A woman was killed in an accident involving two cars on the A420 Cumnor bypass tonight. Emergency crews were called to the collision between a VW Passat and a Citroen C4 near the B4044 Eynsham Road junction at about 5.20pm. One person
EXPERTS believe the Northern Lights may be visible in Oxfordshire tonight. The Aurora Borealis are rarely seen in the UK but will become more visible due to a strong solar storm. Dr Ian Griffin, an astronomer and the chief executive of Science Oxford
LEADERS of a free school scheme which could open in Oxford as early as 2013 have been drumming up support for their plans. Under the Government’s education policy, parents, teachers or charities can open state-funded independent schools if they can demonstrate
A PENSIONER has been fined £14,500 after conceding defeat in his battle with council bosses over unauthorised chicken sheds. Robert Power, 74, previously denied a charge over the nine sheds, believing he did not need council planning permission
A CHURCH hopes to become a “beacon of light as well as a beacon of hope” for the first time, with the help of a few floodlights. The tower and spire at St Mary the Virgin Church in Wheatley can now be illuminated at the touch of a button. Churchwarden
THERE is heavy congestion on the A34 and around the Botley interchange tonight after an accident. Police, fire and ambulance crews were all called to the incident on the A420 towards Oxford at around 5.20pm. A police spokesman said the
Oxford United defender Ben Purkiss is expected to sign for Hereford United after being released from his contract by the U's. The 27-year-old right-back joined Oxford from York City in 2010 shortly after appearing for the Minstermen against
Aidan Mackey has always loved playing around with words. But now the 89-year-old from Stubbs Avenue, Headington, who says he is “crumbling by the hour”, has finally had his first book of poems published. The 30-page book, which was printed
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JOHNNY Johnson had many unusual experiences in his long career as an Oxford Mail photographer. He was on hand in 1925 when Oxford University undergraduates pulled a terrifying rag stunt in the city centre. His memoirs recall: “The students collected
ALL aboard for a day out on the river! Many Oxford firms organised an annual outing for their staff – and John Allen & Sons at Cowley was no exception. The smartly dressed workers posed for the camera before setting off in 1929.
THE village primary school, whose buildings were heated by oil, faced a crisis in 1979 when fuel supplies dried up. But headmaster Len Richards refused to close the school – he packed three classes into the gas-heated gym, seen in the first
MICHAEL Stockford has fond memories of the days he spent trainspotting – except for one occasion when he was confronted by a raging bull. His favourite spot was the junction at Wolvercote (although the railway still uses the old spelling Wolvercot),
IF YOU want to find out information, go to someone who knows. Pupils at Lawn Upton School at Littlemore, Oxford, were studying fairgrounds and markets as a project in 1975. But rather than just learn about them in the classroom, they went to the Oxpens
THIS looks like a farewell presentation to a bride-to-be. A parcel of Earlywarm blankets was handed over to keep the newlyweds warm. The picture is part of a collection belonging to John Blake, of Appleton, who was a director at Nuffield Press at Cowley
JEHOVAH’S Witnesses Freda and George Earle will be a familiar sight to homeowners around Littlemore. The couple, who have been married 65 years today, have spent the past 50 years standing on doorsteps across the estate and surrounding areas
HEADINGTON residents have said roadworks designed to make their streets safer have had the opposite effect. The works, which have been causing delays for Headington residents for several months, have seen several flattened speed bumps or raised platforms
RESIDENTS from Brize Norton marched against plans to build more than 1,000 homes nearby which they say could threaten the identity of their village. West Oxfordshire District Council has been consulting on the housing plans but has not yet decided which
Banbury are off the bottom of men’s South League Premier 1 after recording their first win since October 15 with a 2-1 triumph over relegation rivals Milton Keynes. Josh Nunneley put them ahead after good work from George Brooker, while at the other
Oxfordshire face their biggest test of the season when they take on the might of Yorkshire in their Premier Division match at Rileys Oxford this weekend (January 28-29). After a great start to their campaign, which sees Oxon in third spot,
Witney won 2-0 away to mid-table rivals PHC Chiswick in South Clubs Women's League Division 3A. Karen Easterbrook opened the scoring, thanks to a skilful assist from Joy Mangazi, and Witney’s player-of-the-match Gabbi Evans made sure of the points
Leaders Windrush Social Club got their first taste of defeat in the Oxford & District Winter League this season when they lost 5-4 in a thriller away to fellow Premier Section opponents Goodlake Arms A. Playing the pairs first, Goodlake
David Quinn and James Carr report: Having surrendered the last remaining 100 per cent record the previous week, the Green Dragon (Haddenham) were turned over again last Thursday, this time to East Division rivals, the King’s Arms (Wheatley), by a convincing
