People convicted of offences at Magistrates' Courts around the county recently OXFORD Kieron Mills, 21, of All Saints Court, Didcot, convicted of assault by beating in Didcot on July 23. Given a four-month prison sentence suspended for 24 months
OXFORDSHIRE’S wildlife trust has been given a cash boost to help it buy a meadow near Bicester. The Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust has been given £23,500 by the Heritage Lottery Fund for its Meadow Farm project. Meadow
TRAFFIC in Marston cannot cope with the pressure of a major new development that could be approved tonight, a councillor is warning. Mick Haines, who is due to speak at an Oxford City Council’s meeting on the Barton Area Action plan, has carried
A FORMER boatyard manager claims to have a simple solution to one of Oxfordshire’s most damaging flood problems. But he said flood protection experts have continually ignored his advice. Tom Ballance, pictured during last month’s flood, 55,
HOMES will be ruined and lives put at risk unless Oxfordshire changes its attitude to flood preparation, according to former emergency planner John Kelly. Following last month’s floods, Mr Kelly said Environment Agency plans to defend against flooding
THE body of a man found on a burnt-out Oxford canal boat last month was today confirmed as 49-year-old Kevin Pryor. Mr Pryor’s Lady of the Lake boat was destroyed by fire on Friday, November 16. But the remains found on board could not be formally
TWO airmen at RAF Brize Norton ran 12 miles for 12 days ahead of Christmas to help Great Ormond Street Hospital. The total distance, 144 miles, is also the distance from the RAF base, at Carterton, to the specialist children’s hospital in London
WOODLAND and a meadow could be part of a new housing estate planned for Wantage. Developer Croudace Strategic is hoping to build up to 85 homes on land east of Chain Hill and uphill from Orchard Way. The planning application for the estate
Wallingford’s new youth centre will open six months later than originally planned, it has emerged. Earlier this year it was revealed that a new youth centre costing about £200,000 would be built in Wigod Way, instead of renovating an abandoned
SEVEN-year-old dancer Madison McDonagh’s wish to Santa is to win the Disco Kid title. But the Woodstock girl has already beaten hundreds of dancers in the international freestyle dance competition in Blackpool on December 2. The schoolgirl,
Members of Prime Minister David Cameron's local hunt have today been convicted of illegal fox hunting. The Heythrop Hunt, based in Chipping Norton, along with members Julian Barnfield and Richard Sumner, admitted four charges of illegally hunting
A CAMPAIGN has been launched to get more elderly people playing table tennis as a way of socialising in the cold winter months. Oxfordshire Community Foundation’s Surviving Winter Campaign’s “Get Batty!” appeal was launched at the group’s headquarters
PEOPLE in Blackbird Leys have welcomed the campaign to get their children reading and improve literacy skills. The Oxfordshire County Council campaign, run by the National Literacy Trust and backed by the Oxford Mail, was launched in September.
RESIDENTS with chimneys have been urged to take care if they plan on using open fires this Christmas. The warning comes from Oxfordshire County Council’s Fire and Rescue Service, which has attended about 150 chimney fires this year. The service
WHEN Judith Sawyer was given the news she had breast cancer, her first thought was for her family. Six years on the grandmother-of-three stands proudly with the ladies of the Didcot Divas, a singing group she set up in the wake of beating cancer
ONE of the city’s three mosques has outgrown its site and should move elsewhere, it has been claimed. Neighbours of the Madina Mosque in Stanley Road oppose plans to extend the premises, which already caters for hundreds of Muslims each day.
SIX Oxfordshire waterways have been put on flood alert. Heavy downpours over the weekend forced the Environment Agency to place the warnings on the River Thames and tributaries in the Oxford area from Wolvercote down to and including Radley and
WORKERS at Nuffield Press at Cowley gathered round to wish one of their colleagues all the best. Branch manager Walter Oldfield is shaking the hand of a man we believe was called Parker. Brian Turner, director of publicity at BMC, in the man
THESE brave souls had an unusual way of keeping the festive spirit alive – taking a dip in the river. It had become a tradition of members of the Oxford Diving Club at Christmas. When this picture was taken in 1990, the Thames at Osney Marina
THE driver of a car involved in a crash with a steam wagon in Oxford didn’t have to wait for an ambulance – he was taken to hospital in an Oxford Mail newspaper van! Reader Den Green found a cutting of the crash which, judging by the typefaces
BUDDING designers have come up with models showing what they want to see on the streets of Bicester’s 5,000-home eco-town. About 60 Year 4 pupils at Bure Park School, in Lucerne Avenue, were challenged to come up with designs for street features
SIXTH-FORMERS at Wood Green School set up a business called Vision in 1986 selling Christmas cards and invited primary school pupils to submit designs. The winner, Harriet Griffin, five, from Batt School, is seen immediately below receiving her prize
NATIVITY plays have been a regular feature of the autumn term at schools for many years, as these pictures from the Oxford Mail archives show. Picture One shows some of the children who took part in a concert and Nativity play at Wood Farm Infants
IT LOOKS a little congested around this crib. Poor baby Jesus seems to be in danger of being smothered as children crowd around. This was the scene in 1972 when Kidlington Nursery School presented its annual Nativity play. The children,
GRANTS of more than £14,000 have been handed out to community organisations across Oxfordshire. Two youth clubs have been given thousands to develop their provision, more than £200 will help pay for a day out for autistic people and Film Oxford
OXFORD: A man charged with attempted burglary of a Littlemore property has been remanded in custody after a court appearance. Martin McDonagh, 45, appeared at Oxford Crown Court on Friday charged with trying to burgle a property in Oxford Road
