AMBITIOUS parents who spend their days driving the kids to tennis lessons, violin classes and extra tuition in maths could do better by encouraging their children to take up stamp collecting. The hobby - traditionally seen as the preserve of geeks and
A FURTHER 97 flats seem likely to be built in an area of Poole which is undergoing a property boom. Hamworthy has seen applications for 113 homes between June and September with a further 33 approved or completed. That is apart from the proposed 1,674
A POLICE officer sped at 84mph down a Bournemouth dual carriageway because she feared being late for work, a court heard. PC Hayley Gallichan, 22, of Blandford Road, Tarrant Hinton, was disqualified from driving for 28 days after she was snapped by a
AIRCRAFT enthusiasts are flocking to Bournemouth Aviation museum this weekend before the hangar doors are closed for Christmas - and possibly for good. With their lease expiring at the end of December and no acceptable alternative premises on the horizon
A PEDESTRIAN and motorcyclist suffered serious injuries after a collision on Poole's busy Herbert Avenue. A spokesman for Dorset ambulance service said one of the casualties had suffered "potentially life-threatening injuries". The accident happened
CHRISTMAS is a time for families and a Dorset man has just acquired a whole new one after being reunited with his birth mother - 46 years after she gave him up. Father of six Nick Dalton was adopted at six months by a childless couple. The product of
A BOURNEMOUTH man says he is "totally devastated" after Christmas decorations on his house were vandalised and stolen. Six of the festive illuminations on the house in Ensbury Park were damaged. A further eight were stolen from the Columbia Road property
I KNOW it must be jolly inconvenient for the BBC to accept that the nativity story is about a young Jewish couple who couldn't find anywhere to have their baby because Roman bureaucracy meant they couldn't be at home on December 25. But it is. And that's
Kill it now - that's the call from a councillor over the controversial Solar Pyramid sundial proposed for Poole. Cllr Phil Eades has called in' the decision by cabinet to approve spending up to £40,000 on a feasibility study, and the decision will be
The Army may be losing almost a battalion a year to drug abuse but that is a reflection of society, not operational pressures. That is the belief of former soldiers turned MP such as Desmond Swayne, while Tobias Ellwood is calling on the government to
THE elderly and the poor will be among those hardest hit if gas bills rise as predicted next year, say campaign groups. British Gas owner Centrica has given the clearest signal yet that bills could rise next year, after warning of a "difficult environment
NOTHING says Christmas more than settling down on the sofa to watch a feelgood family movie. Well, with the possible exception of that awful film Jack Frost starring Michael Keaton as a talking snowman. But the majority of big Christmas movies all tend
PROSTITUTES between the ages of 16 and 57 are working the streets of Bournemouth without thinking of their health or safety, it has been revealed. Most of the dozens of street sex workers in the town have drug or alcohol problems and many struggle to
DORSET produced another scorcher to move into the quarter-finals of the Atherley Trophy by beating Somerset 120-98 at Poole. They are now away to either Surrey or Hampshire who play tomorrow. Any suggestions that the first-round triumph against Devon
AN ELDERLY woman was slapped in the face by a young boy in an unprovoked attack in East Dorset, as she was walking to the shops to buy fish and chips. Police say that the 76-year-old was walking along Manor Road in Verwood, on December 7 at about 7.30pm
DORSET'S Lee James survived a late scare to secure his first pay day of the season, in only his second event, by making the halfway cut in the South African Open today. The 34-year-old Parkstone-based star carded a second round 75 for a seven-over-par
ABSOLUTE Adrenaline's "Seasons Beatings" delivered everything it promised and more in front of a packed house of more than 1,000 at the Littledown Centre. The IKF World Middleweight title clash featuring Bournemouth's John Orchard against Fran Zuccala
A Bournemouth campaigner's bid to encourage restaurants to ban controversial foie gras has been backed by dozens of Members of Parliament. Adam Murry says he is delighted to have won so much political support for his campaign, launched last month. Bournemouth
A HEAD teacher has pledged to continue 'hammering away' at the minority of parents who park dangerously outside school. During the school run St James' Square in Boscombe outside Corpus Christi Catholic Primary School becomes completely gridlocked.
