TOY guns like the one involved in the death of an 11-year-old boy in the New Forest are to be banned almost immediately. And anyone who may already have bought one has been urged to throw it away. Trading standards departments have pushed through an urgent
BEAMINSTER ended their season with a second successive defeat but they did enough against Sherborne 2nd XI to make sure of second place in NSA Saturday Division One. Although Beaminster restricted Sherborne to 172-9 from 45 overs, they could only reply
BOURNEMOUTH'S Paul Wykes continued his impressive start to the new campaign by reaching the second qualifying round of the £747,000 UK Championship in Burton-on-Trent yesterday. Wykes, already successful in the opening rounds of the LG Cup and British
A CLUB record was set by Nicola Selby as she helped Poole Runners to the runner-up spot in the South West Athletics League division one. With strong performances throughout the season the club's first year in the top division saw them bettered by only
GEOFF Butler made it two signings in 48 hours after swooping for Swindon Town defender Josh Thomas, yesterday. The 19-year-old former Dorchester Thomas Hardye School pupil in joins the Terras on non-contract terms. Butler, who snapped up former Manchester
THE woman fighting for her life in intensive care following Tuesday's horrific crash on the A35 near Chideock is author Rosemary Ellerbeck who writes under the name of Nicola Thorne. The author, who is in her sixties, had only just moved to Chideock and
THE backlog of criminal record checks on people working with children isn't going to stop Dorset schools from opening their doors for the start of a new academic year even though the county council is advising head teachers not to take any risks. The
THE mystery surrounding the ownership of a 62-year-old photograph has been solved. Pensioner Pat Jenkins got the surprise of her life when she opened the Dorset Echo and saw the picture of herself taken when she was just 18-years-old. The photograph,
ELDERLY people living in Bridport's Chardsmead Court fear traffic chaos outside their homes when an experimental one-way system comes into force at the end of the year. The volume of traffic going past their 19 flats will increase substantially when the
A WEYMOUTH florist has won a national begonia competition for the third year in a row. Peter Read, 55, of Read P&M Florists in Dorchester Road, made it a hat-trick of championships for nine near perfect blooming plants in the National Begonia Society
IF the threat of parking tickets won't stop them, perhaps this will. A Poole man is seeking to ridicule selfish drivers on a website devoted to pictures of bad parking. David Allen set up his site - www.niceparking.co.uk - after Bournemouth and Poole
KIDNEY disease has forced Bridport scrap dealer Brian Richards to throw in the towel. Mr Richards, who was 62 this week, has packed in his mobile scrap business and is currently waiting for dialysis. And now his daughter, Hazel, has vowed to raise money
RURAL Dorset may have to rely on just one ancient fire engine if firefighters go on strike, it was claimed today. Lives will be put at risk throughout the county because possibly only one Army green goddess will be available to serve Weymouth, Dorchester
A WOMAN whose cousin died from an epileptic fit is scaling Britain's highest mountain to raise vital cash for research into the condition. Lindsey Burgess, 25, who lives in Weymouth, is limbering up for the trek which will take her 4.5 miles up Ben Nevis
EAGLE Star's parent group has moved to reassure its 500 Bournemouth staff after yesterday announcing 4,500 job losses across the world. Eagle Star's owner Zurich Financial Services "does not expect large scale redundancies in Bournemouth. It's business
LYME Regis town councillor and community leader Ayvin Rogers is cutting his ties with local organisations to jet off to Latin America in the New Year. Coun Rogers, who once conducted an entire town council committee meeting dressed as Count Dracula, will
A GOVERNMENT inspector has thrown out a Lyme Regis woman's latest bid to extend her hillside home. Mrs S Smith had appealed against West Dorset council's refusal to allow her to build a studio extension on the East Side of her house at 1 Sidmouth Road
THE parents of a four-year-old Lyme Regis girl who died after contracting a mystery blood disease sent a message of thanks - and hope - as they left the town to start a new life this week. Internationally acclaimed artist Andy Wood and his wife Katrina
TWITCHERS from across the country flocked to the Christchurch area this week in hot pursuit of a rare bird. Following reported sightings of a white stork on the marshes between Winkton and Sopley at least 100 bird enthusiasts jumped into their cars and
A FARMER whose land was invaded by travellers has voiced his anger that he had to seek a court order to have them moved on. More than 30 caravans set up camp on Parley Court Farm, near the entrance of Bournemouth International Airport in Hurn, at the
THE DORSET Ambulance Service has been accused of fiddling the books to meet new targets for 999 response times. Staff allege that results are being manipulated to ensure the service reaches the national targets for responding to emergency calls. Following
