CRICKET in the county is set to revert back to its former structure after a proposed five-year development plan by league chiefs failed to be voted in at the Dorset Cricket League AGM. The Dorset Cricket Board met with clubs at the Crown Hotel
REIGNING Weymouth & District Table Tennis League Handicap Cup champions Budmouth D showed they certainly do not want to relinquish their hold on the title, with a convincing win over Shipton Gorge A. The Budmouth youngsters got off to a flyer
BRIDPORT RES 4 PIDDLETRENTHIDE SPARTANS 3 A BEN Clarke hat-trick propelled Bridport Reserves into the quarter-finals of the Dorset Senior Trophy at the expense of Piddletrenthide Spartans. Dorset Senior League side Spartans fell behind five
PUDDLETOWN racer James Shanes is setting his sights on a mission overseas next year, as he looks set to qualify for the 2015 European Grasstrack Championship. The 17-year-old, who has also competed in speedway for the Devon Demons, part of the
WEYMOUTH 5 DEVIZES 2 WEYMOUTH played hosts to a young Devizes team who have been struggling for form so far this season, and they secured a victory against their Wiltshire-based rivals. The home side started with good intent, putting pressure
Christmas “The most wonderful time of the year” Well that’s what we think and that’s why we have decided to hold a Christmas Fayre on 13th and 14th December 2014 at The Springhead Pub in Sutton Poyntz Weymouth DT3 6LW, in aid of Weldmar Hospicecare
FUNDRAISING for a poorly little girl from Dorset has topped £12,000 thanks to kind-hearted residents and businesses. Three-year-old Roxy Berry, who has Spastic Diplegic Cerebral Palsy, needs £50,000 for an operation to correct the tightness in
A SPECIAL meeting of Dorset County Council’s full council has been called next week to decide the immediate future of Conservative leader Cllr Spencer Flower. The 72-year-old politician of Verwood was charged by police last Monday with three offences
WEYMOUTH’S Dorset derby with Poole Town has been called off due to a waterlogged pitch. An official inspected the playing surface at the Bob Lucas Stadium earlier this afternoon and deemed that key areas of the surface were unplayable, with rain
MEMBERS of Milton Abbey School’s Combined Cadet Force celebrated receiving Lord Lieutenant’s awards for dedication and long service in a ceremony in Dorchester. Cadet Sergeant Ryan James Parker was one of the four top cadets in Dorset invested
A HUSBAND and wife weight-loss team have scooped three national awards. Lee Woodward and Rose Bunce-Woodward from Cambridge Weight Loss Plan, based in Dorchester, picked up three awards – Consultant of the Year, South West Regional Consultant of
TWO young people from Dorset secured royal recognition at the Celebrate Success south west regional awards after turning their lives around with youth charity the Prince’s Trust. As part of the ceremony held in Bristol, HRH the Prince of Wales
Hundreds of trees have been planted at a community small holding on Portland. Volunteers and members of APPLES (All Portland People Learning Ecological Solutions) gathered last week to start planting more than 420 trees. The free seeds were
DRIVERS faced delays after a two-car collision on Dorchester Road in Weymouth. The collision involved a grey Vauxhall Astra and a silver Toyota Corolla both registered to Weymouth drivers. The road near the Icen Way junction was partially blocked
THE risk to shipping of the proposed Navitus Bay Wind Park has been considerably underestimated, with recreational craft being ignored, it has been alleged. The claims came to light as the Planning Inspectorate’s issue-specific hearings, which
PEOPLE across Dorset are being urged to use antibiotics responsibly and in moderation ahead of the winter season. GPs and pharmacists who are part of the NHS Dorset Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) are urging members of the public not to use
AN OIL spillage has occurred near a Bridport garage. The incident happened at around noon near the Texaco petrol station on East Road. The spillage is half a metre wide and the road is wet. A spokesman for Dorset Police confirmed the
A WEYMOUTH clergyman said he was left horrified after a church was left the victim of criminal damage for the second time this year. Police are appealing for witnesses after offenders broke the glass doors to the noticeboard in the porch of All
A DORSET county councillor for Portland has called for the county council to take the Jurassica project ‘seriously’. Cllr Paul Kimber, who represents Portland Tophill, said he wanted the county council to get on board. The Jurassica project
VOLUNTEERS are to start running the first of 44 fundraising Santa Special steam trains at the Swanage Railway. They start this weekend and operate every weekend in December up to Christmas. With trains departing Swanage at 10.30am, 12.05pm,
A DEVOTED director of the Great Dorset Steam Fair for many years, Sidney Wallace died peacefully at Poole Hospital on October 1, aged 79. He held the position for more than 20 years and had attended the fair since its earliest days. He came
TRIBUTES have been paid to a Cheselbourne woman, described as one of the most successful British fashion journalists and said to have coined the term ‘Swinging London’ in the 1960s. Margaret Ann Ryan, who was known as Ann, passed away last month
