Archive

A MAJOR road in Poole has been closed during the rush hour after a car overturned. Canford Heath Road is shut both ways between the Mannings Heath roundabout and Adastral Road.

STAFF and pupils at one Bournemouth school have more reason than most to celebrate a glowing Ofsted report. Winton Media and Arts College was placed in special measures just over a year ago, but is now absolutelty thrilled with its latest Ofsted assessment

FOSTER parents and shorter-term carers are still urgently needed across the south west, says children’s charity Barnardo’s. Charity chiefs have revealed they need an additional 550 foster carers in the region. Barnardo’s children’s services development

A BOURNEMOUTH girl is looking for love with the help of TV matchmaker Paddy McGuinness. Singleton Sophia Smith appeared on ITV1’s Saturday night entertainment show, Take Me Out, alongside 30 other single ladies, looking to find the man of her

A CHRISTCHURCH hotel has donated money to the local birdwatching group. The Captains Club Hotel, which won a gold award in the Green Tourism Business Scheme, presented a cheque for £150 to the Christchurch Harbour Ornithological Group (CHOG). Robert

POOLE residents are being urged to have their say on the future of their historic town centre. Planning and heritage specialist James Edwards, from commercial property firm Colliers International, is calling on residents, occupiers and property owners

CHEFS of the future battled it out in a cooking competition organised by Bournemouth Rotary Club. Eleven pupils from nine secondary schools in Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch had their culinary skills put to the test as they cooked, chopped and sautéed

WHEN 12-year-old Jazz Baker was given a VIP seat for boyband One Direction’s show at the BIC last Tuesday, she was thrilled. Little did she know that was just the start of it – she and her dad Dean were also taken backstage to meet the band

SCRAP dealers have praised a police crackdown on metal thieves in the New Forest. Dozens of pick-up trucks, vans, HGVs and cars towing boats and caravans were stopped in spot checks being carried out by Hampshire’s Country Watch team at New Park in Lyndhurst

TWO Dorset hospital trusts are planning to save money by contracting out some of their office functions, placing 22 jobs at risk. The Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals and Poole Hospital have put their transactional finance services out to

A damaged bridge in Wimborne is being temporarily fixed and will re-open in time for tonight's rush hour. Historic Julian's Bridge, on the B3078, has been closed since Friday when a removals lorry collided with a parapet. Surveyors visited

A DIABETIC man has managed to beat the disease in just nine months. But it’s not because he’s on a new wonder drug or treatment – it’s because he lost weight. Martin Sotheran of Bournemouth who tipped the scales at nearly 21 stone at his heaviest

I drove to work this morning, it was purely down to being a bit tired and very lazy! My alarm went off and instead of jumping enthusiastically out of bed to go and put the kettle on I hit the snooze button...a couple of times! I've not

COWBOY workmen could be trying to cash in on the recent bad weather by conning people into thinking their homes need urgent repairs. That is the warning from Dorset Trading Standards officers and Dorset Police after the storms last week. Householders

A FAULT at a pedestrian crossing where Poole man Ray Tutton was killed in a hit-and-run collision has been rectified after his death renewed public concerns. Ray and his wife Liz crossed Poole Road, Branksome, with the traffic lights on red and the audio

ACCORDING to local tradition we should all be enjoying a public holiday today. Plough Monday once marked the end of the Christmas period and was often the only holiday of the year for Dorset farm labourers apart from the odd celebrations such as May

MAKE the most of New Forest venison with this Italian-inspired dish which comes courtesy of the head chef at the Urban Reef Restaurant on Boscombe Promenade. It’s perfect for two people to share on a cold winter’s evening over a nice bottle of red wine

THE ZZ Tops were formed in 2007 to celebrate the music and career of one of the hairiest rock ‘n’ roll bands of all time. Comprising Franks Weird, Dusty Thrills and The Rev Billy F Bigguns on guitar, the band from Devon nails the look, the sound and

THE family of a girl with cerebral palsy has thanked fundraisers after raising £50,000 for a life-changing operation. Lucy and Phil Hood started the campaign, Missy’s Future Appeal, around four months ago to pay for surgery for their little

MUSIC fans are in for a bumper year at the BIC and Pavilion Theatre with some of the biggest names in the business announcing tour dates in Bournemouth. This month sees former mechanic turned opera superstar Alfie Boe at the BIC on January

IT’S a very happy 20th birthday for Poole’s Lewis-Manning Hospice today. Exactly 20 years ago it opened up at the late Marjorie Lewis-Manning’s home on Evening Hill, in Lilliput, to care for people living with cancer and life-limiting illnesses. Two

STAFF at local branches of the chains Blacks and Millets face an agonising wait to see whether their jobs can be saved. Owner Blacks Leisure has confirmed it will go into administration but is hoping most of the business will be salvaged by buyers.

