Westham Community Group ‘HEART OF WESTHAM’ Supported by the Working with you project. Have you ever thought there is nothing to do in Westham? Come along to the Community Safety Centre (Fire Station) on Radipole Lane. From 11am -1pm on
The Westham Community Group staged its first ever Heart of Westham event on Saturday March 1 at the Community safety Centre in Radipole Lane. Over thirty exhibitors took part showing local residents what was available for them in and around Westham
FESTIVALGOERS will be urged to ‘Sit Down’ as this year’s Camp Bestival as indie rockers James have been announced as the Friday night headliners. The band, who had a massive hit with Sit Down, will be joining other stars including Laura Mvula,
DORCHESTER II 36 FROME III 0 DORCHESTER picked up their third straight win of 2014 and their fifth in a row with a six-try defeat of Frome. Both teams did themselves proud despite a very strong wind, heavy downpours, and even hailstorms at
JOHN Ryan is delighted with the way things are shaping up at Weymouth Cricket Club this year. The Redlands outfit has undergone a process of restructuring since last summer and there are already encouraging signs that the work is paying off.
A DORCHESTER yoga teacher is hoping to use her eye opening experiences from an African adventure to inspire her teaching in the county town. Rosannah Woodward, 23, has started teaching at the Dorset Yoga Centre in Trinity Street after returning
THE TALE of the Tolpuddle Martyrs will be told on the stage at a fundraising event in Dorchester. The Corn Exchange will host a production of We Will Be Free on Saturday, March 1 to help raise funds for the renovation of the county town’s Shire
PORTLAND Port’s plans to keep up with the changing nature of the cruise ship industry were heard at the first Marine Matters business breakfast. The meeting was held at the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy on Portland by the British
FEDERICO García Lorca (1898-1936) was one of Spain’s greatest poets and dramatists. This month renowned speaker Graham Fawcett will be the guide through a thousand years of Spanish poetry at Sladers Yard in West Bay. He will recreate the atmosphere
JOBS have been secured with the opening of a new sports store in Dorchester. A sports clearance store that opened in the county town’s Tudor Arcade before Christmas is now being opened as a permanent specialist sports store by leading retailer
The company behind the Weymouth Sea Life Park has launched a new international marine conservation charity. The Sea Life Marine Conservation Trust announced its arrival in the green arena by condemning the massacre of dolphins in Taiji, Japan.
PERCY Westerman, Britain’s most popular children’s writer of the 1930s, is being celebrated in Wareham, the town he chose to put down roots and spend the rest of his life. This man was no lightweight writer, and during a 50-year writing career
ON THE eve of Valentine’s Day, there’s the chance to revisit one of the most famous couples in literature when Hailee Steinfeld and Douglas Booth take the lead as Shakespeare’s star crossed lovers. The latest film adaptation of Romeo and Juliet
WITH a fresh year stretching out ahead of us, some people may be thinking of a change of direction on the career front. The average person has between 10 and 12 jobs in their lifetime but data on career change is scarce. At a time of an unstable
LEE MARTIN NORRIS, aged 26, of Christmas Close, Wareham. Admitted non-dwelling burglary, namely entering a shed as a trespasser and stealing a petrol strimmer to the value of £180. Committed to prison for five months, suspended for two years. Restraining
ROSHANE ROWE, aged 19, of HMP and YOI Portland. Admitted assault by beating. Committed to prison for six weeks consecutive to existing sentence. CATHERINE BENNETT, aged 28, of Coronation Road. Found guilty in absence of using a colour television
A coffee morning in aid of the St Andrews pre-school in Bridport will be held on Friday at the TSB bank in West Street from 10am to 2pm.
The next market at St Martin’s Community Hall in Broadmayne will take place on Friday, February 21. It is open from 2pm to 3.30pm and a variety of local produce will be available.
