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In the last few minutes, Thames Valley Police have confirmed they have had no reports of disorder in Oxford.

CHILDREN got their hands dirty and their faces painted at the Barracks Lane community picnic on Sunday, where organisers put on a range of family-friendly activities. Dad-of-one Chris Atkinson and his two-year-old daughter Tess from North Leigh joined

ACTION should be taken to stop travelling families from gaining access to a piece of open space in Littlemore, residents claim. Neighbours say they have been blighted with “rubbish, foul language and loud music” from travelling families. Residents

MORE than two kilos of drugs, an axe and a stun gun were found in a car after five men carried out “a planned criminal enterprise to steal another gang’s cannabis”. Police intercepted a BMW on the outskirts of Wallingford after a reported burglary at

GIRLS went wild for a good cause with a ladies’ night to raise money for meningitis survivor Charlotte Nott, and Oxford hospice Helen & Douglas House. Scores of women packed into Rose Hill Social Club for the cheeky charity night which saw drag queens

ART is imitating life on an Oxford estate being transformed by large-scale building work. Sculptures inspired by construction machinery will be put up around Rose Hill. The Rose Hill development is due to finish this year and has seen 98 prefabricated

THE latest technology is being used to offer new ways to explore an award-winning churchyard in East Oxford. SS Mary and John Churchyard in Cowley Road has been at the heart of a regeneration project for more than a decade. Volunteers and parishioners

HORDES of menace mussels which are clogging up the Farmoor water treatment works near Oxford could be targeted with “biobullets”. Thames Water is spending £1m a year to clear zebra mussels from its treatment works along the River Thames. The mussels

A MUSEUM set to become one of Oxford’s leading visitor attractions now has a team of architects on board to help it take shape. The Story Museum in Pembroke House is due to be built by 2014 – the year Oxford is also bidding to become Unesco World Book

RAIL enthusiasts old and young flocked to the Chinnor & Princes Risborough Railway on Sunday for its annual gala day. All the trains in the railway’s fleet, along with visiting Great Western Railway pannier tank locomotive No 5786, got a run during the

OXFORD United have rejected a bid from Luton for star striker James Constable. But the Conference side, who showed interest in the former Shrewsbury forward last season without making a formal offer, have been told their offer was “nowhere

Like The Homecoming, at Stratford's Swan Theatre at present, the Royal Shakespeare Company’s altogether delightful revival of A Midsummer Night’s Dream on the main stage next door transports us back to the 1960s. Beehive hairdos adorn the Motown-style

Oxford United have signed MK Dons striker Lewis Guy on loan for a month. Guy, 26, was been brought in after Tom Craddock was ruled out for four weeks with a knee injury. "I'm looking forward to being here at Oxford," said Guy.

Thames Valley Police have issues the following advice to businesses in the area: *Ensure staff report any suspicious activity to security officials and the police*Consider regular checks of the building and surrounding areas. Identify any areas

STARS of the future lined up to impress the Chippy’s Got Talent judges in a packed contest. The fledgling event was a huge success with 17 would-be stars queuing up to take to the stage at Chipping Norton Football Club. St Mary’s Primary School pupil

IMPROVEMENT work to speed up Chiltern Railways’ trains enters its final phase next week. As part of a £250m package of enhancements, including a proposed second rail link between Oxford and London via Bicester, the rail firm is upgrading its main line

Viewing the repellent antics of the retired butcher Max (Nicholas Woodeson) in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s gripping revival of Harold Pinter’s The Homecoming — which was first staged by the company in 1965 — one is reminded irresistibly of

JUST like iconic Queen Lozikeyi, former teacher Marieke Clarke was a woman who found herself oppressed by an African government. After taking a teaching post in Matabeleland, now part of Zimbabwe, in the 1960s, she was deported after just four

TWIN sisters from Carterton who look after their disabled mother have received the town’s first exceptional citizen award for young people. Tim Stevenson, the Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire, presented the Exceptional Citizen’s Awards to residents at

A 26-year-old man has been arrested after trouble flared at McDonalds in Risinghurst last night. He is today being questioned by officers as part of an arson investigation at the fast food outlet. Officers were also called to a car fire in Barton Road

