Archive

  • Today's closing local share prices

    AEA Technology 110 BMW 2590 Electrocomponents 239.75 Isoft Group 60.75 Oxford Bio 25.75 Oxford Instruments 204 Reed Elsevier 518 RM 164.5 RPS 197 Torex Retail 73.5 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley, Abingdon

  • Today's closing local share prices

    AEA Technology 110 BMW 2590 Electrocomponents 239.75 Isoft Group 60.75 Oxford Bio 25.75 Oxford Instruments 204 Reed Elsevier 518 RM 164.5 RPS 197 Torex Retail 73.5 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley, Abingdon

  • Paying to park

    Sir, I have received the "consultation questionnaire" regarding the introduction of charges for residents' parking. As anyone who has inspected this document will know, the questions are completely slanted towards acquiescence with the county council's

  • Cabbages and Kings: June 16, 2006

    IT WAS a morning on which to buy a chicken-and-salad baguette from Morton's in Broad Street, before walking the city and munching with a happy heart. The slight breeze made conditions pleasant. Smiles that had drained away in the heat of recent days

  • New Westgate plan revealed

    A planning application for the new £300m Westgate shopping centre has been submitted to Oxford City Council, as councillors were approving plans for a transformed Bonn Square. Fifty copies of the massive 1,600-page application were delivered to city

  • CRICKET: Henley 2nd docked 30 points

    HENLEY 2nd have been docked 30 points after fielding an unregistered player during their Division 2 game at home to Tiddington in the Oxford Times Cherwell League on Sat- urday. Henley won a remarkable high-scoring game by three wickets, scoring 308

  • CRICKET: Oxon off to losing start

    OXFORDSHIRE'S opening Western Division match of the new campaign ended with a six-wicket defeat at the hands of Cornwall at Challow and Childrey on Tuesday. Resuming their second innings just 22 runs ahead with seven wickets in hand, Oxon failed to

  • HORSE RACING: Curran doubles up

    JUMP jockey Sean Curran has found himself with a double handful after setting up as a trainer at Stanford-in-the- Vale. The 35-year-old Irishman got his chance to join the training ranks after being approached by Charlie Cox, 47, who owns New Barn

  • ROWING: City of Oxford in form

    CITY of Oxford won nine trophies over a hectic weekend of regattas. In total, local clubs and schools claimed 15 titles, with City leading the way. Their junior members won five awards at the Marlow Town Regatta, four in double sculls and one in a

  • CRICKET: Banbury left hanging on

    BANBURY were left hanging on for a draw after they had distinctly the worse end of their home match against West Herts on Saturday. After putting their Division 1 visitors in to bat, Banbury found themselves chasing a big target of 258, and then played

  • CRICKET: Hole effort in vain

    A BRILLIANT spell of hostle fast bowling by Stuart Hole could not prevent Oxford losing by three wickets at home to Slough in Division 1. Hole captured all seven wickets as well as causing one of the batsman to retire hurt. But he lacked sufficient

  • CRICKET: Super Thame go top

    THAME Town put in a commanding performance to crush Bicester & North Oxford by nine wickets on Saturday and go top of the Division 2 West table. Star of the show was Thame's overseas professional Haresh Dahabi, who captured 6-51 off 23 overs after Bicester

  • CRICKET: Kidlington off mark

    A FINE all-round display from Oxford University's Duncan Bradshaw helped secure Kidlington their first win in Division 2 West as they beat North Maidenhead by 44 runs. Batting first, newly-promoted Kidlington really struggled before lunch after losing

  • Fisichella extends Renault deal

    Giancarlo Fisichella has agreed a new contact to remain at the world championship-winning Renault team, at Enstone, beyond this season. The Italian's two-year deal with Renault was due to expire at the end of this season, but he has penned a one-season

