Taxpayers will foot a £25,000 bill for police attempts to capture detainees who escaped from Campsfield House. The five-figure sum covers just three days spent trying to locate seven inmates who fled the Kidlington detention centre in June. Three
The mayor of Woodstock has pleaded with developers and the local planning authority not to spoil his picturesque town. Peter Jay joined 100 townsfolk in calling for West Oxfordshire District Council to 'act responsibly' when pushing forward plans for
It was standing room only as hundreds of people packed an Oxford church to say farewell to "the best landlord ever." Many mourners agreed that if Noel Reilly, the former landlord of Oxford pubs Jude the Obscure, in Walton Street, the Bullingdon
Popular Oxford artist Korky Paul has helped to illustrate a book which will raise funds for charity Amnesty International. The award-winning illustrator, who is best known for his popular Winnie the Witch children's stories, is one of a number of artists
A young couple stranded in Egypt following the collapse of travel firm XL have finally returned home. Richard and Debora Turner, of Cotswold Close, Minster Lovell, near Witney, suffered three days of delays to their homeward journey following the demise
The organisers of Oxford's annual dance festival have secured a grant worth more than a third of its total budget. The team behind Dancin' Oxford '09 vowed to create the 'biggest festival yet' following the £37,000 cash injection from Arts Council
A 22-year-old man has been cleared of possessing an imitation firearm with intent to endanger life. Qasim Hussain, of Hurst Street, East Oxford, was also cleared of further charges of intimidating a witness and two of resisting arrest after the Crown
A father accused of shaking his baby daughter told a court he tripped and fell on her. Gary Johnson, 21, told a jury at Oxford Crown Court that he woke to hear his eight-week-old daughter Nicole crying in August last year. Johnson, of Ruskin Walk,
Families turned out in droves to mark the official opening of a new children's centre in Oxford. Mums watched as a parade of toddlers sang and danced their way from the Marston Medical Centre in Cherwell Drive to Copse Lane for the official opening
Moving Oxfordshire's fire control room to a regional base in Hampshire will increase the potential for 999 call handler mistakes, a former firefighter has warned. John Farrow,county firefighter for 38 years, fears the transfer will lead to incidents
Young actors and dancers from across Oxfordshire have helped to raise almost £10,000 for charity. Pupils at Stagecoach Oxford drama school doubled the amount they expected to raise following a performance at the New Theatre. School principal Maya
A 22-year-old man has been cleared of possessing an imitation firearm with intent to endanger life. Qasim Hussain, of Hurst Street, East Oxford, was also cleared of further charges of intimidating a witness and two of resisting arrest after the Crown
The organisers of Oxford's annual dance festival have secured a grant worth more than a third of its total budget. The team behind Dancin' Oxford '09 vowed to create the 'biggest festival yet' following the £37,000 cash injection from Arts
Moving Oxfordshire's fire control room to a regional base in Hampshire will increase the potential for 999 call handler mistakes, a former firefighter has warned. John Farrow,county firefighter for 38 years, fears the transfer will lead to incidents
Young actors and dancers from across Oxfordshire have helped to raise almost £10,000 for charity. Pupils at Stagecoach Oxford drama school doubled the amount they expected to raise following a performance at the New Theatre. School principal Maya
Families turned out in droves to mark the official opening of a new children's centre in Oxford. Mums watched as a parade of toddlers sang and danced their way from the Marston Medical Centre in Cherwell Drive to Copse Lane for the official opening
A day of events to mark World Mental Health Day will be held at the Barracks Lane Community centre in Oxford next month. The event will take place on Friday, October 10, between 11am and 4pm at the centre, which can be reached via Kenilworth
The Glad Cafe based at the Headington Community Centre in Gladstone Road, Oxford, is now opening three mornings of the week. The cafe will now be open Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings between 9am and 12.30pm. The Slade and Headington Children's
A father accused of shaking his baby daughter told a court he tripped and fell on her. Gary Johnson, 21, told a jury at Oxford Crown Court that he woke to hear his eight-week-old daughter Nicole crying in August last year. Johnson, of Ruskin Walk
