A BUNGLING thief thought he had one up on police when he admitted stealing thousands of pounds of designer goods. Peter Ladlow thought the police tape recorder was switched off when he admitted pinching the £18,000 designer bag, which had been reduced
TWO brothers fear they face financial ruin and jail in a long-running legal battle with Oxfordshire County Council. Ron and Mick Wyatt will face a hearing in the High Court on Wednesday, September 7, in which they could be found in contempt over the
Nicola Heales has been appointed as a new specialist solicitor within the catastrophic and spinal injury team at Banbury law firm Brethertons. She will join Richard Dawson, a recognised leading spinal injuries specialist with more than 30 years’ experience
Fighting Fit, the gym and martial arts centre in Banburym is celebrating its 10th anniversary with an open day. The event, on Saturday September 3, will feature master classes, taster sessions, demos and free personal assessments, with a prize of a year
The Red Arrows will not perform at Uffington’s White Horse Show 40th anniversary celebrations on Monday, organisers confirmed last night. Show chairman Derek Kelsey learnt said even if the planes are airborne again this week, the RAF display team will
Law firm Blake Lapthorn has appointed Mark Grant as a partner in its real estate residential development team.
An Italian restaurant in Oxford’s Cowley Road has closed three years after opening. Fratelli’s opened in the busy road in September 2008 in the premises formerly occupied by the city’s oldest Italian restaurant, La Capannina. It was run by the management
PENSIONER David Wibberley was not best pleased when the day’s post did not drop through his letterbox until 6pm. But his exasperation turned to anger when he realised the envelope was not even addressed to him. Mr Wibberley, of Herschel Crescent in
A FATHER is urging people to help him raise cash to keep the memory of his son alive. Robin Dunkley’s son Tom, from Forest Hill, near Wheatley, died in a swimming accident off the Caribbean Island of Martinique in August 2008. He had just discovered
Churchgoers have battled weeds to turn a former allotment into an oasis of calm. The overgrown piece of land has been transformed into a sculpture garden fit for meditation and relaxation, after a two-year project. The garden was opened earlier this
NEIGHBOURS shared chilli and mashed potato with a group of squatters at a community meal in East Oxford. About 25 neighbours and passers-by dropped into the event on Saturday. Five squatters moved into 55 Randolph Street last weekend, claiming they
The next meeting of the Responsible Oxfordshire Business Investment Network (ROBIN) will focus on how firms share skills and expertise with local charities. Organisations including Midcounties Cooperative, and Oxfordshire County Council will be talking
AEA Technology 2.6 BMW 4436 Electrocomponents 192.8 Nationwide Accident Repair 88 Oxford Biomedica 6.4 Oxford Catalysts 59.5 Oxford Instruments 813 Reed Elsevier 480.9 RM 91.75 RPS Group 194.6 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley
Sales of bikes were up a whopping 28 per cent last year on 2009 figures, with 3,700,000 bikes sold. The London School of Economics has just announced that cycling generates about £3bn per annum in the UK economy – that’s making them, selling them
Oxford University postgraduate student Sandira Gayadeen has been awarded a £10,000 scholarship from the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET). The scholarships are part of the IET awards and scholarships programme, which provides £200,000 each
OXFORD: Andy Hamer has joined the senior management team at the Oxford Bus Company as commercial manager. Mr Hamer, 39, previously led the passenger transport publicity and marketing team at Hertfordshire County Council. He also has experience in travel
OXFORD United chairman Kelvin Thomas put in some elbow grease as he helped firemen wash cars for charity in Woodstock. The event was staged to raise money for The Fire Fighters Charity and to try to boost recruitment at the station. The U’s boss said
MORE than 5,000 people got on their bike to raise money for Breast Cancer Care. The Bike Blenheim Palace festival hosted everyone from competitive cycling fanatics to families in the Woodstock palace grounds. Competitors could choose from 60 and 100
OCA League Divisions 1-3 WESTBURY stayed top of Division 1 as they saw off Great Horwood by 47 runs. It was a tale of two Georges as George Jackman hit 68 in Westbury’s 170 all out, before George Hilton-Jones claimed 5-16 to help dismiss Horwood for
