VILLAGE stores struggling to compete with giant superstores are being offered a helping hand - by supermarket Somerfield. Latest figures show that half of all rural parishes in Oxfordshire have no permanent shop of any kind. Now Ickford Village Store,
Hospitals hit waiting list target NHS managers are patting themselves on the back after Oxfordshire's waiting list numbers dropped below target levels for the first time in a year, writes Victoria Owen. Patients waiting for routine treatment in the county's
Police have launched a murder probe after officers found a woman stabbed to death in her home. Detectives following an inquiry found the body of part-time maths teacher Nicola Butler, 51, who had been killed in a frenzied knife attack. Her 31-year-old
Mum Tracy Cooke is calling for safety measures to be stepped up in a playground after her nine-year-old son broke a leg, writes Madeleine Pennell. Daniel Oats is now recovering after he was injured while standing next to a roundabout, called a Mobilis
RICHARD Knight will keep his place in goal for Oxford United against Notts County tomorrow, even though Paul Lundin is almost back to full fitness. Manager Denis Smith said: "I'd be silly to leave Richard out after the way he played the other night. I
By Jon Murray DENIS Smith may call in a psychologist to try to get Oxford United's players to feel at home at the Manor. The United boss is looking at every avenue in a bid to arrest the team's appalling home record which has seen them win just four of
A new computer system will give detectives a profile of Oxford's most notorious shoplifters - and help clear them from the city centre, writes Mark Templeton. The high-tech programme - due to be launched next month - will detail offenders and their convictions
A £10m leisure centre officially got off the ground with a turf-turning ceremony, writes Roseena Parveen. The remaining £1.7m needed to guarantee the Phoenix Leisure Centre planned for Audlett Drive, Abingdon, was included in The Vale of White Horse District
The RSPCA has condemned the 'callous' shooting of ducks on a village pond, writes Tim Hughes. An investigation has been launched by animal welfare inspectors after two ducks were shot in Russells Water, near Wallingford. A white Aylesbury duck died after
OXFORD City skipper Matty Hayward, who successfully came through an operation on damaged knee ligaments - has signed a new two-year deal at the Ryman Division 1 club, writes NIALL JEGER. City manager Paul Lee said: "He is the best centre half in Division
THE biggest chub I can recall ever from the Thames was taken during a match at Wallingford, writes PETER STONE. The Jolly Anglers were stunned when Dick Edmonds went to the scales with a chub which pulled the needle to 7.12.8 - just 14oz below the British
THE begging hands and rattling boxes are outstretched throughout Oxfordshire, writes Amanda Castleman. Pedestrians avert their eyes or defensively grip their wallets. There are too many needy faces, too many worthy causes, too little spare change. Some
