FAMILIES from across Dorset will be flocking to Studland this weekend for the 12th annual country fair. The event starts on Friday, August 24, with a darts tournament featuring international player Les Wallace. A traditional country fair with fairground
DORSET golfer Kerry-Anne Haskell has been called up to the England Schoolgirls' squad to face Wales at Usk in South Wales. Haskell qualified for the squad as a wild card after coming sixth in the recent English Schools' Championships at Chester. The Ferndown
A QUICK-FIRE 57 from opener Matthew Swarbrick put Dorset in site of their first Minor Counties League Western Division win of the season against Berkshire at Finchampstead. With play washed out on the first of the three-day contest, Dorset rattled up
First Poole Quay was likened to St Tropez, now there are fears of a "Manhattan skyline" over plans for a looming 15-storey tower block. It would be half as tall again as Poole's 10-floor high-rise flats and just over double the height of the new seven-storey
MINDLESS vandals trashed a sports ground, flattening and bending rugby uprights and ripping out goalposts. The trail of senseless destruction comes just days after the start of a venture to encourage youngsters to take part in a positive pastime. Two
PIRATES man-of-the-moment Grzegorz Walasek has put his purple patch impressive form down to the simple fact he's had time to adjust better to British tracks. The young Pole, who celebrates his 25th birthday on August 29, the same day as Lars Gunnestad's
NEW-signing Jason Rowbotham starts on the substitute's bench when the Terras make their home Dr Martens Premier League debut tonight. But boss Andy Mason reckons the former Plymouth Argyle midfielder will have a part to play against Bath City at the Wessex
BRIDPORT are forced into changes for tonight's Screwfix Direct Premier Division game against Dawlish Town at St Mary's Field tonight. Centre-half Steve Smith and midfield player James Gisborne are unavailable for the visit of the Devonians, who opened
PORTLAND are under no illusions that their second Jewson Wessex League test at Fleet tonight will be a more searching examination of their credentials. The Blues fired a five-goal salvo at Swanage in their opening game in the higher league - but assistant
BOSS Barry Lawley could be without key midfielder Darren Tizard when he takes his Weymouth Sports side to Shaftesbury tonight, ko 7.30pm. The experienced ex-Terra looks doubtful for the trip after twisting his knee in Saturday's Dorset Combination League
WARM sunshine greeted players from England, Scotland and Wales for day one of the 42nd Weymouth and Portland Annual Bowls Tournament, which was officially opened by borough mayor Coun Joy Stanley at Greenhill Bowls Club. In the triples G Davey (Portland
A QUICK-FIRE 57 from opener Matthew Swarbrick put Dorset in sight of their first Minor Counties League Western Division win of the season against Berkshire at Finchampstead. With play washed out on the first of the three-day contest, Dorset rattled up
DORSET'S Brian Newbery has chalked up his own memorable milestone - 100 championship games as official scorer for the club. The 74-year-old former Dorset batsman never played in a Minor Counties Championship match despite hitting more than 11,000 runs
PENSIONERS will no longer have to queue in the rain - thanks to the opening of a new Royal Mail sorting office. Post will now be organised at a new office in Verwood's Bessemer Close, freeing up space in the Manor Road office. Twenty members of staff
WEYMOUTH and Bridport have today secured nearly half-a-million pounds in Home Office funding to extend a crime-busting CCTV camera scheme. A funding boost of £238,000 will add another 14 cameras in Weymouth, where CCTV has already been running successfully
DETERMINED Jerry Cole today vowed to fight a campaign by activists to wreck an exotic animals fair he is holding in Dorchester. The Animal Aid group has attacked the Exotica South West fair with claims that it poses a risk to animal welfare and human
AN 87-YEAR-OLD holidaymaker has gone missing from a Weymouth hotel. Albert Cocker was staying at the Wenlock Hotel on the Esplanade when he disappeared last Wednesday. Mr Cocker told staff at the hotel he was going to stay with friends on Portland, but
FOUR generations of the same family gathered for a special party to mark Ellice Hansford's milestone birthday. Mrs Hansford, of Church Mead, Toller Pocorum, celebrated her 85th birthday surrounded by her family, who had organised a surprise bash. Mother-of-five
DORCHESTER'S new covered market will be officially opened on Wednesday - and named after the man who launched cattle markets in the town more than 150 years ago. Nearly 400 years after the town was given royal permission to hold a market, operators Ensors
SNAKE-SPOTTING is on the increase at a Dorset business centre after a spate of adder sightings by members of staff. The poisonous reptiles have been seen by workers at Winfrith Technology Centre, which is built on heathland, as they walk round the grounds
THE WYKE Regis Horticultural Society Summer Show was buzzing this year when it also played host to the Dorchester and Weymouth Beekeepers' Association Honey Show. The usual classes for the show were well represented, with a high standard of entries throughout
NEW touring show Fantasy and Freedom, which offers a whirlwind concert tribute to the West End and Broadway, arrives at the Barrington Theatre in Ferndown tonight. Three talented performers, Lorraine Rowan, Jane McKell and their invited guest, Gary De
BROCKENHURST have pulled off yet another transfer coup by convincing former Cherries goalkeeper Jimmy Glass to join the Grigg Lane revolution on a temporary basis. Glass made 109 appearances for Cherries between March 1996 and June 1998, playing in the
