TWO incidents on the A420 caused major delays for rush hour commuters tonight, with the road being closed. The road was shut between the Faringdon turn and the Wantage roundabout, due to a lorry fire which happened shortly before 5pm. Fire crews
This weekend is set to be one of the most monumental weekends we have had in years. Of course, as if you didn't already know, it's FA Cup semi final weekend. 'Why is it set to be so special?' i hear you ask. The reason is that for the first time in seven
This weekend is set to be one of the most monumental weekends we have had in years. Of course, as if you didn't already know, it's FA Cup semi final weekend. 'Why is it set to be so special?' i hear you ask. The reason is that for the first time in seven
This weekend is set to be one of the most monumental weekends we have had in years. Of course, as if you didn't already know, it's FA Cup semi final weekend. 'Why is it set to be so special?' i hear you ask. The reason is that for the first time in seven
So this summer, machines are coming a step nearer removing umpires from the game. The news that players will be allowed to challenge umpring decisions in one of the first-class counties' meaningless one-day competitions is surely bad news for us umpires
So this summer, machines are coming a step nearer removing umpires from the game. The news that players will be allowed to challenge umpring decisions in one of the first-class counties' meaningless one-day competitions is surely bad news for us umpires
So this summer, machines are coming a step nearer removing umpires from the game. The news that players will be allowed to challenge umpring decisions in one of the first-class counties' meaningless one-day competitions is surely bad news for us umpires
SATURDAY. FOOTBALL NATIONWIDE CONFERENCE St Albans C v Oxford Utd. BRITISH GAS BUSINESS SOUTHERN LEAGUE Premier Div: Banbury Utd v Team Bath. Div 1 South & West: Didcot Tn v Bracknell Tn, Oxford C v Bashley, Uxbridge v Abingdon Utd. SPORT ITALIA
Why do I enjoy Amateur Dramatics? I am often asked. Well says I, it is one of the few things left in Blair’s Britain that you can enjoy and not be taxed on but then I am accused of being cynical. I still find in very strange that thousands of people in
Drivers on the A420 suffered the curse of Friday the 13th last night as two major incidents caused rush-hour tailbacks. A lorry fire near Faringdon closed the road completely at around 5pm - adding to problems caused by a four vehicle accident near
Local share prices at the close of the London Stock Exchange on Friday, April 13, were as follows: AEA Technology 111.75 BMW 3049 Electrocomponents 299.75 Isoft Group 36.75 Oxford Biomedica 48.75 Oxford Instruments 262.25 Reed Elsevier 618.25
IT was always a good bet that as a heavyweight historian and honorary fellow of both Queen's and Oriel colleges, Lord Morgan was never going to be a huge fan of super-casinos. But the stakes were certainly high for the Government when the 72-year-old
RENAULT engineering chief Pat Symonds is confident the Enstone team will "bounce back strongly" and insists there will be no knee-jerk reaction to their current problems. The double and reigning constructors' champions delivered an improved performance
The man who died in a road collision on Wednesday night has been identified this morning. Sean Anthony Doody, from Swindon, was killed when his bike and a Mitsubishi Shogun collided in Besselsleigh Road, near Wootton, at about 6pm. Mr Doody had been
RWE npower, owner of Didcot Power Station, blames Save Radley Lakes for the adjournment in the inquiry until June because of a sudden influx of extra witnesses. This is not so. The witnesses called filled in long questionaires and submitted detailed
Scaremongering global warming experts would have us believe that, in the near future, everyone's gardens will be planted out with cacti and grape vines and half the population will be in the John Radcliffe Hospital being treated for skin cancer, due to
After 2006's grim death toll on our roads broke a record for all the wrong reasons, two fatal accidents in quick succession have shown that 2007 could prove to be just as bad as last year. It seemed a week didn't go by in 2006 without a fatality on
AS THE weather has started to improve, more and more people are in their gardens getting ready for this year's Oxford in Bloom competition, sponsored by the Oxford Mail. Entry forms for the competition will be distributed to homes throughout the city
AT THE risk of accusation of name-dropping (again), I met Lord Howe and his wife, Lady Elspeth, in, of all places, the Tchibo coffee shop in Banbury's Castle Quay. He looks older than the last time I saw him in the flesh - from the House of Commons press
