BAD behaviour in Dorset and Hampshire's secondary schools has been shown to the back of the class, according to Local Education Authority figures. The number of pupils being permanently excluded at either primary or secondary schools in some LEAs has
WEYMOUTH town centre is set to get a major boost with the abolition of stamp duty on properties worth up to £150,000. The initiative announced by Chancellor Gordon Brown that the duty is to be scrapped on the sale of both domestic and commercial properties
A DORSET wildlife worker who has been working on a special otter team for three years has seen her first wild otter - while on a mission to save endangered creatures in Chile. Bronwen Bruce, 30, from Wyke Road in Weymouth, has been working on the Otters
MORE than 350 people packed the first day of a public inquiry into plans for a £500m new dock which could have massive ramifications for the New Forest. Associated British Ports wants to build a new container terminal at Dibden Bay - a move which has
A CONTROVERSIAL pub has been granted an extension to its opening times despite complaints from residents. North Dorset councillors agreed to a request from the owner of Nelsons Cheese and Ale House in Salisbury Street, Blandford, to vary its public entertainment
A DORSET council is taking "urgent and drastic action" to speed up the processing of planning applications. North Dorset District Council has admitted it is failing badly to meet the government target of completing 80 per cent of applications within eight
DORSET farmers are furious after the plug was pulled on an award-winning television campaign promoting milk. The last advertisements for The White Stuff campaign, featuring Rolf Harris and George Best, will be screened next month. The ad costs are split
THE Fitness First Stadium at Dean Court will host its first three-sided clash when Cherries entertain Tranmere Rovers on Saturday December 1 (3pm kick-off). The newly developed East Stand will make its Dean Court debut as Sean O'Driscoll's side look to
DORCHESTER manager Mark Morris returns to action in his reserve side's Dorset Combination League game against Sturminster Newton at the Avenue Stadium tonight. (Kick-off 7.45pm) Morris hasn't started a first team game for two months after injuring a calf
PORTLAND 2, GILLINGHAM 0 PORTLAND eased their way comfortably into the last eight in the Senior Cup at Grove Corner last night with a goal in each half from skipper Darren Whyton and Nigel Evans. "They put up a scrap for the first half-hour and for another
WEYMOUTH SPORTS 0, WEYMOUTH 5 WEYMOUTH Sports exited the Dorset Senior Cup with their heads held high at the Wessex Stadium, last night. The tiny Combination League outfit gave a battling display against a full-strength Terras side who currently lie more
DORCHESTER youngsters have united to appeal for support after months of hard work campaigning for a skatepark. And town councillors voted an overwhelming 'yes' to give the young people their backing. Members of Dorchester's Youth Extra group have been
TALENTED Hannah Orrell drew on her passion for wildlife to scoop first prize in a national art competition. The 11-year-old Wey-mouth schoolgirl won top prize in a contest run by The Wildlife Trust and impressed the judges with her creative 3D collage
PLANNERS meet in six weeks to discuss the future of one of Portland's most controversial issues. They will be asked to approve another three years for HMP Weare, which would see the prison ship moored at Castletown until at least March 2006. The housing
BOURNEMOUTH Athletic Club's veteran men's team took two silver medals in the South of England Cross-Country Championships on Hampstead Heath. With the London Championships being held in conjunction with the event, more than 400 runners started at the
A FORMER scoutmaster from Weymouth has been convicted of indecently assaulting children at a care home as part of the biggest-ever police inquiry into institutional abuse. Wheelchair-bound William Rogers, 51, carried out a series of assaults during sadistic
A BROOCH inscribed by Queen Victoria is among the treasures to go under the hammer at a silver and jewellery auction in Dorchester. It features among a host of valuables being sold by a West Dorset family as part of the collection of the late fifth Duchess
PRISON ship HMP Weare could be allowed to operate off Portland until at least March 2006. The floating prison, which is moored at Castletown, already has permission to house up to 400 prisoners in 200 two-bed cells until March 2003. Now HM Prison Service
AN EMOTIONAL plea to save a struggling hospice has been made by a woman who married her terminally-ill partner there just days before he died. Erica Brown was able to tie the knot with long-term boyfriend Paul Hughes while he was being treated for cancer
TAX increases are feared after Chancellor Gordon Brown announced an extra £1 billion for the NHS and said greater resources would be needed to pay for decades of under-investment. The UK would need to devote a "significantly higher proportion of national
A TEAM from Dorset is preparing to fly to Helsinki to hear if the Purbeck coastline is to be made a World Heritage Site. It is the climax of a five-year push to get the stunning coastline ranked alongside the likes of the Grand Canyon and the Great Barrier
SHAFTESBURY 2, BRIDPORT 3 KEVIN DONOVAN made a dream comeback last night in his first senior appearance for Bridport for more than 13 years. The dapper 44-year-old showed he had lost none of his goal-poaching instincts by scoring a predatory winner five
PORTLAND Rotary Club today made a last ditch appeal to save their car service which takes people to hospital. The service, which the club organises, relies on local drivers offering their services voluntarily to take Portlanders to visit relatives in
A FESTIVE display of Christmas lights has been stolen from outside Weymouth's Pavilion theatre - just hours after they were switched on. The town centre was transformed into a seasonal wonderland when Borough Mayor Joy Stanley turned on the Christmas
A NEW Dorset Health Authority website will provide free access to health information for patients across Dorset. The launch of the site coincides with the installation of 16 computer terminals at Weymouth Library - helping the public to get to grips with
SHAFTESBURY Arts Centre's 432 members saw the fruits of their labours on Saturday when the centre reopened after a £52,000 facelift using the cash they raised. As soon as the curtain fell on the centre's summer production of Guys and Dolls work began.
BOURNEMOUTH AC's highly successful season was rounded off in style last week when two of the club's junior athletes were named as number one in the United Kingdom rankings. Teenage starlet Charlotte Moore and distance specialist Colin McCourt were among
