Archive

  • Kinniburgh is let go by United

    Defender Steve Kinniburgh has left Oxford United after his contract was cancelled by mutual consent. The 22-year-old left-back first joined U’s on loan from Rangers in 2009, making 12 starts in the club’s promotion season from the Blue Square Premier

  • Oxford Academy's standards 'must rise'

    THE OXFORD Academy’s principal says he has set tough new targets for the school, after results fell below the Government’s minimum GCSE targets. Mike Reading said he wanted 100 per cent of pupils to make the expected rates of progress in English

  • Flood of volunteers sign up for OxClean

    ORGANISERS of the annual Oxford spring clean say the number of schools and groups that have stepped forward to help is nearing the hundred mark. OxClean is appealing for volunteers to take part in the spring clean over two days on Friday, March 2, and

  • Author who took bull by the horns

    AS perhaps the only Oxford-educated bullfighter in history, Alexander Fiske-Harrison is not a man easily scared. As reported in yesterday’s Oxford Mail his talk at Blackwell’s in Broad Street scheduled this week had to be postponed following “a credible

  • Vision of future is driverless

    THE latest development in green transport has been unveiled by a hi-tech Oxfordshire firm. Cybergo has been designed as a people carrier and is so advanced that it does not need a driver. Instead, the eight-seater vehicle has cameras, lasers and ultrasound

  • Bus trials greener gas fuel

    Natural gas which powers cookers and central heating systems is being used to fuel a new type of bus on trial on Oxfordshire’s roads. Wallingford-based Thames Travel is running the trial with the Gas Bus Alliance, which has provided a fuelling station

  • Council to collect scraps from eateries

    Food waste from restaurants, market stalls, conference centres and cafés is to be collected and recycled under a new £55,000 council project. The service is to be offered free-of-charge by the Oxfordshire Waste Partnership for three months, before businesses

  • Benefits payment trial causes alarm

    PLANS to hand housing benefit payments direct to social housing tenants have come under fire as Oxford City Council prepares to take part in a welfare pilot scheme. The council is one of only five in the country that will test some of the Government’

  • Supermarket planning decision put back

    A DECISION on controversial plans to build a Sainsbury’s supermarket in Chipping Norton has been postponed. The retailer asked West Oxfordshire District Council, which will decide whether to approve the plans, for more time to respond to recently-received

  • Cutting-edge work maintains hedging tradition

    HEDGE-LAYER John Savings has braved wind, rain and frost to complete his latest labour of love, lining a stretch of the A4130 with a hedge fit for a king. Mr Savings, from Appleton, is part-way through a project to lay a hedge almost a mile long at Hill

  • Scales of Justice

    People convicted of offences at Magistrates' Courts around the county recently OXFORD Adam Bennett, 28, of Harrowby Road, Banbury, admitted shoplifting alcohol worth £12.24 from Tesco in Oxford on November 10 and failing to surrender to court bail

  • Scientists see the light

    Scientists in Culham have created a laser which could one day be used to help land spacecraft on Mars. The hi-tech LIDAR laser imaging system has been developed by Culham-based ABSL Space Products after a £900,000 European Space Agency investment

  • Wheeling in: Toyota Yaris

    A car's name can easily lead to some preconceived notions about its character. Say Toyota Yaris, a car that has been around for 13 years, and you think natty, nippy city car with cute, clever and cuddly styling. But don’t be fooled. The 2012 third-generation

  • Council chief says: 'Don't pay your fines'

    County council leader Keith Mitchell has hit out at private parking enforcement firms. On Monday, the Oxford Mail reported on the anger caused by private parking enforcement outside Royal Mail’s East Oxford delivery office in Littlemore. Mr Mitchell

  • FIXTURES: January 28-February 3

    SATURDAY FOOTBALL EVO-STIK SOUTHERN LEAGUE Premier Div: Banbury Utd v Stourbridge, Oxford City v Weymouth. Div 1 South & West: Hungerford Tn v Didcot Tn, North Leigh v Stourport Swifts, Paulton v Abingdon Utd. UHLSPORT

