YOU need a licence to drive a car and you need a licence to watch TV but now I propose it’s time that you need a licence to walk along the pavement in town centres. I don’t mind if this is administered nationally or town centre by town centre
TRAINS running on a miniature railway at a West Parley nursery have hit a red light. But owner, Vic Plowman, has pledged to continue negotiations with district planning chiefs in a bid to put his rare collection of eight American miniature
DORSET and New Forest MPs said it was a “shame” House of Commons speaker Michael Martin resigned yesterday, with some claiming he had been made a “scapegoat”. Mr Martin announced he would leave on June 21 following a lengthy row over MPs’ expenses.
CAMPAIGNING television presenter Esther Rantzen said she is “80 per cent on” to stand as a candidate in the next general election. Esther, who has a home in the New Forest, was in Luton yesterday morning talking to potential voters. She said she would
I HAVE to declare an interest in Vic Plowman’s frustrated efforts to get his miniature trains on track. Not because I have any link with his nursery, but because from a very early age, I was an avid trainspotter and the halcyon days of steam
A BUS driver has called on Wilts and Dorset to stop running services to parts of Poole in the evenings, saying that he and his colleagues dread driving the routes. It follows fears in yesterday’s Daily Echo from Sue Sanderson, wife of a driver
MORE police officers are killed driving to and from work than in the line of duty, according to the Police Federation. The organisation wants more to be done to address a problem which has been blamed for the deaths of 41 officers since 2000. A study
VICE-captain Cooper Payne says Studland will savour their moment of glory after victory over St Georges propelled them to the top of Division One. Studland completed a hat-trick of wins by chalking up 63-run triumph over their Dorchester-based rivals
VICTIMS of taxi driver rapist John Worboys are preparing to sue him for damages. Solicitors representing several of the women have begun drawing up a civil claim against the serial sex attacker. They want to strip the London black cab
Counting Crows have rescheduled their show at Bournemouth International Centre after cancelling last night's performance due to illness. A new date has been set on May 30 with all existing tickets valid for the rescheduled show at the BIC.
MEET the new teaching assistant. She’s bright-eyed and blonde, fluffy and friendly, always well groomed and loves having her ears rubbed. She also has four legs, a wet nose and would do anything for a biscuit! Starr is a three-year-old Samoyed
Weather permitting, The Great Solent Pedal will take place on Saturday 6th June 2009. To give us the "easiest" crossing (and therefore greatest chance of survival!), the initial plan is tht we will we will be setting off from Stokes Bay, Gosport at
THE Ringwood businessman who's vowed to cross the world's busiest shipping lane in a pedalo has had a welcome boost for his charity stunt - from Sir Steve Redgrave. Rugby legend Will Carling has also added his support for the endeavour, on
THE price of petrol has leapt across the area and nationally, says the AA. The motoring organisation also found that motorists in the South West pay more than almost anywhere else in the UK for their petrol. On May 11 the price of unleaded at Castle
A THIRD rare goshawk chick has been born in the New Forest – but it has been a stormy start for the young family after their nest was battered by heavy rain and strong winds. As previously reported in the Daily Echo, two chicks were born within 24
THREE late bogeys deprived Parkstone professional Martyn Thompson of victory in the PGA’s regional qualifier for the flagship event for Britain and Ireland’s top club professionals yesterday. The 39-year-old, having hit the first 13 greens in regulation
Beleaguered House of Commons Speaker Michael Martin has announced he will stand down on June 21. Mr Martin has been under mounting pressure to resign over his handling of the scandal. Mr Martin had summoned Prime Minister Gordon Brown
THIS eye-catching post box has become a talking point in Lodge Road, Parkstone. But rest assured, the Royal Mail hasn't abandoned decades of tradition to replace pillar box red with glittering gold. One passerby said: "It looks like someone has been
A WOMAN who defended her right to live in a wooden hut on her own land has won a battle to stay there. But Dinah Thompson will have to make changes to the way she uses the old shepherd’s hut at her property Arne Barn, near Wareham. As
FOURTEEN retro-style beach huts with panoramic views of Bournemouth’s new artificial surf reef have been sold for more than £1m. Boscombe’s 1950s Overstrand complex has been converted into 48 “beach pods” as part of the area's regeneration
THESE are the first official images of the new, British-built Vauxhall Astra, set to debut as a five-door hatchback at this September’s Frankfurt Show and appear in show-rooms at the end of the year. Marking the sixth generation of Astra in 30 years
A BUSINESS leader has accused Bournemouth’s bus companies of saturating the profitable routes at the expense of residents in other areas. Steve Kent said Wilts & Dorset and Yellow Buses were “cutting services and fighting over the same
AS we drove past Westbourne, my wife shed a tear. As many others have done in the past few days when passing the array of floral tributes on the street in memory of Ralph, the homeless man who died 10 days or so ago. She had never met Ralph but
FURTHER to Jackie Reals’ letter (Have Your Say, May 14) concerning children needing green spaces to play in, and in particular her findings that the Branksome ward had the smallest amount of open space in Poole, let us all fight to keep Branksome
