FIFTY-EIGHT per cent of people, who voted in a recent website poll, declared an interest in the World Cup Finals -41 per cent of people said they were not. Log on to www.thisisdorset.net/dorset/bournemouth to vote in this week's question: Can England
TEN-year-old Maria Belcher was overjoyed when she was invited to London to audition for the film Thunderpants. Along with a dozen other pupils from Bournemouth's Swish of the Curtain Drama School, she was offered a part in the film which has been showing
A DORSET village hall was the unlikely venue for a performance of sacred music and dance by eight Tibetan Buddhist monks. The monks of the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery in India appeared at the Salisbury Festival as part of their nationwide Spirit of Peace tour
IT'S a real blot on the landscape - as far as many villagers are concerned. The farm building, just a stone's throw from Dorset's World Heritage Site, has sparked a storm of protest in rural Purbeck. Residents in Kingston are gathering signatures on a
BRANKSOME Park snapped back into form just in time for Saturday's vital confrontation with Section One leaders Boscombe Cliff by beating Cliff's A side 12-2 (87-72). After failing to win their previous two matches the champions urgently needed a pick-me-up
FROM one extreme to the other. That is the tale for Wessex who, after crashing to struggling Christchurch the previous week, thumped high-flying New Milton 14-0 (94-61) in Section Two. Geoff Lowcock, Philip Lawrence, Malcolm Peters and Steve Van Wyk (
MANY people regarded Brian James as the 'voice of running', particularly in Bournemouth and throughout Dorset - but sadly Brian has died following a short illness. He had been a prominent member of Bournemouth Athletic Club for more than 50 years and
FOUR of Dorset's hottest properties will pit their wits against the cream of British athletics when they compete at the Commonwealth Games trials this weekend. Distance duo Colin McCourt and Charlotte Moore, hurdler Sian Scott and triple-jumper Rachel
Defensive rock Rio Ferdinand snuffed out the Nigerian attack to give England a double cause for celebration in Osaka today. The £35million Manchester United target enhanced his reputation by almost single-handedly frustrating the Super Eagles in a drab
YOUNGSTERS at Chickerell Primary School have struck gold, thanks to their artistic talents. Pupils' achievements in art, dance, music and drama have earned an Artsmark Gold Award - the top national honour for schools who show commitment to providing opportunities
RUNNERS from Dorset are expected to be greeted by cheering crowds as they carry the Commonwealth Jubilee Baton through the county as part of a massive nationwide event. The baton, which contains a message from the Queen, is being carried through 500 British
WEYMOUTH'S historic Nothe Fort has cashed in on two new exhibits with the arrival of an old pounds, shillings and pence till and the tail fin from a bomb. The Dorset Echo published an appeal when the fort asked for a till to boost its Second World War
HIGHWAYS chiefs are under fire for refusing to order urgent road safety improvements at the Eype junction on Bridport bypass - because not enough people have died there. The town council's criticism follows the latest accident at the weekend when the
PUBLICANS celebrated a night of quiz fun after a fundraising bid for a leading cancer charity. Martin and Beverley West from the Borough Arms in High East Street, Dorchester, raised cash for CancerCare Dorset after holding a pub quiz night. Trivia buffs
THE PLUG has been pulled on a major music festival set to be staged in the New Forest this summer. Somerley 02, was due to be held on the Somerley Estate, near Ringwood on Saturday, August 3. But the organisers, Bournemouth-based Conspiracy Events, blamed
PLANS for a massive new housing development on the edge of a North Dorset town have received a mixed reaction from residents. Around 700 homes are proposed on a 23-hectare site on the eastern side of Shaftesbury. The land has been earmarked for development
CHERRIES will be hoping to unearth the new Jermain Defoe or Rio Ferdinand after the Football League announced plans to overhaul the loan system. The new regulations, which come into effect next season, will allow Cherries to take more players on loan.
A GYPSY site near Bere Regis is being overrun by rats. The council-owned site at Coldharbour has 15 pitches but just four gypsy families currently live there surrounded by empty plots. Parents are in fear for their children's safety, claiming rats are
BRIDPORT'S Doreen Boulton and Shirley Bowley of Greenhill are among five newcomers called up by Dorset for their National Express Johns Trophy debuts against Hampshire. Boulton won the Dorset singles three years ago after being runner-up the previous
PIRATES captain Gary Havelock today stressed Poole boss Neil Middleditch has put the pride back into riders representing their country. Havelock, who lines up for Team Great Britain against Sweden at Wimborne Road tonight (7.30pm), said: "Since Neil took
TOP Swede Tony Rickardsson will be gunning for revenge tonight at Wimborne Road writes Phil Chard. The four-time World champion finished on the losing side in his only previous full international appearance at Poole. So he will be out to even up the score
HOUSEHOLDERS in Wimborne face paying the highest rates in East Dorset to park near their homes when the county council takes over enforcement from the police. Dorset County Council members recommended yesterday to increase the existing annual cost of
A 39-YEAR-OLD man was found unconscious after collapsing in scrubland in Weymouth. The man, who is from Weymouth, was reported missing by his family who were concerned he may have taken too much medication. Police officers launched a search of open land
STAFF at a free advice centre say more helpers are desperately needed to give up their spare time. The appeal from the Citizens' Advice Bureau (CAB) coincides with National Volunteers' Week, which runs from June 7 to 14 and aims to raise the profile of
PLANNERS are being urged to take action and stop caravan parks from expanding into protected fields. Liberal Democrat councillor Brian Ellis claims the owners of two holiday parks are destroying a field in Preston, Weymouth, by removing fences and hedges
A DISABLED man has hit out at care services after being left without proper washing facilities in his home. Charles Gillis, who suffers from severe arthritis, had a £3,500 shower installed in his rented home in Carlton Road North, Weymouth, after his
FEARS that Dorset's town and parish councils face a growing shortage of candidates have been expressed by North Dorset MP Robert Walter. A new report by the Economic and Social Research Council and the University of Aberystwyth warns there is a lack of
BOURNEMOUTH-BASED Bowlplex has invested more than £7.5 million in three new bowling entertainment centres. Two Bowlplex centres will be opened in Dudley in September and Birmingham early in 2003, creating 80 jobs. They follow the launch of an 18-lane
PHYSIO John Cooper has quit Dean Court to take up a new post with the Scottish FA and Scottish Institute of Sport. Cooper, who has been with Cherries for two years, has been appointed as a liaison physiotherapist to work with the cream of Scotland's young
TEN-year-old Maria Belcher was overjoyed when she was invited to London to audition for the film Thunderpants. Along with a dozen other pupils from Bourne-mouth's Swish of the Curtain Drama School, she was offered a part in the film which has been showing