It was standing room only as hundreds of people packed an Oxford church to say farewell to "the best landlord ever." Many mourners agreed that if Noel Reilly, the former landlord of Oxford pubs Jude the Obscure, in Walton Street, the Bullingdon
Reigning champions Fieldside A crushed leaders Abingdon RBL A 5-1 in the Gentworks Oxford & District League season. Fieldside's Paul Robinson saw off Jamie Saczak, before Kevin Higgs shared frames with Abingdon's Michael Bennett. Karl Walker sealed
Division 2 side Eynsham got their Oxford & District campaign off to a flier with a shock 2-1 win against Division 1 side Fieldside. Eynsham's Dean Watson (+40) beat Lee Stopps (+70) 200-122, before Roy Gascoyne (-110) saw off Norman Woodcock (+70) 150
The mayor of Woodstock has pleaded with developers and the local planning authority not to spoil his picturesque town. Peter Jay joined 100 townsfolk in calling for West Oxfordshire District Council to 'act responsibly' when pushing forward plans for
A young couple stranded in Egypt following the collapse of travel firm XL have finally returned home. Richard and Debora Turner, of Cotswold Close, Minster Lovell, near Witney, suffered three days of delays to their homeward journey following the demise
Oxford City have been reinstated into the FA Cup. City lost 2-0 at Bracknell on Saturday, but the victors played an ineligible player and have been thrown out of the competition as a result. City will now entertain Tiverton a week today. "It's not
Children with learning difficulties kickstarted the countdown to the London 2012 Paralympics with a soccer skills session in Oxfordshire. More than 80 pupils from five special schools took part in the festival of football at Blackbird Leys
A Bangladeshi chef has thanked the Oxford Mail for helping him in his campaign to build an orphanage in his home country. Muhammad Ali, who works at the Karma restaurant, in Oxford Road, Cowley, Oxford, has been fundraising for the orphanage in his
Taxpayers will foot a £25,000 bill for police attempts to capture detainees who escaped from Campsfield House. The five-figure sum covers just three days spent trying to locate seven inmates who fled the Kidlington detention centre in June. Three
Popular Oxford artist Korky Paul has helped to illustrate a book which will raise funds for charity Amnesty International. The award-winning illustrator, who is best known for his popular Winnie the Witch children's stories, is one of a number of artists
Oxfordshire looks set to get its own war museum after an agreement was reached to build an archive of military history in Woodstock. The deal between Oxfordshire County Council and the Soldiers of Oxfordshire (SOFO) charitable trust means more than
The art of a great education The Oratory School is the only all boys' Catholic day and boarding senior school in the UK, and educates boys of all backgrounds and faiths. The school is housed in acres of prime Oxfordshire countryside and provides
The Oxford Academy opened its doors for the first time earlier this month. Year 7 students from Rose Hill, Littlemore and The Leys communities arrived at the new academy on September 3 in their smart new uniforms, keen to start their secondary education
Plans to 'float' polar bears The Polar Bear Flotation Station: a gigantic floating island, constructed entirely from reflective recycled materials. Not only would this manmade landmass deflect solar heat, thereby combating global warming; it could
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The Environmental Information Exchange (EiE) is set to off its expertise at getting businesses to take action on the environment. Its annual showcase on Saturday 27 September 2008 will be an expose of simple, practical, cost-saving environmental
The committee meeting last night seemed like a board meeting at ICI with talk of CRB checks and then electrical testing regulations for our lights and apparatus and such. Well in view of the horrendous number of thespians electrocuted every year on stage
Rhetoric has a bad reputation nowadays. It usually occurs in such phrases as “false rhetoric” or “misleading rhetoric”, suggesting that it is an old-fashioned word for what is now known as “spin”. Yet for centuries, rhetoric was not only respected highly
Appropriately enough for a town once filled with shops owned by the Co-operative Society, (originally a coal supplier), Chipping Norton’s Museum occupies premises rented to it by today’s Co-op. Up a flight of stairs opposite the Town Hall, and easily
Sometimes, when I’m stuck in a traffic jam, I amuse myself by trying to work out what all the letters and numbers on cars actually mean — TDI, S, Rn, SE — it is all Greek to me. What you find on a wine label can be just as bewildering. Most countries