A Let’s Make It community workshop where people can use their crafts skills is being held on Saturday at the Park Centre in Chelmsford Street from 10am-12noon. It costs £2 to include all materials. Contact Julie Hursthouse on 01305 838497 or email
FRESH off the back of its popular Cinderella pantomime, Weymouth Pavilion has secured the production of Aladdin for its 2014 and 2015 Christmas show. Last year’s production of Cinderella which ran into early January saw a 25 per cent increase in
STEPHEN BULL, aged 28, of Woodcock Court, Queen Street, Gillingham. Admitted breaching a community order. No adjudication, dealt with for original offence. Original offence of three counts of theft from a shop. Committed to prison for two weeks on
MICHAEL JAMES NORCOTT, aged 62, of St Mary’s Gardens, Beaminster. Admitted using a motor vehicle in a public place without third party insurance. Fined £110 and ordered to pay costs of £35. Disqualified from holding or obtaining a driving licence for
BRENT STEPHEN MORRIS, aged 27, of Portland Road. Admitted theft in dwelling. Discharged conditionally for 18 months. Ordered to pay costs of £150. Admitted breaching a suspended sentence order. Requirements of order varied to include a curfew for three
Youngsters can use their investigative skills to solve a dinosaur mystery at the Chesil Beach Centre on Thursday, February 20 and sessions run at 12pm, 1pm and 2pm.
John Horsey from East Lambrook Manor will give a talk on the winter garden at 7.30pm at Uplyme Village Hall on February 26.
The Mad About the Wreck team will be spreading the word about the famous Swash Channel Wreck outside Poole Harbour at Portland Academy on March 10. A whole day of workshops to 25 year 10 students will include a visit to Portland Bill, compass work,
A FATHER could be forced to fork out hundreds of pounds because of a controversial price hike at a Dorchester car park. Maumbury Road resident David Crane does not have access to on-street parking and pays for a permit for Fairfield car park.
A BEST-SELLING author will mark a fresh chapter for Dorchester Library by officially opening it later this month. Dorset resident Minette Walters, England's bestselling female crime author, will unveil a plaque in front of invited guests and dignitaries
A DORSET company is celebrating its 50th anniversary and toasting its rapid expansion. MB Wilkes Ltd, a sand and gravel quarry based in Corfe Mullen, supplies decorative stones, railway sleepers, natural paving, blended soils and recycled sub-base
PLANNERS have approved phase two of a £14m extension to Weymouth’s Granby Industrial Estate. It will consist of seven more units, measuring between 1,500sq ft and 2,500sq ft, at the newly-built 10-acre Link Park. Developer DJ Property says
WORKERS at one of Weymouth’s newest firms had a close encounter with the clippers in the name of charity. Staff at Tool Station at Link Park raised £150 for the RNLI by having their heads shaved as part of a sponsored event. Ken Francis from
The A35 east of Stinsford Roundabout was partially blocked for about an hour yesterday evening while emergency services dealt with a crash involving a Mini and a Suzuki. Two female drivers were involved and minor injuries were sustained.
Police are appealing for information after a beer bottle was thrown at the window of Store Twenty One in St Mary Street, Weymouth, between 6pm on February 7 and 5.15am on February 8.
Dorset Community Foundation is encouraging residents to wear red on Valentine’s Day in aid of a good cause. All residents are welcome to take part in the initiative with their workplaces, clubs, and groups, on February 14. For information visit
ORGANISERS of the record breaking Dorchester Beerex festival have raised a glass to all those that supported the event. The sell-out event raised well in excess of £10,000 for charity, achieving its highest ever fundraising total. Around 1,300
Pupils at St Nicholas and St Laurence Primary School in Weymouth celebrated the film premiere of a community safety video. The film was created by pupils at the school as well as Scallywags Nursery, Wyvern Academy, Wey Valley School and the Horticultural
THE increasing age of the county’s firefighters is a ‘major concern’ to those at the helm. Dorset Fire Authority has voted to raise taxpayers’ contribution to the service by 1.93 per cent. This means that a Band D property will pay £1.26 more
Coastguards were alerted to shouting and flashing lights on the beach at Church Ope Cove, Portland, at around 6pm on Monday evening. Rescue teams later found the noise was friends trying to find each other and the flashing lights due to photography
Vandals shattered a window at the community centre in Dorset Close, Weymouth, by throwing stones at it. Dorset Police are appealing for information on the vandalism, which took place between 8.20pm and 8.27pm on February 8. Anyone with information