AEA Technology 2.5 BMW 4624 Electrocomponents 187.9 Nationwide Accident Repair 87 Oxford Biomedica 5.65 Oxford Catalysts 61.25 Oxford Instruments 805.75 Reed Elsevier 463.4 RM 94.5 RPS Group 199 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley, Abingdon

THIS is the man police want to speak to as they hunt a cyclist who sexually assaulted a teenager in Cowley. Last night detectives released this e-fit image and sought to reassure the public. The 19-year-old victim was targeted on a footpath

MP SPORTS CHERWELL LEAGUE Division 5 A 150-run stand between opener Robbie Cooke (91) and Stephen Green (69no) took Horspath 2nd to 222-3 and a seven-wicket home win over Banbury 3rd. Banbury opener Adam Wirth batted throughout for 103 not out

MP SPORTS CHERWELL LEAGUE Divisions 6-10 ADRIAN White took a hat-trick and claimed figures of 7-26 as Abingdon Vale 4th hammered Tiddington 3rd by nine wickets in Division 9. White’s salvo ensured Tiddington were skittled for

LANTERNS were lit to remember the victims of Second World War atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in a poignant ceremony in Oxford. The event, organised by CND Oxford, took place at Donnington Bridge on Sunday and recreated a traditional annual

With long-suffering Marcham conceding their OCA League Division 1 clash to Garsington, attention centred on the relegation battle as Minster Lovell overcame Tetsworth by five wickets. The home side’s Caswin Morris scored 90 as Tetsworth posted

A DECISION to grant permission for a £57m scheme for Oxford University’s Old Road Campus could be overturned. The scheme has been called in by a group of Oxford City councillors, it emerged last night. Approval was given at a planning committee meeting

MP SPORTS CHERWELL LEAGUE Division 3 A 150-run partnership for the fourth wicket between Matthew Warner (93) and Marco Cecchini (65) propelled Kingston Bagpuize to victory over Dinton 2nd. Bagpuize won with two balls left, chasing Dinton’s 225-

MP SPORTS CHERWELL LEAGUE Division 4 GREAT & Little Tew 2nd took a big stride towards promotion, beating Shipton-under-Wychwood 2nd by five wickets. Shipton chose to bat and managed 158-6 through Liam Hare (62) and Shaun Cross (30no). Kevin Taylor

TWO tennis coaches took along a fridge and a microwave along with their spare rackets as they launched their bid for the longest continuous singles match. Ryan Trickey and Andy Aitken are attempting to break the Guinness world record of 60

The battle of the unbeaten teams in Premier and Section 1 of the Summer League saw Premier leaders Rileys come out on top 7-2 at Kidlington Green Social Club B. Jon Jukes and Stuart Dutton gave the visitors a 2-0 lead before John Russell (180) beat Phil

Police were this morning investigating reports of an arson attack at McDonald's at Green Road roundabout. A police cordon was placed around the restaurant following the incident last night. Check back for more updates.

A BURST water main “erupted” yesterday with the pressure tearing up the asphalt and threatening homes, residents claimed. Neighbours in Bicester Road in Kidlington said it looked like a volcano had gone off under the street. They reported

I’M in the fortunate position that I have a job, running Oxfordshire Artweeks, where the summer months are quiet, a perfect match for school holidays. I’d envisaged rose-tinted weeks of sunshine stretching over the horizon, green grass under foot and

IT’S quite clear that the British public is being misled over our involvement in the intervention in Libya, just as we were in the cases of Iraq and Afghanistan. Before the so called ‘revolution’ in Libya, the country had the highest development index

Tourists, like the students whose colleges they come to admire, can be a right nuisance. Without the students, Oxford would probably be an irrelevant river crossing with all the urban pizzazz of Swinford. And students at least seem to get the bicycle

MP SPORTS CHERWELL LEAGUE Division 1 AN EASY victory over Oxford & Bletchingdon Nondescripts sent Shipton-under-Wychwood to the top of the table for first time this season. Shipton, who face three of the bottom four teams in their remaining four

MP SPORTS CHERWELL LEAGUE Division 2 Banbury 2nd completed the double over their local rivals Banbury Twenty to stay within a point of the top. Josh Megson’s opening burst reduced Twenty to 30-4 and he finished with 6-43 as the home side were all

WORSENING financial problems have sparked a shake-up of Oxford’s park-and-ride sites, making the return of parking fees look inevitable. Parking at the five centres has been free since October 2008, when County Hall took over management of Pear Tree,

IN YOUR report on empty houses owned by the city council (Oxford Mail, August 3) the council’s head of property, Steve Sprason, said: “In many cases it was better to sell and reinvest the cash than bring the homes back into use for council tenants.”

