The good friend of a Chippenham teenager battling leukaemia and paralysis has boosted his fundraising total to £2,500 after shaving his head on the school stage. Just before his 16th birthday two months ago, Sheldon student Ben Connolly was diagnosed
The Bishop of Bristol has said Reverend Simon Tatton-Brown’s ‘wholehearted and generous’ contribution to the Church and the community will be greatly missed after his retirement tomorrow on Christmas Day. The Rev Tatton-Brown has led St Andrew’
Road conditions were so bad today that it took Gazette photographer Paul Morris almost two hours, and more than 100 miles in detours, to get to Malmesbury from Chippenham. Gazette reader Robert Peel, from Malmesbury-based The Marketing Edge, was
Physiotherapist Jason Redding is looking forward to Skyping his long-lost father on Christmas Day tomorrow after travelling to America for an emotional first meeting. The 42-year-old from Calne met his father John Russell just before Christmas
Christmas came early for the organisers of Marlborough’s Christmas Day Lunch when they were presented with a £1,500 cheque from Waitrose. The money comes from the supermarket’s nationwide Isolation Christmas Campaign to raise funds for the elderly
The Three Crowns in Chippenham has been crowned cider pub of the year in the northwest Wiltshire Camra’s inaugural awards. It is not the first time this year the pub has been recognised by the Campaign for Real Ale branch – it already picked up
Devizes is counting the cost of yesterday’s storms with trees down and widespread flooding. The most prominent victim of the high winds is the town’s Christmas tree which was left cracked and leaning at an alarming angle. Police have taped off
Councillor Ray Sanderson, who chairs the Malmesbury flood alleviation working party, said: “I was up at 4.30am with the mayor sorting out gel sacks. “The sluice gates are open to the maximum that we are happy with. “We can’t open them anymore
A high-profile visitor has been announced at Malmesbury Abbey, just as a three-year major restoration project costing hundreds of thousands of pounds draws to a close. Preparations are in place to welcome the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most
Today’s flooding has seen fire crews stretched to the limit, as they battle to keep people and property safe across the county. Their task hasn’t been helped by drivers who have ignored safety advice and chosen to drive through flooded roads, risking
Firefighters are pumping water out of houses in Dauntsey following last night’s stormy weather. Chris Harvey, Wiltshire fire and rescue watch manager at Malmesbury station, said his crews had been out in the village since 7am and Sodom Lane was
A Chippenham taxi firm is supporting the Wiltshire Air Ambulance’s campaign to raise money through text messages by displaying posters in company cars. Staff from V Cars are displaying posters and cards about the campaign, as well as Wiltshire
Flooding has made several roads linking the villages around Chippenham impassable today. Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Service had been swamped by well over 200 calls by 4.30am as roads were blocked by rising water and trees ripped out of the ground
Mary Calderbank, a teacher at Malmesbury School, has been up through the night pumping flood water from her lounge, 13 months after her home was devastated by the floods. “We have been here for almost 23 years and it is the second time it has flooded
Libraries in Wiltshire have more volunteers than anywhere else in the south-west, according to a new report. The 754 volunteers, more than 300 higher than second-placed Plymouth, last year gave 26,699 hours of their time working in Wiltshire’s
Former nightclub manager Jack Frost and his wife Debbie have spoken out after a former colleague and family friend fraudulently stole almost £70,000 from their business. The owners of DJ Security Ltd put their faith in church-going Marcia Tripp
Wiltshire Air Ambulance has received £2,000 from the Urchfont Scarecrow Festival committee. The festival, a registered charity, distributed nearly £15,000 to about 25 good causes from this year’s festival which attracted about 10,000 people over
First Great Western is advising customers not to travel on its train network unless completely necessary as many of its routes remain blocked by floodwater or fallen trees. There has been some flooding between Reading and Bedwyn, meaning fewer
The Lacock Cup, one of the most significant pieces of secular English medieval silver, has been bought by the British Museum and Wiltshire Museum for £1.3 million. Dating from the mid 15th century, the Lacock Cup is an English silver and partially
The Avon Vale Hunt will still go ahead on Boxing Day, despite Lacock being badly affected by last night's heavy rainfall. The village is currently experiencing heavy flooding, with the High Street and the bottom of Bowden Hill worst hit. However
Floodwater in and around Malmesbury has closed roads, damaged properties and once-again devastated the already struggling football club, which was still trying to recover from last year’s flood damage. Several properties at St John’s Bridge have
Children can swim for free over the festive period at Wiltshire Council and DC Leisure-managed leisure centres. The offer, running until January 3, is part of the council’s free swimming during school holidays scheme and is available to those under
This is the devastating scene at the Malmesbury Vics football club this morning. The club was badly hit during the floods of last December and January and pay members have been fundraising all year to compensate for the damage caused then.
There are floods along the A4, one mile east of Marlborough and the A4 at Froxfield. There are trees down on the road from Axford to Aldbourne and the A345 Clench Common but both are passable as is the A345 in Oare where there is a landslide. In
A blood sample has been sent for DNA analysis after a window of the Dorothy House shop in Old Swan Yard, Devizes, was broken at 10.30am on Sunday. Nothing was stolen.
A piece of landscaping machinery worth around £500 was stolen from a farm in Calstone, near Calne, on December 17 at 5.45pm while its owners were nearby. The machinery was in the back of a pick-up truck parked in a barn and a silver vehicle was
Youngsters enjoyed meeting Father Christmas and looking round a fire engine at Devizes Fire Station on Saturday morning. The children, aged up to about eight, tucked into sausages and beans cooked by the fire fighters and then welcomed Father Christmas
The severe weather has meant an extremely busy period for the staff in Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Service. Area manager Julian Parsons said the service started receiving calls at around 11.30am yesterday. He said: "Mainly these were fallen
Generous donations from the public will mean that people in need over Christmas will be able to feed themselves. Devizes Food Bank has been boosted by donations of food at shops in Devizes, the latest being at John Stuart Funeral Services in The
Worshippers at a church in Neston will have an extra reason to celebrate when the bells ring out on Christmas morning, following the installation of a brand new bell. The same bell has heralded the congregation to the church of St Philip and St
The focus last week was very much on jobs, with new figures showing that the national unemployment rate has fallen to its lowest since early 2009. The last year has seen 485,000 new jobs created – 95 per cent of them full-time – taking the total
It’s Christmas Eve and I hope you have the presents wrapped, tree decorated and friends and family around to share the festive season. It can be a fraught time of year, but for me it is also the best time; carols on Christmas Eve or a packed service
On December 24, 1777, Captain Cook and the crew of HMS Resolution discovered an uninhabited island, which he named ‘Christmas Island’. He wrote in his journal: “On the 25th we kept Christmas in much mirth and festivity. “The ships being safely
