A “PARASITIC criminal” defrauded an 83-year-old Parkinson’s sufferer of thousands of pounds and stole cash from his own elderly relative. Matthew Pratley “deliberately targeted elderly, frail and vulnerable people” as he took about £7,000 from
A NEW pupil referral unit for children who have been excluded or need intensive support could be set up in Oxfordshire under the Government’s Free School drive. The educational consultant behind the plans said the Bicester school would cater for pupils
A LANDLORD is gearing up to play pool non-stop for 24 hours to fulfill a last request from a pub regular. Paul Earnshaw, 30, is hoping to raise cash to help a young mum Nichola Southey, 38, who has been unconscious since she suffered a severe asthma
CULTURE-lovers came together to celebrate the start of their town’s month-long arts festival. The annual Wantage Summer Festival is now in its 13th year, and hundreds of people enjoyed the launch of this year Morris dancing and music from the Wantage
Police are appealing for witnesses to a fatal crash on the A40 at Barnard Gate, near Witney, this afternoon. The three-vehicle collision, which involved a white Mercedes Sprinter van, a grey Vauxhall Movano van and a grey Vauxhall Meriva car, happened
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A man in his 70s has died after a head-on collision earlier today on the A40. The man died at the scene, near Witney, after his Vauxhall car crashed into a van. Another van was also involved. The driver of the first van was taken to the John Radcliffe
The A40 is at a standstill around Witney following a serious collision. Road closures have been put in place around the area, including on the A40 slip at Oxford Hill. Three vehicles were involved in the crash - at about 2.11pm - and there are understood
OCA League Seamer Matt Green and off-spinner Jack Simpson combined to rip through Marcham as Minster Lovell cruised to a 151-run victory in the second round of the Airey Cup. Batting first, Minster tucked into some friendly Marcham bowling to post 211
OCA League BEN Taunton hammered a magnificent 137 to help Chinnor to an 85-run victory over Chalgrove in the second round of the Steve Dixon Memorial Cup. Batting first, Chinnor rattled up 272 all out with Taunton leading the way. David Coates then
OCA League ETHAN Chapman was the hero for Freeland 2nd as they cruised into the quarter-finals of the Osberton Radiators Cup with a nine-wicket win at Chadlington 2nd. Chapman’s superb figures of 6-21 helped to restrict the home side to just 98-8 from
TWO centenarians celebrated their 100th birthday with friends and family from as far away as New Zealand. Elizabeth Hawkins’s nephew Billy Rhodes, from Spain, and niece Valerie Hair, from New Zealand, were among the guests who celebrated her birthday
HUNDREDS gathered in the centre of Wallingford for the annual Mayor’s Sunday Parade. The parade featured representatives from local organisations including RAF Benson, the Royal British Legion, scouts, guides, the Air Training Corps and army cadets.
A QUICK-THINKING RAF Benson serviceman threw a smoking grenade from a helicopter to save its crew during a dramatic incident in Afghanistan. And Flight Sergeant Mark Alden-Court has now been honoured for his bravery. The Ministry of Defence said he
OXFORD’S Green Lord Mayor revealed she has the courage of her convictions on a “slow travel” civic trip to Europe. Elise Benjamin has shunned air travel for environmental reasons and stuck to that principle on a 12-hour overland trip to Oxford’s twin
The Oxfordshire youth team ended the Inter-Counties League season with a 10-7 victory over Buckinghamshire at Rileys in Cowley. The under 18s went down 5-4 in a match that could have gone either way, their wins coming from Jordan Robinson, Simon Allmond
BANBURY: Fire crews tackled a blaze at the Co-op store in Chatsworth Drive. Two fire engines were called to the scene at 1.57am on Friday morning and extinguished the fire. No one was injured. The cause of the fire is being investigated by Thames Valley
WANTAGE: The second Wantage Children’s Day will be held at Manor Road Memorial Park on Sunday, not Saturday as reported in yesterday’s Oxford Mail. We apologise for the error. About 2,000 people attended the first event last year.
