YELLOW lines are in for a brush-up in Dorchester to stop motorists getting away with illegal parking. Dorset County Council's audit and scrutiny committee agreed to tighten up on parking restrictions after hearing that faded road markings mean parking
A VILLAGER has fenced off a car park with bollards, claiming the land belongs to him. But owners of the Springhead pub in Sutton Poyntz have dug out deeds from 1925 which they say proves the car park is theirs. The struggle over the little patch next
HISTORY will be made next week when an unusual railway partnership not seen for 40 years is celebrated in Weymouth. A steam train visiting from London will be 'banked' towards Dorchester on its return journey recreating scenes of yesteryear. Up until
I was very sad to read in the Echo about the death of Guy Higgins, Weymouth's Punch and Judy man. I used to be the attendant at the toilet blocks on the Esplanade and I would see him every day. He always carried a little brown leather case with his
A TORNADO left behind a trail of destruction when it ripped through a garden in Bridport. David Wallace and his wife Liisa woke to find a 120-year-old tree in their garden had crashed through a fence on to a neighbour's garage. During horrendous weather
Well done to Warwick Taylor for the success of his efforts to win recognition for the Bevin Boys for their efforts during the Second World War. I hope this will lead to similar recognition for non-conscripts. My father started work in the pits at the
BUDDING musicians from primary schools across Weymouth took part in the Chesil Music Marathon. Dozens of children from seven schools played for half an hour during the musical extravaganza at All Saints School. Singing, flutes and pianos echoed throughout
A TEENAGER is delighted after her stolen pony was returned after almost two weeks. Isabelle Andrews, 16, says she can't stop smiling now that her beloved Candy Floss is back. Mystery surrounds the theft but Isabelle is just overjoyed to be reunited
A SERIES of courses called Simply English has been set up to help deal with the difficulties faced by migrants coming to live and work in the area. Weymouth International Language Link, an English foreign language school, is run by Jennie Parsons and
PUPILS are on their best behaviour in Dorset and are less likely to be expelled than in almost any other English school area, a report said today. Dorset County Council was among the top 10 school authority areas in the country out of more than 150 nationally
DARING pupils abseiled from Weymouth Fire Station's training tower to help pay for a charity trip to India. The 16 Wey Valley School and Sports College students raised more than £500 for a trip to Kolcatta planned for December. There they will spend
Can I thank the residents of the Park District on the way the new collection of refuse has taken place on Friday. It appears that there was only a few bags were put in the lanes. Unfortunately some bags were put out early and attacked by the seagulls
CRAFTY pupils from All Saints School showed off their skills in aid of the cat charity PAWS. Cakes, bread, wrapping paper, cards, electronics, clocks, a mechanical toy, knitted and stitched products were popular choices from the children. Creations
PUPILS at a first school are taking to the stage for a sell-out musical. All the youngsters at Piddle Valley First School, near Dorchester, are involved in the production of Blue Crystal with children aged from four to nine years old performing. The
PRINCE Charles has thrown his weight behind a competition to find talented young artists. The Young Talent of Dorset Art Competition offers 15 to 18-year-olds the opportunity to enter their best artwork in a competition to take part in an exhibition
A 3,000-SPACE temporary park-and-ride scheme at Budmouth Technology College could be one of the key transport measures for Weymouth and Portland's 2012 Olympic programme. The site - which could form part of up to 15,000 borough park-and-ride spaces -
SWEEPING new proposals are designed to give Weymouth and Portland a transport system to be proud of decades after the Olympic sailing events in 2012. Dorset County Council's Matthew Piles, the man in charge of building Weymouth's £79 million relief road
Colin Lodge in his letter Are we dancing the wrong dance' (Echo, June 21) states he is member of Wessex Morris and that some mummers plays have dancing performed within their theatrical plots and that this is equally as ancient tradition as morris. On
CONSERVATION watchdog English Nature is in the firing line over its continued opposition to new beds for growing watercress near Bere Regis. Plans for major new cress beds stalled in Purbeck in November last year after a clash of advice from two government
STAR striker Stuart Beavon and midfielder Danny Phillips have become the latest players to commit to Weymouth for next season. Several clubs have been chasing the pair since the end of the last campaign and Terras' boss Jason Tindall is absolutely delighted
STRIKER Matt Groves will make a decision about his future over the next few days. The 27-year-old has met with Dorchester Town's director of football Shaun Brooks and he is now currently mulling over a contract offer from the Magpies. Groves looked
ENGINEERING company Global Marine Systems Ltd has opened a new training school at its Portland base. The firm has launched the facility to instruct operators in the use of remotely operated vehicles (ROV) to meet increasing demand for skilled staff in
WEYMOUTH Football Club's commercial director Ken Wilde has described this week's meeting with the Terras Trust, the Weymouth Supporters' Club, and Weymouth Youth as a "positive" step. He said: "It was the first time that we have all sat down together
fisherman Steve Clements put on an inspirational performance for England as they retained their Home Nations crown in Weymouth. In a two-day event in the resort, the host country proved too strong for their competitors with Clements and his team-mate
CHRIS Park regained some bragging rights over brother Nick with a Minor Counties career-best 80 not out in Dorset's rain-affected championship draw against Here-fordshire yesterday. The wicketkeeper starred with the bat on day three of the clash at Dean
SOUTHILL Short Mat Bowls Club has been celebrating its 10th anniversary. A lottery-funded grant got the club going in late 1996 and now it has 46 members with two teams in the West Dorset League. The club is based at the Southill Community Centre and
DAVID Beckham's ball skills were shown to a group of school children. Four football coaches from the David Beckham Academy - including David's cousin Michael Beckham - spent the day teaching game techniques to children from Frome Valley First School
DORSET are booked for the group wooden-spoon after losing their latest Middleton Cup match to fellow strugglers Wiltshire. Both sides went into the fixture at Chippenham without a win but Dorset were left marooned in the basement after being crushed
CHEF Neville Brown is hoping for the big pies in the hotly contested National Steak Pie Competition 2007. Neville, who is head chef at the Talbot Arms, Benville, near Dorchester, has won through to the semi-final of the competition organised by the English
GOALKEEPER Lee Can-ham produced a flurry of fantastic saves to help lead Bobby Dazzlers to glory in the inaugural five-a-side league at Weymouth College. The Dazzlers took on Brothers Grim on finals night and seemed in complete control when they raced
NOT long hence, in an arts venue fairly close by, a legend will come to life. Three decades after it first light-sabred its way into the global public's affection, the Star Wars phenomenon has lost none of its power to seduce. For the past few years
