A SILENT killer is rearing its head in Dorset many years after victims were first exposed to its dangers. Lethal asbestos is claiming many lives across the county despite its risks being recognised nearly a century ago. District coroner Sheriff Payne
LULWORTH residents are furious over Wessex Water proposals to position a sewage pumping station in the centre of their village. Wessex Water has drawn up proposals for two pumping stations - one adjacent to the village hall and a second just outside the
A SERIES of charity motorbike tours got off to a golden start. Around 92 riders from all around the country descended on Swanage on March 29 for a 60-mile rip-roaring route around the Isle of Purbeck. The event, organised by the Wessex Wings, saw members
A BID is being made to have the Union Flag fluttering above the civic centre in Poole rather than the blue "Poole" logo flag which currently rules the roost. The question of what should be at the top of the town's most prominent flag pole has been posed
A DORSET club's dreams of playing at a world famous football tournament could be scuppered by the deadly Sars outbreak. Wimborne Town FC are due to fly to the Far East at the end of May after being chosen as England's non-league representatives at this
A WEYMOUTH soldier has been hailed a hero after killing an Iraqi soldier who was launching a sneak attack on his colleagues. The Fedayeen fighter, one of Saddam Hussein's fanatical militia, had played dead to get in close with a rocket-propelled grenade
THE hospital treatment of an inmate at The Verne cost prison bosses £150,000, according to a new report today. The Portland jail's 2002 annual Independent Monitoring Board overview has raised concerns over the impact of hospital bed watches on the prison's
HE'S worked across the globe as a forester but Donald Thompson has ended his 36-year career on a high in his favourite forest, the New Forest. For the past five years Donald has been the area's top forester as Deputy Surveyor of the New Forest for the
A FAMILY has spoken of their relief that their 333-year-old cottage escaped devastation thanks to the efforts of more than 80 firefighters. On Monday evening 10 fire units and 83 firefighters tackled the thatch roof blaze at Brook Cottage in Poplar Lane
A NORTH Dorset town looks set to get a new supermarket nearly a decade after the idea was first mooted - but the identity of the operator has still not been officially revealed. The facility is expected to mean major changes in shopping habits in Shaftesbury
HEAVY horse power will be pulling wagons and ploughs - and crowds of enthusiasts - to Harbridge, near Ringwood, on Sunday. The Southern Counties Heavy Horse Association brings its annual spring event to Harbridge Farm to showcase the strength, skills,
SECURICOR officials were today (April 9) meeting for talks with the GMB union to try and avert a strike which could leave bank cash machines empty over Easter. Thousands of Securicor guards are threatening to strike from midnight on April 14 in protest
CHERRIES are launching a new long-term season ticket offer to help fund the completion of Dean Court and pay off a chunk of the club's outstanding debts. The scheme - which will be known as CherrySeat - will enable supporters to buy their season tickets
A PILOT has been praised for his skill in averting disaster when an engine blew up on a packed Bournemouth-based holiday jet moments before taking off from a Spanish airport. Capt Al Falconer was at the controls of the Palmair Boeing 737 when the starboard
WHAT do you get when you come across a jester running along Bournemouth seafront? Chris McColl training for the London Marathon of course! The comic has been busy preparing for the famous marathon where he aims to jog the 26 miles while telling a staggering
BOURNEMOUTH is set to become one of Britain's top concert venues this summer after the Fitness First Stadium was given the green light to host 20,000-capacity events. Councillors gave AFC Bournemouth the go-ahead to stage six large-scale events after
TENNIS players are being invited to enter a team for the Peugeot Inter-Club Challenge. This popular nationwide contest offers the chance to win a fabulous trip to Spain to play in the Grand Final at La Manga Club (April 17). Club Challenge is free to
THE final seal was last night placed on a rescue plan to save the Fourways Day Centre from closure. And a plea was made to draw a line under recriminations for the way in which the day centre users were thrown into turmoil by talk of shutting the popular
WIMBORNE scrum-half Simon Cuff rattled up 10 points as they beat Chippenham 15-0 to fix up a Dorset and Wiltshire Cup final showdown against Swanage and Wareham. Cuff, the Leigh Parkers' man-of-the-match, converted their first try, which was scored by
DORCHESTER'S promotion prospects were given another big lift last night when Dr Martens Eastern Division leaders Eastbourne Borough were held to a shock draw at home by fourth-from-bottom Corby Town. The incident-packed 2-2 draw at Priory Lane saw the
VICTIMS of domestic violence in East Dorset may soon be given sanctuary from violent homes thanks to a £10,000 pilot scheme to fund rented accommodation. Councillors at East Dorset District Council approved recommendations from the overview and scrutiny
IRATE residents claim industrial waste is ruining parts of Dorchester. Anti-litter campaigners made fresh calls for people in the county town to clean up their act after plastic materials appeared in the streets. Pensioner Rosemary Richards, 71, who lives
COUNCILLORS are being urged to back a scheme which would check members having contact with children and other vulnerable people. Tomorrow's full meeting of Weymouth and Portland council will also be asked to work with the Criminal Records Bureau to implement
TOP auctioneers Sotheby's are to handle the sale of a Dorset collection of porcelain which could be worth more than £400,000. The collection was put together over 40 years by the late George Wingfield Digby of Sherborne and his wife Cornelia. Mr Wingfield
THEY formed part of many a childhood - offering advice on everything from crossing the road to the dangers of playing near rivers. Now more than 40 years after the 12 furry friends that make up the Tufty Club took their own brand of road safety to classrooms
THE circus may be coming back to Dorchester nearly a year after it was turned away from town in a row over rules. Dorchester Agricultural Society hopes Gilbert and Paulo's Circus will raise the big top at the Cokers Frome Showground at the end of June
SCHOOLS in Dorchester and Weymouth are celebrating today after becoming the first in Dorset to win special new status. The government awarded training school status to four schools in Dorchester and Puddle-town as well as Westfield Technology College
WEYMOUTH residents and traders are protesting at the closure of another public toilet. Nearly 300 people have signed a petition which will be presented to Weymouth and Portland Borough Council in a bid to overturn its decision to shut the lavatory in