Susie Hignett and Louise Damen helped Britain and Northern Ireland to its best ever medal haul at the European Cross Country Championships. Britain went top of the all-time championship medals table with four gold medals, two silvers and two bronze in
PARKSTONE snooker international George Marter has booked his place in the knockout stage of the national under-16 championship in Leeds next March. The 14-year-old eased through the English Association of Snooker and Billiards South East/South West Region
A BOURNEMOUTH mother was devastated when her home was burgled after she had sought sanctuary at a women's refuge. Gary Joy, 31, from Russell Gardens, Poole, admitted breaking into the terraced property in Russell Road on November 2 last year, with another
As high interest rates continue to put a squeeze on family spending power, a new Bournemouth-based counselling service is offering tips on how to stay solvent this Christmas. The timely advice comes after the wife of "back from the dead" canoeist John
THE inquest into the death of a woman whose body was retrieved from a Blandford river has been opened and adjourned to a later date. The woman has been formally identified as 40-year-old Caroline Ann Peck, a former nurse from Pentridge House Barn, Pentridge
A 48-YEAR-old Danish tourist has been charged with careless use of a firearm causing injury following the accidental shooting of a young Wimborne farmer in New Zealand. As reported in the Daily Echo, Mathew Purchase was shot in the head at close range
NEED a comic tonic to fend off the winter blues after Christmas? Well, Eric Chappell's sitcom set in a hospital might just be the prescription you need. Granted, it's not quite in the same league as his earlier hit Rising Damp, but it's brightly scripted
PRETENTIOUS, self-indulgent, arrogant and utterly, utterly compelling - this is how Led Zeppelin earned, moulded and maintained their reputation as one of the greatest rock bands of all time. Essentially a concert film, extended by laughably ill-conceived
THE Martians are coming! But before the balloon goes up at the BIC on December 17 and 18, here's your chance to enjoy the show on DVD with a two-disc special edition. Jeff Wayne's concept album based on the HG Wells novel was an enormous hit in 1978
ABSOLUTELY no suprises here. This timely release is exactly what it says: a faithful retelling of the familiar story of the birth of Jesus in a stable at the end of a long, difficult pilgrimage to Bethlehem. Keisha Castle-Hughes, Oscar-nominated star
FRONTED by John Parkes, Noel Gallagher's predecessor as Inspiral Carpets' guitar tech, Whole Sky Monitor sound like they've got a lot to get off their chest and they're going to do it as belligerently as possible. Angry northern songs are nothing new,
BY bolting her dreadful duet with Sting (Always On Your Side), a cover of Sweet Child O' Mine and her Bond song for Tomorrow Never Dies on to the earlier greatest hits set, La Crow's people are clearly keen on wringing a few more quid out of the fan-base
IN THE era of money-spinning band reunions, there is genuine joy in the Wu's decision to ride again for the first time since ODB's death in 2003. Although they spat the gangsta formula, they had a way about them that set them far apart. In many ways they
WHAT with Amy pushing on with her slow-motion suicide, the way is more than open for a soulful diva with a life worth singing about. Step forward Gabrielle. Enticing lead single Why is built around a sample of Paul Weller's Wild Wood and now features
MR Kyps' CuRioSiTy indie night continues to go from strength to strength. Following last month's coup in landing the soon-to-be-enormous Pete and the Pirates - who had to return for a second encore to please an ecstatic audience - radio production students
A FINALIST in the recent European Car of the Year competition, Peugeot's new 308 is attempting to appeal to a broad cross-section of buyers. Without deviating significantly from the evolving Peugeot family look, the new 308 manages to exude more style
PORSCHE has taken inspiration from its sporting success in 1960s sportscar racing to create a new version of the mid-engined Boxster roadster. Next year's Boxster RS 60 Spyder echoes the classic motorsport era when the Porsche Type 718 RS 60 Spyder beat
WHAT a dilemma we all had on Sunday night - fingers trembling over the phone, trying to decide which sporting non-legend to vote for in Sports Personality of the Year (8pm, BBC1). Surely it's time to drop the ality' and rename this shamefully mis-titled
