Archive

  • CCTV appeal to tackle vandals

    The owner of a repeatedly-vandalised vehicle has called for CCTV to be installed in the car park behind his home. Simon Lockyer said his car's petrol tank was punctured and fuel stolen in the latest bout of vandalism behind his home in Blackbird Leys

  • Students fight threat to music venue

    Students at Oxford Brookes University are campaigning against the demolition of one of the city's biggest live music venues. The university is planning to redesign its Gipsy Lane campus, but the proposed revamp has worried students because it involves

  • Lollipop lady gets 40-year award

    Oxford's own Mrs Lollipop, who has helped children get to school safely for the past four decades, is to be honoured for her hard work. Val Hignell, 70, has helped children cross roads in Blackbird Leys for 40 years, since taking on the job in 1968.

  • High-speed rail study on way

    New high-speed railway lines linking Oxford with London in about 30 minutes could be on the way, after Network Rail said it was looking at ways to increase capacity to meet rising demand for rail services. A feasibility study into lines suitable for

  • Council staff vote to strike

    Council workers across Oxfordshire could "stop the county" with a sustained period of industrial action after union members today voted to strike. Unison's national conference was told that members working for local authorities had rejected a 2.45 per

  • Radiographer in disciplinary case

    A medic who worked in Oxford went berserk on a yachting holiday hosted by his best man, a disciplinary hearing was told today. Radiographer Ian Johnson's behaviour spiralled out of control while he was a guest on board a yacht off Padstow, in Cornwall

  • Archbishop leads mourners

    The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, led hundreds of mourners in paying their respects to the wife of an Oxford vicar. The funeral of 82-year-old Joan Margaret Cocke, known as Margaret, was held today at All Saints' Church in Lime Walk,

  • Lollipop lady's winning effort

    Oxford's very own Mrs Lollipop, who has helped children get to school safely for the past four decades, is to be honoured for her hard work. Val Hignell, 70, has helped children cross roads in Blackbird Leys for 40 years, since taking on the job in

  • Head gear and two potatoes

    Two egg-sized potatoes were peering out of the soil when I ventured over to the mucky patch this afternoon. They were crying to be prised out of the soil, so I did. Back at home I boiled up a pan of water and cooked both. Not exactly the best use of

  • Archbishop leads mourners

    The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, led hundreds of mourners in paying their respects to the wife of an Oxford vicar. The funeral of 82-year-old Joan Margaret Cocke, known as Margaret, was held today at All Saints' Church in Lime Walk,

  • Court liar loses perjury appeal

    A man who confessed in jail to a murder he had been cleared of has failed to get a conviction for lying in court about the killing overturned. Rickie Sanjuliano, then called Ricky Miell, had denied murdering Stephen Burton in a house in Cowley Road,

  • Beat officers get hi-tech help

    Police officers in Wantage and Abingdon were handed high-tech gadgets today in a bid to keep them on the streets for longer. Hand-held BlackBerry communication devices are being rolled out by Thames Valley Police to allow officers to answer calls, receive

  • Theatre cycle ride raises £39,000

    The chairman of the Oxford Playhouse board has raised £39,000 for the theatre after a marathon sponsored cycle ride. Graham Upton pedalled 1,125 miles around England in a two-week tour of provincial theatres. Mr Upton completed his cycle when he returned

  • Diviison 6: Abingdon end Rowant record

    Abingdon Vale 2nd thrashed Aston Rowant 2nd by 78 runs to shatter their hosts' 100 per cent winning start to the season. Skipper Dave Ward led from the front, playing some aggressive shots in his quickfire 71 before Michael Howe-Davies (75no) guided

  • Division 5: Wedderburn on song again

    In-form seamer Mike Wedderburn took 6-27 as Banbury Twenty 2nd bowled out Chearsleyfor 177 on their way to a win that took them top of the table. Russell Haynes (95) was by far the top scorer for the home side. Barry Grant hit an unbeaten 89 as Twenty

