CONSERVATION bosses have bought almost 50 acres of land at Old Marston to protect it from development. Oxford Preservation Trust has bought land which stretches from the village between the River Cherwell and the Northern Bypass, saying it was vital
A SINGLE parent was jailed despite saying he had turned his back on drugs after an arrest for dealing cocaine. Iain MacDonald had given up dealing following his December 2010 arrest, when police found £1,400 worth of cocaine in a raid on his Barton home
FIREFIGHTERS have begun a tour of south Oxfordshire to help extinguish a shortage of new recruits. Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service were in Thame on Saturday handing out leaflets and explaining what being a retained firefighter involves. Retained
PIPPA Hamwee has given herself a challenge in her attempt to give pub-goers something to cheer about. She’s hoping the community will get behind her attempt to turn her local into a green pub. The kitchen of the Chester Arms, in Chester Street, East
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CHILDREN and kids at heart were captivated by a fundraising model railway exhibition. The annual Scoutrail event held at the weekend at the Exeter Hall in Kidlington was in aid of the 33rd Oxford (Kidlington) Scout Group. Among those enthralled was
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THE family of an Oxford right-to-die campaigner have backed a call for a change in the law to allow assisted suicide. Relatives of GP Ann McPherson, who died in May last year from pancreatic cancer, said it was “cruel” to allow terminally-ill
AS A regular face at fundraising Oxford Mail OX5 Run, Dale Harris knows first-hand the good work it supports. The 30-year-old’s daughter Mya is regularly treated at Oxford Children’s Hospital, for which the five-mile March run raises cash. He has taken
ARTISTS have been passing on their skills and wisdom to the next wave of creative youngsters. Each week, Modern Art Oxford offers free activities on a special art trolley to visiting children. The current activities are all based around
POLICE are appealing for witnesses after a teenage girl was knocked unconscious and two other people hurt when they were attacked in Banbury High Street early on New Year’s Day. The incident happened between 12.30am and 1.30am outside the Post Office
A FORMER drug addict who stole precious heirlooms from a house as it was being renovated has been jailed. Heroin user Gareth Atkins took two £1,000 rings, a pearl necklace and a TV from a home in Cutteslowe, North Oxford. One of the rings belonged to
A PRE-Olympics cricket festival is being planned in Oxford as part of efforts to get more young people into sport. Oxford City Council has put aside £4,000 in its draft budget to hold a day of Twenty20 matches in Cowley Marsh Park. It comes three years
The Government has signalled the go-ahead for the £32 billion HS2 high-speed rail project that will drastically reduce journey times between major UK cities. In an attempt to appease opponents of the controversial scheme, including some Tory MPs, Transport
Bicester Ladies returned to the top of the Trysports Three Counties League Premier 2 table when they came from behind to win 4-2 at home to Oxford Hawks 3rd in a rearranged match on Saturday. In a game postponed from December, Bicester had
The Banbury branch of lingerie chain La Senza has closed with the loss of seven jobs after the business was taken into administration. Administrator KPMG said it was among 84 stores and 18 concessions to be axed, resulting in more than half of the 1,300
GREENE KING ODDA MEN'S LEAGUE Premier & Section 1: Goodlake Arms B 2, Peachcroft SC 7; Green Rd SC 5, Goodlake Arms A 4; Rose Hill CC 6, The Star 3; Windrush Club 6, Cowley Workers SC 3. Section 2: Three Horseshoes 6, Red Lion 3; Nuffield
BB&O Premier Division TITLE-chasing Chipping Norton edged out Bicester 15-13 in their Oxfordshire derby at Greystones. Chippy, who trail leaders Thatcham by two points, twice had to come from behind to secure victory. Dave Hampton released wing Dickie
Round-up LEADERS Harwell began the year where they left off in 2011 with a 55-3 victory at Chesham in the BB&O Championship. Tries from half-backs Rob Froud-Williams and Andy Lee, which he converted himself, put Harwell ahead, Chesham kicking a penalty
AN environmental charity received a £33,000 boost from the Royal Wedding of William and Kate to help teachers pass on lessons about climate change. Earthwatch, which is based in Summertown, was among 26 charities chosen by the Royal couple to benefit
The Royal Wedding may have been last year, but isn’t it nice to know that its feel-good factor is still working its magic. Earthwatch, an environmental charity based in Summertown, is among 26 charities chosen by the Royal couple to benefit directly
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BIKE owners whose cycles were removed from Oxford train station have until Sunday to claim them back. Some 40 bikes were removed on December 18 and 19, two weeks after warning stickers were left on them by train firm First Great Western. Some have been
Smoke filled a flat after arsonists set fire to wheelie bins. Firefighters were called to New Bridge Street, Witney, at 5.40am yesterday after bins beneath an archway were set alight. No-one was hurt in the incident.
