Archive

  • ATHLETICS: England bags UK title

    OXFORD City athlete Hannah England won the UK 1500m title for a second year running after holding off rival Lisa Dobriskey at Birmingham. The 24-year-old clocked 4mins 7.05secs to overtake Dobriskey at the finish and win the Aviva UK Championships and

  • Summer swimmers warned of river hazards

    IT MAYBE hot out there, but watch out when you cool down. That’s the message from the Environment Agency as it warns people to take care around water this summer. The agency warned of hazards such as unexpectedly cold water and strong

  • Campaign to halt housing plan for disused allotments

    DISUSED allotments in Littlemore must be saved from housing development, campaigners have said. They claim Oxford City Council’s proposal for homes on East Minchery Farm would rob residents of vital green space. The site – close to Falcon Close in Blackbird

  • School reading scheme needs volunteers

    A CHARITY that sends volunteer readers into primary schools has launched a recruitment drive to help Oxfordshire overcome its child literacy problem. Assisted Reading for Children in Oxfordshire (ARCh) already sends 180 people to help 600 children in

  • Festival fry-ups set to boost school

    PARENTS and teachers at a village school are gearing up to feed thousands of festivalgoers to raise valuable funds. Next month Cropredy School will be transformed into a field kitchen for three days to cook breakfasts for about 3,000 people attending

  • Brewery to appeal council decision

    A BREWERY is refusing to give up in its fight to turn a disused pub into a house. Permission to turn the General Elliot pub in South Hinksey into a house was refused earlier this month. But now its owner, the Vale Brewery Company, has decided to appeal

  • Paramedics second best

    Oxfordshire’s ambulance service has the second best emergency response times in the county. South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS) covers the counties of Hampshire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire and handles about 500,000 emergency calls

  • County to hold family-friendly walkabouts

    A SERIES of new family-friendly walks across Oxfordshire, ideal for pushchair and wheelchair users, are now being highlighted online. There are 40 routes for walkers of all ages, which take in a range of landscapes including meadows, woodlands

  • Fair in forest

    A forest fair will take place in Foxburrow Wood, Crawley Road, Witney, on September 4. The Wychwood Forest Fair will run from 11am to 5pm and have stalls, bands, entertainment and country craft demonstrations. The event attracts 4,000 people and organisers

  • 1000th person gets chance of free loft work

    ONE lucky householder will get the chance to get their home insulated for free to mark the 1,000th customer in a Bicester-only scheme. As part of the eco town cash given to Cherwell Diistrict Council by the Government, town residents are being

  • Tequila plant could be fuel

    AGAVE, the desert plant used to make the Mexican drink tequila, could cut vehicle emissions by being used as a biofuel, say Oxford University researchers. It grows well in dry or marginal land, so would not displace crops, unlike corn used to produce

  • Bicester stages its first military proms

    BICESTER will pay a fitting tribute to the country’s Armed Forces when the town stages its first military proms. Taking place in Garth Park, the Band of the Royal Logistic Corps will headline alongside its famous Drumming Corps. Regular BBC

  • Parents hope skater day will inspire others

    THE family of a popular skater who died in a car crash hopes to inspire other youngsters to try in-line skating. Neil Webb, 19, of Spruce Drive, Bicester, was a passenger in Ryan Naylor’s Citroen Saxo when it crashed head-on with a BMW in Ardley last

  • A34: lanes reopened after crash

    ALL lanes on the A34 in south Oxfordshire are now open following a crash earlier this morning. The incident, involving a coach and two cars, happened on the northbound A34 at the Milton interchange near Didcot, at about 10.30am. The coach had no passengers

  • Thames walk for hospital

    A HORSPATH man is walking the length of the Thames Path. Neil Woodcock, 40, is hoping to raise as much money as possible for Great Ormond Street Hospital by walking from the river’s source in Gloucestershire to the Thames Barrier in seven days. To donate

  • Saddling up for an emotional trek

    A TEENAGER who was diagnosed with a life-threatening condition as a toddler is planning an epic cycle trip to raise money and awareness. Scott Nielsen, 18, from Rickyard Close in Oxford city centre, is planning to cycle from Copenhagen in Denmark to

  • Little Lily makes a splash for appeal

    A LITTLE girl with a life-threatening condition defied all the odds at a sponsored swim in Oxford. Gulshat Kadyrova, known as Lily, was born without hip sockets in her home country of Turkmenistan in Central Asia. She and mother Bahar travelled across

  • Life is very sweet

    Picture Austria. Mountains, lederhosen, yodelling, goats, and skipping are likely to spring to mind. But I didn’t encounter any descendants of the Von Trapps on my visit to Germany’s little sister. Instead I was shipped to Burgenland – the most easterly

  • Loan to launch centre for arts

    TAXPAYERS will step in to rescue a community arts centre at Oxford’s Old Fire Station if the project fails. Oxford City Council is set to agree to act as guarantor for a £115,000 loan for the Arts at the Old Fire Station project, opening in October.

