CHERRIES fans are being urged to turn out in force tonight to help ensure the club gets its long-awaited new stadium. A public presentation at the BIC will mark the launch of the Ken Dando Stadium Appeal. AFC Bournemouth bosses will give more details
THE massive police operation in Ferndown hunting for a suspect explosive device has been scaled down. After 48 hours spent searching 500 gardens for a device claimed to have been planted by the Tesco mail bomber, nothing has been unearthed. Nothing has
DETECTIVES need to hear from anyone who handled a metal box, which contained the clothes worn by the killer of Poole pensioner Beatrice Wilson. The rusting box was found on wasteland behind Makro in Poole, containing a Berghaus jacket and a white Ben
POOLE secondary schools' best- ever GCSE results have earned a letter from the local education authority congratulating teachers, support staff and governors. It is signed by Borough of Poole chief adviser Jeff Hart, policy director Shirley Goodwin, and
A DISTRAUGHT pet owner from Poole has put up a £1,000 reward for the return of her beloved cat. Mandy Johnstone, from Broadstone, decided to offer the money following the disappearance of her cat Charlie. Charlie is a seven-month-old pedigree blue British
CRIME and disorder and the emotive issue of hunting were among the key items in the Queen's Speech yesterday. The speech coincides with news that violent crime in Dorset has rocketed by 21 per cent in less than a year. And Britain's so-called yob culture
DETECTIVES striving to solve the puzzle of the mystery body washed up in Poole Harbour nearly a year ago have been given fresh hope that the dead man can be identified Investigating officers have received 30 calls from people across Britain after a clay
DOLPHIN tasted double delight in the Famous Grouse Four Nations Classic with their A side beating Victory and the B team overcoming Isle of Wight. Brian Shepherd's rink led the way in the 11-4 (71-58) triumph over Victory in Group I by taking the fours
COUNCILLORS have given unanimous approval to contentious plans for a natural burial ground in East Dorset. The scheme on a 23-acre green belt site at Colehill, near Wimborne, sparked widespread opposition from local people. But after a lengthy debate,
A LEADING Dorset brewery is to face prosecution following the demolition of an historic pub. Blandford-based Hall and Woodhouse failed to notify East Dorset District Council of its intention to knock down the Struan Hotel, Ashley Heath, in August. East
CONCERNED councillors are to splash out more than £60,000 to tackle serious drainage problems on land near Lymington. Hampshire county surveyors have called for the Efford landfill site, off the A337, to be restored quickly to remedy the effects of long-term
DORSET primary schools chalked up a top class showing in league tables published today - smashing national average results across the board. Standards in English, maths, and science are well above the national average - with Dorset schools rocketing into
MOMENTUM is growing behind a bid to save one of Weymouth's most historic buildings. Blackdown House in Cross Road is widely seen as one of the finest examples of Victorian architecture in Weymouth - but it is now threatened with demolition to make way
DORCHESTER'S Christmas Cracker is set to give the town a great boost tonight. And if you are out in the county town you can also help to give the Echo Toy Appeal a boost. Several stores in the town are taking part in our campaign and if you are out shopping
TERRAS boss Andy Mason today played down speculation linking star midfielder Mark Robinson with a move to Reading. The Nationwide Division Two club are believed to be tracking the former Gravesend and Northfleet player, who has been in outstanding form
Dorset's primary school children have proved themselves above the national average for the fourth year running. League tables published today reveal the county's youngsters have topped national standards every year since records began. Youngsters across
DORSET primary schools chalked up a top class showing in league tables published today - smashing national average results across the board. Standards in English, maths, and science are well above the national average - with Dorset schools rocketing into
DORCHESTER'S Christmas Cracker is set to give the town a great boost tonight. And if you are out in the county town you can also help to give the Echo Toy Appeal a boost. Several stores in the town are taking part in our campaign and if you are out shopping