THE country will bask in glorious sunshine this weekend as temperatures reach their highest levels of the year, weather forecasters have predicted. Thermometers in parts of Britain are expected to hit 24C-25C (75F-77F) - about ten degrees above the
As far as openings to long weekends go, it's quite possible it doesn't get much better than this: * Couple arrive at remote destination having found it without arguing - and the woman was in charge of map reading (and it was dark) * Porter arrives to
Fancy a romantic weekend? Paris, perhaps, or Rome? Or what about Dorking? No, I'm serious - the Home Counties are getting all touchy-feely on us. Stuck in the wilderness of the west M25, with speed cameras you'll never get to trigger and a stream of
'Would it interest you to see the new timetable I've drafted for next term?" asks Andrew Crocker-Harris. "I think it has the merit of clarity." Crocker-Harris is just the man for timetable compiling, for he is neat and precise. But, it soon appears, he
Following hot on the heels of Hero and House Of Flying Daggers, director Zhang Yimou's latest martial arts epic is another opulent affair, dripping in fine silks and breathtaking colour, with some equally astounding fight sequences. Gold shimmers in
A MOTORCYCLIST killed in a crash on Wednesday night was named today. Sean Anthony Doody, from Swindon, died after his machine and a Mitsubishi Shogun collided in Besselsleigh Road, off the A420, at about 6pm. Mr Doody had been travelling from Wootton
You can almost see the dollar signs cha-ching in the Disney executives' eyes as they picture a fool-proof creation: ageing Hollywood names cast as middle-aged motorbikers, a mildly entertaining script full of one-liners, and Ray Liotta as the bad guy.
There's testosterone and macho swagger in extremis in Shooter, Antoine Fuqua's pumped-up action thriller based on the book Point Of Impact by Washington Post film critic Stephen Hunter. Best described as the backwoods cousin of Rambo and The Bourne
It was hard not to be impossibly self-satisfied as we sat with our faces upturned to the sun, enjoying the clear blue skies and the kids playing on the beach, from the safety of our pub bench in a tiny Cornish fishing hamlet. We had managed to find
My friend erupted into laughter when I invited him for a Thai night out in Elizabethan surroundings. "An Elizabethan Thai?" he howled. Holding the phone far from my ear, I wondered why I had bothered inviting him in the first place. What I meant,
With a sound that pulls together folk, electronica and chunky guitar rock, Fields draw their influences from far and wide. But, says guitarist Jamie Putnam, if there's one thing that defines the band it's the countryside. "There is a strong rustic
About to embark on a mammoth tour which sold out in an hour, you'd expect Tom Fletcher from McFly to be ranting on about groupies and their latest drunken exploits. But having just got back from 10 days in Uganda for Comic Relief, the glitsy superficial
Kelly Hazelwood was the star performer when Witney LTC held their first junior tournament. The 14-year-old claimed both the under 14 and under 18 girls' singles titles in a highly successful campaign. Hazelwood proved too strong for Alice Atkins with
FIREFIGHTERS spent almost three hours battling a fire in an outbuilding in Launton Road, Bicester yesterday. The single-storey building, which was unoccupied and undergoing refurbishment, was 90 per cent destroyed by fire and fire crews used two main
MOTORISTS are bracing themselves for weeks of traffic woe as major roadworks start on the Oxford bypass next week. From Monday, repair work will take place on the Marsh Lane flyover for five weeks with 24-hour temporary traffic lights. The Northern
Headington A are celebrating after winning the Men's Division 1 title in the Oxford & District League. Their nominated team of Dave Soanes, Nick Raven, Jon Campbell, Ian Ross, Nick Watkins and Ken Liu have proved too strong for their opponents. Oxford
Bicester will be without five key players as they look to clinch promotion back to Southern Counties North with a win against Slough tomorrow. Anything other than a victory against the second-placed visitors will see them remain in BB&O Premier Division
MATT Maudsley says he is not worried about Oxford Harlequins' form ahead of tomorrow's South West 1 relegation showdown at home to Chippenham (3). Quins' director of rugby has seen his side dramatically sucked into a basement battle after three successive
Burglars smashed through the glass doors of an Oxford cinema, attached a cash machine to the back of their Jeep Cherokee and ripped it straight out of the wall. About £5,000 is estimated to have been taken in the incident which happened the Vie cinema
Motorists are bracing themselves for weeks of traffic woe as major roadworks start on the Oxford bypass next week. From Monday, repair work will take place on the Marsh Lane flyover for five weeks with 24-hour temporary traffic lights. The Northern