  • Aston Martin on pole for Le Mans

    Banbury-based Aston Martin Racing dominated the final GT1 qualifying session for this weekend's Le Mans 24-hour race. Its two DBR9s stormed to the top of the timesheets, taking first and second places, with Czech driver Tomas Enge taking a record fifth

  • McLaren tips Hamilton for F1 win

    McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh claims Lewis Hamilton can win a Grand Prix before Brackley's Honda team driver Jenson Button. Hamilton gave an 80,000-plus Silverstone crowd a home performance to cheer with a winning double in the GP2 support races for

  • FIXTURES June 17

    SATURDAY CRICKET HOME COUNTIES PREMIER LEAGUE Div 1: Finchampstead v Oxford, High Wycombe v Banbury, Slough v Henley. Div 2 West: Bicester & N Oxford v Basingstoke, Kidlington v Thame Tn. THE OXFORD TIMES CHERWELL LEAGUE Div 1: Aston Rowant v

  • Cameron joins the battle

    TORY leader David Cameron has joined the battle to save Banbury's Horton Hospital by promising to tackle Tony Blair over NHS funding. Witney MP Mr Cameron visited the Horton on Friday with Banbury MP Tony Baldry and Daventry MP Tim Boswell to meet hospital

  • £1m 999 base opens

    A NEW £1m base for north Oxfordshire's ambulances was opened on Tuesday by the county's Lord Lieutenant, Hugo Brunner. The HQ, on Banbury Business Park, Adderbury, combines an ambulance station with space for staff to study, train, and rest. It is

  • Protest group's rallying call

    CAMPAIGNERS trying to prevent cutbacks and job losses at Banbury's Horton Hospital are urging local people to attend two crucial public meetings. The first is a protest rally in People's Park on Sunday at 3pm, which organised by the Keep the Horton

  • ATHLETICS: Wilkins back in the groove

    Banbury discus thrower Perriss Wilkins made a winning return to competitive action as he turned out for Oxfordshire against a university team at Iffley Road on Wednesday night, Wilkins, who was returning from a four-year drugs ban, was a comfortable

  • Alert as conmen strike

    ELDERLY residents are being targeted by conmen claiming to be water board workers. Four victims two in Hook Norton, one in Brackley, and one in Middleton Cheney, have reported burglaries after men knocked at their doors saying they needed to work on

  • New legal challenge to 1,000-home plan

    OBJECTORS to a massive housing estate just south of Banbury are jubilant after hearing that a judicial review could be held into the controversial development. Plans to build 1,070 houses at Bodicote/Bankside are once again in the melting pot, and

  • Parking: big changes loom

    DRASTIC changes to car parking in Banbury could be approved next week by Cherwell District Council. New measures to be discussed by the council's executive on Monday include restricting the length of time blue badge holders can park, introducing parking

  • 'Cinderella' school anger

    BANBURY School principal Dr Fiona Hammans is calling for a fairer system of investment in education saying that Drayton School is getting millions of pounds of private cash, while her school is getting nothing from Oxfordshire County Council. Dr Hammans

  • Council land deal 'to save jobs'

    A CHIPPING Norton firm has been allowed to buy county council land at less than the full market value after councillors decided it would help the town's economy. Oxfordshire County Council has agreed to sell a surplus part of its highways depot, off

  • Jail for hostage man

    AN immigrant who assaulted a woman after falsely imprisoning her has been jailed for two years. Andrew Zengenene, 37, of Barford Road, Bloxham, admitted the two charges during a hearing at Oxford Crown Court on Friday. Two further charges of rape were

  • Planning for the region's future

    A 20-YEAR development plan for north Oxfordshire is to be published by Cherwell District Council. The plan will highlight sites in Banbury and the surrounding area that could be developed for housing, employment, shopping, and leisure or protected

  • SQUASH: Johnson beaten in final

    Esporta's Kristen Johnson lost to Ali Walker in the A final of the annual Witney Graded Open. Walker, from Chappel Allerton club in Leeds, enjoyed a comfortable victory, lifting the title with a 11-7, 11-2, 12-10 success. The event was an enormous

