Archive

  • Jubilee mugs go on sale

    Banbury Town Council has commissioned a commemorative mug to mark the Queen's Golden Jubilee. Jan Justice with Rosemarie Higham A suggestion by Jan Justice for a commemorative gift to pass on to children and grandchildren was agreed. Working with deputy

  • Criminal steals landlord's identity

    Paul Vanstone's life has been made a misery by a criminal using his name. Paul Vanstone According to police computers, Mr Vanstone, a pub landlord who lives in Preston Road, Abingdon, has a string of 143 convictions, extending to 17 pages, including burglary

  • Care campaigners seek help of MPs

    Parents were meeting Oxfordshire MPs at Westminster on Wednesday, 22 May, in a bid to save three respite centres for disabled children. The Summerfield Centre in Abingdon, Sycamore House in Banbury, and the Chilterns Centre in Henley are threatened with

  • Mayor re-elected

    Chipping Norton town councillors have re-elected Jo Graves as mayor. A delighted Mrs Graves, of New Street, said she was looking forward to the Queen's Golden Jubilee celebrations on Bank Holiday Monday, June 3. The town centre will be closed to traffic

  • Time to rethink Oxford's green belt, say planners

    Witney should not be saddled with excessive housebuilding to protect Oxford's green belt, say council officers. Witney has been painted as a town under increasing pressure in a report for a meeting of West Oxfordshire District Council's cabinet today.

  • Businessman still held in Oman

    Time is fast running out for a Witney businessman, held in the Gulf State of Oman, who is desperate to get to his mother's funeral. Jonathan Brown had filled in all the paperwork and made a sworn statement to return to the country, where he owes a £10,000

  • Pupils step back into Viking times

    Viking history was brought to life for the children of Little Milton Primary School on May 21. Bethan Morris, eight, and Laurence Day, seven They stepped more than 1,000 years back in time by dressing up as Scandinavian marauders as part of their history

  • Policeman earns service medal

    A community policeman from Bicester is to receive an award from Thames Valley Police. Pc Matt Jenkins Pc Matt Jenkins has qualified for his 22 years' service medal -- but has asked for the presentation to take place next spring so his parents-in-law,

  • Traders back square facelift

    Shopkeepers want to keep existing traffic routes and car parking in Bicester Market Square. Options for the future of the square are being considered by Cherwell district councillors and Bicester town councillors. Artist and sculptor Gordon Young has

  • Crash gridlocks M40

    The M40 was gridlocked for two hours after a crash involving a hamburger van. The motorway was brought to a standstill between junction six at Lewknor and junction seven at Milton Common, after a collision between a seven-and-a-half ton lorry and a snack

  • Sale to help Third World

    Oxfam volunteers are well on their way to raising £3,000 to help people in Third World countries. (RAWXML: <image large="22om10-330.jpg" small="22om10-80.jpg" type="landscape">Fair organiser Helen O'Neill with one of the items for sale, a first

  • Grant pays for ball pool

    A centre for mothers and toddlers in Carterton has received help from the Oxfordshire Community Foundation. The foundation has given £494 to the St John Drop-In Centre, which will be used to buy a shallow inflatable pool, in a car shape, filled with brightly

  • Powerful campaign saves cash

    An energy-saving campaign by pupils has cut a primary school's annual power bills by £1,600. The children display their posters Children at St Michael's CofE Primary School in Steventon, near Abingdon helped cut electricity and gas costs by turning down

  • Asylum seekers hid under lorry

    Four Iraqi men found clinging to the bottom of a lorry in Oxford on Monday are claiming asylum. A German lorry was stopped and searched by Oxford police at the junction of Sunderland Avenue and Banbury Road, near the Cutteslowe roundabout on Monday afternoon

  • Jubilee mugs go on sale

    Banbury Town Council has commissioned a commemorative mug to mark the Queen's Golden Jubilee. Jan Justice with Rosemarie Higham A suggestion by Jan Justice for a commemorative gift to pass on to children and grandchildren was agreed. Working with deputy