Morning everyone and welcome to a slightly later than billed Oxford United chat. We're here to discuss Saturday's 1-1 draw at Morecambe, tomorrow's rearranged FA Cup replay and anything else that takes your fancy. As always this forum is all
OXFORD City Council is giving residents an unusual early Christmas present — a roll of compostable liners. The liners can be picked up from today at either the council chambers in St Aldate’s, or the Marsh Road depot in Cowley. People need to bring
SINGING, Santa, and stocking-fillers were all on offer for the inaugural Leys Community Market. Residents have been working on plans for a community market for the Blackbird Leys and Greater Leys estates since January and the first event was held
CHRISTMAS is a time for people to join together. And so it is particularly fitting that the inaugural Leys Community Market kicked off with some festive cheer. Critics are quick to bemoan what they see as the country’s declining community spirit
Police are investigating a suspicious fire in a garage in Cherry Road, Banbury. Firefighters were called to a small fire in a garage shortly after midnight yesterday. Thames Valley Police were also in attendance.
A new MRI scanner has been installed at a Headington hospital after £800,000 of investment. The Manor Hospital, a private clinic run by Nuffield Health, has replaced original equipment installed when it opened in 2004. Hospital director Simon
Firefighters were called to O’Hanlon House, the Oxford Night Shelter, in Luther Street in the early hours of yesterday morning. They were called at 1.20am to a small fire in an industrial washing machine in the centre’s ground floor laundry.
DON’T be fooled by colourful flashing signs at the Otmoor nature reserve, they are not Christmas decorations. The bright tags have been installed on power lines to help birds navigate their way past them safely. Geese and swans often fly into
SUPERMARKET giant Sainsbury’s will create about 100 jobs when it opens another store in Oxford next summer. The chain will occupy a new building on the site of the former B&Q store at the Templars Retail Park in Cowley - less than two miles
CAROL Kilduff was among a number of East Oxford residents who gathered at the Cowley Road cafe Excelsior to remember a long-serving waiter. The 65-year-old joined about 25 people on Saturday to remember Kostas Hajiyiani, who passed away in his
TRADERS last night said the closure of Oxford’s Botley Road following a burst water main had hit business on one of the busiest shopping days of the year. Thames Water issued an apology after the five-inch main in Botley Road burst at about 10pm
I feel like an absolute heel for saying this but something is not right in Oxford’s Camelot for food. It isn’t the service – that’s still as great as ever; and it’s not the prices – they’re still just as reassuringly expensive. No, it’s the re-design
Today we talk to Catherine Bearder, who is MEP for the south east of England WHAT I’M CALLED: Catherine Bearder. It depends on who is calling. Mum, wife, sister, boss or elected Lib Dem Member of the European Parliament. MY AGE: Somehow
courts have jailed Mick and Ron Wyatt. But really what is more unbelievable is the way that the county council has gone after them. At the time that the services were being built, incidentally just on the opposite side of the road to the golf club
Abingdon Utd 0 Poole Tn 4 (Byerley 5, Preston 8, 79, Howes 31) Abingdon United were caught cold as they crashed to defeat against high-flying Poole Town in Evo-Stik Southern League Division 1 South & West at Northcourt Road. Warren
Headington Amateurs slumped to a surprise 2-1 defeat at home to lowly Penn & Tylers Green in Uhlsport Hellenic League Division 1 East. Luke Cuff’s opener for Headington just before half-time was swiftly cancelled out by Jonathan Feaver, and
Sutton Utd 1 (Watkins 54) Oxford City 0 Oxford City’s hopes of reaching the last 16 of the FA Carlsberg Trophy were dashed as they bowed out to the only goal of the game at Sutton United. The first half of the second-round tie belonged
IN your issue of December 11, On Yer Bike columnist James Styring, having viewed BBC TV’s The War on Britains’ Roads which included views of cyclists mounting the pavement to bypass red traffic lights, concluded his feature with a plea to be more tolerant
I JUST want to get something off my chest . Family Tax Credits – because mistakes were made, we were overpaid. Now we have to pay HMRC back. I read in the METRO free paper on Tuesday, December 11, an article about garlic tax. When garlic
I URGE all residents to contact their Members of Parliament and ask them to support the Equal Marriage Bill. I also plead with all Oxfordshire MPs to vote for it: if they do not, they will be showing to the country that they believe some of their
EVERY week in the Oxford Mail we see court reports listing accounts of violent assaults resulting in fines of a hundred pounds, community service or conditional discharge. Last week, at the urging of officers and councillors of Oxfordshire County
Coneygree gave another demonstration of his star potential by completing a hat-trick of wins in the Grade 2 Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham on Saturday. The five-year-old, from Mark Bradstock’s Letcombe Bassett stables, near Wantage
Didcot Tn 3 (Osborne-Ricketts 4, Tappin 38, Elkins 85) Paulton Rovers 4 (Billing 2, Pearson 48, Jeffries 56, Vyner 75) Didcot Town slid to their fourth successive loss in Evo-Stik Southern League Division 1 South & West with defeat
North Leigh 1 (Hole 90+3) Mangotsfield Utd 1 (Hunt 73) Stuart Hole headed an equaliser three minutes into time added on to earn North Leigh a draw in their Evo-Stik Southern League Division 1 South & West clash with Mangotsfield
Bedford Tn 3 (Green 5, pen 32, Bell 85) Banbury Utd 1 (Agyeman-Prempeh 2) Scott Bridges was sent off as Banbury United’s poor away form in the Evo-Stik Southern League Premier Division continued with defeat at Bedford Town. Bridges
Ben Gray scored twice as Thame United moved into the top six of the Uhlsport Hellenic League Premier Division for the first time this season with a 4-0 home win over bottom club Shrivenham. Ellis Hercules and Matt Hall were also on target.
