Police have slammed vandals who torched three beach huts in Southbourne and broke into scores of others. The damaged huts are at the end of a terrace less than half-a-mile from the Bistro on the Beach restaurant. Dorset Fire and Rescue described the
MILLIONS of Britons are getting trapped in a cycle of debt, using their credit cards to fund Christmas before they have repaid last year's spending. Around one in 10 consumers, the equivalent of 4.4 million people, admit they are still repaying debt
DOMESTIC violence is a subject often featured on television and in the cinema. Soap operas use the topic for sensational story lines. Even Tinsel Town has turned its glamorous gaze on this uncomfortable reality. Hollywood's best known portrayal of domestic
FROGS are hopping mad after vandals twice removed expensive roadside signs advertising their forthcoming Christmas carnival parade at Somerford. After a lapse of almost 20 years the FROGS - Friends and Residents of the Grange - community group is reviving
NEXT year will be the National Year of Reading, the latest in a series of government initiatives to persuade children to read. Despite the "Harry Potter effect", a report has shown that England's 10-year-olds are reading fewer stories outside school
MOST of us want to look our best at this time of year but according to a new report thousands of women are putting their health at risk with pre-Christmas crash diets. It claims the average seasonal slimmer tries to shed dangerous amounts of weight so
WERE you woken up by the sound of somebody playing the maracas outside your house a week last Friday? If so, I probably owe you an apology. That's because it wasn't a refugee from a bossa nova band making all the noise but me shaking a box of kitty
MEMBERS of Wimborne Minster Chamber of Trade have thrown their weight behind the plan for a new Waitrose supermarket. Chairman James Hampton has advised East Dorset District Council that they think the proposal would bring new life and increased trade
For the first time in two decades Cristina faces a Christmas free from fear. The attractive mother of five has finally had the courage to leave her violent partner; the second man who has made her life a living hell. "I've lost everything but I've found
EARLY-STARTER Lee James was pleasantly surprised to be in the top 40 after a first-round 76 in the South African Open at a windswept Pearl Valley course today. "I had no idea I would finish that high up the field. To be tied 35th after the way I played
A TOWN councillor suspended from his position for breaching the council's code of conduct says members of the public have far more freedom than elected civic members to fight important local causes. Cllr Richard Thomas is due to finish his six-week suspension
"I'M GOING to watch three hours of back-to-back Neighbours. It's going to be heaven." A week of living in a greenhouse may have taken its toll on 2CR FM's Caroline Verdon. The co-presenter of the breakfast show was speaking after spending seven days
DORSET Wildlife Trust has recently doubled its reserve at Kilwood on the Isle of Purbeck. The purchase of a further 16 acres gives a total of around 39 acres of deciduous woodland, acid grassland and ponds, nestling under the Purbeck hills. The new
FROM Neighbours to a chart-topping music career, from Joseph to the appearance on I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, Jason Donovan has captured hearts in his adopted country and entertained us all along the way. But it hasn't all been plain sailing.
A RAPIST arrested more than a decade after attacking a PVC-clad dominatrix in her ''dungeon'' has been jailed for eight years. Having burst into the woman's luxury Belgravia flat, Lionel Campbell, from Bournemouth, and a gun-toting accomplice first
November sunset over Bournemouth from the town centre, taken on 1st November by Andy Elston, Bournemouth.
FORMER Saints star Jo Tessem could be a transfer window target for Cherries boss Kevin Bond. The unattached 35-year-old utility man has linked up with Cherries in training this week after returning to the area from his Norwegian homeland. It is believed
A CHILD prodigy and best-selling author has added another string to her bow by becoming a becoming a political activist and human rights campaigner. Twelve-year-old Bournemouth School for Girls pupil, Libby Rees, from Avon, was in Lisbon last week taking
DIRECTOR of town planning at Goadsby Peter Atfield said: "The prospects of growth in manufacturing industries in south east Dorset looks set to take second stage to service sector industries in south east Dorset in the next decade." With the outcome
A 14-YEAR-OLD girl was grabbed by a man who jumped out of bushes as she was walking down a Bournemouth street. The girl managed to break free of the attacker but was left shocked and upset by the ordeal. Police say it is vital they catch the man, who
WHILE Cherries' recent form has plunged fans into a panic as to the future of the cash-strapped club, each Sunday at Chapel Gate demonstrates plenty of reasons the Dorset club's supporters have to be cheerful. With the first team struggling at the wrong
PIRATES are aiming to fix up mouth-watering home and away international challenge matches against Polish champions Leszno next year. Poole Castle Cover chief Matt Ford said: "We're hoping Leszno will provide the opposition for our first home team match
ANXIOUS Cherries star Steven Foley could be forced to consider going under the knife in a desperate bid to save his career and admits: "I'm running out of options". The midfielder has been sidelined for 12 months due to a persistent back injury and has
Hard-Fi, BIC The chart topping, punk and ska-influenced Hard-Fi delighted devoted fans with this show at the BIC last night. The four-piece from Staines make songs about the harsh realities of suburban life and played a mixture of songs from number
MAGS Smith describes the work being done at Bournemouth's women's refuge as "murder prevention". She isn't being flippant. "You can't categorise it differently; this refuge and others throughout the country are literally saving women's lives. "The
SPECIALIST teams will be on stand-by in Bournemouth and Poole from December 14 to support those most at risk from domestic violence this Christmas. New police figures show that reports of abuse escalate in both towns during the festive period. While
CROCKED Paul Telfer has revealed he was forced to call time on his brief Cherries career after a persistent foot injury finally became "agony". Telfer this week magnanimously agreed to terminate the remainder of his one-year contract with the club, as
ADAM Skornicki has revealed he's always had a special place in his heart for Poole speedway ever since taking his first British rides at the Wimborne Road circuit. He came to Dorset in a bid to try and break into the sport this side of the English Channel
