City litter enforcers tonight slapped the first £100 fines on residents who have blighted Oxford's streets with rubbish - with the promise of more to follow. Seven people living in three properties were hit with fixed penalties after ignoring repeated
Hundreds of teddy bears that were due to take pride of place in this year's Cowley Road Carnival have been ruined in a flood at a charity shop. Barnardo's charity shop, in Cowley Road, has been collecting teddy bears for weeks in the hope of displaying
Musical mogul Andrew Lloyd Webber is helping the county's diabetes and kidney failure patients by donating proceeds from his stage shows to the Oxford Transplant Campaign. His West End hit, The Sound of Music, has already generated £100,000 for the
A proposal to fill in a pedestrian subway as part of a road-widening scheme in Oxford has been described as "hare-brained". Oxfordshire County Council is considering filling in the underpass in the shopping heart of Headington to improve traffic flow
An investigation into how a trainee police call centre operator was shot in the chest at a firearms awareness course may last up to three months. Keith Tilbury, 50, was accidentally shot with a .44 Magnum at the course held at Thames Valley Police headquarters
Two conmen stole cash after tricking their way into an elderly woman's home. They called at the woman's house, in Church Road, Weston-on-the-Green yesterday at about 8.30pm, claiming to be from the 'water board'. Dc Paddy O'Grady, of Kidlington police
Daphne Keenan may be no stranger to Race for Life - this weekend will be the 12th she's taken part in - but this year she will be leading the pack. Mrs Keenan, 63, from Waverley Avenue, Kidlington, has been awarded the honour of wearing the number one
Police yesterday issued a description of a bogus health worker who tried to get into a house and gain access to a child. The woman was turned away at a flat in Lansdown Road, Faringdon on May 22 when she knocked on the door and asked to see a child
A teenager who stole car keys and drove away the owners' vehicles during a spate of night-time burglaries has been jailed. The 16-year-old from Bicester breached a court-imposed curfew to commit more burglaries, Banbury Youth Court heard. The teenager
There is one table which Charlton Athletic have managed to lead. For the second season in a row Charlton's supporters came top of the Behaviour of the Public Fair Play League. The club will receive £20,000 to spend on fans' initiatives during the coming
Oh dear, what a nightmare that must have been for the poor protected species, known as cyclists (Oxford Mail, May 24). Not only did Thames Valley Police find some real police officers, not pretend Police Community Support Officers, but then found someone
Mary Stiff (Oxford Mail, May 24) writes eloquently of the devastation of parts of Brasenose Wood at Headington, Oxford, and the rubbish left behind by so-called conservationists working for Oxfordshire County Council. I am reminded of the senseless
Despite repeated interest rate rises, the spiralling costs of buying and selling a home and continuing predictions of a slowdown, or even crash, in the market, house prices continue to soar. In Oxfordshire they are outstripping the national average
A family from Oxford believes Allah has sent them a message by appearing in a tomato. The Khalids, of Maidcroft Road in Cowley, have been swamped with well-wishers from the Muslim community after making the discovery while preparing a salad. Uzma
Nuclear power was thrust into local headlines last week when a report tipped that nuclear power could be coming to South Oxfordshire, if the Government decides to build an new generation of nuclear plants. Experts suggested industrial sites at Didcot
New Conservative city councillor Tia MacGregor has revealed how she thought about quitting and calling a by-election - just days after joining the party. As revealed exclusively in the Oxford Mail last month, Dr MacGregor and Paul Sargent became the
I saw a report condemning the tactics of Patientline, the suppliers of the phone system to hospital patients. In some places, its employees are allegedly going from patient to patient selling the phonecards to them, irrespective of their condition.
