MODEL maker Anton Evans from Christchurch is the king of the castle for the children's convalescent home where he was a patient 40 years ago. Anton, 49, who suffers from a growth-limiting genetic condition, has built a giant model castle to help raise
A COMMUNITY spirited man, who could often be spotted driving his customised Pontiac car painted with Sponge Bob Square Pants cartoon figures around Ferndown, has died aged 45. Martin Pitman was involved in local life on many levels, despite having a
007. Probably the most infamous sequence of numbers in the world, immortalised by Ian Fleming's super-suave secret agent - James Bond. With his licence to kill, and his way with the ladies, these hugely popular spy novels have spawned a string of successful
A LONG-awaited report indicating how many thousands of new homes will have to be built in Dorset over the next two decades is due to be published today. The report - the result of a 10 week examination of the draft Regional Spatial Strategy - is being
PASSENGERS are still facing up to two more days of bus misery but a glimmer of hope may have emerged in the Wilts & Dorset strike crisis. A meeting between officials from the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) Union and Wilts & Dorset bosses yesterday
BLANDFORD Town Council has written a "strong letter of condemnation" to Dorset County Council over proposals to close Blandford Day Care Centre, as part of a raft of cuts. At their meeting this week, town councillors also agreed to write to all councillors
A pensioner has been blinded in one eye during a vicious street robbery. Thelma Nudd lost the sight in her right eye as well as suffering a deep gash across her face, a broken thumb and a fractured cheekbone when she was attacked from behind in Lymington
DOG breeder Johanna Price has been banned from keeping animals for life after the RSPCA found a filthy puppy factory in her Bournemouth home. Inspectors were horrified to discover 59 dogs, six birds and a cat in cramped, faeces-ridden cages with no proper
RATE-SETTERS on the Bank of England's nine-strong Monetary Policy Committee have walked an economic tightrope at this week's two-day meeting to decide the course of interest rates. The Bank has had to weigh up the risks of lowering rates too soon and
AS MANY people are probably now ruing the excesses they indulged in over the festive season, it's with perfect timing that Channel 4 launch their Big Food Fight series of programmes. Kicking things off, local boy Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall is attempting
BE ASSURED it has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that within the next three months I will be travelling to both Alicante and Dublin after securing excellent cheap flights on Ryanair. But the thought of all that investment, up to 1,000 jobs and
A NEW Forest Post Office plagued with bad fortune in 2007 is starting afresh. Sway Post Office has been closed since December 13 following an audit. Earlier that month, the former sub-postmaster Ian Kirk was found guilty of stealing more than £55,000
IT looks like a console from an amusement arcade. A wooden frame, wide enough for a single seat and complete with roof, houses the controls of a Vauxhall Nova. Three video screens serve as a windscreen and the windows from the driver's and passenger's
Check latest traffic news in DorsetDRIVERS are bracing themselves for yet another round of roadworks at two key Purbeck traffic hubs. Temporary lights on the A35 at busy Morden Park Corner - one of Dorset's worst accident blackspots - will be in place
FERNDOWN Otters extended their recent run of success as Dorset's five leading clubs began the year with a battle between themselves. Shannon Horton led Otters' points scoring, winning the 13/u 50m freestyle and breaststroke in 30.42 and 39.11 and also
DOG breeder Johanna Price has been banned for life from keeping animals after the RSPCA found a filthy puppy factory in her Bournemouth home. But the 71-year-old was only fined £100 because she was too ill to attend Bournemouth Magistrates. The case
RYANAIR has today announced its twenty-fourth European base in Bournemouth. From April, Ryanair will base one $70m Boeing 737-800 aircraft which will serve five new routes - to Malaga, Murcia, Nantes, Palma and Wroclaw - operating alongside Ryanair's
CHRIS Holder swept to victory in the fourth round of the Australian Championship at Newcastle today and is on the verge of clinching the title. The Pirates star scored 14 points in the qualifying heats and then beat Troy Batchelor, Joe Screen and Jason
POOLE Town boss Tom Killick has swooped to sign former Dorchester Town midfielder Mark Robinson. And the ex-Weymouth and Gravesend & Northfleet star looks likely to go straight into the Dolphins squad for this weekend's top-of-the-table Wessex Premier
HE won the Military Cross and witnessed acts of bravery in what was known as the "Forgotten War" in Burma that, he vowed, should not go unrecorded, writes Ed Perkins. John Hill, who was born in Christchurch and retired, with his wife, Sylvia, to live
A MYSTERY bidder is in negotiations to finalise a multi-million pound deal for Long Island. And rumours abound that a famous name could be about to become the owner of one of the jewels of Poole Harbour. Estate agency Stephen Noble said the island,
NEIL Middleditch has revealed he will be sticking with "Elite League riders only" after being re-installed as Team Great Britain boss. Middleditch, who is also Pirates' team manager, stressed Premier League men will not be considered for the World Cup
ROUTINE operations are being cancelled at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital as it struggles to cope with the effects of a sickness bug that is rife in the community. At the moment, 150 out of around 900 beds are blocked by patients suffering from norovirus
THE devastated family of a crash victim have given a moving video interview. The mother and brother of Jonathan Dunn want young drivers to understand how a fatal crash has repercussions that go on and on, affecting dozens of people. They are backing
CHERRIES boss Kevin Bond has hailed new recruit Jo Tessem as a "quality" addition. Bond yesterday finalised a deal to keep the former Saints star and Norwegian international at Dean Court until the end of the season, subject to international clearance
UNION officials will today meet with Wilts & Dorset bosses in a showdown to try to force a breakthrough in the bus strike saga. Passengers across the county suffered a second day of disruption yesterday as hundreds of drivers again took industrial action
FREDDIE Eriksson has admitted he didn't really want to ride in Britain this year because he lost too much money when Oxford closed down midway through the 2007 season. The experienced Swede told of his devastation when the shutters were put up at Cowley
A MUSICAL maestro is trying to drum up support for a teaching studio in Christchurch after planning councillors rejected his first proposal. Drum teacher Simon Mellish, who also teaches in schools across Christchurch is taking his application to appeal
TWO women were released from their cars and taken to hospital after a pile-up involving a lorry on the A31, Ringwood, which caused tailbacks on Tuesday. One woman in her late teens, thought to be from Christchurch, suffered shoulder and knee injuries
BOURNEMOUTH Poppies let a one-goal lead slip as they exited the Hampshire Senior Cup after extra-time at Victoria Park. Tom Jeffes had put the hosts in front in the second half before Moneyfields forced extra-time and booked a place in the next round
HAMWORTHY United suffered a double blow last night when their defeat at Lymington was compounded by another fitness fear over star striker Jack Swann. Swann, who shrugged off a hamstring problem to score the winner against Ringwood at the weekend, aggravated
