IT seems hard to believe that college lecturers earn around 12 per cent less than school teachers. If the profession continues to lag behind in pay you have to ask how colleges are going to recruit and keep academics to inspire the country's intellectual
THE Dr Martens season has only just finished but Supermarine manager John Murphy is already making waves in the transfer market, with Ian Howell brother of Swindon golf pro David top of the wish list. Murphy has wasted no time in his attempts to build
COUNCIL officers have helped hundreds of redundant Motorola workers back into work and training. Since April last year, more than 700 redundant workers have been helped in their search for work and more than 3,000 have been given career and training advice
REFRIGERATION refurbishment firm Bond Retail Services has established a new Swindon office and taken over Wiltshire-based refrigeration company Adams Installation. It is hoped the new branch, in Dunbeath Road on the Elgin Industrial Estate, will be operational
A FIVE-CAR crash on the M4 led to a three-lane closure and a 10-mile tailback stretching from Chippenham almost to the Leigh Delamere services during rush hour this morning. The accident happened near a sliproad at junction 17 on the eastbound carriageway
GOLDEN Jubilee street party organisers are being offered insurance against the British weather. Swindon-based Zurich Financial Services says it will pay up if celebrations next month are a wash out. So far Swindon Council has received 25 applications
LECTURERS at Swindon's colleges are poised to mount a two-day strike over pay. The walk-out at Swindon College and New College could take place on May 28 and 29 unless the Association of Colleges improves its 1.5 per cent pay offer to lecturers by Monday
SWINDON College Old Boys skipper Greg O'Brien has called on the Rugby Football Union to agree on a settled structure at local level after seeing his side effectively demoted in yet another league shake-up. The Old Boys will drop into Dorset & Wilts
CHIPPENHAM Town sealed the under 18 Wiltshire Floodlit League last night with a comfortable victory over rivals Supermarine at Hardenhuish Park. The young Bluebirds needed just a point to pip previous leaders Devizes for the title. But they collected
SWINDON Schools triumphed in the under 15 Southern Cup Final. Swindon took the trophy after a thrilling 4-2 victory over Coventry Schools at the County Ground. Mitchell Wyatt and Chris Zebroski had fired Swindon into a 2-1 half-time lead, with Dave Blenkinsopp
WILTSHIRE Wildlife Trust has been presented with a new brush cutter by Andy Taylor, local manager for gas pipeline company Transco. The £600 machine will be used across the county as part of the essential habitat management programme.
YOUNGSTERS who attend the Clivey Project youth club are devastated after a break-in at the group's Cricklade Road premises. A new £200 Playstation 2 computer console, which had been bought only two weeks previously, was stolen from the centre after the
ANTHONY Belcher returned to using heroin after being thrown off a drug treatment and testing course, a court was told. The 35-year-old was caught with hundreds of pounds worth of the drug which he was supplying to another man for a dealer. But a judge
MORE than 200 Swindonians walked the streets of London showing off their bras to raise money for breast cancer charity Breakthrough. Eunice Salmon of Nine Elms, who organised the Swindon contingent, hailed Saturday night's Moonwalk a great success even
A QUESTIONNAIRE aimed at helping Swindon Council decide its policies on leisure and the arts has been criticised by leading councillors. Leader of the council, Councillor Mike Bawden, and Wendy Johnson, deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats, have condemned
THANK you for printing that letter from Neil Bristow of Thurney Drive. He wrote my sentiment and probably a lot more people's as well. This town has gone to the dogs over the last 25 years or more, ever since the GWR factory closed down. Quite a lot of
WE don't want to unduly alarm people with today's Streets of Fear headline. After all, statistically Swindon remains relatively safe as long as we all take sensible precautions. But the fact is that in the past few days there has been an alarming rise
WOOTTON Bassett based Railston the Shopfitter, one of the top 20 shopfitting companies in the UK by turnover, has introduced a programme of monthly visits by all its office staff to operational sites to see the work they administer actually taking place
PROSPECT Hospice and homelessness charity Threshold Housing Link will share a total of nearly £42,000 raised by this year's Swindon Marriott Charity Ball. The 14th ball, on Saturday, was attended by 200 people and proceeds topped the 2001 total by some
DRUG littered toilets in a Swindon park have been reopened and are being protected by security surveillance. The toilets in Old Town Gardens were closed almost two weeks ago, after cleaning staff discovered needles and other evidence of drug use on the
WITH flowers, chocolates, rounds of rapturous applause and hugs, The Swindon Festival of Literature ended on a high. And the event will be back with a vengeance next year to celebrate its 10th birthday. Come rain or shine for the past fortnight, Swindon
ONE of BBC Wiltshire Sound's key presenters, Shirley Ludford, has resigned. The presenter, who has been called the voice of Swindon, will broadcast on the mid-morning show for the last time on Saturday, May 25, after handing in her notice at the beginning
