A HORSE was involved in a dramatic rescue after it became stuck in three feet of water in a Dorset river. Firefighters and RSPCA officers spent around two hours battling to pull the mare from the Moors River close to the rear of Chapel Lane at Hurn. It
FIRST we had pay-as-you-go phones and now it seems the concept is being extended to cover our cars. Radical plans to charge drivers for every mile they cover have been unveiled by the government this week. And with figures of up to £1.34 per mile being
THE man in charge of entertainments for Bournemouth Council for the past 20 years has been made redundant as part of the £21 million redevelopment plans for the town's International Centre But Rob Zuradzki says he only got official news that his position
A PLANNING inspector heard claims that a block of flats planned for the garden of Swanage's last Victorian villa would have a "catastrophic effect" on surrounding residents. A planning inquiry held in Swanage heard residents voice strong opposition to
ALL publicity is good publicity, or so the saying goes. The media-fuelled speculation over Angelina Jolie's possible romantic involvement with Brad Pitt will no doubt ignite interest in Mr & Mrs Smith and add a generous few million to the box office
THIS week's award for creative use of an electric toothbrush goes to Sugar Rush (Channel 4, 10.50pm, Tuesday), the 10-part adaptation of Times columnist Julie Burchill's novel about Kim, a festering mass of teenage modern angst, who lives in Brighton
Finnigan helps lady in distress TREVOR FINNIGAN had never played golf with a lady before Saturday but when a husband pleads for him to partner his wife, how can he refuse? The husband, Mike Mudford, had to choose between his son's stag night in Dublin
Fund looking for deserving sports people TRUSTEES of the Mark Broad Memorial Fund are calling for applications and nominations of deserving causes. The fund, set up in the memory of the local sportsman who died last April aged 38, is designed to encourage
Bridport grab maximum points from tricky fixture DORSET LEAGUE DIVISION TWO BRIDPORT 203-8 (20pts) beat BERE REGIS 169 (8pts) by 34 runs BRIDPORT skipped past a potential banana skin on Saturday according to stand-in skipper Sean Fitzgerald. The former
POLICE are appealing for witnesses to come forward after a 51-year-old disabled man was badly beaten up in his own home in Poole. The victim, who does not want to be identified, suffered severe facial injuries in the assault. Police say they have no idea
A ONCE derelict pub near Poole Quay has received an amazing makeover only a few years after it was earmarked to be part of a planned second phase of the Dolphin Quays development. The former Swan Inn, in Old Orchard, is playing host to renowned 83-year-old
WILDCATS are aiming to go top of the Conference League when they entertain basement boys Sittingbourne at the Wessex Stadium tonight. Victory over the Crusaders will see Weymouth climb into pole position above title rivals Wimbledon, Oxford and Boston
MORE Consultancy Group has challenged the competition once again by providing a specialist recruitment service to the legal profession in addition to their established accountancy, engineering and commercial divisions. The new division offers the legal
DORSET businesses have given a mixed reaction to the decision by the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to keep interest rates at 4.75 per cent for the tenth month in succession. While it had been widely expected that the committee would
DORSET businesses have given a mixed reaction to yesterday's decision by the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to keep interest rates at 4.75 per cent for the tenth month in succession. While it had been widely expected that the committee
A CHARITY shop may not be high on the list for many brides-to-be when they are searching for the most important dress they are ever likely to buy. But staff at Oxfam in Wimborne have come up with the innovative idea of giving women the chance to buy gowns
AN ancient standing stone from a lost sun temple has been unearthed by dowsers in east Dorset. Students on a local dowsing course discovered the hidden Bronze Age relic at Knowlton Henge, two miles south of Cranborne. Experts believe it is one of the
SUNSHINE greeted Princess Anne when she officially opened Weymouth and Portland Sailing Academy. The Princess Royal, flown to Portland by helicopter yesterday, spent five hours touring the £7.85 million facility, meeting children and pledging her support
TRAFFIC serving a controversial waste processing plant could prove a danger to schoolchildren, an inquiry was told. Mike Stephens, chairman of governors at Winfrith First School, said the increased number of lorries taking rubbish to a proposed mechanical
THE helicopter crash that killed Portland businessman Stephen Curtis has been blamed on pilot error by investigators. Experts from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said the pilot probably became disorientated in poor weather and low visibility
CAMPAIGNERS against RNLI plans to build a larger lifeboat station at Lymington say they are pleased the application has been temporarily put on hold to allow for further negotiations. New Forest district planners decided at a meeting to defer the application
YOU'RE a 45-year-old married businessman running your own modestly successful company and taking home close on £100,00 a year - what car do your drive? The answer from the sales statistics would appear to be something like an Audi A6 Avant (estate) -
