Young artists from across the district have sent their festive visions flooding in to the Daily Echo's Kids Love Christmas competition in association with the toy department at Beales in Bournemouth. Images of Christmas trees, reindeer and angels have
ONE of Britain's oldest convicted cannabis growers died in prison during a row with one of the governors over food, an inquest heard. Albert Axton, 71, from South Gorley in the New Forest, suffered from heart disease. He was an inmate of the West Hill
WHEN does a fiver cost £1,800? When it's a historic one... stolen in the Great Train Robbery in 1963. Sidney Smith from Winton, Bournemouth could hardly believe he had outbid the opposition at the George Kidner auction in Lymington yesterday. Lot number
TRADING standards bosses in Dorset are warning people to scrutinise letterbox mailshots with care after a clothing collection company was singled out for criticism. Byronswell Ltd has been criticised by trading standards bosses in Bridgend, Gosport and
FORGET financial meltdown, credit crunch or the missing data debacle - there's only one crisis that matters, and that's the England football team's failure to qualify for next summer's European Championships. An emotional rollercoaster ride (sorry, but
AN ARMY of youth workers is employed across Dorset all aiming to improve the lives of young people. The work these dedicated people do is diverse, difficult and at times what many would consider dangerous. Senior youth worker Adrian Griffiths, 40, works
MORE than one in 10 people admit they would not immediately notice if £1,000 was stolen from their current account, a survey has revealed. About 14 per cent of people said they would not spot the loss immediately, with 21 per cent saying they only checked
FERNDOWN traders have been asked to step up to ensure the town's Chamber of Commerce does not fold. President Richard Blunderfield sent out letters to traders to announce he has resigned from the post. No successor has yet been found. Mr Blunderfield
CHILD bereavement support charity Simon Says needs loads of telephone votes if it is to obtain funding vital to setting up a centre in New Milton. The Hampshire-based charity will be going head-to-head for a Peoples Millions lottery award of £69,495
MORE than 40,000 women in Dorset could be a victim of domestic violence at some point in their lives and the county is supporting a national campaign to highlight the issue. The South West regional Domestic Violence Awareness Week runs from November
PLANS to build a new restaurant at a Bournemouth West Cliff hotel have been refused. Civic planners told developers to go back to the drawing-board after studying plans for a new eatery at the Montague Hotel in Durley Road South. The borough's head
DORSET police are appealing for drivers to be more careful after a spate of accidents across the area on Thursday. A spokesman said: "We urge motorists to pay attention to roads, conditions and the road ahead particularly when traffic is heavy and to
Plans to bulldoze a period property in the Charminster area of Bournemouth to make way for a flat block have been refused following a wave of protests. Sixty householders signed a petition objecting to proposals to erect six flats in Lowther Road. Bournemouth
COUNTY Hall care chiefs are calling in experts from other councils in a bid to improve the authority's services for vulnerable adults. The "peer review" of adult social care services could deliver an improvement plan by next spring as Dorset council
A PIONEERING wildlife scheme is trying to lure rare species of birds back to the Purbeck countryside. It is hoped lapwings, redshanks and snipes may be among those ready to return after the work done to improve wet grassland habitats. As part of the
A TEENAGE speedboat driver and his grandfather who owned the boat have been fined a total of £1,000 and ordered to pay costs totalling £935 after they raced through busy Christchurch Harbour at more than eight times the speed limit. Samuel Wheeler, then
ORGANISERS of a major North Dorset event are vowing to carry on and find another way after their six-year planning battle was finally turned down this week. District planners have now refused the application from the Gillingham and Shaftesbury Agricultural
THE cost of the traditional Christmas dinner is on the up. Farmers across Dorset and the New Forest say rising wheat prices and the wet summer all mean the traditional turkey dinner with all the trimmings now costs more. Colin Atyeo runs Noah's Ark
MATCHAMS Park saw the welcome return of mountain bike racing on Sunday with the first of three new events promoted by dirttraxracing.co.uk. Carol Tilley (ridecycleworks.com) took the win in the female race, beating local time trial expert Louise Dutch
YOU could be forgiven for thinking that the debate over foreigners in British sport was solely confined to football. But that doesn't wash with Team GB and Castle Cover Pirates boss Neil Middleditch. So much so that Middleditch believes Great Britain
I'M A CELEBRITY... Get Me Out Of Here veterans Jason Donovan and fellow survivor David Gest are both heading for Dorset. The two reality television stars who became good friends during their stint in the jungle are both set to visit the county to promote
NEIL Middleditch feels ex-Pirates star Gary Havelock is the "ideal candidate" to replace him as Great Britain team manager. But Middlo, who has stressed he is "happy to carry on" as national team boss in 2008, isn't looking to step aside for Havvy just
LOVEABLE mob the Kaiser Chiefs will be causing a riot in Bournemouth tonight at the BIC. The band made their breakthrough in 2005 with massive singles Oh My God and I Predict A Riot hoisting their debut album Employment high into the charts. Now fully-fledged
Paul Merton, Pavilion, Bournemouth IT was cold and wet outside with a crucial football match live on the telly. Yet a decent crowd still turned out to see silent films, shot in black and white, almost a century ago. It seems it's not just Paul Merton
Night Watch, KCA Players, Kinson Community Centre IT'S 5 am and a rich American woman, unable to sleep, is pacing her Manhattan sitting room. As she glances out of the window she sees, in the window of the building opposite, a dead body in a chair -
ENGLAND coach Steve McClaren and his assistant Terry Venables have been sacked following the failiure to qualify for the 2008 European championships. McClaren has lost his job 18 months into a four-year contract. His position had become untenable after
Get the latest traffic news POLICE are appealing to drivers to pay more attention after three collisions on the Spur Road in Bournemouth on Thursday morning. The A338 Ringwood-bound carriageway was currently closed while police dealt with the aftermath
PLANS for a giant 100-metre wind turbine have been given the thumbs-down by Bournemouth council. Members of the planning board voted to register an official objection to the proposals for a massive turbine almost twice the size of Nelson's Column. But
ALCOHOLISM is on the rise among young people in Bournemouth, according to a youth worker. The problem of underage binge drinking is getting worse and in a few cases some teenagers have developed alcohol addiction. Yesterday Gordon Brown lent his support
BS0 and Chorus, Lighthouse, Poole THE Bournemouth Symphony Chorus raised the roof (literally it seems; a leak showering the male section in the following work) most aptly in Stephen McNeff's new work Weathers. This first performance under David Hill's
A STAR of a cult 1990s TV series died after a carelessly discarded cigarette set his Wareham flat ablaze. Mike Furnell, 61, appeared in the late-night ITV series Pleasure Island, based around the notorious adults-only Hedonism II resort in the Caribbean
WELSH youth star Sam Vokes is hoping to transfer his international form into the domestic arena after giving one of European football's hottest defensive prospects a run for his money. Cherries striker Vokes played for 70 minutes as part of the Welsh
FA CUP saviour Danny Hollands has revealed his red card on Tuesday night brought with it a silver lining - because it allows the tenacious midfielder to have much-needed surgery to cure his hernia injury. The 22-year-old struck a dramatic last-gasp volley
