A CLAMPDOWN on the use of speed cameras has been ordered by the government. In response to concerns from motoring organisations about the over-zealous enforcement of speed limits, the government has produced a new rulebook. It details where speed cameras
POLICE in Bournemouth are appealing for information following a sharp increase in drug overdoses and deaths. In the last month, the ambulance service has responded to five suspected drug overdoses, with a further two deaths reportedly linked to heroin
LOCAL firms have been left in the lurch after the company behind the disastrous Party on the Pitch concerts announced it is going into liquidation, leaving thousands of pounds in unpaid bills. Promoters Cherry Entertainment Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary
AS THE Palestinians await news of the health of their leader, Yasser Arafat, Daily Echo reporter Sharen Green recalls how she met the man who has spent his life fighting for the creation of a nation state in May this year. As the Echo went to press the
WHITE collar staff working for the civil service in Dorset held a day of action on Friday against proposed cuts that would axe 100,000 jobs across the country. In Poole they manned picket lines outside a branch of the Home Office and also took their protest
A FORMER Poole man is nervously waiting in a Spanish jail to hear if he will be sent to the USA to stand trial for eight murders. Builder Mark Merteith Ross has spent the last year in a Madrid prison and nine judges will decide on Thursday (November 11
FIREWORKS and fun dominated last night's Dorset celebrations for November 5. One of the biggest celebrations saw more than 10,000 people gather on Weymouth beach for the town's Guy Fawkes' Night bonfire and fireworks display co-ordinated by Pains Fireworks
ROAD repairs that villagers were told had finished have not even begun. People living in Crossways had been told that a long list of minor works were completed when a Dorset County Council maintenance unit was in the village. But not one of the jobs had
THE Dorset Echo today launches its eighth annual prestigious photographic competition for children. We are looking for the Echo's Child of the Year 2004 in a free, fun portrait contest. And there are some fantastic prizes worth £500 up for grabs. The
WORK to breathe new life into Dorchester's historic Borough Gardens is set to start in the new year. Dorchester Town Council was celebrating in the summer after being awarded almost £1 million by the Heritage Lottery Fund for the work. Now after weeks
AN inquest was opened and adjourned in Bournemouth on Friday (Nov 5) into the death of 38-year-old Christchurch car dealer Darren Anderson. Mr Anderson's Jeep Cherokee came off a slipway into the River Stour near his home in the Watermead development
THERE is something deeply moving about the men - and it's mostly men - who have appeared on TV in the last 24 hours, to talk about the suicide bomb murder of the three Black Watch soldiers. Tough, 50-something blokes with gruff, Scottish voices, most
POOR Carol Vorderman tore a cartilage in her back while doing the rumba. Apparently it happened when her dance partner flung her backwards during a particularly lively sequence on Strictly Come Dancing. The only consolation I can offer Carol is that at
IT'S a long way from the Daily Echo Star Trail talent show to Top of the Pops, but singer Keedie has shown wannabe stars the way. Tipped as the new Charlotte Church and clothed in white, former Star Trail finalist Keedie duets with Blue's pop heart-throb
IT is already one of the most controversial topics in the town. Now Bournemouth council has stoked the issue by asking property consultants to estimate the market value of every car park it owns in the borough. The news has sparked accusations that the
IT is already one of the most controversial topics in the town. Now Bournemouth council has stoked the issue by asking property consultants to estimate the market value of every car park it owns in the borough. The news has sparked accusations that the
LOCAL branches of Sainsbury's have recalled meat sold at their delicatessen counters following a national salmonella scare. Stores were cleared of Sainsbury's own Taste the Difference dried York ham after the supplier found the bacteria - which can cause
MUMS today heaped praise on life-saving Dorset County Hospital staff for nursing their premature babies back to health. Hayley Ellen Lewis was born three months early weighing 2lbs 2oz and has finally returned home to Princes Drive in Weymouth with mum
SOUTH Dorset MP Jim Knight is urging the Home Secretary to come to a quick decision about the future of Portland's prison ship. Mr Knight said he has requested an urgent meeting with David Blunkett and prisons minister Paul Goggins to clarify the position
HOMEOWNERS have spoken up in support of their new speed bumps after a cheeky road sign protest compared them with mountains. A plastic sign added to Nottington Lane in Weymouth twinned the road with the world's highest mountain range - the Himalayas.
RAIN dominated October weather in Weymouth, with nearly 50 per cent more than average for the month. The 30-year average rainfall for October is 77.4mm but 2004 saw 113.2mm, with the heaviest rain falling on October 3 with 22.3mm and October 23 with 12.2mm
TWO schoolboy vandals have smashed every window in a chapel of rest at Weymouth Cemetery. Each pane of glass in the building on Newstead Road was broken after being pelted with stones by the pair of yobs dressed in school uniforms. Witness David Paul
"THESE babies are not meant to be here, so we like to leave them in peace," smiled senior staff nurse Helen Hutchinson. It's remarkably peaceful in Dorset County Hospital's special care baby unit (SCBU) at Dorchester. The hush is broken only by the occasional
