Archive

  • Growing firm in hunt for 100 staff

    A HI-TECH firm is mounting a hunt to find 100 workers to fuel its rapid expansion in Oxfordshire. JDS Uniphase, of Witney, says traditional job searching has proved fruitless in a district with one of the lowest unemployment rates in Britain. The company

  • Knight wants to stay put

    By Jon Murray OXFORD United's loan keeper Richard Knight ended a traumatic month at the Manor on a high note in Saturday's local derby win at Wycombe - and then issued a "come-and-get-me" message to new boss Denis Smith. The Derby County keeper, currently

  • Raider targets bookies

    Staff at an Oxford betting shop were in fear of their lives when they were held up by a raider believed to be armed. During the robbery at Ladbrokes in Barns Road, Cowley, on Saturday, the man demanded money and grabbed cash from the till before running

  • Home DIY still second to true romance

    Handymen in Oxfordshire have nailed a smear that most men have shelved pursuit of their partners' affections for home improvements. A national pub survey claims that DIY and property prices top the list of favourite topics among male customers, rather

  • Students take to the streets over fees

    The centre of Oxford came to a halt as students protested at being charged fees for their college education. Mounted police flanked a noisy column of 300 protesters who marched through the city centre in support of three Oxford students expelled at the

  • Plucky Roxanne keeps on smiling

    Young Roxanne Pinfold hasn't let leukaemia get her down, writes Phil Clee. Despite battling against the illness for almost two years, she's determined to lead as full a life as possible. The feisty five-year-old from Headington saddles up and goes riding

  • Goodbye, Charlie Brown

    GEORGE FREW, of the Oxford Mail, and (below) CESAR G. SORIANO, of USA Today, celebrate the genius of Charles Schultz, who died at the weekend More than Peanuts The Beagle has landed. Snoopy, the comic-strip canine created by Charles Schulz in his fabulously

  • A couples gift to help save four lives

    Oxford surgeons will be able to save four people's lives with pioneering artificial hearts - thanks to two pensioners, writes Victoria Owen. Percy and Charlette Thomas left £190,000 - the bulk of their estate - to a team at the John Radcliffe Hospital

  • Loyal radio fans are walking on air

    Loyal listeners to BBC Radio Oxford were on cloud nine today as the station went back on air after a break of four years, writes Zahra Borno. Campaigners fought a pitched battle after BBC bosses merged the station with Radio Berkshire to form Thames Valley

  • Joey ends United goal drought

    Wycombe Wands 0, Oxford Utd 1 By Jon Murray THEY weren't quite swinging on the crossbar, but it was the next best thing. Oxford United's players had every reason to be ecstatic after breaking their goal drought and earning a well-deserved derby win at

  • Straw's police squad moves in next door

    Police officers guarding Home Secretary Jack Straw at his Oxfordshire home now have an idyllic country cottage to work from. The Home Office has paid about £250,000 to buy the neighbouring property to Mr Straw's home, The Rosary, at Minster Lovell. The

  • Man in court over Karen murder

    A MAN was appearing in court today charged with the murder of a mother who was strangled and dumped at a beauty spot. The body of Karen Heywood, 35, was found in undergrowth at Houghton, near Bognor Regis, West Sussex, on January 19. She had previously

  • Rats will run us up a huge bill

    Residents are furious they may soon have to pay to rid their village of rats. Alan Feast, of Appleton, near Abingdon, is asking residents to lobby the Vale of White Horse District Council to make sure plans to charge for domestic rat extermination are

  • Sandford crash out of national indoor

    By Richard Tilley SANDFORD St Martin fell short of a place in the last 16 of the National Indoor Cricket Competition when they were beaten by Kidderminster at Wantage yesterday. The Oxfordshire champions went down to their Worcestershire counterparts

  • Cheetahs chief says: We fear no team

    By John Gaisford OXFORD Cheetahs speedway promoter Steve Purchase cheered fans at a supporters meeting. Speaking to a 300-plus attendance, Purchase said: "I think I am close to being excited. "Your support has been very encouraging and I think we have

  • Joey ends United goal drought

    Wycombe Wands 0, Oxford Utd 1 By Jon Murray THEY weren't quite swinging on the crossbar, but it was the next best thing. Oxford United's players had every reason to be ecstatic after breaking their goal drought and earning a well-deserved derby win at

  • Leave the Valentines to the psychotic

    This morning, if your front doormat was not ankle-deep in Cupid's white envelopes like a drifting Arctic snowfall, do not despair, writes George Frew. There are some people from whom you would not want a Valentine card if your love life depended on it

  • Student plunges to death in crane dare

    A popular Oxford University student plunged to his death after climbing a 200ft crane in a dare, reports Tim Hughes. Kai Dawson, 21, a student at St Edmund Hall, had inched his way out to the end of the jib before losing his grip and falling to his death