A DOG turned a cooker hob on and set fire to a bag of rubbish left on top of it, firefighters said. A Dorset Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said they were called out when the pet turned on the hob at a house in Green Close in Sturminster Newton
A PE teacher will scatter his father’s ashes on the last day of a charity climb in his memory. Andy Munnings, of Wimborne, will climb 77 Cumbrian Lakeland peaks in seven days with six friends to raise money for Parkinson’s UK. The 36-year-old
YOUNGSTERS are enjoying a new extension to the popular BMX and skate park at Potterne Park in Verwood. The skatepark now has LED flood and feature lighting and a youth shelter to add to the well-used dirt track, bowl and speaker system. The
A team from Bournemouth University will look at why women in Nepal don’t use health services when giving birth, after receiving the first International Fellowship for Midwives. The Fellowship is awarded by the charity Wellbeing of Women, in association
A DORSET baker helped make a whopping 5ft wide Victoria Sponge cake which is believed to be the largest layer cake ever created. Steve Oxford, who runs the Sherborne-based Oxfords Bakery, which has branches in Blandford Forum, Canford Cliffs and
POLICE searched Bournemouth town centre this afternoon following reports that a man was walking around with his trousers down. There were sightings of the man, who was believed to be drunk, in Bournemouth Gardens and near Lansdowne Baptist Church
Students from a Bournemouth school have dug deep to plant a green future for generations to come. Young volunteers from Avonbourne College, calling themselves The Woodlanders, have been busy fundraising so they can create a new woodland at their
A HARD-WORKING community leader who has helped turned a Bournemouth estate’s fortunes around has been honoured by Bournemouth’s First Citizen. Claire Geraghty, who gives up around 32 hours a week to vital volunteering work, has received the Mayor
WORLD War Two medals were just one of the precious items taken in spate of burglaries in Bransgore recently. Detectives are appealing for help from residents in solving the burglaries on three properties since May 11. In all three cases, burglars
Former slaughterhouse worker Mark Bridger will spend the rest of his life in prison for the abduction and murder of schoolgirl April Jones. Five-year-old April vanished while playing on her bike near her home in Machynlleth, Powys, on October
CANCER survivors have called on charity fundraisers to take part in the Ferndown Relay for Life. The 24-hour team event, which begins with a survivors’ lap of honour, raises money for Cancer Research UK. Volunteer Pam Bentley said more teams
ELEVEN cars were raided in one night by thieves in Corfe Castle. Police in the Purbecks are appealing for witnesses after the cars were targeted between Tuesday 28 May and Wednesday 29 May 2013 in Higher Filbank, Battlemead, Collets Close and East
A POOLE primary school is celebrating after being named “good” and “improving” following its latest Ofsted inspection. Manorside Combined School in Evering Avenue, Parkstone, had been given a “satisfactory” rating in September 2009, but the inspectors
POLICE are promising to deal "robustly, promptly and effectively" with any anti-social behaviour at next weekend's relaunched Wimborne Folk Festival. Bus stops are being moved from Wimborne Square and the Square, High Street and East Street will
THE devastated family of a Bournemouth roofer who was murdered by a gang in Spain four years ago have launched a campaign for justice. Stephen Mallon, 49, of Southbourne, sustained serious head injuries when he was assaulted and thrown over a five-metre
CONTROVERSIAL plans to turn a derelict squash club in Poole into a convenience store have been given the go-ahead. More than 330 people signed a petition against the application by brewery Hall & Woodhouse for the former Dorset Squash Club
A NEW PARK for Poole residents to enjoy opened to rapturous cheers and applause in Oakdale yesterday. Stanley Green Park, off Christopher Crescent, used to be a space which frequently flooded and could not be used by the residents of the houses
An off-duty police officer was taken to Poole Hospital by ambulance after his bicycle was involved in a collision with a car on Tuesday evening. The accident took place just after 5.40pm at the junction of Osborne Road and Alton Road in Lower Parkstone
ACCORDING to new research by the Halifax, Sandbanks is the second most expensive town to buy property in England and Wales. The average house price in Sandbanks now stands at £522,242. The south Devon resort of Salcombe is top of the list with
TEACHERS and students at a special school in Colehill are celebrating their second outstanding Ofsted result, with top marks across all categories. Beaucroft School, which is currently at capacity with 150 children and 90 members of staff, was
THE jury in the Reece James murder trial have retired again this morning to consider their verdict. The panel of eight women and four men began their deliberations first thing yesterday after hearing four weeks of evidence at Winchester Crown Court