CULTURE vultures from around Wiltshire and beyond converged at the Oasis to tuck into exotic food from around the world. The first International Food Fair offered hungry residents the chance to try homemade food from 13 different countries. The event
COUNCIL officers have helped hundreds of redundant Motorola workers back into work and training. Since April last year, more than 700 redundant workers have been helped in their search for work and more than 3,000 have been given career and training advice
SCOTT McMurtry landed the Evening Advertiser Peatmoor Millennium Trophy, with his Peatmoor team taking the collective honours. Cold rain the night before did not help the fishing but nevertheless respectable weights were recorded. McMurtry's winning 7lb
AN ENTERPRISING four-year-old who raised over £100 off his own back has been praised by the children's charity Barnardos. Jason Cutler, from the nursery class at Seven Fields Primary School, in Penhill, received an extra-large certificate in recognition
TAKEAWAY owner Mosfiqur Rahman is the latest victim of Swindon's violent streets. Today he spoke of the moment he was attacked by a masked man outside his house and left with cuts to his face and arms. His ordeal is part of an alarming increase in violent
THE Dr Martens season has only just finished but Supermarine manager John Murphy is already making waves in the transfer market, with Ian Howell brother of Swindon golf pro David top of the wish list. Murphy has wasted no time in his attempts to build
PETER Finch punched his wife in the face after he had too much to drink, magistrates heard. Finch, 44, of Fosse Close, Cirencester, admitted assaulting Maria Finch on April 20. He also pleaded guilty to a further charge of assaulting Mrs Finch's 17-year-old-son
THOUSANDS of worshippers are expected to gather outside the Steam Heritage Centre on Sunday to celebrate Pentecost. Traditionally celebrated on the seventh Sunday after Easter, the Christian festival of Pentecost commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit
YOUNG people campaigning for a skatepark have set out their arguments before a 50-strong audience at a town council meeting. The Cricklade skaters have been calling for a dedicated site since November 2000, when town councillors asked what facilities
CHURCHES in Swindon have got together to launch a community radio station with a Christian flavour. Flame FM was officially launched yesterday by the Bishop of Swindon, Michael Doe, and Canon Michael Johnson of Wroughton. Swindon Churches Together, a
SWINDON'S incoming mayor says he is itching to open the memorial to the victims of the Swindon Disease, as the memorial appeal is now nearly three-quarters of the way towards its target. The Swindon Disease Memorial Appeal has now raised £7,371 since
A woman from Swindon is due to appear before the Nurses Conduct Committee in London tomorrow. Lesley Ann Guttridge, 49, a registered general nurse, is accused of four offences of misconduct at the Cotswold Nursing and Residential Home in Burford. Two
STEAM, Swindon's showpiece museum of the Great Western Railway, received a special commendation in the prestigious European Museum of the Year Award 2002. The attraction was one of three UK museums to be short-listed for the honour. And although it did
SELFLESS boys Michael Montauro and Tom McCulloch sprang into action to save the life of an eight-month old kitten. The 11-year-olds, both of Castleton Road, West Swindon, acted without thinking to save the hit and run victim. Saffron, a tortoiseshell,
ORGANISERS of a vintage air day today hailed the event a success. Around 7,000 people descended on RAF Kemble over the weekend for the Sixth Great Vintage Flying Weekend. Enthusiasts came out in force to enjoy some 400 to 500 vintage and classic light
A FIVE-CAR crash on the M4 led to a three-lane closure and a 10-mile tailback stretching from Chippenham almost to the Leigh Delamere services during rush hour this morning. The accident happened near a sliproad at junction 17 on the eastbound carriageway
I RECEIVED a phone call from my mother on Monday, May 6, who was at my father's graveside to place flowers on his grave and my two grandmothers. To her horror she was met by a cemetery akin to a jungle. Nettles, wild rose bushes, grass all out of control
OVER the course of the bank holiday with my family, we attended an international football competition in Carterton. The tournament was very well run and new friendships were forged on the football pitch. What I enjoyed was like taking a step back in time
THE Government has recently launched the second phase of its awareness campaign to help recruit more social workers around the country . This initiative is vital if we are to develop a strong social care system to support people with serious health issues
ANNE Lubin, letters May 2, should be singing the praises of David Blunkett, being a supporter of New Labour. David Blunkett, in his recent comments on asylum seekers' children, was only saying what many people are thinking. There is no way anyone who
SWINDON needs people like me. Now I'm not being arrogant or egotistic when I say this, I'm just reiterating what our council is telling us all regarding the 30-year vision of regeneration for our town centre. You see, I am an example of exactly the sort
