LEGAL action is to be taken against homeless people living in Oxford's Tent City in a bid to evict them from land alongside the River Thames. Earlier this month, residents complained the encampment of about 15 tents next to the towpath in Osney was
THE Malmaison Hotel in Oxford is expected to reopen on Friday after a fire destroyed the historic former prison's electricity supply. The blaze on Monday, June 11, gutted an electrical room on the second floor and smoke spread to other parts of the
The Crown Prosecution Service has acted with commendable speed in the case of paedophile Keith Fenn. Whatever we think of the British legal system, one of its great assets is that there are balances and counter-balances when juries and judges get verdicts
Legal action is to be taken against homeless people living in Oxford's Tent City in a bid to evict them from land alongside the River Thames. Earlier this month, residents complained the encampment of about 15 tents next to the towpath in Osney was
The stand-in chairman of Blackbird Leys Parish Council has urged as many people as possible to attend its next meeting. City councillor Lee Cole said the area needed eight new councillors - and he hoped people from all parts of the community would stand
Tony Baldry has been re-selected as the Conservative Parliamentary candidate for Banbury. The decision was taken by North Oxfordshire Conservative Association. Mr Baldry said: "There are huge challenges ahead not least on local hospital services,
AEA Technology 118.75 BMW 3230 Electrocomponents 279.75 Isoft Group 47.75 Nationwide Accident Repair 154.5 Oxford Biomedica 40.75 Oxford Instruments 292.5 Reed Elsevier 642.5 RM 207 RPS Group 350.75 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley, Abingdon
Last week was National Bike week - but I'm guessing you knew that because it's been covered extensively in the press. I even read an article by an MP with lots of suggestions as to why we should all be cycling. As ever, Bike Week was supported in different
Postman Noel Fay challenges me to substantiate my comments about the forthcoming postal strikes (Oxford Mail, June 19). I answer as an ordinary citizen, non-union member, an employed worker for 40 years, without any facts and figures, but as a postal
Your readers might be interested to know what we are looking at to reduce congestion problems on the A34. The county council has successfully bid for £62m of Government funds to implement a package of measures to help combat existing congestion problems
People living in a quiet Oxford close have spoken of their relief after plans to build student accommodation on nearby land were rejected. Residents in Mattock Close, Headington, were concerned when plans for two student dwellings were submitted to
A national vehicle rental company is to create about 30 jobs after investing thousands of pounds in a new site in Oxfordshire. Reflex Vehicle Solutions has opened on a two-acre site at Milton Park, near Didcot, where it has spent £50,000 setting up
In the past six months the equivalent of nine African elephants of recyclable material in Oxford was contaminated and had to be sent to landfill. Between November last year and April, 64 tonnes - or 64,000kg - of material left for recycling was no use
A woman is bidding to breath fresh new life into an Oxford community by reopening a club which was once used by her grandparents. Emma Buckett, 23, and her partner Andrew Patterson, 27, are planning to turn the Royal British Legion club, in Ulfgar Road
Gordon Giles's method of converting degrees Celsius (Centigrade in my day) to Fahrenheit, Simple, really (Oxford Mail, June 16) should be ignored, especially if you are planning a career in engineering. His example - 20F x 2, + 30 = 70 - is two degrees
Youngsters from across Oxfordshire got their skates on at the weekend to put on a spectacular show at Oxford Ice Rink. The Summer Gala '07 took place over three days at the Oxpens Road rink. This year the gala had an aeronautical theme, inspired by
A chance meeting on the way to the cinema led to 67-year romance worthy of any film script. Arthur West, 86, bumped into his wife-to-be Daisy Golder in 1940 as he was heading to the cinema in Bicester. When he discovered Daisy was seeing the same
People on an Oxford estate now have "no major issues" for police to tackle, according to a new survey. Police have targeted problems such as antisocial behaviour and drugs since the creation of the Neighbourhood Action Group (Nag) in Barton last year
As the national sales manager of a leading pharmaceutical company, Philip Duncombe's job involved selling drugs to the medical profession. But now Mr Duncombe, from Childrey, near Wantage, has come full circle. After being diagnosed with cancer, he
A rallying call has gone out in a bid to save an Oxford canalside site from the latest threat from developers. Last summer the Castle Mill boatyard site, in Jericho, was the scene of dramatic evictions as boaters protested against the closure of the
A former music hall in Oxford has been sold to the Ethical Property Company and will become a home for more than 20 charities. The old Empire Theatre, in Cowley Road, has been empty since Blackwell Publishing moved to offices at the Oxford Business
