MOTORISTS are facing rush-hour misery following two separate crashes on the roads this evening. There are queues on the A338 southbound after an earlier crash. Motorists are queuing southbound near to the Blackwater Junction after the single-vehicle
LIONS chief Budge Pountney admits it could take time for his blueprint to bear fruit and is warning: “It is going to be a bumpy ride.” Former Scotland captain Pountney is keen to manage expectations as he prepares for his first competitive match
PREMIER League darts will return to Bournemouth again next year after the BIC retained its place in the 2014 schedule. Darts’ biggest roadshow event, which will celebrate its 10th staging next year, will stop off in Bournemouth on February 13.
FORMER councillor Anthony Ramsden-Geary has today been found guilty of obtaining credit as an undisclosed bankrupt. The defendant had denied the single charge, which relates to a sum of £25,000 borrowed from business partner Christopher Wardrop
A FESTIVAL celebrating the best of an East Dorset market town is set to take place later this year. The week-long Wimborne 10 will feature some of the town’s best-loved businesses, including restaurants, independent shops and attractions. The
A FUNDRAISING legend is celebrating his 75th birthday and 60 years of collecting for Cancer Research after personally raising £44,236 in the last three-and-a-half years in Bournemouth. Gerald Loader, who was diagnosed with bowel cancer 10 years
A POOLE company that was flooded when a neighbouring pond overflowed in 2011 has now “adopted” the nature reserve. Fleetsbridge-based Hamworthy Heating is operating a pondwatch at Hatch Pond, home to an array of wildlife, including mute swans,
A BOURNEMOUTH belle has been crowned Miss Great Britain South East and will battle it out at the UK’s most prestigious national beauty pageant. Annabell Newman, a student at Bournemouth University, won the regional heat at the famous Pigalle club
THE theft of an expensive road racing bike from the grounds of Lymington Hospital has brought an urgent appeal for information from police. The cycle was locked and secured in a wooded area by a 51-year-old Bursledon man, who was visiting his terminally-ill
THE clock is ticking down to the start of the 20th Swanage Blues & Roots Festival. Several Swanage venues are set to host acclaimed blues performers during the event that attracts thousands of visitors to the historic seaside town. This
THOUSANDS of people are expected to flock to Poole’s Baiter Park at the weekend for the town’s second Thai Festival. Organisers of last year’s inaugural event were thrilled with the large crowds the festival attracted, so this year they’ve planned
THE estranged wife of former councillor Anthony Ramsden-Geary has taken to the stand to defend him. Harriet Ramsden-Geary, who has been separated from her husband since May in an "acrimonious" split, acted as a witness for the defence at Bournemouth
A NEWSAGENT in Pokesdown has seen customers raise over £730,000 for charity just by purchasing their lottery tickets. Phillips News, on Christchurch Road, run by Trevor Phillips and his son, Adam, has so far made a whopping £734,735 for National
DORSET’s first free school, the Swanage School, welcomed its first intake of pupils yesterday. More than 100 students started at the school’s temporary campus, at Swanage’s Harrow House language college, where they will be taught for two terms.
THE Big Ask is a Daily Echo-backed project to give Dorset residents the chance to share their views about their NHS. This week, in the last of the series, we focus on the unsung heroes of the NHS, the staff who work hard behind the scenes to improve
THE midday sun is blazing blue from a cloudless blue sky onto a scorching dry and dusty hillside. From two observation posts twenty metres apart you have a clear and unobstructed view of the parched Southern California landscape laid out in front
EFFORTS to overhaul Kinson’s image are rapidly gaining pace. The Kinson Business Forum (KBF) has signed up around 45 businesses and organisations in the space of just two months since its inception. Its aim is to change the perception of Kinson
A WEEK after Bournemouth’s air festival delivered high-octane thrills, the perfect antidote has arrived to help those in need of some chill-out time. Described by bemused visitors as a womb, a floaty dream or an underwater maze, the Amococo Luminarium
TWO fit and active couples have taken up a challenge to walk around the stunning Dorset countryside in support of local children. Husband and wife teams Richard and Pat Mockridge and Keith and Pam Adams, have taken up the challenge as part of the
SCHOOL places have been provided for every child in Bournemouth and Poole despite a huge increase in demand. High birth rates and immigration have put primary schools in the boroughs under increased pressure. And both local authorities know
POLICE were called to a Bournemouth bar last Thursday night where English Defence League supporters were holding a demonstration. Officers attended the Havana Bar on Charminster Road at 10.50pm and spoke to a group of around ten people, with EDL
INTERNATIONALLY renowned violinist Charlie Siem will open the season for the Canford Concert Society on Friday September 20. He is one of the UK’s brightest classical stars and regularly appears with orchestras around the world, including in the
If you need to change your plans because your results were not what you hoped for, stay calm, there’s always an alternative. If you planned to go to sixth form or college, start by talking your options through with them; there will staff available
A TRAFFIC warden has been praised for his kindness in the aftermath of a callous theft at a church book sale. The organisers of the Poole Methodist Church event said they “reacted with horror” after their morning takings were stolen. Book fair
