A PRAM race through the streets of Purton on Sunday aims to raise hundreds of pounds for the village's Helping Hands charity. The race, which includes an oriental rickshaw, will see participants visit local hostelries on the route. The race starts at
WRITHING around in agony with part of a helicopter rotor blade stuck in her thigh was perfect practice for Pollyann Tanner's appearance in this year's Wyvern Theatre pantomime. The Swindon-based director and choreographer and her family are among nearly
SWEETS and crisps form a large part of most children's diets. But one school is trying to change that, and Pinehurst Juniors started the new school year with a healthy eating week to show pupils the way forward. Pupils there did a week of lessons based
COMMUNITY groups in Wootton Bassett who have successfully bid for grant aid from the town council will be given the money tomorrow. Fifteen applicants will be presented with cheques by town mayor Peter Roberts in a ceremony at the Memorial Hall in Station
LORD Joffe returned to Swindon's Thamesdown Hydrotherapy Pool to declare its new extension open. Lord Joffe, who opened the pool in 1979 as Allied Dunbar vice-chairman Joel Joffe, was given a tour of the new facilities. The extension has been funded by
A FREE service offering up-to-date information on First Great Western trains has been used by more than 100,000 customers since its launch just four months ago. The Catch Your Train service, which started in May in response to customer demand, provides
THERE will be a curry and quiz night at the Upper Stratton Baptist Church tonight starting at 7.30pm. Cost for teams of up to six is £5 per head including supper, but bring your own alcohol. To book call Kate Leggett on 01793 738134.
CHILDREN are invited to a day out with Thomas the Tank Engine at the Steam museum. Young visitors can take a ride on a Thomas motorised road train and take part in a competition trail as well as enjoy other activities in the museum including face painting
SWINDON police have once again warned residents against the threat of bogus callers after a group of men called at an elderly woman's house in Springfield Road, Old Town, offering a free damp-proof course survey. The men claimed they worked for Mosaic
THE Calne Beer Festival has been cancelled this year but organiser Malcolm Shipp promises it will return bigger and better next year. The three-day festival was to take part this weekend for the second year running to raise money for Hilmarton School.
CHILDREN have been celebrating the 100th storytime session at their local library. The sessions, which run every week at libraries throughout the borough, are a way of introducing children to the magic of books. They also help to dispel the old, stuffy
A SUPERMARKET car park was transformed into a giant catwalk in the name of charity. Asda Wal-Mart in Haydon Wick set the stage for a fashion show in aid of the Swindon Coalition of Disabled People. More than 200 people watched the show, which involved
SWINDON Town FC supporters are now able to show their loyalty when they take to the roads. The DVLA in Swansea currently has a range of personalised registration plates that can satisfy even the staunchest of supporters, featuring various combinations
TODDLERS at Bonkers in Wroughton have been proving that you're never too young to start a musical career. The play group has started new weekly sessions for under twos and two to four-year-olds who want to improve their musical skills. Some 24 budding
AN exhibition focusing on Corsham's historic wool trade has opened at the town's Tourist and Heritage Centre. Called Wool, Wheels and Wealth, it looks at the people involved the industry and the economic benefits it brought to the West Country during
IT might have been a turbulent year for Swindon's job market, but there will be plenty on offer at the Evening Advertiser Jobs Fair. The event is expected to attract more than 5,000 people to Swin-don's Hilton Hotel on Thursday. And the demand for labour
POLICE have warned residents to be wary of a woman claiming to be collecting for charity. The woman has recently been calling on houses in Avenue Road, Old Town. Swindon police spokeswoman Alvina Kumar said: "A female has been calling at houses collecting
POLICE today issued a photograph of two men they want to question over a £9,000 burglary from a business at South Marston Industrial Estate in Stirling Road. Three laptop computers and associated software were stolen in the raid at around 11.20pm on April
THE Goddard Arms Hotel will again be hosting the post-nuptial celebrations for the Evening Advertiser Bride of the Year. The historic Old Town hotel is named after the family who were once squires of Old Swindon. The building was used by the town magistrates
TO some they are nothing more than rats with wings but for Geoff Gambrill this couldn't be further from the truth. Pigeons, Geoff believes, are "little heroes". Geoff's appreciation of pigeons stems from the war when they played a crucial role in communi-cations
ANDY KING has urged Town fans not to let their growing frustration sap the spirits of his struggling team. The manager knows a minority of fans are calling for his head, but it is not causing him to lose sleep. What does worry him is that hostility from