An incarnation as ‘Eight at the Thatch’ proved to be a flash in the pan — but now, renamed simply The Thatch, this excellent Thame restaurant has come out fighting, and is the latest recruit to the trendy and friendly Peach Pubs empire. I was invited
Oxford City Stars will be looking to build on their fine start to the season when they face a double-header away to Peterborough Islanders and Streatham Redskins in Division 1 South of the English National League this weekend. Following their 4-1 opening
I remember my first panic attack all too well, although, at the time, I didn’t realise that it was ‘just’ a panic attack. My life was quite settled. I liked my job and had just met somebody I was really happy with. But still, out of the blue, I would
John Anthony Ambrose was born in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire on August 12, 1933, Twice married and with two daughters, he was best known as one of the great British co-drivers in the BMC international rallying team during the 1960s. However, he first
Rissington was back to its best for the penultimate 2008 Carp League match. With one match left in this year's series, it remains tight at the top, with Nick Dean, Matt Ryman, Rob Guppy and Andy Benwell all in with a shout of the title. Fishing the
When we think of our countryside we naturally consider woodland as a vital part of that picture. Sadly however, tree cover in the British Isles has been in decline ever since our Neolithic ancestors first employed their stone axes to serious effect in
Derbyshire big fish expert Eddie Betteridge was rewarded for his trip to an Oxfordshire pit by landing three huge bream, weighing 13lb 8oz, 16lb 2oz and 17lb. Eddie targeted a gravel hump which he baited up with boilies, multi-blend pellets and halibut
Run For Cover, trained by Angie Kibble, carries the nap selection at Oxford on Saturday night. The black dog stormed to victory in the A2 last week, winning by more than five lengths when beating kennelmate Senderos. Main danger looks likely to be
The Royal Horticultural Society is currently holding a trial at Wisley of hardy annual plants, grown from directly-sown seeds. You can’t help noticing how popular these rows of colourful plants are with bees, hoverflies and butterflies. They are alive
Next year's Pall Mall at Oxford will be return to four rounds in 2009 – by popular demand. This year a massive 100-plus entries were received. And with only three rounds, a select 36 were chosen, which meant more than 70 disappointed connections.
Oxford Stadium have welcomed the return of Friday racing – though this time it's in the afternoon rather than the evening. In the new British Afternoon Greyhounds Service (BAGS) contract, Oxford will continue to race on Sundays, but they will also
W hen C S Lewis moved to The Kilns in Risinghurst in 1930, his elder brother Warnie described the garden as “such stuff as dreams are made of”. Twenty years later, Lewis had woven some of its dream-like quality into a tale that quickly became a
Tucked away in the corner of a strongroom at Oxfordshire Record Office, there’s a bank of eight wooden catalogue drawers. Nothing surprising about that you might think but they contain a remarkable card index providing historical information, plans
B lackwell’s is more than a bookshop; it is an Oxford institution with its own historian — Rita Ricketts. A bookshop is an appropriate home for her, as she is a natural storyteller. A visiting scholar at the Bodleian, Rita is also director of
STRUGGLING high-tech company Oxonica saw its share price rise as it signed a £3.5m deal with US company BD (Becton Dickinson). The 18-strong workforce of its US subsidiary Oxonica diagnostics will transfer to BD, but none of the remaining 20 staff,
When David Cameron came to give a speech to CPRE on a lovely, sunny morning in May, no one quite knew which line he was going to take. He had steered the Conservatives to a new green agenda. He had commissioned the Quality of Life report from John Gummer
The Planet Earth season’s flagship event is an astounding exhibition of 120 photographs by Yann Arthus-Bertand entitled Earth from the Air. This photographic portrait of our planet illuminates its beauty and raises awareness of our impact on the world
A new book, Ballet in the Blitz, by Mona Inglesby with Kay Hunter (Groundnut Publishing, 2008), tells the story of the International Ballet Company, which toured the provinces during the war. “When war was declared, London fell silent, and
Firefighters tackled a blaze on a building site after a digger caught alight. Firefighters were called to a site on Blackhall Road, off Keble Road, in Oxford, at 10.40am today. No one was injured and the fire is not believed to be suspicious.
