Archive

  • Bus users face double blow

    Bus fares are going up in Oxfordshire - and some loss-making services could be axed. Oxford Bus Company, which has offered staff a 9.3 per cent increase, is raising its fares from November 4. Stagecoach, which has offered an eight per cent rise, is also

  • Owl trapped by barbed wire

    An eagle owl was found dangling from a barbed wire fence in South Oxfordshire. The bird, which had injured its wing, was handed in to birds-of-prey charity Raptor Rescue. Chris Baldwin, of the charity, said it was discovered "somewhere between Wallingford

  • Teenage girl assaulted in street

    A 17-year-old girl was indecently assaulted in a late-night attack in Wallingford. The incident occurred between 11.45pm on Friday and 12.15am on Saturday in Charter Way Close, near the junction with Hazel Grove. After the assault, the victim ran into

  • Owl trapped by barbed wire

    An eagle owl was found dangling from a barbed wire fence in South Oxfordshire. The bird, which had injured its wing, was handed in to birds-of-prey charity Raptor Rescue. Chris Baldwin, of the charity, said it was discovered "somewhere between Wallingford

  • Record retail profits

    High street chain Debenhams toasted record full-year profits, but said its sales growth had slowed in recent weeks. Debenhams, which last year opened a new store in Banbury and spent £20m refurbishing its outlet in Oxford, reported strong sales across

  • Boss of troubled Esporta quits

    The chief executive of health club operator Esporta has quit -- just days after the group issued a profits warning. Esporta, which last year opened a club in Woodstock Road, Oxford, said Graham Coles, who has held the post since 1999 and was on a basic

  • Railway crash - no legal action

    The Crown Prosecution Service today advised that no charges should be made over the Paddington rail crash, in which 31 people were killed. The CPS told the British Transport Police that further investigation would not be justified. The service had investigated

  • Footballer faces jail for violence on the pitch

    An amateur footballer who viciously attacked an opponent and a referee faces a period in jail after he admitted causing grievous bodily harm. Bobby Ahmed broke the jaw, eye socket and nose of goalkeeper Mark Rose, who will have 13 screws and three metal

  • Deaf dog rescued from house blaze

    A woman has praised firefighters who today rescued her 14-year-old dog from a blaze at her Oxford home. Helen Russell escaped from the house, in Grove Street, Summertown, but mongrel Max was trapped in an upstairs bedroom. Firefighters using breathing

  • Smoother ride for bus passengers

    Bus passengers on an Oxford estate will get a smoother ride, with the arrival of £600,000 worth of vehicles. Rose Hill residents are the latest passengers to benefit from buses introduced by operators Stagecoach Oxfordshire. The fleet, which was launched

  • Concern expressed over 24-hour city life

    The effects of Oxford's transformation into a 24-hour city are being examined by councillors. At yesterday's meeting of the city council's overview and scrutiny environment committee, they agreed to look at how late licensing is affecting residents. Councillors

  • Computers narrow digital divide

    Seventeen new computing hubs are to be introduced on an Oxford estate to close the digital divide between the better-off and those who cannot afford computers. Sixty-four PCs, 20 laptops, 15 digital cameras and software will be available for public use

  • McMinn slams United's drinkers

    Oxford United's management team revealed their disappointment at the crowd's hostile reaction to them substituting Paul Powell last night. A chorus of boos echoed around The Kassam Stadium when Mark Wright and Ted McMinn brought Powell off 12 minutes

  • Top brains take on pub quiz challenge

    The quiz league Oxfordshire's brain-boxes and trivia buffs look forward to is back - with students from Oxford University challenging pub teams across the county. The Oxford Mail Quiz League starts again on Friday, with 36 teams vying for the coveted

  • Tracking units help reduce car crime

    Tracking devices have helped Thames Valley Police achieve a 48 per cent increase in the number of stolen cars recovered by officers. Between August last year and July this year, 37 cars and items of plant machinery were traced, resulting in nine arrests

  • Rubbish firm dumped for breach of contract

    A waste collection firm that serves 53,000 households in south Oxfordshire has been sacked by the council after accusations that it failed to collect rubbish on time. South Oxfordshire District Council yesterday sacked SITA and announced that S Grundon

  • Drink driver, 26, crashes while answering mobile

    A drink driver overturned his car after hitting the kerb while reaching for a mobile phone, magistrates heard. The accident happened when Lance Corporal Paul Lloyd, 26, of Dalton Barracks, Abingdon, who has been an Army driver for seven years, was driving

  • Personality may dictate cigarette cravings

    Male smokers are being asked to help research to pinpoint whether personality dictates craving for cigarettes. Angeliki Kehagia, a psychology student at Balliol College, Oxford, wants to discover whether addictive behaviour is predominant in certain people

  • Crisis of identity at bank

    A woman who wanted to open a bank account was shocked at being told 14 different items of identification were not enough to prove who she was. Dorothy Holloway produced documents including her marriage certificate, National Insurance card, previous bank

