AMBITIOUS Martyn Thompson believes he may need to become a member at Remedy Oak to help him take his game to the next level. The 37-year-old Parkstone professional was full of praise for Dorset's newest club after winning the Bournemouth Alliance pro-medal
KNIGHTON Heath juniors kept their Spanish dream alive by winning the South West Regional Finals at Royal North Devon Golf Club. They now take their place in the national final, competing against 11 other regional winners, on October 22 at Woburn's Marquess
WHEN she was tiny my daughter thought I was a troll. I liked to think of myself as a fun dad and knew she had just been read the tale of the Billy Goats Gruff. Out for a park stroll, I charged ahead of my wife and daughter and hid under a wooden footbridge
THE quality of life in East Dorset is the highest in the South West, a new survey has said. But this year's 39th national place for East Dorset is a tumble from being rated fifth in the country just last year. The second annual Halifax Quality of Life
A Poole woman who thought she had "Mum" tattooed in Chinese symbols on her back has spoken of her shock at being told it actually read "Friend Come Hell." Mum-of-one Charlene Williams, of Canford Heath, had the tattoo done on her lower back four years
IT should be the happiest time in a woman's life but for the majority of new mums the first year of motherhood is the loneliest, according to a new survey. Cut off from family, friends and work colleagues, mums find the world of motherhood very different
NHS trusts in Dorset and Hampshire are celebrating after scoring well in the second annual health check, the system that replaced the old star ratings. All 394 trusts in the country have been rated excellent, good, fair or weak for their quality of services
SHAMROCK buses are turning up a four-leave clover for pensioners and other bus users in the Fairmile area of Christchurch who were cut off by the loss of their local service more than a year ago. From the end of October, the Poole-based company is diverting
I HAVE lived all my life in Dorset. Well, I used to be able to claim this, until a few months ago when we moved from Bournemouth to Ringwood. It's only a toenail across the county line into Hampshire, but for me it's almost akin to emigrating over the
Philip Howard, or 44783 as he is also known, celebrated his half century this year. But the last 50 years haven't all been golden. A local auctioneer now based in Bournemouth, Philip was put into care in the mid 1960s at just eight years of age. "Some
A DRAWING by famed cartoonist and illustrator William Heath Robinson could sell for £3,000 after being rescued from a skip. The ink drawing caricatures the process of making paper and goes under the hammer in Sherborne on Friday. Heath Robinson was
THE quality of life in East Dorset is the highest in the South West, a new survey has said. But this year's 39th national place for East Dorset is a tumble from being rated fifth in the country just last year. The second annual Halifax Quality of Life
A NEW Forest man died when he was thrown from the passenger seat of a car in a horrific drink drive crash, an inquest heard. Alan Haywood died after his daughter's boyfriend lost control of a green VW Golf on a bend before it smashed into an embankment
YET another set of road works is causing major hold-ups in Poole this week. Workmen have coned off a section of the gyratory system around the civic centre - closing one lane at the junction of Park Road and Sandbanks Road. The pinch point has created
AFC Bournemouth captain Darren Anderton showed a different kind of team spirit at Royal Bournemouth Hospital when he teamed up with the British Heart Foundation to launch a campaign to buy the hospital new equipment for the fight against heart disease
CONTROVERSY over the explosion of flats in Poole and Bournemouth looks set to mount today as Poole Council considers applications for four more developments. A total of 62 flats could be approved at today's planning committee meeting, with officers recommending
DORSET safety experts will continue counting the human cost of Bonfire Night, despite a government decision to abandon its UK firework-related injury survey. The government move, ending four decades of collating national figures, has been met with anger
THIEVES made off with an estimated £50,000-worth of specialist tattooing equipment from a newly opened parlour. The Tattoo Studio, which had only just moved to its new location, was one of three units broken into at the Woolbridge Business Centre, close
CHILDREN carry the weight of the world on their shoulders. Latest studies show that youngsters toe, on average, 15 to 30 per cent of their body weight to school every day - that's up to 20 per cent more than the safe limit advised by the Chartered Society
REMEDY Oak star Henni Brockway gave her Curtis Cup hopes a big boost by winning two of her three games in a training match at North Berwick. In fact, the 17-year-old was the only player in the Great Britain and Ireland girls team to feature in both points
A PETITION calling for jobs for disabled people to be safeguarded has been delivered to Westminster after a 114-mile overnight march from a Poole factory. Scores of Remploy employees from the Alder Hills plant struggled with the weighty 8,000-signature
BUSINESSES in tourism, hospitality and retail attended the east Dorset launch of a new 2012 Olympics project at the Haven Hotel in Sandbanks today. There the New Forest Tourism Partnership announced a drive to ensure that Dorset's hospitality, tourism
