VISITORS can take a look behind the scenes at a steam railway in Dorset. The Railway at Work Weekend is on Saturday, March 24 and Sunday, March 25 at the Swanage Railway. There will be a chance to get on the footplates of steam and diesel locomotives
A SPECIALIST nurse who took on an epic non-stop gym session has raised more than £2,250 for a cancer charity. Tracey Murray, of Radipole, Weymouth covered a distance of 161km on the gym equipment at The Hotel Rembrandt leisure centre. The heart failure
A MICHELIN starred Dorchester chef has been helping show off the best of the South West. Russell Brown from Sienna was asked to cook the main course at a special launch of a new food guide at celebrity chef Rick Stein’s Seafood Restaurant in Padstow,
A CHILDREN’S television show featuring pop twins Jedward at the Jurassic Coast is to hit our screens again, this time on BBC One. The former X Factor duo were spotted in Portland, Dorchester and Lyme Regis last October as they filmed Jedward’s Big Adventure
FROM Beyonce to Bugsy Malone, Westfield students had it wrapped up. Youngsters from Westfield Arts College had the wow factor as they entertained at their spring talent showcase, Westfield Unwrapped. A talent showcase is being performed almost every
A ‘TRUE friend’ of Weymouth will be remembered at a fish and chip shop he used to own. A plaque has been unveiled at Alf’s Fish and Chip shop at Fiveways in memory of Carlo Policella for his commitment to the Weymouth community. Mr Policella, who passed
A MAN exposed to asbestos when working at Portland dockyard died of an industrial disease, an inquest ruled. Former carpenter and joiner John William Harrison died on January 15 at the Queen Charlotte care home in Chickerell, aged 79. An inquest into
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. The sailors train and compete across 10 Olympic
RESIDENTS in Weymouth and Portland are being invited to join the action in a giant interactive dome during the Olympic and Paralympic Cultural Olympiad events. There are opportunities for 690 volunteers to assist at a festival venue that
A MOTHER whose life was transformed by pioneering spinal surgery will be striding out on the streets of London to raise funds for others with spinal conditions. Holly Parkin, from Dorchester, is taking on the London Marathon on April 22 and has already
SOUTHILL resident Simon Jones crosses Chafey’s Roundabout every day, often with his young daughters Ellie, six, and two-year-old Grace. He said the county council should now look at crossings or speed cameras for the area. He said: “
Lily-Mae’s father, John, a Royal Marine with Norton Manor Camp-based 40 Commando, featured on a 2012 charity calendar to raise funds for Go Commando, which supports families at the base – his wife, Charlene, is a trustee of the charity. A Go Commando
CAMPAIGNERS who took a 1,000-strong petition to Dorset County Council asking for a crossing in Southill have spoken of their horror at the accident that claimed the life of a young girl. They have renewed calls for the authority to install
THE parents of a five-year-old girl who died in their arms following an horrific road accident in Weymouth have paid tribute to their ‘beautiful princess’. Lily-Mae Jeffries passed away at Southampton General Hospital on Monday after the youngster
Family news WEYMOUTH windsurfer Nick Dempsey has described the new addition to his family as ‘amazing’. The 31-year-old Olympic bronze medallist has qualified to compete for Team GB this summer at his fourth consecutive Games. Last week Nick’s wife
TWO entrepreneurial eight-year-olds are holding a series of charity events to raise £300 for Sport Relief. Schoolboys William Hyde and Kaleb Thorne, who have been drumming up support from businesses around the resort, cycled 10 miles last Saturday to
A man has been jailed for nine years for a ferocious attack which left a ‘Good Samaritan’ with severe life changing injuries. Geoff Burt tried to help a man who was being attacked but the offender turned on him and subjected him to a terrifying
IT IS not just the Olympic and Paralympic athletes being put through their paces ahead of the London 2012 Games – Weymouth volunteers are also in training. A team of marshals are preparing to welcome 600 visitors at a time to the town’s historic Nothe
DORCHESTER has missed out in its bid to become a city. The county town was one of 26 towns that applied for the granting of city status as part of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations. Bournemouth also missed out as it was announced that Chelmsford
SATURDAY, 24th March 10.30 till Noon, will be the Annual Village Club Coffee Morning with Hot Cross buns – there will be a raffle and all the usual stalls, so do come and join us in a fun morning! MONDAY, 26th March will be the final leg of the Lent
A MAN is being hunted by police after he ran from officers and climbed a scaffold outside a Weymouth hotel. The incident took place at the back of The Concorde Hotel on The Esplanade at around 3.30pm yesterday. Witnesses said the man, believed to
I would like to thank the kind man who found my purse outside my gate and returned it intact. It is encouraging to find there are still honest people, thank you. Barbara Thomson, Knightsdale Road, Weymouth
There are times in life when one simply doesn’t know what to do or say, laugh or cry, or just let it go. The letter from a rather sad Steve Elsworth (Echo, March 8) shows an astonishing ignorance of facts. Pineapples are a universal sign of welcome
Several people have commented on the demise of our once elegant town. I totally agree. Our councillors in their so-called wisdom are spending millions on the Olym-pics while our town centre is becoming a squalid mish-mash of charity shops and estate
CAN I express both my disappointment and bewilderment at the decision of Wey-mouth and Portland Bor-ough Council not to grant extra funding to the Osprey Centre? I am sure that like most people in the borough we fully support any plans that will provide
WEYMOUTH’S crumbling quayside will be subject to a £2million works programme which means cross-Channel ferry operations cannot resume for more than a year. Council chiefs will progress a plan to develop the damaged ferry berth area at the centre of the
RESERVE-TEAM boss Robbie Taylor has spoken of his delight at seeing a number of his young charges make their senior debuts. Alex Godfrey, Steven Walker and Sam Buckler have all been handed their first-team bows over the last 16 days while the likes of
THE top two in the Weymouth Sunday League Premiership will lock horns in this year’s Dorset Sunday Intermediate Cup final. A Danny Andrews hat-trick saw Weyline beat Tiegla Tiles to book their place in the showpiece while Rodwell overcame league rivals
AFTER watching Mark Ford net a hat-trick in his first competitive start for the Terras, chairman Nigel Biddlecombe confirmed the young striker is officially a Weymouth asset. Since making his debut on Valentine’s Day, as a second-half substitute in the
AFTER a scintillating start to the festival for local horses, trainers, and owners, yesterday was a quieter affair. Wednesday saw a clutch of runners from Dorset yards but none were able to trouble the judge. Arguably the best performance
I HAD hoped to bump into someone sensible to talk about the amazing turnaround at the top of the Barclays Premier League. But I ended up with United fanatic Micky Greeno so that put an end to that. “My message to Mancini and City is this – get
PORTLAND UNITED RESERVES 1 WITCHAMPTON UNITED 2 PORTLAND United’s hopes of lifting the Dorset Senior League title suffered a major dent at Grove Corner at the hands of the Witches. In the absence of experienced full-back Dan Skelton, the Blues welcomed
DORSET 127 CORNWALL 100 FOLLOWING the disappointment of failing to make the semi-finals of the National Atherley Trophy earlier this season, Dorset completed a clean sweep in the South West Counties Championship with another competent all-round performance