A woman airlifted to the John Radcliffe Hospital when her car crashed was taken there as a precaution, a police spokesman said. The driver, in her 20s, was cut free after the accident on Saturday on an unclassified road between Christmas Common and the
PATIENTS are still facing lengthy delays under a new £15.7m computerised record system and hospital bosses are unable to say when it will be operating properly. Hospital chiefs rolled out the new Electronic Patient Record (EPR) system at the John Radcliffe
South West 1 East WITNEY fell to a 19-18 at Bletchley, who snatched the points with a late try. The visitors had led 18-14, but didn’t really deserve to win after a lacklustre display. Fly half Pierre Dubost kicked Witney ahead with a fifth-minute
National Insurance cards were given to 7,630 adult foreign nationals across Oxfordshire in 2010/11, new figures show. That was up from 5,910 the previous year, and 4,680 of the new arrivals were to Oxford. Over the past five years, more than 40,000
A 57-year-old woman’s sentencing hearing was adjourned after she collapsed in court. Marlene Williams was due to be sentenced at Oxford Crown Court yesterday, but had to be treated by paramedics outside the courtroom. She was later taken to hospital
The records continue to pile up for the Cowley-built Mini. Figures released by parent company BMW show it recorded a best-ever worldwide sales performance in 2011 with 285,060 vehicles finding owners, a rise of 21.7 per cent on 2010. The five-door Countryman
A REGGAE DJ who was made an MBE in the New Year’s Honours said last night that he developed his passion for music while at school in Kidlington. David Rodigan, above, who now lives in London, has presented reggae, roots and rocksteady radio
Southern Counties North TWO tries from full back Nick Sevier helped Grove defeat Aylesbury 29-12 and climb to second. Marauding No 8 Joe Bell-inger touched down inside two minutes, with fly half Dave Maryon’s conversion giving Grove a 7-0 lead. A
The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) are investigating an incident in which Mark Rimell, who trains at Leafield, near Witney, punched jockey Aidan Coleman at Lingfield. It happened in the jockeys’ changing rooms at the Surrey course last Thursday
Gold Cup-winning rider Sam Waley-Cohen left Taunton in frustration yesterday after picking up his third suspension in less than a month. As Waley-Cohen is an amateur, he can only be banned on days where there is a race staged in that category. But he
A MOTORCYCLIST has been injured after a crash with a car this morning in Kidlington. Thames Valley Police spokesman Craig Evry said the accident happened at 9.48am at the junction of Langford Lane and Woodstock Road West. He added: “Our officers were
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National 2 South HENLEY Hawks were made to work hard for a 29-20 victory at Clifton which keeps them in the promotion chase. Hawks, for whom Oxford University lock Karl Outen shone on his debut, roared into a 12-0 lead after ten minutes. Scrum half
I would like to comment on councillor Gervase Duffield’s pessimistic opinion on the revamp of Abingdon’s shopping precinct (last Wednesday’s Oxford Mail). It irritates me that a Vale of White Horse councillor can have such a negative attitude to the
Oxford Harlequins 14, Newton Abbot 22 A LATE comeback could not save Oxford Harlequins from losing their first National 3 South West match of 2012. Quins looked out of it after deservedly falling 22-0 behind on 53 minutes, with the visitors scoring
IT looks like there may be a misprint in the ‘Father’s wartime service honoured’ story. Where Robert’s glider is spelled Hauser it should be Horsa. After the Germans had successfully used gliders in the invasion of France, Winston Churchill ordered
MANY people will be making their New Year resolutions and planning to make a difference, either for themselves or for others. Whatever the reason, signing-up for a once-in-a-lifetime challenge, or taking up voluntary work, The Children’s Trust would
I’M sure many of your readers will enjoy an egg in the morning, so they may be interested to know that an important change takes place this month, affecting the millions of hens who lay them. As of January 1, it is illegal to farm hens in barren battery
As the warm embers of Twelfth Night fade, the cavernous darkness of January looms. Time in abundance to reflect on the past year’s louche sins – and to repent at leisure. New Year’s resolutions are fewer and further between these days, for
Former champion Kimi Raikkonen will have his first taste of a Formula 1 car in more than two years in Spain later this month after joining the Enstone-based Lotus team. The 32-year-old Finn, who is returning to F1 after two years in rallying, will drive
Oxford United Ladies have been drawn away to Manchester City in a dream FA Women’s Cup third-round tie on Sunday, February 5. United reached this stage with a 2-0 win over Lewes at Roman Way on Sunday, with goals from Ellie Roberts and Holly Pickett.