  • Care campaigners seek help of MPs

    Parents were meeting Oxfordshire MPs at Westminster on Wednesday, 22 May, in a bid to save three respite centres for disabled children. The Summerfield Centre in Abingdon, Sycamore House in Banbury, and the Chilterns Centre in Henley are threatened with

  • MP attacks bank over race row

    Banbury MP Tony Baldry has criticised the NatWest Bank for its treatment of protesters fighting plans for an asylum-seeker centre near Bicester. The bank refused an application by Bicester Action Group to open an account for its campaign funds, accusing

  • Unmarried couples warned

    Unmarried couples setting up a business should protect themselves in case they break up, according to an Oxford accountant. Stephen Dexter, partner at Grant Thornton in Oxford, said there was no legal framework governing the financial issues of unmarried

  • Bakery expands

    A bakery is going from strength to strength after doubling the size of its operation within the last year. Graham Keyte, left, and managing director Clare Keyte, right, with the first recipients, Sue Port, Jim McKeevor, Percy Gordon and Jon Queen of Hearts

  • Rebel Blackwell seeks key votes

    The family feud at Blackwell Publishing is likely to come to a head this week at two meetings called to try to force a sale of the company. A spokesman for rebel shareholder Toby Blackwell, 74, said negotiations between the two sides would go on until

  • Time to rethink Oxford's green belt, say planners

    Witney should not be saddled with excessive housebuilding to protect Oxford's green belt, say council officers. Witney has been painted as a town under increasing pressure in a report for a meeting of West Oxfordshire District Council's cabinet today.

  • May Queen keeps up with tradition

    A school's annual May Fair in Grove promises to be a right royal occasion in every way. Joyce Carter looks through photographs with this year's May Queen, seven-year-old Hannah Barrett Not only will there be the traditional crowning of a new May Queen

  • Three women admit aggravated burglary

    Three women await sentence for a New Year's Day burglary. Natalie Hoareau, 20, and Emma Mainland, 21, both of Green Road, Headington, Oxford, and Catherine Gray, 22, of Southfield Road, east Oxford, admitted aggravated burglary when they appeared at Oxford

  • Sale to help Third World

    Oxfam volunteers are well on their way to raising £3,000 to help people in Third World countries. (RAWXML: <image large="22om10-330.jpg" small="22om10-80.jpg" type="landscape">Fair organiser Helen O'Neill with one of the items for sale, a first

  • Donation gets ball rolling

    A sports centre for the disabled is to open its doors to more young people, with the help of a £5,600 donation. Alison Hawkins with Oxsrad members and MP Andrew Smith OXSRAD, the Oxford and District Sports and Recreation Association for the Disabled,

  • Protesters get installation of telephone mast put on hold

    Householders opposed to the siting of a 72ft phone mast near their north Oxford homes are celebrating after they prevented it being installed. The protesters in north Oxford Up to 40 people staged a protest outside BT's exchange on the corner of Oakthorpe

  • Red tape hits parking bans

    Residents in streets near Oxford United's Kassam Stadium are still waiting for parking controls to be put in place a year after they were recommended. Oxford City Council commissioned a report from consultants on match day parking, which was completed

  • University police branded 'too powerful'

    Covered Market traders want Oxford University police stripped of their powers. Traders have written to Dr Evan Harris, MP for Oxford West and Abingdon, asking for an amendment to a Police Reform Bill currently going through Parliament that would remove

  • Athletics: Plateau pounces in Radley victory

    Natalie Plateau produced a great run to set the seal on Radley Ladies A's win in their Southern Women's League Division 1 clash at Bedford. Despite missing several regulars due to injury and illness, Radley stormed to victory with 209 points, beating

  • Red tape hits parking bans

    Residents in streets near Oxford United's Kassam Stadium are still waiting for parking controls to be put in place a year after they were recommended. Oxford City Council commissioned a report from consultants on match day parking, which was completed

