Archive

  • Sunshine beckons...

    Good news has been coming my way this week so it's smiles all round at Tri Chick HQ. Training is going well and early season fitness tests are showing some promising results. Add to that the fact that yesterday I was given the green light from the consultant

  • Police investigate sex assault

    Police are appealing for witnesses following a reported sex attack in Bicester. An 18-year-old victim said she was attacked while walking along the footpath from London Road towards Mallards Way. Police spokesman Victoria Bartlett said: "It's believed

  • 48 arrested in 'prolific offenders' crackdown

    Police have arrested 48 people in the first eight days of Operation Backlash - a drive to catch Oxford's most prolific criminals. Police today announced they had arrested the 48 on suspicion of crimes including burglary, robbery, driving offences and

  • Snow warning issued for county

    FORECASTERS issued an early severe weather warning today as Britain prepared to plunge into wintry mode, with heavy snowfalls predicted. Up to 15cm of snow - about six inches - could fall in South and Mid Wales tomorrow night and Thursday morning with

  • 48 arrests in crime crackdown

    POLICE said tonight that 48 people had been arrested so far in Operation Backlash, its latest crackdown of prolific offenders in Oxford. The arrests have been in connection with offences ranging from burglary, robbery, drugs to failing to appear at

  • Today's local share prices (PM)

    AEA Technology 111.75 BMW 3077 Electrocomponents 296 Isoft Group 51.5 Oxford Biomedica 50.5 Oxford Instruments 271.5 Oxonica 141.5 Reed Elsevier 597.25 RM 201.75 RPS Group 299.25 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley, Abingdon

  • A million children struggle to hear teacher

    The RNID's award winning magazine "oneinseven" is for the one in seven people living with deafness and hearing loss. The latest edition has a frightening figure of more than a million children likely to be missing out in the classroom because they struggle

  • Bogus water worker stole £215

    A WOMAN living in sheltered accommodation in Banbury had more than £200 stolen after a man entered her premises claiming he needed to check the water pressure. The woman was asked to fill several pans with water after the man told her it would be switched

  • Hunt for sex attacker

    POLICE today issued an appeal for witnesses after a woman was sexually assaulted in Bicester. The 18-year-old was assaulted as she walked along a footpath leading from the London Road towards Mallards Way, between 2am and 2.30am on Thursday, February

  • Good Samaritan robbed at roadside

    A GOOD Samaritan has had his car stolen by people he was trying to help. The theft happened in Williamscot, on the Banbury-to-Daventry road, on Monday. shortly before 10am. The victim was standing next to his Y-reg Land Rover when a man approached

  • Update: Lakeside squatters evicted

    BAILIFFS moved in to evict campaigners from a house at Thrupp Lake in Radley just before dawn today. A group of seven campaigners - four female and three male - had taken over Sandles at the side of Thrupp Lake, which is at the centre of a row with

  • Court to use 'friendly fire' tape

    A cockpit recording of a US pilot opening fire on British forces can now be used in the inquest into the death of a Berkshire soldier, an official has said. Coroner's officer Geoff Webb said the inquest into the death of Lance Corporal of Horse Matty

  • Eco-squatters evicted

    Bailiffs wearing balaclavas smashed windows and stormed a house to evict eco-campaigners from a house near Abingdon. A group of seven campaigners - four female and three male - had taken over Sandles House at the side of Thrupp Lake, in Radley, which

  • Today's local share prices

    AEA Technology 111.75 BMW 3110 Electrocomponents 295.25 Isoft Group 50.75 Oxford Biomedica 48.75 Oxford Instruments 271.25 Oxonica 142.5 Reed Elsevier 597.75 RM 201.5 RPS Group 300.5 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley, Abingdon

  • Carving their way into history

    A group of skilled craftsmen are to carve their way into history as the county celebrates its 1,000th birthday. Brian Eastoe, a tutor at weekly wood carving classes at Abingdon and Witney College, and other members of the Ox and Bucks Woodcarvers Association

  • Nursery founder in final

    A woman who started a children's nursery after being unable to find suitable care for her own youngsters has been nominated for a top award. Sarah Steel, who opened the Old Station Nursery in Faringdon, is in the final of the Inspirational Business

  • RUGBY: Hawks promotion hopes take a dive

    Henley Hawks' promotion hopes suffered a blow with a 13-10 defeat at Redruth, who remain in the picture themselves. The visitors thought they had taken the lead when captain and hooker Liam Wordley powered over, but referee Steve Leyshon ruled Hawks

  • RUGBY: Sorry Chinnor are hit for sixty

    A final flourish helped Westcombe Park to a 61-12 victory over Chinnor - bringing their aggregate tally against the Oxfordshire side to 146 in National 3 South this season. Chinnor, who lost 85-8 to Westcombe at home in October, trailed 40-12 with 11

