Table-topping Oxford United, without a game today, hope to tie up a deal to bring midfielder Lewis Chalmers to the Kassam Stadium. Boss Chris Wilder has been in talks with the Aldershot player, and may be able to finalise a loan deal for the
Schools around the county were populated by a kaleidoscope of fictional characters to celebrate World Book Day. Schools held events aimed at getting children excited about reading. At Wantage Primary School, the school was filled with Harry Potters,
PEOPLE in Banbury will start recycling their food waste from next week. Introductory packs and brown kitchen caddies will be delivered to homes across the town from Monday. Once households have the caddy, food waste can be collected and thrown into
A 21-YEAR-OLD man convicted of a drunken clash with police in Oxford failed yesterday to overturn a football banning order. Matthew Claridge, of New Yatt Road, Witney, had been at Oxford United’s home game with Stevenage with his two brothers on August
A NEIGHBOUR of a man who keeps 38 dogs at his Witney home told a court he heard barking “every hour of every day”. Christopher Watts told Witney magistrates he was woken day and night by the noise coming from Roger Sutton’s semi-detached house in Colwell
A WOMAN with a long history of mental illness found drowned in a ditch probably tripped while making her way home from hospital, an inquest heard. Christine Belcher, 42, was being treated for depression at the Warneford Hospital in Headington, Oxford
VISITORS to the Bodleian Library were offered an early glimpse of the next £78m chapter in its 400-year history. An exhibition showing how Oxford University hopes to transform the New Bodleian into what will effectively be a major city visitor attraction
A SEAMSTRESS preparing costumes for an amateur drama production believes she has uncovered a former Prime Minister’s waistcoat. Wardrobe mistress Jan Castle, 71, had been doing some late-night sewing to prepare for the Sinodun Players’ upcoming
THE father of a 10-year-old girl who had a heart operation just hours before surgery was suspended has backed John Radcliffe Hospital. On Wednesday night the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust announced it had suspended child heart surgery
AN ACCIDENT on the M40 north of Banbury this morning is still causing major problems on roads across north Oxfordshire. The northbound carriageway of the M40 is expected to be closed between Banbury and Gaydon until at least 7pm while the road
THE Government has put up tens of thousands of pounds to help a district council plan a controversial 2,500 home development. Vale of White Horse District Council has been given £30,000 in Government cash to pay for expert assistance with the Grove Airfield
A SOLDIER who went absent without leave rather than serve a second tour in Afghanistan was jailed for nine months today. Lance Corporal Joe Glenton, who was also reduced in rank to a private, was sentenced at a military court after admitting
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THAMES Valley Police is bucking the national trend by recruiting extra officers on the beat. More than half the police forces across England and Wales have frozen recruitment or are cutting the number of officers this year because of Government funding
PERFORMERS have been putting the finishing touches to their show-stopping musical extravaganza being hosted by Oxfordshire’s Scouts, Cubs, Guides and Brownies. The 165 strong cast are taking centre stage at Oxford’s New Theatre for next week’s Oxford
THE old Great Western Railway was sometimes referred to as the Great Way Round and passengers travelling by train from Oxford to London between Christmas and New Year’s Eve may get the same feeling. Due to the closure of the main line through Reading
HANNAH Green is targeting the European Junior Synchro-nised Swimming Champion-ships in 2011 after making rapid progress in the sport. The teenager, from Eynsham, is ranked first in the British junior squad and has already competed in the senior national
Abingdon Gymnastics Club are celebrating a successful first year at their new home in Berinsfield, owned by business park management company Jennings. In that time the club have increased their number of classes for children and adults, and had great
A FORMER pub landlord says his life has been saved by a trip to the optician. Grandfather-of-11 Ray Clibbon, 61, from Blewbury, woke up six weeks ago with blurred vision. When he turned up to Didcot’s Specsavers branch for a test, hi-tech
