Archive

  • Support for the grieving parents

    TODAY sees the end of National Babyloss Awareness Week. The charity provides support and advice for women who have miscarried. Help is also offered to partners, who need help overcoming their grief. Sue Millington, 29, of Wootton Bassett, is a local volunteer

  • Honours for John

    JOHN Hunt of Broad Town has achieved a First Class BSc (Hons) in rural land management and won a medal for being the top student on his course. John, 26, a former pupil at Wootton Bassett Comprehensive School studied at the Royal Agricultural College

  • Traders try to win back shoppers

    TRADERS in Wootton Bassett's High Street are worried that locals are increasingly shopping elsewhere at weekends. The town's chamber of commerce has been running a series of Saturday activities for children in an effort to persuade families to stay in

  • Hail the conkerers!

    PUPILS at a Swindon primary school went bonkers over conkers and sent a defiant message to killjoys. Earlier this month a headteacher in Carlisle sparked a national debate when he ordered his pupils to wear industrial safety goggles while playing the

  • Lookingafter the children

    WHEN social workers hit the headlines it is usually when they have done something wrong. A number of high profile cases have put them into the spotlight and tarnished them with a negative reputation. But it is thanks to the social services that hundreds

  • 'Cannabis made me a prisoner in my own home'

    Cannabis is often seen as being no more harmful than a cigarette. But for one Swindon man it meant 30 years of addiction. Report by TAMASH LAL. IT IS is a harmless way to relax for many. The side-effects are no more serious than a bad case of the munchies

  • New bid to shut out drugs users

    DRUG users have been shooting up in the disabled toilet at Cavendish Square with the help of a stolen key. Now fed up residents have got their beat officer, Andrena Rhodes, to change the locks in a bid to curb the damage and danger caused by their abandoned

  • Featherweights set to do battle

    TOWN leaders want a blanket ban on a mass pillow fight expected in Swindon town centre next weekend, fearing it will promote yobbish behaviour. They want to deal a heavy blow to flash-mobbers who posted an advert on the internet calling for hundreds of

  • Medallist nets extra reward

    THREE time paralympic gold medallist, Ann Dunham, has been honoured by Wiltshire County Council chairman, Allan Peach at a ceremony at County Hall, in Trowbridge. Ann, 55, from Broad Hinton, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, won an equestrian team

  • Alternative town

    SWINDON Civic Trust is compiling the results of its consultation on the town's future. Hundreds of questionnaires were filled in at an exhibition at the former Railway Museum. On display were ideas for an alternative regeneration project in opposition

  • Rapid donation

    A SWINDON canoe club has given £175 to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution after a sponsored paddle down the Thames. Instead of canoes, 27 of the Swindon and District Canoe Club used lorry inner tubes for the two-mile trip from Inglesham Farm to Lechlade

  • Enrol evening

    YOUNGSTERS thinking about enrolling at Swindon College can take a closer look on Wednesday. The college, which achieved a 100 per cent pass rate in 17 A level subjects this year, is holding an open evening 5pm-8pm. The evening, at the Regent Circus and

  • 'More must be done', says MP

    NORTH Wiltshire MP Michael Wills believes Swindon needs to do more for children with special needs even though a specialist school has been saved from the axe. The Chalet School, which caters for children with learning difficulties, has been thrown a

  • Chance to help the community

    HAYDON Wick residents are needed to help run their community. The parish council has seven vacancies. Parish clerk Sue Martin said: "We need people who are committed to making the community a better place to live. "We cover matters such as planning, play

  • Take a walk along the Jurassic trail

    SWINDONIANS interested in the town's Jurassic history can take a walk through time this weekend. BBC Radio Swindon presenters will take walkers on a stroll through Jurassic Swindon at a time when huge meat-eating dinosaurs roamed the earth, the seas were

  • Support for the grieving parents

    TODAY sees the end of National Babyloss Awareness Week. The charity provides support and advice for women who have miscarried. Help is also offered to partners, who need help overcoming their grief. Sue Millington, 29, of Wootton Bassett, is a local volunteer

  • Beware of the £50 note fakes

    POLICE are investigating a forged banknote scam in the Wootton Bassett area. They have a CCTV still of a man they want to speak to in connection with the series of incidents. He was caught on camera after a forged £50 Bank of Scotland note was passed

  • Julia views loos...

    GROTTY school toilets could be flushed away as part of a new nationwide campaign. The Bog Standard Campaign says that shabby lavatories have a detrimental effect on pupils' education. And one of those backing the initiative is South Swindon MP Julia Drown

  • Group wants your views on development plan

    SWINDON'S Front Garden Action Group (FRAG) is still calling for Swindonians to give their views on future developments. The green light may have been given for development on the 700-acre-site but the group says it is never too late to be heard. FRAG

  • Take threat out of trick or treat

    PENSIONERS are hoping Halloween will bring more treats than tricks now they've displayed our campaign posters. The Adver has teamed up with the police to deter tricksters from wreaking terror on the elderly and vulnerable tomorrow. Earlier this week,

  • Bra breakfast to raise awareness

    Nicci Nyaitwr, Nicky Sellars and Eunice Salmon FIVE women served up a record number of breakfasts with their bras showing in support of Breast Cancer Awareness month. The volunteers dished out bacon, egg and sausage baps, croissants and orange juice from