THEY’VE already wowed audiences at Glastonbury and Camp Bestival this summer, not to mention feature on another band’s chart-topping album. Now it’s time for ambient trio London Grammar to aim for the top spot on their own. Singer Hannah Reid tells
TWO kittens were found dumped in a sealed cardboard box in a secluded woodland area in Poole. The little ginger cats, believed to be around eight to 10 weeks old, were discovered by a woman walking through a quiet tree-lined patch near to Dale
A SPATE of gully drain cover thefts across Bournemouth has resulted in council calls for vigilance. The covers, which prevent people falling into drains while allowing surface water through, have been taken in Gainsborough Road, Littledown Drive
A WOMAN was spotted leaning into a car in Shaftesbury and attempting to steal a handbag on Saturday afternoon. A 28-year-old Hampshire woman returned to her car in the Bell Street car park at around 12.30pm to find the unknown woman, described
Avonbourne and Harewood colleges held the first ever Earth Charter Awards where students judge and award businesses that go above and beyond in instilling green and people values. Six awards were given in total to Bournemouth University, Sembcorp
YELLOW Buses is flying high after being awarded a major deal by the owners of Bournemouth Airport. The company has been awarded the prestigious A1 shuttle bus contract for a minimum of three years, by Manchester Airports Group (MAG), which transports
BOURNEMOUTH’S head of tourism Mark Smith claims the proposed wind farm, which could be built 12 miles off the town’s coast, will lose thousands of jobs in the industry. He’s based his comments on surveys which say that up to a third of all visitors
How ironic that the French government has turned down plans to build a wind farm within sight of the Mont St Michel UNESCO World Heritage Site, when the same government is a major shareholder in the proposed Navitus Bay wind 'park' just nine miles
MEMORIES are getting shorter with the days. The BBC says we have had a good summer, the best since 2006. Yet is this universal? America has the major fire this year as Australia did last year. Locally it is claimed Ham Common will take 10 years
NOT everyone is happy with our beaches because of lack of seating. I am sure those who, during this August’s sunny weather, have been disappointed with the severe lack of adequate seating, especially when this essential amenity is better catered
MY ideas for a permanent ice-rink over the present outdoor sea front entertainment area would include the donation of free solar panels (in exchange for advertising) on a roof shaped similar to that of Barclay’s at Castlepoint, but only half size.
ON SUNDAY August 25th I visited Poole Quay and I am afraid to say I will not be coming back for a very long time! It was a lovely day but motorbikes lined the quay and made an awful noise pulling away. No consideration for visitors. I thought
Thousands of revellers will be boarding ferries today to join one of the last big parties of the summer at Bestival. The Isle of Wight event is celebrating its 10th anniversary, with headline acts from Elton John, Snoop Dogg and Fatboy Slim.
IT may not be as famous at the motto of the US Marine Corps, Semper Fidelis, but as a rule for helping you stay alive, it does the job. 'Veg is the Edge.' As a sniper or a member of a fire support team, crawling inch by inch across inhospitable
A CYCLIST suffered a possible fractured ankle after a hit-and-run collision with a car in Ferndown on Friday last week. The 24-year-old Wimborne man was riding his BMX near the junction of West Moors Road and Horton Road at around 10am when he
DORSET Fire and Rescue were called to a bedroom blaze and garage fire overnight. A bed caught fire after hair curlers were left unattended at a house in Chaldon Road, Canford Heath just before 10pm last night. Two sets of breathing apparatus
MORE than 700 delegates and exhibitors will return to Bournemouth for three days during October 2013, when Help the Hospices – the UK’s leading hospice care charity – returns to the Bournemouth International Centre for their biennial National Conference
HOMES were evacuated and an area of Three Legged Cross cordoned off after a car left the road and ruptured a gas main. Emergency services were called to Verwood Road at 1.20am today following the accident. A specialist team from Transco made
NEW research shows the Navitus Bay wind park could “devastate” the local tourist industry, it is claimed. Impact assessments carried out by the wind park developer state that up to a third of all visitors could be deterred from holidaying in the
Travelodge has exchanged contracts with the owner of the Saxon Square Shopping Centre, for the development of a brand new hotel in Christchurch as part of an extensive town-centre project. Set to open in Spring 2014, the 68-bed hotel is part of
FORMER Scotland international Paul Dickov gave Ryan Fraser a glowing report after the teenage winger had played his part in Cherries’ first away victory of the season. Doncaster boss Dickov, who was capped 10 times by his country between 2000 and
NEW recruit Tokelo Rantie is adamant he will handle the weight of expectation after becoming Cherries’ record signing. Rantie last week agreed terms on a four-year deal after Cherries had shattered their previous highest transfer fee to sign him
CHERRIES’ hot prospect Ryan Fraser says he will be pulling out all the stops in a bid to nail down a permanent place in Eddie Howe’s plans. The teenage winger, dubbed ‘Wee Man’, has been one of Cherries’ most consistent performers as Howe’s men
BOSS Tom Killick piloted Poole back to the top of the Southern Premier League and then sounded out a defiant message to their pursuers: “It’s not beyond us to stay there.” The Dolphins, briefly toppled following Tuesday’s fixtures, returned to
