WITH a 16 per cent shortage of chefs throughout Dorset, six candidates recently signed up for a six-day fast-track catering course. The Novice with Promise campaign is an initiative by the Dorset New Forest Tourism Partnership and The College to attract
INTEREST RATE rises and the Bank of England's recent warnings over market prospects have applied the breaks on house price rises across the South West,. That is according to the latest housing market survey from RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
BLIMEY o'Riley. A field at Breamore was a magnet for Riley Motor Club members at the weekend. From the tiniest Elfs to the chunkiest RMH police car the gleaming Rileys poured through the gate from across the South and West. There were a few from further
DIY giant B&Q was warned FIVE times that staff at their stores were flouting safety laws in the months before a Poole grandmother was crushed to death by a forklift truck, it has been revealed. In the 18 months before Pamela Hinchliffe died in its
A MISCHIEVOUS hamster was back behind bars after escaping from its cage and spending two days in hiding under the dashboard of a car. Linda Neal, 31, of Wimborne Road, in Ferndown, bought the furry escape artist named Lucky as a gift for her youngest
WEDNESDAY'S Royal visit will be a special day for a whole host of people including staff at the Rock Shop on Pier Approach - one of the selected stops for the Royal visit to Bournemouth Pier. Leaseholder Michael Winterford says he and his staff are "delighted
THOUSANDS of pounds are being ploughed into increased police patrols in response to a hike in drunken violence and antisocial behaviour. Operation Protect has been launched by Dorset Police and will see around £13,000 spent on police overtime to provide
PAUL JONES is fast becoming the Dorset player of the season after gathering all the honours in the Dorset PGA-Bournemouth Alliance Championship for the second successive year. The 27-year-old Canford Magna assistant professional sprang a major surprise
LANDSCAPE art with a difference is on offer at the Red House Museum in Christchurch where a new exhibition, Coordinates, is currently displaying work by local painters Peter Joyce, Martyn Brewster, Aisling Hedgecock, Brian Turner and the filmmaker Terry
6 Cross Way; 8/04/0490, amendments to planning permission ref: 8/03/0298 for extensions to property to include a tiled pitched roofed single storey rear extension in place of conservatory; JG Harrison, Harriplan Ltd, 4 Leybourne Avenue, Bournemouth (for
COUNCILLORS have agreed to move on to the next stage of plans to combine two Poole schools. An ageing population and fewer children have led to the council's plan of merging Hillbourne Community First and Nursery School and Hillbourne Middle. Parents
DIY giant B&Q was warned FIVE times that staff at their stores were flouting safety laws in the months before a Poole grandmother was crushed to death by a forklift truck, it has been revealed. In the 18 months before Pamela Hinchliffe died in its
LOLA Laforet is considered by the police to be a suspect in the disappearance of her husband. He had walked out to buy her a present six months before and has not been seen since. Left to look after the home and run their small hotel in the South of France
ENTERTAINER Gay Pulman was intrigued when she opened an old book she had purchased for 30 pence at a church bazaar and read a simple inscription penned inside. The Rupert Brooke collection of poems was signed by 'J A Edmison, Captain Canadian Army, England
ELLEN'S parents have retired to live in Spain and need to sell their country cottage in the Cotswolds. Unfortunately it has been on the market for several months and only received one offer, well below the asking price. On her arrival at the cottage Ellen
AFTER her husband announces he's leaving her, Rosie goes into shock and decides she must take a life-changing decision to make a life for her daughter and herself. She leaves her stressful job and moves to Wicklow to set up a small art gallery which is
PAUL Gibbs last night signed a one year deal with the Terras and told how it was a case of friends reunited at the Wessex Stadium. Weymouth, who travel to Taunton Town for a pre-season friendly tonight, beat off Conference National side Aldershot in the
PROVISION of affordable housing is an essential part of the region's economic jigsaw. Two years ago more than 75 per cent of working age families in most of Dorset would not have been able to afford to buy a home. Seven of the county's eight council areas
IF you go to the seafront on a sunny day, it is clear why Dorset has one of the highest incidences of skin cancer in the country. Despite the fact that skin cancer rates have doubled every decade since the 1950s, people still flock to the beach at the