FOOT-and-mouth disease may have devastated much of the rural economy but one event will be steaming ahead as planned. The Great Dorset Steam Fair rolls into action at Tarrant Hinton near Blandford from August 29 to September 2 and promises to be bigger
COLLECTABLE film posters are set to prove profitable for PPR - the Poole firm has won the world-wide PR account for Cine Art Gallery. PPR won the contract with the poster dealer in conjunction with Liz Hobbs Managament of Nottingham. Cine Art Gallery
PAUL Collins looks like any other holidaymaker soaking up the sun by the pool in a Spanish holiday resort. But a few hours later the same spot was a scene of utter devastation after a terrorist bomb exploded in a car, yards from where he'd been sitting
ADVICE on how to avoid cancer was handed out at a special healthy lifestyle roadshow. The Marie Curie/Yellow Pages Healthier Lifestyle Roadshow called at the Pier Approach as part of its nationwide tour. People were offered the chance to have their height
CARL Jessup's life this year has been somewhat confusing after the departure of his boss Jane Miles as club professional at Knighton Heath. The PGA suspended him because all assistants need constant supervision and tuition to pass the daunting three-year
HEAVY rain on Saturday meant that all of the BDCA League's games were postponed. This is the second time this season that this has happened and only the second time since the war that two weekends have been washed out in the same season. Next weekend
WHAT a whopper. It looks like this monster Bangladeshi marrow has overdosed on the Miracle-Gro. Three times the height it should be, measuring 64cm in diameter and still growing strong, it puts all other garden vegetables in the shade. This exotic treat
IT was an innovative DIY project that should have built the foundations of a happy and prosperous life for a Poole couple - instead it has seen their marriage crumble and their profits plummet. When Louise Hayes-Jones and husband Paul Jones decided to
LIFELONG republican Beatrice Jones stuck to her principles on her 100th birthday and turned down the chance of a telegram from the Queen. But she more than made up for the day by inviting dozens of friends and family around for a big celebration at her
BROCKENHURST have pulled off yet another transfer coup by convincing former Cherries goalkeeper Jimmy Glass to join the Grigg Lane revolution on a temporary basis. Glass made 109 appearances for Cherries between March 1996 and June 1998, playing in the
DORCHESTER Reserves manager Phil Simkin said he hoped his side's visit to Wareham Rangers in the Dorset Combination League tonight will be "more of a footballing test" than Saturday's bruising opener at Gillingham. "They way they played it there was little
DORCHESTER Rugby Club have had to call off their prestigious friendly against national league side Plymouth Albion which was due to have been played at their Coburg Road HQ tonight. The Albion, who only contacted Dorchester asking for the fixture at the
Indoor winter leagues The Dorset Cricket Centre is now taking bookings for the Indoor Winter League which runs from October to February and there are leagues for under-12/13/14 and 15 as well as adult leagues. Usually the games are held on a Thursday/
NEW fans' favourite Wade Elliott has joined the queue to become Cherries' penalty-taker. The 22-year-old midfielder has put his name in the frame alongside Warren Feeney and Jason Tindall. Elliott had a 100 per cent record from the spot for his former
COUNCIL staff are struggling to cope with planning applications in Weymouth and Portland. And the workload is affecting the authority's ability to crack down on unauthorised development and breaches of planning conditions. Principal planning officer Debbie
LUCKY winner Elizabeth Griffin got behind the wheel of this year's grand prize for the Weymouth Carnival Grand Draw. Cheltenham housewife Mrs Griffin, 31, on holiday with her family at the Sea View Holiday Park at Preston, cried with joy when draw organisers
THE LIVE Blue Peter roadshow is to be broadcast from Weymouth this week, and will include a performance on the beach by popstar Louise. The roadshow from Wey-mouth Beach is part of the first ever series of Blue Peter programmes of this type. The show
LOVE which blossomed at a drill hall dance has just seen a Weymouth couple celebrate 50 years of married life together. Denzil Camp, 73, and his wife, Edna, 68, of Charlestown, Chickerell, first met at the Bincleaves Drill Hall and they were married in
PIRATES man-of-the-moment Grzegorz Walasek has put his purple patch impressive form down to the simple fact he's had time to adjust better to British tracks. The young Pole, who celebrates his 25th birthday on August 29, the same day as Lars Gunnestad's
BRITAIN'S lowest mortgage rates for 40 years could tempt first-time buyers across the South out of their depth and into spiralling debt, it is feared. Borrowers should beware the impact of an economic downturn as they sign up to long-term repayment commitments
EMPLOYERS without proper performance measurement procedures could fall foul of litigation brought by workers they have sacked for incompetence, it is feared. Firms facing Employment Tribunals could have difficulty defending their definition of incompetence
AUTOMOTIVE design company Bertrandt UK has consolidated its partnership with Bournemouth University to boost the quality and number of industry-standard product designers. Bertrandt has pledged its support for the university's school of design, engineering
CROOKS and yobs in the heart of Christchurch will soon have no hiding place after the borough announced plans to tighten its net of security cameras. Work will begin next month to install 11 new CCTV cameras in the town centre, costing £232,000. The borough
A SWORD in the stone mystery has been uncovered after a gravestone from the medieval monastic cemetery at Christ-church Priory was found for sale in a local salvage yard. The coffin-shaped slab, broken in two and etched with the cruciform design of a