  • Local shares (AM)

    AEA Technology 0.33 BMW 5510 Electrocomponents 217.4 Nationwide Accident Repair 60 Oxford Biomedica 3.15 Oxford Catalysts 49 Oxford Instruments 914.75 Reed Elsevier 537.25 RM 68.5 RPS Group 207.2 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley, Abingdon

  • FOOTBALL: McCalmon misses Ardley test

    Abingdon Town will be without Julian McCalmon (unavailable) when they entertain Uhlsport Hellenic League Premier Division leaders Ardley United at Culham Road on Saturday. Witney Town have no injury problems ahead of their trip to fellow-strugglers

  • Pirates prepare to take on Peter Pan

    WEST Oxford residents launched their first community pantomime last night. Peter Pan runs until tomorrow at the West Oxford Community Centre, Botley Road. The show features 30 actors and actresses, ranging in age from four to 40. Tickets cost £5

  • City cyclists still flouting the rules

    Cyclists were caught in a double police operation on the same day, flouting pedestrian restrictions in the city and then riding without lights later that night. Fifty-one cyclists were given fines for riding in the pedestrianised zones in Cornmarket

  • COMMENT: Cyclists must stick to rules

    YES, it’s the same old, same old – cyclists flouting the law when what they really should be doing is getting off their bikes and walking down Cornmarket and Queen Street between 10am and 6pm. Full marks to the police for taking action, but doing it

  • Paedophile admits porn charge

    A CONVICTED paedophile admitted possessing child pornography. Adrian de Havilland, 46, formerly Adrian Goodenough, sexually assaulted an 11-year-old girl in 1982 but was not caught and jailed until 2010. He returned to Oxford Crown Court yesterday to

  • Children failing maths unlikely to catch up

    CHILDREN failing maths at primary school are unlikely to ever catch up throughout their secondary school education, new GCSE results have shown for the first time. The latest Department for Education data yesterday revealed how 16-year-olds

  • Corn Exchange fire exits were dangerous, report reveals

    THE fire exits at Witney’s Corn Exchange did not provide a safe means of escape, it has emerged. Ten “major” faults have been identified at the hall in Market Square since it was closed following the discovery that the heating and ventilation system

  • Scooters are dangerous

    EIGHT mph mobility scooters are wrong. Much as I can sympathise with the limiting predicament that physical disabilities can cause, I cannot understand why Class 3 motorised mobility scooters are allowed to be designed, built and sold, capable of travelling

  • Gluten-free is expensive

    I HAVE read with dismay the plans for banning gluten-free food from NHS prescriptions. As a diagnosed coeliac, I have been prescribed Juvela gluten-free mix on a regular basis (although not monthly). I use this to make my own bread, cakes and pastry

  • FOOTBALL: Ford won't rush Basham return

    Oxford City boss Mike Ford says he will not be tempted to rush striker Steve Basham back into action and risk being without him for the Premier Division run-in. The former Oxford United frontman, who has scored 13 goals since joining from Brackley,

  • FOOTBALL: Abingdon close in on Seaward

    Abingdon United boss Richie Bourne could give a debut to former Didcot Town striker Danny Seaward when they travel to Paulton Rovers in Evo-Stik Southern League Division 1 South & West. Seaward, who was released by the Railwaymen earlier this month,

  • RUGBY UNION: Spanish flier set for Quins crunch

    OXFORD Harlequins give a debut to Spanish wing Pablo Peipselo for their National 3 South West relegation battle at Bridgwater & Albion tomorrow. He gets his chance after impressing in the 2nd XV and for the under 20s. Peipselo comes in on the right

  • Humans' poor priorities

    THE BBC2 series Stargazing missed a valuable opportunity during the discussion on SETI – the Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence. Scientists may boast about their technological achievements but there is a paradox here; we feed nearly half the world

  • Children easily solve bin collection issues

    I NOTE that the matter of weekly versus bi-weekly bin collection is still a controversial issue, not only in Oxfordshire but throughout the country. So once again I sat down with the Payne think-tank of grandchildren to try to assist the district councils

