A DRESSING gown which was worn by the late King of Pop Michael Jackson is up for auction in Wareham next week. A Dorset woman has been lovingly storing the black towelling dressing gown for more than 23 years – after the superstar gave it to
RIANNA, 17, had a difficult school life, moving through several schools until she was home-educated leading up to her exams. She was very shy and suffered from bullying during her time at school. While studying at home at the age of 15, she volunteered
TWO teenage cyclists are going to be pedalling 1,000 miles to Italy in aid of a community minibus service in Bournemouth for the disabled. Will Nurse from New Milton and Paul Rickard from Poole, both 16, will be going the distance from Bournemouth to
BOURNEMOUTH Council’s parks team has received another prestigious award for its Victorian-themed garden, A Novel Approach. It won a coveted gold medal and the best exhibit in show award at the Royal Horticul-tural Society (RHS) national flowerbed
The new manager of Poole’s major quayside hotel has put an end to years of speculation over its future. “We are open for business,” said Craig Findleton, general manager of the Quay Thistle Hotel. “The hotel is definitely not being pulled
WORK is due to start on the refurbishment of car parks at Avon Beach and Avon Run Road in Christchurch. The refurbishment works at Avon Beach include constructing new access steps, installing an electricity supply and ticket machines as well
A Mudeford mum with cancer, battling to get her young sons into the same school, has set up a petition to try and plead her case. Michelle Amey, 35, and her husband Stuart started the petition on Friday to add to the support that has been shown
• Greg Whiffen, 53, an independent driver, said: “The council sponsored a lot of taxis a few years ago, but I don’t think it made a difference. If it’s a safety precaution, then I think it is worth paying £15 a month. I’ve driven taxis with a camera
STATE-of-the-art CCTV cameras could be installed in all Bournemouth taxis, in a bid to protect both drivers and passengers. Licensing chiefs will consider a proposal that could require taxi drivers to pay £15 a month to have cameras fitted
IF you’re looking to impress, then The Edge restaurant in Bournemouth is pretty hard to beat. Opened in early 2010, the restaurant is situated, intriguingly, on the top two floors of the Studland Dene development in Alum Chine. When
NICOLAS Cage has a soft spot for playing bizarre characters. It’s why he was interested in reprising his Marvel comic role of Johnny Blaze, a renowned stunt motorcyclist who in the original 2007 film, Ghost Rider, is tricked into becoming the Devil
MANY have threatened to run off and join the circus, but Stephanie Bates, right, from Corfe Mullen actually did. The 27-year-old aerial artiste performs with the Circus of Horrors and will join the ghoulish collective at the Bournemouth Pavilion
A YOUNG driver tore through six miles of Bournemouth’s residential streets on a high speed police chase, thinking that if he went fast enough officers would give up. Bournemouth Crown Court heard how a PC tried to stop Mitchell Brake, 22, after spotting
BOURNEMOUTH’S freshest new lounge, bar and club is ready for business. Le Chic opened its doors last night and is located in the former DNA on Old Christchurch Road. The venue has been renovated inside and out with an emphasis on high-end bling
DORSET County Council has voted through the latest wave of cuts. Council leader Angus Campbell warned that the £15million of savings the council had cut from its budget for the coming financial year would be felt more than the £28m it had saved this
LIKE Plan B and Professor Green, 21-year-old Michael Stafford's looks belie his music. Retro-tinged soul songs rub shoulders with hardened lyrics of city life that are the Irish-British rapper's speciality. In Sometimes, he sings about
THE manager of Boscombe Sovereign Centre plans to relaunch a Shop Watch scheme to crack down on derelicts and shoplifters. Ray McGlynn is asking all traders in a five-mile radius join in with the scheme. He is asking them to pay £300 each and said the
A BOURNEMOUTH mum accused of having sex with two schoolboys told one of them not to talk to the police on the day an official complaint was made about her, a court heard. The jury in the trial of 42-year-old Davina Travi were yesterday shown a recorded
FIREFIGHTING unions say Dorset Fire Authority’s “slash and burn” decision to freeze the service’s council tax precept will make frontline cuts inevitable. As reported in the Daily Echo earlier this week, the authority decided against plans
LOCK up your daughters, as the infamous NME Awards Tour returns to the O2 Academy Bournemouth on Wednesday night. Renowned for giving the freshest new acts their first taste of national notoriety – past alumni include Arctic Monkeys, The Killers, Florence
THE number of council managers earning more than £50,000 a year has soared in three years, according to official figures. Local authorities across Dorset and the New Forest now have 261 senior council officers earning more than £50,000 a year
RESIDENTS are celebrating after Christchurch council announced they are proposing to remove Grange Road depot from its list of potential travellers’ sites. The council said they will retain the site for longer-term employment needs.
