Archive

Date

RACING: Carruthers team praying for rain

It's another dry day at Mark Bradstock’s Old Manor House stables at Letcombe Bassett, near Wantage. To many this would be heaven sent after one of the bleakest winters for many years. But when you train the totesport Cheltenham Gold

Date

Old Gaol work to start

Work to demolish part of the Old Gaol will begin this week. The listed riverside building will be transformed with cafes and restaurants as well as 61 homes. The demolition, and archaeological investigations required by English Heritage, should

Date

Benefit cheat given suspended sentence

A woman who defrauded a council out of thousands of pounds has been given a suspended prison sentence. Tracey Jane Battell, of Saxton Road, Abingdon, used correction fluid to falsify bank statements and payslips to claim £9,500 in benefits from Vale

Date

Hamilton: 'McLaren not far off pace'

Lewis Hamilton believes McLaren are just a step away from competing for grand prix wins this season. Hamilton trailed home third in Sunday's season-opening race in Bahrain behind a Ferrari one-two led by Fernando Alonso on his debut for the Maranello

Date

Tango takes over at Modern Art

Art and dance merged at Modern Art Oxford as performance artist and trained ballet dancer Anthony Howell performed his version of the tango. Mr Howell followed the performance on Saturday with three Sunday workshops teaching the Argentinian tango

Date

Botley 1 - Horsepath 9

Date

Police authority wins award

Thames Valley Police Authority has won the award of Police Service of the Year 2010. Khan Juna, chairman of the police authority and Deputy Chief Constable Francis Habgood were presented with the award at a ceremony held in Westminster, London.

Date

Tango takes over at art gallery

ART and dance merged at Modern Art Oxford as performance artist and trained ballet dancer Anthony Howell performed his version of the tango. Mr Howell followed the performance on Saturday with three Sunday workshops teaching the Argentinian tango to

Date

Woman mugged near Littlemore underpass

A 20-year-old woman was mugged near an underpass in Littlemore. The woman was in Priory Road at 8.50pm on Saturday when a man grabbed her handbag from behind and fled towards Falcon Close. The robber was about 5ft 11in tall and wearing

Date

Firefighters called after light sets fire to bed

TEN firefighters were called to a blaze at a house in Brook View, Greater Leys, at 10.25am today, after a light set a bed on fire. The occupier was alerted by her smoke alarm and evacuated the premises with her three young children and the family’s dog

Date

East Oxford playground will be improved

Families have been reassured revamp work on an East Oxford playground will begin next month, following claims the project had fallen behind schedule. Campaigners had claimed they were sceptical a scheduled refurbishment to the Meadow Lane playground

Date

Life conference offers workshops on mothering

A CONFERENCE with a series of workshops and talks on mothering is being held at St Gregory the Great School, in Cricket Road, on Saturday, run by the Oxford branch of anti-abortion campaigners Life. There will be 13 workshops throughout

Date

45 Oxford students diagnosed in mumps outbreak

Health officials are trying to contain an outbreak of mumps among Oxford’s student population. Forty-one students from Oxford University and four from Oxford Brookes have contracted the virus since February 27. Each case has been reported

Date

Race 'chance to say thanks'

Businesswoman Leila Wilcox was almost paralysed in a car crash. Now the mother-of-one from Stonesfield, who broke her back in the collision, is training to take part in the OX5 Run to raise money for Oxford Children’s Hospital. It will be the

Date

Woman gets suspended sentence for £9.5k fraud

A WOMAN who defrauded a council out of thousands of pounds has been given a suspended prison sentence. Tracey Jane Battell, of Saxton Road, Abingdon, used correction fluid to falsify bank statements and payslips to claim £9,500 in benefits from Vale

Date

Work on Old Gaol to start

WORK to demolish part of the Old Gaol will begin this week. The listed riverside building will be transformed with cafes and restaurants as well as 61 homes. The demolition, and archaeological investigations required by English Heritage, should be completed

Date

Glowing report for Oxfordshire's first academy

Oxfordshire's first academy has received a glowing report by Ofsted in its first inspection since opening in 2007. As well as receiving a ‘satisfactory’ overall rating, the North Oxfordshire Academy in Banbury was also rated good in the all-important

Date

A40 death crash victim named

A 23-year-old man killed when the car he was travelling in crashed on the A40 has been named. Kiel Campbell, of Burnham, Slough, died when the silver Renault Clio landed on its roof on the road between Forest Hill and Wheatley at 4.20am on Sunday.

