HOTTER than hot pop sensation Alesha Dixon has announced an autumn tour that includes Southampton Guildhall on October 24. Having shot to the top of the charts with The Boy Does Nothing and Breathe Slow, the former Mis-Teeq star has sold more
THE Turning Point festival – organised by and designed for under 25s – takes place at the legendary Roundhouse in Camden, London, from this weekend with help from a Bournemouth student. Joe Barnes, 22, from Parkstone has been heavily involved in organising
A CHARITY abseiling event has raised more than £9,000. Around 120 brave volunteers made their way down the side of Lulworth Castle in aid of the Southern Spinal Injuries Trust (SSIT). Trustee Graham Waterton was among the first group to descend the
CELEBRITIES. They are a part of every aspect of our lives these days, gracing the covers of gossip magazines, staring in reality TV shows and even getting involved in politics. But unlike their MP counterparts, the likes of Bono, Bob Geldof, Joanna Lumley
CLUBBERS and pubbers can feel reassured – the search is on again for Bournemouth’s Best Bar None. The award for the best managed licensed premises were launched at last year’s overall winner, Bar So. An impressive array of supporters invited more entrants
A CLASSY double bill of soul and swing classics should be all the invitation needed as The Agency meet The Rat Pack at Wimborne’s Allendale Centre on Friday. What’s more all-girl group PR5 are also on the bill for a night of quality music all but guaranteed
TWO teams of regulars at a Wareham pub completed a marathon effort to raise around £1,700 for charity. While six women took part in a continuous darts match, a team of six men embarked on a lengthy pool game. It was all in aid of Help
IT’S just a matter of time before someone is killed in a heathland arson attack, experts have warned. Communities bordering Poole’s Talbot Heath have witnessed a string of blazes in recent weeks – and when conditions are right flames can outrun
PLANS for unusual £25,000 public artwork in Penn Hill are forging ahead. One, a flat piece incorporating a tree, has already been installed at the junction of Bournemouth Road and Archway Road. The second – an usual triangular block – will go at Penn
RESIDENTS are up in arms over plans to demolish a former community building. The Forest Preschool in Northmoor, Wareham, closed in 2007 after 40 years. The land was given to Maureen Selby, who ran the school, to use by Fred Cummings, who later set up
FITNESS sessions, a dash for trash, a tour of a recycling centre and a film festival – these are just a few of the activities on the menu during the Big Green Fortnight, starting on May 15, in Bournemouth and Poole. The two-week community initiative
BOURNEMOUTH’s women binge drinkers determined to match the alcohol consumption of their male friends are a ticking “health timebomb”, according to a charity boss. The warning comes after new figures showed that binge drinking among women has almost doubled
A QUICK-thinking schoolgirl from Blandford has been honoured for a calm response to her mother’s emergency illness. Olivia Palmer, aged nine, received a bravery award from the Blandford branch of St John Ambulance at a ceremony held at the town’s Corn
FOOTBALL-MAD teenagers are being offered the chance of a lifetime with a new course through Bournemouth and Poole College. The Football Coaching Programme, open to 16-18-year-old boys and girls, will give youngsters the opportunity to study at AFC Bournemouth
STUDENTS from Shaftesbury have told of a “life changing” trip to a West African country which is recovering from a genocide in which 500,000 people died. Six teenagers from the Shaftesbury School are back home from Rwanda and said they felt they had
CONSERVATIVE party leader David Cameron has praised a 16-year-old North Dorset schoolgirl on the launch of her first book, which goes on sale in Waterstones and WHSmith this week. Libby Page, who is studying for A-levels in French, English
DORSET sailor Adam Butler and his crew Nikki Boniface will fill the final British berth for this summer’s Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championships following their performance at Eurocat – the RYA’s nominated selection trials event for the catamaran
BOURNEMOUTH Dolphins’ Danielle Francis marked her 19th birthday this week much as she celebrated her 18th – with a Dorset record and a brace of gold medals at the South West Youth Championships. Francis, who was 19 on Tuesday, led an East Dorset one-two
AN MP has accused Dorset County Council of breaking election law by distributing a newsletter she believes could influence voters before polling day. Mid Dorset and North Poole member Annette Brooke has called for a full investigation after the council
POPULAR Cherries loanee Rhoys Wiggins has been offered a new contract by parent club Crystal Palace. The young left-back made a big impact when he arrived at Dean Court, soon forcing his way into Eddie Howe's first-choice line-up. But with the Selhurst
THE chance to chuck a biscuit in the sunshine was irresistible to more than 5,000 people who came to Cattistock to pit their skills. It was the village’s second ever knob-throwing contest and beat last year’s rain-drenched affair by miles, said organiser
ANOTHER fire raged through a swathe of Poole heathland on Tuesday May 5 – in the same area already devastated by a blaze a fortnight ago. Conservationists say wildlife which escaped the earlier blaze at Talbot Heath perished in the latest fire. Around
ANTONIO Lindback’s speedway rejuvenation has taken a big step forward following confirmation he has been given the wild card into the Swedish Grand Prix. The 24-year-old Pirates asset quit the sport over personal problems in late 2007 after
SPEEDING drivers who roar around a town centre road in Christchurch are giving residents cause for concern. Claire Gray, who lives in Church Lane, a narrow one-way street with no pavement, says neighbours are concerned about the speed of vehicles as
“APPALLING” and “simply unjust”. Customers and bosses of a Wimborne-based building society have united to condemn charges paid by the company to bail out failed banks. Teachers Building Society, which has its headquarters on Hanham Road