IN response to Alan Burridge’s letter regarding blood testing expenditure, I am surprised that their INR test results are not available there and then, avoiding the necessity to have it posted to them. As a fellow Warfarin user, I go to my GP surgery
THE funeral of Olympic medal-winning sailor Andrew Simpson will be held in his hometown of Sherborne tomorrow. The 36-year-old died on May 9 in San Francisco, where he was training for this summer's America's Cup. His grieving family and friends
CALLING all budding amateur actors and actresses, the All England Theatre Festival will be looking for you in Christchurch at the Regent Centre on Saturday, June 8. The event is the only nationwide eliminating contest for one act plays in performance
A FEW tracks in and it is already apparent that this is going to be a memorable Winchester night as Obar Ejimiwe, better known as Ghostpoet, is displaying Mercury Prize nominee skills on the stage in the lively town centre venue. Ghostpoet strips
PRISCILLA has got to be one of the campest, kitschiest, most outrageous shows I’ve seen – but it’s not over the top to say it’s also one of the very best. Each show features 500 costumes, 100 wigs and 150 pairs of shoes. I went dizzy trying to
TRIBUTES have been flooding in to Rico Dardis, whose body was found floating in the sea at Christchurch on Monday. Rico, 30, from Parkstone, was recovered from the water at Steamer Point, Friars Cliff on Monday night. He had suffered injuries
A GARDEN planted in memory of tragic teenager Jade Clark will be opened on Sunday – on what would have been her 17th birthday. The 16-year-old Ringwood Young Firefighter died in a road traffic accident while riding her moped on the A31 near Ringwood
RESIDENTS living within the BH postcode are some of the luckiest in the UK, according to figures revealed by the National Lottery. Since the National Lottery first began in 1994, more big National Lottery wins per head have come from the BH postcode
THREE weeks ago you published a letter over my name asking if one of our local MPs could explain what they thought had been achieved by the loss of 444 UK service personnel in Afghanistan- there was no response! On May 23 you published the reply
PLEASE could I pass on thanks to everyone who supported the 1st Bournemouth Scout Group Fete at Redhill Common on Saturday May 18. Thanks to everyone involved on stalls, in the arena and to the families who attended, a massive amount of money has
I CYCLED from Sandbanks to Hengisbury Head on Bank Holiday Monday and pondered how few of the 3,800 beach huts were in use and why friends of ours had to wait over 11 years to get one having lived in the area for all their lives. Should there be
I WENT to St Mark’s Cemetery at Highcliffe at the weekend, so that my wife could put some flowers on her father and grandparents’ grave. What I saw appalled and disgusted me. I must admit, the cemetery has never been particularly well maintained
I WAS saddened, yet not surprised, to read that much of Dorset’s wildlife now faces extinction (Daily Echo; May 23rd). However, while the latest official report highlights threats to local heathlands, grasslands and coastal areas, I would like
BOURNEMOUTH’S tourist information office is set to close as council bosses seek to streamline the tourism department and make it more efficient. The tourism department is being “transformed” by the council, which means that councillors are looking
The man discovered dead at Old Harry Rocks, near Swanage, last week, has been named by police. Peter James Boughton, 52, from Wimborne, was pronounced dead at the scene last Tuesday. An inquest was opened and adjourned at Bournemouth Coroner
INVESTIGATIONS are continuing into the sudden death of a young man at a flat in central Poole earlier this week. An ambulance was called to a first floor flat on the corner of South Road and Skinner Street on Tuesday morning. The ambulance service
THE devastated family of a father whose body was found floating in the sea at a Christchurch beach have spoken of their “great distress.” An inquest into the death of Rico Dardis, 30, from Bournemouth, who suffered injuries caused by a boat propeller
TWO people believed to be covered in blood were picked up by a taxi at Steamer Point on the night the body of Rico Dardis was recovered from the sea, the Daily Echo understands. It is believed the men were dropped off near Mayor’s Mead car park
YOU would think having a Tourist Information Centre in a large resort is crucial. But Bournemouth council is set to close the office in Westover Road to save £50,000 a year. And an alternative service could be provided in pop-up shops, temporary
CHERRIES defender Steve Cook has admitted he was devastated after being forced to stand trial twice for a crime he did not commit. Cook and three team-mates from his former club Brighton were last week cleared of sexual assault charges following
CHERRIES star Steve Cook has spoken publicly for the first time since being found not guilty of sexual assault and has described his ordeal as a “living nightmare”. Cook and three former team-mates from Brighton were acquitted on Friday following