  • A very helpful man

    WITH reference to the letter in the Oxford Mail on January 18 from Mary Clarkson and Beverley Hazell regarding Mick Haines. As a Marston resident, I know who I go to for any help and advice, and from my own experience Mick Haines is always ready to help

  • 'Peanut butter's my elixir of life' says 100-year-old

    FOR 100-year-old Dolly Sellick, peanut butter could be the elixir of life. The county’s latest centenarian celebrated reaching the birthday milestone yesterday with a party for family and friends at her Abingdon care home. And asked the secret to her

  • Mini talks over Saturday working

    UNIONS and management at the Cowley Mini plant are in talks over Saturday working at the factory. Unite union leaders say high demand for the car combined with the upcoming launch of the new Roadster model has meant a Saturday shift is operating every

  • Football boss lost £250k on U’s bid

    FOOTBALL manager Harry Redknapp lost £250,000 in a “very unsuccessful” plan to take over Oxford United, a trial over alleged tax-dodging heard yesterday. Redknapp and former Portsmouth Football Club chairman Milan Mandaric are on trial accused of cheating

  • Snatched dog found after national appeal

    WHEN dog breeders Heather Simper and Liz Scoates had five Tibetan spaniels stolen from their kennels, they feared they would never see them again. But yesterday eight-month-old Alice was returned to the fold, greeting Gus, Harriet, Amy and

  • COMMENT: Take pet precautions

    DOG owner and breeder Liz Coates sums it perfectly up after being reunited with the last of five pedigree Tibetan Spaniels stolen from her just after Christmas. “If you love your dog,” she says, “get it micro-chipped and make sure you have details and

  • ATHLETICS: Hannah back in the swing

    HANNAH England can’t wait to get her 2012 season under way tomorrow when she competes for Great Britain at the Aviva International Match in Glasgow. The 24-year-old Oxford City athlete lines up in the 1,500m at the indoor event, fresh from altitude training

  • Watchdog says railways needs to improve

    OXFORDSHIRE rail users are some of the least satisfied in the country, according to the National Passenger Survey. CrossCountry scored 82 per cent for overall passenger satisfaction and First Great Western (FGW) 83 per cent, putting both in the bottom

  • Oxford United boss proud of stability

    THERE are now only 13 managers in the country who have been in charge of their clubs for longer than Oxford United boss Chris Wilder. The departure of John Coleman from Accrington Stanley this week means that the U’s boss has climbed another place on

  • Fire crews called to sinking boat in the city

    Fire crews and police have been dispatched to Hythe Bridge Street to rescue a sinking boat from the river. Police were called at around 7am to assist with traffic problems caused by the two engines, sent from Rewley Road. No one is believed to have

  • Prison absconding thief is caught

    A thief who absconded from jail where he was serving for his part in stealing £30m of antiques from country houses has been arrested in a Coventry hotel. Daniel O'Loughlin was one of five men convicted of stealing the antiques and was jailed

  • Wicker man's future in balance

    OXFORD’S popular wicker man firework display project could go up in smoke. Designs for this year’s creation are flooding in but organiser Dan Barton says he is facing financial difficulties in his own life that could threaten the wicker man’s survival

  • £2m church hall designs go on show

    PLANS for a £2m church hall in Oxford will be on display today and tomorrow. St Andrew’s Church, in Linton Road, North Oxford, wants to replace a temporary building with a permanent two-storey structure that would include a meeting space for 100 people

  • Village shop finds winning formula

    A VILLAGE store where you can buy veg and book a baptism has been named Oxfordshire’s best community shop. Wootton Stores, in Wootton-by-Woodstock, started life at the end of 2007 and the team of volunteers has grown over the years to 40.

  • Market wants to tweet younger customers

    OXFORD’S iconic 18th century Covered Market will turn to 21st century social networking sites to drum up trade. The historic market already has an internet site but retail experts have advised traders they could do more online to pull in customers.