  • Housing to go on school site

    PARENTS and ecologists were disappointed after plans to build housing on the site of Milham Ford School, Oxford, were agreed. The grounds of the school in Harberton Mead, Marston, contain rare orchids and insect life and parents were hoping another school

  • Grant pays for ball pool

    A centre for mothers and toddlers in Carterton has received help from the Oxfordshire Community Foundation. The foundation has given £494 to the St John Drop-In Centre, which will be used to buy a shallow inflatable pool, in a car shape, filled with brightly

  • Retired people's homes planned

    West Oxfordshire District Council offices in the centre of Witney could be turned into retirement homes. The authority has several offfice buildings in the town, but work has just started to extend its base at The Gables, New Yatt Road. Staff at offices

  • Crash gridlocks M40

    The M40 was gridlocked for two hours after a crash involving a hamburger van. The motorway was brought to a standstill between junction six at Lewknor and junction seven at Milton Common, after a collision between a seven-and-a-half ton lorry and a snack

  • Traders back push for CCTV cameras

    Traders in Thame are joining the town council in a bid to get CCTV security cameras in the town centre. They are making their views known to South Oxfordshire District Council, which co-ordinates the provision of cameras in Wallingford, Henley and Thame

  • May Queen keeps up with tradition

    A school's annual May Fair in Grove promises to be a right royal occasion in every way. Joyce Carter looks through photographs with this year's May Queen, seven-year-old Hannah Barrett Not only will there be the traditional crowning of a new May Queen

  • Arsonists target schools

    Vandals have smashed windows at Bicester's two comprehensives. Both Bicester Community College, Queen's Avenue, and Cooper School, Churchill Road, were attacked. At the college an attempt was made to set fire to an office, which suffered only smoke damage

  • MP attacks bank over race row

    Banbury MP Tony Baldry has criticised the NatWest Bank for its treatment of protesters fighting plans for an asylum-seeker centre near Bicester. The bank refused an application by Bicester Action Group to open an account for its campaign funds, accusing

  • Mayor re-elected

    Chipping Norton town councillors have re-elected Jo Graves as mayor. A delighted Mrs Graves, of New Street, said she was looking forward to the Queen's Golden Jubilee celebrations on Bank Holiday Monday, June 3. The town centre will be closed to traffic

  • Pupils step back into Viking times

    Viking history was brought to life for the children of Little Milton Primary School on May 21. Bethan Morris, eight, and Laurence Day, seven They stepped more than 1,000 years back in time by dressing up as Scandinavian marauders as part of their history

  • Makeovers to aid charity

    People will be offered face make-up and a beauty consultation on Saturday,May25, at an Oxford fundraising event for a cancer charity. Staff at Allders, in the Westgate Centre, will be joined by up to 20 beauticians from leading companies for a Mega Make-up

  • Neglected dog on the mend

    The RSPCA has appealed to the owner of a neglected and abandoned dog to come forward. Charmain Anderson with Flake The West Highland terrier, nicknamed Flake, was found in Evans Lane, Kidlington, on Saturday. Flake is almost blind and has lost a lot of

  • Traders back push for CCTV cameras

    Traders in Thame are joining the town council in a bid to get CCTV security cameras in the town centre. They are making their views known to South Oxfordshire District Council, which co-ordinates the provision of cameras in Wallingford, Henley and Thame

  • Donation gets ball rolling

    A sports centre for the disabled is to open its doors to more young people, with the help of a £5,600 donation. Alison Hawkins with Oxsrad members and MP Andrew Smith OXSRAD, the Oxford and District Sports and Recreation Association for the Disabled,

  • Protesters get installation of telephone mast put on hold

    Householders opposed to the siting of a 72ft phone mast near their north Oxford homes are celebrating after they prevented it being installed. The protesters in north Oxford Up to 40 people staged a protest outside BT's exchange on the corner of Oakthorpe

