Wantage MP Ed Vaizey has defended Government plans to remove the need for councils to advertise traffic orders in local papers. But he said there was “a balance to be struck” between achieving value for money for taxpayers and supporting local media.
A Witney council chief has claimed only a “hardcore” of people are against a proposed move of sports facilities in the town. The town council has proposed selling West Witney Sports and Social Club, off Burford Road, for housing to finance the creation
A disabled man said he is “absolutely disgusted” that he has had to wait more than two weeks to get his stairlift fixed. Kenneth Vine, of Windrush Valley Road in Witney, has been forced to climb his stairs on his hands and knees to get to his toilet
Oxford’s best undiscovered musicians will be showcased at summer’s OCM Open. For the fifth year running, OCM, formerly Oxford Contemporary Music, has invited bands, singers and musicians to perform at an event which this year takes place at Pegasus Theatre
Ramond Varney, 42, of George Street, Banbury, admitted shoplifting two bottles of spirits valued at £39 from Marks and Spencer in Banbury on November 26, shoplifting four bottles of spirits valued at £85.48 from Marks and Spencer in Banbury on November
Nicola Agnew, 34, of Maple Hatch Close, Godalming, Surrey, admitted assault by beating in Abingdon on February 13. Fined £100 and a £15 victims’ surcharge, deemed paid by detention in the courthouse until the end of the day. Nicola Conlon
AFTER six consultations costing £312,000 and spanning four years, East Oxford residents are still at loggerheads over parking permit plans. The latest, and final consultation over introducing controlled parking zones (CPZ) has neighbours split down the
SHOPPERS were unexpectedly serenaded by a “flashmob” choir in an Abingdon supermarket. Crowds gathered in Waitrose’s vegetable aisle as they broke out in song, much to the bemusement of staff who were unware of the group’s plans. Saturday’s stunt was
LITTLE Charlotte Nott beamed as she received a standing ovation at the Kassam Stadium on Saturday. The four-year-old, who had to have the lower sections or her arms and legs amputated whilst battling meningitis, was the guest of honour at Oxford United
OXFORD’S great North South divide has been a source of debate for decades. While some city streets are among the most expensive postcodes to buy a home in anywhere in the UK, others close by suffer high levels of unemployment and deprivation. Recent
A KOSOVAN-ALBANIAN has been sent to Broadmoor and told he will be behind bars for at least 19 years after admitting beheading his boss at the Oxfordshire Golf Club. Jonathan Limani, 34, has this afternoon admitted manslaughter due to diminished
HOLLY Pearson was just nine months old when her mother was snatched away by breast cancer. Now the 19-year-old is preparing to walk 20 miles to prevent more little girls losing their mums. Holly, who works as a part-time sales assistant
AN OXFORD charity is hoping to revolutionise the way it provides care with a new minibus. Yellow Submarine Respite, based in Park End Street, provides respite breaks for children and adults with learning disabilities. In the past year it has helped
LIFE was put on hold for Dan Wymer and his fiancé Tamsyn Honour three years ago when she was diagnosed with breast cancer at 29. Their wedding was postponed as she went through surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. But with the Witney couple now married
WOMEN from a Wallingford florists who posed for a naked calendar shoot raised thousands of pounds for a hospice charity. Staff from Keri Harvey Florist in Station Road and their friends bared nearly all last year for the Sue Ryder Hospice in Nettlebed
THAMES Valley Police ICT staff will take time out from fixing the force’s computers to raise cash for charity with a 1,748-mile bike ride. The eight-member team plans to ride stationary bikes the combined equivalent of Land’s End to John O’Groats and
Oxford has been named one of the 10 ‘Micro European Cities’ of the future. Foreign investment publication fDi magazine ranked European cities on their potential to capture future investment and expansion projects. Oxford was ranked No 1 for human resources
Marston residents are hoping to win their five-year battle for lights at a recreation ground this week. Oxfordshire County Council is set to agree to put lights in the Croft Road recreation ground as part of £185,000 upgrades to the area’s cycle path