Firefighters tackled a blaze on a building site after a digger caught light. Firefighters were called to a site on Blackhall Road, off Keble Road, in Oxford, at 10.40am today. No-one was injured and the fire is not believed to be suspicious.
Three muggers stole a man's BlackBerry and wallet in a street robbery in Oxford last night. Police have appealed for witnesses to the mugging in Broad Street between 9.30pm and 9.45pm. A man was near the Sheldonian Theatre when three robbers approached
Three robbers stole a man's phone and wallet in Broad Street, Oxford, last night. A man was near to the Sheldonian Theatre when three men came up to him and stole his Blackberry mobile phone and his wallet between 9.30pm and 9.45pm. One of the
Jack Brooks capped a highly successful season by signing a one-year professional contract with Northamptonshire. The Oxford and Oxfordshire paceman will begin training with the first-class county three days a week from next month and be paid from March
Banbury seamer Paul Taylor finished the season as the leading wicket-taker in Division 1 of the Home Counties Premier League. The left-armer (pictured) took 52 wickets, eight more than Chris Sketchley, from High Wycombe. Oxford duo Jack Brooks and
City of Oxford stormed to victory in the third round of the Milton Keynes Junior League. Emma Lomas won the girls' 12 and under 50m breaststroke and 50m freestyle, with Molly Williamson triumphing in the 50m backstroke. Georgina King-Smith claimed
Alex smashes county record Alex Murphy, of Didcot Barramundi SC, smashed his own county record during a storming victory in the Lombardian Trophy at Leicester. Representing Oxon & North Bucks, the 13-year-old knocked five seconds off his own time
Witney's youngsters ended their 2008 Milton Keynes Junior League campaign with an emphatic win in the final round gala at Dunstable. Despite the unavailability of all their girls in the ten-years age group, Witney produced plenty of determined swims
Oxford City & County's ladies were crowned National Top Club champions at Torquay. They lifted the trophy, sponsored by Torquay Leisure Hotels, following victory in three of the four disciplines against Sutton, from Surrey, in the final. Myra Lewis
Actor Sir Ben Kingsley is to open tomorrow's Charlbury Street Fair in a last-minute replacement. Organisers of the town's annual carnival had booked ex-rocker Alex James of Blur, who lives at Kingham, to kick the event off at 2pm. But it now appears
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A hi-tech firm in south Oxfordshire has been taken over — by the sons of its owners. Halarose in Woodcote has undergone a management buy-out with Christoper and Carol Quinton handing over the reins to sons Thomas and William along with long-serving
Michael Broadway, a history teacher and former organist at St Barnabas Church, Jericho, has died at the age of 75. Mr Broadway was born in St Barnabas Street in 1932 and never moved out of Jericho. After leaving school at the age of 16 armed
A bedroom blaze was caused by faulty wiring on a charger for an electric toothbrush, firefighters have said. Two fire crews tackled the blaze in a house in Barnacre, Watlington, at 10.20pm yesterday. Flames were confined to a bedroom and prevented
A man and a woman were pulled unconscious from a smoke-logged flat in Bicester last night before being taken to hospital. The fire started at the sheltered housing block in Old Place Yard at 9.45pm and a smoke alarm triggered a call to firefighters
Takuma Sato got back into a Formula 1 car for the first time since the Spanish Grand Prix on April 27 when he tested for Scuderia Toro Rosso at Jerez. Taku enjoyed his run, although yesterday's test was curtailed by rain at lunchtime that precluded
Medical evidence in a case where a father-of-two is accused of shaking his one-year-old daughter so hard he caused her brain damage has finished. Gary Johnson, 21, of Ruskin Walk, denies causing grievous bodily harm with intent and causing cruelty
A man has appeared in court charged with murdering his wife. Mohammed Rashid, 35, is accused of murdering Sughra Rani, 30, on Tuesday. Rashid did not enter a plea and was remanded in custody by Banbury magistrates. He is due to appear at Oxford Crown
A bedroom blaze was caused by faulty wiring on a charger for an electric toothbrush, firefighters have said. Two fire crews tackled the blaze in a house in Barnacre, Watlington, at 10.20pm last night. Flames were confined to a bedroom and prevented
Teenage motorcycle racing sensation Bradley Smith passed his proficiency test yesterday with flying colours. The 17-year-old Moto GP rider, who lives in Forest Hill, was without a licence to ride a road-legal motorbike — despite competing in the
