TADPOLES, newts and slow worms could all soon be found at a Weymouth school. They will be making themselves at home in a new pond, which was created in part by a charity donation. Radipole Primary School received £300 from educational
A HISTORY centre is holding an exhibition on jubilee celebrations through the ages to mark this month’s events. Dorset History Centre, in Dorchester, is staging the royal exhibition until June 28 to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. It looks at what
RESCUERS were met with a round of applause when they helped a little deer to safety. The Muntjac deer was stranded in waters at Newtons Cove, Weymouth, and had been swimming back and forth for two days. Rescuer Steve Coulson, aged 60
RESIDENTS are celebrating after Weymouth businesses rallied round to sponsor an event in aid of a threatened beauty spot. Following an appeal in the Echo, veterinary surgeons Fielding and Cumber came forward to sponsor the annual event, run by the Society
PERSONAL stories about Dorchester’s heroes of the First World War are captured in a new book. County town resident Brian Bates spent years researching the names on the town’s war memorials and delving into the past to compile Dorchester Remembers the
VOLUNTEERS have called for more helpers to boost historic St Mary’s Church in Bridport. The Friends of St Mary’s wants people to join up to help with the 13th century church’s maintenance. St Mary’s, as the parish church of Bridport, is used for ceremonial
YOU are spoiled for choice this weekend as Dorset explodes with summertime festivities. Arguably the biggest attraction will be a series of military-themed events which will bring the Second World War to life. The Echo-backed Armour and Embarkation convoy
A GIANT’S toy and a massive beach ball were just some of the descriptions of a huge inflatable red ball wedged in the middle of Weymouth town centre. The RedBall UK project raised spirits yesterday when it popped up wedged between buildings
A YOUNG sports fan, who hopes to play professionally when he is older, is to carry the Olympic torch through his home village. Fabian Peterkin, 15, who now lives in Chickerell, will take the torch through Abbotsbury, where he lived for the
AN OLYMPIC enthusiast who plays a vital role in community sport for children will carry the torch through Portesham. Tracy Moore, 40, from Stratton near Dorchester, said the Olympic Games had always played an inspirational role in her life.
WHEN a lively Weymouth woman was diagnosed with breast cancer, she overcame the illness and used her experience to help others. Now Jo Shorey, a founding member of fundraising group Ladies Alive, will carry the Olympic Torch through Wyke Regis
SWIMMING fanatic Bob Holman said he is honoured and privileged to be carrying the Olympic flame through Abbot-sbury. Mr Holman, of Affpuddle, founded the Bere Regis swimming club in 1976 and has been chairman ever since, enabling hundreds of
A PROUD Portland engineering company has been commissioned to produce 26 torches for the School to School Torch Relay. Each school will get to keep one torch while the other will be used for the duration of the relay. Calvin Samways,
THREE men who face charges of affray are set to appear at Dorchester Crown Court next month. The men appeared in Weymouth Magistrates Court where jurisdiction was rejected. The affray charges relate to an incident in Weymouth town centre on December
JOBSEEKERS of all ages turned out to discover new opportunities at the Dorset Echo Jobs Fair. Jo Appleby, business director at Weymouth College, who sponsored the event yesterday, said the fair was a ‘fabulous’ event. She said: “We’ve
A GROUP of parents who all lost their babies are calling for a joke book to be banned. The Ultimate Dead Baby Joke Book is being sold on Amazon. Members of a Dorchester-based support group for bereaved parents called Forget-Me-Nots want local people
The iconic sound of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons will be recreated at the Electric Palace in Bridport tomorrow night. Big Girls Don’t Cry is a feelgood show with four phenomenal singers and a fantastic live band, lots of fun – and dancing in the
DORSET roundabouts are set to boost business and save public money. Calls are being made for companies to sponsor one of 75 available roundabouts across the county. The scheme aims to improve visitor impressions of Dorset and save council tax payers
FIVE hundred deck chairs designed by Weymouth and Portland residents will be lining the Esplanade this summer. More than 400 people of all ages took part in the Olympic Deckchairs project and arts development officer for Weymouth and Portland Alan Rogers
SKANDIA Team GBR is the British Sailing Team in the Olympic and Paralympic classes. The team consists of the Performance Squad and Development and Transitional squads, which jointly total around 70 sailors. In a Dorset Echo column