  • Cop set for Alpine cycle challenge

    TRAFFIC cop Brian Perry is in training to cycle up one of the steepest roads in the Alps to raise cash to support bereaved children. Mr Perry, of Bicester, will travel to Italy in September to cycle the 10,000ft high 27.4 km long Stelvio pass between

  • Mountain mission to help HIV effort

    ONE man from Abingdon and his brother are putting their best feet forward for schoolchildren in Tanzania. John White, 51, and his brother Richard, 46, start climbing Mount Kilimanjaro on Monday. The special educational needs officer

  • Silver found dumped behind barn

    POLICE were last night looking for the owners of silverware found buried under dirt and leaves behind a barn between Newington and Drayton St Leonard. Thames Valley Police think the chalice and a wafer holder may have been stolen from a church

  • ANGLING: Club results check

    Beehive AC: (Pairs Cup, Brickhill Farm, 14 fished) 1 S Ferris 34.12.0 (carp & skimmers, method feeder), 2 K Jeacock 21.8.0 (3 carp inc one of 11.0.0, pole & maggot), 3 D Simmons 19.12.0 (method feeder). Pairs Cup winners: S Ferris & N Waters. Masons:

  • SWIMMING: O'Leary's on song

    Niall O’Leary from Abingdon Vale SC shone in the in the British age group national championships at Ponds Forge in Sheffield. The 14-year-old swam brilliantly to reach the final of the 200m with a time of 2mins 14.3 secs and then finished eighth. O

  • ‘Just grabbing at people’s money’

    TAKE-UP of a controversial paid-for garden waste collection has surpassed councillors’ expectations to bring in more than £280,000. Oxford City Council thought a maximum 2,000 homes would use the £35-a-year brown bin for garden waste, which

  • MOTORSPORT: Sean's best finish

    ROOKIE driver Sean Walkinshaw, 17, from Chipping Norton, secured a best result of 15th place during the first of two races in the Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship at Croft in North Yorkshire on Sunday.

  • Spillage shock for drivers

    DRIVERS were delayed yesterday after a spillage of batteries on the eastbound A423 southern by-pass in Oxford. The slow lane by the Kennington Roundabout was blocked between 2.45pm and 3.20pm while the shed load was cleared.

  • Coffee on menu at city cinema?

    CINEMA-GOERS could be buying their tickets from a coffee shop. Odeon Cinema has applied to make alterations to the foyer of its Magdalen Street venue to accommodate a Costa Coffee. The branch would then sell film tickets, with the development replacing

  • Youngsters hop to it for street show

    YOUNGSTERS from all over the world have taken part in street performances in Oxford. They performed extracts from the play Government Inspector in Bonn Square and Oxford Castle. It was part of Pegasus Theatre’s International Youth Arts Festival, which

  • Funeral date for town councillor

    THE funeral of popular Bicester town and district councillor Carol Steward will take place in Garth Park, on Friday, August 12, at 11am. The park will be closed to the public while the service takes place. Mrs Steward’s son Daniel said anyone

  • John Radcliffe will 'strive' to help feed patients

    AN OXFORD hospital will “strive” to ensure vulnerable patients are helped with food, after a damning report revealed basic nutrition standards were not being met. But last night, the Oxford Radcliffe Hospital (ORH) NHS Trust said medical emergencies

  • ANGLING: College Oak shark haul

    A PARTY of five anglers from the College Oak pub in Abingdon had a great day out on the charter boat White Water 4 skippered by Andrew Alsop at Milford Haven in West Wales. They caught eight sharks up to just under 100lb. The best was a blue

  • EVENTING: Carpenter's GB call-up

    OXFORDSHIRE eventer Mary-Anne Carpenter has been selected to represent Great Britain in the European CIC Team Championships at Aston-le-Walls in Northam-ptonshire next week. The 36-year-old, from Churchill, near Chipping Norton, will compete

  • MOTORSPORT: Bratt hit by cash problems

    LEADING FIA Formula 2 Championship racer Will Bratt was forced to miss the latest two rounds of action at Brands Hatch last weekend due to funding difficulties – all but ending the Banbury driver’s title hopes. Despite the efforts of Bratt’s management

  • GREYHOUNDS: Bank on Pats to come away with cash

    PATS Cash, who came from the back to beat the highly-regarded Philanimo Bill last time out, can get punters out of jail in the last race tonight – an A1 over 450 metres. The Tony Magnasco-trained black dog has both early and late pace, which

  • CYCLE SPEEDWAY: Hammers battle to Sheffield success

    Horspath Hammers got back on the winning track in the British Premier League with an impressive 90-84 victory over Sheffield Stars. Opening with a come-from-behind 7-3 maximum via Paul Heard and Steve Harris, Horspath increased their lead to 13 points

  • Three cleared of footballer's murder

    THREE young men were yesterday cleared of stabbing an Oxford United Football and Education Academy member to death in an unprovoked street attack. Godwin Lawson, 17, was killed when he tried to protect a childhood friend from a group of youths in Hackney