Oxford City winger Mark Bell is set to continue his comeback from an 18-month injury nightmare when he lines up against Banbury United in the Red Insure Cup third round at Court Place Farm tonight. Bell last played a full game for City on October
COUNCIL chiefs have refused to provide information about the total cost to the taxpayer surrounding a departing top officer given a £110,000 pay-off. Cath James, a former strategic director for environment at West Oxfordshire District Council, was paid
AN OXFORD primary school has gone into special measures but is planning to become an academy. Cutteslowe Primary School was judged inadequate by school inspectors Ofsted and given a notice to improve two years ago. But it was put into special measures
OXFORD Harlequins head coach Tevita Vaikona said his side had panicked during their defeat by Newton Abbot. “A couple of players are lacking experience and are not used to winning,” said Vaikona. “We have got to be more composed. “We were poor in the
National 3 South West CHINNOR ran in 11 tries to crush struggling Bridgwater & Albion 71-12 at Kingsey Road. Sam Stoop, Pip Seymour, Tom Gray and Liam Gilbert all bagged doubles in a dominant display, while Henry Colver had a superb game at full back
IN support of Simon Lord and his letter to the Oxford Mail on his cancer problem. What are we coming to when we reach this degrading and inhuman treatment of a man and many others? This community’s set-up and people who hold the purse strings must treat
Bea Bradley (Letters, January 5) echoes the feelings of all decent people that PM David Cameron’s proposed attempt to overturn the Hunting Act is spitting in the face of the majority, who have nothing but contempt for those who indulge in this barbaric
IN reference to Chris Payne’s letter regarding Thames Valley Police officers’ unpressed trousers and dirty boots. As the officers have to do a course to ride a bike, this is no doubt a health and safety issue. Hot irons may burn, polish may cause
FRESH roadworks started on Iffley Road yesterday as a second phase of improvements got under way. Temporary lights were set up yesterday before work started, and motorists will again be faced with a single lane of traffic for the next five months. The
TWO rogue traders who left a “trail of damage and misery” as they conned often elderly and vulnerable victims pocketed almost £100,000. Builders Trevor Bateman and David Merriman were jailed at Oxford Crown Court yesterday after ripping off 10 Oxfordshire
Peter Leven said that he got more satisfaction out of his first assist in Oxford United’s win at Aldershot on Saturday than he did with his goal. The midfielder set up two and scored one – his first away goal of the season – as the U’s recorded a 3-0
An 18-year-old man has admitted attacking a boy in a park at Banbury. Dean Reading appeared at Oxford Crown Court on Friday and admitted one count of causing actual bodily harm. He attacked a 14-year-old boy in Spiceball Park, Banbury, on October
PETER LEVEN’S man of the match performance for Oxford United against Aldershot is beginning to get legendary status on Twitter. Fans have been citing “examples” of Leven’s superhuman nonchalance on the microblogging site after Saturday’s 3-0 win, using
Summertown started well when Luke Stephenson charged down a defensive clearance and volleyed home spectacularly. However, Jake Moores then took over and scored 5 times for Cholsey, 4 of them from corners. Summertown had no answer to the superb delivery
The controversial £32 billion HS2 high-speed Rail project is set to be given the green light today by the Government. Transport Secretary Justine Greening will give the go-ahead to the scheme which, in its first phase, will run through picturesque
A driver was taken to hospital last night after his car crashed into a ditch near Uffington. The accident happened on Fawler Road between Uffington and Kingston Lisle at about 6.50pm. A spokesman for South Central Ambulance said the
AFTER more than 13 years of fundraising, villagers in Grove are finally able to enjoy their new refurbished church. Parishioners celebrated earlier this year when they reached their £330,000 target to revamp the Grove Methodist Church in Main Street
What’s the point of carrying on?” So says Mr Peter Kinch, chairman of the Littlemore Youth Football Club, and who wouldn’t sympathise with him? Over the last month, mindless thugs have caused thousands of pounds worth of damage to the club’s facilities
A HAUL of class A drugs, cannabis, £4,000 in cash and suspected stolen jewellery, clothing and perfume were recovered from a car stopped by police officers in the city. Police said they pulled over the car in Northampton Road, South Hinksey
BURGLARS and vandals are repeatedly attacking a youth football club to steal goalposts, wiring, piping and even the changing room sink. The yobs have caused damage worth thousands of pounds at Littlemore Youth FC’s clubhouse on the Cowley recreation
A student drove while more than twice the drink drive limit because he did not have enough money for a taxi home. Mohammed Hamid was stopped by police in Cowley Road, Oxford at 3.50am on December 4, a district judge was told. Hamid, of Ridgefield Road