EVERY Christmas, there are certain films which perfectly embody the festive spirit. Whether it's a small boy flying through the air with an animated snowman, Alastair Sim's Scrooge realising the error of his ways, Bing Crosby dreaming of a White Christmas
SIMON J Smith and Steve Hickner's computer-animated adventure introduces us to the thankless existence of the humble honeybee. In this miniature world, which draws obvious comparisons with Pixar's A Bug's Life, a single worker insect literally changes
JAMES Gray, writer-director of The Yards, reunites with charismatic lead stars Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Wahlberg for this gritty account of betrayal and retribution, set against a backdrop of '80s New York street crime. The film opens in Brooklyn, New
AT THIS time of year, it's easy to lose sight of the true meaning of Christmas. So take a moment to reflect on the important message underlying all of the tinsel, baubles and chestnuts roasting on an open fire; a vital message which transcends religion
A pedestrian and motorcyclist suffered serious injuries after a collision on Herbert Avenue in Poole this morning. A spokesman for Dorset ambulance service said one of the casualties had suffered "potentially life threatening injuries." The accident
SINGLE mum Nicola Fryer was sacked by a supermarket after her teenage daughter tried to use her staff discount card - to get two pence off a malt loaf. Nicola, 34, worked as a security guard for Asda in Poole and was entitled to a 10 per cent reduction
SURFERS and council chiefs have received an early Christmas gift with the announcement that Bournemouth's artificial reef has finally got the go-ahead. Work is expected to start next spring and Europe's first artificial surf reef at Boscombe - one of
TORQUAY boss Paul Buckle is treating minnows Bashley with respect after naming a full strength side for their FA Trophy clash at Plainmoor tomorrow (3pm). The Gulls' manager, whose highflying Conference outfit host the New Foresters in the first round
OAKMEADIANS forward Hayden Hokianga has admitted they played the "wrong type of rugby" after slumping to a 44-0 defeat at Devonport Services. The Meyrick Parkers had high hopes of pulling off a victory against the struggling Western Counties South outfit
BOURNEMOUTH coach David Dunn is demanding "80 minutes of high intensity rugby" from his players ahead of their home league game against struggling St Ives tomorrow (2pm). Lions hammered the lowly Cornish side 37-3 away on November 10 during a run of
BASHLEY boss Steve Riley has confessed their game plan is to get non-league giants Torquay back to the New Forest for a mouth-watering FA Trophy replay. Riley's team of part-time Southern League Premier Division underdogs head for a daunting first round
CHERRIES boss Kevin Bond could be in pole position to snap up Jo Tessem should the former Saints star decide to extend his career in England. Tessem has linked up with Cherries after returning to the Southampton area following the end of the Norwegian
CHERRIES old boy Ian Cox admits he is "saddened" by the club's current plight and says he is "hoping and praying" it can keep its head above water. The cultured central defender, a former Cherries captain and popular fans' favourite, was on the staff
CHRISTER Warren thinks Wimborne could face their toughest test of the season when they travel to Bideford in the FA Vase third round tomorrow (3pm). Warren was left unimpressed by Tuesday night's 4-0 Wessex League Cup victory over Hythe & Dibden and
BUZZING Jason Harvell insists he'll be ready for the heat of the FA Vase when he makes his Poole Town debut tomorrow. Harvell is set to start between the sticks for Dolphins when they take on Cowes Sports in their rearranged third round clash at Tatnam
A SINGER who won £150 in a pub karaoke competition had to hand most of his winnings straight over to wheel clampers. Michael Classick, 32, from Moordown, was the runner-up at the Hop and Kilderkin's karaoke competition, but was hit with a £125 fine after
CHERRIES boss Kevin Bond has hailed Lee Bradbury as "a great pro" after leaving his frontline striker benched for the first time this season. Bradbury had been ever present since joining Cherries in August until a hotly-disputed sending off against Leeds
HAMWORTHY will be without hat-trick hero Lee Thomas for tomorrow's visit of Romsey Town - despite the Poole Borough loanee being initially named in Phil Simkin's squad. Thomas, who led from the front in Hammers' 4-0 Wessex League Cup thrashing of East
IT IS rather easy for people to underestimate the impact that the surf reef will have, not only upon Boscombe and Bournemouth, but for the tourism industry for miles around. After all, the vast majority of us are unlikely to wade out to more than 200
