A man in his 30s attacked a 12-year-old boy with severe autism in a play area. Three staff and three students from Portfield School in Hurn were on an outing to a play area on the Boscombe cliff-top when the assault happened. All three children have severe
CHARITY shops and jumble sales have been popular outlets for second-hand clothes for decades. Bargain-hunters have spent years sifting through piles of old jumpers in the hope of finding a discarded designer label or perhaps an unwanted leather jacket
IF you don't succeed the first time try, try again..... and for Bournemouth's Michelle Wright it was third time lucky in the 2003 Echo Star Trail talent contest. For the 18-year-old who had been runner-up both last year and the year before, victory was
TOWN centre businesses were today blasted for Weymouth's below-par performance in the Britain in Bloom competition. The resort could only manage a Silver Gilt award - effectively joint third place - in the Tesco Cup for populations of 25,000-69,999 in
A UNION head has criticised plans to send firefighters to medical emergencies instead of paramedics. Karen Adams, the secretary of the Dorset Fire Brigade Union, claimed the scheme uses fire staff as 'cheap first-aiders' and could put them at risk. She
GROUPS of drunks are regularly swigging from bottles underneath signs which ban public drinking, residents say. Up to 15 people at a time have been reported drinking at the Crescent in Boscombe, prompting some locals to demand action. One neighbour said
DORCHESTER 41 BOGNOR REGIS 24 DORCHESTER completed their warm-up programme with a confident victory over a muscular Bognor side. Six tries, all scored by good handling and support from open play, gave the home crowd reason to anticipate a season of attacking
PORTLAND could be without six of their leading players when they travel to Bournemouth Poppies tonight in the Wessex League. With central defender Alan Rodgers already sidelined with a back injury and assistant manager Andy Mason sitting out a lengthy
PATIENT Mark Robinson reckons he's enjoying life at Weymouth more than ever despite only seeing 57 minutes of first team football this season. The midfielder has spent virtually all of the Terras campaign on the bench and admits he's chomping at the bit
MARK Morris is set to ring the changes again tonight when Dorchester take on Tiverton Town at the Avenue Stadium. The Magpies boss switched to a defensive back five away to table-toppers Worcester City on Saturday - but he's expected to return to the
A SCOUT leader today hit out at Prince Charles for rent rises which he claims threatens the future of the group. Youth leaders were shocked when the Duchy of Cornwall increased charges on a Dorchester meeting centre from £1,600 a year to £5,000 and backdated
FREE driving lessons are to be offered to drivers who use a notorious stretch of road. The A37 was branded Death Valley after five motorists died in the space of two months last summer including two crashes within days of each other at Stratton near Dorchester
FOOTBALL fans went quackers at a duck race to raise more than £300 for charity. Dorchester Town Football Club's fundraisers, Avenue Forward Line, held the third annual event at Hangman's Cottage on Sunday in aid of CancerCare Dorset. The ducks cost £1
A PROPOSAL to tax visitors to Weymouth already has tourists running scared, a tourism chief claimed today. Keith Salmon, chairman of the World Heritage Coast Hospitality Association made the claims in response to claims from borough councillor Tim Munro
A YOUNG artist whose drawings of Poundbury were turned into a set of postcards has been praised for his work by Prince Charles. The Prince of Wales has sent a personal letter to John Wilson, praising him for his work, after being sent a set of the cards
FRESH calls have been made for CCTV in Dorchester amid fears that criminals see the county town as an easy target. Concerns about increasing violence and theft were voiced by financial adviser Andrew Parry, who said: "There is now almost a ritual of some
A LONG-AWAITED new school in Crossways could open in September 2005. The school is being proposed for the village as part of a plan to build 140 homes at Woodsford Fields. At their meeting tomorrow, members of Dorset County Council's Cabinet are being