I WOULD like to say a big thank you to Oxfordshire Community Foundation, which gave Sweet Memories Senior Citizens’ Club a grant of £750 towards running our mornings. Part of the grant was used to have a chip shop meal, a sweet, and a drink from the

IF COWLEY Stadium is wanted for both greyhounds and speedway in 2012, it would almost certainly prevent the council from building on it for two or three years! Let’s hope for some Oxford Mail front page stadium news. ROBERT LOMAX Oxford

REGARDING the letters about tailgating, I have to say that I have never been concerned with how close someone drives to the back of me. My annoyance is the ones who insist on driving six inches from my front bumper. MICK EAST Weston-on-the-Green

Thank you for reporting the gathering at the Global Retreat Centre about silence (August 3), of which I was co-chairman. Lest it sound self-indulgent, could I explain that those invited were peace activists, working in areas of conflict, and

MP SPORTS CHERWELL LEAGUE Match of the Day Tiddington stayed right in the thick of the Division 2 promotion race by beating struggling Sandford St Martin on Saturday. The number of promotion and relegation places will not be known until after the

Wiltshire Police have confirmed which pub Oxford United fans will be allocated at this month’s Swindon game. Football liaison officer James Neighbour said United fans looking for a drink ahead of the match on August 21 will be directed to the Merlin.

Thames Valley police officers patrolled the riot hit streets of London last night as the violence continued in the capital. The force was one of nine to send officers to assist the Metropolitan police force as they attempted to bring the trouble

Oxfordshire batted themselves into a commanding position at stumps on day two of their Minor Counties Championship Western Division clash against Berkshire at Banbury yesterday. The hosts closed on 194-3, a lead of 330 runs, after another impressive

Andrew Whing says that he knows Oxford United have that killer instinct – but now they need to show it. The defensive midfielder admitted that the manner of Saturday’s defeat at Rotherham came as a bit of a shock to the U’s squad. But the former Leyton

A FESTIVAL in the heart of Oxford’s largest community has been called off, following other city community events that have had to be called off. The Leys Fair has run each year since 1998, but organisers said a lack of support this year meant crucial

OXFORD’S St Giles’ will be somewhat quieter on Sundays for the next few months after the church bells are removed for retuning. All eight bells at St Giles’ Church are due to be taken away today to have their tones tweaked by experts in London

A TEENAGER involved in a string of knife and gunpoint robberies in Oxford was last night branded a danger to the public. Shaquile Bourne showed “little remorse” as he was jailed yesterday. Recorder Nicholas Cole said his likelihood of

"IT’S A community event... and what it needs is more people from the community involved.” Natalie Huckin is disappointed. The co-ordinator of the Leys Fair has been forced to cancel this year’s event. It attracted thousands of

A shake-up of the park-and-ride services is planned. The city council is poised to take control of the Pear Tree, Redbridge and Seacourt sites from the county council, which says it no longer can afford to run them. Last night the Town Hall

A 22-YEAR-OLD man was robbed at knifepoint in Abingdon after being offered the chance to buy laptop computers and mobile phones from three people in a car. Thames Valley Police are appealing for witnesses following the robbery in the town’s High Street

A TEENAGE drug dealer targeted by police on Oxford’s Blackbird Leys estate has been jailed. Tinashe Mushangi was sentenced at Oxford Crown Court to almost three years in an outcome described as “fantastic” by police. The 18-year-old was caught with

SHOPPERS in Oxford saw a man being chased by bees, hunted by wolves and staging a bank robbery in a bizarre street theatre performance. Nick Warburton brought his Surreal World of Edmond Tahl show to Templars Square in Cowley on Saturday. The mime,

RESIDENTS are calling on council officers and developers to rethink after turning a children’s play area in East Oxford into a works compound. An application for a development of 10 student flats with a total of 33 bedrooms, replacement police