CHILDREN were said to have hidden in cupboards as a Kidlington school was placed on lockdown after students reported seeing a 'bladed item' during a lesson. Parents said they had been contacted by Gosford Hill School shortly after 2pm this afternoon
Oxford Playhouse's joint-director LOUISE CHANTAL shares her delight at reopening her theatre... Many of us, over the last very long year, have rediscovered simple pleasures and vowed to never again take them for granted again. Along with pub
Travellers have been spotted in a North Oxford park. Passers-by say there are Seven or eight caravans in Sunnymead park. There have also been reports of travellers blocking the cycle track on Marston Ferry Road near Cherwell School and Swan
Boris Johnson has insisted he does not disagree with Joe Biden on anything as the pair began a potentially tricky meeting in Cornwall. The US president will use the meeting to warn the Prime Minister not to let the row over Northern Ireland’s Brexit
A pair who tried to rob a barber of his week’s takings at knifepoint have been jailed. Jurors at Oxford Crown Court took more than five hours to unanimously convict James Cumiskey, 42, and Ryan Roberts, 32, of attempted robbery. The two men
Official figures show that as of 4pm today, a total of 49 new coronavirus cases were registered in the county. This is a rise from the 21 cases recorded on Wednesday. These are the daily cases separated by local authorities: Oxford – 21
DIGGING for old glass bottles on Oxford's Port Meadow could net people a £100 in the near future. Bottle digging, an unusual pastime, sees treasure hunters taking spades to places like Port Meadow to search for Victorian or Edwardian glass relics
Campaigners unfurled banners in Oxford to call on Amazon to sign up to a declaration which would ‘guarantee workers the freedom to talk with and form a union without fear’. Trade union Unite is calling on Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos to sign up to a declaration
A CAMPAIGN that calls for people to pledge to eat a vegetarian or vegan lunch is to be launched in Oxfordshire. On June 14, South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse District Councils will be joining organisations across the county taking part in
JOSH Ruffels’ eight-year stay at Oxford United is over after he completed his move to Huddersfield Town. The left back turned down a new contract with the U's and will join the Sky Bet Championship club when his current terms expire on June 30.
Salt Cross Garden Village has been awarded £250,000 in Government funding to help with housing development. West Oxfordshire District Council was successful with a funding bid through the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s
A KNIFE was found by a pupil opposite a school's gates in Bicester. Cherwell District Council's community safety team were called by the school yesterday after the blade was discovered. The area was searched and made safe. It was the second
A POST-COVID vehicle inspection is on offer for under £54 as people start to travel back to the office. Lockdown has meant fewer people travelling over the past year. But now that lockdown is easing people will be using their vehicles more. Many
PORTSMOUTH striker Ellis Harrison is rumoured to be an Oxford United target. The U's signed Ryan Williams from Pompey yesterday and are now in a race with Fleetwood Town to recruit another Fratton Park forward, according to the BBC's Andrew Moon
It's time to celebrate some very special people - Oxfordshire’s dads. Whether it’s their dad jokes, or their ability to just know what needs to be done, they deserve a moment in the spotlight. Over the last year, during the pandemic, many of
AFTER Ryan Williams followed Marcus McGuane through the door at Oxford United, fans have said where on the pitch the club needs to strengthen now. We asked fans how many signings United need, and in which positions. The results show a desire
A MUM and her three children died after she steered the family car into the path of a fully-laden lorry. Driver Zoe Powell, 29, and children Phoebe, eight, Simeon, six, and Amelia, four, died after their Subaru was involved in a crash with a Renault
Fire crews dealt with a serious road traffic collision near Faringdon on the A420 just after 11pm last night. Two vehicles were involved in the collision and one was in a field. Fire crews from Faringdon, Bampton and Abingdon were faced with
KIDLINGTON Football Club has announced its management team will return for next season. First team manager Ben Sadler and assistant manager Paul Braithwaite will take charge for the Southern League Division One Central campaign, assisted by Callum
Residents are being advised to be on their guard against criminals and scammers who pretend to be their bank. The warning comes as part of Scams Awareness Fortnight, launching on 14 June 2021. Oxfordshire County Council’s trading standards
Video game technology has brought Winston Churchill to life at Blenheim Palace. Didcot-based Rebellion Film Studios has produced an extraordinary video to introduce the new exhibition on the wartime leader which opened earlier this month. Churchill
THE moon passed in front of the sun today, causing a partial eclipse that was visible here in some parts of Oxfordshire. Oxford Mail Camera Club member Anthony Morris managed to snap this photo of the sun from his home in Farmoor, near Eynsham.
