FERNDOWN Otters put the summer break firmly behind them to open the season in winning style in the Hants and South Coast Junior Cup at Bracknell Otters came from behind to win by four points against seven opponents including Speedo League national finalists
VICTORY in the prestigious Beckford Challenge Bowl ensured Broadstone Golf Club's dream season continued in fine style. They saw off Hayling in the final of the event by 8.5 points to 6.5, with 17-year-old Matt Pryke sinking the match-winning putt.
JOE Roach is hoping talented midfielder Joe Partington could become the next rising star to graduate from the Cherries youth ranks. Cherries' head of youth was among the crowd to see Partington lead Wales under-19s against their German counterparts in
FORMER Hampshire all-rounder Richard Scott has taken up a new role as head coach of Dorset's "elite and emerging players". Scott, who also lined up for Gloucestershire during a professional career spanning 1981 to 1993, will work with Dorset's best 13
THE owner of a Georgian manor house has hit back at councillors planning to review his entertainment licence, issuing a "categorical denial" that neighbours were kept awake until 3am by noise from his premises. Trelawney Dampney, whose Parley Manor premises
DORSET police have rejected claims that bobbies on the beat are too "risk averse". But chairman of the Dorset Police Federation Clive Chamberlain said police officers do feel they need to justify everything they do because they are so often criticised
A RECORD number of shoppers flocked to Bournemouth's Castlepoint centre this summer, according to new statistics. And town centre traders are also claiming a good July following a 16 per cent drop in visitors during the first half of this year. Manager
A PRINTER set off on an epic charity fundraising ride on a 125cc scooter, from Shaftesbury to the Sahara and back. Geoff Ballett's challenge is to raise funds for Cancer Research UK and Third World development agency Msaada, based in Gillingham. He
A WOMAN was so upset with foul language from Sunday league footballers she tried to talk their managers into keeping the words clean. Marie Green regularly hears four-letter words coming from the rec behind her house and decided enough was enough during
QUESTIONS were raised at an inquest about how the body of a former Bournemouth woman with a history of mental health problems lay undiscovered in a basement for three years. Sally Ann Shearing was last seen alive at her home in Liskeard, Cornwall, on
THOUSANDS of women have failed to send in sponsorship money raised through Race for Life events in Dorset, leaving a major cancer charity around £300,000 short of its target for the county. Fewer than six out of 10 of those who took part have sent cash
HE helped to pull off the biggest art con of the 20th century and was nicknamed Picasso by his prison inmates. But these days artist John Myatt prefers to work on the right side of the law. The former fraudster, who visits Bournemouth later this month
RETURNING to rock us all once more, or a pale, money-grabbing imitation of former glories? It's a question being asked more and more as bands of yesteryear seem unable to resist the lure of the filthy lucre for a reunion. The latest act set for a comeback
TEENAGE singer Shane Board claims he is the victim of a cyber-stalker. Shane 19, has been performing for several years, has appeared on TV and was Harry Potter's stunt double in the film The Order of the Phoenix. Now his mother Iris Board claims a jealous
AFTER years of heated public debate, a final decision over a controversial development in Bransgore has been rubber stamped by planning officers behind closed doors. Despite bitter opposition from Bransgore Parish Council and the village residents association
A FURTHER £20,000 of cash is to be invested in a Bournemouth play park following complaints from parents and ward councillors. Redhill Park reopened its gates in June following a £75,000 refurbishment but parents immediately complained there was too
DURING the past year the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) saw a 20 per cent increase in people contacting it for help with unmanageable debts. It handled a total of 1.7 million cases. This comes as little surprise when the Echo reported in August that the
My collar bone snapped when Hubert's chunky knee dug into it. He weighed the same as a fully-laden jumbo and sitting on top of him were a pack of other gleeful, well-covered boys. It happened while playing school rugby, a sport that became popular among
BILL Bryson made notes in a small field yesterday as he surveyed green belt threatened with 1,000 new homes. He visited Parley Cross in his new role as president of the Campaign To Protect Rural England and heard the village is threatened with becoming
AN OAK tree planted by American medics to celebrate the end of the Second World War has been central to planners' dilemma over whether a new care village and community recreation facilities can take root around it. The multi-million pound plan in the
ALMOST two years after the tragic death of Lulworth teenager Matthew Myburgh, his family finally have a proper place to mourn. The 16-year-old, and his 15-year-old friend Charlie Morrell, drowned after being swept into the sea at Lulworth Cove in November
RARE captive-bred sand lizards, the most threatened of Britain's six reptiles, were released in Purbeck on Tuesday. Bred at Marwell Zoo, they were given their freedom at Dorset Wildlife Trust's Coombe Heath reserve near Wool. The sand lizard's heathland
Film director Ken Russell is selling the remains of his New Forest home which was severely damaged by fire last year. The blaze in April last year rampaged through Old Tinsley's, his 19th century thatched house at East Boldre near Beaulieu, leaving it
James Last Orchestra, Bournemouth International Centre They don't just play, they party. And no one enjoys themselves more than their hugely popular 78-year-old and still swinging non-stop pop maestro, James Last. Rumours of his forthcoming retirement
BOURNEMOUTH'S Winter Gardens has emerged as a surprise contender in the quest to find a town centre site for an ice rink. The developer interested in the Kings Park scheme has accepted a council invitation to visit Bournemouth on September 27 to look
THERE'S a saying: If you want to be happy for a year, get married. If you want to be happy for 15 years, get a dog. If you want to be happy for the rest of your life, get a garden. Such is the lure of an outdoor room, homebuyers are prepared to pay an
A FURIOUS row has broken out after Bournemouth's Conservatives denied a traditional civic honour to a long-serving Liberal Democrat because of his involvement with controversial decisions. In an unprecedented move, Tory councillors voted against Adrian
MOVES to force shoppers at out-of-town supermarkets and shopping centres to pay parking charges have been blasted by a civic leader. Bournemouth councillor Ron Whittaker said: "This is just another back-door stealth tax. "It's a no-win situation with
SHOPKEEPERS in Bransgore are divided over the need for CCTV cameras in a battle to reduce the level of antisocial behaviour in the village centre. More than 60 villagers and traders were joined by Inspector Julie Fry from the Ringwood safe neighbourhood
A POOLE company boss who worked with the businesswoman and passionate activist Dame Anita Roddick has joined those paying tribute to her. The Body Shop founder, 64, died at St Richard's Hospital in Chichester on Monday, with her husband, Gordon, and
BACK row Tim Flower has pleaded with the Bournemouth selection committee to "stick with us". Flower battled through the pain barrier as Lions opened their South West One campaign with a 48-13 reverse at Bracknell, with the blindside flanker describing
VERWOOD Town boss Adie Arnold admitted his side couldn't have been handed a tougher opponent than Premier Division leaders Poole Town. The two teams meet tonight (7.45pm) in the Wessex League Cup for the first match under floodlights at Verwood's Potterne
PIRATES chief Matt Ford has stressed they must "try to build up a lead" from their home leg in the Craven Shield first round tonight (7.30pm). Poole Castle Cover entertain Reading and Lakeside in the first of four meetings that will determine who reaches
POLICE have charged a man with murder over the death of a woman in Poole. Dorset Police named the man as 40-year-old Darrell Bacon from Cromwell Road, Poole and said he was charged on Wednesday by the force's major investigation team. The police said