In response to the comments of Terry Stewart (Fears over ‘secret’ traveller sites list, Daily Echo, May 14) Sir Michael Pitt was called in by Poole council to investigate totally unfounded rumours that had been circulated concerning allegations
In reply to Mr Timlett’s call to all prospective Parliamentary candidates for a public meeting to debate their views (Have Your say, May 16) I’d like to say on behalf of myself and my fellow Labour candidate in Bournemouth East, that we are keen
The main problem with the world is the media – papers and television. They only have one aim in life: to cause problems. If they had not made such a fuss over Northern Rock then the people would not have panicked and withdrawn their money. Regarding
The Vegetarian Society is celebrating National Vegetarian Week from May 18-24 May. The society was formed in 1847 to prove that people giving up flesh, fish and fowl could be as healthy as meat eaters. Having proved that point they went on to prove
As I picked up a shopping trolley at Tesco the other day, I overheard the following exchange between a young woman and her partner, both of whom appeared to be in their late twenties She: “I’ll go and get the meat – you pick up some potatoes and parsnips
The coverage you have in the Echo (May 16) regarding Parliamentary expenses is excellent and just about meets public opinion. Mrs Brooke’s comments are brave but justified, for leaders and legislators must have both impeccable ethical and moral standards
In the last week the British people have seen journalism at its best, both nationally and locally. If ever proof was needed that the press should not be gagged, then this is it. Let us all now call for an end to the army of civil servants with golden
I AM worried and saddened by the mob anger and hypocrisy there has been about MPs’ expenses. Let him who is without sin cast the first stone. Most of us have been tempted to dodge paying tax, to give or receive cash for work done, to
WHEN Swanage Town and Herston football club player Jamie Holland lost a bet that he'd be the season's top goal scorer, he was ready to take his punishment. He'd promised fellow striker Aaron Corby he would run into Swanage wearing just his
“I’M scared that one day he won’t come home.” The words of Sue Sanderson, whose bus driver husband has been subjected to a series of sickening attacks during his 17-year career with Wilts & Dorset. The latest came in Turlin Moor
HANS Andersen could complete his loan move to Pirates within the next 36 hours. Speculation that the Danish GP star could be on his way to Wimborne Road intensified yesterday after Andersen spoke to a Polish website about a possible move to Dorset.
CHERRIES co-owner Paul Baker insists an ongoing winding-up petition will not hinder his attempts to sell the club. It was issued against AFC Bournemouth by Lees Lloyd Whitley Solicitors on behalf of PCA Events in March and was expected to be withdrawn
EDDIE Howe has confirmed his interest in former Dean Court striker Stevie Lovell, although the Cherries boss admits his chances of tempting the Falkirk frontman south of the border could be slim. Meanwhile, former favourite Jamie Vincent could also be
A BID to redevelop the former B&Q site in Bournemouth has succeeded at the second attempt. Revised proposals for the rundown, derelict site on Holdenhurst Road were given the green light by civic planners yesterday. They include a new auditorium for
ONE person had left a cream teddy bear, another a loaf of bread, others bunches of roses and even a copy of a book by John Steinbeck. The scene of a memorial to tragic Big Issue seller Ralph Millward outside Marks and Spencer in Westbourne
SHE championed consumer rights on That’s Life and braved the infamous Bushtucker Trials on I’m a Celebrity. Now the New Forest’s favourite broadcaster Esther Rantzen has taken on a new challenge. Honest Esther wants to become the Hon Esther: an MP
POOLE MP Robert Syms, one of the latest politicians named and shamed in the Telegraph’s incendiary Expenses Files, has denied any wrongdoing. The Conservative MP was highlighted after claiming more than £2,000 of furniture for his designated
MATT Ford has revealed Pirates crowd levels are at their lowest level for 11 years. Ford, whose Poole Castle Cover side are one place off the foot of the Elite League table, said attendances at Wimborne Road are “40 per cent lower than normal”. The
POOLE Town boss Tom Killick has moved to replace departed goalkeeper Jason Harvell by launching a bid for Hamworthy United star Martin Peters. Influential Harvell left Tatnam for big-spending Bournemouth Poppies last week, leaving Killick’s Wessex League
FANS of Durlston Country Park can now watch birds on the clifftops of the Jurassic Coast on site and online, thanks to a new camera. The project, organised through the Jurassic Coast Trust and sponsored by Dorset Coastal Cottages sends live
ANY MPs guilty of fraudulent expense claims should be stripped of their gold-plated pensions, it has been suggested. Christchurch MP Chris Chope said he found it outrageous that some MPs could be forced out of politics for submitting inflated expense
A MAN whose elderly mother was hit by a cyclist listening to an MP3 player says he plans to lobby the government, police and MPs to take action over the issue. Terry Harwood, 47, of Talbot Village, Bournemouth, says he constantly comes across cyclists
SKIPPER Kev Robbins admitted Blandford’s first victory of the season came as a “big relief”. Last season’s Premier Division runners-up squeezed home by one wicket against reigning champions Dorchester at Blandford Recreation Ground. Both clubs have