A man and a woman were pulled unconscious from a smoke-logged flat in Bicester last night before being taken to hospital. The fire started at the sheltered housing block in Old Place Yard at 9.45pm and a smoke alarm triggered a call to firefighters
A man accused of raping two women — including a woman aged 80 — hanged himself in Bullingdon Prison before the case could be heard. Yesterday, an inquest jury heard how 31-year-old Zimbabwean Hilary Sanyika, formerly of Cave Street, St Clement's, Oxford
Four-year-old Joe Appleford displayed early stamina when he completed a 14.5-mile charity cycle ride through Oxfordshire. The sports-mad toddler from Wootton, near Woodstock, completed the mammoth distance as part of a 7.5-hour sponsored bike ride
Ambulance crews in Oxfordshire are spending so much time treating alcohol-related injuries that a leading paramedic last nightcalled for a ban on pub happy hours. In the past year, more than 10,000 patients — or ten per cent of all emergency
PHIL Trainer and Billy Turley could be set for dramatic returns to the Oxford United side against Crawley on Saturday. Both players, who were outstanding last season, have missed the start of this campaign through injury. But Turley may come in for
The Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust wins praise for reducing the number of MRSA cases at its hospitals by two thirds in two years. But congratulating an organisation that is supposed to keep wards clean in the first place — as Matron once demanded
City council planners are looking to grab enough Green Belt land to build at least 12,000 homes as part of a controversial urban extension, it was claimed last night. Oxford City Council confirmed it was interested in obtaining 530 hectares
Oxford residents are putting on a feast for the eyes and stomach with a riverside food festival highlighting the benefits of local produce. Tomorrow's festival in East Street, Osney, will include barbecued pumpkin, home-made popcorn, local fruit and
Proof, if any were needed, that our emergency services are struggling to cope with the scourge of binge drinking in this country comes today from Paul Cooke. The operations manager for South Central Ambulance in Oxfordshire has called for a ban on
His stag night in Kent had left Andy Yorke feeling somewhat under the weather. My imagination was already running wild. With a solo UK tour beckoning, what did the former frontman of the Oxford-based Unbelievable Truth, who happens to be the
Ambulance crews in Oxfordshire are spending so much time treating alcohol-related injuries that a leading paramedic last nightcalled for a ban on pub happy hours. In the past year, more than 10,000 patients — or 10 per cent of all emergency
Sir — Through your letters pages I would like to say thank you to the people of Witney and surrounding areas, whose kind words and comments of sympathy have been comforting to myself and family. My husband, Altin, passed away a couple of weeks ago,
Sir — P J Stewart (Letters, September 12) rightly calls for the revitalisation of teaching and research in Forestry at the University of Oxford. As part of the recent University 'Campaign of Campaigns' the Department of Plant Sciences has launched
Sir — What a great decision not to allow the building of a huge building in Osney Mead that would spoil the wonderful skyline of Oxford. The planning inspector's report makes good reading — it makes us feel good about our city, waxing lyrical about
Sir — Tony Morris of the Oxford Humanist Group (Letters, August 22) perpetuates the common misconception that our Creator is somehow the cause of all the disasters in the world. All the major religions teach us that there is destroyer in opposition
Sir — Ken Weavers (Letters, September 12) asks a number of reasonable questions about the course of human evolution, all of which (given sufficient space) could be readily answered. Answering just one (which I paraphrase to: how many generations would
Sir — It is wise to distinguish between scientific theories based on evidence, like quantum mechanics or evolution, and quasi-scientific theories which stem primarily from ideology, such as creationism or eugenics. Although scientists are often charged
Sir — Alas, bus companies are not reimbursed for free travel by people over 60 under any formula, as you mistakenly reported (September 12). In fact, each district council is supposed to pay each company enough to ensure that the company is neither