OCA League Divisions 4-11 CHIPPING Norton beat Division 4 title rivals Hailey by five wickets to move within a whisker of the crown. Adam Wallington claimed 4-21 as Hailey were shot out for 88, before Ian Widdows (35no) and Ben Tew (31) saw Chippy to
OCA Steve Dixon Memorial Cup final SIMON Burns produced a match-winning performance as Wolvercote lifted the Steve Dixon Memorial Cup at Westbury on Sunday. Wolvercote edged past West Witney by two-runs in a thrilling clash, with Burns landing the man-of-the-match
A late converted try earned Henley Hawks a 29-27 victory over Redingensians in their final pre-season friendly at Dry Leas. Full back James Comben converted the effort from fly half Allen to cap a comeback from 27-0 down at half-time. Hawks fielded
Oxford city centre’s first pound shop has sparked a mixed reaction from traders and shoppers. The city’s first Poundland is poised to open in the Westgate Centre, taking over the former Next Clearance shop. But not everyone welcomed the idea wholeheartedly
THE dramatic picture captures the moment a police armed response team cornered a man carrying a child’s plastic sword in the street. The police unit was sent in at noon on Sunday after calls from worried members of the public saying a man was
Local players have the chance to take on the professionals when Terry Jenkins and Andy “The Pieman” Smith visit Langdale Hall, Witney on Friday, October 14. VIP tickets, priced at £20 each to meet and greet players, get a photograph taken and gain early
A South Hinksey woman is turning her recycling into quirky artwork and gifts. For the past year, Maria Banks, from Manor Road, has been saving up all her glass bottles and jars — and squashing them. Once squashed, the bottles are transformed into gifts
RESIDENTS frustrated by overspill parking blocking their Cowley homes are calling for action. People living in The Grates near Templars Square shopping centre say the parking problems are the worst they ever have been. Deana Barrett, 52, a secretary
Communities in Oxfordshire are being urged to apply for cash from a £30m fund to improve ties between the armed forces and the public. The money will be available over the next four years for projects in areas which have signed a Community Cove- nant
HUNDREDS of chickens were saved from Chinese dinner plates at the weekend and given new homes across Oxfordshire. Farmer Peter Reade hatched the cracking plan to sell off his stock of 16,000 hens for £1 each for charity on Saturday. The effort has raised
Bicester Football Club ended Rileys Social Club’s unbeaten run of 31 matches in Premier Section 1 with a shock 5-4 victory. Pete Smith hit a 180 as he defeated Dave Buckingham to put Rileys ahead, only for Sean Holley to level after beating Phil Addison
Builder Persimon Homes Thames Valley has unveiled a major rise in its fortunes, although new homes sales are down. Latest figures from parent company Persimmon showed the firm, which will be shortly be launching its second phase of homes at Cumnor Ridge
A DIY store worker stole almost £10,000 from his employers at three shops across Oxfordshire by falsifying refunds. Nicholas Cunningham was working at the Oxford branch of Wickes, in Botley Road, when his deception was uncovered. The
MP SPORTS CHERWELL LEAGUE Division 5 Cublington beat Tiddington 2nd by one run to stay top and all but end their opponents’ top-two hopes. Robin Pykett took 5-28 as Cublington were all out for only 129, of which Jamie Leggett contributed 58. Joe
DELAYS completing safety checks on signals meant the opening of new double track on the Cotswold Line did not run smoothly yesterday. Commuters at Kingham, Charlbury, Hanborough and Oxford found their trains were not running or were late, because
Oxford City manager Mike Ford has expressed his relief after his side broke their Premier Division duck, with a 1-0 win at Cirencester. Last season, City went 13 games without a win, but the victory at Cirencester, courtesy of a spectacular strike from
MP SPORTS CHERWELL LEAGUE Divisions 6-10 LEAGUE chairman Clive Ricks shone with 7-34 as Horspath 3rd ensured a top-two finish in Division 6 with a 14-run victory over Sandford St Martin 2nd. Hayden Moon (33no) and Adam Thompson
Bosses at drug discovery firm Summit say they are looking to make commercial deals to ensure the long-term future of the company. The firm, based at Milton Park, has unveiled positive results with its Alzheimer’s disease programme and seen its treatment
AEA Technology 2.7 BMW 4522 Electrocomponents 194.5 Nationwide Accident Repair 88 Oxford Biomedica 6.3 Oxford Catalysts 59.5 Oxford Instruments 828.75 Reed Elsevier 482.6 RM 91.75 RPS Group 197.2 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley, Abingdon