SISTERS Mia and Megan McClure will be donning their fairy outfits on Sunday as they take part in the Race for Life in Poole Park. The duo, aged five and two, from Francis Avenue in Wallisdown, will be running the 5km route in support of their
BOSCOMBE’S new loyalty discount card proved almost too good to give away. “People can’t believe you are not trying to sell them something,” said organiser Steve Kent. The cards were given away from an information stand in the shopping
A BOURNEMOUTH MP has joined celebrities to throw his weight behind a brain tumour campaign. Bournemouth West MP Sir John Butterfill is supporting the national brain tumour campaign ‘Brain Tumour Research’ launched at the House of Commons. The campaign
It may be built on the most expensive sand dunes in the world, but are there signs that Poole’s premier location is growing more than spiky marram grass? Are the famous green shoots of recovery spreading among Sandbank’s multi-million-pound
RESIDENTS reacted with fury as councillors voted to back Poole Town Football Club’s bid to build a £1 million new home ground on part of Branksome Rec. There were cries of “Shame!” and “You’ve stolen our public open space” as Cllr John Rampton
WITH regard to the recent controversy concerning the behaviour of some local Big Issue vendors, I’d like to ask a question. As I understand it, the concept of Big Issue selling was started in the early 1990s by a group of philanthropists, with the aim
YOUR correspondent Les Lock (Letters, April 27) took me back years when he wrote: “We all want a high street full of grocers, bakers, butchers, fishmongers etc.” I well remember them, Les, and used to work in a butchers and fishmongers in the High Street
I write in support of Father Tony Pennicott (Dr Death’s suicide lessons, Daily Echo, April 30) who is emphasising the Christian belief in the sanctity of life. Old hat it may be to some, but upholding one’s religious beliefs is one way of maintaining
CHERRIES’ out-of-contract sextet Warren Cummings, Ryan Garry, Jeff Goulding, Josh McQuoid, Joe Partington and Ryan Pryce must all wait to discover their respective fates. Boss Eddie Howe has told the players he would not be in a position to discuss possible
I have just read your article Merry Christmas from Adolf Hitler (Daily Echo, May 1) about the Fuhrer’s Christmas card to The Experimental Bridging Establishment in Christchurch found in a museum in France. I spent many a long year patrolling the old
IT’S an approach that you would associate more with the parade ground than the classroom. The government’s “behaviour Czar” Sir Alan Steer said some pupils should get a “right royal rollicking” instead of a temporary exclusion. The former headteacher
WIMBORNE’S Leon Camier warned his rivals he is just getting started after winning both races at Oulton Park to take the lead in the British Superbike Championship standings. The Airwaves Yamaha rider showed experience beyond his years as he twice overtook
LEE James will be looking to build on the progress he made during the Moroccan Classic when the Challenge Tour returns to Europe next week. The Parkstone-based professional moved up the field to finish a respectable joint 28th in Morocco on Sunday despite
NOTHING separates the sexes more than luggage. It’s obvious when you think about it. Women carry handbags in their everyday lives, men like pockets. I can go on a trip to the USA travelling light, with just a handful of clothes and very little else.
RESIDENTS angered by potential plans for gravel extraction in Dorset might have won a small battle to prevent the Roeshot site being utilised by Dorset County Council. At a meeting of the joint advisory committee for the minerals and waste policy in
USERS of the popular bus route between Bournemouth and Somerford are to get extra buses. The 1a route with Transdev Yellow Buses will run every seven and a half minutes instead of the current 10 minutes during the week and every 15 minutes during Sunday
LONDON 2012 prospect Iain Weaver is set to follow in the footsteps of English star Carl Froch when he dons the gloves on Friday. Ferndown-based featherweight Weaver will take on Manchester’s Blain Younis for the Amateur Boxing Association (ABA) senior
PAUL Hurry has revealed he actually had to duck under Ulrich Ostergaard’s handlebars to get past him on the way to a vital 5-1 in Pirates’ win over Belle Vue. Poole Castle Cover’s reserve, nearing the end of a 28-day spell with the club, had next to
well done Ed Perkins for putting into words what I feel about the Big Issue sellers (Opinion, May 4). Never have I felt intimidated by any of them, and as for saying that “have a nice day” is sarcastic, this Americanism is commonplace wherever you go
HOW do you like yours – boiled, steamed, chipped, baked or roasted? Yes, we all like our potatoes, but how would we like it if that was all we had to eat? When Stephen Dominey, a Christian Aid volunteer officer, recently visited Bolivia on a fact-finding
Once again the people of Green Lane find themselves fighting for the small patch of land that the council seem determined to take from them. It’s about time that certain people on the council realised that they are there to represent the people and
HE was a small man but had a way with words. And with a cane. I had been sent up to his study because of a gross and unfounded allegation that I had been party to the bullying of a smaller boy. Which I hadn’t. Mr Grimthorpe put his grizzled face close
NEWLY-crowned Dorset strokeplay champion Ben Harvey has won back his place in the county team after impressing captain Iain Donnelly during a pre-season friendly. The Ferndown star played a leading role in Dorset’s 7½ to 7½ draw with The Army at Dorset
HUNDREDS of people turned out for the annual FROGS country fair on Bank Holiday Monday. Maypole dancers, miniature steam engines and numerous stalls kept visitors amused, as did performances from the ever-popular New Forest Plonkers. The event, at Waterman
MINDLESS vandals are giving local children a bad name, says a Somerford community group in despair about the latest piece of damage to a play park. Almost a month ago members of FROGS (Friends and Residents of the Grange) were forced to defend Somerford