As the curtain rose on the performance of Peter Pan, my five year old daughter was mesmerised – and remained so for the next two and a half hours. Swish of the Curtain Theatre School’s musical version of the J.M. Barrie classic at Bournemouth
CANFORD School has made history after all six of its hockey teams claimed county championship titles. The boys and girls teams at under-14, under-16 and under-18 all progressed to the West of England championships, with the girls’ under-16 team winning
HAT-TRICK hero Tom Smith helped relegation-threatened Merley boost their Dorset Division One survival hopes with a 5-0 win over Holt. Basement battlers Holt had never beaten their hosts and fell behind when Smith opened the scoring with a deflected shot
THEY’RE just one step away from appearing at a popular Canadian jazz and blues festival. But local band Paint It Blue is taking the excitement of the national music competition in their stride as they prepare for the nerve-wracking final in March
WITH reference to Snapshots of the Past (February 1) and recent letters on the ‘town’s gossip shop’, El Cabala, it really was the ‘in place’. Upstairs was the place to be seen. I used to go there in the early 60s with my then date Andy Summers who
IT was good to see some of my classmates from Parkstone Grammar School in 1980 when they won their young scientist award (Echo, February 15). The school had recently employed a very enthusiastic physics teacher, David Triplow, who made science come alive
MORE than 160 boys from 20 schools took part in this year’s AFC Bournemouth Community Sports Trust Kids Cup. School teams from across Dorset and Hampshire competed throughout the afternoon with Broadstone Middle School beating Christchurch Juniors in
THE Dorset Girls’ League has started a new competition in order to combat drop-out rates. In the past few seasons, the league has experienced a decrease in the number of teams and players making the transition from under-12s seven-a-side to under-13s
AT the Dingle there is an extremely steep hill down from Nelson Road. For some reason lots of people think it reasonable to throw their rubbish far over the fence so that it rests against a tree but out of reach of anyone hoping to clear it. This includes
THE lack of public toilets is very bad for our health. Instead of spending thousands on turning a lovely park at Ashley Cross into something like a cheap Disney park, spend it on something sensible like keeping toilets open. Some people stop drinking
I totally agree with Bryn Davies (Letters February 13). In fact I would go further and let all the prisoners and crooks out and let all us old age pensioners go to prison. It would be heaven for us. Just imagine not having to worry about trying to find
THE age of romance is not dead. For St Valentine’s Day I gave my beloved a 99p bag of popcorn and a tube of bathroom sealant, accompanied by a three-year-old card without an envelope. I am a firm believer that ‘it is the thought that counts’. In return
I REFER to Bournemouth’s application to be a ‘Diamond Jubilee City’. The only possible way Bournemouth could be chosen out of the places applying would be by being first out of the hat by the Queen. Out of the list, at least eight already have a cathedral
I AM not what one would call a fan of any sport and never imagined I would ever comment on the subject. Yet I now find myself most intrigued or even confused right now. I am hearing reports on my BBC Breakfast News that USA football is slowly coming
STRIKER Ben Street was the five-goal hero as Corfe Mullen United Juniors under-13s sealed promotion with an 11-0 win over Okeford. Their emphatic victory secured Corfe runners-up spot in Division Three of the Dorset League. Ben is the
SEAGULLS star Jessie Foster has qualified for four events at next month’s Olympic trials (March 3-4) at the London Aquatics Centre. Apart from the 100m and 200m breastroke, as reported in the Daily Echo earlier this month, she has also qualified for
TEENAGE rider Sam Thompson is looking for further sponsorship to help fund his season with Thundersport GB in the BSN Superstock class. The 16-year-old, from Bournemouth, will be racing his Suzuki GSXR 600 and will be the youngest rider on the grid.