Date

Kukui doorman quizzed after reveller injured

A CITY centre nightclub doorman was being questioned last night over an incident which left a man in hospital with a fractured skull. Police and paramedics were called to Kukui, in Park End Street, Oxford, at about 12.40am on Sunday. A 24-year-old man

Date

BT users still cut off after thieves botched cable theft in Botley Road

Up to 30 homes were last night still without Internet and phone lines, a week after connections were cut by thieves trying to steal underground British Telecom cables. The thieves failed in their attempt to steal copper cables beneath Botley Road, in

Date

Oxford celebrity sex pest freed by judge

A FORMER postman who sent sexually explicit messages to celebrities could face up to five years in prison if he breaks a new restraining order. In February, Mark Taylor admitted breaching an order by sending packages to GMTV presenter Penny Smith. The

Date

A40 death crash victim named

A 23-year-old man killed when the car he was travelling in crashed on the A40, has been named. Kiel Campbell, of Burnham, Slough, Berkshire, died when the silver Renault Clio landed on its roof on the road between Forest Hill and Wheatley at 4.20am

Date

East Oxford playground will be improved in weeks

FAMILIES have been reassured revamp work on an East Oxford playground will begin next month, following claimsthe project has fallen behind schedule. Campaigners had claimed they were sceptical a scheduled refurbishment to the Meadow Lane playground

Date

RUGBY UNION: Fulton leads the way

National 2 South Will Fulton scored 17 points as Henley Hawks won 47-3 at Bridgwater & Albion. Fulton kicked six conversions and ran in a try to give Hawks their first victory since December 12. Will Jones, Neil Baggett, Jack Shaylor, Steve Green

Date

RUGBY UNION: Six-try Wallingford shine

South West 1 East Kris Blaszko and Will Woodward bragged try braces as Wallingford defeated Oakmeadians 38-14 at the Hithercroft. They went ahead with a penalty from wing Ralph Smith after a high tackle on prop Anthony Marris. Oakmeadians missed

Date

RUGBY UNION: Chinnor cruise

Chinnor 32, Chippenham 13 Two tries from Richard Williams helped Chinnor to a workmanlike home victory in National 3 South West. Chinnor scored five tries, with prop Ian Stock, hooker Alan Cawston and flanker Sam Jones all impressing up front, but

Date

RUGBY UNION: 'We needed more control'

Chinnor head coach Jason Bowers admitted his side had not been at their best against Chippenham. He said: “Although we won so much ball, we weren’t always clinical when we needed to be. “However, we scored five good tries and picked up no injuries.

Date

RUGBY UNION: Stewart seals Quins comeback

National 3 South West Oxford Harlequins battled back from 12-3 down to record a 16-12 win at Bournemouth. Quins’ preparations were hit by injuries to centre Dom Maley and wing Huw Jones in training, while wing Will Spencer and No 8 Jason Welburn were

Date

RUGBY UNION: Banbury hold on

Midlands 2 East South Leaders Banbury Bulls hung on for an 11-7 victory at Huntingdon & District, despite having prop Andrew Gilbert sent off for punching. Huntingdon scored a converted try shortly after this to take the lead, but Bulls showed their

Date

RUGBY UNION: Penny's treble boost survival bid

Southern Counties North Neil Penny scored as hat-trick of tries as Chipping Norton boosted their chances of avoiding the drop with a 46-3 home victory over already-relegated Bicester. Andy Dawson’s side are now one point from safety with two games

Date

RUGBY UNION: Oxford close in on promotion

Oxford moved to within one point of promotion with a 41-10 home victory over Gosford All Blacks in the BB&O Premier Division. Duncan Lynchsmith scored Oxford’s opening try after good work from Nick Graham, Jamie Kirkaldy and Tom Johnson, Dom Coe converting

Date

Oxford's student population in mumps alarm as 45 catch virus

HEALTH officials are trying to contain an outbreak of mumps among Oxford’s student population. Forty-one Students from Oxford University and four from Oxford Brookes have contracted the virus since February 27. Each case has been

Date

Trucker fined for reading paper while driving during police mobile phone checks

A TRUCK driver was landed with a £60 fine after he was spotted reading a newspaper while motoring through a police checkpoint today. He was one of 89 drivers given penalty notices in Didcot and Henly - 36 drivers were fined for using their phone and

Date

DARTS: Workers tops in local derby thriller

Greene King ODDA Section 2 leaders Rileys Social Club A made the short trip to Cowley Workers Club and suffered a rare defeat, going down 5-4 in a thriller. Workers took the opening game when Keith Dickerson hit a brilliant 161 finish in defeating Anthony

Date

The classroom vs. distance learning: which is best?