THE manager of an imaginatively named new cafe near to Oxford railway station is hoping an influx of visitors to the city will boost trade. Platform 5, next to Sainsbury’s in Frideswide Square, opened at the end of last year but shortly after opening
RESIDENTS living in new developments across Oxford will not be allowed to buy permits to park cars on the street outside their homes. The banned buildings include flats at number 57 Victoria Road, Summertown; Number 45 and 45A Davenant Road, North
School pupils, teachers and parents are campaigning to save their school swimming pool after a small leak became an urgent problem. Hagbourne CE Primary School near Didcot has had a swimming pool for more than 50 years, but a major leak has been
AIR pollution levels in Oxford during 2020 dropped the equivalent to the level of reduction in the last ten years as a result of the gruelling coronavirus lockdowns. The latest data from air quality monitoring stations spread across the city has
AFTER 18 months, car fanatics were able to return to Bicester Heritage’s popular scramble event at the weekend. The motor site threw open its gates on Saturday and Sunday to welcome up to 4,000 guests per day united by a love of cars. ALSO
Derek Bromhall will be forever associated with the colony of swifts in the tower of the Oxford Museum of Natural History. He has died peacefully at home in Oxford at the age of 92. Mr Bromhall brought his talents as a pioneering scientist and
A licensing application to run the Oxford Balloon Fiesta this year is just one of the public notices issued by local councils this week. Oxford Balloon Fiesta Show Time Events Group Ltd has applied for a licence to stage the Oxford Balloon Fiesta
THE decision to approve the planning appeal for a water park resort to be built near Bicester has caused residents to question the appeal process. Cherwell District Council unanimously rejected plans to build multi-million-pound development Great
Skygazers hoping to catch views of the partial solar eclipse this morning could get ‘fleeting’ views due to cloudy skies, forecasters have said. Today, people across the country will be able to see nearly a third of the sun being blocked out by the
A driver was busted by police for having an expired MOT. Police stopped the vehicle on Oxford Road in Kidlington for having an MOT which expired two years ago in April 2019. Vehicle stopped on Oxford road, Kidlington. MOT expired 04/19
Lecturers at an Oxford University College are refusing to teach students until the college topples the statue of Cecil Rhodes, it has been reported. Last month, Oriel College was accused of ‘institutional racism’ after its governing body said it
KIERAN Bird is in buoyant mood as he continues his punishing training schedule ahead of his maiden Olympic Games. The Bicester swimmer is putting in the hard yards as he prepares for his first taste of the festival of sport, which runs from July
A MAN jailed last year for a savage and frenzied attack on his wife will appeal his conviction and life sentence next month. Mark Lally, 51, was sentenced to life imprisonment last August after an Oxford jury convicted him of the attempted murder
A burglar didn't turn up at court because he was in a police cell, a judge was told. Andrew Hurtault, 39, was due before Oxford Crown Court on Monday accused of breaching his nine month suspended prison sentence by failing to attend probation appointments
An Abingdon man died after taking methadone, an inquest heard. David Dickinson, 47, was found unresponsive by his mother in the garden of the house they shared in Norris Close. At an inquest yesterday, assistant coroner for Oxfordshire Nicholas
A FORD driver who pranged a police car as he tried to get away from officers will be sentenced later this summer. Marvin Barker, 30, was behind the wheel of the Ford Focus on June 10, 2019, when he made off from police in Banbury. He struck a police
Whilst many of us are enjoying the benefits that are slowly coming with the easing of lockdown restrictions (although, if somebody could bring us an extra fluffy jacket whilst we eat outside, please!) it doesn’t mean that we should be relaxing our
NEW Oxford United recruit Ryan Williams has already noticed plenty of changes to the club he left seven years ago. The Australian became the U’s second summer signing yesterday, joining on a two-year deal after rejecting a new contract at Sky Bet
The final stages of a multi-million pound revamp are now being completed at Oxford’s Randolph Hotel - and the Oxford Mail was invited for a first look inside. In 2019, Nashville-based Graduate Hotels bought the five-star Beaumont Street attraction
A NEW garden village has been given a quarter of a million pounds in Government funding to help with housing development. West Oxfordshire District Council (WODC) reported it had been successful in a funding bid for the Salt Cross garden village
POLITICIANS overseeing a £215m fund to spend on housing infrastructure in Oxfordshire have said they are committed to a 'bottom up' approach to planning. Michael Tyce of the Campaign to Protect Rural England asked members of Oxfordshire's Growth
OXFORDSHIRE's Growth Board should be renamed to reflect that it is a 'partnership' and does important work for the county's future. That was the call from Emily Smith, who stood down as the board's chair this week. Ms Smith, the leader of Vale
PLANS to extend a trial of e-scooters in Oxford have been delayed for nearly four weeks. The orange-coloured e-scooters are currently being trialled in Headington and New Marston, with the hopes of a wider rollout to other areas of the city in
OXFORD MAGISTRATES’ COURT JASON CHAMBERS, 38, of Acacia Avenue, Oxford, admitted driving at more than 40mph in a 40mph zone on the A41 Bicester on February 25. He was fined £450, ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £45 and court costs of £90.