BOURNEMOUTH council is hoping recycled Christmas trees could help it match last year’s record-breaking figures for green waste. From today, residents can put their tree out for collection on the day of their normal “little bin” refuse collection

A DRIVER has told how he miraculously escaped death after a 50ft tree crushed his car and sent it swerving into a head-on crash. Paul Henderson regained consciousness as he sat in the car in the middle of the road moments after the collision

A SEVENTEENTH century bridge that has been closed since a lorry collided with it on Friday is due to be surveyed on Monday morning amid fears that repair work could take several weeks. Julian’s Bridge in Wimborne was badly damaged when a removals

What pathetic, cruel, arrogant specimens of low life beings fox hunters are. No sense of shame for the fear and dreadful pain they cause in the name of pleasure. My wish for you all is a conscience. MAGGIE RICHARDS, Hennings Park Road, Oakdale

I HEARTILY agree with Len Lewis’s comments, (letter January 5) regarding the pensioners who receive their Winter Fuel Payment now they live in Spain. We are lucky enough to have a holiday home on the Costa Blanca and know of many ex-pats receiving the

TWENTY-two people stand to lose their jobs as three Dorset hospitals consider contracting out some office work. It’s easy for other people to blithely say that the NHS needs to save money on “pen-pushers”. But first, we should reflect on the

A DORSET mother has welcomed a government announcement that she and other women concerned about the safety of their French-manufactured breast implants may be able to have them removed for free. Many of the implants made by PIP contain industrial

WITH the options of the ‘Off’ switch and reading a book or playing cards prevailing, our television menu, not only over the festive period but throughout the year, is rather dire to say the least. They are struggling to come up with new ideas, so it

A WEEK or so before Christmas the company I work for sent me in a lorry to the Commercial Recycling premises in Canford Magna with a load of damaged baths to dump them. Whilst there I asked how much they would charge if a tradesman went there to dump

IWAS interested in the discussions regarding Green Bins in Poole. However, this matter has now assumed terrifying new implications. I have received a letter from the “Regulatory & Licensing Services, Waste and Fleet Management” Poole – an impressive

WIMBORNE’S smaller pubs will be squeezed out when the new £1.2million J D Wetherspoon opens its doors later this month, it is feared. Bar staff will start pulling pints at The Man In The Wall, in West Borough, on Tuesday, January 17. Residents have

HAMWORTHY United boss Simon Browne presided over another demoralising defeat before launching a blistering attack on Hayling United’s pitch. Browne described the playing surface at Hayling College as “an absolute disgrace” and labelled it “a cabbage

BOSS Steve Riley described as “a great tonic” Bashley’s dramatic last-gasp 3-2 victory at Premier Division rivals Barwell. Gary Middleton’s goal deep into stoppage time halted an alarming nine-match winless run as Bash returned from Leicestershire

MANAGER Tom Killick admitted to having had mixed feelings following Poole Town’s 0-0 draw with high-fliers Thatcham at Waterside Park. The Dolphins, bidding for a fourth successive win, failed to find a way through after the hosts had been reduced to

BOSS Glenn Burnett was on cloud nine after watching New Milton record their second 5-1 victory in five weeks – and their fifth win of the season. Ace marksman Alex Baldacchino and Cherries apprentice Alex Moth both hit doubles with Paul Preston also

STEVE Fletcher dramatically saved Cherries from defeat – and then admitted the prospect of a goalless campaign had been playing on his mind. The veteran targetman came off the bench to net an injury-time equaliser as Cherries recovered from 2-0 down

BOSS Lee Bradbury watched Stephen Purches and Steve Fletcher revive Cherries’ fortunes at Walsall and told the super-subs: You made a difference. Bradbury’s decision to introduce the duo from the bench paid dividends as Cherries produced a second-half

NEW hair-do, same old Steve Fletcher. Ready for retirement? Not a chance. Before this latest heroic effort, not everyone at the Bescot agreed. As Fletcher himself revealed, one particular Walsall fan had made his feelings known. But actions speak

WIMBORNE were left to rue a third penalty miss in a row as they were held to a 1-1 draw by fellow strugglers Taunton Town on Saturday. Jamie Davidson’s 17th-minute spot-kick was turned around the post by veteran Paul Edwards in the first half, much

SCOTTY ‘Dog’ Mitchell was left to rue another missed opportunity at Lakeside after admitting he had world champion Martin Adams “rattled”. Dorset star Mitchell eventually crashed to a 3-0 defeat to ‘Wolfie’, but had he nailed some crucial doubles, could