BOURNEMOUTH is set for an employment boost thanks to the new B&Q Warehouse at Castlepoint that will create around 89 jobs. The £25million development looks set to create hundreds of jobs at dozens of stores. Just weeks ago Asda announced plans to
DOG groomer Leesa Cunningham has collected an amazing 3,500 signatures demanding action on the irresponsible use of fireworks. The Daily Echo is to take her petition to Westminster tomorrow along with 4,500 coupons sent in response to our Bang Out of
FERNDOWN'S British individual medley champion Alex Savage hit the form of her life to lead a feast of record-breaking in the opening weekend of the 2003 Dorset championships at Littledown. Her team-mate Seth Chappels also chipped in with a couple of outstanding
EVERYTHING seems to be going to plan for Parkstone Yacht Club's Annie Lush and her Olympic campaign with team Cathy Foster and Jane Norris. It's been quite an eventful two months for the trio. First they competed in the Palamos Olympic Classes Christmas
FIRST-TEAM manager Geoff Butler and assistant Ricky Haysom take charge of Jewson Wessex Combination table-toppers Weymouth Reserves' match at Bemerton Heath Harlequins tonight. Second team boss Dave Kiteley is still suffering from the flu so Butler takes
WEYMOUTH Boxing Club are hoping Wey Valley student Brendan Thomas can land them their first national schoolboy title for over 40 years. The 14-year-old Thomas, who was recently crowned as the new Schools' ABA Western Counties Champion, is aiming for a
PUDDLETOWN teenager Dan Belt is counting down the days to the start of a cricketing adventure in the Caribbean. The 15-year-old pace bowler from the Dorchester Thomas Hardye School flies out from Heathrow on April 11 as part of a West of England under
VILLAGERS, five parish councils, two district councils and Dorset County Council have united to fight plans to build 600 houses in woodland near Dorchester. More than 150 villagers turned out last night to make plans to block a development at Redbridge
A FORMER army officer has pleaded guilty to living on the earnings of prostitution and assisting in the management of a brothel. Weymouth magistrates heard how Michael David Chubb, 54, received £500 a month from his live-in girlfriend, who the prosecution
NEARLY 400 new child care places are to be created in the county. Dorset Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership has been awarded £196,145 from the New Opportunities Fund to employ 10 full time and 52 part time child care staff at six new before
A ROW is brewing over changes to the way a Weymouth ferry service is run. Cruise boat skippers look set to clash with ferry operator White Motor Boats at a council meeting next week accusing the owners of trying to go back on agreements already made.
A MUM of six wrote off her partner's BMW car by crashing into a tree on the Weymouth-Bridport coast road after a heated row, a court was told. Wendy Ann Parker admitted aggravated vehicle taking and driving without insurance when she smashed her partner's
TODDLERS grappled their way round an obstacle course to raise cash for the First Steps Pre-School in Dorchester. Nearly 30 youngsters, aged two to four, tackled a climbing frame, jumped through hoops, crawled through a tunnel and dodged hurdles during
BOTH South and West Dorset MPs are in favour of urgent military action being taken to disarm Saddam Hussein. Labour's Jim Knight and the Shadow Home Secretary Oliver Letwin both threw their weight behind Tony Blair's push for war yesterday as MPs went
NEW Forest tree surgeons were fined almost £10,000 when they appeared in court on health and safety charges after a worker lost a finger in an accident nearly three years ago. Edward Brown, 61, of Cowpitts Lane, Ringwood, appeared before New Forest magistrates
CUTTING-edge technology in the field of digital x-rays has won £2.25 million venture capital backing to put a group of computer experts at the forefront of a global medical revolution. Meridian Techniques headed by Peter Quinn from Ringwood, Adrian Dwyer
CONTROVERSIAL plans for a mobile chicken unit in an area of outstanding natural beauty have been given the green light - despite concerns it would cause a stink. Residents living close to the proposed site at Lower Hilton Farm, Hilton, near Blandford,
CUTTING-edge technology in the field of digital x-rays has won £2.25 million venture capital backing to put a group of computer experts at the forefront of a global medical revolution. Meridian Techniques headed by Peter Quinn from Ringwood, Adrian Dwyer
THE fight to secure the future of urban post offices has been stepped up by Dorset's MPs. As the closure of another post office in Christchurch was announced, a 15-strong contingency of MPs tackled the Government at a debate on the issue. The debate -
A TEENAGER will have metal plates in her jaw for the rest of her life after a young man assaulted her, a court heard. James Cunningham, 22, of Burton Road, Christchurch, pleaded guilty at Bournemouth Crown Court to one common assault and one assault causing
PLAYERS from AFC Bournemouth will be displaying fancy moves of a different sort when they stride down the catwalk at a charity fashion show. Some 20 players and staff from the club have agreed to become models for the night at the Daily Echo backed-event
PROTESTERS have lost their bid to stop Bournemouth council selling off allotments for development. Deputy prime minister John Prescott has agreed that the council can dispose of five acres of land, despite protests including a 360-signature petition.
WITH echoes of Stanley Kubrick's landmark 2001: A Space Odyssey, as well as early 90s' box office smash Ghost, Steven Soderbergh's reworking of this cultish 1972 sci-fi plodder looks great, moves oh-so slowly and ends having far more questions than it
A COUPLE who saw their plans for their dream home reduced to tatters after they breached planning rules are having a second attempt. Simon and Elizabeth Bowden are hoping for better luck with their new application for a home alongside the Sandbanks shoreline
THE fight to secure the future of urban post offices has been stepped up by Dorset's MPs. As the closure of another post office in Christchurch was announced, a 15-strong contingency of MPs tackled the Government at a debate on the issue. The debate -
A YEAR after being crowned Hampshire League champions East Dorset have plunged to the other extreme and been relegated from Division One. Their fate was sealed ironically in an 8-0 (104-59) drubbing by Rushmoor - last season's Division Two kings whose
When I woke up at 6.38am precisely on Sunday morning, there was a blacksmith hammering at an anvil in my head. Whatsmore, somebody had coated my throat with sandpaper, my bladder was about to burst and I seemed to have very little control over my legs
A DRIVER fell asleep at the wheel moments before a crash which killed her husband on the Dorchester bypass, an inquest was told. Witnesses said they saw Christine Sale's eyes closed and her head slumped to one side before the smash on the A35 between
PATIENTS have hailed new cannabis sprays developed by a Dorchester doctor as a great success before final results are lodged next month. They say the GW Pharmaceutical drugs have helped relieve symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in clinical trials involving
CHARITY shop helpers fear they could be facing the axe because not enough donated stock is reaching them. Staff warn that the Oxfam store in St Mary Street, Weymouth, may have to stop trading if people do not step up contributions of second-hand items
DOG owners are being asked by police to make sure they sign their pets up to a council-run registration scheme. Officers are urging them to get involved in the Weymouth and Portland Borough Council initiative to make it easier for stray dogs to be reunited
A RICH brew of Dorset pubs is featured in the new Real Ale Pub Guide 2003. The county-by-county guide to more than 2,500 pubs has 57 from Dorset including free houses and brew pubs. Among illustrated pubs is the Crown Inn at Bridport which is tied to
FATHERS of young children are being urged to make use of new laws to balance their home and work lives. The government is calling on business leaders to help create a new work culture to tackle the problem of long hours. A £1 million campaign has been
