorset turned into a skating rink after overnight temperatures dipped to
The £5.7m scheme at Canford Bottom, turning it into a ‘hamburger junction’ with around 18 sets of lights, has already proved controversial. The road will cut straight through the roundabout. It is being paid for by the government to improve the road
DOZENS of people were evacuated from their homes on Sunday after a major gas leak at the controversial A31 Canford Bottom roundabout. The alarm was raised around 9.45am on Sunday as eye-witnesses reported a huge “whooshing” sound of gas escaping
Six people were treated at Poole hospital after two cars collided on Lindsay Road in the early hours of Sunday morning. The vehicles were a grey Renault Clio driven by a man aged 18 and a silver Peugeot taxi driven by a male aged 37.
Seven people have been arrested in connection with an alleged armed raid at a Bournemouth bookies. The incident took place at Ladbrokes in Commercial Road last Tuesday. Those arrested are two women aged 19 and 36 and five men aged 46
Police are investigating a serious assault on a female at Upton on Friday. The incident took place around 4.45pm on a footpath off Sandy Lane. Police are appealing for witnesses and are especially keen to speak to a woman wearing a purple jumper and
THE sporting schedule was put on ice at the weekend as the big freeze took its toll on pitches throughout the area. Cherries’ League One clash with Exeter City was the first to fall victim after the Dorset club announced on Thursday that its efforts
CHERRIES star Shaun Cooper says he is close to winning his fitness battle but admits his next assignment could prove more challenging – reclaiming his place. Cooper has endured more than his fair share of misfortune with injury this season after suffering
BOSS Lee Bradbury has revealed striker Michael Symes decided against exercising a 12-month option in his contract with Cherries. Bradbury last week gave Symes the green light to join League One strugglers Rochdale, on a loan deal until the end of the
COVETED Cherries star Marc Pugh has shrugged off speculation linking him with a transfer – insisting he is in no hurry to leave Seward Stadium. Boss Lee Bradbury last week revealed a number of rival clubs had been looking at the club’s cultured playmaker
THE sleepy East Dorset town of Verwood is fast gaining a reputation as a hotbed of football talent. Local lad Matt Tubbs’s dream return to Cherries was greeted with approval in the town last week, but he is not the only Verwood-raised star playing in
IT’S time to Switch on to Skills in a campaign backed by the Dorset Employment and Skills Board and Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership. It aims to promote training, apprenticeships and skills opportunities to employers. Switch on to Skills runs