Michelle Lockyer was the star as Oxfordshire youth won their away match against Buckinghamshire at Wing. Playing for the Oxfordshire under 18 boys team, she recorded a 2-0 victory to help the visitors to a 6-3 success. Other wins came from Stephen Prior
A CAREER criminal will serve longer in jail after telling a judge to shut up and calling him ‘sunshine’. The disruptive behaviour of Henry McGrath, who represented himself during an earlier trial, led Judge Patrick Eccles to find him in contempt
ENGINEER Liam Medler knows just how important it is to raise funds for Oxford Children’s Hospital – because his partner Ella Hughes is one of the nurses. So Mr Medler, of Manor Road, Woodstock, has signed up for this year’s OX5 Run on Sunday, March 25
IRENE Hewlett and her daughter Emma, 11, got their hands on history with a close look at old coins at Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum. The Beaumont Street museum runs coin-handling sessions on Saturdays. Mrs Hewlett, 38, who lives in Leiden, Oxford’s twin
DRAGONS swooped into Oxfordshire yesterday to mark the beginning of the Chinese New Year. According to the Chinese, we have just entered the Year of the Dragon, the 4,709th Chinese year. Children at Donnington Doorstep Family Centre, East Oxford, played
Round-up TWO tries apiece from Paul Wright and Gavin Wilde helped leaders Harwell win 47-7 at Faringdon in the BB&O Championship. The first half saw Harwell build up a 19-0 lead, thanks to tries from flanker Wright and wing Wilde (2), with two conversions
ALL schools in Oxfordshire could be academies within five years, the councillor responsible for schools has predicted. But there are warnings that the scale of the changes could put small rural primary schools at risk. Academies are funded centrally
TWO men who left a clubber with a fractured skull and bleeding on the brain after an attack outside an Oxford nightspot have been jailed. Samuel Jackson and Peter Thomas were jailed at Oxford Crown Court on Friday after attacking Shaheed Syed outside
BB&O Premier Division DAVE Hampton led the way with a hat-trick of tries in Bicester’s 63-10 demolition of Phoenix. No 8 and captain Dan Spencer got the ball rolling with a third-minute try and Bicester led 32-3 at half-time. Centre Hampton, lock
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A free workshop to help small businesses understand more about energy saving is being held at the Said Business School in Oxford. The event on Thursday is designed to inform directors of how they can take advantage of the UK’s £500bn potential market
Chipping Norton trainer Charlie Longsdon was thrilled to reach his target of a half-century of winners for the season – three months ahead of schedule. The 36-year-old trainer, who is in just his sixth season and his third at Hull Farm Stables, clocked
South West 1 East WITNEY’S poor start to the year continued with a 17-10 defeat at relegation-threatened Swanage & Wareham. They played better than in the previous week’s 38-0 home loss to Salisbury, but were left frustrated. Scrum half Chris Tomes
Southern Counties North GROVE went top of the table after a 27-23 victory over Windsor, despite having No 8 Guy Nicholl sent off. Nicholl was sin-binned in the first half and then shown a second yellow card for what the referee ruled was a spear tackle
THE manager of a fish and chip shop has spoken of the moment staff evacuated the building as a blaze spread. The manager of Posh Fish in Headington, which caught fire on Friday, last night told of what happened when the blaze broke out. Marta Abreu
THIS year a memorial bell will solemnly toll as the bodies of fallen servicemen are brought back to RAF Brize Norton. And on that bell will be the eye-catching and poignant design of one Year Eight pupil from Carterton. Ellie Simmons
Former world champion Kimi Raikkonen is reported to have made an encouraging start in his first test for the Enstone-based Lotus team. The 32-year-old Finn was testing in Valencia yesterday ahead of his return to Formula 1 this year after two years in
TWO men who illegally controlled prostitutes in Oxford have been ordered to pay back a tiny fraction of their ill-gotten gains. Anastassios Papas and Graham Cochrane ran the Fun Girls in Oxford escort agency, offering mainly Eastern European women for
YOUNG teenage girls are often incredibly vulnerable emotionally, and can be insecure, naive, may have low self-esteem and lack confidence. So when an older male, a young adult, shows them a lot of attention, tells them they are beautiful, buys them gifts
I HAVE become increasingly confused about two new movies out at the moment. One is about a horse, which served this country courageously in a time of war. The other is about an old nag who never did this country any good at all. CHRIS JEFFERY
WHAT good news at long last for all those persons who have campaigned to have a Tesco store on the land of the Fox and Hounds public house and the derelict area adjacent to it. This has been an eyesore for far too long and surely must be an embarrassment
National 3 South West CHINNOR continued their rampant form with a 44-10 victory in windy conditions at Old Patesians. The visitors scored seven tries in an emphatic win, their 16th out of 16, keeping up the chase on leaders Bourne-mouth. Chinnor,
