Archive

  • UPDATE: Two freed from vehicle after collision

    A MAN and a woman have been cut free from a vehicle following a collision this morning.  The accident happened at the junction of the B4011 at Ambrosden near Bicester and the A41 (Thame turn off) at around 9.30am.  Fire crews attended and were

  • Update: Police talk man down off balcony in Jericho

    POLICE have talked a man down off a balcony at flats in Jericho. The man had been threatening to leap off the fourth floor of the building in Juxon Street since just after 5.30pm. The small street had been cordoned off while police negotiators

  • SCOUTING: Royal approval as Duchess volunteers to help

    Scouting activities have undergone a revamp in recent years, the scheme now accepts girls, and adventurer Bear Grylls has taken on the post of Chief Scout. The Duchess of Cambridge, Kate, is a volunteer with the Scouts. Across Oxfordshire there

  • SCOUTING: Returning the favour

    Former Scout George Brooks, 21 – who is now an assistant Scout leader with 33rd Oxford (Kidlington) Sea Scouts – believes Scouting is the education youngsters don’t get at school. He said: “You get the opportunity to mix with people of similar

  • Town's car rally gets bigger parking

    WALLINGFORD’S Vehicle Rally and Parade has proved so popular this year that organisers have laid on an overflow car park. The annual parade, now in its ninth year, looks set to be the biggest to date. Organisers of the event on Sunday have

  • Veteran broke pal’s jaw after sex pest claim

    AN ex-soldier who served in Iraq and Afghanistan has been spared jail over a violent attack, after a judge heard of his struggles with an anxiety disorder. Stuart Taylor was given a 12-month suspended prison sentence after he broke a friend’s jaw

  • Teachers hatch plot over new chicks

    PUPILS at a Didcot primary school got the chance to pet some chicks after watching them hatch. Staff at Willowcroft Community School in Mereland Road had raised money for an incubator by selling children’s handmade gifts at Christmas. Eggs

  • Paula missing her soldier boyfriend killed in action

    A YEAR ago Paula Ewers was making plans for the future with her soldier boyfriend Corporal Andrew Roberts. But in a few moments she was left devastated after he was killed in an explosion in Afghanistan last May. Cpl Roberts, 32, and colleague

  • Homes get green light but company must pay

    PLANS for 98 new homes in Southmoor have been approved in principle by councillors in the Vale of White Horse. The district council’s planning committee agreed on Wednesday that planning officers will be able to sign off permission after a legal

  • Controversial houses on hold after protest

    PLANS for 34 homes that have sparked controversy in Sutton Courtenay have been put on hold after councillors asked for more information. Pye Homes’ plans for the properties north of Milton Road were deferred by Vale of White Horse District Council

  • TENNIS: County girls are fourth

    Oxfordshire girls finished fourth in the 14 & under county cup in Malvern. Although they lost to eventual winners Middlesex, whose strong team did not drop a match, they did enjoy a 5-1 win against Northamptonshire. They then put in a battling

  • Bullfinch: An 11th man has been charged

    AN 11th man has been charged with sexually abusing teenage girls by police working on the Operation Bullfinch child exploitation investigation. Shah-Nawaz Khan, of Botley Road in Oxford, has been charged with sexual activity with a girl aged between

  • People injured in three-car smash

    Police are appealing for witnesses to a road accident involving three cars. A black Vauxhall Antara, a blue Mini Cooper and a black Ford S-Max collided on South Newington Road in Bloxham at 3.35pm on Wednesday, May 1. People in the Vauxhall

  • ROWING: Triggs Hodge booster

    Oxford's double Olympic champion Andy Triggs Hodge returns as Great Britain’s men’s squad for this weekend’s Essen Regatta. Triggs Hodge will race in the coxless four on both days, but three Oxford Brookes men, Mason and Scott Durrant and Matthew

  • TENNIS: Connor is uplifted

    Oxfordshire Boys’ 11 & under team lost 2-1 to Essex in the Lionel Cox Trophy Eastern region final. Abingdon’s Connor Ferguson (centre) won his matches, but George Slater (Yarnton, right) and Standlake’s Ollie Broadhurst lost out. Oxon’s 12 &

  • Our Fran inspires love for reading

    NO two children are alike and that certainly seems to be the case with reading. Since being involved in the reading campaign, I have been told again and again that the way to get a child enthused about reading is to find the right way in – whether