THE Sir John Colfox School is celebrating its latest Ofsted Report which says that at its best, the teaching “inspires and excites students”. The report marks the Bridport school as “good” in all areas including pupils’ achievement, quality of teaching
THIS is the first glimpse of the new Sainsbury’s store that will bring 400 jobs to the town. As part of the Weymouth Gateway development on the New Look site in Mercery Road, Weymouth, a Sainsbury’s store is proposed with the potential to bring 400 full
Are friends eccentric? It’s a good thing to have a healthy range of interests, at least that’s what my defence counsel will say, and the world of music is no different. My record collection goes from Abba to Zappa with plenty of stops in between and,
A PREGNANT woman and a father have been jailed for perverting the course of justice after lying about a car accident. Damien Bourne, 24, Julie Sheppard, 35, and Lisa Newey, 28, appeared at Dorchester Crown Court in connection with the collision in Spa
SOUTH Dorset MP Richard Drax is calling for people to unite to get a debate called in the House of Commons to save Portland helicopter. Mr Drax is supporting an e-petition on the government’s e-petition website to Save the Portland coastguard helicopter
West Dorset District Council is discrimating against the elderly and disabled by not providing long stay parking facilities on the western side of the quay in West Bay. Anyone wishing to take a pleasure boat trip from West Bay has to board the boat at
A recent shopping trip at Tesco in Dorchester didn’t cost me a little – it cost me a lot. When pulling out of one of the parking bays I managed to hit my passenger door on one of the large brown wooden posts that are dotted around the car park. This
On behalf of the Weymouth Waterside Community Forum in Chelmsford Street I’d like to thank all who turned up on June 5 to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee Thanks to those who helped organise this event and who help set up Monday evening and who help to
I READ with interest in the Echo that Weymouth is being adorned with decorations to welcome the Games. Weymouth has its own prolific decorations – weeds, large, small, flowering and the cost is zero. On the hotel side of the Esplanade they are abundant
A PRISON was put on alert to a potential escape route for prisoners – a runaway marquee. The large marquee was set up in the grounds of Grove Infant School on Portland ready for the annual summer fair. But high winds on Thursday night ripped it from
PRINCE Edward gave the royal seal of approval to a new teaching centre in Weymouth. The Earl of Wessex graced Budmouth College to celebrate the innovative school building yesterday. Hundreds of pupils, staff and dignitaries eagerly waited for the Prince
THREE-TIME Olympic champion Ben Ainslie has laughed off “amusing” question marks over his form heading into the London 2012 Games this summer. Ainslie suffered defeat in the recent Sail for Gold regatta as Portland’s Giles Scott – who missed out on an
AARON Cook’s representatives have vowed to continue the fight to get the world’s number one taekwondo fighter on the British Olympic team. GB Taekwondo performance director Gary Hall is determined to keep his squad’s energy focused on delivering medals
Dozens of firefighters tackled three blazes across the area through the night. Arsonists torched two cars in Weymouth and a tractor near Tolpuddle, Dorchester. One car was destroyed while the other and the tractor left severely damaged
NIGEL Biddlecombe has described Warren Byerley’s decision to leave Weymouth for Kettering Town as “absolutely devastating”. The striker broke the news to Terras’ officials yesterday just a month after verbally agreeing terms on a new contract
DAVE Trotter is confident Weymouth Cricket Club is slowly beginning to turn a corner and can only get stronger as the season progresses. The experienced bowler, who has been in superb form of late, has been impressed by his side’s recent performances
WILL McKay will make his first appearance of the season for Weymouth tomorrow when the second-string entertain their counterparts from Dorchester at Redlands (2pm). It is hoped the talented young batsman, who has first-team experience, will provide
MARTYN Richards hopes the hurt of last week’s derby defeat will spur his side to victory over Stalbridge tomorrow (1.30pm). Dorchester lost to Weymouth for the first time since June 2009 in a rain-affected clash at Redlands six days ago and captain Richards
FOUR teenagers from Wyvern School in Weymouth have caught the sailing bug and dream of getting out on the water every day. Students Kerry Phillips, Kira Friend, Joseph Holloway and Geoffrey Mott, all aged 15, have embarked on a six-week scholarship programme