  • On track for a record

    FERNANDO Alonso has one of Michael Schumacher's Formula One records in his sights after winning the British Grand Prix on Sunday. The Oxfordshire-based Spaniard's remarkable start to the season continued with his fifth victory in eight races after a

  • TENNIS: Ladies title race is wide open

    Thw Ladies Division 1 title is too close to call in the Wilson OLTA 2-Pair League, with five teams separated by just two points. Incredibly, five matches have ended as draws so far this season with only three in the whole of last year ending all-square

  • TENNIS: Second pair star for North

    North Oxford recorded their first win of the season in Wilson OLTA League Ladies Division 1 of the 3-Pair League with a 6-3 success over Cholsey. Their second pair of Louise Purton and Kate Calnan who should have been their No 1 couple easily claimed

  • The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift (12A)

    For the third film in the series, The Fast And The Furious accelerates at breakneck speed to the streets of Japan, where scantily clad teens delight in the white-knuckle thrills of drift racing. Tyres smoke, rubber burns, heavily customised cars rev

  • Belly full of tasty grub

    Spinach has never enjoyed a cult following, despite Paramount's attempt to promote it with the help of pug-faced maritimer Popeye. Cynics will tell you that it wasn't spinach Popeye had stashed in his can, for despite its renowned nutritional value,

  • CRICKET: Jobson refusing to panic

    Oxford skipper Pat Jobson is refusing to press the panic button, despite seeing his side propping up the Division 1 table. Jobson is calling on his team to build on last week's promising performance in their defeat against Slough when they travel to

  • Get on Down

    Since being launched last year, The Download has given Oxfordshire music lovers a weekly fix of great new music, humour and healthy irreverence. Tim Hughes finds out what it's all about. The concept is so simple it's brilliant. Take a group of mates

  • CRICKET: Quartet out for Oxford

    Oxford will be looking to keep up their good cup form when they take on High Wycombe at Roman Way in the fourth round of the Cockspur Cup on Sunday. Adam Cook, Jack Brooks, John Williams and David Sloan come in for the unavailable quartet of Nathan

  • Our hero

    My star interviewee this week has sold a million videos and five million books. He's a household name in more than 40 countries, a loving uncle, and what's more, he's a hero, having saved more lives than most people have had hot dinners. And he's coming

  • CRICKET: Horspath missing key man Murray

    Oxford Downs skipper Danny Lee believes home side Horspath start favourites for the Oxfordshire final of the npower Village Cup on Sunday. Despite Downs being two divisions above their opponents in The Oxford Times Cherwell League, Lee said: "I think

  • CRICKET: Oxon give youth a chance

    Oxfordshire are putting their faith in youth when they take on Bucks, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire at Burnham on Sunday. With Oxford involved in a Cockspur Cup fourth-round clash against High Wycombe, the county side are hit by a spate of unavailabilities

  • TENNIS: Henman meets his nemesis Tursunov again

    Oxfordshire Tim Henman booked a last-eight date with his nemesis Dmitry Tursunov after cruising into his first ATP Tour quarter-final for four months at Queen's Club. The 31-year-old British No 3, who lives at Aston Tirrold, near Didcot, has bad recent

  • SPEEDWAY: Tomicek out of hospital

    Oxford Cheetahs youngster Lubos Tomicek has discharged himself from hospital after his spectacular crash against Coventry on Wednesday. The Czech rider pulled an unforced wheelie just before the line in heat 14, and went head first over the handlebars

  • Stranded by the roadside

    We never cease to be amazed at the audacity and callousness of some criminals. Grandfather Eric Truby thought he was doing his son a favour by helping to sell his £4,600 Toyota Landcruiser 4x4. But when he took a couple, who called at his door, for

  • Too many targets

    It is strange, not to say surreal, to see Conservatives and Labour switching places on public services. Suddenly, Tory leader David Cameron is full of praise for civil servants, while Tony Blair is saying that they should be more businesslike, and warning