ONE of the most elegant looking cars on the road also happens to be one of the most often overlooked - it's the Peugeot 607. Trying to find a market in a segment dominated by badge conscious retail customers is a tough task if you only have the Peugeot
MANY drivers requiring four-wheel drive don't necessarily want the inconvenience that comes with bulky sports utilities - the easy solution is a 4x4 estate. As the appetite for all-wheel drive (real or imagined) continues to devour tons of metal each
A NIGHTMARE scenario of council tax bills in Dorset rocketing by 44 per cent within two years because of high house prices has been predicted. That's one possible outcome facing residents by 2007 as a result of a nationwide revaluation of properties,
Lyme Regis lifeboat station personnel welcomed their new Lifeboat Operations Manager this week. Brian Wheeler, 58, took over from David Manners after he retired at the station's annual general meeting on Wednesday. Mr Wheeler joined the station over two
I HAVE to confess, I'm very much looking forward to June 11's episode of Doctor Who. This is not because last week's teaser gave us a tantalising glimpse of the return of the Daleks, though that would be a good enough reason in my book. Nor is it because
BOURNEMOUTH urgently needs more police officers to avoid a summer of crime, it has been warned. Worried councillors have written to Home Secretary Charles Clarke urging him to increase the number of bobbies in the town. The resort's most senior police
CANFORD HEATH is as neighbourly as any other place in the country, say its residents. A survey published on June 9 claimed Scotland is the most neighbourly area in Britain, scoring 83 per cent of the possible points to come out top. Second out of the
FIRST we had pay-as-you-go phones and now it seems the concept is being extended to cover our cars. Radical plans to charge drivers for every mile they cover have been unveiled by the government this week. And with figures of up to £1.34 per mile being
IMPOSSIBLY twee German animation with English dialogue dubbed in based on a series of books by Klaus Baumgart. Seven-year-old Laura is a little girl who is grumpy about everything except her dreams to become an astronaut. When a star the size of a pillow
UNCONVENTIONALLY emotional drama in which a young father meets his handicapped teenage son for the first time and tries to forge a relationship with him. Kim Rossi Stuart plays Gianni, who is brought to meet his disabled son Paolo by a fateful combination
Batman Begins (12A) UCI, Odeon, ABC (all Thurs only) **** See preview. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (PG) Odeon (not Thurs), Lighthouse (not Sun) *** Long awaited film version of Douglas Adams' cult science fiction hits the spot more often than
A WOMAN who defrauded her elderly mother-in-law out of between £30,000 and £50,000 wept as she was jailed for 12 months on Thursday. Pauline Elkins, 50, of Redhoave Road, Poole, milked the bank account of 83-year-old Olwen Elkins after being entrusted
A NEW lease of life has been breathed into a Poole church that was once in danger of demolition. St Osmunds Church at Parkstone has been saved by the Romanian Christian Orthodox Church and is re-opening its doors to worshippers today. The striking Byzantine
TROUBLED Bashley have been left even further in limbo after manager Geoff Butler announced his departure from the club. The former Salisbury boss felt he was left with no option but to leave the New Forest club following further financial cutbacks and
LEWIS Bridger will be flying at the Wessex Stadium tonight, and not just on two wheels. The Wildcats 15-year-old reserve is due to arrive on the centre green at Radipole Lane by helicopter. Bridger, who is touted as a future world champion by speedway
JOBSHOP UK has been awarded further business with Dorset HealthCare NHS Trust to supply temporary staff as Medical Secretaries, Team Assistants, Administrators and Receptionists. The Poole based recruitment agency is primarily supplying staff to the Community
SOUTH Coast recruitment consultancy, SOS, has stormed onto the scene in Poole by opening their stylish third branch at a prime location on Barclays roundabout at High Street North. Just over a month since the doors opened to candidates and clients, the
BY TREATING their candidates fairly and taking an active interest in their career development, Hays Accountancy and Finance have built the largest single source of accountancy and finance professionals in the country. Thanks to their glittering reputation
MORE consultancy is taking the recruitment industry by storm. Expanding their services across divisions and across the south, More Consultancy is a force to be reckoned with, and have high expectations for the coming months. Established to service a much-needed
THE initial lull in the local recruitment market has lifted, and agency Mploy has seen that clients are consistently requiring high calibre staff within short timescales. According to a recent Employment Outlook survey, Employers have this year given
A PUPPY needed a £1,500 life-saving operation when a fishing hook got caught in her throat. Actress Jo Anderson was walking her one-year-old puppy Lilly on the coast path by Nothe Fort when the discarded fishing hook became lodged in the dog's throat.
