TRADITIONAL white Dorset ambulances are to be repainted yellow to bring them into line with Europe. The county's first yellow ambulance is likely to take to the road within the next year as part of new regulations to make emergency vehicles uniformly
SWANAGE residents are making the unusual call for a children's playground to be replaced with bricks and mortar because they are so fed up with noisy gangs of youths. They claim the children's area off Sydenham Road is being used as an evening hang-out
A POOLE church has taken a bold step forward to restore its historical beauty. In an innovative project the dilapidated St James' Church Hall is set to receive a much-needed makeover. The scheme, which involves the construction of six loft-style apartments
Not only did I go out on Saturday night, I went out of the county - into deepest darkest Somerset - Taunton to be exact. An old friend who used to live on Portland was being given a surprise birthday party and a mini bus had been hired to take a group
IAN Hutchinson will become the fifth player to leave Weymouth in the past fortnight when he completes a move to Dorchester Town, later today. The Terras midfield star is joining the Dr Martens Eastern Division promotion chasers on loan until the end of
THREE goals in a blistering opening 20 minute spell helped Weymouth ease past Wimborne Town in last night's Dorset Senior Cup semi-final tie at the Avenue Stadium. Martin Underhay, Kevin Parker and Mark Robinson were all on target for the Terras who now
PUB-GOERS went ahead with a surprise strip-o-gram party for one of their fellow regulars last night... even though he had died just hours earlier. Friends who arranged the bash for Frankie McMahon were devastated when he died of a heart attack on the
SHOPKEEPER Martin Haley has banned councillors from his Dorchester store in a row over car boot sales hitting trade. Mr Haley, who runs the Conservatory seed and gardening shop in Hardye Arcade, threw out the mayor, Wally Gundry in protest against the
Dorset County Hospital is stepping up security after a burglar broke into the maternity outpatients' ward and stole office equipment. The burglar smashed a window to get into the unit and vandalised a vending machine early yesterday. West Dorset General
A BITTER row has broken out after council chiefs were accused of ignoring the views of a community group they helped to set up. Community leaders on Portland are furious because they claim decisions made with the help of the borough council seem to have
FOUR caring youngsters at a Weymouth school raised £70 towards the Echo-backed appeal for a RSPCA animal shelter in Dorset. Emily de Chazal, Laura Woolley, Emma Davies and Vicki Butterworth, all aged 10, spent their break-times selling cakes and running
CHIRPY Cockney popsters Chas 'n' Dave bring their celebrated music hall knees-up to Jumpin' Jaks on Bournemouth Waterfront tonight (March 7). The duo, who enjoyed considerable success in the early 1980s with their cheery pub rock, have in fact played
ANGRY campaigners took over the offices of a Weymouth housing association in a bitter protest over nuisance neighbours. Members of Dorset Noise Abuse gathered to demonstrate to chiefs at Weymouth and Portland Housing Association over levels of noise pollution
SHOPPERS are set for an encore performance of entertainment in Dorchester town centre after the success of street entertainment last summer. Martin Ansell, from Dorchester and District Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, has appealed for shop bosses
A CAMPAIGN to support a health centre in an impoverished part of Africa is gathering pace as students jump at the chance of raising more cash. Pupils at Budmouth Technology College in Weymouth working towards their Duke of Edinburgh Awards are organising
DRAMA students at Thomas Hardye School in Dorchester honed their performance skills in workshops with professional actress Tammy Fessey. Tammy, 24, is a former Thomas Hardye School student and is now working with a theatre group in London. She has studied
FUNNYGIRL Su Pollard may currently be appearing in The Pirates of Penzance at Southampton's Mayflower Theatre (end March 9) but soon you'll able to hear her dulcet tones on TV. She tells us that she's been signed up to voice a new animation called Little
A 16-year-old was killed in a tragic accident when a driver mistook his body in the road for a bin-liner, an inquest heard. Robert Thomas, of Wheat Close, Kingston, Sturminster Newton, died of multiple injuries after a truck transporting dairy products
IT is going to be a gruelling seven-day journey across the Moroccan Sahara desert - an arduous 138-mile adventure under a scorching sun. It will be a battle of the fittest, but gritty Joe Shepherd has set his sights on completing the Marathon Des Sables
CHILDREN who attend schools near mobile phone masts are not being subjected to harmful emission levels, according to a government study. Masts near Parkstone Grammar School and Canford Heath Middle School were among 100 tested across the country by the
EAST DORSET - pipped by Palmerston for the title in a dramatic finish last season - have regained the Bramley Bowl as Hampshire League Division One champions. Despite losing 6-2 (81-76) at Banister Park, the Christchurch club hold an unassailable lead
WIMBORNE'S Weymouth Dorset Senior Cup jinx continued as the Terras crushed Town 4-1 in the semi-final at Dorchester's Avenue Stadium. For the fourth time in as many years, Alex Pike's side came unstuck against the cash-strapped South Dorset outfit as
CHILDREN who attend schools near mobile phone masts are not being subjected to harmful emission levels, according to a government study. Masts near Parkstone Grammar School and Canford Heath Middle School were among 100 tested across the country by the
A STRAY cigarette has been blamed for sparking an inferno which killed an elderly couple in their village home near Dorchester. West Dorset Coroner Michael Johnston heard how firefighters found heavy smokers Eric and Margaret Lofthouse huddled beneath
A WEYMOUTH teenager has been awarded his coveted Green Beret after becoming a Royal Marine Commando. Darren Cobb, 17, a former All Saints schoolboy from Wyke Regis, has just completed the 30 weeks of his initial training. He said: "Commando training is
NO ONE was more surprised than Andy Davies when someone recognised him in a do-it-yourself store the other day. The one-time Poole boy-made-good may have spent most of the past decade working in radio and TV but almost all of it has either been behind
HAMWORTHY KSE has been contracted to supply sewage treatment systems for Britain's new Type 45 destroyers. The new Type 45s are to be constructed at BAe Systems at Scotstoun and Vosper Thorneycroft at Porchester. Hamworthy KSE's advanced membrane bioreactor
WORK is to get underway on developing a major strategy for Christchurch town centre - including a development brief for one of its prime sites, the former magistrates' court. Christchurch Borough Council has employed independent consultants Pieda Consulting
