Archive

  • Park by school and you will be fined

    POLICE have warned drivers who park badly outside two Oxford schools they will continue to be hit with fines when the summer term starts. Officers are issuing £30 fines outside St Christopher’s Primary in Temple Road, Cowley, and Oxford Spires

  • Didcot experts to restore old engine

    DIDCOT Railway Centre has launched a £14,000 appeal to return a unique 1857 steam engine to full working order. If successful, the 0-4-0 WT Shannon will be the oldest working standard gauge steam locomotive in the western hemisphere and possibly the

  • Choir needs singers

    CHILDREN in Banbury with a talent for singing are being urged to join a new choir and belt out their favourite tunes. The community project, called Pop Choir on the Hill, is being organised by the OYAP Trust – the county’s youth arts charity. It is

  • Cornbury Festival offers support to charities

    THREE Oxfordshire charities will benefit from this year’s Cornbury Festival. The West Oxfordshire music festival’s nominated charities will be the Banbury Young Homeless Project, Respite Nursing for Oxfordshire’s Sick Youngsters (Rosy) and Oxford’s Helen

  • Local share prices (PM)

    AEA Technology 4.5 BMW 5053 Electrocomponents 266.8 Nationwide Accident Repair 103 Oxford Biomedica 5.8 Oxford Catalysts 97.5 Oxford Instruments 750 Reed Elsevier 536 RM 148.5 RPS Group 207.8 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley, Abingdon

  • Boys robbed of cycles at Shotover Park

    Police are appealing for witnesses after two teenagers had their cycles stolen from them in Shotover Park yesterday evening. The boys, aged 13 and 14, were at the bicycle jumps at the park, when they were approached by a group of eight men, aged between

  • Village hall noise dispute prompts protest petition

    RESIDENTS in Kennington are gathering a petition against attempts to put a noise abatement order on their village hall. Birthday parties, pantomimes, and 40th birthday parties held at Kennington village hall could be halted, because council officers

  • Call to close off bridge drug den

    DRUG addicts are still congregating under an Oxford bridge despite residents calling for the area to be zoned off for more than five year. Since 2006, residents have campaigned for two areas under Blackbird Leys Road bridge to be made unaccessible after

  • U's chairman scores twice

    OXFORD United supporters got a surprise when club chairman Kelvin Thomas turned out for their fans’ team – and bagged two goals. The United chief played the full 90 minutes up front for Raging Fever FC against a Wycombe Wanderers supporters’ team and

  • Charity needs funds for café

    A café for homeless people has found a new base after being served notice by Oxford City Council earlier this year. It must now raise nearly £200,000 in order the bring the premises up to scratch. The Gatehouse has been offering food

  • DARTS: Doubles trouble for Oxon Youth

    Missed doubles cost Oxfordshire dear as they went down 12-5 to Kent in the Inter-Counties Youth League at Rileys, in Cowley. The match was closer than the scoreline suggests, with many of the games going to a deciding leg The under 18s, including

  • Oxford loses student housing court battle

    OXFORD City Council’s High Court bid to stop parts of the city being over-run by student homes has failed. Councils from Milton Keynes, Oxford and Newcastle-upon-Tyne had challenged new regulations introduced by Housing Minister Grant Shapps

  • Hospital promises changes after patient's death

    MENTAL health bosses have vowed to do more for the physical well being of their patients after a 29-year-old man died in their care. Michael Russell, an artist and writer, died after developing deep vein thrombosis while wheelchair-bound at the Ashurst

  • COMMENT: Truly tragic story

    THE story of Michael Russell is a truly tragic one. Anyone with a loved one suffering from mental health problems must have a list of extra worries. But for the story to end with them dying of a preventable pulmonary embolism must be unbelievably hard

  • RUGBY UNION: Blacklock doubles up

    Oxfordshire Shield HOLDERS Alchester will meet Blue Boar in the final after a 63-6 demolition of Wheatley. Alchester took the lead on three minutes when lock Matt Dye charged down a clearance to run in the opening try. Wheatley hit back with a penalty

  • RUGBY UNION: Bicester bonus

    BB&O Premier Division BICESTER earned a bonus-point in a 23-17 defeat at Drifters. Fly half James Cotter kicked Drifters ahead with a penalty. Bicester brothers Dan and Adam Spencer combined for the latter to score, the former converting. Dan Spencer

  • RUGBY UNION: Beaven's magnificent seven

    DAVE Beaven kicked seven out of seven conversions as Harwell saw off Grove 2nd 49-31 in Division 1 South. Harwell battled back from 10-0 down, thanks to try doubles from captain Andy Lee, John Froud-Davis and Rob Douglas. Rob Froud-Williams was their