IT’S not uncommon to hear somebody say of elderly drivers: “They shouldn’t be on the road at their age.” Some of us might even find ourselves expressing sympathy with those sentiments, as long as we’re not too close to the age in question. But it’
A SHOCKED dad-of-two was threatened outside his Poole home after catching two thugs ripping the catalytic converter from his car. Steve Richardson, of Sunnyside Road, had been ill in bed when he overheard a commotion by his 4X4 Mitsubishi Shogun parked
BRIDGET Dence starred for Dorset in the South-West Schools’ Cross-Country Championships at Exeter Arena. Though only in her junior year, the Bournemouth School for Girls pupil came within two seconds of adding the junior girls’ title to the South-West
AN Olympic hopeful passed on her knowledge and experience to the next generation in Bournemouth. Marathon runner Louise Damen, who is originally from St Ives near Ringwood, was at Wood BMW in Wallisdown, which is sponsoring her, to meet young athletes
A SHOCKED eye witness has described the horror of a four-car pile-up which claimed the life of an elderly man. The witness managed to stop just metres from the crash, which led to huge traffic delays on the busy A31 at Ringwood during Wednesday night
BOURNEMOUTH’S Michael Porter and Parley’s Tom Barber have become the latest graduates of the Dorset production line to join the Hampshire Academy. Opening batsman Porter and paceman Barber have joined fellow Dorset pair Ryan Scott and Lewis McManus –
FALCONS enjoyed mixed fortunes in their two under-7s matches on Saturday morning at the Littledown Centre. Currently in second place in their under-7s league, Falcons had matches against Swallows and the Buzzards who are in third and fourth
BUDDING Wimborne stars of the future are on track for a Dorset and Hampshire cup double. Simon Cassin’s under-13s team clinched a place in the Dorset Cup final with a 5-0 win over Branksome and meet Salisbury in the Hampshire Cup semi-finals at Sherfield
IT wasn’t the kindest night of the year for two ladies to venture out – a Tuesday with the weather forecast at amber warning. So entering a quiet restaurant with just two other diners was not ideal, but we were thankful for a pleasant table
CHEEKY pop star Olly Murs has been enjoying a spot of crazy golf while hanging out at Sandbanks in Poole. Young fans, squealing with delight, mobbed the X Factor star as he played a round by the beach. And Olly, 27, was on fine form
25,000 people over the age of 80 are still getting behind the wheel in Dorset, new figures have revealed. The county has the 11th highest number of elderly drivers – Greater London has the highest with just over 73,000 followed by Hampshire
ANNE Wines, a dog walker from Highcliffe said: “I do think it would be good to have something like this but in another location in Highcliffe. “You would have thought the council could have sorted out the land ownership issues before they started
CONTROVERSIAL plans for a mountain bike park at Chewton Bunny have been halted due to issues concerning land ownership. Christchurch council have decided not to progress proposals to build a mountain bike park at Chewton Bunny in Highcliffe
CHERRIES chairman Eddie Mitchell has given the thumbs up to the prospect of the reintroduction of artificial pitches. Mitchell was speaking after the Football League yesterday announced they would be seeking opinion on their possible return. A public
HE has scored four goals in the final, made three consecutive Wembley appearances and claimed a hat-trick of winners’ medals – meet Mr FA Vase. If Bournemouth Poppies are to make their dreams a reality in the coming months, Paul Chow is the man to look
DIRECTOR of rugby David Dunn hailed the calming influence of Dan Pollard after the kicking expert became Bournemouth’s latest record breaker. The stand-off wrote his name in Lions’ history books when he slotted six conversions at Newbury last month to
STAND-in skipper Darryl Flahavan insists positive thinking and cool heads will be crucial as the heat intensifies in the race for League One play-off places. Goalkeeper Flahavan will be hoping to bounce back from his midweek gaffe when he leads Cherries
CHRISTCHURCH boss Graham Kemp admitted he had an element of sympathy with Gosport Borough following their expulsion from the Russell-Cotes Cup. The Southern League outfit were removed from the competition after pleading guilty to fielding an ineligible
STEVE Riley is hoping Bashley can exorcise the ghost of the “schoolboy defending” that haunted them on their last visit to Stourbridge. Bash will be bidding to continue their Southern League revival with a third consecutive win when they travel to the
AFC Bournemouth is hoping to get the next generation of football fan hooked to the action at Seward Stadium later this month. The club will be holding a Help the Hospices Family Day on Saturday, February 25 as Cherries host MK Dons in League One. In