PIRATES have agreed terms with Hans N Andersen to bring the young Dane to Wimborne Road next season. Poole have been tracking the former World Under-21 finalist for two years and hope he will put pen to paper on a contract by the beginning of next week
PAPERMART UK, the Dorset- based independent marketplace for buying and selling paper stocks on-line, is to start trading in sheet paper. The announcement came as the internet service celebrated its first anniversary. Since its launch in November 1999,
LOUISE Damen continued her winter campaign with another resounding victory in Hampshire and District Cross-Country League race at Chichester. The Bournemouth AC star is equally happy racing over track, road or cross-country and revelled in the rolling
LOTTERY grants totalling more than £68,000 have been announced for a cash-strapped Citizens Advice Bureau. The Christchurch CAB, struggling to maintain the free service which helped some 8,000 clients last year, has been given £43,558 to provide a full-time
DETECTIVES investigating the brutal murder of a Bournemouth insurance clerk may soon interview a suspect, it has been revealed. Police in London are currently questioning convicted killer John Cannan about the disappearance of estate agent Suzy Lamplugh
AT LEAST £100,000 worth of goods are being stolen from Bournemouth town centre stores every week. Devious shoplifters are adopting ever more outrageous techniques to relieve stores of around two per cent of their total turnover. And the rest of us are
IT LOOKS as though Poole has seen the last of its hugely popular summer festival evenings on the Quay after appeals failed to raise enough cash for them to continue. Its supporters are devastated but an alternative Sandbanks 'beach party' could spring
STATE-of-the-art new 125mph trains which will be running on the Bournemouth to Reading route by 2002 were unveiled by Sir Richard Branson in Belgium yesterday. The Voyager trains will be starting on Virgin CrossCountry's London, Swindon, Birmingham route
IT WAS a case of better late than never for senior Parkstone yachtsman Harry Evans when he finally joined his club's cruiser winter series after competing on the Solent in the MDL Hamble Winter Series. He wasted no time in making his mark by leading the
THOUGHTLESS horse riders who use Purbeck footpaths and ruin them for walkers are being urged to stick to bridleways. The appeal comes from the Wareham St Martin parish council that covers Northport, Sandford and Holton Heath near Wareham. Parish clerk
All the films on general release throughout Dorset this week, listed and rated... 102 Dalmations (U) Glenn Close, Gerard Depardieu *** See review and interview page 2/3 UCI, Odeon, ABC The Art of War (18) Wesley Snipes, Anne Archer, Donald Sutherland
KEVIN Spurgeon continues to be a role model for golfers approaching middle age because he seems to get better with each year. The chirpy Londoner, who has been living in the Bournemouth area for more than a decade, will be 46 before the official start
TWO new sponsors are waiting to bail out the Dorset Cricket League. The league's annual meeting was told they had received two offers to take over from the Bournemouth- based chartered accountants Princecroft Redman who announc-ed last summer that they
BOURNEMOUTH maintained their promotion challenge with a three-goal win away to Old Mid Whitgiftians in the Hants/Surrey Regional League. Determind to put a couple of indifferent performances behind them, the Dorset side started well and forced a couple
PIRATES have agreed terms with Hans N Andersen to bring the young Dane to Wimborne Road next season. Poole have been tracking the former World Under-21 finalist for two years and hope he will put pen to paper on a contract by the beginning of next week
DORSET has two teams in South Wales and the West Country's top seven for only the second time after the Premier Division final ended with honours even between Bournemouth Dolphins and Ferndown Otters. Otters, who have missed only one final in the last
POOLE Pirates have agreed terms with Hans N Andersen to bring the young Dane to Wimborne Road next season, writes Phil Chard. The Dorset outfit have been tracking the former World Under-21 finalist for two years and hope he will put pen to paper on a
CHERRIES manager Sean O'Driscoll is taking a look at a former AFC Bournemouth youth team player who was released from the club four years ago. Robert Gibbon, who played under O'Driscoll when the Republic of Ireland international was in charge of the Dean