MP SPORTS CHERWELL LEAGUE Division 2 ONE more win should give Banbury 2nd the title after they crushed Wolverton Town by seven wickets. Town had no answer to Josh Megson (5-26) or Ross Freeman (4-41) as they fell away to 132 all out. Only Andy
MP SPORTS CHERWELL LEAGUE Division 3 Oxford Downs 2nd are top again as they beat Bicester & North Oxford and Twyford suffered a shock defeat. Put in to bat, Bicester made slow progress to 168-6, although Michael Simpson (58no) added late impetus
MP SPORTS CHERWELL LEAGUE Division 4 Great & Little Tew 2nd dropped out of the top two for the first time since May when they drew at home to leaders Chearsley. Nick Grimsdell made 77 and Kevin Taylor took 3-48 as Chearsley reached 210-8. Justin
A HOST of crafty family activities proved a hit at an East Oxford arts centre. Youngsters, teens and parents had a chance to try out everything from mask-making to customising clothes at Fusion Arts, East Oxford Community Centre, Princes Street
A THIRD of homes most at risk of a deadly cancer causing gas have taken up a free testing offer. Last month the Oxford Mail revealed the Health Protection Agency (HPA) had written to more than 9,000 homes across West Oxfordshire offering a
MP SPORTS CHERWELL LEAGUE MATCH OF THE DAY – OXFORD DOWNS V CUMNOR Cumnor completed the double over local rivals Oxford Downs to put a massive dent in their opponents' title aspirations while keeping their own slender hopes alive. Leaders Shipton-under-Wychwood
THOUSANDS of pensioners across Oxfordshire are being squeezed into poverty by rising prices and falling returns on their savings. Age UK Oxfordshire estimates that 14,000 of the county’s 120,000 pensioners are now living at or below the poverty
l WHEN will the Government see sense and leave the stupid and totally corrupt EU? We waste tons of fish which we catch and have to throw back. It’s good for the gulls and gullible on the continent. Bring back newspaper to wrap them up in, then they
I WAS staggered to read Councillor Darke’s comments about car parks being dead. I shudder to think that his views may represent those of the executive board of Oxford City Council. Yes, some car parks can be fairly bleak looking, and yes, it does
THERE were opposing views about the proposal to build accommodation on stilts in the car park accessible from Old High Street in the Oxford Mail. Apart from the obvious reduction in parking places once the housing is built, the idea would be very bad
COUNTY councillor Roy Darke states (Oxford Mail, August 5) that in principle he is in favour of building above the Old High Street car park in Headington. At the end of the piece he finishes with the comment that: “The council has to take long-term
MP SPORTS CHERWELL LEAGUE Division 1 NEW leaders Shipton-under-Wychwood now seem strong favourites to win league after beating in-form Great & Little Tew by five wickets. Tew had won six of their previous nine games, including a four-wicket home
THE chief of Oxfordshire’s health services has resigned after just six months in her post. Sonia Mills, who joined NHS Oxfordshire as chief executive in March 2010, has stepped down ‘due to personal reasons’. Ms Mills was six months
I WRITE in response to the article in The Issue (Oxford Mail August 17), Susie Carter states that OAPs should not get free bus passes, as it is the young who have to pick up the tab. It has always been the case that the young pick up the tab for OAPs
I CAN agree with Jean Taylor in the case of her daughter who was murdered. These sort of murders are pre-meditated and the people who carry them out deserve to lose their own lives. But if someone was getting beaten up, fearing for his own life, he
I read with total disbelief the letter by Roy Darke. When all the streets of Oxford are littered with cars, which not only make the street look ugly and a mess but interfere with the movement of both vehicles and pedestrians, we do not need a reduction
COUNCILLOR Darke’s call to build on Headington car park has caused an outcry. His comments prompt two questions: has he ever visited the car park and observed what goes on there, and has he listened to the views of residents he has been elected to represent
The Cowley-based Mini John Cooper Works team claimed their first podium finish since rejoining the World Rally Championship circuit when Dani Sordo finished third in the Rallye Deutschland. The Spaniard came out on top of a thrilling fight with Ford’
Oxfordshire are facing a heavy defeat in their final Minor Counties Championship Western Division match against Cheshire at Alderley Edge. Oxon resume today still trailing by 13 runs in their second innings, with just two wickets in hand.