A BONFIRE Night fireworks display is to be staged at The Rec by the town council. Organisers have taken advice from the fireworks contractor over health and safety, as well as considering the implications for wildlife, and for the second year there will
RAPISTS can now be traced from forensic evidence taken from victims up to a week after an attack. Wiltshire police and South Swindon MP Julia Drown have joined forces to reassure rape victims they can come forward to make a complaint even if several days
CONTRARY to popular belief, community spirit is flowing free in Penhill and customers in the Deers Leap pub are determined to prove the Penhill put-downs wrong. Landlady Tracy Knight, 33, took over the pub with her husband, Colin, 34, nine months ago
SIX Swindon people arrested on drugs charges will be able to attend a friend's wedding at the end of the month but not the stag night. The five men and one woman, who are all known to each other, were arrested with four others at the end of a police operation
WALKING under a ladder on Friday the 13th seems a sure fire way to invite bad luck into your life. But some people in Old Town were undaunted when faced with a ladder placed squarely in their path despite coming across it on an inauspicious day. Eileen
POLICE officers hunting the man they believe has tried to abduct two Swindon children in a month are stepping up their enquiries with a witness appeal from one of the alleged snatch spots. Det Sgt Adrian Davis will tomorrow be in the alleyway from Victoria
POLICE are appealing for witnesses after a man driving a green car was in collision with a woman in Harding Street at around 2am on Thursday. He failed to stop and in an attempt to get away, the 25-year-old Gloucester man was in collision with a further
WHEELCHAIR users will be taking part in a sponsored walk around Swindon to raise money for cancer-sufferer Charlie Jarvis. Members of the public are invited to join in en route which takes walkers from Old Town to the town centre, along to the County
NTL customers in Swindon face hikes in their bills of up to 40 per cent. It follows a new policy introduced by the company to standardise its pricing structure. People across the town are currently paying different prices for their television service.
THE Eddie Cochran Memorial Festival is being held from September 27 to September 29 in Chippenham the location of the pioneering rocker's tragically early death. The venue for the festival is the Olympiad Leisure Centre. Various British and American performers
AROUND 600 children aged from three to 14 from Swindon who successfully completed the council's library service's summer holiday reading challenge will be rewarded with a party on September 28. A magician will entertain the youngsters at two free shows
SOUTH CERNEY: Vandals caused around £500 damage at the Upper Up playing field. Police said a car was reversed into a newly built Cotswold stone wall along the edge of the playing field.
CHRIST Church Dramatic Society is on the lookout for new members and helpers, including people who prefer to work behind the scenes with lighting, set design and sound effects as well as budding actors. The only requests made of prospective members are
BUDDING dancers were set to gather at cre8 studios in Regent Circus today and tomorrow, with Swindon Dance and cre8 throwing open their doors for a series of workshops. The organisers are urging people to try as many classes as they like, with the fee
A CHURCH choir is looking for new singers to join in a performance of Handel's Messiah. All abilities are welcome for the concert on Saturday, October 26 at St Augustine's Church in Summers Street, Rodbourne. Proceeds will go to the church organ fund.
RAPISTS can now be traced from forensic evidence taken from victims up to a week after an attack. Wiltshire police and South Swindon MP Julia Drown have joined forces to reassure rape victims they can come forward to make a complaint even if several days
THE Pyrenees straddle the borders of France and Spain and have been a challenging obstacle for intrepid climbers for centuries. But one Swindon man recently decided to tackle them head on to raise money for a national disability charity. Ray Stephens,
THIEVES targeted the garage of a house in Avocet Close, Dorcan making off with £600 of property including a Marin Rockyridge mountain bike and a white snowboard.
A GREY Cannondale mountain bike, worth £1500, was stolen from outside the Royal Mail Sorting Office on Faraday Road in Dorcan on Thursday. Contact Swindon police in 528111.
DRIVERS across Swindon have been urged to take more responsibility after a surge in thefts of cars and their contents. The warning from Swin-don police comes after a significant rise in thefts during July and August. Crime prevention officer Paul Cook
A REFRESHING new sculpture has been unveiled at a Swindon housing estate. Sculptor Jason Lane, 31, created an antiques hot drinks vending machine using items from a former Brooke Bond tea factory. The sculpture, which measures nearly 12ft, has been placed