A doctor is looking forward to retirement so he can spend more time on his "hobby" - setting up hospitals and clinics in the Third World. Dr Farzin Rahmani has been spending the last 30 years going to some of the poorest parts of the globe in his time
I needed no reminder that I'd raced this weekend when I first woke up this morning. I stepped out of bed and hobbled across my flat with aching quads and tight calves cursing myself for not stretching more after Saturday's race. I'd been in action at
The Malmaison Hotel in Oxford is expected to reopen on Friday after a fire destroyed the historic former prison's electricity supply. The blaze started on Monday, June 11, gutted an electrical room on the second floor and smoke spread to other parts
A good Samaritan who tried to stop a violent robbery taking place in Oxford is being asked to come forward by police. At 12.30am on Sunday, a 30-year-old man was walking along Woodstock Road when, at the junction of Church Walk, a group of men, who
A MAN'S body was discovered by a member of the public in a lake off Abingdon Road in Oxford this morning. The member of the public alerted police after noticing the body floating in the lake in Lake Street at 11.10am. Twelve uniform and CID officers
POLICE have arrested five men after a fight at The Bridge nightclub in Oxford in the early hours of yesterday morning. At 3am, an argument started between a group of black men, which escalated into a large fight with reports of glasses and bottles being
A PASSER by who tried to stop a violent robbery taking place in Oxford is being asked to come forward by police. At 12.30am on Sunday, a 30-year-old man was walking along Woodstock Road when, at the junction of Church Walk, a group of men, who were
AN MP today urged Attorney General Lord Goldsmith to appeal against a "pathetically lenient" sentence handed to a window cleaner who raped a 10-year-old girl. Tory backbencher Mike Penning said the Attorney General should call in the court papers from
An MP today urged Attorney General Lord Goldsmith to appeal against a "pathetically lenient" sentence handed to a window cleaner who raped a 10-year-old girl. Tory backbencher Mike Penning said the Attorney General should call in the court papers from
Police have arrested five men after a fight at The Bridge nightclub in Oxford in the early hours of yesterday morning. At 3am, an argument started between a group of black men, which escalated into a large fight with reports of glasses and bottles being
A man's body was discovered by a member of the public in a lake off Abingdon Road in Oxford this morning. The member of the public alerted police after noticing the body floating in the lake in Lake Street at 11.10am. Twelve uniform and CID officers
CONSERVATIVE leader David Cameron joined Oxfordshire County Council to launch an action plan to cut the authority's carbon footprint. County Hall wants to cut is current carbon footprint by 18 per cent in five years. Calculations revealed the council
PEOPLE living near two rivers in Oxfordshire were on flood alert this weekend following heavy rain storms. The Environment Agency issued two flood watches for the River Evenlode and the River Thame after the downpours. The agency was keeping tabs
This intruiging title is the basis of a talk to be given by Chris Hall on Wednesday June 27th in Witney. Chris is the chairman of the Oxfordshire Local History Association and he is going to explain how the West Oxfordshire towns were (or were not) cleaned
CYCLISTS splashed their way through puddles as they took part in a fundraising cycle ride at Blenheim Palace yesterday. More than 600 cyclists took part in the Big Bike Ride, at Woodstock, and many donned wet-weather gear to combat the rain. The event
GARRY Alder is hoping Oxford's so-called "recycling revolution" helps him clean up ... in more ways than one. Fed up with walking past his smelly bins every day, the 43-year-old father-of-three hit on a business idea that he is now wheeling out across
Three spectators were injured when a door fell off an airborne Royal Air Force helicopter at an international air show. Eyewitnesses at the show in Salthill, Galway, in the west of Ireland, said the Merlin helicopter based in 28 Squadron at RAF Benson
A former music hall in Oxford has been sold to the Ethical Property Company and will become a home for more than 20 charities. The former Empire Theatre in Cowley Road, has been empty since Blackwell Publishing moved to the Oxford Business Park in 2003
A national vehicle rental company is to create about 30 jobs after investing thousands of pounds in a new site in Oxfordshire. Reflex Vehicle Solutions has opened on a two-acre site at Milton Park near Didcot where it has spent £50,000 setting up a
AEA Technology 118.75 BMW 3205 Electrocomponents 280.75 Isoft Group 48 Nationwide Accident Repair 154.5 Oxford Biomedica 40.25 Oxford Instruments 295 Reed Elsevier 636.75 RM 208 RPS Group 351 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley, Abingdon
WORKERS at Oxford City Council are taking more than 11 sick days each year - the equivalent of having 25 full-time staff permanently off. And despite the fact the council has improved its performance, it remains among the worst councils nationally.