  • Tory ‘sad’ at defections

    WEST Oxfordshire District Council Conservative group leader Barry Norton has described the resignation of two councillors from the party as “sad and disappointing”. District councillors Steve Hayward and David Snow resigned from the Conservative

  • Ribbonwalk will be a family affair for Sam

    STATISTICALLY, one in three people will be affected by cancer during their lives. That would be ordeal enough for most of us, but Sam Palfrey has three members of her family who have been diagnosed with the deadly disease. Mrs Palfrey, 37,

  • BADMINTON: Oxon pair fall short

    Drayton's Louise Atkins and Ben Roberts (Brize Norton) lost 21-14, 24-19 to William Jones (Surrey) and Freya Patel-Redfearn (Middlesex) in the mixed doubles final at the Under 14 Hampshire Open in Winchester. Having got past the group stages, the

  • Protest over African leader’s business award

    A CAMPAIGN has been launched to prevent an African politician from coming to Oxford to receive an award from a student society. Paul Kagame has been president of Rwanda since 2000 and while many have praised his leadership, others consider him

  • Judge gives final warning to Chalgrove teen muggers

    A JUDGE has warned two teenagers to make their first court appearance their last. Craig Wiltshire, of Brookside Estate, Chalgrove, and a 15-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, admitted robbing Lewis Clarke of an iPhone 5. The

  • RUGBY UNION: Ex-Chinnor flier billed as the new Robbo

    Stuart Lancaster says he understands the comparisons between former Chinnor winger Christian Wade and former England flier Jason Robinson. Lancaster has named the Wasps wing in a youthful England squad for this summer’s tour of Uruguay and Argentina

  • Exiles coach Jones misses out on top award

    LONDON Welsh’s Lyn Jones missed out on the Premiership coach of the year award last night. The Exiles head coach was nominated in the QBE Director of Rugby of the Season category for his efforts to make Welsh competitive in the top flight.

  • CRICKET: Limited overs to start the season

    CLUBS will compete in two different formats in this season’s Serious Cricket Home Counties Premier League. A 50-over competition will form half of the league programme, running alongside 120-over matches in Division 1 and 110-over games in Divisions

  • CRICKET: League launch

    WOMEN'S CRICKET A NEW Oxfordshire Cricket Board (OCB) women’s midweek league will begin on Tuesday, May 21. The competition features established clubs Banbury, Charlbury, Freeland and Oxford, plus newcomers Moreton and Wittenham. All games

  • TENNIS: Beth loses out in three finals

    Oxford City’s Beth Simmons came away from the National Deaf Championships at Gosling High Performance Centre, Welwyn Garden City with three runners-up trophies. She lost 6-3, 6-3 to Surrey’s Bethany Brookes in the singles, having defeated twin

  • WEEKEND FIXTURES MAY 11-12

    CRICKET SERIOUS CRICKET HOME COUNTIES PREMIER LEAGUE Div 1 (11.30): Banbury v Welwyn Garden City. Div 2 West (11.30): Cove v Oxford, Farnham Royal v Aston Rowant, Great & Little Tew v Harefield. CHERWELL LEAGUE Div 1: Buckingham

  • Families say farewell to fallen troops

    FAMILIES of three fallen soldiers said their final goodbyes to their loved ones yesterday as their bodies were brought home. Corporal William Savage and Fusilier Samuel Flint, both from 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland, and Private

  • RUGBY LEAGUE: Oxford in huge test

    Oxford bid for back-to-back home victories when they take on North Wales Crusaders in Kingstone Press Championship Oneat Iffley Road on Sunday (3). The match looks like being their biggest test of the season, with Crusaders top of the table with

  • Album review: Vampire Weekend - a darker revamp

    Vampire Weekend Modern Vampires Of The City XL Recordings New York’s Afro-beat indie-rockers Vampire Weekend are back with their eagerly awaited third record, which has been three years in the making. The delay since

  • Man denies assaulting prison officers

    A 25-year-old man has denied assaulting two prison officers. Lewis Owen, of no fixed address, is charged with two counts of assault causing actual bodily harm on Matthew Stimpson and Patrick McDonnell at HMP Bullingdon on February 14. A trial

  • Soundbites: Queen star and boy bands head to town

    Fans of Brian May and (sometime) hearthrobs Blue and Five will be in their element, reports Tim Hughes IT’S an unlikely show, and one which had us rubbing our eyes for a moment. But it’s true: guitar legend Brian May is heading to Oxford... with

  • CRICKET: Cutter boosts Horspath's promotion hopes

    CHERWELL LEAGUE HORSPATH should be among the Division 1 title challengers if they can maintain their long unbeaten record in the league. They have not lost since May 2009, but were pipped to top spot last year by Great & Little Tew.

