DORSET MP Annette Brooke has called for second-home owners in the county to have their 10 per cent council tax discounts scrapped. Second home owners in England and Wales could lose the discounts under plans due to be announced by Communi-ties Secretary
YOUNG people are gathering memories about hot pants, discos and first kisses, trampolining, ration cards and tuck shops, Facebook, quiffs and Curly Wurlys. The volunteers, aged between 15 and 26, are telling the remarkable story of Dorset youth clubs
BRAVE Samantha Smith of Burton Bradstock is tackling a skydive in memory of her cousin and step-sister following their tragic deaths within months of each other. The 22-year-old is undertaking the challenge in tribute to her late cousin James
A HUSBAND and wife team will be taking on a marathon charity challenge. Phil and Laura Hutchings, of Maud Road, Dorchester, have both won charity places in the 2012 London Marathon. Mr Hutchings, 41, will be running for Together for Short Lives, formerly
WEYMOUTH firm workers will be putting their best feet forward for a charity challenge in memory of a colleague. More than 50 employees from BMT Defence Services on the Granby Industrial Estate will be taking to the streets of Bath along with
COUNCILLORS have backed plans to extend a pub in a coastal village despite passionate pleas from residents. People in Seatown raised fears that a proposal for an extension to enlarge the kitchen and add toilets and an en suite guestroom to the Anchor
STUDENTS from the Wey Valley School in Weymouth have set off for a trip to the roof of the world. The party of 10 pupils and three leaders have headed off to Nepal to continue the international link between Wey Valley and the Bayapani Secondary school
DORSET’S No Excuse road safety campaign has scooped the Prince Michael International Road Safety Award for improving road safety. The radical campaign was launched after it was revealed that Dorset was the worst performing shire county for
COUNCILLORS will visit the site of a proposed monument before deciding whether it should be backed. Scholars and artists have lent their support to the Mass Extinction Memorial Observatory (MEMO), which is planned for Bowers Quarry on Portland. It will
STAFF at Dorset County Hospital brought seven babies into the world on New Year’s Day. Among 2012’s newest arrivals at the Dorchester hospital was Romani-Louise Tiana Pink, who was born on January 1 at 4.14pm to Natasha Pink. Romani-Louise
ARTSREACH will be presenting their next entertainment at Portesham village hall on Saturday, 14 January beginning at 7.30pm, when Victorian magic duo Morgan and West will entertain. The show will appeal to adults and children over 7 and tickets will
A VILLAGER is in a serious condition in hospital after spending the night in a stream in West Dorset. The 64-year-old, named locally as Bruce Davies, is believed to have injured himself falling into the stream in Litton Cheney, after leaving the White
THE RSPB Weymouth Wetlands visitor centre at Radipole Lake is to undergo major improvements this year. It will be closed from January 16. When it re-opens, it will be an exciting new visitor centre, showcasing the wonderful wildlife of the nature reserves
THE picturesque Somerset market town of Frome is to get its first-ever folk festival in February 2012. With top names including Steve Knightley and representatives of Devon’s Lakeman dynasty, it promises to be a weekend of top music taking place in the
THE Wild about Weymouth and Portland partnership are running another Birdwatching for Beginners course, starting next week. It follows on from the hugely successful first course, which was attended by nearly 40 people. And as before, the classes, to
WITH all the changes taking place in Weymouth and Portland in recent months, it is easy to forget times of change in past years. Now Peter Rendall, a former borough mayor, is hoping to catch up with someone he shared a very special event with while he
READER Richard Smith from Dorchester has been in touch about this picture, which he submitted last month and which ran in Looking Back on December 13. He was initially wondering if anyone could shed any light on the picture and the men featured. Richard
WEYMOUTH historian Greg Schofield has spent several months piecing together the history of Portland’s relationship with the Land of the Rising Sun and his discoveries make fascinating reading. He agreed to share what he found with Looking Back readers