AEA Technology 0.265 BMW 5944 Electrocomponents 263.7 Nationwide Accident Repair 62 Oxford Biomedica 3.2 Oxford Catalysts 49.5 Oxford Instruments 1247 Reed Elsevier 544.5 RM 87.25 RPS Group 246.5 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley, Abingdon
A NEW £15,000 stage will be built at Witney’s Langdale Hall as the town’s Corn Exchange remains shut. Witney Town Council closed the Corn Exchange, in Market Square, in November after a report showed it had “major” problems with fire escapes, stonework
Two Oxfordshire firefighters are helping to save lives more than 3,000 miles away by teaching their counterparts how to look after road accident victims. Rob MacDougall and Chris Barber are in the Ghanian capital of Accra to help deliver a two-week
Staff at school technology provider RM Education have moved out of one of the firms’s buildings after hundreds of job losses. Bosses say the building at 135 Milton Park near Didcot will be sub-let with workers moving into the firm’s other two buildings
WOULD-BE volunteers are being invited to attend an event to hear how they can make a difference in Oxford. The Volunteering Fair will take place on Tuesday, March 27, at Oxford Town Hall, in St Aldate’s, from 3pm until 6pm, with the aim of connecting
MORE has been revealed about a Woodstock film-maker and photographer whose work is featured in a new exhibition. Dr Henry Tothill was a Woodstock GP and former town mayor, who had a passion for photography and filmed many of the town’s civic
WE’RE not sure what the name of the dance show was, or where it was taking place. But these flower dancers were certain to woo their audience wherever they were due to take the stage. The girls were members of the Celia Benson School of Dancing in
Pupils at the village school at Marston, Oxford, faced severe punishment if they stepped out of line. A book on the history of the school records how, in 1903, “writing of an obscene nature” was found in exercise and reading books. Inquiries failed
Long before the opening of a bazaar in aid of Banbury Old People’s Club in 1965, crowds filled Church House, eager to spot bargains. There was plenty of jostling at the numerous stalls at the event, which was opened by Neil Marten, Tory MP for North
THERE was no doubt about the fitness of these children. They kept themselves in shape by attending regular sessions of rollerskating. And what’s more, they had become so skilled that they passed a safety test. They are pictured
Two men who took part in an attack involving a baseball bat and a knife have been jailed – but a third man remains at large. Frederick Lawrence was hit over the head so hard that the baseball bat broke and was then stabbed six times in the back, puncturing
Wardrobes across Oxfordshire have been raided for a forthcoming community exhibition at Oxford Town Hall. Community groups have contributed ideas for exhibits in the Head Over Heels display in the St Aldate’s venue starting on March 24 and running until
Some fascinating details have emerged about the life of Albert Pratt, who ran a carrier business in Oxford. The photograph of him and his lorry outside Berry’s bakery in St Andrew’s Road, Old Headington, produced an interesting postbag, including one
It may have been wartime, but there was still a chance to enjoy a good football match. Oxford City players pose for the camera with a Portsmouth Naval representative XI at the White House ground, off Abingdon Road, Oxford, in the 1941-2 season. In the
AEA Technology 0.26 BMW 5983 Electrocomponents 261.3 Nationwide Accident Repair 62 Oxford Biomedica 3.2 Oxford Catalysts 50 Oxford Instruments 1244 Reed Elsevier 543 RM 87.9 RPS Group 245.25 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley, Abingdon
FOOTBALL NPOWER LEAGUE TWO Oxford Utd 2, Rotherham Utd 1. EVO-STIK SOUTHERN LEAGUE Premier Div: Stourbridge 2, Oxford City 0; Swindon Supermarine 2, Banbury Utd 0. Div 1 South & West: Bideford Tn 2, Didcot Tn 1; Clevedon 3, Abingdon
Regulars at a county watering hole are toasting a patron who scooped £1m on the Gold Cup on Friday. Conor Murphy, a stable boy at the Seven Barrows yard near Lambourn, put a £50 accumulator bet on five of the stable’s horses in November. The Cork-born
ASA Hall admitted he was already celebrating a second goal on Saturday when Rotherham United goalkeeper Rhys Taylor made a wonder save. The midfielder, who scored the decisive goal for Oxford United in the 2-1 win, showed great skill on the
A 15-YEAR-OLD boy has been arrested on suspicion of raping a teenage girl at a Cowley park. Neighbours spoke of their shock over the alleged incident, which police said happened near the basketball court in Hollow Way Park on Friday night.