CHILDREN under 12 are allowed to see films carry a 12 rating at the cinema for the first time. A new advisory category 12A was introduced at the weekend by the British Board of Film Censors (BBFC). Spiderman has been relaunched nationwide with the new
BRIDPORT 2nd XI have missed out on a second successive championship after pushing hard all summer for the NSA Saturday Division Four title. They went into their final game at Stalbridge 2nd XI needing a good win to hold off the challenge of Cerne Valley
Bridport 2 Taunton Tn 3 BRIDPORT put on one of their best FA Cup displays of recent times, but again found soccer's glamour competition does them no favours at all. The Bees matched their Dr Martens League opponents blow for blow during a thrilling preliminary-round
A BRIDPORT action group is launching a campaign to bring broadband internet to the town, and it wants to hear from anyone who uses the net at home or at work. Digital media arts group PVA and Coun Charles Wild have joined forces to launch the campaign
A FILM manager looks set to be appointed in Bridport in a bid to get cinema back into the town. And the Palace V which closed suddenly over three years ago V could still have a future. The News can reveal that six options have been considered by the culture
THE woman fighting for her life in hospital after a three-car smash is writer Rosemary Ellerbeck. The author, who is in her 60s and writes under the name of Nicola Thorne, was seriously injured after the A35 collision between Bridport and Chideock. She
A CROWD of more than 200 people gathered in Dorchester last night to watch charity fundraisers walk over 20 feet of burning hot coals. A total of 47 people were cheered on their way as they completed the challenge for CancerCare Dorset, raising more than
WEYMOUTH Pavilion's summer season has won 'momentous acclaim' for what has been hailed one of its best years ever. After disappointment last year when the theatre made a small loss during the summer, ticket sales have gone through the roof and audiences
MORE than 50 years of explosive extraction methods were brought to an end yesterday with the last ever blast at a Portland quarry. Albion Stone Quarries has been working the Bowers Quarry site since it took over from Kingston Minerals in 1979 and its
PENSIONER Jack Edwards helped fellow artists at a residential home display their skills when he put on a exhibition of their award-winning work. The exhibition featured art and craft work by people from the Steepleton Manor Residential Home, in Winterbourne
KIDNEY disease has forced Bridport scrap dealer Brian Richards to throw in the towel. Mr Richards, who was 62 this week, has packed in his mobile scrap business and is currently waiting for dialysis. And now his daughter Hazel has vowed to raise money
THE Royal National Institution for the Blind (RNIB) said farewell to two long serving volunteers who have helped to raise almost £500,000. After 15 years fundraising for the charity in the Dorset area, David and Wennona Taylor have decided to retire at
DORCHESTER Show is back! The popular event makes a return this weekend after organisers were forced to cancel the 2001 show due to the foot and mouth crisis. Livestock classes will be back in full and the show's organisers, with new secretary Samantha
PROTESTERS against a church hall scheme, which has left a New Forest village in uproar, will have their final chance to meet this weekend before a crunch legal battle. Residents objecting to the £500,000 community complex planned for the graveyard of
A NEW Forest man kicked a baby's pushchair, banged two children's heads together and terrified a young mum so badly that she rang the doorbell of a house and dashed inside and hid in a cupboard, a court heard. But, after being told by defence solicitor
A LARGE number of motorists have applied for special eastbound passes to avoid long diversions when the Chideock and Morcombelake A35 roadworks get under way at the end of this month. Road operators Connect said this week that they were currently assessing
JUST six weeks after its launch more than 100,000 copies of a new leaflet promoting West Dorset's unique Jurassic coastline have been snapped up. Now the guide, featuring the fossil rich cliffs between Lyme Regis and Charmouth, is being translated into
ONE of the summer's smash-hit tourism attractions in Dorset has won more plaudits - this time for showing the way forward for struggling farmers. Stewarts' record-busting maize maze in Christchurch has won the prestigious Strutt and Parker Diversification
A FARMER whose land was invaded by travellers has voiced his anger that he had to seek a court order to have them moved on. More than 30 caravans set up camp on Parley Court Farm, near the entrance of Bournemouth International Airport in Hurn, at the
CHRIS Tardif is vowing to put his Swansea nightmare behind him as he bids to break Cherries' goalkeeping jinx - at the second time of asking. Tardif looks set to earn a recall for tomorrow's trip to Division Three rivals Exeter City at the expense of