A woman accused of murder told a jury she thought she and her fellow accused were only teaching the victim a lesson. Tracey Fathers, 35, denies murdering Sean Miles, 37, right, who was found naked, bruised and drowned in the Thames last May. The prosecution
Staff at Oxfordshire's major hospitals have been accused of negligence after it was revealed that patients and visitors have been injured by discarded needles. According to figures from the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust - responsible for Oxford's
A scheme to redevelop a quarter of Oxford city centre is shortly to be submitted to the Government. Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly will be asked to back a multi-million- pound regeneration plan promising a "vibrant mix" of hundreds of new homes, offices
Oxfordshire is on course for another year of tragedy on the roads. There have been nine fatalities on the county's road so far in 2007 including two deaths in the past week. That is just one less than for the same period last year- which ultimately
Witney United are set to welcome back Robbie Wyatt and Stuart Douglas when they travel to Rayners Lane in the quarter-finals of the Linaker Insurance Brokers Cup. Douglas has recovered from a dead leg, while Wyatt came through 90 minutes at Harrow Hill
A car overturned and landed in a field after leaving the carriageway on the M40 this morning. Paramedics and firefighters were at the scene of the crash which happened on the northbound carriageway about a mile south of junction seven near Great Haseley
North Leigh will be without centre back Karl Dodds when the Sport Italia Hellenic League Premier Division leaders host Highworth Town tomorrow. Dodds broke his nose during Saturday's draw against Abingdon Town and has been ruled out for at least a week
A CAR overturned and landed in a field after leaving the carriageway on the M40 today. Paramedics and firefighters were at the scene of the crash which happened on the northbound carriageway about a mile south of junction seven near Great Haseley shortly
Pat Symonds, engineering chief for Oxfordshire-based Renault, is confident the team will bounce back strongly following their low-key start to the 2007 season. The double and reigning constructors' champions from Enstone, near Chipping Norton, delivered
They have 12 medals under their black belts. Now a high kicking karate team want to rally other youngsters to take up the sport. The team from Oxford Sport and Traditional Martial Arts School, who fought their way to victory at the Irish International
Ipswich Witches 52, Oxford Cheetahs 38 Oxford have all to play for after the first leg of their Knockout Cup clash at Foxhall Stadium last night. Two successive 4-2 heat advantages at the death closed the gap and kept Cheetahs in sight of the Witches
A man who lay in wait for his girlfriend on Christmas Eve then stabbed her twice has been sent to a detention centre. Christopher De Banks was armed with two knives and attacked his girlfriend Kerri O'Callaghan outside The Blackbird pub, in Blackbird
A mother has thanked dozens of volunteers who turned out in force to search for her two missing sons. Families living in Wantage formed search parties after learning that the two brothers, aged seven and eight, had disappeared at about 8pm on Wednesday
Two brothers are standing trial accused of sexually abusing boys. Trevor Baker, 44, denies six charges of raping two boys, three of serious sexual offences on another boy and six indecent assaults on two other boys dating from the late 1970s until 2001
Jeremy Wood secured a key victory over county player Russell Boulton as Abingdon won 4-2 at home to Cholsey in Men's Division 1 of the Oxfordshire League. Strength in the doubles was the key as Oxford City won 4-2 at Woodstock. After the teams had
The sun is shining, the birds are singing and congestion in Oxford city centre is as bad as ever. So why not ditch the car, put on the pumps and get in training for next month's Town and Gown run? This will be the 26th annual 10km race through the
Oxford University rider David McGaw recorded a double success in ten-mile trials at Southmoor and Stadhampton. Riding for Oxonian, McGaw recorded 20mins 59secs at Southmoor to finish more than a minute clear of clubmate Clive Nicholls. Conditions
Plans to refurbish Oxford's Central Library look set to usher in a controversial new chapter in the redevelopment of the Westgate Centre. Developers are ready to pay the bulk of the cost of modernising the library, as part of the £300m scheme to revamp
Children using an Oxford footpath risk getting covered in dog mess because there are no waste bins, a residents' group is claiming. A call has gone out for dog bins to be placed along the path in Cowley, which runs alongside the Eastern Bypass between