MP SPORTS CHERWELL LEAGUE Division 5 Didcot halted Tiddington 2nd’s three-match winning streak in a dramatic finish. John Mackie hit 68 while Julian Hitchman took 5-39 and James Taylor 4-31 in Tiddington’s 165 all out. John
MP SPORTS CHERWELL LEAGUE Divisions 6-10 MATTHEW Butcher claimed figures of 5-10 to set up Abingdon Vale 2nd’s ten-wicket victory over Bledlow Ridge in Division 6. Butcher and Luke Mitchell (4-29) skittled Ridge for 73 before Michael
OXFORD dons are today set to debate a motion of no confidence in Universities Minister David Willetts. If the motion were to be passed by the Oxford University Council, Oxford University would be the first in the country to express its concerns about
COTSWOLD Line Rail commuters were back on track yesterday after major improvements in West Oxfordshire were completed on time. Four miles of new double track between Charlbury and Ascott-under-Wychwood, new signals controlled from a digital
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Bicester Football Club secured their first victory in the Greene King ODDA Summer League by seeing off Premier Section opponents Goodlake Arms 6-3. A brilliant start paved ther way for their success as Sean Holly, Keith Bedding, Joe Palmer
AN anti-violence campaigner has urged anyone who knows the identity of the serial sex attacker targeting women in Oxford to give him up. Clare Cochrane, of Oxford Reclaim the Night, said friends of the attacker must call the police because they “have
Amateur jockey Emily Jones is swapping her silks for a microphone in a bid to become Britain’s first female racing commentator. The 39-year-old, from Fawler, near Wantage, has won her way through to the last eight of a national competition
There have been some interesting responses to the police’s Operation Blade on Saturday night. While police may not have found any knives, they did seem to pick up some interesting reactions, as we report in today’s Oxford Mail. A concern
FOR a security guard attacked with knives three times in a decade, the high-profile police clampdown on blades is a welcome development. Dozens of officers descended on the streets of East Oxford, Blackbird Leys and the city centre on Saturday
A FATHER who stole a rare first edition Harry Potter book from an exhibition at an art gallery was sent to prison yesterday. Kevin McGirr, from Kidlington, removed the sought-after book from under a Perspex box while it was on display at a Woodstock
THE head of one of Greek mythology’s most fearsome creatures is casting a beady eye over Oxford, thanks to the imagination of a Cumnor schoolboy. Thomas Lydford-Brace, pictured, a pupil at Chandlings School, Bagley Wood, came up with the winning
MP SPORTS CHERWELL LEAGUE Division 3 STEVE Roberts produced his second seven-wicket haul of the season as Oxford Downs 2nd swept aside Hanborough to maintain their 100 per cent winning start. Roberts made it 20 wickets in three weeks by taking
MP SPORTS CHERWELL LEAGUE Division 4 Steve Slade was too wily for Wallingford, taking 4-7 as Cumnor 2nd wrapped up an 88-run victory. The previous two matches at the Hithercroft produced first innings totals of 79 and 80, so Cumnor’s 192-9 was
Oxfordshire's hopes of success in the Speedy Hire UK Open were dashed at the first-round stage. All four players, who had fought through the Rileys regional qualifying rounds, fell at the first hurdle at the Reebok Stadium in Bolton. County player Jon
Tesco will make its case for the burnt-out Fox and Hounds pub on Abingdon Road to be converted into a Metro store at a public inquiry tomorrow. The supermarket chain is appealing after Oxford City Council planning officers’ turned down a planning application
A woman suffered minor injuries this morning after her scooter was involved in a collision with a car on the A34. The accident took place at 8.40am on the northbound carriageway between the Abingdon North and Hinksey Hill interchanges.
MP SPORTS CHERWELL LEAGUE Division 1 Cumnor skipper Sam Jones hit a sparkling century to take his side to an eight-wicket win over Bourton Vale and third place in the table. Vale chose to bat and posted a respectable 235-8 through Ben Hughes (82
MY PARTNER has just spent in excess of a thousand pounds building up his new Audax bike. He brought a lovely frame from Dawes, Reynolds 631 steel tubing and carbon fibre forks. He added a Shimano 105 group set and many other pricey components. Admittedly
Oxfam recently warned that the world was entering an era of permanent food crisis, as demand outpaces food production. Currently, one in seven people on the planet go hungry every day while one in four adults in England are classified as obese. Oxfam
HAVING followed Oxford Speedway for more than 50 years at the stadium, I was saddened to read that the site may be used for housing. I would like to see Speedway re-introduced at Sandy Lane, but if this is not to happen I feel that the arena is too valuable
MP SPORTS CHERWELL LEAGUE Graham Scott's Match of the Day Oxford Downs continued their march towards the Division 1 title on Saturday – but came within one wicket of suffering their first defeat. In a low-scoring affair at Great & Little Tew,
MP SPORTS CHERWELL LEAGUE Division 2 Josh Hill took 9-32 in an outstanding spell for Banbury 2nd that condemned arch rivals Banbury Twenty to a six-wicket defeat. Hill, a 16-year-old off-spinner and Bucks youngster, produced his stunning figures
I have a long haired Jack Russell who is approx 10-years-old. For a very long time now he has been suffering with his ears. He goes mad to scratch them, rubs them along the concrete floor and basically just scratches until he has made the outside
THE recent staggering news that the number of alcohol-related hospital admissions has exceeded one million for the first time, was mind-boggling. This is no less than a 12 per cent increase on last year and more than double the total for 2002-2003.