DAZZLING dames with daring, dexterity and devilment are a vital element of the traditional big top circus. (August 8) And as the huge Cottle and Austen Combined Circus rolls into Bournemouth today some of the circus world's most stunning and spectacularly
THREE teenagers playing with ball bearing guns in a garden sparked a major operation involving armed police units, tracker dogs, the force helicopter and more than 15 officers. The swoop lasted just a few minutes when it was discovered the guns were not
TWO robbers with a knife threatened a man in Dorchester's Borough Gardens and fled with his £130 Nike trainers and wallet. One of the pair brandished a two-to-three-inch blade at his 18-year-old victim and told him to hand over his shoes and wallet, which
DORCHESTER'S main post office is set to be transformed into a convenience store, it was announced today. The move is part of a deal being brokered with independent company Counter Manage-ment Ltd to take over the running of the South Street branch. Cash-strapped
A BANK in Wyke Regis, Weymouth, took customer service to a new level after a call to the branch was answered - by staff 6,500 miles away in Malaysia. The Portland Road branch of HSBC - which advertises itself as 'the world's local bank' - lived up to
THIS year's New Forest Show got off to a flying start on Tuesday as thousands of visitors poured into the New Park showground at Brockenhurst. They joined the livestock which has been brought from near and far, with Shetland ponies vying for space with
GARETH Stewart still remembers the pain but it is now becoming a more distant memory. The luckless Cherries keeper is hoping he has finally found the light at the end of the tunnel after a horrendous run of injuries that makes Paul Gascoigne and Darren
A CARETAKER has been sentenced to 15 months' imprisonment following a fracas at student accommodation. Oliver Cliff, 24, of Littledown Avenue, Queens Park, tried to kiss resident Lucy Green following a night out drinking. When she rejected his advances
WEDNESDAY'S Royal visit will be a special day for a whole host of people including staff at the Rock Shop on Pier Approach - one of the selected stops for the Royal visit to Bournemouth Pier. Leaseholder Michael Winterford says he and his staff are "delighted
THE brother of a Bournemouth airman whose remains have been recovered from the sea nearly 60 years after the end of the Second World War has spoken of his relief and pride. Michael Reidy was only 15 when his parents received a telegram to say that their
HE was a naturalist who changed the world's thinking with his theory on evolution after voyaging for five years across the globe aboard HMS Beagle. But once Charles Darwin returned to England, he eventually settled with his wife at Down House in Kent.
DORCHESTER have been outbid by Eastleigh in the race to capture Winchester City's FA Vase-winning skipper Danny Smith. The former AFC Bournemouth midfielder signed for the big- spending Ryman Premier League club at the weekend, leaving Magpies boss Mark
AN AMBITIOUS project to uncover ancient archaeological remains dating back to the Bronze Age is due to start in east Dorset next month. A team led by archaeologists from Bournemouth University plans to investigate a number of round barrows from around
IT'S definitely curtains for Blandford's two middle schools as the county council goes ahead with plans to switch the town back to a two-tier system of education. The Blandford School will now take children from 11 and Archbishop Wake School will become
A VET has urged anglers not to leave fishing tackle lying around after three dogs in one day were injured by fishhooks. A peaceful stroll along a beach turned to drama for one group of holidaymakers when their puppy got its tongue impaled on one of the
HEROES of both World Wars will have their voices heard forever thanks to a £195,000 new exhibition at Bovington Tank Museum. For Valour is the title of the new high-tech exhibition presenting the stories of courage and sacrifice behind the museum's medal
TEENAGER Brad Roads is £500 better off after scooping first prize in Weymouth's summer draw. The 17-year-old from Lynch Lane, Weymouth, clinched the cash after his name was pulled out of a hat on the Esplanade last night. The draw helped mark the first
WARTIME sweethearts who met on a double-date have celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary. Friends, family and staff from the Avonlea Nursing Home in Weymouth turned out to toast 60 years of happy marriage. Audrey and Douglas Brown met on an RAF
STEVEN Spielberg's best movie, in my humble opinion, is his first. Duel, originally released as a made-for-TV feature in 1971, stars Dennis Weaver as a car driver terrorised by a monster truck tailgating him through the Arizona desert. It's a scary, thrilling
