Archive

  • Shock over £6.5m children's care bill in Dorset

    DORSET council taxpayers are footing a bill of more than £6.5million to send children to residential care in other areas. The 89 children have to be placed at specialist schools and residential centres which can cope with their needs. Bournemouth council

  • RNLI lifeguards to launch beach safety patrols

    RNLI lifeguards will launch their safety patrols on beaches across Dorset from Saturday. Local beaches include Poole Bay and Christchurch. Barry Heathfield, RNLI divisional lifeguard manager for Dorset, said: “Our lifeguards are busy

  • Time for clock display at Moors Valley Country Park

    AN unusual exhibition of unique wooden wall clocks is currently on display at Moors Valley Country Park. Local craftsman Mark Nobes lives in the New Forest and makes all his clocks from timber sourced in and around the area. The exhibition will run

  • Ringwood teenager to be VIP at Silverstone Grand Prix

    A RINGWOOD teen is ready to be a VIP at the Grand Prix at Silverstone this weekend. Samuel Cheetham, 13, is Bernie Ecclestone’s special VIP guest for the 2012 Formula 1 Santander British Grand Prix at Silverstone, which takes place on Saturday July 7

  • Turf cut on £6m revamp of Poole secondary school

    THE opening of a new chapter for a Poole secondary school was marked with a turf-cutting ceremony for a £6 million redevelopment. Pupils and teachers of St Edward’s in Oakdale were joined by the Bishop of Sherborne and the Mayor of Poole to break the

  • Eight communities in Dorset prepare to run their libraries

    A TOTAL of eight communities are now set to take over the running of their local libraries. Dorset County Council agreed to withdraw funding from nine of the county’s libraries last year in a bid to reduce its budget. Portland’s Underhill Library has

  • Players get ready for Sandbanks Beach Polo event

    THE countdown to the glamorous Sandbanks Beach Polo event is almost over, as dozens of the British Isle’s most skilled players converge on Poole. This year, for the first time in the competition’s five year history, riders battle it out on

  • Southbourne ASBO: What the residents think

    - ARTHUR Roach, 62, a retired milkman, said: “I live here and I haven’t seen any problems and I haven’t heard of any problems. This is a nice area.” - TRACEY Low, 49, a caterer, from Southbourne, said: “I do hear people walking past being noisy

  • Map at Wimborne museum shows how town looked in 1613

    VISITORS to a Wimborne museum could plot modern maps over how the town looked in 1613 at a workshop. Professor Catherine Clarke, from Southampton University, showed guests a digital tool to show how the area has changed by layering maps from different

  • Cinderella: ballet production of timeless tale is a must-see

    SOUTH Coast Ballet’s Cinderella is one of the must-see family events of the summer, especially as it’s safely indoors. The timeless rags to riches tale of a love story full of charm and beauty is coming to Lighthouse in Poole, performed by dancers from

  • Arnewood School Academy is named one of country’s best

    A NEW Milton academy has been recognised as one of the best schools in the country for student progress at GCSE. The Arnewood School Academy in New Milton is in the top ten per cent of those schools nationally which inspire their students to push academic

  • Bournemouth pupils tackle 30 Shakespeare plays - in one hour

    FOR many school children the challenge of performing one Shakespeare play would be huge. But students at one Bournemouth school have taken it to a whole new level and rattled through 30 of the Bard’s works in just over an hour. The Bournemouth

  • Avounbourne: Why we love our school

    YEAR 10 student Megan Sharman, 15, said: “I think my time here has been great - it is so much more than just a school. Students are prepared for the future with enterprise activities and the teachers really care about what you want to do.” DANNI Cotterill

  • Avonbourne: a factfile

    School: Avonbourne College International Business and Enterprise Trust, Harewood Avenue, Bournemouth BH7 6NY Contact: 01202 398451 Executive head teacher: Debbie Godfrey-Phaure Pupils: All girls Age range: 11-16 with sixth

  • The Queen sees how Dorset celebrated her Diamond Jubilee

    THE Daily Echo’s coverage of The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations last month has received the Royal seal of approval. After receiving copies of our special Jubilee supplements, along with our congratulations to mark 60 years of her reign

  • In the Dock: Wimborne

    ANN FROUD aged 47 of Selkirk Close, Wimborne. Admitted driving with 107 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. Community order made to carry out unpaid work for 80 hours under supervision . To pay costs of £85 and disqualified from holding