  • Pupils display design skills

    Pupils were challenged to design a theme park ride from a huge box of construction materials. Joseph McDonagh and Michael Thomas Working in pairs, nine and ten-year-olds at Harwell Primary School produced ferris wheels, swings and fairground rides. They

  • Policeman earns service medal

    A community policeman from Bicester is to receive an award from Thames Valley Police. Pc Matt Jenkins Pc Matt Jenkins has qualified for his 22 years' service medal -- but has asked for the presentation to take place next spring so his parents-in-law,

  • Pioneering motor project celebrates 10th birthday

    No-one has more reason to sing the praises of the Trax project than Stuart Phillips, who, as a 20-year-old tear- away, already with a prison record, was definitely on the road to nowhere. On remand in Reading Prison, awaiting sentences for vehicle theft

  • M&S has turned fortunes around

    The top executive at high street heavyweight Marks & Spencer says he believes the business has "turned the corner" after seeing its fortunes take a leap in the last year. The group posted pre-tax profits of £646.7m for the year ended March 30 -- a

  • Innovation centre attracts 16 firms

    An innovation centre has attracted 16 new companies in its first year of operation. The Culham centre's first companies -- Reaction Engines, Oxford Scientific and Toumaz Technology -- have all enjoyed success over the past year. Oxford Scientific and

  • Mug spelling error spoils Jubilee plan

    A spelling mistake has disrupted villagers' plans to celebrate the Queen's Golden Jubilee. Commemorative mugs ordered for children in Chilton, near Didcot, have been inscribed 'Chiltern'. Mugs with the correct spelling may not arrive in time for next

  • Care campaigners seek help of MPs

    Parents were meeting Oxfordshire MPs at Westminster on Wednesday, 22 May, in a bid to save three respite centres for disabled children. The Summerfield Centre in Abingdon, Sycamore House in Banbury, and the Chilterns Centre in Henley are threatened with

  • University police branded 'too powerful'

    Covered Market traders want Oxford University police stripped of their powers. Traders have written to Dr Evan Harris, MP for Oxford West and Abingdon, asking for an amendment to a Police Reform Bill currently going through Parliament that would remove

  • Businessman still held in Oman

    Time is fast running out for a Witney businessman, held in the Gulf State of Oman, who is desperate to get to his mother's funeral. Jonathan Brown had filled in all the paperwork and made a sworn statement to return to the country, where he owes a £10,000

  • Makeovers to aid charity

    People will be offered face make-up and a beauty consultation on Saturday,May25, at an Oxford fundraising event for a cancer charity. Staff at Allders, in the Westgate Centre, will be joined by up to 20 beauticians from leading companies for a Mega Make-up

  • Figures reveal share of votes

    New figures have revealed that the total vote polled by Green candidates in the Oxford City Council elections compared favourably with two years ago. The Liberal Democrat-Green administration lost control of the council in the elections on May 2, and

  • MP attacks bank over race row

    Banbury MP Tony Baldry has criticised the NatWest Bank for its treatment of protesters fighting plans for an asylum-seeker centre near Bicester. The bank refused an application by Bicester Action Group to open an account for its campaign funds, accusing

  • Three women admit aggravated burglary

    Three women await sentence for a New Year's Day burglary. Natalie Hoareau, 20, and Emma Mainland, 21, both of Green Road, Headington, Oxford, and Catherine Gray, 22, of Southfield Road, east Oxford, admitted aggravated burglary when they appeared at Oxford

  • Rugby: Sale aiming to serve up feast

    England fly-half Charlie Hodgson says his Sale side are looking to serve up a feast of running rugby in this weekend's Parker Pen European Shield final. The Manchester club take on Pontypridd at Oxford United's Kassam Stadium this Sunday (2pm). And Hodgson

  • Cricket: New Banbury coach Paul is Taylor-made

    Paul Taylor's appointment as Banbury's new player-coach appears to have been an inspired choice, judging by early-season performances both on and off the field. In his first match, the former Northants and England left-arm seamer produced a sparkling