  • RUGBY: Maudsley happy with display

    Oxford coach Matt Maudsley felt his side gave a good account of themselves in their 41-26 defeat by Cleve. "It could've gone either way," he said. "They were just more incisive than we were. "There were two situations in the first half where we should

  • RUGBY: Battling Bulls stay second

    Banbury Bulls battled to a 14-10 victory at Stewarts & Lloyds to maintain second spot in Midlands 3 East South. Centre Pete Papenfus and scrum half Justin Parker scored their tries with Papenfus converting both. A brace of tries from Ben Lacy helped

  • RUGBY: Wallingford thrash Swindon

    Wallingford fell one short of a century as they demolished Swindon College 99-0 at the Hithercroft in BB & O League Premier Division. The hosts ran in 17 tries in a prolific afternoon and it was only the wayward boot of captain Olli Henderson that stopped

  • RUGBY: Grove thrash table-toppers

    Grove roared into promotion contention with a 33-8 home victory over Southern Counties North leaders Amersham & Chiltern. After a slow start to the season, they have won eight of their last nine games and are now fifth - just four points off top spot

  • FOOTBALL: Banbury sweating on Baird

    Banbury United are hoping striker Andy Baird can shake off a hamstring injury in time for tonight's British Gas Business Southern League Premier Division trip to Hemel Hempstead. He was suspended for Banbury's 2-0 defeat by Northwood on Saturday, and

  • Foster is one to watch

    IT would be great if the U's can hang on to on-loan Halifax Town midfielder Martin Foster after his outstanding performance against Cambridge United on Saturday. I thought he was one of Halifax's best players when they visited the Kassam for the recent

  • FOOTBALL: Hale quits Carterton

    Steve Hale has resigned as Carterton manager. He has quit following cuts to the budget for players' expenses. The final straw came at the weekend when Tim Jenkins said he wanted to call it a day due to work issues, and then Steve Avenall asked for

  • DARTS: County have sights on Merseyside visit

    Oxfordshire will be looking to keep up the pressure on leaders Somerset when they host Merseyside in the sixth game of their Inter-Counties League Division 2 campaign this weekend. Now in second place, but just three points off the lead, the selectors

  • Foster is one to watch

    IT would be great if the U's can hang on to on-loan Halifax Town midfielder Martin Foster after his outstanding performance against Cambridge United on Saturday. I thought he was one of Halifax's best players when they visited the Kassam for the recent

  • Foster is one to watch

    IT would be great if the U's can hang on to on-loan Halifax Town midfielder Martin Foster after his outstanding performance against Cambridge United on Saturday. I thought he was one of Halifax's best players when they visited the Kassam for the recent

  • Boat search for boy's body

    Police experts searching for the body of missing teenager Ben Halsey-Jones, who is feared to have drowned, will be conducting daily boat searches on the River Thames. Ben, who was 15 and from Wolvercote, fell into the swollen river in Port Meadow on

  • HOCKEY: Oxon are Southern county champs

    Oxfordshire girls won the Southern Counties Under 18 Tournament with a fine display of attacking hockey at Tilsley Park on Sunday. Oxon got a good start with a 1-0 victory over Bucks followed by wins over Sussex (3-0) and Surrey (2-0). However, they

  • HOCKEY: Rover on march

    Rover Oxford triumphed in the third round of the Harrods Cup with a 2-1 win over Devizes, goals coming from Dan Bleach and Dan Smyth. Abingdon's participation in this year's Men's Vase came to an end as they were well beaten 7-2 by UCL Academicals.

  • Search continues for boy's body

    POLICE searching for the body of missing teenager Ben Halsey-Jones, who is feared to have drowned, will be conducting daily searches on the River Thames. Ben, who was 15 and from Wolvercote, fell into the swollen river near Port Meadow on January 21

  • HOCKEY: Rover owe it to Beer

    Rover Oxford maintained their winning ways with a 5-4 victory at South Bucks to move two points clear at the top of the South League Regional Division. The title-chasers started poorly, conceding from a penalty stroke and penalty corner. Bucks were

  • DARTS: ODDA results check

    Men's League Section 1: Shelley A 1, Railway A 8; College Oak 6, Shelley C 3; Cowley CC 7, Angel 2; Shears 3, Cowley CC B 6. Section 2: Quarry Gate 5, Nuffield A 4; George B 6, Rowing Machine 3; Nuffield B 3, Steventon FC 6. Section 3: Black Bull 4

  • DARTS: George puts brake on Machine

    Section 2 leaders Rowing Machine saw their championship bid dented as they went down to a 6-3 defeat at George Bar B in the Greene King ODDA. They started well with Jamie Burke beating Dave Witherwick, only for George to hit back and lead 3-1. Although