Most of us are familiar with the idea of learning in a classroom environment, having spent a great part of our younger years at school. Some find this an overwhelmingly positive experience, whereas others simply cannot wait to leave compulsory

Date

Why should I enhance my vocational skills in 2010?

It’s fair to say that many people will be glad to see the back of 2009: the year in which we entered the longest recession in British history, accompanied by record breaking levels of unemployment. While predictions abound that analysis will

Date

Ask the Vet: Can a lily really kill mum’s cat?

Q I was considering getting an Easter Lily for my mum, but my friend says they can kill cats. Is this true? My mum has two cats. AMANDA, Burford A Your friend is right – lilies are known to be highly toxic to cats. The exact toxic factor is unknown

Date

Oxfordshire's first academy school gets good Ofsted report

OXFORDSHIRE’S first academy has received a glowing report by Ofsted in its first inspection since opening in 2007. As well as receiving a ‘satisfactory’ overall rating, the North Oxfordshire Academy in Banbury was also rated good in the all-important

Date

Race is a 'chance to say thanks'

BUSINESSWOMAN Leila Wilcox was almost paralysed in a car crash. Now the mother-of-one from Stonesfield, near Witney, who broke her back in the collision, is training to take part in the OX5 Run to raise money for Oxford Children’s Hospital.

Date

Woman's bag snatched in Littlemore

A young woman had her bag snatched as she walked through Littlemore. At about 8.50pm on Saturday, the 20-year-old was walking along Priory Road, close to the railway overpass bridge, when she was approached from behind by a man. The offender was

Date

Three Cumnor homes burgled

Police are appealing for witnesses after a series of burglaries in Cumnor. Burglars forced their way into a house in The Park and two properties in The Glebe. At the property in The Park, they stole cash and at the other two addresses they stole

Date

Local share prices (PM)

AEA Technology 23.25 BMW 2989 Electrocomponents 198.75 Gladstone 34 Nationwide Accident Repair 91.5 Oxford Biomedica 10.8 Oxford Catalyst 57.5 Oxford Instruments 248 Reed Elsevier 505.25 RM 166.75 RPS Group 177.2 Courtesy of Redmayne

Date

Management Committee Minutes March 11th 2010

Present Alan Wilkins, Lakis Christodoulou, Steve Simmonds, Paul Lyon, Tracey Haslam, Kenny Moore, Leighton Greenslade Apologies Mary Simmonds, Chris Madden, Neil Smith, Claire Newell 1. Minutes of last meeting Agreed as true record

Date

HOCKEY: Joy and despair for Banbury

With leaders Wycombe surprisingly losing, Banbury gave themselves a lifeline in their hunt for promotion from Women's South Clubs’ Division 3A with a 2-0 win at City of Oxford. A slick move by Vicky Page and Ann Glover was coolly finished off

Date

HOCKEY: Exhibition stuff as Hawks hit seven

Oxford Hawks played their best hockey of the season to demolish fellow mid-table Premier 2 team Ashford 7-0 away in the Men's South League. Hawks made the long trip to Kent and then gave the home side a lesson. They started brightly and Steve Collier

Date

Comic launches Love Bicester

Comedian Jimmy Cricket will kick-start ten days of fun in Bicester organised by the town’s churches. The veteran comic will appear at St Edburg’s Church on Friday, for An Audience With Jimmy Cricket to launch ‘Love Bicester’. A rock band, former England

Date

'Green' to be turned into works compound

A community has spoken out against plans to turn its “village green” into a works compound for up to two years. A developer has been given permission to create a ring-fenced compound in Manzil Way gardens, East Oxford, for 24 months. The compound

Date

Google street maps cover county

You can now take a virtual stroll down almost every street in Oxfordshire after search engine Google increased its street maps coverage across the UK. The Google Street View system, launched in Britain a year ago, offers online visitors the

