FIFTY NINE per cent of people, who voted in our website poll, are not interested in the Queen's Golden Jubilee - whereas 40 per cent of people were interested. To vote in this week's poll about the jailing of a truant's mother log on to (www.thisisdorset.net
IT may seem a bit unusual and a tad fishy but this unique stuffed pike and trout caught in Wareham in 1912 is expected to reel in up to £6,000. The bizarre fishy lot is set to scale new heights in the world of stuffed fish by being one of the most unusual
RURAL residents fear that only the departed will rest in peace if plans for a countryside cemetery are allowed to proceed. Former Purbeck district councillor Ann Mosley believes a burial garden on green belt land at Beacon Hill, near Lytchett Minster,
HE grew up to make the world laugh but there was one thing Benny Hill did not find very funny - the time he spent at school in Bournemouth. It is now 10 years since the saucy comedian died. Benny - then known as Alfie Hill - was born and bred in Southampton
DORSET'S detailed preparation for this year's South East League counted for nothing as Hampshire inflicted a crushing 8-3 defeat in the season's opener at Yeovil. Disappointed captain John Smith admitted: "Hampshire simply played better than us. Although
MARK Beale became the first centurion of the season when he hit 118 for Royal Mail in Division Two as they opened their campaign with a real bang against Civil Service 2nds. Beale struck a magnificent 118 in 114 minutes, featuring a third-wicket stand
AN ELDERLY couple are living in fear of losing their luxury dream retirement home after a council lost the plot - literally. The nightmare saga for Paul and Evelyn Pontin began when property developer Harry Palmer sold them a £300,000 house - identified
POOLE Borough became the first team for six years to secure the double as they added the League Cup to their Dorset League Division One title following a thrilling 3-2 win against Chickerell at Cuthbury. Borough had a dream start as Alan Fooks put them
SOME were in buggies attached to the back of parents' bikes while others proved that old age can still push enough pedal power to get to the heart of the matter. Just under 1,200 cyclists of all ages took part in the annual Dorset Heart Cycle Ride at
POLICE are bidding to step up a booze ban in Dorchester amid fears over an increase in drunken vagrants abusing passers-by. They aim to extend the bylaw giving them powers to act against people drinking in public as alcoholics from CCTV towns Weymouth
PARENTS of a former Weymouth student who died in a car crash near Dorchester today paid an emotional tribute to their son. Roy Purnell, 61, and his wife Brenda, 57, spoke of their son Robert and appealed for witnesses to the accident on the A37 to come
NURSES from Dorset County Hospital were out gathering support for their profession at a Dorchester supermarket. A roadshow held to mark National Nurses' Week was held at Tesco to help shoppers understand the changing face of modern nursing and encourage
SIXTH-FORM students studying A-level art at the Thomas Hardye School in Dorchester are busy putting on an exhibition of their exam work. The show is being set up in the school's art exhibition centre and comes at the end of a course involving a variety
NEW road systems may start in Dorchester by the end of next year amid concerns over ageing traffic lights on a busy road junction. The works will begin after consultation meetings about proposals for the town centre drawn up from the results of a survey
SOME of Weymouth lifeboat's greatest supporters and servants have had their efforts recognised at a special awards event. Presentations for everything from long service to fundraising were made at Weymouth Sailing Club in a ceremony following the Weymouth
A JUDGE has sparked outrage by ordering a father to pay compensation to a drug dealer he beat up after catching him supplying heroin to his two sons. The sentence has been branded a "scandal" and "ridiculous" by a leading politician and a drugs expert
IT MAY not have been the subject of choice for bar-room conversations last week, but the fact that Dorset could lose its county council in favour of a new South West regional assembly should be stirring up a hornets' nest. The argument that Dorset should
EVEN if your retirement is a long way off, carers should think about whether they need to take action now to make sure they will be entitled to as much state pension as possible in the future. This is especially true: if you are looking after a child
THEY may not look any grander than a humble garden shed but people are clamouring to get their hands on these eight-ft-by-seven-ft wooden huts. The great bargain basement beach hut sale got off to a flying start on Saturday when the first batch of 22
BURTON schoolgirl Sipho Nalwamba became Queen of the May after being chosen to reign over the annual village revels. The youngster took centre stage at the village fair when she was crowned with a garland of flowers by the Mayor of Christchurch, Cllr