  • Let's see this pair locked up

    We hope our readers will take a long, hard look at the pictures we publish on Pages 1 and 2 today. They show two thugs laying into an innocent 25-year-old and his friend in West Oxfordshire's first 'happy slapping' attack. The men were walking home

  • Canal memory

    What a lovely surprise to see reader Mark Kerry's picture of the Oxford Canal approaching Somerton (Oxford Mail, January 20). I was brought up in Somerton during the war and lived opposite Somerton station in the house named The School House. I will

  • Lucky escape in the Thames

    I was so very sad to see your front page story of another life lost, swept away in the Thames (Oxford Mail, January 22). My thoughts and sympathy are with the young man's family. I know the Thames well, and its treachery in winter should never be

  • The future has got three wheels

    I've seen the future of short-haul public transport in Oxford, and it's got three wheels. Oxford's cycling community is abuzz with talk of the new bicycle-rickshaws, or pedicabs'. You may have seen them gliding around the city centre, ferrying overdressed

  • Army says farewell to regiment

    SOLDIERS and officers said farewell to Oxfordshire's Royal Green Jackets at a ceremony in Oxford. The Green Jackets regiment has been renamed and rebadged as it becomes part of The Rifles, now the British army's largest infantry regiment. The move

  • Park-and-ride guards' strike vote

    Three of Oxford's park-and-ride sites could be left without night-time security if workers decide to strike. Nine of the 12 security guards responsible for patrolling the city council-run Pear Tree, Seacourt and Redbridge park and rides will this week

  • Ageism held up surgery: claim

    The widow of a war veteran claims her husband fell victim to NHS age discrimination after delays in treating him for a rugby ball-sized cyst. Jim Hardiman, from Stanton Harcourt, was told he would have to wait more than seven weeks for an operation

  • Stage show set to go on

    The founder of a 20-year-old stage school has battled a string of problems to bring the curtain up on a new term. And June Surrage, of Risinghurst, Oxford, who set up Sparkle Stage Set School of Performing Arts in 1986, is looking to add to her fresh

  • Roadside tidy-up gets into gear

    Spring cleaning has started early in west Oxfordshire - with the launch of a month-long litter blitz on roadside rubbish. Six workers from the district council's street scene team are trawling roadsides along the main roads in the area to clear debris

  • Centre chief is to quit his job

    The driving force behind Oxford's city centre management company OX1 is standing down from the role. Bill McCardle, who was the organisation's first chief executive, is moving to take up a new job at the Learning and Skills Council based in Kidlington

  • Coach stages one-man pitch invasion

    Football managers are renowned for kicking every ball with their players as they watch the game from the touchline. But the impulse got the better of one Oxfordshire soccer boss - who ran on to the pitch and got stuck in to help his struggling team

  • Hunt for sick pair after street attack

    This is the moment two friends became victims of a so-called 'happy slapping' attack, the first of its kind in west Oxfordshire. Police released cctv footage of the incident yesterday in the hope of identifying the two attackers, who punched and kicked

  • Nurse struck off for affair with patient

    A mental health nurse who began a affair with a suicidal married woman after being assigned to care for her was booted out of the profession. Joseph Conaghan, 61, started a relationship with the 28-year-old after moving into her home in Oxfordshire,

  • Funny way to boost hospice

    The country's top comedians are being lined up to perform at a star-studded concert to raise funds for Helen and Douglas House. Stars, including Catherine Tate and Jimmy Carr, are being sought for the third Childish Things comedy gig which takes palce

  • Statues grace Blenheim once more

    A group of statues based on a 300-year-old design has again been given pride of place at Blenheim Palace. Cranes lifted the Roman-style figures on to the parapet of the palace in Woodstock as the building celebrated a high point in its restoration.

  • Police warn of 'frontline' cuts

    The number of police officers in Oxfordshire could be cut as Thames Valley Police struggles to get to grips with a cash crisis. The force has admitted it is in a "tough" financial situation - and although savings totalling £7m have been identified in

  • Sex case judge 'should be sacked'

    Parents who watched as the man who sexually abused their daughter walked free from court say the judge in the case should be sacked. Convicted paedophile Eric Cole, 71, of Bedford, was given a nine-month suspended sentence at Oxford Crown Court last

  • Crash threatens lives

    Two women are in hospital with potentially life threatening injuries after their cars were involved in a head-on crash on the A40 in Oxfordshire last night. The incident, involving a 22-year-old woman and a 50-year-old woman, happened on the A40 westbound

  • 'Friendly fire tape uncovered'

    The Sun newspaper has claimed today to have obtained a secret tape from a US jet which killed British soldier Matty Hull in a "friendly fire" incident in Iraq. The revelation comes less than a week after Oxfordshire assistant deputy coroner Andrew Walker