More than 1,200 people visited a bazaar at Oxford Brooks University on Saturday to mark the end of a fortnight of Oxfordshire Science Festival fun. Youngsters chomped on treats to learn why some go crunch and performed CPR on dummies. Peter Wyton helped
For the second successive game, North Leigh succumbed to an injury-time goal – in a 2-1 defeat away to Evo-Stik Southern League Division 1 South & West play-off rivals Paulton. The hosts took the lead after three minutes. A corner was played short
Nominations for Oxford Preservation Trust’s annual awards have opened. The awards, in their 35th year, recognise projects that have improved Oxford’s built or natural environment. The deadline is April 16 at oxfordpreservation.org.uk/ planning/awards.php
Oxford City can feel aggrieved at not gaining at least a point frorm their visit to Evos-Stik Southern League Premier Division play-off rivals Stourbridge on Saturday. The 2-0 scoreline in no way reflects the pattern of play thanks to an inspired
Didcot Town acquitted themselves well in their 2-1 defeat against the runaway Evo-Stik Southern League Division 1 South & West leaders Bideford, who remain the only unbeaten team at home in all three divisions of the league. Bideford took the lead just
A fire destroyed a car on the B480 between Tetswoth and Chalgrove. Fire crews were called at 6pm on Saturday but details on how the fire started were not available.
Abingdon United are setting all the wrong records. After Saturday’s decisive 3-0 loss at Clevedon, they have now gone seven Evo-Stik Southern League Diviison 1 South & Westgames – 634 minutes – without scoring. This is double the number of consecutive
Banbury United were plunged into the Evostik Southern League Premier Division relegation fight following a 2-0 defeat at the hands of fellow strugglers Swindon Supermarine. The home side’s opening goal should have been pulled back for offside, and Banbury
ON behalf of the Blackbird Leys Parish Council, we would like to comment on Mr Clarke’s letter (March 14). We have had only those who objected, ie the Pegasus 14 representative (Town Green) and a resident from Overmead Green, come to the parish council
THE letter from Cllr Jean Fooks (February 24) is very much to the point but it omits to mention that the city council, while refusing to continue financing a second Dial-a-Ride minibus for the disabled, has allocated no less than £350,000 for improving
THE answer to the problems on the A34 highlighted by Andrew McLean (Letters, March 6) is simple: build a motorway spur from Junction 7 on the M40 to the A34 near the Harwell Garden Centre. Problem solved. DOUG BAKER, Hollow Way, Cowley
RESIDENTS are being called upon in an altogether different way with the news that two major Alzheimer’s drug trials will take place in the city. Volunteers are being sought to take part in the trials in the hope that a cure will be found for
TWO multi-million pound projects have just been launched in Oxford in the hope of one day finding a cure. Over the next five years, the LEAD (longitudinal early Alzheimer’s disease) project will see a group of about 200 people from across the
THE streets that the Olympic Flame will travel down in South Oxfordshire have been announced. The torch will travel through Wallingford, Crowmarsh, Nettlebed and Henley on the morning of Tuesday, July 10. The flame will begin its journey
Abingdon Town completed the Uhlsport Hellenic League Premier Division double over Kidlington with a deserved win on Saturday. First-half pressure from the Abbots resulted in chances but no goals. Mark Janes blasted over from close range
Old Woodstock Town will have to settle for second place after Tytherington Rocks sealed the Uhlsport Hellenic League Division 1 West title with a 2-0 victory at Carterton. Woodstock were held to were held to a 2-2 draw at New College for whom Gio Wrona
YOUR On Yer Bike columnist Honour Tomkinson (March 13) calls for more action to improve cycling facilities. In her next column, perhaps she will state where and what precisely can be done in Oxford without discouraging walking or putting more responsibility
THE county council’s detachment from ordinary people is again in evidence with its half-baked CPZ proposal for the Magdalen Road part of East Oxford. All residents would like to see an improvement in the parking situation here but, to the county council
