IT'S a bitter truth to swallow (unless served with fries perhaps) but when it comes to the world league of junk food nations we Brits are now top of the list. Our increasing appetite for hamburgers, chips and pizza has squeezed the Americans into second
A THIRD of people who go insolvent during the first three months of the year will have been tipped over the edge by excessive Christmas spending, an accountancy firm has predicted. Grant Thornton estimates that 28,000 people will be unable to cope with
A CHRIST CHURCH-based agent has footballing legend Pele on his books after signing up the exclusive rights to his signature. Terry Baker, who runs A1 Sporting Speakers and the subsidiary company A1 Sporting Memorabilia, paid a seven figure fee to complete
TV reality show Big Brother: Celebrity Hijack kicked off last night, apparently involving some people with brains. Isn't that a contradiction? I have no problem with reality programmes but there's one thing about them that gets up my snitch. Their repetitive
Did you wake up this morning and have to shovel your way through feet of snow in an attempt to get to work? I doubt it, but the truth is, in common with most weather forecasters, I really don't know. For I am penning these words yesterday (if you see
AS the price of unleaded petrol hits record highs, bus and taxi services are struggling to keep their own prices down. Yesterday drivers were lucky to pay less than a pound a litre for unleaded petrol as prices went as high as 103.9p, beating the previous
A HORSE rider toppled from her startled horse after a firework was thrown at them has expressed her anger and disbelief over the incident. Anne Gilliver was riding her horse along New Road in Parley on December 29 when she heard two bangs behind her
PLANS to drop a popular Ringwood bus service have been put on temporary hold in a bid to find a long-term funding solution. However, Ringwood's 136 and 137 services, which currently run every 20 minutes on two different routes on a round trip between
ALMOST 100 pre-school children could be left out in the cold without a play group from next week. Three Bears Pre-School have used the hall of St Mary's RC Church on Wimborne Road, Oakdale, for the last 10 years. But the organisers say temperatures
A DOCTORS' leader is warning people struck down by a violent stomach bug sweeping the country not to return to work following the festive break. More than 100,000 people a week are catching norovirus which causes sudden vomiting and diarrhoea and the
ARE you fed up with being asked to "think outside the box"? Perhaps you don't want to "cut to the chase" or maybe you're not sure if it really is a "no brainer". An American university is here to help by publishing a list of words and phrases they want
STUART Bowers (Hargroves Cycles/Trant/Next/Scott) secured two victories from two races over the holiday period. Bowers, whose only other appearance in the local Wessex League was at Newbury last year when he took second place, started with a win at the
A NEW local campaign encouraging people to give up smoking in 2008 with the help of the NHS has enlisted the help of three successful quitters. They feature on Bournemouth and Poole Primary Care Trust's website and are being used in advertising on buses
Twenty years after her death, Marjorie Lewis-Manning's extraordinary legacy lives on, helping tens of thousands of cancer sufferers. A formidable woman, she fought to raise £3m to provide life-saving scanners at Poole Hospital and when she died, left
AFTER a decade of fundraising a Purbeck Pre-School is just £40,000 away from a new dream home. Children at Corfe Castle Pre-school have already put reaching the £180,000 fundraising target at the top of next year's Christmas list. The money will provide
A POOLE community group has won a prestigious award for its outstanding work with young people. FOCUS received the Active Community Project of the Year at the recent Active Dorset Awards, which recognises community and sporting achievements throughout
A DORSET artist and musician has helped to raise more than £200,000 for charity by painting two guitars for Gibson's GuitarTown global charity auction. After painting a 10ft high Gibson Les Paul for singer James Blunt, Paul Hart, of Sturminster Newton
SHAFTESBURY Leisure Centre will remain closed until further notice while extensive work is carried out to modify the pipework for the water system. When contractors started the scheduled repair and replacement work of pipes last month, they had originally
RINGWOOD High Street will be closed to traffic between Friday's Cross and Meeting House Lane for six weeks from Monday, January 14. The closure will allow Southern Gas to carry out replacement of the old cast iron gas main. "Obviously it will give the
SECONDARY school teachers in Poole are enduring a wave of violence and intimidation in the classroom, according to the latest government figures. The borough was ranked as second in England for suspending pupils who assault and/or threaten adult staff
PIRATES co-promoter Matt Ford is remaining tight-lipped over his next move in Poole's number seven fiasco. The Wimborne Road club recruited Australian Craig Watson as their final rider for 2008, on what they thought was a three-point average. This move
MATT Ford believes his promising support acts will ensure Poole finish the season top of the Elite League bill. The Wimborne Road outfit has not carried off the top prize since 2004, when Ryan Sullivan, Bjarne Pedersen and Antonio Lindback led Pirates
AROUND 2,000 people lined Bournemouth seafront waiting for a New Year fireworks display that didn't happen. Some of the visitors, who had assumed there would be a display as in previous years, are pledging not to return to the resort. The display to
FORMER Cherries chairman Peter Phillips is desperate to see Jeff Mostyn and Steve Sly put the club back on a firm financial footing. Phillips wrestled the club's acute money problems during an eventful four-year reign at Dean Court between 2002 and 2006
