City councillor Val Smith is stepping down beacuse she says the authority has no power to make key decisions One of Oxford's most senior councillors has called for the city and county councils to be scrapped -- and replaced with a single authority. Val
High petrol prices in west Oxfordshire look set to continue because plans for a new Asda superstore in Witney do not include a filling station. Prices in the area last week ranged from 83.9p per litre on forecourts owned by big oil companies, to 84.9p
Banbury Utd 1, Histon 1: Banbury picked up another useful point in their bid to escape relegation from the Southern League Premier Division by holding second-placed Histon to a draw. They went behind to a ninth-minute strike by Neil Kennedy, but leading
Witney Utd 1, Oxford City 2: Oxford City were made to fight hard before booking their place in the Oxfordshire Senior Cup final with last night's victory over Hellenic League Witney. The first half was dominated by the home side and Lee Keyes twice went
MARCUS Dick hit a five-timer, but still ended up on the losing side as Carterton A edged an 11-goal thriller against FC Nomads Res in the quarter-finals of the Junior Cup. Up until Saturday's game, Dick had not netted this season. But Carterton took the
Residents in north Oxfordshire have taken the green message on board as latest figures reveal they are recycling more than twice as much as the average household. Cherwell District Council is now recycling more than 42 per cent of the waste it collects
Illegal parking in Abingdon has risen since a traffic warden retired and was replaced by four police community support officers, according to residents. Abingdon Town Council plans to raise the issue with the police, and residents are particularly concerned
The wife of a so-called 'neighbour from hell' has admitted carrying a knife and meat cleaver in a public place after rowing with her husband. Reah DeBanks said she planned to kill herself after taking the knife and 6in meat cleaver from their home in
The man in charge of managing travellers in Oxfordshire says there has been a "dramatic reduction" in the number of illegal camps in the county. John Parry was speaking in response to new proposals by the Conservative Party to deal with travellers living
Oxford Silver Machine get an early chance to show the nation they mean business when they begin their Elite League speedway campaign tonight. They travel to meet Peterborough Panthers at the East of England Showground and the meeting is being televised
Land Rover has announced that the all-new Land Rover Discovery 3, which goes on sale from November 1, will be priced from £26,995 to £46,995. Gideon Hedley, at Hartwell Land Rover, said: "We have no doubt that the Discovery 3's market-leading combination
Winter's approach spells bargain time for used car buyers, according to a new survey of used car dealers. It reveals November and December as two key months for snapping up high-quality cars at knock-down prices. Researchers for CAP Black Book -- the
Women will become the driving force for any expansion in the new car market, according to research commissioned by General Motors. Collette Dunkley, Vauxhall's UK communications director, said the study suggested a 40 per cent increase in female new car
The decision to move Britain's main motor show back to London after an absence of almost 30 years is aimed at re-establishing the British show as a world-class event. After being staged every two years at the Birmingham National Exhibition Centre (NEC
I read with amusement the letter, Labour are on the right road (Oxford Mail, March 16), and am baffled as to the hard work MP Andrew Smith has demonstrated in the field of pensions. He has shown a spectacular ability to do nothing to enact, influence
ANYONE providing photographic evidence of a big cat rumoured to be roaming around Burford could be in line for a £1,000 reward from the Richard & Judy show on Channel 4. Last night, the presenters offered the reward after hearing about sightings of
Reading Chris Robins's letter (Oxford Mail, March 11), I feel one must add a postscript. The parking problem at Thames Valley Police headquarters is caused by a lack of social responsibility by its management in not reacting to the car culture and not
Abingdon mayor Keith Hasnip cut the ribbon to officially open a £600,000 Minor Injuries Unit at the town's hospital -- and said it was one of the happiest events he had attended during his term of office. The new MIU, which opened on Monday (March 21)
Calls to follow the lead of Oxford and make West Oxfordshire a Fairtrade district have been rejected by councillors. Liberal Democrats on West Oxfordshire District Council put forward a motion asking the council to use fairly-traded goods and encourage
ABINGDON Ambler Ernie North earned himself a place in the record books on Saturday when he completed his tenth 40-mile race across the Berkshire Downs. Finishing the Compton Harriers' tenth anniversary event in a time of eight hours 16 minutes, North
OXFORDSHIRE'S under 15 athletes proved they are capable of taking on the best in the country when they represented the South of England at the National Indoor Sportshall finals in Birmingham The day started well with Abingdon's Luke Chown winning his
Oxfordshire Senior League: Jason Bridges hit the late winner as Launton Sports twice came from behind to beat Premier Division rivals Worcester College Old Boys & Bletchingdon. Bletchingdon took the lead when a cross deflected in off a Launton defender
Woodstock Harriers pipped Headington Roadrunners to the men's team title in an exciting finish to the County Road Relays at Hook Norton. Over the first two of the six legs on the 3.2-mile men's course, Headington held sway, with Chris Dettmar, in the
Radley Ladies' Hattie Dean capped a great winter by finishing 47th - and being the second Briton home - in the short course race at the World Cross Country championships in France. Competing against a top-class field which included Ethiopia's world 5000m
Nissan's seven-seat Pathfinder 4x4 is set to take on the 'Discovery sector' of the 4x4 market by storm when it goes on sale at the end of March. Priced from £24,000, the Pathfinder was engineered in Cranfield, Bedfordshire and will be built at Nissan's
Elizabeth Crawford, known as 'Bet' and sister Hilda Willis Two sisters celebrated clocking up 205 years between them with a birthday party at a care home in Kennington. Elizabeth 'Bet' Crawford turned 103 on March 11 and had a joint birthday party with
The salaries of Oxfordshire County Council's five most senior employees remain a secret -- despite them being given a pay rise of almost six per cent. County Hall has refused a request made by the Oxford Mail under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA
Wolvercote's Steve Mullins may have been deprived of the decision against James Degale at last Friday's ABA finals, but it is the 24-year-old Witney boxer who will be performing on the international stage this week. Degale reported having a sore jaw after
The Polo Twist, Volkswagen's high-value version of its popular supermini, is now even more appealing to cost-conscious buyers, with a starting price of £8,495 -- a further reduction of £690. Since its launch last year, the Twist has proved very popular
Caravans have been attracting a bad press lately, but manufacturers are still vying to get their cars in front of them as the tow vehicle. Slow and traffic-forming caravans may be, but their numbers are on the increase, with a corresponding boost in business