  • Division 3: Shepherd guides Bagpuize home

    Kingston Bagpuize appear to have turned the corner after making it two wins out of two at Hanborough. Rob Lovick (80) and Michael Dove (56) helped Hanborough to a competitive 204-9 on a pitch that offered plenty of help to the bowlers. Arthur Verdin

  • Division 2: Humpage sets up victory

    A classy 87 from Ben Humpage in bowler-friendly conditions set up Abingdon Vale's 29-run home win over Leighton Buzzard Town. The other Vale batsmen struggled against Antony Francis (5-70) and Tom Light (4-27) as they were bowled out for 190. Philip

  • Man charged with driving offences

    A man has been released on bail by police after a disturbance at a Kidlington retirement home. Dozens of pensioners were woken when police apprehended a man in their retirement block. About six police officers, including a dog handler, arrived

  • Today's local share prices (PM)

    AEA Technology 70 BMW 2556 Electrocomponents 150.75 Nationwide Accident Repair 140 Oxford Biomedica 23.25 Oxford Catalysts 168.5 Oxford Instruments 233.5 Reed Elsevier 586.25 RM 194.75 RPS Group 293.5 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley, Abingdon

  • Division 6: Damarchi demolishes rivals

    Ali Damarchi took 6-24 and Colin Allen 4-8 as Bourton Vale 2nd were bowled out for the humiliating score of just 35 in 21.4 overs at Wallingford. Yet between the innings, Vale would have fancied their chances after they had dismissed the home side for

  • Division 1: Jewell's ton in vain

    Aston Rowant's prolific opening batsman Alex Jewell hit a fine 113 in their top-of-the-table clash with leaders Bicester & North Oxford, before rain meant the match ended in a draw. Jewell's century and useful knocks of 44 by Tom Morgan and 40 not out

  • Fake notes taint fete

    Organisers of a fundraising village fete stung by counterfeit £20 notes have warned other communities to be on their guard this summer. The event at Great Milton, earlier this month, was hailed a great success - until six fake notes were

  • FOOTBALL: Loyal Luke to be rewarded

    Long-serving Abingdon Town player Luke Beauchamp is to be rewarded for his service with a testimonial match against an Oxford United XI at Culham Road on Saturday, July 19. The versatile Beauchamp, brother of Oxford United legend Joey, has played in

  • DARTS: Blackbird hit right note

    Blackbird Bar battled to a 5-4 win at Berinsfield Community Centre in Section 1 of the ladies' league in the Greene King Oxford & District Darts Association. Wins from Rose Collins, Chris Thompson and Shaz Thompson saw Blackbird race into a 3-0 lead

  • A Midsomer fan's dream

    Fans from all corners of the globe flocked to Midsomerland's county town of Causton - better known as Wallingford - for a weekend of indulgence. And the main attraction over the weekend was to see as many of the pretty Oxfordshire villages as they could

  • Dinosaur prints to go on show

    A collection of giant dinosaur footprints made more than 168 million years ago are to go on display at the Oxfordshire Museum in Woodstock. The prints, which were discovered at Viridor Waste Management's recycling centre and landfill site in Ardley,

  • GREYHOUNDS: Tuesday's Oxford runners

    7.35: Carrowkeal Ogie, Glencorrick Miss 2, Mahon Canyon 3, Miss Emily, GLENBRIEN URGE, West Ranger. 7.50: Time Cracker 3, SPICE PLEASE, Special Image, Start Dreaming, Zax Roman 2, Abelia. 8.05: Toms My Dad 2, Sweetest Millie 3, LAUGHAN ROAD, Broadacres

  • Church denies closure rumours

    An Oxford church is throwing open its doors for the day - to scotch rumours that it was burned to the ground. Temple Cowley United Reformed Church was the victim of an arson attack, which gutted two rooms of the building, on Christmas Day. But although

  • Hospital tests 'risk infection'

