THOUSANDS of bus passengers could be left stranded next month as up to 600 Wilts and Dorset bus drivers get set to strike. The drivers voted overwhelmingly in favour of a strike, sparking fears of massive disruption. Poole council's portfolio holder for
NO wonder little Jessica Christison has been wearing a permanently surprised look. The little girl could well be one of the youngest plastic-carrying bank account holders in the UK, after receiving an ATM card from her NatWest branch in Boscombe. For
HOLLYWOOD heart-throb Johnny Depp could be heading for Bournemouth - but not everyone's planning to roll out the welcome mat. The news that the two-times Oscar nominee could play the part of a drug addict in Boscombe has been met with alarm from one councillor
BAR staff are being urged to talk customers into ordering double measures despite fears over binge drinking and alcohol-fuelled violence. Future 3000 employees are being told to push promotions including "doubles for an extra £1" and "six shots for £9
A DAILY Mail reporter who was arrested in Poole after arriving at a house to collect a voting card for Gus Troobev - an anagram of the words "bogus voter" - has launched a legal battle for compensation from Dorset's Chief Constable. Christian Gysin, 46
BAR staff are being urged to talk customers into ordering double measures despite fears over binge drinking and alcohol-fuelled violence. Future 3000 employees are being told to push promotions including "doubles for an extra £1" and "six shots for £9
FOOTBALL is coming home to Corfe Castle. A generous £175,639 grant from the Football Foundation means villagers can finally realise their dream of building a sports pavilion at their West Street ground. Over the past five years villagers have been hard
POOLE'S Lighthouse continues its series of informal, film-related meetings this week. Now Showing, on Monday May 23 from 7pm, allows local film fans to get together and talk about what they've seen, what's coming up and pick up a few discounts to future
FOLLOWING the international hits 8 Women and Swimming Pool, French director Francois Ozon's latest picture has been well received on its limited UK release. We meet Gilles (Stephane Freiss) and Marion (Valeria Bruni Tedeschi) on the day they sign their
NELL, a 17th century apprentice cunning woman, was conceived on May Day and is therefore precious to fairies. This is just as well since the Puritan Minister's daughter doesn't much like her. A spell-binding and suspenseful story. Frances Perkins
JESS Haddon is a point-to-point rider and works in the local stables. Jess lives with her mother and her daughter Izzy. When Izzy finds a book at a jumble sale with Johnnie Bearsden's name written in the front cover, Jess tries hard to keep things secret
HERE'S one to get the adrenalin pumping - a briskly paced, angsty thriller packed with cliff-hanger sequences. Guy Walters sets the action during the German occupation of the Channel Isles, imagining Alderney as the scene of Hitler's last stand against
FRANK'S father digs peat near Glastonbury. As the soil is gruesome stories emerge of Jesus' blood caught in the Holy Grail, Merlin buried alive in a gold coffin, Abbot Whiting crucified for refusing to give up the abbey to Henry VIII and the 1685 Battle
Donovan to stay KEVIN DONOVAN has thanked Bridport Football Club for keeping faith with him and listening to his ideas on it's future. The news comes after the club held a board meeting following their relegation from the Screwfix Direct Western League
Birthday surprise for David Jones IT WAS David Jones birthday on Monday and when he called in to the Lyme club house he received the best present of them all his name was at the top of the leaderboard for the previous day's cup event. His medal round
A MAN seriously injured in an explosion on a Poole industrial estate, which killed his good friend, has recovered enough to speak to his family. David Matthews, 53, from Poole, is still in the high dependency unit of Queen Victoria Hospital, East Grinstead
MORE than 200 new mobile phone masts could be put up in Poole, according to the town's re-elected MP, Robert Syms. Mr Syms is warning that recent comments from industry figures have suggested new "3G" technology will require four times as many masts than
EXPERT cake maker Mary Caplice really takes the biscuit when it comes to community spirit. For years the 85-year-old pastry chef has given up her time to cook tasty treats for young people attending Bridport's Millennium Advice and Information Centre.