A THIRD person has been arrested following an armed police raid in Weymouth. Armed response officers executed arrest warrants at two addresses in Culliford Way on Monday morning. A 48-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of possessing a
RESIDENTS are getting wired to make a new wey forward for Weymouth and Portland. People living in the borough are encouraged to sign up to a new scheme, believed to be the first of its kind in the country- the 'Weyforward Wire.' As reported
WEYMOUTH has taken a big step forward in drawing up its town centre masterplan. The community came together for the second of two workshops in the ongoing development of the plan, a blueprint for the future. It was led by Feria Urbanism, an
ANOTHER generous business is helping to ensure that needy children will have a present to open this Christmas. The Allen Leisure Group is the latest business to get involved with the 15th annual Dorset Echo Christmas Toy Appeal. Last year,
The Navitus wind farm decision is still blowing hot and cold but personally I feel that it should be a “non starter” in favour of less-obtrusive solar panels. With the local coastline predominantly south-facing, surely Navitus would be able to mount
WEST Dorset Humanists’ will welcome an expert to talk about medical ethics at its next meeting this week. Professor Roger Higgs was Head of the Department of General Practice studies at Kings College London as well as a practicing GP. He is
To my surprise, it was reported in the Echo on November 13 that WDDC’s councillors are to consider a motion calling local authorities to support Action Aids Towns Against Tax Dodging. I suspect they have realised that there is a direct connection
THE Occasional Singers are performing an Advent Concert at St Mary’s Church, Dorchester, on Sunday, December 7 from 3pm. It will feature a variety of music including Bach, Mendelssohn and Britten. The Occasional Singers will crown the year
AN EVENING of poetry and jazz exploring journeys and homecomings is coming to Sladers Yard in West Bay. Poets Chris Fogg and Chris Waters and musicians Clive Ashley on saxophone and Chas Dickie on cello are inviting people to enjoy an evening of
AN EXTREMELY rare early map of Bryanston Estate near Blandford will be auctioned off next month by Sotheby’s. The map dates back to the 17th century and came up for auction after being passed down by descent from the collection of one of the founders
THE classic Hollywood musical, By the Light of the Silvery Moon will be showing on the big screen at the Evergreens Cinema, at Age UK Dorchester on Wednesday, December 3, 2014. Doris Day leads an all-star cast in this 1953 film which is packed
WELSH mezzo soprano Katherine Jenkins, pictured left, is coming to Dorset as part of her 21-date UK tour next year. She will be at the Bournemouth International Centre on Saturday, February 21. Award-winning West End and Broadway performer
THE pages of Looking Back have proved a bit of a catalyst for a Sidney Hall-inspired reunion. A few weeks ago we featured Patti Aston, of Weymouth, and her memories of going to school there in 1952. She mentioned that there is a group of friends
LAST week we enjoyed looking at some photos of roller skating at the Sidney Hall in Weymouth. Former skating teacher Babs Masters shared some photos with us. One featured four little girls who were having skating lessons and we asked if anyone
COUNCIL staff have achieved a national award for customer services. Revenue and Benefits staff from West Dorset District Council, Weymouth and Portland Borough Council and Purbeck District Council have succeeded in gaining the Government’s Customer
AN 82-YEAR-OLD man died from head injuries he sustained after falling out of bed at Portland Hospital, an inquest heard. Tony Wheeler, from the island, died on May 23 at Dorset County Hospital (DCH) after he was transferred there from Portland
AN INJURED grey seal pup was rescued from a West Dorset beach. The pup was thin, tired and had cuts and injuries on its back when it was found by anglers at Abbotsbury beach on Sunday morning. Watch the video below: Fran Ponting from
VILLAGERS have taken part in a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the first step in the building of their new church. The special first turf turning ceremony was held by the community at Crossways, which has been working together for years to build
A PSYCHIATRIC hospital in Dorset has no intensive care beds for women and routinely sends patients hundreds of miles for treatment – at a cost of more than £1.8million in the last year. Dorset HealthCare University Foundation Trust admitted it
THREE vital points are at stake in tonight’s derby clash between Weymouth and Poole Town, but brotherly rivalry could also play its part at the Bob Lucas Stadium. Siblings Calvin and Marvin Brooks, who missed their respective sides’ weekend encounters
TWO people have been arrested after armed police dramatically swooped on a Weymouth estate. Residents told of their shock as police, including the armed response unit and officers with riot shields launched an operation in Littlemoor on Monday
THE issue of access at a Weymouth beach is one of national importance, according to the head of a campaign group. National organisation The Open Spaces Society has thrown its weight behind a campaign supported by hundreds of Weymouth people to