  • Sainsbury's will open new superstore in Cowley

    SAINSBURY’S is poised to open another supermarket in Oxford, it was announced yesterday. The supermarket chain signed a deal for a new food store at the Templars Retail Park in Cowley centre, which could be up to 2,500sq m large. It

  • ANGLING: Medley proves top for roach

    Match fishing THE fourth round of the Super League was fished by seven teams of six on the Medley and Folly stretches of the Thames and produced two cracking bags of roach. The section on Medley with the least flow, the Perch Bay, produced the goods

  • GREYHOUNDS: Tictac's classy second

    THE Michael Peterson-trained Tictac Gold, winner of the a £500 sprint on Pall Mall final night, proved he was among the country’s top sprinters when finishing second to the champion sprinter Jimmy Lollie. Lollie, greyhound of the year in 2010, was winning

  • Davis signs for Oxford United after impressing on trial

    Defender Liam Davis has signed a one-year contract with Oxford United after impressing on trial. He becomes boss Chris Wilder’s ninth summer capture. The former Northampton Town player, 24, made his first appearance in United’s midweek win against

  • YOUTH CRICKET: Cup bid stays on track

    Oxfordshire Under 15s made it six wins in a row in the ECB County Cup with a 40-run success against Dorset in Wimborne. With injuries, holidays and two players, Miles Hammond and Joe Barrett, being selected for the prestigious Bunbury Festival, Oxon’

  • YOUTH CRICKET: Hill and Slatter can't save Oxon

    Superb knocks from Curtly Slatter and Charlie Hill were not enough to save Oxfordshire from a 51-run defeat on first innings in their ECB Under 17 County Championship clash with Hertfordshire at Radley College. Oxon were left rueing a poor

  • YOUTH CRICKET: Under 14s challenge is ended

    Oxfordshire Under 14s’ brave challenge in the ECB County Cup was scuppered as they lost to group leaders Staffordshire in Wolverhampton. Oxon bowled and fielded well as they tried to defend a below-par total, only for Staffordshire to reach

  • YOUTH CRICKET: Young guns hit back in style

    Oxfordshire Under 10s had mixed fortunes with a defeat against Dorset, followed up with a comprehensive win against Shropshire. In their clash with Dorset at Moulsford School, Oxon opted to bat first and posted 157 all out in 38 overs. Opener Oliver

  • YOUTH CRICKET: Downs deny Bicester

    Bicester & North Oxford’s dream of an Oxfordshire Under 13 league and cup double were left in a spin as they lost to Oxford Downs in the cup final. Put into bat, Bicester soon found themselves reeling as Downs’ slow bowlers blew away their top order.

  • YOUTH CRICKET: Nondies sink rivals

    Oxford & Bletchingdon Nondescripts continued their strong start to the Oxfordshire Under 17 Honey-B Trophy with a comprehensive 67-run victory over Bicester & North Oxford. Matthew White hit 42 and Joe Burgess 40 as Nondies rattled up 144-6. White then

  • Calls to extend bus smartcard scheme

    DAYS after the launch of Oxford’s bus smartcard scheme passengers are calling for it to be extended to a park-and-ride route to the city’s hospitals. The 700 Hospital Link connects Water Eaton park-and-ride near Kidlington with Summertown,

  • Sir Terry drops by for an auction

    TV PERSONALITIES Terry Wogan and Caroline Quentin, above, visited a Wallingford antiques market yesterday while filming for a television show. The pair were filming BBC’s Celebrity Antiques Road Trip which is to be aired later in the year.

  • Beano's back in business for United

    James Constable scored the winner as Oxford United wrapped up their pre-season programme with a deserved 1-0 victory against a young Everton side at the Kassam Stadium last night. The popular striker, nicknamed Beano, took advantage of a slip

  • Weird prison link of Oxford Castle governor

    THEY say life imitates art ... a fact which recently became spookily clear to a museum worker at Oxford Castle. Ian Giles spends his days entertaining crowds at Oxford Castle Unlocked, posing as Daniel Harris, a former governor of Oxford Prison. But

  • COMMENT: Supermarkets offer work in lean times

    Another day, another supermarket. Today we report on Sainsbury’s plan to open a new store at Templars Retail Park. The supermarket giant is certainly beginning to get a stranglehold on the city. Recently, it has opened stores at the Plain, in Cowley

  • COMMENT: Bus link hopes

    There are calls to get the 700 bus route wrapped up into the new joint ticketing zone launched this week. It seems the scheme has been a success with Oxford Bus Company, Stagecoach and Thames Travel allowing a one ticket fits all policy.

  • Derelict land to become a playground

    A NEW play area has been re-opened on derelict land a decade after a spate of vandalism had closed it. Youngsters in Long Wittenham now have the summer holidays to try out the revamp. Acklings Sports Field off High Street has re-opened

  • Inventing sky's smallest spies

    TINY flying machines with “insect wings” could become reality thanks to pioneering research being carried out in Oxford. Experts believe the devices, once fitted with cameras, could have a range of uses from military surveillance to adding an extra dimension