  • Football: United to appeal over double sending-off

    Oxford United have confirmed they are appealing against the red cards for both Paul Moody and Phil Bolland against Scunthorpe. "We will be appealing against both sendings-off," said Ted McMinn. "Peter Beagrie actually took a swipe at Moods and he's a

  • Police seek man who fled crash

    Police want to trace a man who disappeared from the scene of a crash in which another man received serious head injuries. The accident happened in Jubilee Way, Didcot, at the junction with Hagbourne Road, shortly before 1am on Sunday, when a G-registered

  • New post office celebrated

    Blewbury Brass band struck up Congratulations as villagers raised their glasses to toast the reopening of the village post office. The celebration of the work to replace Blewbury's former sub post office, which closed last year, may signal a halt in the

  • McMinn slams United's drinkers

    Oxford United's management team revealed their disappointment at the crowd's hostile reaction to them substituting Paul Powell last night. A chorus of boos echoed around The Kassam Stadium when Mark Wright and Ted McMinn brought Powell off 12 minutes

  • Worry for quarry firm over staffing

    The managing director of a booming Oxfordshire quarry has revealed the firm is suffering a staffing crisis. Martin Robins says his Farmington Quarry, near Witney, is taking orders from around the world but he cannot find enough workers to meet the demand

  • Concern expressed over 24-hour city life

    The effects of Oxford's transformation into a 24-hour city are being examined by councillors. At yesterday's meeting of the city council's overview and scrutiny environment committee, they agreed to look at how late licensing is affecting residents. Councillors

  • Owl trapped by barbed wire

    An eagle owl was found dangling from a barbed wire fence in South Oxfordshire. The bird, which had injured its wing, was handed in to birds-of-prey charity Raptor Rescue. Chris Baldwin, of the charity, said it was discovered "somewhere between Wallingford

  • Computers narrow digital divide

    Seventeen new computing hubs are to be introduced on an Oxford estate to close the digital divide between the better-off and those who cannot afford computers. Sixty-four PCs, 20 laptops, 15 digital cameras and software will be available for public use

  • Personality may dictate cigarette cravings

    Male smokers are being asked to help research to pinpoint whether personality dictates craving for cigarettes. Angeliki Kehagia, a psychology student at Balliol College, Oxford, wants to discover whether addictive behaviour is predominant in certain people

  • Clothing introduced to protect postal staff against anthrax

    Extra protective clothing is being offered to postal workers in Oxford as a precaution against the threat of an anthrax attack. The decision follows the death of two Washington postal workers, who died of suspected pulmonary anthrax. There have been no

  • Crisis of identity at bank

    A woman who wanted to open a bank account was shocked at being told 14 different items of identification were not enough to prove who she was. Dorothy Holloway produced documents including her marriage certificate, National Insurance card, previous bank

  • Chaos on roads after accidents

    Thousands of people faced traffic chaos in Oxfordshire on Tuesday after a beer lorry caught fire and a bus crashed. Ten-mile queues built up on roads in and around Oxford after an 11-mile stretch of the M40 was closed for six hours. Police shut the northbound

  • Council spreads light over city centre for Christmas

    Christmas shoppers in Oxford will be able to enjoy a show of Christmas lights this year. Liberal Democrat councillor Jackie Gray, vice-chairman of the city centre management committee, said the council had agreed to spend £69,000 over a period of three

  • Deaf dog rescued from house blaze

    A woman has praised firefighters who today rescued her 14-year-old dog from a blaze at her Oxford home. Helen Russell escaped from the house, in Grove Street, Summertown, but mongrel Max was trapped in an upstairs bedroom. Firefighters using breathing

  • Teens craft cartoon for TV

    Ten teenagers from Banbury have created a cartoon series for television - and their work will be showcased on the Oxford Channel next week. Liz Allcroft, 15, Hassan Azam, 13, Lee Bottom, 14, Ed Bovill, 14, Edmund Jones, 15, Chris Joyner, 16, Stephen Trumble

  • Arrests at nuclear protest

    Anti-nuclear arms protesters from Oxford were arrested in Scotland following a blockade of the controversial Trident submarine base at Faslane. Strathclyde police have confirmed that about 50 people were arrested for minor offences during protests yesterday

  • Bogus officials prey on elderly

    Confidence tricksters are active again in parts of Oxfordshire. Preying on single, elderly people, they pose as builders, gas, electricity or water company officials and, after bluffing their way into homes, steal money. The latest incidents have been

  • Footballer faces jail for violence on the pitch

    An amateur footballer who viciously attacked an opponent and a referee faces a period in jail after he admitted causing grievous bodily harm. Bobby Ahmed broke the jaw, eye socket and nose of goalkeeper Mark Rose, who will have 13 screws and three metal

  • Care of elderly 'unfair'

    The system for funding beds in Oxfordshire's homes for the elderly is a "scandal and a disgrace", according to the owner of a private sector home. John Butterfield, who owns 29-bed Sotwell Hill House, in Brightwell-cum-Sotwell, near Wallingford, says