  • Time to scrap council perks

    I am glad that Oxford city councillor John Tanner thinks raising street parking charges in town to £4 an hour during the morning peak will raise revenue for the county council (Oxford Mail, June 8). Could it not mean that it makes parking in Oxford

  • Helping is a gas

    CALOR, the UK's largest supplier of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), is urging people to hand over their unwanted gas cylinders to help the Oxford Children's Hospital Campaign reach its £15m fundraising target. The appeal is being co-ordinated by Oxford

  • Elton tickets still up for grabs

    With only a week to go before Elton John comes to Oxford's Kassam Stadium there are still 3,000 tickets to be sold. Bosses at the Kassam say they fear many people had just assumed the concert was sold out so the box office has been receiving less calls

  • No sleep on misery line

    Network Rail is facing possible legal action amid claims that noisy night work is making the lives of Hinksey residents a misery. The firm has been accused of breaking agreements at Hinksey Sidings, with families regularly woken by wagons stockpiling

  • Dad's a hero

    A bus driver who saved the lives of an Oxford couple trapped in their burning flat has been nominated for a special bravery award. Father of three Bruce Coppen, 32, dashed from Gloucester Green bus station in Oxford to a nearby flat when he saw smoke

  • Demos delay masts

    People power has brought a halt to plans to build mobile phone masts on two pubs in Oxford. Residents living near the Marlborough House in Grandpont and The Chester Arms in Chester Street, East Oxford, have been protesting against mast plans by mobile

  • Gipsy Gary is dunroaming

    A Romany gipsy who spent his childhood living in waste ground, lay-bys and car parks, has told a planning inquiry he wants his children to have a better life. Married father-of-two Gary Smith, 33, said he and other travelling families moved on to land

  • Raise your game warn inspectors

    An Oxford primary has received a warning from Ofsted to improve significantly, after inspectors expressed concern at pupil under-achievement during a visit to the school. Windmill Primary School in Headington was inspected by the schools' watchdog last

  • 'Keep a clinic at infirmary' plea

    A patients' forum is urging Oxford University's Vice-Chancellor to drop his opposition to a medical centre on the Radcliffe Infirmary site. Oxford City Patients' Forum made a direct appeal to Dr John Hood, after the university's opposition helped kill

  • Alarm about store

    These gorillas were not just aping around - they were making a serious point about a threat to small businesses in East Oxford. Residents and traders who live and work near The Plain roundabout were protesting this week against the opening of a 35-seater

  • Momentous week

    At long last, the planning application for the redevelopment of the Westgate area in Oxford has gone to Oxford City Council. It has been a long time coming, and, judging by the van that was needed to transport all the documentation, it will take the city

  • A clear message

    Primary care trusts in Oxfordshire are about to be amalgamated into one body with responsibility for GPs and community hospitals across the county. That seems very appropriate to us as there is now one clear message being delivered to the managers of

  • Expensive lesson

    It is hard to argue with the Government's case that money to subsidise adult learning should be redirected towards those needing to acquire a basic skill or qualification. There is never enough money for what everyone wants, so someone has to prioritise

  • Primary school gets 11th head in three years

    A SCHOOL once ranked as outstanding but which went into special measures after going through ten headteachers in three years has lost yet another head. The sudden departure of Darren Kenyon from Dunmore Junior School in Abingdon on "indefinite sick

  • Anger over North Oxford parking ban

    NEIGHBOURS who have put up with months of disruption from a building site will be banned from their own parking spaces. Signs forbidding permit holders from using the bays in Walton Well Road, Oxford, were put up three months ago to allow lorries to

  • Family's fence fight with neighbours

    A WOMAN told how she felt she was "living in a prison" as her neighbour was told to pull down an illegal 2m-spiked fence after a four-year dispute. At Oxford Crown Court, Sylvanna Ho, 25, was given a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay

