SKATERS could soon be flocking back to Bournemouth to test their skills on a rink in the resort's Lower Gardens. Twelve years after the controversial closure of the Westover Road ice rink, tourist chiefs are discussing plans to provide a synthetic rink
BRIDPORT Amateur Boxing Club came away with a 100 per cent record from Sturminster Newton. Coach Alan Slaney's three boys all put on great performances to thrill the crowd and add to their growing reputations. Schoolboy Ryan Gay was too good for Tom Brown
Water Polo A REJUVENATED Bridport Barracudas Water Polo junior team successfully competed in the fourth annual Bristol & West Water Polo League's Festival of Polo at Millfield. Many of the team are in their first season, yet with their enthusiasm
WEYMOUTH Reserves closed in on the Wessex Combination League title with an excellent 4-2 win over Winchester City last night. The top of the table Terras, who were boosted by the appearance of first team defenders Mark Kenway and Alex Browne, now need
TEAM manager Neil Middleditch hailed David Ruud as Pirates' match-winner after they had crushed Oxford 51-39 at Wimborne Road in the Elite League last night. But Ruud was just one of a whole team of stars as Poole Meridian Lifts had sewn up victory with
WALKERS have branded Dorset's leisure routes the most dangerous in the country. A report out today from The Ramblers' Association reveals the number of footpath-road crossings where it is impossible to pass without risking serious injury or death is more
DORSET today heaved a sigh of relief that Budget measures turned out to be better than the county had feared. Some felt that yesterday's announcements by Chancellor Gordon Brown could have done more to help the economy but most liked the help for small
WEYMOUTH will enjoy a touch of pomp and ceremony tomorrow as a historic charity more than 300 years old remembers its benefactor. Sir Samuel Mico, a 17th century London merchant who made much of his fortune trading from Weymouth based at the George Inn
CLAIMS that gardeners could abuse a discount in allotment rents have been branded as "nonsense". Wyke Regis Horticultural Society chiefs have hit out at a statement in a borough council committee agenda that a cut in fees for pensioners could result in
BRITAIN'S first Budget during an armed conflict since 1951 has been greeted with scepticism among businesses in Dorset and Hampshire. The FTSE 100 remained firmly in the red while Gordon Brown - Britain's longest serving post-war Chancellor - delivered
A FATHER who denied injuring his baby son has walked free after a jury found him not guilty of cruelty and assault. David John Faulkner, 22, left Dorchester Crown Court yesterday after undergoing a three-day ordeal facing one charge of causing actual
A community worker admitted sexually assaulting nine young boys over a 12-year period while working for a family support charity. The High Court in Glasgow heard how 44-year-old Graham Hammond befriended the boys aged from nine to 13 years, including
BUDDING young thespians at a Weymouth school got a taste of Africa for a production of music and dance. Children from Bincombe Valley Primary School at Littlemoor have been in rehearsals for their Africa adventure for weeks. All their hard work paid off
A DORCHESTER grandfather is walking the length of the Kennet and Avon canal to raise cash for the young and the old. George Hodges, 62, of Came View Close, admits he has never undertaken a challenge like this before, but he was inspired to take the 75
A SCHOOLBOY died when his bike was in collision with a speeding teenage driver who had never passed a test, an inquest heard. Anthony Wakelin, 15, was tossed into the air just yards from his home off Dorchester Road in Wool after being thrown from his
THE Alan Rogers Historic Rally took on a new style which utilised the roads of West Dorset and East Devon. Woolbridge Motor Club were determined to promote a challenging and interesting event, acknowledging the support of the 23 crews who had entered.
YOUNG Bridport players excelled in the under 16 Weymouth indoor six-a-side league at Redlands. A 100 per cent record of played six, won six ensured they secured the league title, doing well to win their two games against Weymouth, who were tough opposition
IT'S time to search out the trainers and shorts because the Bridport Fun Run is almost upon us. So if you want to get up Skilling Hill without stopping, the training had better start now as this year's fun run and the senior event, the Jurassic Coast
THE South and West Dorset summer netball league is underway at Budmouth Community Sports Centre, Weymouth. It's the 25th anniversary of the league and Bridport's representatives got off to a great start in each of the three divisions. Autobitz started
WIMBORNE Wayfarers experienced the highs and lows of knock-out competition at the weekend, winning their Hampshire Trophy semi-final 6-0 on Saturday (April 5) but going out of the National Vase at the same stage a day later to a 5-0 scoreline against
BRIDPORT fought hard to take another crucial and deserved Screwfix Direct Premier Division point at Crown Field last night. Manager Peter Conning had the luxury of only having to make one change, forced on him by an ankle injury to defender Darren Grabham
FORMER England coach Mike Davis is quitting Dorchester Rugby Club. The man who steered England to the Grand Slam in 1980 is leaving his post as Dorchester's coach after their last game of the season at Salisbury on Saturday. Davis, who was capped 18 times
A TEENAGE driver had no driving licence, no insurance and a history of epileptic fits when he was involved in an accident with a 15-year-old boy, a coroner heard. Anthony Mathew Wake-lin, 15, was riding his mountain bike, which had no lights, near his
A TOTAL of 68 firearms have been handed to police in Dorset during the first week of the national guns amnesty. Officers have also received 53 rounds of ammunition in the last seven days. Throughout the force's western division, which includes Weymouth
ELECTION boundaries in Christchurch are being changed for the forthcoming May elections, and council staff expected to receive a few mistaken postal votes. But they were surprised when voting slips began arriving more than a month before polling day -
LUKAS Dryml and David Ruud turned on the style for Pirates as they inflicted the first league defeat of the season on Oxford last night. Dryml, the Czech Republic star, beat Australian Grand Prix rider Todd Wiltshire from behind to bring another big Wimborne
YOUNGSTERS had all the right moves at the launch of a new dance academy in Dorchester. Aspiring Billy Elliotts and Bonnie Langfords can join weekly jazz and tap lessons at the Hot Steps Dance School, headed up by professional entertainer Abbie Heaume,
A CEREMONY has been held at Lulworth Castle to swear in Eleanor Weld as the new High Sheriff of Dorset. She had been selected from the list of sheriffs for England and made her formal declaration yesterday at the castle in front of Anthony Yeatman JP.
WEYMOUTH and Portland could be facing a crippling shortage of more than 2,500 affordable homes by 2006. People trying to take their first step on the housing ladder or skilled workers looking to move into the area cannot afford house prices which have