  • Help catch these thugs

    POLICE have released CCTV footage of the moment two friends became victims of a so-called 'happy slapping' attack, the first of its kind in west Oxfordshire. Police released the footage of the incident yesterday in the hope of identifying the two attackers

  • Coach stages one-man pitch invasion

    FOOTBALL managers are renowned for kicking every ball with their players as they watch the game from the touchline. But the impulse got the better of one Oxfordshire soccer boss - who ran on to the pitch and got stuck in to help his struggling team

  • Parents' anger over judge's ruling

    PARENTS who watched as the man who sexually abused their daughter walked free from court say the judge in the case should be sacked. Convicted paedophile Eric Cole, 71, of Bedford, was given a nine-month suspended sentence at Oxford Crown Court last

  • 'Friendly fire' video exposed

    THE Sun newspaper has claimed today to have obtained a secret tape from a US jet which killed British soldier Matty Hull in a "friendly fire" incident in Iraq. The revelation comes less than a week after Oxfordshire assistant deputy coroner Andrew

  • Women seriously injured in A40 crash

    TWO women are in hospital with potentially life-threatening injuries after their cars were involved in a head-on crash on the A40 in Oxfordshire last night. The incident, involving a 22-year-old woman and a 50-year-old woman, happened on the A40 westbound

  • FOOTBALL: Irish boost for loan star Corcoran

    ON-LOAN Cardiff defender Mickey Corcoran reckons playing for Oxford United is making him a better footballer - and improving his international prospects. The 19-year-old, who appears for Northern Ireland against Wales at the Oval (Glentoran's ground

  • FOOTBALL: United Reserves suffer more agony

    OXFORD United Reserves are still seeking their first Pontin's Holidays Combination win this season after going down 1-0 to Luton Town Reserves at Didcot Town's npower Loop Meadow Stadium last night. A U's side, which mixed experience with new faces,

  • RUGBY UNION: Classy Cleve too strong

    CLEVE'S classy back three proved too hot for Oxford Harlequins to handle in a hugely entertaining South West 1 clash. Full back Richard Catt, brother of England centre Mike, and wings Dan Ajuwa and Ollie Pritchard were a constant threat against a battling

  • £1.9m facelift for park-and-ride site

    WORK is set to start on a £1.9m facelift of the Thornhill park-and-ride, Oxford. A new building will include a heated waiting room, toilets and canopies. Real time information displays will give passengers up-to-date information on the arrival time

  • Cold callers get brush off

    SALESMEN knocking at the door offering their wares and rogue traders touting for business will get the cold shoulder in Cutteslowe, Oxford. The area has been designated as a no cold calling zone by the Oxford Safer Communities Partnership. The aim

  • Tyres slashed on charity van

    A CHARITY worker has been left shocked by a vandal who slashed the tyres of his van. The tyres of the van - which is clearly decorated in the Orinoco charity's logo - are believed to have been attacked last Sunday evening in the car park at Bullingdon

  • Blanc hits out at up-and-coming chefs

    CHEF Raymond Blanc has stirred up a cookery teacher by claiming aspiring kitchen stars do not recognise fine food. M Blanc, whose restaurant, Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons, in Great Milton, has two Michelin stars, said trainee chefs arriving at his restaurant

  • Campaign may improve safety

    NEW safety measures could be introduced on a notorious stretch of road in Didcot - thanks to a campaign launched by bereaved parents. Hatched areas and safety signs will be considered for the A4130 link road, which has claimed three lives in the last

  • Young film buffs boost Chox appeal

    HUNDREDS of young film fans gave a boost to Oxford Children's Hospital at a preview screening of the new Charlotte's Web movie. Multiplex managers at the Ozone Leisure park, in Grenoble Road, gave the hospital a chance to turn the show into a mini-fundraiser

  • Novelist helps memoir writers

    NOVELIST and children's author Penelope Lively will be giving a lecture on memoir-writing in Oxford today. Her talk, The Hazards of Hindsight: on Memoir-Writing, is part of the university's faculty of English language and literature visiting lectures

  • Mother's warning after candle fire

    MOTHER-OF-THREE Sallie Campbell urged families across Oxfordshire to fit a smoke alarm after one saved her family from being trapped in a blaze. Mrs Campbell, 40, of Stile Road, Headington, Oxford, forgot to put out a candle in the downstairs toilet

  • Plea as burglars snatch baby video

    A COUPLE have pleaded for the return of a stolen videotape that has irreplaceable footage of their newborn baby being brought home for the first time. Maddie Marshall, 27, and her boyfriend Antony Hollis, 29, had been enjoying a winter break in Florida