AS USUAL, the British public turned the other cheek to suck up to President Obama and his wife on their recent visit – forgetting all he has said and done to our country in the past three years. Without a shadow of a doubt, Barack Obama has been the
Mick Heavey (Oxford Mail letters, May 26) quotes the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust, and asks if I could comment on the organisation. Before 2007, this group was called the Game Conservancy Trust. Its original name makes its purpose crystal clear
LABOUR council leader, Bob Price, defends Oxford City Council for its use of a credit card to pay off bills to companies who either supplied or did work for the council, saying that it speeded up payments (Oxford Mail, June 2). He goes on further to
A 34-year-old man has been charged with criminal damage, in relation to the graffiti tag ‘Spend’. Brook Purvis, of Whittington Place, Carterton, is alleged to have damaged properties in Oxford, Witney and Carterton. Purvis has also been charged with
Oxfordshire's slim hopes of reaching the MCCA Trophy quarter-finals ended after Hertfordshire defeated Dorset by eight wickets. Having already completed their Group 3 fixtures, Oxon needed Dorset to pip Herts by three runs or less to progress as runners-up
Plans for the biggest housing development in Oxford since Greater Leys was built will go on show tomorrow. Residents are invited to the drop-in session, at Mortimer Hall, Old Marston, where they can ask Oxford City Councill officers questions about the
Sir – I was shocked to read (Report, June 2) that the people who clean First Great Western trains are going on strike. I hadn’t realised that First Great Western used any cleaning services. Nigel Clarke, Oxford
Oxford United’s top new signing, Michael Duberry, believes his age will not be a hindrance when he returns to English football next season – because he has kept himself healthy and fit. The former Chelsea and Leeds United star, who has had a successful
A MINI worker selling stolen parts from the factory on eBay was caught by an investigator scouring the web. Safouane Selatnia was found by police with 26 amplifiers and 10 air-conditioning pumps worth £24,876. The 39-year-old was given a suspended jail
THE wraps have come off the fastest production Mini ever made. The Cowley-built Coupe is a two-seater sports car which promises to blend performance with the practicality of a large boot. Bosses at the Mini plant revealed details of the car in advance
A FIFTH woman has been sexually assaulted in Oxford in 10 days. Victims have now helped police construct an e-fit picture and officers are now calling on the public, particularly in East Oxford, to help them catch the short, olive-skinned man
Today we report on the latest in the worrying spate of sex attacks in East Oxford and Cowley. A woman fell victim in Westbury Crescent yesterday morning. It was the most recent in a line of attacks which have taken place in the past 10 days, and the
A CITY nightclub is offering women a free taxi home following the recent attacks. Five women have been assaulted in the past 10 days in Oxford and police believe the same man could be responsible. Now managers at No.9 nightclub, in High
A MAN stormed into his ex-girlfriend’s flat with a baseball bat after she sent him suggestive text messages about other men. Jack Hogan assaulted Kim Brinton in her Didcot flat and pushed her “by the throat against a cupboard” before “slapping
TWO pensioners who survived cancer are to thank the NHS by abseiling off a hospital building for charity. Great grandparents Brian, 87, and Audrey Berryman, 88, have beaten cancer three times between them. Now, to mark 65 years since
A CONSERVATION project in Adderbury has been given a £50,000 boost thanks to a waste firm. Villagers launched a £70,000 appeal last November to restore the 18th century Adderbury Lakes, believed to have been first designed by the renowned gardener Capability