  • CRICKET: Oxfordshire suffer double defeat

    ECB Women’s County Championship OXFORDSHIRE ladies suffered double disappointment, with two defeats in Division 3. They first went down by 88 runs to Netherlands at Bicester & North Oxford in a first for the county as Oxon’s men’s and ladies

  • Profile: Michele Smith reveals Oxford's forgotten beauty

    Matt Ayres talks to the woman behind the creation of a significant concert venue in East Oxford I catch Michele Smith off guard. She’s situated in one giant echo of a room at St Stephen’s House upon my call, and insists on relocating in order to

  • New Honda CR-V mixes fun with practicality and luxury

    SOME cars leave you with an instant warm glow. In the case of Honda’s CR-V, the glow is a green one. Drive carefully and the large speedometer is illuminated by a ring of eco-friendly green light topped off by a small green tree. Push harder

  • First person - Claudia Figueirodo: Emerging from cocoons

    Claudia Figueiredo on why this is an exciting time for fans of art Late spring is the time for budding third year undergraduate artists to emerge from their art school cocoons. All they have thought, imagined and absorbed from three years at university

  • Cruelty case delayed

    THE trial of a family accused of cruelty at an animal sanctuary has been adjourned until June 10 at Bicester Magistrates’ Court. Angela Russell, 44, her father, brother, three children, niece and carer all deny 16 charges of animal welfare offences

  • CRICKET: Tew relishing chance to impress

    SERIOUS CRICKET HOME COUNTIES PREMIER LEAGUE GREAT & Little Tew skipper Andy Harris says his newly-promoted side are relishing the challenge of playing in Division 2 West. The Cherwell League champions have never played at this level before

  • CRICKET: Morrick confident of title push

    SERIOUS CRICKET HOME COUNTIES PREMIER LEAGUE ASTON Rowant are looking to make a title challenge in Division 2 West after reinforcing an already strong squad. England Under 19 international Miles Hammond and Oxfordshire all-rounder Damian Shirazi

  • CRICKET: Crosby backing Oxford

    SERIOUS CRICKET HOME COUNTIES PREMIER LEAGUE OXFORD captain Ian Crosby is backing his side to return to the the top flight after being relegated to Division 2 West. A dismal 2012 season saw Oxford win just once, but with some strong new signings

  • Thank you for voting

    WE the undersigned, being successful Conservative candidates in last Thursday’s election, would like to thank those who voted for us and will to the best of our ability work for all our constituents and make ourselves available to all in the areas

  • Loss of fairness in law

    THE new tendering process being introduced by the Ministry of Justice to legal aid threatens equal representation before law. Under the reforms, those unable to afford a private lawyer will no longer have any choice over who represents them. They

  • Employment is the key

    THERE are two schools of thought about the best way of dealing with the treasury deficit. Either by drastically reducing government spending or by setting in motion a programme of necessary building work to get money moving. In the first instance

  • On the spot: Smoking issue

    I SEE the smoking issue at our hospitals has reared its ugly head again. What is it with people? Are they just stupid or plain selfish? A hospital is there to treat the sick, not add in their demise. But people who regularly fill their bodies

  • A34 problem

    Drivers faced delays after a van broke down on the A34. Emergency services were called at around 8am. The inside lane was blocked on the southbound carriageway between Marcham and Milton.