BANBURY’S GP2 Asia Series racer Will Bratt endured a disappointing conclusion to his weekend’s racing in Bahrain, after being shunted out of the sixth round of the season. Bratt, who lined up 16th on the grid for the 23-lap Sprint Race at Sakhir, made
IT’S official – St Birinus, from Didcot, are the best in Britain. In the British Weightlifting Association’s yearbook just published, Birinus are top of two separate rankings. Not only do they have the best junior lifter in the country in Ben Watson
Ten youngsters from King Alfred’s Community & Sports College, Wantage, went head over heels to qualify for the National Schools’ Trampoline Championships in Bristol next month. They secured their places with some outstanding results at the southern zonal
Ashley Cox produced a virtuoso display with 50 points to steer Wood Green (Witney) to a 74-69 win over European (Culham) in the Oxfordshire Under 14 basketball final. Wood Green trailed by 13 going into the final quarter of the clash at Cheney School
LAUNTON Primary School triumphed in the North Oxfordshire School Sport Partnership Sportshall Athletics final at Cooper School, Bicester. They pipped the Grange (Banbury) by two points in a closely-fought competition, which also featured Hanwell Fields
THE Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB) have announced a special deal for the Cheltenham Festival whereby racegoers can visit any dog track for free if they download the voucher from their website. Oxford will be giving free entrance to punters on
A HEADTEACHER has praised the hard work of his school after it attained a ‘good’ rating during an Ofsted inspection. Four inspectors visited Wantage CofE Primary School, in Newbury Street, last month. The school, which has 444 pupils
AN ETHIOPIAN aid worker has given heartfelt thanks to the people of Oxfordshire who contributed to the famine appeal in the 1980s. Mother-of-three Almaz Fiseha Demissie is currently studying for a masters degree in development and emergency practice
FORMER champion tra-iner Paddy Curtin has set his stall out early in this year’s competition. The Gaydon-based handler, who won the title in 2006, banged in no less than seven winners at Sunday’s BAGS meeting to race into a healthy 11-point lead over
BICESTER’S exciting run in the Oxford & District's Aubrey Hughes Handicap Shield competition finally came to an end with a narrow quarter-final defeat at home to Vikings B. Conceding a start of 260 points, Vikings’ trio of Peter Dasher, Julian Lawton
A soldier who went absent without leave (awol) rather than serve a second tour in Afghanistan has been jailed for nine months. Lance Corporal Joe Glenton, who was also reduced to the ranks, was sentenced at a military court in Colchester, Essex
Head coach Des Brackett is predicting a close contest in Tuesday’s Varsity Match as Oxford University bid to recover from last year’s 9-0 drubbing. Brackett is confident his side will fare far better than 2009 when they take on Cambridge in the clash
Berinsfield's Jordan Flynn bids for his second successive National Schoolboy crown tomorrow when he faces Sahir Iqbal in the Class 2 (under 14 years) 46 kg final at Brentwood, Essex. Flynn (pictured) triumphed 12 months ago when he confidently outpointed
Police today released an E-fit of a man wanted in connection with a distraction burglary in Oxford. At about 11.30am last Friday, a man called at the home of a 76-year-old woman in Hurst Rise Road, posing as a door-to-door salesman selling household
ALAN Manger, of New Club, retained the Oxford & District League’s Arthur Cook Cup, when he beat Oracle’s Gordon Cook 200-176 in the final at Eynsham Sports Club. In the semi-finals, Manger beat Pom Merola, of Oracle, 200-182, while Cook
James Stone was Riley A’s hero as they beat Thame A 4-2 in the Oxford & District League’s Simonds Cup final at Abingdon Conservative Club. In a see-saw affair, Andy MacBryan got Riley off to a winning start when he beat Brian Elve 53-46
MOST matches were cancelled last Sunday because of the state of the waters around Oxford, with just a handful on stillwaters surviving, writes Andy Webber. With the Cherwell at ‘The School’ almost across the playing fields, Oxford Bus AC switched