A BLOCKADE of Bridports car parks is being planned as a protest against new overnight charges. The French-style demonstration has been called for by Town Crier John Morey. He wants people to join him in forming a human barrier at the entrance to the towns
DORSET students who turned their hand to stockpicking have done 12 times better than the FTSE. Students at Ferndown Upper School saw their theoretical portfolio soar by 60.9 per cent over five months. It made the FTSE 100's 4.72 per cent gain over the
MITSUBISH'S famed rally-inspired Evolution Lancer generation reaches its ninth and final incarnation next month - and the Japanese brand plans to go out on a high note. Originally unveiled as the Evo I in 1992, the breathed-on Lancer road cars have established
JUBILANT residents have won a major battle to throw out plans for 56 homes on the former Weymouth Police Station site off Dorchester Road. Planning officers had urged councillors to support the scheme when they met at Weymouth and Portland Borough Council's
DEVELOPERS have unveiled their vision for the planned new Wessex Stadium retail and leisure complex. Asda wants to leave its harbourside site for a larger store at Weymouth Football Club's home. Under the terms of the deal, the Terras would have a new
MEDIAEVAL roof bosses taken from Ringwood's parish church when it was demolished in Victorian times have been returned as part of the current flower festival to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the present building. The painted carved wooden faces,
WHAT'S in a name? Quite a lot according to residents in North Dorset, where two roads with the same name are causing mass confusion. Plans are afoot to rename Meadow Road in Blandford because residents of a road with the same name in Charlton Marshall
DISQUALIFIED Lyme Regis town councillor Stan Williams merits a medal for his services to the town. He does not deserve a public pilloring after being removed from the council for six months by the Standards Board for breaching the code of conduct, says
WHAT would you do? You are a Z-lister, milling around the posh part of North London, waiting for the next job offer to come along, then, all of a sudden, a telly exec (probably wearing glasses and a bad tie) pops up with a cheque for 50 grand and a ticket
CASH-strapped AFC Bournemouth has been given a further six months to repay a £250,000 council loan or develop additional community services instead. The loan, made to the football club in 2001 to help with the redevelopment of Dean Court, was originally
A DAILY Mail reporter who was arrested in Poole after arriving at a house to collect a voting card for Gus Troobev - an anagram of the words "bogus voter" - has launched a legal battle for compensation from Dorset's Chief Constable. Christian Gysin, 46
S 5x2 (15) Wareham Rex (Fri-Mon only) See preview. A Good Woman (PG) Odeon *** Satisfying update of Oscar Wilde's Lady Windermere's Fan stars Helen Hunt, Mark Umbers and Scarlett Johansson. The Amityville Horror (15) Odeon *** Effective remake of horror
RUSSIAN film-maker, Evgeny Lavrentiev is in Bournemouth this weekend looking for extras for his new film, Iced. A glossy crime thriller set in three different countries, Iced follows the fortunes of a sexy Russian girl who must get to a party, steal millions
FOLLOWING the international hits 8 Women and Swimming Pool, French director Francois Ozon's latest picture has been well received on its limited UK release. We meet Gilles (Stephane Freiss) and Marion (Valeria Bruni Tedeschi) on the day they sign their
WHAT would you do? You are a Z-lister, milling around the posh part of North London, waiting for the next job offer to come along, then, all of a sudden, a telly exec (probably wearing glasses and a bad tie) pops up with a cheque for 50 grand and a ticket
SET in the court of Elizabeth I, this is a story told through the diary of Lady Grace Cavendish, the detective. She is asked to investigate the disappearance of a rare gem. One of Lady Grace's friends has been accused of the theft and Grace is hell-bent
A SIMPLE deck of playing cards can provide hours of entertainment, provided you know what to do with them. And let's face it, you can only watch so many carefully-constructed towers tumble at the slightest breeze before that gets old. Of course, you could
Three out of three for Bridport DORSET SUNDAY LEAGUE DIVISION SIX BRIDPORT 242-5 (20) beat WAYFARERS II 111 (5) by 131 runs BRIDPORT outclassed Wayfarers to record their third win on the bounce in the Dorset Sunday League. In a team effort the home side
Pymore double is quite enough TOMMY TABBERER CUP final Pymore 1 Ilminster Town Colts 3 PYMORE just missed out on a wonderful treble when they lost to Ilminster Town Colts in the Tommy Tabberer Cup final on Wednesday night. Three goals early in the second
SPEEDWAY fan Inez Watkins will never forget 50 years ago when local hero Johnny Thomson was taken to Poole Hospital. She was a 22-year-old trainee nurse on night duty at about 8pm on May 9, 1955, when news came through the Poole rider had been in a crash