  • In the Dock: Christchurch

    JASON CARL BLISSETT aged 43 of Purbeck Court, Dorset Road, Christchurch. Admitted to being in possession of 42.5 grams and 1.6 grams of cannabis, a class B drug. Fined £100. To pay victim surcharge of £15 and costs of £35. DANIEL MICHAEL PARSONS aged

  • In the Dock: Bournemouth

    MARK JOHN REECE aged 19 of Kingswell Road, Bournemouth. Admitted assault by beating a woman. Restraining order made for the defendant not to contact directly or indirectly. Fined £110 and to pay compensation to the woman of £50. To pay victim surcharge

  • In the Dock: Poole

    MATTHEW MICHAEL PEACOCK aged 21 of Imperial Heights, Lilliput Road, Poole. Proved in absence that he drove a Honda motorcycle on Banks Road with no licence. Conditional discharge for six months. Disqualified from holding a driving licence for 56 days.

  • Residents are never really listened to

    IN reply relating to ‘Residents to have say on Planning Document’. Sorry, but this must be the biggest joke of the century! When have Poole planners ever listened to what the residents really want? We have had Supplementary Planning Guidance documents

  • Send begging notes back to the sender

    I AM continually bombarded by every kind of charity organisation to send money with gifts in their requests which to my mind amounts to buying them if you do send any. I find this nothing but a vexing cheek. So I now refuse any money and send all the

  • Drunks not a good ‘first impression’

    WITH latest concerns about Bournemouth’s image, I would like to report the daily goings on where I reside. From as early as 9am in the morning (when I first witness it), the area around Bournemouth’s Travel Exchange, where tourist arrive either by

  • Park plan affects all the golfers

    It would appear that when our council makes a decision on something affecting the town – whether it’s right or wrong in the eyes of the inhabitants of the town – they will go ahead and do it. I refer to the playground scheme at Queen’s Park

  • All the leaves are brown and the sky is grey

    I’M not an expert on trees but take pleasure in their existence. So it has been with concern that in recent weeks when driving along the road from New Milton to Barton that I have seen what appears to be signs of autumn in the trees, especially the

  • What will happen if costs increase?

    THE issue of travellers and where they can and cannot go is indeed a thorny one. The problem has been around for years and is a lot more complicated than many would have us believe. While a long-term solution still needs to be addressed

  • HAVE YOUR SAY: Airlines to end surprise surcharges

    Twelve airlines - including easyJet and Ryanair - will no longer spring last-minute fees on customers paying by debit card, the consumer watchdog has revealed. The carriers have agreed to include debit card surcharges in the headline ticket price rather

  • Southampton children's heart surgery centre saved

    HOSPITAL staff and parents were ‘delighted’ after a children’s heart unit was last night saved from closure. Southampton General Hospital’s unit, which serves Dorset and the New Forest, was reprieved at 7pm after an eight-hour meeting. Katy Watkins

  • Lockdown: where the travellers have targeted so far this year

    March Cotlands Road car park, Bournemouth; Queens Road, lorry park, Bournemouth; Queens Park, Bournemouth April Terrace Mount car park, Bournemouth; Eden Glen car park, Bournemouth; Kings Park car park, Bournemouth; Winter Gardens car park, Bournemouth

  • Lockdown: Bournemouth blocks its gates to travellers

    A BOROUGH-wide “lockdown” was implemented in Bournemouth yesterday, as teams of officers attempted to thwart any more illegal incursions of travellers. Some council staff cut their holidays short to help secure and man all car parks and green

  • London 2012: Allen believes volleyball stars will peak in 2016

    WESSEX chief Geoff Allen believes Team GB’s volleyball stars can use London 2012 as a springboard to excel at the Rio Games. Britain’s hopefuls have been trying to rise from amateur to world-class level in rapid time in a bid to challenge at this summer

  • Pirates: Middlo warns Ward over quick comeback

    NEIL Middleditch has warned Darcy Ward against rushing back before he is ready – because he could risk suffering a long-term injury. The Poole team manager believes Pirates’ number one should resist the temptation of returning to the saddle until he

  • Cherries: Groves ponders captaincy

    BOSS Paul Groves is vowing to pick the right man to spearhead a possible promotion push as he begins assessing Cherries’ captaincy candidates. Groves insists he will carefully consider his options after telling Cherries’ players that their work in pre-season