RELATIVES of a 22-year-old man wanted in connection with a serious stabbing are begging him to hand himself in. A manhunt has been launched to find Bridport man Arron Peter Marshall following a knife attack on a 36-year-old man near the Londis
TEACHERS who are leading the borough’s schools through 2012 Games plans have thrown their support behind a giant sticker campaign. The ‘Olympic Champions’ were delighted with the giant Bring on the Games stickers, which have been produced by the Dorset
Celebrations PUPILS at Wool First School are celebrating their school being presented with a Get Set plaque. The award recognises the school’s role in living the Olympic and Paralympic values. Wool Church of England First School celebrates an Olympic
IN JUST seven months time, the world’s greatest sporting event will be taking place in Great Britain. The Olympic and Paralympic sailing competitions, hosted in Weymouth and Portland, are expected to attract up to 50,000 people a day – as residents
DORCHESTER’S Mayor and town crier turned out to celebrate the 100th birthday of Nellie McKinna. Mrs McKinna was 100 on Friday, December16 and said she had a wonderful day. Staff at the Park House Nursing Home in Martinstown were joined by Dorchester
FEROCIOUS winds are causing chaos in Dorset. Trees have been blown over blocking roads and motorists are facing hazardous driving conditions. The A37 north of Dorchester is closed due to a collision involving a lorry near the Maiden
A COUPLE who dated since secondary school tied the knot in Bere Regis. Emma Johnson, 25, and Daniel King, 24, got married at Bere Regis Church before having their reception in the grounds of Kingston Maurward. The couple live in Bournemouth with their
GWEN and Bert Taylor have celebrated a love that is still going strong after 70 years. The couple marked their 70th wedding anniversary with a party at Trafalgar Residential Home in Weymouth where Bert, 92, has lived since last year.
I REFER to the subject of waste collection and rubbish all over the place. This is not only the dustmen’s fault. A lot of the problem is the bins. In windy weather the lids blow open and rubbish flies out, very often the whole bin is blown over when
We would like to thank all those readers in the South West who have supported Oxfam’s campaigns and appeals in 2011. This has helped save lives in major humanitarian crises such as Haiti, Pakistan, Somalia and most recently, the Philippines. Our
Can anybody from the local council or the highways department at the county council tell us why Newstead Road has been closed all over the busy holiday period? The heavy duty engineering work was finished in early December and I have not seen any work
WEYMOUTH’S famous sand sculptures are set to be housed under a new roof. An application has been submitted to Weymouth and Portland Borough Council to build a replacement sand sculpture structure on the beach. Councillors will hear the existing sculpture
DORSET rail passengers returning to work today will be paying more for some tickets following an annual price hike. Regulated fares across the UK rose by an average of six per cent, with the overall increase for all tickets standing at 5.9 per cent.
CHESIL Beach has been given a clean up for the new year. Volunteers litter-picking along a 200-metre stretch of Chesil Cove, Portland, filled more than 50 bags with rubbish. A dead dolphin, fishing nets and several plastic oil drums were among the debris
BRENDON King has told his side they must kick on over the next few weeks if they are to realise their potential this season in the Evo-Stik Southern Premier. Following a profitable Christmas period, which saw his in-form Terras claim seven
BOSS Alan Knight hopes Ben Dickenson will be sidelined for no more than a month after playing down fears his star striker had suffered a broken leg. The 18-year-old departed yesterday’s 1-0 win at Salisbury on a stretcher with county town fans fearing
Video courtesy of Weymouth FC. WEYMOUTH 3 Malsom 2, 55, 89 AFC TOTTON 1 Charles 90 SAM Malsom struck a hat-trick as Weymouth welcomed the New Year in style with a fine victory over high-flying AFC Totton
WILLAND ROVERS 4 BRIDPORT 0 MIKE Savage felt yesterday’s scoreline flattered table-topping Willand Rovers. Bridport returned from Silver Street on the back of a 4-0 defeat, but their assistant-manager believes the outcome was
SALISBURY CITY 0 DORCHESTER TOWN 1 Wilson 40 DORCHESTER Town banished their Boxing Day blues but were left with mixed emotions after seeing rising star Ben Dickenson stretchered off the field. Rico Wilson bagged the only goal of the game as the