Last time I blogged, I had just decided to enter the London Triathlon having 'enjoyed' Blenheim and I joined Oxford Tri Club. That week I decided to take things a bit easy being a bit knackered from my Tri debut but then, thanks to my petri dish of a
STAFF working at the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre in Headington have been told to "think outside the box" and cut food and drink at meetings to save £8m next year. Although the specialist bone hospital charges a standard rate for some operations, more
Another reader with vivid memories of the RAF Beverley crash near Abingdon 50 years ago is Anton Woolloff, of Didcot. The house where his grandparents, Wilfred and Margaret Stanton, lived, was hit by the stricken transport aircraft. Mrs Stanton, known
DREARY weather was not enough to drive away the visitors at the Oxfordshire Motor Show and Summer Craft Fayre in Cutteslowe Park on Sunday. There was a steady influx of people and cars at the event with hundreds dodging the showers to sneak a peak at
TWO thousand women braved the rain - and traffic queues - to join the Race for Life at Heythrop Park yesterday to raise money for Cancer Research UK. Runners were forced to set off almost half an hour late as traffic built up on the long drive approaching
Pageants were all the rage at the beginning of the 20th century, and Oxford was determined not to miss out. A week-long extravaganza took place in the city exactly 100 years ago, between June 27 and July 3, 1907. A cast of between 3,000 and 4,000
ENVIRONMENT detectives will be on the look-out for people who drop litter or let their dogs foul public places. Two new wardens have been taken on to spot and fine people making a mess in Abingdon and Wantage. Fixed penalty notices, which carry fines
MAJOR safety work on a stretch of River Thames towpath in Oxford will begin this September, it has been announced. The work to Fiddlers Island and Medley Island sections of towpath, near Port Meadow, is expected to cost around £500,000. It is the
A CHILD protection charity has attacked a decision to save a paedophile from a long jail term after a judge said his 10-year-old rape victim dressed "provocatively". Window cleaner Keith Fenn, of Starwort Path, Blackbird Leys, could be free in just
THE Oxford Courier newspaper's parent company has been put into administration. Staff at the Abingdon-based business have been told their jobs are safe but publishing manager Howard Taylor refused to comment about why the company had gone into administration
OXFORD's notorious bicycle thieves looking for easy pickings will have to look over their shoulders this summer. For the first time the city centre's CCTV cameras are being trained on cycle racks as part of the police 'purge' on cycle theft. Officers
Oxford is officially the sick man of Oxfordshire. Figures released by the Department of Health show the city is home to the county's poorest and unhealthiest people. The statistics highlight that Oxford has more homelessness, child poverty, teenage
Oxford United is promising to make this year's fun day bigger and better than ever. Fans will get the chance to go behind the scenes on a tour of the club, meet with players and get autographs and watch as the squad trains. Trevor Lambert, chairman
Workers at Oxford City Council are taking more than 11 sick days each year - the equivalent of having 25 full-time staff permanently off. And despite the fact the council has improved its performance, it remains among the worst councils nationally.
Free fishing for Abingdon residents has come to an end after 451 years, because the Environment Agency has ordered town anglers to have a £24.50 rod licence. The town council owns the fishing rights to the Thames and Ock rivers and under its Charter
Six youths are being targeted by police trying to solve problems with yobs in Cowley. Antisocial behaviour has been listed as the main concern with people in the Oxford suburb - much like many of the other areas police have recently polled across the
I am writing to express my support for keeping Bernwood Park at Barton, Oxford, open. For many years, play areas have been neglected by previous administrations, and it is entirely right that these mistakes should be rectified. Bernwood Park is a
Yet another hidden agenda under the guise of health and safety. The fostering network charity has drawn up guidance for local authorities and agencies recommending smokers do not foster children under five years old. The hidden agenda is that there
I apologise for having unwittingly misled your readership on the subject of fox poisoning (Oxford Mail, June 14). As it was still legal to poison rats (do they still use the slow-acting, blood-clotting agent Warfarin for that, by the way?), I honestly
In a speech to Trimdon Labour Club on April 30, 1997, Tony Blair promised: "The very simple choice that people have in this next 24 hours is this. It is 24 hours to save our National Health Service." In a speech to the Scottish Labour Conference on
