Archive

  • SOCCER REF DIES IN MATCH

    A DORSET referee died yesterday after collapsing with a heart attack on the pitch during a Division Three football match. Father of two Mike North, 41, of Poole was rushed to hospital after collapsing in the centre circle three minutes before half-time

  • Nathan's fall was 'every parent's nightmare

    A YOUNGSTER who plunged 15ft through a school roof is making a recovery in hospital. Nathan Stewart, 11, received serious head injuries after he slipped and fell through a skylight at Arnewood School, New Milton on Saturday evening. Mum Caroline Stewart

  • Dumped wreck a hazard

    This abandoned wreck is not only an eyesore, it's dangerous. It's the latest target in the Daily Echo Wreck Busters campaign, highlighting the menace of dumped cars across the area. This one - a Citroen Saxo registration G168 KWA - has been left next

  • Teenage girl magazine goes off-line

    A Bournemouth-based magazine for teenage girls which last month closed its chat room to protect them from paedophiles has launched an off-line version. Wickedcolors.com at Dean Park Crescent has 145,000 girls between the age of 11 and 17 on its website

  • Tiny town in quest for listed status

    THE well-loved streets are pounded by numerous visitors every year eager to enjoy their historic charm. Many come to soak up the olde-worlde atmosphere which makes the town so popular. Now planning chiefs are hoping to get the town listed status. However

  • Free checks on caravans at roadside

    FREE safety checks on caravans and trailers will be available to motorists heading to or from the Bournemouth area next Saturday and Sunday. Dorset Police are urging drivers to make sure their mobile holiday homes are safe for the summer by attending

  • Boy, 13, arrested over foreign student attack

    A 13-YEAR-OLD boy was one of two children arrested following an attack on a foreign student. He and a 15-year-old accomplice were held in the cells following the incident near Poole's main bus station in Kingland Road. Police said a group of German students

  • Barker brands clash 'pathetic'

    EASTBOURNE'S Dean Barker has labelled his ugly on-track skirmish with Pirates reserve Hans Andersen at Wimborne Road as "pathetic". The Eagles second string threw a punch at the Dane after the end of heat 11 during Poole Gas Appliance Superstore's 54-

  • Impressive Bees stack up the points

    Stourpaine 0 Bridport Res 1 A NARROW win took Bridport's recent haul of Dorset Combination League points to an impressive 13 out of a possible 15. The deciding goal at the Dick Draper Memorial Field came in the 20th minute when Richard Middleton collected

  • Magpies Reserves are confident

    DORCHESTER Town Reserves entertain Weymouth Sports in a Dorset Combination League fixture at the Avenue Stadiun tonight, ko 7.45. And the sixth-placed Magpies go into the game full of confidence after securing recent draws against title chasers Hamworthy

  • Defiant Magpies dent Blues hopes

    DORCHESTER RES 0 PORTLAND UNITED 0 DORCHESTER avenged last April's home defeat that effectively put them out of the title race with a draw that could spell disaster for the Blues in their bid for a third consecutive Combina-tion League championship. The

  • Hnours even on derby day

    THE record will show that honours were shared in the big South Dorset derby at The Avenue Stadium yesterday - but the scoreline doesn't even come close to giving the true picture. The form guide may have pointed to the likelihood of relegation-haunted

  • Missed chances deny Dorchester

    DORCHESTER manager Mark Morris refused to knock youngsters Matt Groves and Jamie Impey even though both missed second half chances to have won yesterday's derby clash with the Terras which ended 1-1. "They both worked their socks off and I was delighted

  • Make or break

    CHERRIES captain Steve Fletcher has described tonight's Division Two showdown with Stoke City as "our most important league game for two years". Fletcher is convinced Cherries must win the Dean Court clash against the Potters to maintain an outside chance

  • Our best Easter for years

    THE tourist industry was celebrating today after holidaymakers threw off foot and mouth gloom to give the county one of its most successful Easters ever. Traffic queued for miles to get into Weymouth, the town's Esplanade was packed with visitors and

  • Veterans in battle over parking cost

    VETERANS are on the warpath over a hike in council car park charges which they say could threaten the future of a popular monthly meeting for old soldiers in Weymouth. Pensioners may shun the resort's unique Veterans' Rendezvous event organised by Weymouth

  • Jetsetting duo offer affordable insights into Japan

    JETSETTING Simon King has swapped the streets of Dorchester for the land of the rising sun with the launch of a new Japanese travel business. The globetrotting 25-year-old spent three years teaching English in the far east country with pal Alastair Donnelly

  • Children look to future

    A NEW centre to help prevent Dorset children being excluded from school has been officially opened. The Dorchester Learning Centre in Winterborne Monkton works with children with behaviour problems to integrate them back into mainstream schools. Without

  • Oh, we do like to be beside the seaside

    EASTER gave Dorset tourism a welcome boost, but many parts of the industry are fighting for survival as the foot and mouth crisis strangles business. An Echo straw poll of holiday hotels, parks and visitor attractions showed people are still coming to

  • Amanda plans stage move after Grimleys

    SCHOOL'S out forever for Bournemouth actress Amanda Holden after her hit TV comedy The Grimleys, in which she played teacher Miss Titley, turned into a meandering disaster. And, according to insiders, she's responding by making a right old song and dance

  • Ethical caf achieves a first for UK

    A BRIDPORT cafe is the first in the country to be given organic certification by the Soil Association. Henry's Beard has been making a name for itself ever since Connie Burchell and Ben Hodges began the community cafe in Bridport Arts Centre in 1996.