  • HOCKEY: Locals scoop three titles

    No fewer than 765 young players competed in 250 games over two glorious days in the Rover Oxford Festival which has become one of the UK’s largest. Hosted by Rover Oxford at Cokethorpe School and Witney ATP, teams came from as far as Banbridge Academy

  • RUGBY UNION: Comben passes 200-mark

    National 2 South FULL back James Comben passed 200 points for the season in Henley Hawks’ 62-7 victory over Lydney. Comben scored a try and kicked seven conversions and a penalty, while centre Danny Wells and fly half Tom Allen crossed twice. Hawks

  • RUGBY UNION: Chinnor crushed by champions

    National 3 South West CHINNOR suffered their heaviest defeat of the season, going down 64-13 at champions Hartpury College. The nine-try loss saw Chinnor drop to fifth place on points difference. Flanker Will Foden put Hartpury ahead with a fifth-minute

  • HOCKEY: Wallingford send closest rivals packing

    Champions Wallingford Ladies saw off closest rivals Oxford Hawks 2nd 2-0 in their penultimate Trysports 3-Counties League Premier 1 game of the season at Banbury Road North. On a hot day, goals from the division’s top scorer Kirsty Ross and Tazz

  • FOOTBALL: Williams seeks a Didcot booster

    Didcot Town manager Ady Williams says his players can banish Saturday’s defeat at Swindon Supermarine when they travel to high-fliers Cambridge City tonight. The 2-0 loss saw Didcot slip into the Zamaretto Southern League Premier Division relegation

  • Geary aiming to spring surprise

    Boss Gordon Geary says Kidlington are determined to give it their best shot against holders Oxford United in the Oxfordshire Senior Cup final at the Kassam Stadium tonight (7.45). It is the first time the Uhlsport Hellenic League Premier

  • HOCKEY: Hawks girls pipped in national plate

    Oxford Hawks under 16 girls finished runners-up in the England national plate finals in Manchester. Hawks defeated Bowdon 2-1 in their first game, with goals coming from Sophie Bennett and Abigail Flory. Following a short break, they then took on

  • UKIP's Farage reveals 'Pilot said he would kill me'

    UKIP leader Nigel Farage yesterday told jurors the pilot of a plane that crashed with him on board had threatened to kill him. The South East Euro-MP was giving evidence to Oxford Crown Court at the trial of Justin Adams. Adams, from Buckland, near

  • RUGBY UNION: Defeat sees Wallingford in mire

    South West 1 East WALLINGFORD’S 55-12 defeat at Marlow left them in major relegation trouble. While Wallingford visit title-chasing Amersham & Chiltern in their final game, drop-zone rivals Bletchley and Reading Abbey play relegated Oakmeadians and

  • Stealth tax on waste

    WE have received a missive from Oxford City Council extolling us to recycle more waste. It went on to say, however, that we are to be charged the sum of £35 per annum for a brown wheelie bin (and non-reusable compost bag) to put garden waste in. We

  • Roads to success

    THE county council, having found some money to spend in the current financial year, has done a marvellous job in totally resurfacing Rippington Drive, Fairfax Avenue and part of Mortimer Drive. I guess, after that, the money then just ran out. However

  • On the scrapheap

    I WRITE in reply to the letter by Michael Clark about the smelting of iron from our scrapped ships. We used to do the smelting but the 1980s government shut what was then a new smelting plant in Cleveland; it was only 18 months old and cost £60m. The

  • Strange attitude to guns

    WHAT a strange letter from Steve Chandler (Oxford Mail, March 31) regarding children having shotgun licences. “Why all the concern?” he asks, and “has anyone known of a death because of this?” In the same issue of the paper was reported a recent shooting

  • Don't miss chance to have your say in May

    WITH local government elections taking place, as well as the UK-wide referendum on the voting system used to elect MPs, Thursday, May 5, promises to be a big day for voters. In our role as the independent elections and referendum watchdog, we’re helping

  • Worley banned

    Oxford United will be without defender Harry Worley for Saturday’s trip to Accrington Stanley and the following week’s home clash with leaders Chesterfield after he was booked for the tenth time this season in the 2-2 draw with Wycombe. Any player picking

  • RUGBY UNION: Banbury battered

    Midlands 1 West BANBURY Bulls suffered an 86-11 defeat at second-placed Sutton Coldfield. The relegated visitors conceded 14 tries, the first coming from centre Jonathan Raistrick on two minutes. Banbury fly half Mike Smith replied with a penalty

  • Ask the Vet: What is causing swollen knuckles?