  • Hit-and-run driver sought

    Police are still hunting a hit-and-run suspect who fled on foot after knocking over a man in Cowley Road. The driver abandoned a silver VW Polo hire car, of which he was not the registered user, at the scene of the collision opposite Kenilworth

  • CRICKET: Banbury wait on Barends

    SERIOUS CRICKET HOME COUNTIES PREMIER LEAGUE BANBURY will begin their Division 1 campaign without South African all-rounder Brady Barends due to a paperwork delay. But captain Jimmy Phillips is confident the 24-year-old Kwa-Zulu Natal man will

  • Wasting money faster

    On the Oxford Mail front page on May 6 you asked: ‘So what do we do with the A34’? One very simple thing that would make a very big difference would be instead of wasting £30bn on HS2, spend the money on the railways heading north from Southampton

  • Listen closely to ‘oiks’

    IT WASN’T so long ago that the then ‘leader’ of a seemingly bullet-proof Oxfordshire County Council, Keith Mitchell, claimed that all of those ‘oiks’ among us who were – for whatever reason, claiming benefits or living close to the poverty line – themselves

  • Officials need to speak with us to serve better

    I HAVE lived in Marston since 1983 and remember it being part of South Oxfordshire District Council. It’s always easy to refer to the old days but I have to say that the services provided during that period were fair and reasonable. In the

  • 100th birthday celebrated with card from Queen

    A long life lived in Oxford has been celebrated by centenarian William Talmage, pictured. Mr Talmage marked his 100th birthday with family at the Bear Hotel in Woodstock yesterday after receiving his congratulatory card from the Queen.

  • Crossing closes

    YARNTON: A controversial level crossing is to close for 24 hours tomorrow while engineers carry out tests. Sandy Lane crossing, the scene of a fatal accident earlier this year, will be shut from 9am to allow Network Rail teams to carry out work

  • Meteor ‘part of debris from Halley’s Comet’

    STARgazers across Oxfordshire have told of the awe of seeing a green-tinged meteor flash across the evening sky. The object, believed to have formed from the debris of Halley’s Comet, shot north over England and Wales at about 9.45pm on Wednesday

  • Council staff top earners are revealed

    COUNTY Hall chiefs still dominate the rich list of Oxfordshire public servants. The TaxPayers’ Alliance (TPA) has released a list of all council employees earning more than £100,000 a year. The list reveals the number of those earning more

  • MP supports the payback of expenses

    OXFORD East MP Andrew Smith was among MPs who paid back profit made on mortgage interest expenses claims, it has been revealed. The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) has released a list of MPs who have paid back money under new

  • Experts give JR hospital a clean bill of health

    OXFORD’S John Radcliffe Hospital has been praised by a watchdog two years after it was damned in consecutive inspections. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) found the hospital’s care of patients, cleanliness, staff levels and support for workers

  • Parishioners check their boundaries in traditional walk

    THESE people walking through Oxford carrying sticks are taking part in a tradition which dates back to Anglo Saxon times. “Beating the bounds” is an ancient tradition where people walk around the boundaries of their parish to pray for it. During

  • COMMENT: This is the sort of health news we love to report on

    Who says good news doesn’t sell papers? Because our story today about Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital being praised by regulators two years after it was damned is precisely what we all want to read about. Indeed, it’s exactly the kind of feel-good

  • Search is on for Oxford United as manager seeks right blend

    OXFORD United want to make nine new signings as they look to rebuild the side this summer, with manager Chris Wilder demanding total commitment from anyone who joins. The club released 12 first-team players last week, including Michael Duberry

  • You won't scare us off newsagent tells armed robbers

    NEWSAGENT Gordon Hackett was back behind his till yesterday, just hours after being robbed at gunpoint. Mr Hackett, 75, escaped with a cut to his nose after two masked men walked into Hackett’s News in Garsington Road, Cowley, at 6.55am. Police

  • Brawl accused are rebailed

    Three men arrested in connection with a 15-person brawl in Gloucester Green have been further bailed. The 10 to 15-person fight at about 4.10am on October 13 last year left three men hospitalised. In total 13 men were arrested. A 22-year-old

  • Cookery and English classes boost Rose Hill estate

    TWO new initiatives have been launched in Rose Hill as part of an ongoing project to regenerate the estate. Cookery workshops are aimed at helping residents eat more healthly, while English classes have begun to aid people looking for work. Most

  • Chelsea Flower Show trip for youngsters

    THESE growing gardeners are blooming delighted after they were invited to show off their stuff at this year’s Chelsea Flower Show. Izzy Potts, eight, Gemma Croker, eight, Gabriel Popham, nine, and Joe Straker, nine, impressed judges with their

  • Residents draw up a plan to save stadium

    A PLAN of action is being drawn up to save Oxford Stadium. Blackbird Leys Parish Council held a special meeting to discuss defending the Sandy Lane dog track from housing developers last night. The stadium was closed in December by operator