  • City hotels are safe for now

    TWO Oxford hotels look to be safe from the immediate threat of demolition. But the woman who runs one of the hotels believes it is "inevitable" that her landlord, Christ Church, will be back with fresh redevelopment plans. Christ Church wanted to

  • Industrial action considered by health unions

    OXFORDSHIRE health workers faced with heavy job losses are to consider taking industrial action. The health workers' union Unison says it is to organise county-wide meetings to assess the levels of support for a ballot in the face of mounting speculation

  • Protest forces rethink over pub masts

    PROTESTS have brought a halt to plans to build mobile phone masts on two pubs in Oxford. Residents living near the Marlborough House in Grandpont and The Chester Arms, off Iffley Road, have been protesting against mast plans by mobile phone company

  • Fresh fight over Magdalen Bridge closure

    A FRESH fight will be launched against the continuing May Morning closure of Oxford's Magdalen Bridge after it was labelled an "extreme over-reaction". Earlier this month, police, ambulance and council officials unanimously agreed to continue closing

  • Three die on county roads

    TWO drivers and a motorcyclist killed in a series of accidents over the space of just two days have been identified. Robert Murrell, 33, from Southmoor, near Abingdon, was killed on Sunday while he was riding his motorcycle along the A420 in south Oxfordshire

  • Mayhem on the river

    BOATERS on the Thames have been warned about a gang running amok on the river after a number of incidents at Oxford's Iffley Lock. A 61-year-old man was pushed into the river, a canoeist stoned, another tipped out, a digger driven into a fence, and

  • Prostitutes take to two wheels

    PROSTITUTES on Oxford's streets have started riding bicycles to fool police into thinking they are 'ordinary' members of the public. Some 'working girls' have abandoned the traditional approach of loitering on street corners. Instead they have taken

  • College butler to be questioned over disappearance of wine

    AN OXFORD University college butler is to be questioned by police after the disappearance of large quantities of fine wine from All Souls. Police were called in after wine, believed to be worth thousands of pounds, vanished from the college's famously

  • Landmark week for city

    A STRIKING image of the new Westgate Centre viewed from the redeveloped Bonn Square has been released to mark "a major milestone" for the schemes. A detailed planning application for the new £300m shopping centre was submitted to Oxford City Council

  • Class carrier

    Japanese car maker Toyota has introduced a new, well-equipped version of its Verso compact people carrier. Badged TR', this variant boasts a CD multi-changer, rear privacy glass, Bluetooth mobile phone connectivity, 16-inch alloy wheels and metallic paint

  • Crafter graft

    Volkswagen has announced prices for its new Crafter van which will go on sale in September. Prices start at £15,300 (basic recommended retail price excluding VAT and on-the-road costs) for the CR30 short wheelbase panel van with 88 horsepower £500

  • Honda grows on you

    Honda has developed a plant-based fabric for use as a material for car interiors. The 'Bio-fabric' offsets all CO2 emissions produced during the disposal stage of the car, through the CO2 absorption that occurs during the growth stage of the plants used

  • Compact Carens has Euro flavour

    Kia's new Carens people carrier, which made its world premiere at the Madrid Motor Show last month will go on sale in Europe this year. The car, which will be available in five-seater and seven-seater versions, will have a choice of 2.0-litre 140 horsepower

  • Manner of eviction has alienated neighbourhood

    Sir, I write as Vicar of St Barnabas, Jericho, and as a resident immediately next to the Castle Mill Boatyard. You are, of course, right in your leader (June 2) when you state that British Waterways had the law on their side when they evicted those

  • Gently burning

    Sir, I recently objected to the erecting of a telecommunications mast at The Oxford Hotel. The role of the Oxford City Council planning department appeared to be to ignore the many representations opposing this development and to mutter about appearance

  • Move the masts

    Sir, T-Mobile is so 'keen to work with residents' (Report, June 9) over its plans to site a phone mast on the Chester Arms pub in Iffley Fields that it refused to come to our public meeting at SS Mary and John School to discuss the issue. T-Mobile is

  • Where does money go?