    Q Two of my chickens are getting swollen knuckles in their feet. One bird seems so painful he is reluctant to walk. What is this? R. Roberts, Witney, Oxford A This could be ‘bumble foot’ which is a bacterial infection which causes abscesses in the

  • On Yer Bike: Riding the towpaths without a care... or a permit

    I AM not a serious road biker and I prefer linen to lycra. I also feel a little bit of suspension can get you a long way off-road, so last week I spent the glorious sunny evenings renewing my love of the waterways on my mountain bike. On Thursday I took

  • Garden waste fees unavoidable

    THANK you for highlighting Oxford's new pay-for garden waste scheme (Oxford Mail, April 6). Unfortunately the Government cuts have forced the city council to charge £35 a year (or £1.34 a fortnight) for the garden waste recycling service, but

  • Real alternatives

    IN last month’s protest march against Government cuts there was talk of an ‘alternative’. After 19 years of Tory power, 13 years of Labour and now more Tory control, aided and abetted by the LibDems, there does not seem to have been much difference of

  • Thanks to JR staff

    THROUGH your columns may I thank the staff at the John Radcliffe Hospital. Having been diagnosed as needing a quadruple bypass operation, I was admitted to the cardiothoracic ward, and the procedure was a complete success. I want to say thank you to

  • PM 'misleading' over Oxford University black student stats

    OXFORD University has hit back at the Prime Minister for quoting “highly misleading” figures on the number of black students admitted to the prestigious institution. David Cameron had said it was “disgraceful” that only one black student began studying

  • Oxford artists hope seeds will hop to it!

    ARTISTS have installed a sculpture to help hops grow on an Oxford estate. Tiffany Black, left, and Leora Brook, second left, pictured with Catherine Gibb and Terry Kirkby, unveiled the 20ft-high frame at Rose Hill Allotments, in Lenthall Road, yesterday

  • Crash causes M40 delays

    A crash involving four vehicles today caused delays for drivers heading towards London on the M40. The collision happened between junction 6 and junction 5 at Stokenchurch. Delays of 25 minutes are reported. An earlier accident

  • Alfie: It's not good enough

    Alfie Potter feels Oxford United should have done better in their first season back in the Football League. The winger, who returned to the team and scored the opening goal in last Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Wyc-ombe, believes the players should

  • Berinsfield gran strips off to help heroes

    WHEN grandmother Barbara Witts decided to raise money for injured British troops, she wanted to make a real impact. So for the first time in her life, the 68-year-old from Berinsfield bared all for a charity calendar – and now says she will do it again

  • RUGBY UNION: Oxford prove not so grand

    Newbury Stags 72, Oxford 10 OXFORD were overrun by their committed hosts in a Southern Counties North clash that saw them concede 1000 points for the season. The heavy defeat keeps Oxford just two points above the drop zone, but in most seasons their

  • RUGBY UNION: Hancock stays positive

    Oxford head coach Alan Hancock was not too downhearted, despite their heavy defeat to Newbury Stags. Hancock said: “The scoreline didn’t really reflect the game. “A lack of numbers let us down. “I was happy with our forwards and the set-piece was solid

  • Man injured in Banbury fracas

    Police today appealed for further witnesses who may have seen an incident in Banbury in which a man sustained an injury to his head. The incident happened between 10.50pm and 11.15pm on Friday as a group of people got involved in public disorder around

  • RUGBY UNION: Grove lay down the Law

    Southern Counties North TWO tries from Ben Law helped Grove defeat Broadmoor Staff 22-5 at Cane Lane. Good work from wing Gareth Hudson allowed centre Law to go over for his first try on 23 minutes. Broadmoor deservedly levelled with a try before Grove

  • Ministry refuses to reveal Oxford bail hostel locations

    SUSPECTED criminals are currently being housed in two bail hostels in Oxford – but officials will not identify where they are. The Ministry of Justice confirmed it has two premises in the city, run along the same lines as the proposed hostel in Headley

  • COMMENT: Law-abiding residents must come first

    IT IS true that you can’t always choose your neighbours. But you should be able to make a well-informed decision about the type of area and the type of people you are likely to live near. It is possible to pick a street, for example, full of family-sized

  • Masked axeman gets 30 years for killing mother and son

    AN AXE-WIELDING masked killer who murdered his ex-partner and her son was last night beginning a prison sentence of at least 30 years. Michael Kelly donned a horror mask and lay in wait for former lover Sally Cox to return from walking her

  • Hearse tested on new repat route

    VILLAGERS have raised concerns about speed humps and narrow streets along the proposed repatriation route in Brize Norton. Oxfordshire County Council released the suggested route for the repatriations from RAF Brize Norton last Monday after testing the

  • War is declared on obstructed streets

    CAMPAIGNERS have revealed some of the “appalling” obstructions faced by pedestrians in Oxford. Members of the Oxford Pedestrians’ Association (OxPA) went around the city centre on Saturday and tied 20m worth of yellow ribbon around items which