Archive
-
Date
6,000 expected at Truck festival
A south Oxfordshire farm is being transformed into a festival site for 6,000 music lovers this weekend. Preparations are well in hand for the annual Truck Festival on Saturday and Sunday at Steventon, near Abingdon. The event, one of Oxfordshire's
-
Date
Hospital in nerve gas exercise
More than 200 staff from Oxfordshire emergency crews took part in a terrorist training exercise today in which nerve gas was released on a coach on the M40. Although those taking part were not dealing with a real-life incident, managers said lessons
-
Date
Co-op move prompts store sale fears
Supermarket workers in 12 Oxfordshire stores face an uncertain future after the Co-op announced it might have to sell shops following its £1.57bn buyout of its rival chain Somerfield today. A Co-op spokesman said that the Office of Fair Trading would
-
Date
Child porn 'family men' jailed
Three paedophiles who were described by police as "family men" have been jailed for being members of an online child sex ring. They will serve a total of six years in jail after police smashed an international gang of perverts who shared images of
-
Date
Street thieves target shopper
THIEVES distracted a shopper before grabbing her purse and stealing hundreds of pounds in cash. The woman was in Waitrose car park, Wallingford Street, Wantage, at about 1.55pm on Monday when she was approached by a man who asked her directions to Dover
-
Date
Mosquito repelled
PENSIONERS who battled troublemakers by fitting a high-pitched "mosquito" device to their homes have been told to remove it by planning officers. The Vale of White Horse District Council said the Wantage Town Land Governors must take down the gadget
-
Date
Freeze-dried flood books
Flood victims across Oxfordshire are turning to an Oxford bookbinder to help them save their precious collections. Ian Barnes, who owns Temple Bookbinders in Headington, said flooding in the county had created extra business. Following the floods
-
Date
Lewis in action for new series
Lewis actors Kevin Whately and Laurence Fox have been shooting scenes around Oxford for the latest series of the ITV drama. Episodes of the Inspector Morse spin-off regularly attract eight million viewers and following the success of the second series
-
Date
Go-ahead for new school
PLANS for a new secondary school in Didcot have got the go-ahead. Oxfordshire County Council agreed on Tuesday to build a new school in the town to cope with its expanding population. Experts predict 850 more secondary school places will be needed
-
Date
Tesco tastes defeat
TESCO has withdrawn its application for a major expansion of its Abingdon superstore - because of fresh concerns over flooding. The supermarket firm had been expected to take on the Vale of White Horse District Council at a planning inquiry later this
-
Date
£103,000 boost for church
A GRANT of £103,000 has put a campaign to open up St Mary's Church, in Wallingford, within £60,000 of its target - with work expected to start early next year. The money has come from South Oxfordshire District Council's community investment fund.
-
Date
Gearing up for Truck Festival
A SOUTH Oxfordshire farm is being transformed into a festival site for 6,000 music lovers and artists. Stages, speakers, stalls, and fencing is going up at Hill Farm, Steventon, as part of preparations for the Truck Festival. The event, which takes
-
Date
New test tackles underage drinkers
New on-the-spot "litmus tests" are being introduced in a further clampdown on underage drinking. The system is being tested in west Oxfordshire and has already claimed its first success. All 20 police community support officers for the district
-
Date
Hopes rise for A34 improvements
A £6bn package of motorway improvements announced by Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly today is expected to bring improvements at junction nine of the M40. The busy junction where the A34 meets the M40, near Bicester, is a bottleneck for traffic at peak
-
Date
Postman admits stealing mail
A postman who admitted stealing post - including a ruby solitaire ring worth almost £200 - faces jail, a court has been told. Stuart Crayford, 38, of Winchester Way, Wantage, pleaded guilty to three counts of theft and one count of intending to delay
-
Date
Incinerator plans shown to villagers
PLANS for a waste incinerator in Sutton Courtenay will be submitted to the Vale of White Horse District Council on Monday. Villagers get a chance to view the proposals at a public display Thursday and Friday, from 2pm until 8pm, at the village hall,
-
Date
Burglars target 84-year-old
Burglars grabbed hold of a pensioner's crutches then locked him inside his own home during a theft in Watlington. Police are linking the distraction burglary in Chapel Street on Saturday with two more similar incidents on the same day in Buckinghamshire
-
Date
Residents' fury at flats approval
RESIDENTS have reacted angrily to a plan to build two flats near their homes, claiming their views have been ignored. Dozens of homeowners in Harlington Avenue and Glebe Gardens, Grove, are furious the plan to extend and convert a nearby house into
-
Date
Strike hits ten schools
Four more schools in Oxfordshire have been added to the list affected by the two-day strike by council workers - taking the total to ten. Today, Unison and Unite members walked out over the Government's below-inflation offer of a 2.45 per cent pay rise
-
Date
Porn ring members jailed
FOUR members of a nationwide child sex ring who swapped sick images via an Internet group have been jailed for a total of seven years. Police said the online group contributed to "horrific sexual abuse' of children. David Adams, 45, of Hinton Waldrist
-
Date
Blaze rips through derelict building
Firefighters are investigating a blaze that broke out at a derelict building in Didcot last night. Fire crews from Didcot and Abingdon were called to Royal Berkshire Court in Green Road at 7.45pm. Two first-floor flats and the roof of the building
-
Date
More pupils eat new school meals
FRESH and healthy menus have been credited with a ten per cent rise in the number of Oxfordshire children eating school dinners. More than 1,000 extra children a day are tucking into a hot meal, compared with three years ago. About 34 per cent of
-
Date
Come and meet police
People in Abingdon will be able to meet the local neighbourhood policing team today from 10am to 3pm at the Market Place. PCSO Ali Blood said: "I will be available to talk to residents at the police surgeries and will be there to answer and deal with
-
Date
School search powers will 'ruin trust'
Granting teachers the power to search pupils for drugs and alcohol would destroy trust, teachers in Oxfordshire fear. The measures could be brought in as part of a crackdown on unruly behaviour following a Government report recommending extending existing