Housing minister Yvette Cooper is spot on when she says county council leader Keith Mitchell's plans for housing are bonkers (Oxford Mail, June 20). There is a desperate need for homes right across the South East. In Oxford alone, we need about 1,750
You have to wonder what is happening to our justice system when it comes to getting tough on paedophiles. In some countries perverts who abuse children can expect to get life without parole, or even the death penalty. Yet in Britain, many are given
CRICKET MINOR COUNTIES CHAMPIONSHIP Western Division Swansea: Wales 81-3 (20.3 ovs, K Arnold 3-22) v Oxfordshire. NPOWER VILLAGE CUP Oxfordshire final: Horspath v Oxford Downs - abandoned. SOMMERS HOME COUNTIES PREMIER LEAGUE Division 1 Farnham
THE weather was the only winner as high-riding Kidlington were held to a draw at basement boys Aston Rowant in a rain-affected Oxfordshire derby on Saturday. With 107 minutes' play lost - and all of that in the Kidlington innings - there was little
KEITH Arnold moved a step closer to becoming Oxfordshire's all-time leading wicket taker, but rain had the last laugh in their match against Wales. o Veteran Arnold took all three wickets as Oxon restricted their opponents to 81-3 off 20.3 overs, before
TIM Henman admits that nothing gives him a buzz like Wimbledon. The Oxfordshire star, who lives at Aston Tirrold, near Didcot, is scheduled to meet 25th seed Carlos Moya on Centre Count today. But with a horrendous forecast, it seems likely that Henman
TWYFORD marched on at the top of Division 1 with a 66-run win over local rivals Westbury on yet another day badly affected by torrential rain. Two players stepped up from Twyford's second team to help them to victory. Jack Deal scored 78 in Twyford's
HARESH Dabhi picked up a five-wicket haul for Thame Town in their rain-affected draw at Burnham in Division 2 West. Dabhi returned figures of 5-37 as the hosts were bowled out for 197 off 58.4 overs. Thame had been reduced to 19-2 off 14 overs when
RYAN Newhook's five-wicket haul for Banbury proved in vain as rain robbed them of victory against Henley in Division 1 at The Brakspear. Newhook took 5-50 as Henley were shot out for 132 off 38.1 overs. Banbury were 13-0 off 7.2 overs when rain forced
OXFORD lost a flurry of wickets in a desperate attempt to notch another bonus point in a rain-affected draw against Falkland at Roman Way. After Falkland had posted 226-9 from their 66 overs, the heavens opened and it didn't look like there would be
THE OXFORD TIMES CHERWELL LEAGUE. Division 1. Banbury Twenty 213-6 (J Wright 93no, N Harrison 45, O Murrey 4-59), Banbury 2nd 217-5 (E Phillips 91, A Pearson 38, L Marshall 30). Cumnor 196-9 (48 ovs, J Neilson 52, A Robertson 41no, G Scott 34, R
A moving DVD made by Didcot school boys warning about the dangers of fake guns hit home to their classmates at the film's premiere. Produced with the help of teachers and police, the short DVD featured the fictional story of a 16-year-old boy who was
Staff working at the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre in Headington have been told to "think outside the box" and cut food and drink at meetings to save £8m next year. Although the specialist bone hospital charges a standard rate for some operations, more
Dreary weather was not enough to drive away the punters at the Oxfordshire Motor Show and Summer Craft Fayre in Cutteslowe Park on Sunday. There was a steady influx of people and cars at the event with hundreds dodging the showers to sneak a peak at
Two thousand women braved the rain - and traffic queues - to join the Race for Life at Heythrop Park to raise money for Cancer Research UK. Runners were forced to set off almost half an hour late as traffic built up on the long drive approaching the
Cyclists splashed their way through puddles as they took part in a fundraising bike ride at Blenheim Palace. More than 600 cyclists took part in the Big Bike Ride, at Woodstock, and many donned waterproofs to combat the rain. The event had been organised
Asylum seekers held in a Kidlington detention centre are continuing to harm themselves, new figures reveal. Statistics published by the Government show that between May 2006 and the end of April this year nine detainees required medical treatment for
Environment detectives will be on the look out for people who drop litter or let their dogs foul public places. Two new wardens have been taken on to spot and fine people making a mess in Abingdon and Wantage. Fixed penalty notices, which carry fines
Major safety work on a stretch of River Thames towpath in Oxford will begin this September, it has been announced. The work at the Fiddlers Island and Medley Island sections of towpath, near Port Meadow, is expected to cost about £500,000. It is the
Garry Alder is hoping Oxford's so-called "recycling revolution" helps him clean up... in more ways than one. Fed up with walking past his smelly bins every day, the father-of-three hit on a business idea that he is now wheeling out across the city -
A child protection charity has attacked a decision to save a paedophile from a long jail term after a judge said his 10-year-old rape victim dressed "provocatively". Window cleaner Keith Fenn, of Starwort Path, Blackbird Leys, could be free in just