  • Harbour view is even better

    THREE firms have teamed up to provide Poole Harbour Commissioners with an internet-based video link to the entrance at South Haven point. Cameras at the harbour entrance now beam pictures back to the harbour's control room at Poole Quay. The project was

  • Prompt action, but virus risk increases

    FARMERS in Dorset are keeping their fingers crossed after the swift slaughter of animals on a foot-and-mouth infected farm close to the county border. A total of around 100 cattle and 1,800 sheep were culled at Yarty Farm near Axminster in Devon. Animals

  • Coast cashes in for Easter boom

    THE foot and mouth crisis may be continuing bad news for the countryside but seaside resorts like Bournemouth and Poole reaped the benefit over the weekend - despite mixed weather. The two towns reported booming tourist business, dismissing fears that

  • Mindless young vandals wreck shrubs and trees

    CHILDREN armed with saws have wrecked trees and shrubs in what has been described by a parks officer as the worst act of vandalism he has seen. The "horrendous" destruction, estimated at £2,500, was carried out near the Littledown complex by a gang of

  • Ready steady go-rilla at London Marathon

    THINGS could get pretty hairy for a trio of friends this weekend when they run their first London Marathon, to help save mountain gorillas from extinction. Bournemouth-based Simon Percival, Nick Bulchin and Dave Corbin have never tackled a full, 26-mile

  • Quarter-marathon raises funds for About Face charity

    RUNNERS from across the UK gathered at Boscombe Pier on Easter Saturday for the annual quarter-marathon. The event, organised every year by the David Lloyd Club Bournemouth, attracted around 400 competitors. Participants ran more than six miles from Boscombe

  • Randall rules in Dolphins victory

    STAND-IN goalkeeper Colin Randall saved two penalties as Poole Town romped to a 4-0 Hampshire League Premier Division victory over promotion-hopefuls East Cowes Vics. Poole, who lost at leaders Vospers on Saturday, made sure their own title aspirations

  • Lucky Terras escape

    WEYMOUTH boss Andy Mason admitted his side were lucky to escape the Avenue Stadium with a point. Explaining the Terras' second disappointing showing in three days, he said: "I don't think it was the best of games and we seemed to be suffering a hangover

  • Tiny town in quest for listed status

    THE well-loved streets are pounded by numerous visitors every year eager to enjoy their historic charm. Many come to soak up the olde-worlde atmosphere which makes the town so popular. Now planning chiefs are hoping to get the town listed status. However

  • Boating season launched

    HAPPY rowers took to the waters once again on Easter Saturday to celebrate the 2001 season of Dreamboats Wimborne. Dreamboats began last year as a millennium project to return rowing boats to the River Stour for the use of the general public. The day-long

  • CCTV 'eye' plan is a step nearer

    MORE details have been revealed about the crime-busting new security camera set-up planned for New Forest town centres. The district council will this week hand the Home Office final details of the ambitious closed circuit television system earmarked

  • From punk to Pavarotti

    VOCALISTS and musicians offering everything from grunge to opera will be showcased during a three-day music event being planned as part of this year's Salisbury Festival. Salisbury Live will take place from Friday, June 1, until Sunday, June 3, across

  • Arsonists blamed for £40,000 blaze

    ARSONISTS are today being blamed for a blaze that triggered the evacuation of 30 people in Weymouth. Fire broke out in a large storage building in Grove Terrace, Westham, which contained gas cylinders, at around 4.30am, sparking fears for the safety of

  • RSC ticket mania hits box office

    BOX office staff are bracing themselves for a last-minute rush as the possibility of late tickets for the Royal Shakespeare Company in Dorchester was announced today. Tickets for The Tempest sold out in under two weeks, but now theatre fans may be able

  • Firms look for recruits

    BUSINESSES in the South are more likely to take on more staff this quarter than anywhere else in the UK. Some 34 per cent of Southern firms plan to recruit, compared with next-placed region the East Midlands (32 per cent), according to quarterly data

  • Licence grows in importance

    EMPLOYERS looking for staff will soon start demanding the European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL) as a key qualification - whether the job is an IT post or not. "By the end of the year, you will see jobs being advertised with ECDL as a pre-requisite,

  • New lights fail at improved street

    COME and take a look at the new improved, beautiful Bridge Street was the official release issued by Christchurch Borough Council. However, only a few hours after that press release was issued to the Daily Echo the recently reopened road - which had been

  • Still time to stand for local seats

    NOMINATIONS for elections in Christchurch are in, but with the county council polling day being moved to June 7, the closing date for anyone wishing to contest Christchurch's Dorset seats - plus the borough council by-election - goes to May 10. At present