A CIGARETTE caused a fire at a flat in Waverley Road, Weymouth, today. A spokesman from Dorset Fire and Rescue Service said the flat was damaged by smoke after the cigarette was left in a bin by the occupier. Two crews attended the scene.
THE first edition of a Portland calendar published by Island Volunteers forYou, (IVY), is now available, ready to send off to relatives and friends in time for Christmas. This latest enterprise was launched a few months ago when members of the public
OVER 30 new homes have been built in Purbeck. The houses and flats were built in Wool, Lytchett Matravers, Corfe Castle and Harman's Cross by Raglan Housing Association. Anyone interested in the homes can attend an open day on Saturday, January 19 at
I AM writing further to letters recently published by concerned users of day services and Coun David Crowhurst, Conservative cabinet portfolio member with responsibility for adult services. Many users of services and their families have expressed concern
Every year I listen and am amazed at the amount of money that is raised for Children in Need. Through individual people's hard work and commitment, the event supports projects to give our young people a good start in their journey through life. However
WOULD-BE ramblers are being called upon to get involved with short walks around towns and longer strolls in the countryside. The South Dorset Group hosts a large range of regular activities and is also taking part in the Ramblers Association's festival
BUDDING photographers could win a trip to the Channel Islands in an online competition. The annual Capture Weymouth and Portland competition is open to everyone and is online this year. Organisers will hold a prize draw each month until November 2008
THE sights and sounds of Europe came to life for students at a specially constructed language village. Year 10 and 11 students from Weymouth and Portland gathered at All Saints School in Wyke Regis to try out their language skills in make-believe cafes
STAFF at a drop-in centre for youngsters in Bridport are celebrating after receiving a £10,000 cash injection. The Millennium Young People's Advice and Information Centre, in North Street, was given the grant by the Lloyds TSB Foundation for England
A MAGAZINE about autism edited by a Dorset woman has hit the shelves. Polly Tommey and her husband Jon set up The Autism File after their son Billy, 11, was born with a severe version of the illness. Mrs Tommey, who moved from Charlton Marshall near
If the relief road is finally given the go ahead, in the face of many non-resident objectors, perhaps the nature conservationists could rally together and come up with positive proposals on the planting and forestation of the verges and embankments along
EVERY driver involved in a crash on Dorset's roads this December will be breath tested - whether police believe they have been drink-driving or not. That is the reminder for motorists today as Dorset Police launch their annual Christmas anti-drink and
VOLUNTEERS in Dorchester are gearing up to give a Christmas treat to elderly and disabled people in the town. The Volunteer Centre Dorchester is once again preparing to host its popular 'Company at Christmas' Christmas day meal. The event held at the
WEYMOUTH'S Radipole Lake nature reserve has been given a major facelift to help boost wildlife using the site. The RSPB, which manages Radipole, hired a 13-ton excavator to remove four former angling points and excavate 1.5km of ditches that were choked
IT may not be Bombay or Beijing but Bridport's streets will soon have a sight more familiar to these cities. Businesses, residents and Magna Housing Association tenants will have the use of two cycle- rickshaws as part of a transport scheme from Bridport
PARAMEDIC and part-time policeman Pete O'Inn is looking forward to putting his feet up as he prepares for retirement. Mr O'Inn, who once had to go into hospital for treatment in his own ambulance, is leaving the South Western Ambulance Service after
THE owner of three noisy parrots who have been ruffling the feathers of Portland residents defended her birds at Weymouth Magistrates Court. Deborah Coleman, of Underhedge Gardens, Southwell, is appealing against a noise abatement order issued by Weymouth
DORSET Police admit they are still 'no nearer' to finding missing Bridport teenager Dominic Maynard, 19. He was last seen dropping a female friend off at her home in Wyke Regis, Weymouth, on Saturday, November 17. His car was found in Bournemouth two
CAR parking charges in Weymouth and Portland look set to rise again as council chiefs seek to balance the books. Some prices could go up as much as 25 per cent next year while controversial moves are being mooted to introduce charges at free car parks
A COUPLE were due to say 'Arr, me hearty!' today as they tied the knot and became Mr and Mrs Pirate. Kevin Pirate - who changed his surname of Ham by deed poll out of love for the swashbuckling adventurers - and Sheila Bastiaens wore full pirate regalia
VOTING is under way in a contest that could see a project in Weymouth benefit from a share of the biggest cash prize in TV history. Top windsurfer Nick Dempsey, who won a bronze medal in the 2004 Olympics, joined schoolchildren at the site of a proposed
A man shed tears of relief as a jury cleared him of an assault in Weymouth last Christmas. Serbastian Numrych had denied assaulting Umesh Patel occasioning actual bodily harm. He told the jury at Dorchester Crown Court that he had drunk a bottle of
A DYING man is putting some cheers into his life by asking drinkers to buy him a virtual pint. Mike White, 60, wants friends, acquaintances and strangers to raise a glass to him in cyberspace on behalf of the British Lung Foundation (BLF). He was diagnosed
VANDALISM at a nature reserve has lead to an innovative art project by schoolchildren. Youngsters from Chickerell Primary School and St John's Primary School in Weymouth created sculptures using the remains of willow trees destroyed at the Lodmoor Nature
NEW plans have been submitted for a doctors' surgery in Dorchester. GPs at the Trinity Street Surgery in the town already have planning permission to demolish two villas on the road and build a new state-of-the-art surgery in its place. Now a new application
WITH all the help given since the Brackenbury Infant School pond was vandalised recently, wildlife will soon have a clean, fresh home again. The Underhill community on Portland rallied round following the incident, giving donations and helping to clear
RESIDENTS have suggested ways their council could make drastic savings. Weymouth and Portland Borough Council needs to make cuts in next year's budget because the Government will not provide full funding for a new concessionary bus scheme. Redundancies
MEMORIES of Dorchester's historic Borough Gardens have been brought together in a new book. Friends of the Borough Gardens, led by Lorna Low, called on people to send in their memories for the book marking the almost £1 million revamp. Ms Low said that
AMBITIOUS plans to construct a light railway between Weymouth and Portland got a boost today as a campaign was launched to take it forward. Portland town councillor Richard Denton-White believes the line would relieve congestion and support economic
By DUDLEY COATES, preacher in the Dorchester Methodist Circuit and former vice-president of the Methodist Conference for 2006-07 HAPPY New Year. No, I am not a month early. The new Christian year begins tomorrow with Advent Sunday. This weekend we
URGENT restoration work costing £25,000 has been completed to a historic Roman Catholic church. Members of Dorset Historic Churches Trust gathered for a ceremony to celebrate the completion of work at the Priest of Our Lady's Church at Marnhull near
BOAT crews have been entertained by dolphins as they worked in Portland Harbour. Sea drill support worker Paul Dallaway snapped the visitors in the harbour near Portland Castle. He was on a morning trip with Weymouth firm White Motor Boats when two
WOULD-be Liberal Democrat party leader Nick Clegg blasted proposed cuts to adult day care services during a whistle-stop tour of Dorset. Mr Clegg was in the county to talk to party supporters about the leadership battle but also met campaigners battling
PROLIFIC and highly respected Dorset artist Justin Cooke is launching his latest book this weekend. The Ridgeway, the majestic string of hills that stretches across Dorset, is the inspiration for the collection of beautiful and evocative paintings featured