COMMUNITY projects are being invited to gain recognition from the Oxford Preservation Trust. Its awards scheme, now in its 33rd year, has added a community award to the categories. Now the trust wants to hear from groups which have completed
I reckon that’s just about it for this season as far as river fishing is concerned, with yet more rain continuing to scupper our best efforts to get onto the bank, writes Andy Webber. Last Sunday, the Environment Agency put another Flood Watch on the
There will be an extra edge to the contest when Oxford City travel to face Division 1 South strugglers Milton Keynes Thunder tonight (6pm). Stars’ duo Paul Gore and Mike Lucas are both former Thunder players, while both Lee Featherstone and Tom Roles
Other results. Oakfield: (Wednesday, Brook, 10 fished) 1 M Pollard (Fox Match) 16.9.8, 2 P Alland (GOT Oakfield) 14.15.8, 3 M Giles (RS Baits) 5.14.8. Oakfield: (Saturday, Swallow-Brook, 19 fished) 1 D Cullip (BGS Garbolino) 33.8.0
Charlbury edged to a two-wicket victory against Hook Norton off the last ball in Banbury Indoor League Division 1. Hook Norton posted 100 all out, with Dan White and Tom Rothwell both hitting 24. In reply, Ashley Rump (37no) and Rob
Two crashes caused delays for drivers on the M40 today. A lorry and a car were involved in a collision on the northbound carriageway between junction 11 at Banbury and junction 12 which led to the closure of the road for a time. Long delays are reported
A BANBURY woman has been charged with bigamy following an investigation by the UK Border Agency. Irene Mwembu Coomber, 33, of Meadowsweet Way, was arrested and charged with one count of bigamy and two counts of assisting unlawful entry into
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Oxfam is holding an Ethical Trade Workshop on March 30. The aims are: • To give participants an understanding of key labour issues in global supply chains based on Oxfam’s analysis, and the benefits to business of addressing them. • To use tools and
A day of fabulous, free, science based fun for the family will be on offer at Oxford Brookes University on March 20, as part of this year’s Oxfordshire Science Festival. Brookes Science Bazaar will run from 11.00am until 4pm at Headington Campus
CIAO! is an Oxford-based arts organisation that offers children and young people exciting opportunities to engage with the highest quality performing arts from around the world. CIAO! has been producing theatre festivals since 2003, but this year is
Undercover police officers caught a pickpocket following a series of thefts from pensioners in charity shops. A covert operation was launched inside the British Heart Foundation shop, in Bury Street, Abingdon, after several elderly shoppers
AN Abingdon soldier faces a prison sentence today after he admitted being absent without leave (AWOL). Lance Corporal Joe Glenton could face up to two years in prison, his legal representative, John Tipple, said. Lance Corporal Joe Glenton, of 4 Logistic
Organisers are gearing up to host Oxfordshire’s first Freewheeling Cycle Festival. The free event will set off from Abingdon Market Place and feature three guided cycle rides of four, 10 and 27 miles. There will also be entertainment including
Parents have expressed shock at the suspension of child heart surgery at Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital as it emerged surgeons had themselves raised concerns over the deaths of four babies in three months. On Wednesday, the Oxford Radcliffe
THREE men were in custody last night after a series of burglaries where a gang targeted cash and jewellery. The men, aged 29, 34 and 38, were arrested by officers from the Cherwell burglary team in Bicester at about 10.30am yesterday. The arrests relate
OXFORD United striker Franny Green paid a glowing tribute last night to Keith Alexander, calling his death “a really sad loss for football”. Green, who played under Alexander at three different clubs, got to know him as a close friend, and
PARENTS last night expressed shock at the suspension of child heart surgery at Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital as it emerged surgeons had themselves raised concerns over the deaths of four babies in three months. On Wednesday, the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals
SURGEONS and doctors are occasionally accused of being too blinded by their own arrogance and belief in their innate skill to admit if there are problems affecting their patients. Therefore it is reassuring to learn that it was the two surgeons at the