  • Cut the speed

    RECENTLY I experienced a road traffic accident, through no fault of my own. I am in constant pain, and financially out of pocket. Would it not make sense to fitting all transport with restriction valves/detectors, and have lasers installed in road signage

  • A new idea

    I HAVE had a thought regarding propulsion by environmentally-friendly means. I am thinking of a car with no traditional piston engine at all but with dynamos in the hub of the wheels be it four wheels or two. Of course, it would have a battery for the

  • LET'S GET BUSY

    CHRISTIAN Roberts will be unleashed for the first time today with Andy King hoping the Welshman will fire the goals needed to successfully steer Town through a hectic period. Five matches in 14 days will test the manager's squad to its limit. King admits

  • Student's battle for beards grows

    HIGHWORTH student Damien Hawkins, right, is gearing up for his next battle with the school authorities. The 15-year-old who led a rebellion over a ban on kissing and hugging at Warneford School says boys should be allowed to grow goatees. Despite the

  • Marathon walkers pass through town

    ENERGETIC walkers will pass through Wootton Bassett on Monday to raise awareness about a deadly disease. Steve Dayman, chief executive of Spencer Dayman Meningitis UK, and friend Steve Fear will arrive in the town on day 31 of their 770-mile fundraising

  • 1,500 will line up for half marathon

    ORGANISERS of Swindon Half Marathon say everything is set for tomorrow's big race. About 1,500 runners are expected to sweat it out along the 13.1-mile route. Competitors will start outside Nationwide in Pipers Way at 11am. Spokesman Bev Rawlings said

  • Rethink it all!

    A LECTURE looking at some of the world's environmental problems is taking place in Swindon next week. Why we need to rethink just about everything is presented by Colin Tudge in association with the Creative Planet Project at the Science Museum Wroughton

  • Beware of the £50 note fakes

    POLICE are investigating a forged banknote scam in the Wootton Bassett area. They have a CCTV still of a man they want to speak to in connection with the series of incidents. He was caught on camera after a forged £50 Bank of Scotland note was passed

  • Nikki, and maybe Robbie, to drop in

    Robbie Williams' dancer Nikki Wheeler is coming to Swindon tonight (Saturday). Nikki, 27, and her husband Jonathan Wilkes, will be strutting their stuff at Soda nightclub, in Old Town. Nikki, a former Commonweal School pupil, now lives in London but often

  • Fury over home for children

    David Irandoust and Valerie Burge, manager of the new children's home THE owners of a new children's home in Swindon say they have every right to be where they are in spite of a backlash from residents before the centre has even opened. The home, which

  • Neil aims to make waves in contest

    BEEFCAKE Neil Cole is hoping to become the country's hottest surf hunk. The 18-year-old shop assistant has made it through to the national finals of the Walkabout bar's Beach Babes and Surf Dudes contest. Having got through the South West regional heats

  • Race claim Iraqi loses his appeal

    AN Iraqi supply teacher sacked for striking two pupils at a Swindon school has lost his appeal for racial discrimination. Maths teacher Wamid Alshabib, 49, was dismissed from his temporary post at Headlands School in March after it was alleged he had

  • Two more given the boot by youngsters

    TWO councillors were yesterday evicted in the second round of voting in the I'm A Councillor Get Me Out Of Here contest for the title of Youth Champion for Swindon. The event has already run for two weeks, and is approaching its final week. Last Friday

  • More join row over consultations

    MORE Pinehurst residents have contacted the Adver saying that they have not received consultation forms about a proposed road safety scheme. Swindon Council blasted residents for their apathy after only receiving 200 out of 3,500 questionnaires sent out

  • Traders try to win back shoppers

    TRADERS in Wootton Bassett's High Street are worried that locals are increasingly shopping elsewhere at weekends. The town's chamber of commerce has been running a series of Saturday activities for children in an effort to persuade families to stay in

  • Warning to workers after skip operator hits electricity wire

    AN 18-year-old skip lorry operator suffered an electric shock after his lorry touched an overhead power cable . Police are urging operators of tall vehicles to be more observant after the incident in Mallard Avenue at 8.45am on Thursday. The operator,

  • Swans plea

    I AM writing in response to your article about the South West Swan Sanctuary run by my neighbours Mr and Mrs Hulbert. Last October, I wrote to the Queen, because I thought that all swans belonged to her and asked her to help the Hulberts with some money

  • Buses could be more comfortable

    I have just got home using a bus for a change, don't know when the next time will be because of the lack of comfort. We got on to a number 13 bus, the number of the bus was 192, it was a new one with lower floor. We sat in the seats one step up. I am

  • Hunting Bill is not a priority

    I watched question time on Wednesday as our prime minister tried to answer his own party members' questions on Iraq. These are important matters to the country. But astonishing as it is, the Government is to press ahead with its Hunting Bill. The UK has

  • Drivers have lot to put up with

    I use Swindon buses every day and believe that we have a superb service in this town. I cannot remember the last time a bus failed to turn up. I also believe that the drivers do an excellent job. I was interested to read the two "bus dramas" in the Evening

  • Connolly keeping the faith

    Bath head coach John Connolly has named an unchanged starting line up for today's crunch Zurich Premiership clash with Heineken Cup and Zurich Premiership champions London Wasps (2.45pm). The only change comes on the bench where Lee Mears returns in place