FORMER Portsmouth keeper Alan Knight has been named the new manager of Dorchester Town FC. Chairman Shaun Hearn revealed the news during tonight's fans' forum at the Avenue Stadium. Phil Simkin will be made assistant-boss with Mark Jermyn
POLICE have arrested four men in Wyke Regis on suspicion of importing four tonnes of cannabis. The men, all from the Dorset area, are currently being questioned at a local police station. Officers from the Serious Organised Crime Agency
GET your Santa hat on and get on your marks, ready for a special festive run for charity. Weldmar Hospicecare Trust is hoping that hundreds of families will get involved in its first ever Santa Run round Dorchester on December 11. The event had to be
Proposed changes to planning laws could mean disaster for rural areas, it has been warned. Campaign to Protect Rural England chief executive Shaun Spiers told the Dorset group’s annual meeting at Cerne Abbas that the presumption in favour of building
A NEW service to reduce stress and red tape when reporting a birth or death has been launched in Dorset. The Tell Us Once service will see information shared between all councils across the county, so residents need only notify one place of a birth
A SCOOTER rider is urging people to get behind plans to fill in Weymouth’s quayside railway lines after they caused another crash. The harbour railway has been blamed for multiple accidents – including a crash which critically injured policewoman Alison
ALL 27 schools across Weymouth and Portland are getting fit for the 2012 Games with exciting plans in the pipeline. Caroline Peer, development leader for the Chesil Education Partnership, is delighted that borough pupils will be treated to feast of
Stickers A FIRST bus driver from Portland is looking forward to next summer’s Olympic and Paralympic sailing events. Nigel Thorne, aged 40, of Weston, has claimed one of 10,000 Bring on the Games window stickers produced by the Dorset Echo, in partnership
A NEW ‘befriending service’ has been launched to help elderly and isolated people living on Portland. The Island Community Action (ICA) scheme Helping Hands is run entirely by volunteers and offers companionship to those who need it. Volunteers are
The coffee morning for grit bins in Abbotsbury was a huge success. Nigel Melville tells me that £200 was raised in 90 minutes! He would like to thank everyone who came along, some generous corporate donations and provisional offers from - in alphabetical
THEATRE supporters are calling for an inquiry into the council’s figures on Weymouth Pavilion. They say there are inconsistencies in the published costs of the council-owned theatre that make it seem more expensive than it is. One council report bizarrely
A COUPLE chose the Dorset coastline as the perfect setting for their wedding. Tammy Phillips, 31, grew up in the Lyme Regis area and she and fiancé James Newcombe, 31, chose The Alexandra hotel in the town for their big day. Their son Louis, five,
A COUPLE arrived in style to their big day in two Ferraris and two limousines. Carly Hebditch, 31, and Michael Hopkin, 34, were surrounded by their family and friends when they tied the knot at Poole Guildhall on September 17. Michael, an Openreach
A PORTLAND mum has thanked the ambulance crew that delivered her baby. Leanne Mullan, from Fortuneswell, Portland went into labour with her second son Ollie at 2.30am on Thursday, November 10. She and her mum called South Western Ambulance Trust and
RHOD Gilbert is a very funny man. Fact. The ‘shouty Welshman’ could stand on stage reading logarithm tables and have the audience in pieces at his feet. He descended on Bridport to try out new material in advance of a major UK tour next spring. Called
ONE of the most popular bands to have toured the Artsreach circuit return to rural Dorset to celebrate their 25 years together. Since 1986, when The Mellstock Band released their album Under the Greenwood Tree, which was a selection of dance
Join Dorset Wildlife Trust and the Dorset Countryside team on December 3 to make your mark in creating a brand new woodland that will stand for generations to come. This community event aims to make a real difference to local conservation, by planting
THE Echo led a campaign that saved the helicopter when it was threatened with the axe almost a decade ago. The then Government’s decision to scrap the search and rescue operation prompted fury in the local community. Readers united in a show of mass
DAVID Thomas from Solihull in the West Midlands has been in touch about memories of Mrs Dibben’s class at St. Nicholas Primary School, Broadwey, near Weymouth, which was featured on the Looking Back page earlier this year. The picture was taken in 1954
I was interested to read the letter about Poundbury (November 23). Once the retired majors and generals get in you have had it. Charles Baker, Easton, Portland
I REFER to the article about Chafey’s roundabout in Weymouth (Echo, November 22) in which Southill resident Alex Moran is calling for a pedestrian crossing to be installed. I must totally agree with him on this matter. It is becoming almost impossible
Saddened though I am, that the former TIC building on Weymouth Esplanade will not be reverting to its former location, I suppose that toilets for the disabled should be welcomed. I note they are to be ‘super dooper’ loos and at the back of my mind, I
I’m pretty sure that the Editor could easily fill every page of the Echo for a whole week with letters from unhappy pain clinic patients like Terry Hiller (Your Say, November 23). Our only wish right now is to hear that their painkilling injection
In a period post the restructuring of Weymouth’s traffic arrangements, one or two matters are worth raising. First, I note that WPBC is considering a planning application concerning the old Fire Station buildings on North Quay. Please will the council
The shock news comes days after it was confirmed that Portland Coastguard Station will close in three years’ time, despite an Echo campaign to bring a coastguard supercentre to this area. Local fishermen said they were worried about the
Portland Coastguard search and rescue helicopter is to be axed. Transport Secretary Justine Greening has announced that search and rescue operations will end on Portland by 2017. The cost-cutting plans will see national search and rescue
CHRISTMAS is coming – and it’s set to sparkle in Weymouth. The Weymouth Christmas Sparkle, the late-night shopping and entertainment extravaganza, is back for a second year and will be held on Thursday, December 8. The charity-supporting Sparkle replaces
View the updated schools closure list for tomorrow - DORSET is bracing itself for major disruption when thousands of public sector workers go on strike tomorrow. Councils and other organisations are attempting to run a normal service
DORCHESTER Town today hope to appoint a new manager, with chairman Shaun Hearn admitting the 33-day search needs to be “put to bed”. As revealed in yesterday’s Echosport, West Ham legend Julian Dicks had entered negotiations over the vacant role but
BRENDON King is expecting Havant & Waterlooville to be a very different proposition in tonight’s FA Trophy replay at Westleigh Park (7.45pm). The Terras’ boss is anticipating a backlash in the third qualifying round tie but still believes his
STUART Heath has been appointed the new manager of the Dorset Premier League representative team. The Portland United boss, who picked up the Magna Dorset Premier League Manager of the Month Award for October before Saturday’s draw against Westland
PORTLAND UNITED 1 WESTLAND SPORTS 1 TEN-MAN Portland United held out for a precious point against title rivals Westland Sports at Grove Corner. The Blues went into the game on the back of an incredible 11-game winning streak but this time around
CHICKERELL UTD 1 HOLT UTD 0 WARREN White got the only goal of the game as Chickerell United picked up a valuable win over Holt United in the Magna Dorset Premier League. The Chickens dominated the early exchanges with White giving them the lead
SWANAGE TOWN & HERSTON 1 BRIDPORT RESERVES 3 TRISTAN Gale grabbed two goals in a man-of-the-match display as Bridport Reserves continued their incredible run with a fabulous victory at Swanage Town & Herston. The Bees went behind to a poacher’s
WESTBURY 12 WEYMOUTH 25 A DEVASTATING first-half display secured a second successive appearance in the Dorset & Wilts Plate final for Paul Harding’s Weymouth. The Monmouth Avenue side, who narrowly lost 11-10 at Westbury in Dorset