Pete Young leads Oxford UCCE in their opening first-class game of the season against Middlesex, which starts in The Parks tomorrow. He is one of nine Oxford Brookes University students in the side. Nick Woods and Ed Morse fly the flag for Oxford University
THREE people were taken to hospital after their car overturned near the airfield at Barford St John, near Banbury. One person was airlifted to the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, and the other two to the Horton Hospital, in Banbury, with minor injuries
A SERVICE to remember Georgia French, who died while travelling in Peru, will be held today. Miss French, 19, of Davenant Road, was killed in a bus crash in the Andes mountains on March 24. The service will be held at St Andrew's Church, in Linton
NINE people have died on the county's roads so far in 2007, including two deaths in the past week. That is one less than for the same period last year- which ultimately saw the highest fatality rate on Oxfordshire's roads for 16 years. On Wednesday
A young offenders' institution in Oxfordshire has been condemned for failing to help rehabilitate its inmates. Inspectors from the Independent Monitoring Board have said they are worried at the overall running of HMYOI Huntercombe, the UK's largest
A former Conservative Party member is to stand as an independent candidate in the forthcoming local elections in protest against plans to build 1,585 houses in Bicester. David Chapman feels his ex-colleagues have let residents down by approving the
Firefighter Mike Swadling is preparing for the London Marathon to help the hospital unit that supported his wife while she was pregnant with their two children. The red watch crew manager at Kidlington Fire Station wants to raise money for the
Two schoolboys who stumbled across a pile of used syringes were praised by police for their quick-thinking. Matthew Cobb and Brendan Walsh were walking Matthew's dog through Bicester's Bure Park when they discovered the needles in the undergrowth.
Residents across Oxfordshire will go to the polls next month to influence the future of their communities. Four district councils - West Oxfordshire, South Oxfordshire, the Vale of White Horse and Cherwell - are all up for election on May 3. But residents
A nature trust is celebrating after winning a grant to help protect the declining species. The Northmoor Trust at Little Wittenham, near Didcot, will be able to buy state-of-the-art surveying equipment for collecting information about the local bat
A WOMAN accused of murder told a jury she thought she and her fellow accused were only teaching the victim a lesson. Tracey Fathers, 35, denies murdering Sean Miles, 37, who was found naked, bruised and drowned in the Thames last May. The prosecution
A hairdresser is putting his scissors to one side to embark on a cycle ride from Land's End to John O'Groats to raise money to help his godson. Keen cyclist Keith Millard, who runs the Lawrence Anthony salon, in Banbury Road, Summertown, Oxford, is
THEY have 12 medals under their black belts. Now a high kicking karate team want to rally other youngsters to take up the sport. The team from Oxford Sport and Traditional Martial Arts School, who fought their way to victory at the Irish International
CHILDREN waiting at the Horton outpatients department are enjoying £250 of new toys thanks to the efforts of staff and volunteers. Health care assistant Pat Cox and volunteers Viv Manning and Olive Withey raised the cash by holding a tombola and bric-a-brac
Banbury United keeper Alan Foster's hopes of making the Oxfordshire Senior Cup final against former club Oxford City, look doomed after he was ruled out for the rest of the season with a thigh injury. And now it looks as if he will have to watch the
Jim Smith says he will rest key players ahead of the play-offs, to make sure they are fit for the big games ahead. But he warns - we're not there yet. Dismissing reports that he will now play his best XI for the final three league games to get continuity
ASPIRING scriptwriter Tim Dawson is hoping for a stellar TV career after having a show commissioned by the BBC at just 19. Mr Dawson, from The Warren in Abingdon, has just seen the pilot of his sitcom Coming of Age finished at Television Centre and
Sir - How disappointing to read in last week's interesting full-page feature on the current restoration of Exeter College Chapel that, while it was designed by Gilbert Scott, 'there is no record of the men who built the church'. The building was constructed
Sir - At school I was always encouraged to write sitting at a desk or table, and I still obstinately tend to do this, rather than write standing up or sitting with the paper on my knee. Recently, the "improvement" of a bank in Cowley Road involved taking