The Kipling rhyme that advises us to "keep our heads while all around are losing theirs" could have been written for Bournemouth Dolphins. After weeks of turmoil among the club's grown-ups, the kids posted a 50-race reminder of what it's really all about
WIMBORNE'S first food festival, backed by the Daily Echo, is being served up from Saturday. More than 45 events will be taking place in and around the town over nine days until October 28. Activities range from food and drink tastings to Victorian cooking
A NEW Forest mayor has joined the area's MPs in condemning Hampshire Primary Care Trust for refusing to admit in-patients to Fordingbridge Hospital. The refusal to admit new patients to the hospital's Ford Ward came last Friday when the PCT suspended
D-DAY is fast approaching for the owners of the former RAF Sopley camp, near Bransgore. On Tuesday, November 6, a government planning inspector will convene a public inquiry to decide whether they can continue to operate commercial ventures from the
Is it only me. It is isn’t it? I’m the only one, right. The only person who doesn’t give a damn that Kylie is going to be in Doctor Who. I don’t care who she kisses. I don’t care if she’s evil or a goodie (although I prefer her to Bill Oddie, I admit)
Is it only me. It is isn’t it? I’m the only one, right. The only person who doesn’t give a damn that Kylie is going to be in Doctor Who. I don’t care who she kisses. I don’t care if she’s evil or a goodie (although I prefer her to Bill Oddie, I admit)
POLICE are hunting three men after two Securicor employees were attacked and robbed in Bournemouth. One of the Group 4 Securicor employees suffered an arm injury and was taken to the Royal Bournemouth Hospital for treatment. The incident took place
BOURNEMOUTH University's renowned Media School and the Beijing Advanced Technology College have been awarded the opportunity to bring new life to China's National Beijing Opera. Bournemouth University's Skillset-accredited National Centre for Computer
IT'S official! Bournemouth-based band Velvet Hearts are the most popular UK group ever on YouTube! The Velvet Hearts have had 300,000 hits on their page in the last six weeks, with more subscribers than mega-stars such as Gwen Stefani and Gorillaz.
CHILDREN carry the weight of the world on their shoulders. Latest studies show that youngsters toe, on average, 15 to 30 per cent of their body weight to school every day - that's up to 20 per cent more than the safe limit advised by the Chartered Society
CELEBRITY chef James Martin returned to the New Forest hotel where he once worked to give two cookery demonstrations. The Ready Steady Cook and Strictly Come Dancing star proved a popular draw at the award-winning Chewton Glen. Angela Day told the Daily
INJURED Jason Doyle is "gutted" to be sidelined from the Craven Shield final but believes Pirates still have a good chance of lifting the trophy. The young Australian sustained a separated shoulder injury while guesting for Somerset at Stoke 12 days
A CIVIC leader has branded Bournemouth "Flatsville -on-Sea" following revelations that the resort will be home to more flats than houses by 2014 if current development rates continue. Speaking after planning chiefs granted permission for 84 new flats
CHERRIES boss Kevin Bond is resigned to being without the services of loan star Max Gradel for "some weeks". The 19-year-old is currently on compassionate leave in France following the death of his mother 10 days ago. Gradel returned to the family home
IT is ironic that I can't afford to move into a select home overlooking beautiful Poole Harbour... but spoonbills can. Twenty-six are swanning around on Brownsea Island and who can blame them? I have nothing against the spoonbills moving into, arguably
THE flag flying at half mast fluttered in the autumn breeze outside Christchurch fire station on Tuesday while firefighters past and present remembered two of their colleagues who perished in the Great Storm 20 years earlier. To the falling leaves which
NEWLY-crowned Echo Pirates' rider of the year Jason Crump wants another chance to shine for Poole next season. The Australian will receive our accolade at Wimborne Road after the Craven Shield final, first leg, against Coventry and Swindon tonight (7.30pm
JASON Crump has admitted injuries played a major role in him not always hitting the heights he expected of himself for Poole this season. But the former world champion, who has just relinquished the title to Nicki Pedersen, has enjoyed being at a results-driven
A TRIP to Butlins turned into the holiday from hell for a Dorset family after they all came down with a virulent tummy bug. Single mum Tracy Keeping had been saving for months to take her children Rebekah, 14, and Callum, 12, away for a week-long break
A SENIOR Dorset police officer has called for 20mph limits outside schools. But Chief Inspector Rick Dowell said they only need to be enforced as children arrive at school and at home time. The head of the Dorset Road Policing Unit was speaking on the
ON a night when the heavens opened to hand the Hurn Bridge faithful a wet and horrible evening, Christchurch's recent goalscoring form dried up. With 12 goals in their past three matches, it had been raining goals for Graham Kemp's side. But, during
SOME missed opportunities and good goalkeeping left Wessex Premier Division leaders Poole Town with just a 1-1 draw to show for their efforts at Hamble. After a goalless first half, prolific youngster Steve Smith got Dolphins off to a flyer in the second
IT was a case of practice makes perfect for Bournemouth Poppies as they converted work on the training pitch into action to win 2-0 at Moneyfields. Much to the delight of Poppies boss James Wood, his charges produced just the type of football he has
