THE handbag stolen from murdered OAP Hazel Jones may have had hundreds of pounds hidden in the lining, the Daily Echo can reveal. Hazel's cousin, Vivien Ely, believes the 82-year-old's attacker probably discarded the bag completely unaware of the concealed
DORSET brothers Danny and Phil Russell have been keeping the peace in the Balkan region of Kosovo. The Russell brothers, who attended Purbeck School in Wareham, are both stationed near Podujevo, a small market town that is still recovering from the devastation
TANKS thundered over the countryside and you could have been forgiven for thinking the Third World War had started. Military might from the past 65 years exploded onto the Purbeck landscape as the giant tank festival at Bovington got under way. And the
A NURSE in an intensive care unit who slammed a baby's head against an incubator has escaped with a caution. Lynn Taylor, 59, worked as a staff nurse at Poole hospital when she attacked the little boy saying: "Good, that might shut you up for a while.
KAREN LEGG will head for the Commonwealth Games in Manchester later this month convinced that she is in the kind of form needed to improve on her winnings four years ago. The Kuala Lumpur Games were the Ferndown swimmer's first major championship other
AN 18-month-old girl drowned after falling into a pond while she played in a back garden in Weymouth. It is believed the toddler was playing with other children in the garden in Preston when the incident happened at 4.20pm on Sunday. The youngster was
NIGHTCLUBS are set to step up security with a new registration scheme requiring bouncers to undergo formal training. Weymouth and Portland Borough Council, in conjunction with Dorset Police are working towards reducing crime and antisocial behaviour in
IT was the year England won the World Cup, the Beatles were peaking and Flower Power was waiting in the wings when three young men visited Weymouth. They parked their Lambretta scooters and posed for a picture by a street photographer on Lakeside Walk
THERE will be a new name on cricket's Echo Cup this season after holders and red-hot favourites RNSTS went crashing out in the semi-finals to Royal Oak. In what was a repeat of last summer's final, RNSTS batted first at Redlands with Terras defender Simon
TRAFFIC chaos hit the roads of Weymouth again and it is expected to last for another two days. Queues stretching nearly two miles snarled up the west side of the town after road works shut a main route at Boot Hill. Fuming motorists were forced to grind
A WEST Dorset woman has been to Buckingham Palace to hand deliver a sumptuously decorated egg fit for a Queen. Julia Snelock was commissioned by Thorncombe Women's Institute to design and decorate an egg in the style of Faberg to commemorate the Golden
SHAFTESBURY'S famous Gold Hill Fair takes place this weekend - minus the beer tent. Following problems with anti-social behaviour and complaints about drunkenness last year, organisers Shaftesbury Rotary Club have decided to do away with the concert in
LIFE in Africa was recreated during a special theme day at Sandford First School near Wareham. Youngsters aged four to eight learned African drumming and songs, tried out cooking and dressed up in a variety of costumes. The school has 260 pupils and as
THE handbag stolen from murdered OAP Hazel Jones may have had hundreds of pounds hidden in the lining, the Daily Echo can reveal. Hazel's cousin, Vivien Ely, believes the 82-year-old's attacker probably discarded the bag completely unaware of the concealed
Many Schools in Dorset have taken delivery of cricket's ground-breaking resource HOWZAT!, developed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in conjunction with Channel 4 to promote cricket to children in schools. Complying with government recommendations
A PLAN to give ex-prisoners more money to buy their own homes has sparked outrage. The scheme to offer benefits to former inmates being released into the community is a bid to stop them re-offending. The move, part of a package of measures designed to
TOURISM chiefs have unveiled their line-up for the summer season at Weymouth Pavilion. Comedian Duncan Norvelle was on hand to publicise the many shows on offer over the next few months. Stars from the stage and small screen headlining at the resort's
WALKER Tony Freudenfeld is set to arrive in Dorchester tomorrow at the end of a rigorous fundraising hike from Land's End. Mr Freudenfeld, 54, who lives with his wife Jean in Dorchester town centre, set out on the 10-day trek on June 23 with 14 estuaries
WE ARE SAILING: Ian Mowlem, is pictured operating a model boat at the Long Lother Model Making and Craft Club fair at Loders. Organiser Barry Wilson said the event was well-attended. "It was very well supported by the community," he said. More than £260
GHOST-hunters have been wiring up one of Dorset's most popular heritage attractions after a series of unexplained happenings haunted staff. The X-Files-style paranormal investigators Paraquest held an overnight vigil at Highcliffe Castle, Christchurch
CHRISTCHURCH Council is refusing to back residents' fight to create a village green. Highcliffe Residents' Association is putting in a bid to safeguard the cliff top by trying to get it declared an official village green. Village green status would prevent
COUNCIL taxpayers in Bournemouth could bear the brunt of a new EU directive banning the disposal of tyres at landfill sites. From next year a change in law will forbid the dumping of whole tyres by landfill and shredded tyres by 2006. As Britain's abandoned
SKATEBOARDERS, wake boarders, and funky clothing filled Bournemouth Square on Saturday as Funnybone event organisers and Just Add Water got together to put on a show. A skate ramp gave local free-stylers the opportunity to show their skills and five short
A CAMPAIGN to win more money for children's hospices is looking for support from MPs. The campaign is aimed at boosting facilities such as the Julia's House hospice planned for Poole and Naomi House in Hampshire. Adult hospices have between a third and
ONE in ten people in Dorset still live in a household receiving housing or council tax benefit. And more than 40,000 people are dependent on benefit in the county, excluding Bournemouth and Poole. The figures are revealed in the fourth annual poverty
A GROUP of South Dorset racehorse owners gave the bookies a hiding during a profitable visit to Doncaster. Eighteen members of the Always Hopeful Partnership travelled to Yorkshire to see their prized asset Optimaite go to post in the £17,000 Home of
MONEYBAGS Weston-super-Mare have outbid Dorchester for the services of Magpies top scorer Danny O'Hagan. In a shock move last night, the former Weston striker who cost Dorchester £4,000 when they signed him from the Somerset outfit in 1998, linked up
MUSIC students have produced a CD with a little help from their friends in the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. Cathy Stevens brought her electric viola and Andy Baker his double bass, while professional singer/ songwriter Sammy Hurden from Bridport helped
OUTRAGED car owners have condemned a four-fold price hike for parking permits in Dorchester. Householders who protested against the introduction of a parking permit scheme near Dorset County Hospital, gathering petitions and holding meetings, were furious
YOUNGSTERS starting their school holidays are being warned that making hoax calls to the fire service could cost lives. And they risk being reported to the police in a crackdown on a problem that increases every year at this time. Dorset Fire and Rescue
DEPARTMENT store group Beale says it could still buy up more new stores across the UK despite the challenge of integrating its latest acquisitions. Beale's purchase of two loss-making stores from Bentall's reduced its interim pre-tax profit by 11.3 per
YELLOW Buses chiefs are on a fresh collision course with Christchurch Council over plans to make the town's controversial Monday market a permanent fixture. While last year's decision to switch stalls from the Bank Close car park into High Street has