Sir - Rachel Newton (Letters, March 30) criticises Tony Augarde for praising Channel 4's recent programme, The Great Global Warming Swindle. Apparently taking the view that television critics should first check the factual content of documentary programmes
Sir - Some 'Global warming' devotee was bound to object to ITV1's documentary The Great Global Warming Swindle, and Rachel Newton (Letters, March 30) fits the bill. She blames 'selective editing' for completely distorting the statements of the programme's
Sir - Congratulations to the Oxfordshire County Council on their plan to make Summertown a 20mph zone (Report, March 30). While doing it, please can they go the whole hog: expand their proposal to include the cross roads between Banbury and Woodstock
Sir - Stephen Sandford highlights a major problem in Pinnocks Way (Letters, March 30). However his apportionment of responsibility is incorrect. The cause of the water leak appears to be a broken land drain under an adjacent property, which is alleged
Sir - Further to the letter from Ted Dewan (March 30), regarding the magical transformation of Broad Street by the Luminox event and its sad return to a car park afterwards. The upgrading of the street should begin as a matter of urgency. The Forest
Sir - I used to think that a unitary council for Oxford city, while beneficial in many ways, would be a disaster for the countywide library service because it would get split up. I now have to revise my opinion; the county council is showing crass incompetence
Sir - We congratulate Ted Dewan, Simon Chatterton and all of the others, including Oxford Inspires, with their successful Luminox event. However, we must take issue with Ted Dewan on the points he makes in his letter (March 30). While some of the local
CHERWELL District Council is urging people to register in time and not miss out on voting in this year's local elections. The deadline for getting your name on the electoral register is 5pm on Wednesday, April 18. Chief executive Mary Harpley said
RESIDENTS turned out in force to keep a village tradition alive. Dozens of people in Radley put their best foot forward to give the village's annual walk its biggest turnout yet. Pictured are Linus Williamson, ten, Lewis Pitts, ten, George Warren, 13
AN OXFORD student is playing a part in the project to build a new skyscraper in New York on the site of the World Trade Center, which was destroyed in the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001. Christian Bergner, from Wood Farm, has won a four-month
Toyota is introducing some changes for the Avensis range this spring, most notably upgrading the standard satellite navigation on T3-S, T4, T Spirit and T180 grades to a full-map, touch-screen system. Further changes to the Avensis range include a new-design
VISITORS to an innovative new car show which is being staged at the Eden Project in Cornwall are being treated to a sneak preview of the new Volkswagen Polo BlueMotion, due to go on sale this summer. The Sexy Green Car Show, which runs until Sunday,
CITROËN has taken its lively, 125 horsepower C2 1.6i 16V VTS supermini and given it a luxurious full leather interior, sporty exterior styling touches and an exclusive paint job to create the high-performance C2 Code special edition - all for a cracking
HYUNDAI has added a new luxury special edition to its successful Tucson range. The £20,670 Hyundai Tucson Xenith is available in black or silver and is a six-speed, 2.0-litre turbo-diesel. The Tucson Xenith includes all the specification of the best-selling
IT has been a fair while since I have ridden a road-test scooter that has turned heads and stopped pedestrians in mid-stride. There were people who looked aghast, jaws dropping open; people who almost walked into lampposts, and others who simply burst
THE Nissan Pathfinder has a hidden secret which is enough to make any man tremble with fear. It is not the jungle-crushing looks, mud-plugging, low-ratio four-wheel-drive system, but its seven-seater interior that holds the real terror. All three rows
PLANS to refurbish the Central Library, in Oxford, look set to usher in a controversial new chapter in the redevelopment of the Westgate Centre. Developers are ready to pay the bulk of the cost of modernising the library, as part of the £300m scheme
GOVERNMENT money is being sought to help a council with its workload for the proposed £1bn reservoir between Abingdon and Wantage. And the Vale of White Horse District Council is also lining up support from three MPs to fight its corner. Water regulator
ARMOURED trucks are serving as banks in two of the world's poorest countries, thanks to funding from an Oxford charity. The trucks are built so they can take banking services to people in rural areas of Mozambique and Malawi. Sally Vicaria, 38, programme
THE Sinodun Players have a table-top sale in the Corn Exchange, Wallingford, from 9.30am to 12.30pm tomorrow.
