PLANS to demolish a convent and replace it with a total of 57 flats have sparked a wave of protest. Local residents and councillors have begun a campaign against the plans, claiming the proposed flats are totally out of character with the area. St Boniface
WIMBORNE'S Mayoress is desperately waiting to hear if her elderly mother will join the thousands being made homeless in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Pam Perry's widowed mother Sheila Weilbaecher, aged 84, flew back to Louisiana this week having been
AN EIGHT-year-old girl lost four toes following an horrific accident as she waited for the Sandbanks ferry. Little Lucy Scott's right foot was crushed after it was trapped in a link of the large chain running from the ferry to the Studland shoreline.
IT'S not cute or cuddly but this bat is one of the rarest of Purbeck residents. Greater horseshoe bats are at the very eastern edge of their range in Dorset and the largest UK landscape study conducted into rare bats is currently under way. The Purbeck
A SMALL Poole town-centre school is set to double in size over the coming years from 120 to 240 pupils. To cater for two forms of entry, from 30 to 60 places, Old Town First School and nursery in Green Road needs to expand its buildings. The two-storey
AN EIGHT-year-old girl lost four toes following an horrific accident as she waited for the Sandbanks ferry. Little Lucy Scott's right foot was crushed after it was trapped in a link of the large chain running from the ferry to the Studland shoreline.
LONG ago, when Britannia ruled the waves and our manufacturing industry reigned supreme, Englishmen abroad were given advice on how to communicate with Johnny Foreigner. Usually it had nothing to do with learning the local language. The trick was to speak
YOUNGSTERS from Bournemouth's Swish of the Curtain Drama School have been asked to perform with international cabaret group The WestEnders at Bournemouth Pavilion on September 18 in The Best Musicals Ever. The WestEnders features six West End performers
A GREAT grandfather is celebrating his 100th birthday with his wife. . . who turns 100 in November. Centenarian Harold Allgood has received a telegram from the Queen and it is not long before his wife Lucy receives hers. The couple, who have been married
THE family of two sisters killed in a horror smash have told of their devastating loss on the first anniversary of the deaths. Lucy Breakwell, 21, and her sister Catherine, 15, died when their car crashed into a tree after a 'site closed' sign was placed
ORGANISERS have demanded that businesses from out of town should be banned from Dorchester's Cracker night. Members of the Chamber of Commerce, who are organising Dorchester's major shopping night in the run-up to Christmas, say they would like the evening
PRIVATE hospital boss Tom Russell has weighed into the battle to keep New Forest community hospital beds open. Cash-strapped New Forest Primary Care Trust, working with Eastleigh and Test Valley South PCT, is considering whether to close beds at Milford
THE spectre of loud music washing over the village of Winkton has been exorcised by Christchurch councillors. Borough council licensing sub-committee members listened to villagers' concerns and told the managers of the Fisherman's Haunt Hotel that while
SMALL children disturb your sleep, big children your life, according to a Yiddish proverb. One moment they are cuddled up to you on the sofa in their dressing gown and slippers. The next they are shut away in their rooms, playing computer games and music
MIDDLE-aged listeners will be targeted by Solent's new commercial radio station, which was awarded its licence on September 5. Designed to appeal to 40- to 59-year-olds, Original 106 is 95 per cent owned by global media operator CanWest MediaWorks UK
SUPPORTERS of a mental health facility in Bournemouth were travelling to London on September 6 to hand in a 5,000- signature petition at 10 Downing Street. Relatives and carers of people who use Torch - the treatment, outreach and rehabilitation centre
A GREAT-grandmother who works at a Salvation Army charity shop has celebrated her 100th birthday. Gwen Bennett, from Winton, is a volunteer at the Place Next Door Salvation Army charity shop on Latimer Road, Winton, helping to sort clothes, toys and bric-a-brac
A HOMELESS man has been living in his car with his two dogs in Poole because, he claims, he has been snubbed by Bournemouth council in his attempts to find accommodation. Colin Raynes, 36, says he registered with the council two and a half years ago because
POOLE Harbour authorities have promised no let-up in the crackdown on speeding following two more successful prosecutions. Two speedboat drivers who admitted exceeding the 10-knot speed limit were both fined £300 with £150 costs by Wimborne Magistrates
GRAHAM Howell, who was once Dorset's leading professional, tackles this week's Welsh Professional Championship with a new zest after a recent return to form. He has produced a succession of top finishes in recent pro-ams and revealed that a change of
THE Borough of Poole is negotiating with a group of travellers to try and agree a date for them to leave the town's park-and-ride site. The group arrived at the site in Upton Road, Creekmoor, at around 4.30pm on Sunday, using a disc cutter to cut the
HUNDREDS of jobs will be on offer at this week's Daily Echo/RIAS Future 2005 Recruitment Exhibition. Employers from across the area will be recruiting vital staff at the two-day exhibition which starts on September 7 at Bournemouth's Metro Palace Court
CYCLISTS throughout Dorset who are being denied a top training facility say it will impact on Britain's Olympic hopes for 2012. Around 120 cyclists used to meet every week at Barnsfield Heath, Matchams - a Ministry of Defence vehicle testing site with
WIMBORNE'S Mayoress is desperately waiting to hear if her elderly mother will join the thousands being made homeless in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Pam Perry's widowed mother Sheila Weilbaecher, aged 84, flew back to Louisiana this week having been
A DRUGS counsellor today warned that Weymouth will be plagued by junkies if a lifeline support centre is axed. Anne Cafer predicts the resort's crime rate will soar if a funding crisis forces Clean Connections to close its doors for six months from September
A WEYMOUTH healer is hoping to raise enough money to go the Philippines and help traumatised children. Bob Murphy, 53, from Leamington Road, was moved by a news story he saw on television showing the plight of Philippine orphans housed in prisons. Mr
THE Dorchester based choir Encore has a new director - curate's wife and musician Margaret Durrant. Her 30-year career as a music teacher has included the training of choirs of teenagers and adults and she is delighted to take over from Heather Jones.
TAXI firm boss Tony Williams has won his fight to move his business back into Weymouth town centre. The success comes after Weymouth and Portland Borough Council refused permission for his new office in Maiden Street over concerns about noise. But Mr
A FORMER school pal of troubled singer Pete Doherty has told how he played alongside the star in the school football team. Dean Daniels, 26, says he knew Doherty when they were in the same Year 9 form tutor group at the Blandford School. In those days
