THE number of motorists arrested for drink driving in Dorset this summer has risen by 30 per cent compared with a year ago. A total of 52 motorists have been arrested in two weeks with police in the middle of a month-long campaign in which
TWO firefighters running in aid of a good cause were joined by some of their colleagues for the Bournemouth leg of their challenge. Phil Jackson, 45, and Stuart Vince, 35, have been undertaking The Big Donor Challenge, which has seen them run
IT promises to be a feast fit for a king – and who better to get things cooking than Bournemouth’s very own Mayor Councillor Phil Stanley-Watts. As part of the Echo-backed Bournemouth Food and Drink Festival, the Mayor will join Flavours School of Cookery
A CRUEL wind blowing in from the high seas didn’t stop hundreds of pirates and landlubbers enjoying Harry Paye Day on Saturday. Old and young alike dug out their eye patches, cutlasses and hooks to hijack Poole Quay and celebrate the notorious
We often get questions about what our policy is on comments, so we thought we’d take the chance to clarify (thanks to deminimis of Weymouth for prompting this post.) For legal and staffing reasons, we’re not a moderated site. That means we
HUNDREDS of people lined the streets of Christchurch as a veterans’ parade marked the anniversary of the end of the Falklands War. Organised by the South Atlantic Medal Association 82, it saw veterans, joined by serving Marines, the Band of
EXACTLY how two firemen came to die while tackling a tower block blaze in Southampton will be heard in public for the first time next week as an inquest takes place into their deaths. A jury will be sworn to hear evidence about the night Red
THE safety of children, dogs and walkers is being put at risk by travellers taking over Poole’s open spaces, the Deputy Mayor says. Councillor Graham Wilson says residents and their animals were put in danger by travellers’ vehicles moving
Looking for some interesting links to brighten your weekend? Here are five of the best things we read this week.... • Eating a pain au chocolat with your morning coffee? Or luxuriating in a low-fat yoghurt safe in the knowledge it's the "healthy
HOW THATCHER cutbacks affected Scooby-Doo. The disturbing realities of worlds actually made of leather or the abstract noun ‘golf’. Welcome to the weird and wonderful mind of Stewart Lee. The stand-up’s latest show is based on the premise that
DESPITE some unhelpful weather, around 400 bikers turned up for the latest bike night at Poole Quay. The Coles Miller Dream Machines event enjoyed a visit from Custom Chrome on Tuesday. Tony Rempel from Bournemouth won the Bike of the Night title on
A TEAM from Keith Motors in Christchurch will attempt the challenge of a lifetime to raise funds for the Jigsaw Appeal for Women. Colin Walker, Jon Winter and Nick Finn will climb the three highest mountains in Scotland, England and Wales in
MORE than 330 primary school children will be getting into the Olympic Spirit by taking part in the Sherborne Area Primary Schools’ Mini-Games. The event, which has been organised by Sherborne Town Council, is being held to celebrate the Olympic Games
VISITORS to Moors Valley Country Park got a close-up look at live butterfly and moth displays at a special event. Experts from the Butterfly Conservation Society were on hand at the park, near Ringwood, to explain all about their life cycle
THERE’S still time to enter the Daily Echo backed Macmillan Dorset Bike Ride on July 1. Organisers have their hopes pinned on improving weather to ensure a good turnout for the annual fundraising event. There will be six different circular courses,
A TEAM from Keith Motors in Christchurch will attempt the challenge of a lifetime to raise funds for the Jigsaw Appeal for Women. Colin Walker, Jon Winter and Nick Finn will climb the three highest mountains in Scotland, England and Wales in 24 hours
THERE’S still time to enter the Daily Echo-backed Macmillan Dorset Bike Ride on July 1. Organisers have their hopes pinned on improving weather to ensure a good turnout for the annual fundraising event. There will be six different circular
A GROUP of 12 female DJs and restaurant staff will be running together in the Race for Life on Sunday. Tori Byrnes, 28, has pulled together staff from Coriander Mexican Restaurant, and the DJ collective, FRAU, that she is part of, in the hope
BURLY firefighters from across Dorset joined forces to pull a fire engine along Bournemouth promenade to Poole for causes close to their hearts. Off-duty crews from Westbourne, Poole, Springbourne, Redhill and Christchurch used muscle power to boost
POLICE want information after a victim had a second bike stolen in two weeks. The frame and wheel of a Specialized branded mountain bike was taken from a private alleyway on Wimborne Road in Winton. Thieves struck between Tuesday and
ANGRY ticket hopefuls confronted organisers when spaces for the Olympic torch celebrations on Bournemouth beach sold out. People started turning up at the BIC from 7am hoping to grab the free tickets available from 9am to see the flame arrive
ALISON Shelton, manager of the LV Streetwise Safety Centre in West Howe, has been awarded a British Empire Medal in the Queen’s birthday honours list. She has worked at the interactive safety education centre since November, 1998 benefiting thousands
BRYAN WALTER WILLIAMS aged 47 of Whatcombe Lane, Winterborne Whitechurch, Blandford Forum. Admitted driving an Audi on A341 Wimborne Road, Kinson in excess of 30mph. Conditional discharge for six months and licence endorsed with four points.