    A researcher from Oxford claims to have uncovered an underlying cause of the hospital superbug clostridium difficile. Orde Levinson has written a paper concluding that contaminated urine samples could lead to the indiscriminate prescription of broad-spectrum

  • Perjury appeal fails

    A man who "confessed" in jail to a murder he had been cleared of, but escaped retrial, has failed to get his conviction for lying in court about the killing overturned. Ricky Sanjuliano - then Ricky Miell - was acquitted in June, 1996, of the murder

  • High praise for college

    Faringdon Community College has become only the second secondary school in Oxfordshire to be rated as outstanding by education inspectors. The college, in Fernham Road, scored the highest rating it could in its latest Ofsted report. Cherwell School

  • 'We have turned the tide'

    Pupils, parents and staff at Stanton Harcourt Primary School are celebrating after it was named outstanding in an Ofsted inspection. The school, which has 78 pupils, is only the fourth school in the county, and the second primary school in Oxfordshire

  • Fake notes taint fete

    Organisers of a fundraising village fete stung by counterfeit £20 notes have warned other communities to be on their guard this summer. The event at Great Milton, earlier this month, was hailed a great success - until six fake notes were discovered

  • Going healthy

    People living on three Oxford estates will be given the chance to extend their life through healthier eating. Oxford Healthy Living Partnership has appointed a 'healthy living tsar' to spread the word about fruit, veg and nutrients in Barton, Rose Hill

  • Hollyoaks stars reveal soccer skills

    Actors from TV soap Hollyoaks proved they had the ball skills as well as the looks at a charity football match in Oxford. The actors thrashed Fox FM's team 7-3 in front of 2,000 people at Oxford United's Kassam Stadium on Saturday afternoon. A

  • Down the drain

    Spotted on a six-foot high advertisement, attached to the bus stop near Seacourt Tower at Botley, Oxford - Oakwood Drainage Systems, Sceptic tanks installed. Could there be any doubts left that we need to revert to teaching the three Rs? BRIAN

  • Britain betrayed

    Well done, the Irish, for voting 'no' to the EU treaty/constitution in the referendum they were allowed to have. All the west of Ireland was against it as people there are being stopped from earning a living because of EU directives. They are not

  • No dividends

    Your readers, especially those who are shareholders in the Unipart Group, may like to read this letter, following your story, Unipart make £19.2m profit (Oxford Mail, April 7). What was not reported was that half that profit was written off when Unipart

  • NHS plays God with our lives

    I read with interest the front-page article about Jenny Wheeler taking on the challenge of cancer victims' right to have Sunitinib, Postcode Lottery NHS (Oxford Mail, June 12). Oxfordshire Primary Care Trust committed a crime not having allowed Mrs

  • Hollyoaks stars reveal soccer skills

    Hunks from TV soap Hollyoaks proved they had the ball skills as well as the looks at a charity football match in Oxford. The actors thrashed Fox FM's 11 a side team 7-3 in front of 2,000 people at Oxford United's Kassam Stadium on Saturday afternoon

  • Get ready for the latest - a pump park

    There are plenty of kids razzing around on mountain bikes, but I never thought they ever used them for their intended purpose. I've always thought of mountain biking as a sport enjoyed mainly by men in their 20s and 30s. They can afford the £1,000 mountain

  • Students warned on deposit scam

    Police are warning students to be careful when they are looking for accommodation for the next academic year. Since the end of May, there have been ten occasions where students have paid a deposit to a fraudulent landlord for a flat or a room and subsequently

  • High-speed rail study launched

    New high-speed railway lines could see 200mph trains linking Oxford with London in about 30 minutes, after Network Rail said today it was looking at ways of increasing capacity to meet rising demand. A feasibility study into brand new lines, suitable

  • Hamilton aims to bounce back

    Lewis Hamilton is adamant he will not let his head drop, no matter how many times the stewards hit him with penalties. Going into the Santander British Grand Prix on July 6, Hamilton finds himself ten points adrift of new championship leader Felipe