A CLOUD of uncertainty continues to hang over a pioneering hotel project in Christchurch, after councillors put off taking a crucial make or break decision. Developers eager to start work on the long-delayed £3 million scheme at Wick Ferry, on the site
YOUNGSTERS are thought to be responsible for an arson attack on a school in Poole. A portable building used for general storage and as a caretaker's workshop was partially destroyed in the early morning blaze at Broadstone Middle School. Three fire extinguishers
IS it an alien? Is it a spaceman? No, it's just a friendly self-defence instructor. The Fear and Adrenaline Stress Testing (FAST) De-fence programme has been launched in Europe with martial arts students in Poole the lucky guinea pigs. The course teaches
MATTHEW Le Tissier's boyhood hero Liam Brady has paid a glowing tribute to the Saints legend on the day of the testimonial which will bring to an end his 17 years of service at Southampton. More than 32,000 fans will pack into St Mary's tonight to thank
AN APPEAL for empty crisp packets to help buy a dialysis machine for a poorly nine-year-old girl in Corfe Mullen is a hoax. Members of the public should not be fooled by posters, which claim to be helping the unnamed girl who has kidney failure. Walkers
A POLICE chief has issued a rallying cry to the people of Portland to help tackle crime. The call from Inspector Tony Rudd comes after two robberies on Portland which he said had shocked islanders. Insp Rudd, who is in charge of policing for West Weymouth
A PRIMARY school is celebrating a good Ofsted report, following a school inspection. Inspectors praised St Nicholas and St Lawrence CE primary school in Broadwey for its teaching, especially in reception classes, and for its good links with parents. The
ANGRY road campaigners and hotel chiefs have today hit out at a decision to conduct maintenance work in Weymouth just as the tourism season gets into full swing. The work is expected to cause traffic problems on Dorchester Road, near Redlands, as part
FORMER nurses who trained and worked at hospitals in Dorset have been reunited with their old colleagues. More than 160 people attended the reunion held by the West Dorset Hospitals Trained Nurses' League at the Rembrandt Hotel, in Weymouth. Ex-student
THERE will be no singing and chanting at a Portland pub when England's footballers go for World Cup glory - but that is how landlord Dan Fox wants it. Not that he is hoping Sven Goran Eriksson's side will fail to bring home the trophy in the big tournament
COUNTY councillors are being asked to back an emergency plan which would help Dorset should an emergency situation similar to foot and mouth ever occur again. Chief executive David Jenkins will tell Thursday's county audit committee that the general perception
VISITORS to the Upwey Wishing Well and tea room attraction in Weymouth can enjoy the spectacular sight of its well dressing scenes. A wall near the well has been decorated with flowers and other natural growths to depict a unicorn and a lion, underlining
CAMPAIGNERS are aiming to lose a council's tag as a 'private members' club' with a shake-up of meetings in Dorchester. Members of West Dorset District Council agreed to hold some meetings in the evenings to attract more people, help working councillors
THEY came, they saw, they conquered. Forty-six Citroen H-vans, the distinctive corrugated utility vehicles from France, rolled into Melplash for the fourth annual rally, which is now the biggest of its kind. The vans, along with about 10 Citroen 2CVs,
A "SERIAL offender and scourge of a community" has been jailed for four months after admitting a catalogue of crime. Father-of-two Darren Amor, aged 28, pleaded guilty to using threatening words and behaviour and smashing a pane of glass following a disturbance
EVERY household in Dorset could be £1,000 better off every year if the South West could raise productivity to the EU average, it is claimed. Dorset and the South West are lagging behind UK and EU levels because of poor management, lack of ambition and
DORSET-BASED PENNY & Giles has been acquired by the Curtiss-Wright Corporation of the United States for $60 million in cash. The Christchurch group designs and manufactures position sensors and control hardware for industrial, military and aerospace
THE South's rural economy is being held back by tax rules that stop farmers and landowners from maximising the use of their buildings and land, warn accountants. Red tape is hitting farmers struggling to diversify in the wake of the crisis affecting the
THESE youngsters at Christchurch Junior School are busy fine-tuning their vocal chords in preparation for their major starring role in a special fund-raising concert. On Sunday the pupils will be performing hit songs from West End musicals to raise money