LABOUR’s blanket campaign against Controlled Parking Zones (John Tanner's letter, March 15) ignores the wishes of residents. After leafletting every house in each of the three proposed zones, Green councillors arranged three separate meetings – one
RECENTLY in the news was the extradition to the US of Eileen Clark and Chris Tappin to face criminal charges. I have no comment as to the gravity of what they are charged with: my concern is will the hook-handed cleric Abdul Hamza, on his release from
DON'T get me wrong – I like food, and some foods I positively love, but I don’t get this obsession people seem to have with turning it into some kind of art form. I can’t abide the canonising of TV chefs because they can do something with a pound of
CRISTIAN Montano may not yet know all his new Oxford United teammates’ names, but the West Ham youngster saw enough on Saturday to be pleased with signing on loan. The 20-year-old only joined on an initial month-long deal on Friday and will not take
Reigning Uhlsport Hellenic League champions Wantage Town turned the formbook upside down by denting Ardley United’s Premier Division title ambitions with a 1-0 victory at Alfredian Park on Saturday. A further blow on a miserable afternoon for Ardley
OXFORD is set to do Britain proud when the Olympic torch passes through a city that is steeped in sporting history. Today we reveal the precise route where city residents will carry the torch that symbolises all that is positive about the Olympic
THREE men have been charged over the theft of fish from a private lake in Wantage. Jack Beldom, Ricky John Taylor and Mickey Smith, all from Slough, are charged with one count of taking fish without a licence and one count of attempting to take or destroy
FIVE Oxfordshire doctors signed a letter endorsing plans by medics to contest Parliamentary elections over a shake-up of the NHS. The letter in The Independent on Sunday said plans to give most budgets to GPs would “lead to the abolition of the NHS in
OXFORDSHIRE will make Britain proud when it honours six servicemen killed in Afghanistan tomorrow, the county’s Royal British Legion said. Branch chairman Jim Lewendon said: “I’m sure Oxfordshire will do the country proud. We will show our respect and
KEEPING track of birthdays is no mean feat for Freda Andrews. Not only does the 82-year-old, from Summertown, have five children, she also has 23 grandchildren, 17 great-grandchildren and, after the birth of two new babies, three great-great-grandchildren
FORMER Olympic gymnist Suzanne Dando is amongst the 50 Oxfordshire people this morning named as carrying the Olympic Torch through the county in July. Organisers have this morning released the list and also amongst the bearers is 85-year-old
The 2012 Olympic flame arrives in Oxfordshire from Buckinghamshire on July 9. It will be in Bicester first where runners will carry the torch will through London Road, Market Square, Sheep Street, St John’s Street, Queen’s Avenue, King’s End
THE streets of Oxford will be lit by the Olympic flame when the 2012 torch passes through Blackbird Leys, Cowley Road and St Clement’s Street on its journey to London. The street-by-street route was released this morning . Torchbearers
Headteacher Mark Chesterton will be among those charged with carrying the Olympic torch from Oxford to Reading. Mr Chesterton, who has been head of Larkrise Primary School in East Oxford since 1988, was nominated for the honour by parent governor
DESPITE a tense finish Chris Wilder was thrilled with Oxford United’s performance as they beat Rotherham United 2-1 on Saturday. Goals from Scott Rendell and Asa Hall either side of half-time put the hosts in a commanding position. They threatened to
AN elderly man was rescued from his home by fire fighters last night after a fire broke out in the kitchen. Crews from Rewley Road Fire Station were called to a report of a flat fire in Ridgemont Close, Oxford at 11.45pm. Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue
Hundreds of young musicians from Oxfordshire will tonight take to the stage in a world-class concert hall. More than 500 youngsters, including 250 primary school children, will perform in the Grand Spring Concert at Birmingham’s Symphony Hall
AS THE Olympics approach, young readers are racing for the finish line in an Oxford school readathon. Inspired by the 2012 games, the pupils at St Michael’s School in Marston are picking up books in a bid to “travel” the globe in a competition launched