Thieves helped themselves to diesel to fill up two tractors before stealing them from a farm. The tractors were stolen from a farm shop in Milton Hill, Abingdon between 10pm on Thursday and 7.30am today. The two blue Ford New Holland tractors worth
David Cameron doesn't believe in grammar schools. You may have heard something on the news recently, as I understand it has been mentioned. David says there should be a 'grammar stream' in every comprehensive, removing the need for separate schools. Grammars
TWO people had to be cut free from a transit vehicle following a collision near Chislehampton early today. The incident happened on the B4015 between the Goldenballs roundabout and the Coach and Horses pub in Chislehampton at 6.47am. One adult was
A TRAINEE police call centre operator remains in hospital today in a serious but stable condition after being shot in the chest. Keith Tilbury, 50, was accidentally shot with a .44 Magnum at a firearms awareness course at Thames Valley Headquarters
Tuesday night went very well with a respectable sized village audience for the premier performance of our two ODN festival plays. Mediocrity by Anton Robert Krueger and on Wednesday and Canary Cage by Diana Raffle were well received and things bode well
TROUBLED shop till software company Torex Retail has parted company with its chief executive Neil Mitchell. Mr Mitchell, of Leckford Road, Oxford, is thought to have sparked a series of Serious Fraud Office raids in February on the Oxfordshire homes
Two people had to be cut free from a transit vehicle following a collision near Chistlehampton early today. The incident happened on the B4015 between the Goldenballs roundabout and the Coach and Horses pub in Chistlehampton at 6.47am. One adult was
Raiders stole thousands of pounds of cigarettes and charity boxes after breaking into a supermarket this morning. The burglars forced open the front door at Budgens in Marlborough Street, Faringdon, at about 4.10am. They stole £3,000 worth of cigarettes
Staff at a Witney entertainment and leisure products retailer are set to lose their jobs after the company went into administration. The 37 workers at Dream Direct based in Station Lane, were given the news before an announcement was made to the Stock
Brightwell Vineyards, near Wallingford, is run by Bob and Carol Nielsen and is one of Oxfordshire's top vineyards. The couple make delightfully crisp, clean wines that show a Chablis-like minerality that comes from the chalky soils of their Thames-side
It seems that barely a week passes without it being a week for something: national construction week; national giving week; national insect week; national downshifting week. You name it, we've got a week for it, and in truth, the majority pass me by without
RAIDERS stole thousands of pounds of cigarettes and charity boxes after breaking into a supermarket this morning. The burglars forced open the front door at Budgens in Marlborough Street, Faringdon, at about 4.10am. They stole £3,000 worth of cigarettes
The traumatic, albeit temporary, closure of the Zodiac, has given rise to an exodus. While just a few weeks ago, Oxford's beautiful people frolicked among the sticky floors and rusty plumbing of our favourite Cowley Road venue, they have now been scattered
GRAPHIC designer Daniel Hart has told how he too was left fearing for his safety after months of online abuse from Internet stalker Felicity Jane Lowde. Last month, Lowde, 41, of Jackson Road, Cutteslowe, was convicted of harassing July 7 bombing victim
TWO weeks after Oxford's premier live music venue closed its doors for a £2m refurbishment, the club's new owners have announced a significant increase in its capacity. Work has already begun at The Zodiac, on Cowley Road, which is being converted into
A MAN needed hospital treatment after helping a woman who was being attacked by a gang of youths near Banbury railway station. The man, aged 42, was knocked to the ground and repeatedly kicked by the gang, police said. He was taken to the Horton Hospital
A FORMER international event rider has taken over the running of this year's Blenheim International Horse Trials. Andy Griffiths, assistant director to Mike Etherington-Smith, steps into his shoes as the new director for the staging of this year's event
A HELICOPTER pilot from RAF Benson who died in a crash in Iraq had "insufficient training", a coroner has said. Flt Lt Kristian Gover died while landing his Puma helicopter at Basra airport on July 19, 2004, an inquest at Oxford Coroners court heard
An investigation has been launched after a police call centre operator was shot in the chest with a Magnum revolver during a firearms awareness course. The man, who is in his 50s but has not been identified, remains in a serious but stable condition
Oxfordshire captain Ian Hawtin is looking for a simple passage into the semi-finals when they host Wiltshire on their Radley College debut on Sunday (11). The Group 4 table shows Oxon have a sizeable net runrate advantage, so they should finish top
SEEING spots before your eyes is possibly not the best advertisement for a high-performance car. Seeing red is also probably unwise. Combine the two though and the small red dot that glows on the dashboard on Honda's new Civic Type R is part-reminder
FANS of classically-styled motorbikes will welcome the decision to put on a second annual Royal Enfield open weekend, following the success of the 2006 inaugural event. The Royal Enfield gathering takes place at the Watsonian Squire factory, situated
TOYOTA has launched a new version of the Aygo adding higher specification, including Bluetooth and air conditioning as standard from £7,995. The Aygo Blue, which joins the Aygo Black in the line-up, is finished in Lagoon Blue metallic paint with blue-themed
KOREAN car firm Hyundai has revealed the next stage in its plans to fully establish itself as a European manufacturer, by issuing the first official picture of its i30 Estate, the follow-on car from the soon-to-be-launched i30 five-door hatchback. The
THE sisters of a man flung from his car and killed in a road crash pleaded with motorists to wear their seatbelts. Shabana and Farzana Wyaid, of Wood Green, Banbury, told drivers to belt up after an inquest into the death of their brother, Sajid Wyaid
THE medieval Abbey at Sutton Courtenay is to be given a £3m restoration but organisers need help raising £1.5m first. The Heritage Lottery Fund has offered the charity The Abbey, Sutton Courtenay £1.8m but director Shgaron Usher said: "We have to raise
THE weather forecast might not be glorious - but that won't deter the 4,000 competitors expected to swim, cycle and run around Blenheim Palace this weekend for the third Blenheim Triathlon. The event, held at the Duke of Marlborough's World Heritage