    Sir, I note that notices have been posted by the county council in roads all over North Oxford notifying us of charges for obtaining parking permits from October. If I recall correctly when the much-loathed parking permit scheme was introduced it was

  • Wrongly interpreted

    Sir, Councillor Alan Armitage is wrong to state (Letters, June 2) that I voluntarily absented myself from the area committee meeting where the Primary Care Trust planning application to build a new 'Super-surgery' on the Radcliffe Infirmary site was debated

  • Boorish tone

    Sir, In arguing the case for abolishing our monarchy, Cassandra F. Petibout (Letters, May 26) had no need to adopt the boorish tone that she does by referring to the Queen as 'Mrs Windsor' and to those who chose to go to greet her as a 'rent-a-crowd mob

  • Fast track for Subaru

    Subaru is offering its full model range for evaluation on four different purpose-built tracks including a high-speed route, skid-pan, tarmac rally stage and off-road. Cars available for testing include the 230 horsepower Impreza WRX and 280 horsepower

  • Range Rover steps up diesel power

    The Range Rover gets an all-new V8 diesel engine and a series of other significant enhancements for the 2007 model year. These latest improvements to Land Rover's flagship include a revised cabin design and a host of technical upgrades, such as Land

  • Roadtest: Awesome eight-seater is super-capable

    I am not one to apologise for 4x4s as there is no need. Most take up no more space on the road, use no more fuel and are no more environmentally-damaging than a comparable saloon or hatchback. But even I confess to a twinge of guilt as I nosed Toyota's

  • Audi queue forms here

    With the covers barely off the much-anticipated Audi Q7 sports utility vehicle and the new Audi TT Coupe, Audi has announced three more new vehicles. The new Audi Q5 a medium-sized SUV will be built in Germany. The new model will start production

  • More research needed into travel patterns

    Sir, Oxfordshire County Council's plans for park-and-ride facilities in the market towns seem to rest on two assumptions: 1: A large proportion of the traffic that regularly brings the A34 to a halt is going into/out of Oxford 2: A large proportion

  • Uphill battle on buses

    Sir, A plan by Oxfordshire County Council for a much-needed park-and-ride in Witney by 2010 (Report, June 9) has been mooted by some West Oxfordshire district councillors for years. A site mentioned was the Downs Road industrial estate. Relocation

  • Health hazard

    Sir, Most of your readers must have been surprised to see a letter (June 9) that actually defends the dreadful open-topped tourist buses that grind constantly around the streets of central Oxford. Those of us who live and work in the city centre are

  • Invidious system

    Sir, On June 2 The Oxford Times reported on the imminent closure of Witney's Moorview Hospital for the elderly mentally sick. In that piece it is stated that this action is being taken to reduce 'a projected gap in the Trust's budget'. The fact is that

  • People will suffer

    Sir, In his letter (June 9) Tony Joyce applauded the decision of the city council's strategic development control committee to reject the carefully worked out proposals for the building of a new health centre on the Radcliffe Infirmary site. There may

  • Environmental benefit

    Sir, A small but very effective group has mounted the campaign to make the Trap Grounds a Town Green. It is incorrect, however, to suggest, like N.L. Gregory (Letters, June 9) that they represent more than a small minority of local residents. Some years

  • Peaceful end

    Sir, Ken Weavers (Letters, May 26) explains how the present law forbidding a doctor from helping a requesting patient to have a mercifully shortened death fits in well with his beliefs and preferences. But what about those of us 80 per cent of the

  • Former county archivist dies

    IN THE 1930s, across England and Wales, local authorities were becoming concerned about the rapid loss of written heritage. Bedfordshire had shown the way by creating a county record office. Hugh Walton spent three months there, learning the basics