MODERN Art Oxford is hosting an evening of art, music, food and conversation tonight at its Late @ MAO event. Guests will be able to check out the latest exhibition Callum Innes: From Memory at the event from 7pm to 10.30pm at the museum in Pembroke
ADMISSIONS arrangements for schools in Oxfordshire have been announced. Some catchment areas outside Oxford will change - but the system, which allows parents to list their three preferred schools and be offered one place for their child, will remain
Sir - There is no escaping the fact that many people with mental ill health are not only being denied emergency care (Report, March 30), but have difficulty in accessing the appropriate care in the community that they need. The stringent cuts last year
Sir - Christopher Gray's peroration in Gray Matter (April 6) given over to theatrical press nights, as against opening nights, brought back vivid memories of the Oxford Mail and Times and Abingdon Herald critic Frank Dibb, or FWD as he was known. As
Sir - The letter from those monitoring the Old Berkshire Hunt (April 6) accused me of inaccuracy. I apologise for thinking there were four hunt monitors when in fact there were only three. I did establish that, being a novice, I cannot easily tell who
Sir - Road-pricing in Oxford seems unlikely to reduce congestion. In London some initial success has been achieved, mainly because more bus services are being provided and there is often a rail alternative. However, too many buses can increase journey
Sir - Whilst I agree with A Watson (Letters, March 30) that there is no functional justification for the proposal to move fire and police services to Pear Tree, does that matter? For many decades a progressive assault has been made on Oxford for similar
Sir - While being in favour of radical de-centralisation of government, I can understand the reasons that prevented Oxford from gaining unitary status. If other bids go through, Oxford will be one of the very few former County Boroughs that have failed
CRIME in East Oxford has dropped overall by 12 per cent in the past year, say Thames Valley Police. Insp Jim O'Ryan, who is in charge of policing the area, said violent crime between the start of April last year and the end of March this year had fallen
THE hunt is on for an Oxford man who could help pinpoint the location of a hoard of sunken Nazi gold. Terry Hodgkinson, a scriptwriter for Oxfordshire-based detective drama Midsomer Murders, is planning a TV documentary about a search for a £10m haul
If the reservoir proposed between Abingdon and Wantage was being sought to serve local residents, we would have little sympathy for the Vale of White Horse District Council's plea for Government cash to help it prepare its case. It is not, of course
The new Vauxhall Tigra Exclusiv Red edition is based on the Sport model, but features an extra £1,350 worth of goodies for no additional cost. Its most distinct feature is the bold interior. The two seats and door trim inserts are trimmed in scarlet
Infiniti, Nissan's luxury car brand is due to make its debut in the UK next year led by the Infiniti G37 Coupé, which is making its world debut at the 2007 New York International Auto Show. The G37 is set to arrive at Infiniti retailers across the US
A SCHEME to redevelop a quarter of Oxford city centre is shortly to be submitted to the Government. Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly will be asked to back a multi-million-pound regeneration plan, promising a "vibrant mix" of hundreds of new homes, offices