CONCERT promoters say the show will go on after an upsurge in ticket sales. Organisers of pop and classical music concerts at Weymouth Football Club claim there has been a surge of interest in the events during the past 48 hours. More than 3,000 tickets
BIG band is back with a bang as the Avon Tyrrell activity centre revives its popular fireworks concert in the parkland setting of the stately home near Bransgore. The Christchurch-based Taverners Big Band is headlining the Band in the Park Concert on
AT FIRST glance it would seem that Nissan's four-wheel drive line-up is getting somewhat crowded, but its brash newcomer, the Murano offers something slightly different. For a manufacturer that already has the X-Trail, Terrano, Patrol, Navara and new
AFTER the styling controversy that surrounded the launch of the BMW 5 Series saloon some years ago, the Touring (estate) version is something in the way of light relief - a modern BMW that you can judge on its performance and functionality rather than
CITROEN'S Saxo wasn't the most prepossessing of cars during its life, but it had a huge appeal to the section of drivers who like to enhance their hatchbacks. Over night it sprouted huge rear wings, bulging wheel arches and cannon like exhaust pipers
A HOT Ford Ka, bet you never imagined there could be such a thing, but there is and if you haven't already tried it then the SportKa is well worth considering, not least because it is a very deceptive piece of kit. What makes the difference to the SportKa
FOR decades Suzuki has been fighting the car sales war in the UK with one had tied behind its back - cars designed for Japan that have then been adapted (not always successfully) for Europe. The result has been an array of quirky, often very small, and
A STEP back in time to the 18th century will see blacksmiths, craftsmen and food producers displaying their wares in North Dorset next month. More than 60 stallholders have already signed up for the Daily Echo-backed Milton Abbas Street Fair, which takes
TWO Lyme Regis schools have been given top awards by the national Arts Council. St Michael's primary and Woodroffe secondary schools have both been given the Artsmark Gold award. The Arts Council gave 1,161 awards but only 494 gold awards were given in
VOTERS in Lyme Regis have called for a byelection to replace disqualified town councillor Stan Williams. West Dorset District Council received the 10 requests needed for an election to be held. If no election had been called the town council would have
ALAN Connell's uncertain future at Cherries is not a disagreement over the player's wages, according to Sean O'Driscoll. The Cherries striker is one of only two players left out of contract who are yet to finalise their plans for next season. Dani Rodrigues
AS THE borough's first purpose-built skateboard and BMX track nears its official opening at Somerford on July 3, wheels are already turning to create a similar facility at the town's 2Riversmeet sports arena. Largely funded by a £62,000 lottery grant
LYME Regis Development Trust was accused of empire building this week as Uplyme Parish Council turned down an offer to join its latest project. The group should be "kept at arm's length," Coun Brian Mason warned village councillors on Wednesday. "We should
A COMMUNITY project to set up a centre dedicated to the needs of children under 12 in Lyme Regis received a £50,000 boost this week. Initial funding has been awarded to build a new Children's Centre on the grounds of St Michael's School. Dorset County