A Weymouth man will stand trial after denying a charge of making threats with a bladed article. Dale Paul Ellard, of Southview Road, pleaded not guilty to the offence, which is alleged to have been committed on November 16 last year on The Esplanade
DORCHESTER’S police chief says he is confident a solution will be found to retain the town’s CCTV. Dorchester Town Council controversially agreed to withdraw its share of the funding for the surveillance system in the town centre. West Dorset
FLAGS will be flown at council buildings in Weymouth and Dorchester to mark Commonwealth Day. The effort supports a national day of flag raising to celebrate the Commonwealth. Weymouth and Portland Borough Council and West Dorset District Council
A SECOND World War codebreaker from Broadmayne who was sworn to secrecy says she was surprised by the emergence of a photo of herself and colleagues. Margaret Mortimer, 87, saw a familiar face looking back at her when she opened her national newspaper
What is it with some people? I refer to the recent story relating to the accidental giving of a wrong drug to Coral Mears. People sometimes make mistakes, the store apologised and offered a £25 voucher – why was this not good enough? I
I just want to say a big well done to Julie Storey’s dance troupe Let’s Dance who put on a spectacular evening at the Pavilion. A great evening was had watching all the local talent. It was a thoroughly enjoyable evening and I can’t wait to
WHAT DO YOU THINK? HAVE YOUR SAY ONLINE. YOUR report of Broadview Energy’s briefing to Dorchester Town Council Planning Committee (Echo, February 5) is part of its energetic local lobbying campaign. It is seeking to gain support for a massive
A FORMER Dorset Echo journalist has joined Deep South Media. James Tourgout, former deputy head of news, is now an account director with the firm. His appointment marks the sixth appointment of a journalist to the firm’s PR division. Mr
CAMPAIGNERS are set to lobby Dorset County Council ahead of a decision on whether to pay the living wage to council employees. Councillors will discuss paying all employees £7.65 an hour at tomorrow’s full council meeting. At present, around
FARMERS need help to rebuild their businesses as the flooding will have ‘long-term’ effects. Paul Gould, the National Farmer’s Union Dorset chairman, said farmers in Dorset have had fields flooded but have managed to move livestock in time.
POLICE seized thousands of pounds from criminals in Dorset last month including nearly £5,000 from a Weymouth care worker who stole from and defrauded two elderly men. The cash will be used as compensation for the estates of the victims of Symon
POLICE closed the A356 near Dorchester following a three vehicle collision. The smash, which involved a Landrover, a Nissan Qashqai and a Renault Megane, took place just outside Maiden Newton at around 8.50am this morning. The A356 was closed
PHIL Simkin says he rates Havant & Waterlooville as the best team in the Skrill South and admits he would be “shocked” if they did not make the play-offs at the end of the season. Speaking after watching the Hampshire club defeat his Dorchester
PLANS have been submitted for a traveller site at Piddlehinton near Dorchester. Dorset County Council has submitted a planning application for a temporary site for up to 25 caravans for three years. The site proposed, on land adjacent to the
SUPPORT is growing for an ambitious £85million Jurassic Coast visitor attraction on Portland to rival the Eden Project. The ‘Jurassica’ vision, which also has the backing of Sir David Attenborough and Eden Project supremo Sir Tim Smit, is to build
WILD weather is set to continue today with an amber warning for wind in place. The Met Office is urging residents to ‘be prepared’ as gusts of up to 69mph are expected to hit Portland this afternoon. A spokesman said: “The public should be
TRIBUTES have been paid to the man who died in a fire at his home in Weymouth. The man, who has been named locally as Mickey Rocket, has been described as a unique local character and a 'legend,' who was well known and well liked in the area.
THE Dorset Echo is joining forces with local Rotary clubs to raise money for people affected by the terrible storms sweeping the area. Our readers have a fabulous record of digging deep when disaster strikes anywhere in the world. Most recently
COUNCILLORS have bowed to intense public pressure and scrapped a controversial decision to put up the Portland council tax precept by 1,000 per cent. They agreed to rescind all decisions and instead supported a modest rise of 1.99 per cent on a
WEST Dorset residents are being urged to have their say on proposed changes to district council ward boundaries. The independent Local Government Boundary Commission for England has today launched an 11-week public consultation on proposals to