MITSUBISHI'S famed rally-inspired Evolution Lancer generation reaches its ninth and final incarnation next month - and the Japanese brand plans to go out on a high note. Originally unveiled as the Evo I in 1992, the breathed-on Lancer road cars have established
MITSUBISH'S famed rally-inspired Evolution Lancer generation reaches its ninth and final incarnation next month - and the Japanese brand plans to go out on a high note. Originally unveiled as the Evo I in 1992, the breathed-on Lancer road cars have established
MORE than 600 people within three days have visited Salt House to study the detailed plans for the future of West Bay. West Dorset District Council leader Robert Gould said: "I am very grateful to all the people that have made the time to see the plans
A PROJECT is being piloted in Beaminster to encourage youngsters to make better use of their local library. The scheme is a partnership between the County's Library Service and the Youth and Community Service, with support from Beaminster Youth Council
THE expense of owning and running a car has risen by around three times the rate of consumer price inflation during the last year, the AA Motoring Trust said on May 20. The costs for a petrol-engine car rose by six per cent in 2004/05, while costs for
PARENTS and governors of East Dorset schools are to attend a debate in Ferndown about the future of educational provision in the area. But the good news is that Ferndown, Wimborne and Verwood are unlikely to lose their middle schools. Furious rows broke
Floyd on the Road: Lighthouse, Poole. Well travelled foodie and bon vivant Floyd arrives in Poole on Sunday May 22 like a breath of freshly distilled air to dispense tales from the hot end of life's skillet. There will be talk of faraway journeys, strange
ADVENTUROUS teenager James Etheridge is appealing for sponsorship to make a dream expedition to Ecuador a reality. Mr Etheridge, 19, of Portland Road, Weymouth, is planning to make the month-long trip with the Dorset Expeditionary Society in late July
STUDENTS have designed postcards with a 'wish you were here' message for the 2012 Olympics. Teenagers from year 12 at Budmouth Technology College created the cards to urge holidaymakers to promote the bid. Now thousands of postcards in four different
CARNIVAL organisers in Dorchester are hoping to create a real party atmosphere ahead of this year's grand parade. Preparations are well under way for this year's carnival, which is due to take place on the evening of June 18. But before the main procession
ANGRY residents reckon workmen have made a botched job of resurfacing pavements. Householders in Littlemoor, Weymouth, were horrified to find a 'black mess' covering the area outside their homes. They knew resurfacing work was scheduled but couldn't believe
OBJECTORS are celebrating today after councillors again threw out proposals for a high-density development at Poundbury, Dorchester. Cheers erupted from the public as West Dorset District Council's planning committee decided by a majority of six to two
LOOKED at objectively, Alfa Romeo's compact 147 hatchback ought to be the shopping list for a lot more drivers - it has stylish looks, plenty of performance and the cache of a classic Italian badge. But somehow it hasn't broken through into the main stream
MORE than 60 parking spaces are set to be created in Christchurch town centre this year with plans drawn up by council engineers to extend two existing car parks. The overgrown rear garden of a property in Wick Lane has been acquired by the council and
CHERRIES star Marcus Browning has set his sights on making football history by becoming the first ex-player to referee in the Premiership. The 34-year-old has already enrolled on a course and could be ready to take his first steps into the refereeing
THE Town Mill in Lyme Regis will celebrate its 665th birthday on Saturday, May 28. The festivities will be between 11am and 4pm and will include a musical performance from the Woodroffe Jazz Band, a plant sale from the Miller's Garden and previews of
LYME Regis Traders Organisation is on a mission to make the most of the town. A group of local shopkeepers and restaurateurs have been discussing ways to improve the resort for local people, visitors and traders. Their latest plan is to come up with a
PLANS to transform Uplyme's last central green area into a picnic site could a "diabolical" plot to eventually develop the land for housing, councillors have been warned. Talbot Arms licensees Steve and Wendy Gardner want permission to use adjacent Hackers
A LYME Regis family has said an emotional thank you to the Dutchman who has cared for their brother's grave for more than 60 years. Members of the Emmett family gathered at the Guildhall last Thursday to see Joep Linders, 71, being presented with the
I'M BACK. And, thanks to the wonders of newspaper technology, I bet you never even realised I was away. But, in truth, I've just returned to these shores after taking a - for the most part - relaxing cruise around the Mediterranean. I won't bore you with