PLANS for major new powers to bill developers for funding towards transport, health and community projects are set to move a step forward today. Oxford City Council will discuss proposals to make it one of the first authorities in the country to
A 45-year-old man who admitted wielding a golf club at Templars Square will now be setnenced next year. Michael Hutchinson, of Pegasus Road, Blackbird Leys, was due to be sentenced on Friday at Oxford Crown Court but the hearing has been postponed
CHRIS Wilder was delighted to see his Plan B come off as Oxford United hit back late on to grab a point at Morecambe on Saturday. The visitors’ Plan A almost worked, but despite dominating the opening 25 minutes they could not find a breakthrough
A MAN was yesterday arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a woman was found with head injuries in Woodstock. The 45-year-old, who lives near Oxford, was last night in police custody following the incident. Police and ambulance were
CAMPAIGNERS held a mock auction to protest a “sell off” of NHS services. Members of the Oxfordshire Keep Our NHS Public group handed out giant ears and feet to “fat cat” bidders. Group secretary Bill MacKeith, pictured with Liz Peretz of the
HARRY Worley has the ability to reinvent himself as a striker, according to fellow defender Michael Raynes. The centre back came off the bench and was used as a makeshift centre forward on Saturday, grabbing a late equaliser to rescue a 1-1 draw
LYN Jones praised his players’ efforts against Grenoble, but felt his side had brought defeat on themselves. London Welsh brought the score back to 15-6 at half-time, but couldn’t build on that. Head coach Jones said: “I thought our attitude
TWELVE nuns are leaving their Oxfordshire convent after converting to Catholicism. The dozen are the first in Oxfordshire – and only the second in the country – to leave the Church of England for the Roman Catholic Church under a new initiative
THREE people were taken to hospital after being attacked by two dogs in Barton. A 30-year-old man from Oxford was questioned by police after being arrested on suspicion of having a dangerous dog who was not under control. It followed an incident
Drivers using the A34 between the Peartree and Kennington junctions overnight should expect lane closures and temporary speed limits this week. The restrictions are part of work to resurface sections of the carriageway. The road will be shut
More than 20 fitness fanatics in festive fancy dress took to the streets for a much-loved duathlon on Saturday. Members of the Oxford Tri Club took on the 11-mile run and cycle challenge from Bletchingdon. Full report in tomorrow’s Oxford Mail.
THOUSANDS of people across Oxfordshire are languishing on council housing waiting lists with little prospect of success. So it is no wonder the sight of derelict, decaying and empty homes sparks indignation and disgust. One city councillor
COUNCIL tax discounts on empty and second homes are to be cut across Oxfordshire in a bid to get more homes into the market. The county’s five authorities which manage council tax want to use new powers from the Government to cut back on discounts
AN overturned vehicle closed the A4130 at Netltebed this morning. The road was closed between the B481 at Watlington Street and the B480 at Lower Assendon just after 7am. It reopened at 7.45am but police are still on scene to warn drivers of
TODAY’S Badvent pair are wanted by police after mobile phones and purses were stolen from Oxford city centre pubs. The suspects were captured on CCTV and they have now found themselves revealed behind door 17 of our Badvent calendar. The Oxford
TWO chains who could open Didcot’s first hotel opposite the town’s railway station have been named in a new report. Abingdon-based developer Cranbourne Homes has planning permission to build 72 flats opposite Didcot Parkway station. But in
THE new Blackbird Leys skatepark could kickstart improvements in Frys Hill, it has been claimed. Jamie Murray, of the environmental charity Groundworks, said that it was hoped the £60,000 skatepark would lead to new projects. He said: “We are
