TRAIN enthusiasts are chuffed after scooping £3million to link Swanage Railway to the main line. They hope it will be full steam ahead for the project after Dorset and Purbeck councils together pledged cash for vital main line re-signalling work by Network
THE largest cruise liner to call into Portland Port so far arrived from Rotterdam. The MV Westerdam called into the port’s ferry terminal yesterday before departing at about 9pm last night for Guernsey. Ted Toop, of Wyke Regis, caught the ship on camera
UPSET café owner Caroline Witham has hit out at a ‘mindless’ break-in on Portland where thieves took nothing but boiled eggs. Thieves kicked in the locked door of Blue Water Café at Ferry Bridge, damaged padlocks on the window shutters, moved
A FAMILY of seven is devastated after thieves ruined their summer holiday plans. The Penny family of Wyke Regis, Weymouth, are appealing for the return of their Merlin Annual Passes which were stolen when their car was broken into during the day. The
THE summer holidays are well and truly under way and Upwey has been putting on its normal specials which began with the annual craft fair at the Old School. The committee welcomed several new exhibitors this year and there were superb displays
STUDENT Alice Hall has been rushed off her feet in her bid to become Miss England. Alice, 18, was crowned Miss Dorset at Banus nightclub in Weymouth when three judges voted unanimously to put her through to the national final and give her a chance of
DORSET’S quest for the Minor Counties Championship Western Division title will go to the final game of the campaign after yesterday’s clash against Cornwall in St Austell finished in a draw. Sean Walbridge’s men once again showed their quality with both
PLANS to charge people to use the public toilets in a Weymouth car park have been the given the green light by councillors. The pilot scheme, due to be introduced in the Swannery car park, will see visitors and tourists being charged 20p to use the ladies
NEW hope has been given to Weymouth’s women’s refuge after plans to sell the building which housed the service were thrown out. Campaigners from the Friends of Weymouth Refuge said they were ‘delighted’ with the decision. They are now working towards
SINCE Fame hit our TV screens in the mid-80s, the performing arts have enjoyed a boomtime. Drama and dance schools have sprung up all over the country giving young people confidence and a foothold in the world of the stage. The thriving Dorchester Youth
DJ PROPERTY has been a dynamo in the business community for many years. The family company, founded by the late David Jones, has become well known for establishing the Granby and Lynch Lane industrial estates as major players in the local economy. But
NEW developments have boosted the capability of an underwater operations company at Portland. Global Marine Systems (GMS) at Portland Port has subsea equipment, cable storage and training facilities but is also the base for one of the company’s vessels
IT’S official - here comes Summer, and we know this because… many of our events at the centre have a well earned holiday as the world and his wife leaves Weymouth in search of pastures new, at least for a couple of weeks. This does mean that The Park
ANGRY Portlanders vowed to start policing the island themselves after officers snubbed their latest meeting. Residents gathered for a second time hoping to find out what the police had done since promising to clamp down on gangs and anti-social behaviour
ASHLEY Vickers labelled his Dorch-ester Town side “Jekyll and Hyde” after last night’s 4-4 draw with lower-league Bashley. The Magpies raced into a 3-0 lead at the break with Ryan Moss, Jake Smeeton and Nick Crittenden on target. However, the Blue Square
LEADING event rider William Fox-Pitt, has been selected to represent Great Britain at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games (September 23-October 10). The Sturminster Newton rider (41), who is on the British Equestrian Federation’s World Class Performance
BUSTINSKIN enjoyed a host of success at the Big Bay Swim. The Bowleaze Cove race, which was organised by BustinSkin Events, saw swimmers choose to compete in either a 1.2 or 2.4-mile swim. And team BustinSkin claimed the majority of prizes with Tom
CHAMPIONS Dorchester Thirds were presented with the Dorset League Division Four trophy at the Dorset Squash and Racket-ball AGM, held at West Hants. Dorchester amassed 221 points from their 14 matches, which featured 11 wins as they stormed to first
FRAMPTON’s August Cream Teas got off to a good start with lots of customers turning up to this first session to enjoy a delicious tea and support St Mary’s Church at the same time. Don’t worry if you missed the first two, as there are still three
FORMER Bath City midfielder Lee Collier impressed for the Terras last night as they captured a 1-0 win at Hamworthy United in their penultimate pre-season friendly. The 30-year-old, who has trialled at Dorchester Town this summer, showed all his experience
DAVE Griffiths smashed 97 runs to help Herrison Youth clinch second spot in Dorch-ester Evening League Division One. The Herrison batsman fell agonisingly short of an impressive century but found solace in the fact that his side (167-2) overcame league
WEST Dorset Warriors closed their Southern Junior League campaign in 16th position following the final round at Bridport Leisure Centre. Thirty-one clubs from six counties competed and only three other Dorset outfits bettered the Warriors’ overall placing
ALL Saints’ students Ben Westhenry and Jake Guildford did the school and themselves proud at the English Schools Track & Field Championships in Birmingham. In the top competition for schools-age athletes, Westhenry, 15, ran a superb race in the Inter
PRIMARY school pupils have tackled an assault course to raise money for PE equipment and to pay for their new mini bus. Conifers Primary School, in Radipole Lane, Weymouth, held their annual PE 2000 plus event which saw more than 340 children
THE Wessex Karate Academy returned from the National GKI Championships in Chichester with a new club record for results. WKA entered 21 students into the event and their hard work in training over the past few months paid off with a haul of 39 medals
THERE was success for St Andrew’s Primary School and Holy Trinity Primary School in the High Fives League. The competition has been designed by the South West Dorset Junior League to offer girls and boys the chance to learn more about the game and improve
WEYMOUTH St Paul’s Harriers put on an impressive display at the third Wessex League competition in Oxford. For the under-13 girls, Elinor Mason ran her first 1,200m in an impressive 4mins 47.8secs to take fourth in the A stream while Hannah
SPAIN have bagged their second World Cup triumph of the summer. Their latest success came at Dorchester Town’s two-day World Cup tournament, which was led by Magpies’ stars James Coutts, Kyle Critchell and Jamie Gleeson. And Coutts was delighted with
A SHETLAND pony was ‘savaged and mauled’ by two out-of-control dogs roaming the countryside near Dorchester. It was attacked at Thorncombe Woods after being introduced to the area two weeks ago along with two foals and four other ponies. Countryside
SATS results for Dorset – level four is the average level most 10 to 11 year olds are expected to reach, with level five being above average. Pupils in Dorset in 2010 show a 7 per cent improvement on the number of students getting level five scores in
TEACHERS and parents have renewed calls for SATs tests to be scrapped after this year’s results were released. The percentage of pupils in Dorset hitting the benchmark level four grade in English was one per cent higher than the national average at 82