  • Buses tackle student influx

    A special fleet has been launched by Oxford Bus Company to cope with the annual influx of foreign language students to the city. It is hoped the Q buster buses will ease pressure on the existing services and make life more comfortable for the

  • Buses tackle student influx

    A special fleet has been launched by Oxford Bus Company to cope with the annual influx of foreign language students to the city. It is hoped the Q buster buses will ease pressure on the existing services and make life more comfortable for the company's

  • Cops with 'bodycams' hit Banbury

    Police officers in Banbury have become the first to be issued with "bodycams" they can wear on their chest. Thames Valley Police has 120 of the mini cameras, paid for with a Home Office grant and funding from Crime and Disorder Partnerships in the region

  • Woman dies after road crash

    A woman has died almost a month after she was injured in a road crash. The 33-year-old woman suffered serious injuries after her blue Hyundai Coupe SE left the road and crashed into a ditch at Stoke Lyne, north of Bicester, at 11.10pm on Wednesday, May

  • Dryer leads to house fire

    A tumble dryer caused a house fire in Bicester today. The appliance set light to a plastic shelter and rubbish at the rear of a house in Buckingham Road at about 10.50am. Firefighters from Bicester, Kidlington and Banbury attended the blaze. No-one

  • Fire damages three cars

    Three cars and a tree caught fire in Didcot early today. Firefighters and police were called to a car park at the end of Laburnum Grove at 1.45am and the scene was made safe by 7.20am. The cause of the fire is not yet known.

  • Six injured in crash

    Six people were injured in a three-car pile up in Abingdon on Saturday night. At about 9.30pm, a blue Renault Clio, a silver Ford Focus and a blue Volkswagen Golf collided in Drayton Road. The road was closed until 1am and five of the injured people

  • Cars and tree on fire

    Three cars and a tree were damaged by fire in Didcot early today. Firefighters and police were called to a car park at the end of Laburnum Grove at 1.45am and the scene was made safe by 7.20am. The cause of the fire is not yet known.

  • High-speed rail study launched

    New high-speed railway lines could see 200mph trains linking Oxford with London in about 30 minutes, after Network Rail said today it was looking at ways of increasing capacity to meet rising demand. A feasibility study into brand new lines, suitable

  • Six hurt in three-car crash

    Police are appealing for information following a collision on the Drayton Road in Abingdon on Saturday night. At about 9.30pm three cars collided, a blue Renault Clio, silver Ford Focus and a blue Volkswagon Golf. As a result of the collision the Drayton

  • Missing Marston woman found by police

    A woman who went missing in the Marston area of Oxford was found last night. The police helicopter and a public address system was used in the search for the pensioner. Thames Valley Police have thanked the public for their help in the search for the

  • Death probe

    Police have launched a murder inquiry after the disappearance of a Banbury-born teenager. Simon Everitt, 17, was last seen on Saturday, June 7, in Gorleston, near Great Yarmouth, Norfolk. Two men aged 24 and 19, and a 39-year-old woman, have been

  • 'L-Driver' by deception

    A 24-year-old man has admitted posing as a learner driver in order to take other people's tests. Oxford Crown Court heard that Palwinder Johal, of Warwick Crescent in Hayes, Middlesex, dishonestly tried to obtain eight theory test certificates, lying

  • Charity in the pink

    TWO-THOUSAND Oxfordshire women looked pretty in pink at the county's final Race for Life event yesterday. Mums, grans, aunts and daughters turned out in force for the 5km run at Heythrop Park, near Chipping Norton, in aid of Cancer Research UK. Many

  • Crowds enjoy free festival

    THOUSANDS of music lovers descended on a tiny field in Charlbury for this year's Riverside Festival. It was the 13th event held at the Mill Field - but the bad luck held off and people turned out in their droves to enjoy an eclectic array of music