  • Folk musician dies

    A FOLK musician who played until she was 93 has died. Ruth Rock, who lived in Kennington most of her life, died on May 10, after a 70-year musical career. She was well known in the county and played for the Third Friday Club from when it started in

  • Council will not privatise tax collection

    OXFORD City Council looks unlikely to outsource its troubled council tax collection service just four months after agreeing to privatise it. The U-turn will be made later this month after the authority paid consultants £12,000 to report on how its

  • School defies council on sun lotion guidance

    AN OXFORD primary school is defying local authority guidance by allowing staff to apply sun lotion to pupils. Oxfordshire County Council has advised headteachers that pupils should put cream on themselves while on school premises. The guidance was

  • One in three shops sold drink to children

    ONE in three Oxfordshire shops targeted in an underage alcohol operation were caught selling drink to teenagers. Volunteers aged between 13 and 15 tested 25 shops across the county, with the youngsters in eight of those shops being sold alcopops and

  • Adult learning service to be bailed out

    OXFORDSHIRE'S adult learning service is to be bailed out of a funding crisis with a £174,000 loan from the county council. Oxfordshire County Council receives almost all of its funding for adult learning through its contract with the Learning and Skills

  • All Souls declines sundial bequest

    AN Oxford college has turned down a share of the £888,000 estate of a former fellow who bequeathed the money on the condition that the dons relocate a huge sundial. All Souls College announced this week that it would not accept the bequest by John Simmons

  • CPS could bring charges over election fraud

    THE Crown Prosecution Service is considering whether to bring charges over the allegedly fraudulent election form of a failed Tory candidate. Thames Valley Police's economic fraud unit formerly the fraud squad launched an investigation after it was

  • Rail company faces action over noise

    NETWORK Rail is facing the threat of legal action amid claims that noisy night work is making the lives of Hinksey residents a misery. The company has been accused of breaking agreements at Hinksey Sidings, with families regularly woken by wagons stockpiling

  • SEAT scorcher arrives next month

    SEAT UK has revealed that the new Leon FR will be priced from £16,995. Dealers are taking orders ahead of the model's arrival during July. The model, which made its world debut last month at the Madrid Motor Show, follows in the footsteps of the previous

  • Huge cuts for adult courses

    A radical overhaul of Oxfordshire's adult learning service is being considered in the face of cuts. Oxfordshire County Council will consider a raft of measures to save its programme of leisure courses, taken up by 22,000 adults each year. Subsidies

  • New hope for town hospital

    Bicester has a 50 per cent chance of getting a new hospital built using council cash rather than NHS money, according to Cherwell District Council's leader. Barry Wood made the prediction after meeting representatives from the first local authority

  • Gran's race is a winner

    A Bicester grandmother who refused to let her wheelchair stop her taking part in a sponsored race raised more than £400 for charity. June Offord, 63, of Graham Road, wheeled herself from Franklin's Yard car park, down Sheep Street, round Bicester's

  • OAP stranded by car thieves

    Two con artists abandoned a pensioner in the countryside in his slippers as they motored off with a car he was selling. Grandad Eric Truby, 70, had taken the pair out on a test drive of his son's £4,600 Toyota Landcruiser 4x4, but they fled with the

  • Chance to win OSCA

    There is just a week left for would-be Osca winners to submit entries for Oxfordshire's premier conservation awards. The curtain will come down on entries for the 2006 Oxfordshire Sustainability & Conservation Awards next Friday. The pick of the county's

  • Lions cheered on to victory

    A power cut prevented some fans watching England launch their World Cup dream, but avid supporters were back to generate their own electricity last night. Around 400 fans - and a drummer in a suit emblazoned with the St George's Cross - filled the Bullnose

  • Residents criticise firm over leak

    Residents in a south Oxfordshire village have been angered by Thames Water's failure to plug a leak. As villagers in West Hagbourne struggle to keep their plants thriving and their lawns green they can only watch as gallons of water drain away. The