Sir — I refer to your article (August 29) regarding the proposed waste plant between Kidlington and North Oxford. The suggestion of this site for a waste separation plant is extraordinary. Your article suggests the plant will only be
A multi-million pound sports village could be built in Bicester by the time the Olympic flame is lit for London 2012. Cherwell District Council this week gave a thumbs up to the plan, which would see new facilities for a whole range of different sports
Sir — The problem which Paul Surman expresses (Letters, September 5) is that science and religion are such different ways of looking at the world that they are very difficult to unite. Just as you can’t express mathematically your love for your Mother
Sir — Last week we saw the headline Proposed eco-town to bring in 15,000 new jobs. I am sceptical that the developer's intentions are honourable, but I decided (not for the first time) to test my scepticism. At the end of the article, on page three
Sir — It is Mr Boyle (Letters, September 12) who seems unaware of the “historical facts”, by his reference to impressions rather than facts. Palestine was part of the Ottoman Empire and then under British mandate. Neither regime had any intention
Sir — It is a fact and a bleak reality that young people are often taken to hideous camps in order to further the interests of those in charge of them. For example, when chatting to a group of Israeli teenagers outside the Jewish Block in Auschwitz,
Sir — You may well be correct (Leader, September 12) in your suggestion that the Government is unlikely to change its mind over the urban extension south of Oxford. But, if so, why is it currently engaged in conducting a 12-week consultation on whether
A pub landlord who was known to ban people from his pub for being boring has died at the age of 62. Noel Reilly, former landlord of the Jude the Obscure pub in Walton Street, and The Bullingdon Arms in Cowley Road, passed away on September
Sir — I live in a new estate, in common with some 40 other households. Children cycle down our road to and from school, we all walk down the road when we shop or catch the bus. The postman and private contractors deliver. The access to Iffley Meads
Sir — One major issue not covered by Reg Little in his article last week was the impact that the eco-town will have on the future economy of Bicester, less than eight miles away. The community is eagerly awaiting the publication of a Government-funded
Mitsubishi has gone on the credit crunch offensive, and lopped up to £5,000 off its car prices. All Colt three and five-door superminis are now £1,000 cheaper, and the cuts get bigger as the cars get larger, ending in a whopping £5,000 saving on the
Smart has a limited edition of the Fortwo out this month, called Limited Two. Based on the 999cc, 71bhp, 70.6mpg Smart Fortwo’s Passion trim, the two-seater special costs £9,575 for the coupe, and £11,525 for the cabrio. This car’s interior is clad
The sale of the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre, Oxford, to a private company was ruled out this week. Fears about the future of the world famous hospital were sparked when the South Central Strategic Health Authority signalled that the NOC did not
Japanese luxury brand Infiniti, which is due to start selling cars in Britain in October, has released the first picture of the new G37 Convertible, which makes its global debut at the 2008 Los Angeles Auto Show in November. Initially, it will only
Oxfordshire Primary Care Trust should have learnt by now that local communities are very sensitive to any changes at their hospitals. If the PCT wishes to carry people with it when it makes changes, then it really needs to consult long and hard.
Retired Lord Lieutenant Sir Hugo Brunner has worked tirelessly over the last 12 years as the Queen's representative in Oxfordshire to support and encourage community life in the county. This week he chose the occasion of his award of a certificate
Oxford City Council is looking to annex enough Green Belt land to build at least 12,000 homes as part of a proposed urban extension. The city council has confirmed it is now interested in moving the local authority boundaries so that it controls
The second wet summer in a row has failed to dampen spirits in Oxfordshire's vineyards. With wine experts predicting that months of wet weather will take the fizz out of the British wine boom, there is no hint of sour grapes from local wine makers
The ability to text and email incidents of crime to the police will undoubtedly save time and hassle for both victim and officer. In a way, it is surprising that a system has not already been in place for some time. Many people's experience of minor