WIMBORNE accountant John Nicholson has been honoured for more than 25 years' dedicated service to the Air Training Corps. Flight Lieut Nicholson, of Poplar Close, was presented with the Lord Lieutenant of Dorset's Certificate of Commendation during a
A prompt response by crews prevented a fire in a boiler room at Queen Elizabeth's School from spreading. The blaze broke out during school hours yesterday. However, damage was confined to the inside of the boiler room away from school buildings after
THE massive police operation in Ferndown hunting for a suspect explosive device has been scaled down. After 48 hours spent searching 500 gardens for a device claimed to have been planted by the Tesco mail bomber, nothing has been unearthed. Nothing has
Dorset's primary school children have proved themselves above the national average for the fourth year running. League tables published today reveal the county's youngsters have topped national standards every year since records began. Youngsters across
TRAGIC schoolgirl Hannah Louise Mulcahy died after taking painkillers 'for a buzz' an inquest heard. Hannah, 14, of Tilleycoombe Road, Portland, swallowed 48 Co-Proxamol tablets and collapsed in front of friends less than an hour later. Attempts to resuscitate
AN intense storm with torrential rain and winds gusting to more than 80mph is poised to batter Dorset today. Police and local authorities are urging drivers to take extreme care tonight when the worst of the weather is expected. Countryside all over Dorset
pensioners in Weymouth have slammed housing bosses after repair work on their homes was left unfinished. 105 houses in the borough have undergone improvement work on windows, bathrooms, doors, kitchens, and roof coverings as part of a repair programme
A CLAIM that plans for Weymouth's relief road could be threatened by Tory tax cuts has been dismissed by South Dorset MP, Ian Bruce. The Government is expected to make an announcement on funding for the Brown Route relief road in the next week. Supporters
SHOPPERS and revellers flocked to Bridport yesterday for the annual Christmas festival organised by the chamber of trade. The town was buzzing, particularly during the evening with shops and stalls trading until 9pm. Rain failed to deter people from turning
DORCHESTER'S Thomas Hardye School is celebrating its success in a national scheme measuring pupils' exam performances. The Queen's Avenue school took part in a project run by the Government's Department of Education and Employment that compared youngsters
LULU the missing kitten had firemen hunting high and low when she performed a magical disappearing act in her Dorchester home. Worried owner Tim Limbach called in the fire brigade after Lulu, who is five months old, vanished beneath the bathroom floorboards
SHOPPERS and revellers flocked to Bridport yesterday for the annual Christmas festival organised by the chamber of trade. The town was buzzing, particularly during the evening with shops and stalls trading until 9pm. Rain failed to deter people from turning
SHOPPERS and revellers flocked to Bridport yesterday for the annual Christmas festival organised by the chamber of trade. The town was buzzing, particularly during the evening with shops and stalls trading until 9pm. Rain failed to deter people from turning
A LEADING Dorset brewery is to face prosecution following the demolition of an historic pub. Blandford-based Hall and Woodhouse failed to notify East Dorset District Council of its intention to knock down the Struan Hotel, Ashley Heath, in August. East
South Coast aerospace and defence specialist Cobham has boosted its Wimborne-based Flight Refuelling division with a £63.8 million deal to buy BAE Systems' power and control business. The BAE Systems Electronics' Power & Control business specialises
PASSENGERS, including commuters, using the services of South West Trains deserve a better deal than the are getting at the moment. That's the view of Christopher Garnett, chief executive of GNER one of the three companies bidding to take over the SWT
TEENAGER Will Ledwith is set to change the lives of an African village community when he leaves for an expedition in February. Will, 18, of Riverlea Road, Christchurch, will spend 10 weeks in the West African country of Ghana with the Raleigh International
LEGAL battles over controversial planning schemes and a lack of money-spinning new applications has left Christchurch Council thousands of pounds out of pocket. The authority is on course to overspend its planning appeals legal advice budget by £44,500