Date

Rig to arrive

A large floating piling rig will arrive near Wallingford Bridge on Wednesday as work starts on building the town’s new £221,500 moorings. Contractors Breheny Civil Engineering will reinforce the riverbank before building the moorings, which should be

Date

Oxfam worker urges more UK aid to train Malawi midwives

AN OXFAM worker has seen first hand hospital conditions for expectant mothers in Africa on a visit to Malawi. Sarah Dransfield, 30, from Charlbury, is part of a campaign demanding action from party leaders to end millions of unnecessary deaths of women

Date

East Oxford 'green' to be turned into a works compound

A COMMUNITY has spoken out against plans to turn its “village green” into a works compound for up to two years. A developer has been given permission to create a fenced compound in Manzil Way gardens, East Oxford, for 24 months. The

Date

Doorman arrested following city centre incident

A nightclub doorman is in custody following an incident which a reveller suffered a fractured skull. Police and paramedics were called to outside Kukui, in Park End Street, Oxford, at around 12.40am yesterday. A 24-year-old man was taken to the John

Date

Man banned from contacting stars

A stalker who sent lewd letters to female stars has been banned from contacting any celebrities for a year. Former postman Mark Taylor, 47, targeted actress Meg Ryan, Big Brother winner Kate Lawler and television presenter Penny Smith by sending them

Date

Google maps now cover whole of Oxfordshire

YOU can now take a virtual stroll down almost every street in Oxfordshire after search engine Google increased its street maps coverage across the UK. The Google Street View system, launched in Britain a year ago, offers online visitors the chance to

Date

Veteran comic kicks off churches’ days of fun

COMEDIAN Jimmy Cricket will kick-start 10 days of fun in Bicester organised by the town’s churches. The veteran comic will appear at St Edburg’s Church on Friday, for An Audience With Jimmy Cricket to launch ‘Love Bicester’. A rock band, former England

Date

TV interview reveals Camerons' home life

DAVID Cameron’s wife has given a revealing insight into their home life as she prepares to take a leading role in the General Election campaign. In her first public interview, Samantha Cameron praised the Witney MP and Conservative Party leader’s strength

Date

Kidlington Youth 2 Didcot Boys B 2

With the slope in their favour Kidlington started very well and created plenty of chances. They took a deserved lead with a neat finish from Harry Firkin and continued to put the Didcot defence under a lot of pressure. They were rewarded with a

Date

Alice tours launch in Oxford

A series of tours is being staged to coincide with the new Alice in Wonderland film starring Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter. The Tim Burton movie is being shown in cinemas across Oxfordshire. And tourism officials in the city have

Date

Chipping Norton pupils bring street life to school

PUPILS were encouraged to make a mark on their school – by creating a graffiti wall. Children at Chipping Norton School, in Burford Road, worked with graffiti artist Graham Meads to decorate the wall. The after-school activity culminated in a street

Date

Knife crime in the spotlight

RORY Campbell remembers growing up in Blackbird Leys when almost everyone he knew carried a knife. Now the 26-year-old is one of eight young people taking part in a documentary putting the issue of knives and urban crime on Oxford’s largest

Date

Oxford tours bid to cash in on Alice in Wonderland

A SERIES of tours is being staged to coincide with the new Alice in Wonderland film starring Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter. The Tim Burton movie is now being shown in cinemas across Oxfordshire. And tourism bosses in the city have laid on the

Date

Pub fined for hygiene breach

The Joiners Arms, Bloxham, has been fined £4,000 for poor hygiene standards in its kitchen. Owner Thomas Aldous admitted two charges relating to food hygiene regulations at Banbury Magistrates’ Court. He was also ordered to pay costs of £3,500 costs

Date

Still offline after theft

Homes remained without Internet and telephone connections almost a week after a bungled theft cut thousands of lines in west Oxford, Botley and Cumnor. A BT spokesman said engineers were continuing to fix the cables in Botley Road and service should

Date

Oxford doorman arrested

A nightclub doorman is in custody following an incident which left a reveller with a fractured skull. Police and paramedics were called to Kukui, in Park End Street, Oxford, at about 12.40am yesterday. A 24-year-old man was taken to