  • Three fires

    Firefighters were called to three fires in Cowley within 20 minutes in the early hours of Saturday. A car and a van were destroyed by fire in Rymers Lane at about 2am. Shortly afterwards, a burning pile of wooden pallets in Cricket Road spread to

  • 20mph limit a step closer

    Oxford's bid to become the first place in the UK to introduce a city-wide 20mph speed limit has taken a step closer. At a meeting of county councillors last week, a motion to support the introduction of a blanket 20mph speed limit on non-arterial

  • Assault case

    An 18-year-old man appeared at Oxford Crown Court to deny affray, actual bodily harm and two counts of common assault. Hayden Griffiths, of Cherry Close, Kidlington, was given conditional bail and ordered to return to court for sentencing on a date

  • Loads of fun

    OXFORD'S third annual Mela, an event celebrating the city's cultural diversity, was hailed a great success. An estimated 5,000 people took advantage of the good weather to visit the event in Cowley Marsh Park yesterday. They enjoyed everything from

  • Hundreds embrace wind power

    HUNDREDS of renewable energy lovers embraced wind technology in an unusual world record attempt in Watchfield, near Faringdon. Nearly 400 people set a record for the biggest turbine hug at the Westmill Windfarm on Saturday. The event was the culmination

  • No spells 'no' for eco-town

    PROTESTERS opposed to plans to build an eco-town near Weston-on-the-Green spelled out the word 'No' in human form in a bid to make their opinions heard yesterday. More than 500 people gathered at Weston-on-the-Green playing fields to hammer home their

  • RESULTS: June 21

    THE OXFORD TIMES CHERWELL LEAGUE. Division 1. Banbury 2nd 167 (A Sabin 72, S Wijeratne 3-29, S Miller 3-43), Shipton 171-3 (S Wijeratne 86no, T Senior 33). Banbury XX 258-7 (D Clark 85no, R Hawkins 53, J Wright 38, S Oliver 4-74), Oxford 2nd 170

  • Fly-tipping fight gets results

    OXFORDSHIRE is cleaning up its act with fly-tippers seemingly on the backfoot. Tougher enforcement - including a network of hidden cameras and more prosecutions - has seen a drop in fly-tipping across the county. And that comes despite a switch in

  • Flytip fight gets results

    Oxfordshire is cleaning up its act with fly-tippers seemingly on the backfoot. Tougher enforcement - including a network of hidden cameras and more prosecutions - has seen a drop in fly-tipping across the county. And that comes despite a switch in

  • Tip still too high to conquer

    First the good news: Fly-tipping appears to be on the slide in Oxfordshire, with fewer recorded incidents of dumped rubbish. Now the bad news: Idiots still blight our countryside with fridges, freezers and all manner of household waste. Two years

  • Police want base on estate

    The new police inspector for south-east Oxford says opening a police base in Blackbird Leys is one of his priorities for the area. Insp Andy Storey has taken charge in the Blackbird Leys, Greater Leys, Rose Hill, Littlemore and Iffley neighbourhoods

  • Youths star in Shakespeare film

    Young actors took to the streets of Oxford to film a modern adaptation of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. The budding actors, from the city-based Youngstar TV and Film School, all got their parts in the film after taking place in open auditions in

  • Parents' joy as play area saved

    Mothers and children on an Oxford estate are celebrating after developers were told they would not be allowed to bulldoze a play area for houses. After months of uncertainty, Sermon Close play area in Risinghurst has been saved. Oxford City Council's

  • Plaque planned for soldier

    An Oxfordshire war hero who served in both world wars is to be remembered with a blue plaque. Chipping Norton Town Council has agreed for a plaque in tribute to General Sir Montagu Stopford to be placed at the town's war memorial. Gen Sir Stopford

  • Flood victims to get more help

    The Government's floods recovery minister John Healey has promised families who are still out of their homes after last summer's flooding they will not be hit with council tax bills. Councils have been able to offer council tax exemptions to households