National 2 South JAMES Comben scored 21 points as Henley Hawks won 41-24 at basement boys Westcombe Park and climb to fourth. Hawks had to work hard for their victory, but Hartpury College’s defeat by Clifton saw Henley close to within two points
Didcot Town aim to make it three games unbeaten when they travel to Tiverton Town in Evo-Stik Southern League Division 1 South & West tonight. Boss Dave Mudge adds young defender Jack Bernosconi to the squad, which will be without Charlie Hill
A MASTERPIECE by Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer was unveiled at Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum yesterday. Visitors to the museum in Beaumont Street can see the only Vermeer still in a private collection following the short-term loan. Vermeer lived from 1632
MY recent letter (Oxford Mail, January 16, Keep your distance) may have been viewed, by the ‘humour-bypass’ section of the two- wheeled, non-motorised fraternity, as a one-sided ‘tirade’ against a growing section of their ilk. So, to show that I am in
IN VIEW of the article in the Oxford Mail about his number one personal goal for 2012, and the national campaign to tackle the obesity problem in UK, I felt a copy of my letter to David Cameron might be of topical interest to readers. Dear Mr Cameron
SOME weeks ago, I wrote to the manager of Tesco Stores Ltd, Pringle Drive, Bicester, suggesting that as I shopped there twice a week, I would be happy at both times to contribute to a food bank which could be set up in their branch at Bicester. In these
There’s an edgy, film-noir atmosphere among Oxford’s cyclists at the moment, especially those with posh bikes. What’s that in the shadows? Lurking here, skulking there, bike thieves are on the prowl. I have been following the progress of
TRUCK festival has been saved, despite having previously gone into administration. Brothers Robin and Joe Bennett, who set up and ran the event at Hill Farm, in their home village of Steventon, near Abingdon, yesterday said the event will go ahead under
Michael Duberry has had a distinguished career in football and says that the word loyalty is not normally one that can be levelled at players or clubs. But he felt it was a breath of fresh air that last week it was a word being used to describe James
Two more people have been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder over the stabbing of a 33-year-old man in Balfour Road, Blackbird Leys. A 23-year-old man was last night being questioned by detectives after approaching police yesterday. Officers
A GRANDMOTHER was caught with her trousers down trying to conceal drugs between her legs. Police raided Janice East's house and found the 54-year-old in her bedroom trying to get rid of the evidence. The grandmother-of-two, from Rose Hill had six wraps
A PAEDOPHILE was captured in just 14 hours thanks to a camera phone, a bay window and a distinctive mole on his hand. Timothy Edmonds, who filmed himself abusing his victim, shared the images with other perverts who uploaded them to the web
Bonnie Langford and ex-EastEnder Todd Carty have really been spamming it up to promote their new show. Clutching a couple of tins of the famous luncheon meat, the pair were snapped in the city centre yesterday promoting their show at the New Theatre.
MUM Starling Linus is quite literally offering people signs of hope. Mrs Linus, from Cutteslowe, has stood in the city centre each day for the past week, holding up messages of happiness and inspiration. But far from being a publicity
THIS is the Oxfordshire house that was at the centre of a three-day RSPCA operation which saw 79 animals rescued. The property between Longworth and Southmoor was the focus of the joint operation to remove dogs, horses, goats, cats, chickens and ducks
The Mini has picked up a top award for the tenth consecutive year. The car has been been named Supermini of the Year by BusinessCar magazine with judges praising its combination of low running costs and CO2 emissions, coupled with high residual
A new report into the state of Britain’s cities shows Oxford has the sixth lowest dole claimant count in the country, with just a 0.1 per cent rise since 2010. Centre for Cities Outlook 2012 also credits Oxford as being the only city with more private
How fitting that a 12-year-old girl, whose own father served in Afghanistan, has won the competition to design part of the memorial bell which will toll as the bodies of fallen servicemen and woman are brought back to RAF Brize Norton. Ellie
Hopefully the arrest of pervert Timothy Edmonds will act as a deterrent to other paedophiles that their vile activities can now be traced directly to their doors, no matter where they live in the world. The 27-year-old from Witney, who filmed
GARDENERS will grab their trowels, bulbs and recycled containers and come together to try to win Britain in Bloom. Woodstock has been shortlisted for the Royal Horticultural Society’s small town award and is the only town in Oxfordshire to be recognised
A PRIMARY school has gone from fire to ice in an attempt to raise funds for new facilities. Holy Trinity Primary School, in Chipping Norton, used to hold an annual fireworks display. But following building work at the school, it was no longer safe for
LITTLE Umar Abdulkareem is looking to the stars after being given a taste of life as an astronomer. The six-year-old, from Cowley, has developed a passion for physics and astronomy after watching a programme by Professor Brian Cox with his father Nurudeen