Date

Stalker breached restraining order

A man from Oxford who persistently sent lewd letters and pictures to at least six celebrities has been given a 12-month supervision order by Oxford Crown Court today. Mark Taylor, 47, of Arlington Drive, Marston, was charged with breaching

Date

Mumps outbreak among students in Oxford

A mumps outbreak has been affecting students in the city, it has been reported. There were 27 reported cases in the first week of March, with students from both Oxford University and Oxford Brookes affected. Oxford University newspaper Cherwell

Date

Local share prices (AM)

AEA Technology 24 BMW 2972 Electrocomponents 198.8 Gladstone 34 Nationwide Accident Repair 91.5 Oxford Biomedica 11 Oxford Catalyst 57.5 Oxford Instruments 249 Reed Elsevier 506.25 RM 168 RPS Group 178.9 Courtesy

Date

Steeple Aston pram racers outpaced spectators

ON WHAT looks like a fairly steep hill, these pram racers were able to get up quite a speed. The picture was taken during Steeple Aston’s Whit Monday Pram Race in 1973. It shows Steve Bell, in the grey shirt, and Tony King, in the blue top, on their

Date

St John Ambulance volunteers were up to scratch

ST JOHN Ambulance volunteers were always expected to look smart. But when inspection day came round, extra effort was put in to make sure every detail was right. Did these volunteers pictured above pass? By the look on most of their

Date

Postcard marked passing of Oxford's trams

FEW tears were shed when the horse-drawn trams disappeared from Oxford’s streets. A postcard was produced, bearing the words: “At Rest, Botley, Jan 1914 –The Funeral of the Worn-out Tram”. Below the picture was the following rhyme: No

Date

RAC's Summertown office was on call to help members

THESE were the days when the RAC had a base in Oxford. The motoring organisation opened new offices in the Summertown shopping centre in 1969 to meet increasing demand for its services. Its first office opened in St Giles in 1925, followed by a move

Date

The changing face of Great Milton

PUB and church united for a pig roast at the King’s Head in 1977 to raise money for the church restoration fund. Nearly 200 people, including the vicar, the Rev Eric Barker, turned out to support the event, organised by mine hosts David and Lyn Pope.

Date

Shrapnel souvenirs of Oxford soldier's time in trenches

THE Willmot family have treasured mementos from their grandfather’s Army career – two pieces of shrapnel. Percy William Willmot served for four years with the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry in France during the First World War. He was

Date

Estate road to close for repairs

A pothole-riddled road in Oxford will close for up to two weeks from today for essential repairs. Wood Farm Road will be shut at the junction with The Slade for the work. Pete Bonney, 70, of Nuffield Road, said: “It is about time. The

Date

Estate is set for a hole lot of work

A POTHOLE-RIDDLED road in Oxford will close for up to two weeks from today for essential repairs. Wood Farm Road will be shut at the junction with The Slade for the work. Pete Bonney, 70, of Nuffield Road, said: “It is about time. The

Date

Oxford United boss sends message to fans

DON’T write us off – that was the message from manager Chris Wilder after his team dropped two more points at home against Kettering on Saturday. The U’s 1-1 draw at the Kassam Stadium means Stevenage now lead the Blue Square Premier by rights for the

Date

Hidden statues unearthed in Cowley

Two statues hidden from view for decades are to be unveiled to the public — but nobody knows where they have come from. The figures have been buried under foliage outside Cowley Library and will soon be moved to the Oxfordshire Record Office

Date

Shed some light on this nocturnal nonsense

Today the Oxford Mail is trying to get to the bottom of a question that has been vexing many of our readers. A survey by this paper found almost half of businesses in a city centre street were leaving some of their shop lights throughout the night.

Date

Bid to unearth secrets of Cowley's hidden statues

TWO statues hidden from view for decades are to be unveiled to the public — but nobody knows where they have come from. The figures have been buried under foliage outside Cowley Library and will soon be moved to the Oxfordshire Record Office, in Temple

Date

Why are the lights left on?

A survey found almost half of businesses in an Oxford street were leaving their lights on throughout the night. Critics say leaving lights on wastes energy and money, and places an unnecessary burden on the environment. But some shops

Date

Why do so many city stores stay illuminated even when closed?

TODAY, the Oxford Mail is asking whether businesses need to leave their lights on when nobody is working. A survey we carried out found almost half of businesses in a city centre street were leaving their shops on throughout the night.