CRAIG DAVID DEAN LOMAS aged 21 of Moorlands Road, West Moors. Admitted failing to comply with the requirements of a community order by failing to work as directed. Previous community order revoked. Costs of £150. Community order made to be under curfew
KAROLINE COCKBURN aged 43 of Dorchester Road, Oakdale, Poole. Admitted using a colour TV without a licence. Fined £200. To pay victim surcharge of £15 and costs of £60. CLAIRE COWAN aged 37 of Sterte Court, Sterte Close, Poole. Admitted using a colour
AMY COTTON aged 18 of Poole Lane, Bournemouth. Admitted using a colour TV without a licence. Fined £200. To pay victim surcharge of £15 and costs of £60. SANDRA CROWE aged 40 of Northey Road, Bournemouth. Admitted using a colour TV without a licence.
THANKS to the Arab Spring and the outrageous doings of Sasha Baron Cohen’s General Admiral Aladeen, tyranny is, like the poor, very much on the agenda. It’s great that Colonel Gadaffi and other assorted despots have gone to the great torture
ALAS, poor weather has caused a change of location for Hamlet. The Lighthouse Poole has announced that the performances of Hamlet at Upton Country Park on Sunday and Monday will now take place in front of the beautiful backdrop of the house rather than
POLICE have still not confirmed the identity of the human remains found in an area of woodland in Lytchett Matravers this week, despite charging three people with Geoffrey Reed’s murder. A spokesman for the force said their investigation is
TEN drug dealers have been jailed for more than 50 years between them for conspiracies that flooded the Bournemouth and Poole area with hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of cocaine. Linked police investigations saw the local men brought
ARE more motorists drink-driving or is that increased traffic patrols have nabbed more offenders? No matter. The simple fact that 52 people were arrested for drink-driving on Dorset’s roads during the first two weeks of June is sobering enough. It’s
YOU couldn’t make it up. Sunday, June 10 a sign appeared at the A31 bypass: “Expect delays through July due to sailing events in Weymouth.” We have had delays/stoppages every day for the last year. Now it’s official – expect delays. During the Jubilee
PLEASE may I thank, via your newspaper, the very kind lads of Sainsbury’s in Ferndown who came to my aid when I tripped over in the foyer while shopping on Sunday afternoon. Also the off duty male nurse who also offered kind assistance. The icepack,
I WRITE to support the statements made by the police and council officers in Tuesday’s Echo, who are currently working in Boscombe on a range of projects which together will give a fresh start and begin to create a vibrant, healthy community in that area
WITH regard to your reference to ‘Frankenstein’ in Thursday’s edition, the American biologist, Stephen Jay Gould, in one of his collections of essays, points to the way in which the original conception has been distorted. In Mary Shelley’s book, the
I CAN assure your readers that Bournemouth Council has never had a policy of fining residents over putting out their bins at the “wrong” time. Your correspondent clearly lives outside of Bournemouth, as he mentions having black, blue and green bins.
THANK you for running the story about Dorset Scrapstore on Saturday, April 28. We have had very positive feedback in that we now have a number of new volunteers and some new contacts for materials. However, we are still looking for an alternative
THREE men appeared in court yesterday charged with murdering Boscombe man Geoffrey Reed. Stuart Raymond Wareham, 25, Benjamin Henry Walter, 21, and Lee Raymond Wareham, 32, are accused of murdering the 57-year-old. Prosecutor Tim O’Sullivan
A MAN, woman and baby escaped unharmed when an unattended chip pan caught light in their Wimborne home. Firefighters were called just after 9pm on Friday to Quarterjack Mews. Crews wearing breathing apparatus put out the fire, which
A 60-YEAR-old man escaped from his Poole home after a faulty gas fire caught light. Dorset Fire and Rescue Service was called on Friday to Alder Crescent on the Bloxworth Estate after a neighbour heard an alarm. The fire in the ground
FRIENDS and family of a popular local biker are paying tribute to him with a mass motorcycle rideout today. David Bartholomew, pictured, died in March in a collision on the A31 near Ferndown. Hundreds of bikers left Avon Heath Country
IN-FORM Kevin Spurgeon believes another European Senior Tour victory is “just around the corner” following a near-miss in Spain. It has been two-and-half years since he claimed his maiden title in Mauritius, but the Dorset star is confident
SIX-time European Challenge Tour winner Lee James won his maiden TP Tour Series title at Old Fold Manor. Despite several wins on the rival Jamega Tour last year, it was the first victory for James on the other British-based circuit.
CHAIRMAN Eddie Mitchell insists Cherries have no plans to offload any of their army of strikers – despite the imminent arrival of an eighth recruit. Cherries are hoping to complete the signing of a new frontman in the next few days after
PAUL Groves has revealed his desire to persuade star player Marc Pugh to pledge his long-term future to Cherries. Boss Groves is determined to help Cherries reach an agreement with Pugh as talks continue over a new contract at Dean Court. Cherries have
COACH Alan Willows is hoping Dorset can overturn the formbook as they bid to reach the semi-final of the MCCA Trophy. Dorset will be looking to book a place in the last four when they meet big guns Cheshire at Toft Cricket Club in Knutsford