Didcot Town’s search for a first win in Evo-Stik Southern League Division 1 South & West continues after they conceded a goal four minutes into stoppage time in a 1-1 draw at Gosport Borough last night. Joss Millar headed home a Phil John cross to give
BURGLARS smashed a social club window before fleeing with a charity collection box. Members of Woodstock Social Club in Oxford Street had been collecting money in a large whisky bottle for three years. The bottle was about three- quarters
Derby day hero James Constable has pledged his future to Oxford United – with the club’s all-time goalscoring record at the back of his mind. The striker, whose two goals gave the U’s their first victory at Swindon’s County Ground for 38
THE county’s bed blocking crisis has once again hit a peak, despite top level assurances the issue was in hand. Government figures for a selected day in July show that 145 people who were well enough to go home were taking up beds in Oxfordshire
SHE was the bride in a spectacular ceremony that got chins wagging across the county. Four months after ‘tying the knot’ at Oxford Castle’s Malmaison hotel, Justine Oakley is smiling, contented — but single. The 35-year-old from Littlemore
WE warned the Two Strangers and a Wedding radio competition was nothing more than a hokey, flawed, cheap publicity stunt of no value whatsoever. And, four months later, it emerges the ‘couple’ have split because there was no spark of romance between
Commuters this morning face delays of up to an hour on the Cotswold line, operated by First Great Western. People using the line will encounter the problems between Worcester Shrub Hill and Oxford caused by late running engineering work. The train
AS anyone knows, the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem. No matter what it is, until you are honest enough to embrace that fact you will never improve. You will always fall back on some tiny nugget to excuse yourself from being
A motorcyclist was killed last night in Marsh Baldon. The 50-year-old was riding with four other bikers when he came off his black Aprilla Mille at about 8.25pm as they travelled along the B4015 from the Golden Balls roundabout towards Chiselhampton
For a quarter of a century, Wendy Heydon has knocked on hundreds of doors to raise money for the annual Poppy Appeal. But now the Royal British Legion could miss out on about £2,000 raised from doorstep sales of poppies each year if another volunteer
An antiques evening will be held at Elderbank Hall, Station Road, Brize Norton, on September 30. The event has been organised by the Carterton, Witney and District branch of Save the Children. Philip Taubenheim, of the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow, will
Madley Park Hall in Northfields Farm Lane, Witney, will host an ‘indoor car boot sale’ on Saturday, October 8. Stalls cost £5 and entrance costs 20p. Call Kelly Hale on 07503 244112 or email madley parkhall@ hotmail.co.uk
Artwork created at the Cowley Mini Plant in the run up to this year’s Cowley Road Carnival is set to go on display at the plant. The murals and illustrations were produced by families in workshops at the plant and at the carnival itself, and will be
The Steeple Aston & Middle Aston Horticultural Society’s Annual Show takes place on Bank Holiday Monday. The show runs from 2pm with prizes up for grabs in 141 categories. The show is in a marquee in Fir Lane, Bicester, with events in the village hall
The sentencing of two men who made off with £13,000 from a bank has been delayed. Security officer John Dodd was leaving NatWest in Bridge Street, Banbury, with the cash on April 13 when he was attacked. Inam Miah, 23, and Tanveer Shah, 23, both from
Grow-your-own fan Vic Girling was among those honoured at the Banbury Flower & Produce Show at the weekend. He won the cabbages category at Sunday’s Market Place event, which attracted more than 420 exhibitors showing fruit, vegetables, flowers and
A wine tasting and quiz evening will be held at a home for adults with disabilities, to raise cash for a minibus. All proceeds will go to the Leonard Cheshire Disability charity for the appeal for Agnes Court in Warwick Road, Banbury. The event will
Youngsters had a go at blacksmithing in the working industrial museum Combe Mill. The Grade II* listed sawmill near Long Hanborough was in steam on Sunday and visitors got to watch it in action. A team of volunteers demonstrated wood turning and blacksmithing
Buses linking Oxford and Banbury are to become the latest to be upgraded to join Stagecoach’s network of high-quality county routes. The changes will start to come into effect next month when new timetables are launched around Banbury.
Hailey Village Show will be held in Hailey Village Hall, Middletown, on Saturday, September 3. It will feature trade, plant, vegetable and book stalls.
Children at the primary that won the Oxford Mail’s Save Our School competition are to get even more for their prize. St Christopher’s CofE Primary School in Temple Road won a revamp from Abingdon-based firm Leadbitter worth £7,500. Work started last
