THE naked gardeners will be opening Abbey House Gardens this weekend in aid of charity to celebrate their 20 years of ownership. Naturists Ian and Barbara Pollard will be donating their admission fees to The National Garden Scheme. The five-acre
The Friends of Springboard Opportunity Group have surpassed their £25,000 fundraising target for this tax year. The nursery held an event on Wednesday last week to thank all the fundraisers who have made its work with disabled children possible
Making small talk with a neighbour doesn’t always come naturally for people in the South West but when they make the effort they feel happier, says a survey carried out by Lottery-funded initiative The Big Lunch, the UK’s annual get-together. It
Business people have been invited to an event at Devizes Town Hall to find out how it is doing in comparison with similar places around the country. On Thursday, March 27, the outcome of Devizes’ participation in the country-wide analysis of the
Pupils at St Mary’s in Calne have helped to raise £11,500 for The Armed Forces Fund by performing at an opera night in London last week. The youngsters, from the school’s opera ensemble and chamber choir, joined Welsh singer Aled Jones at the Merchant
A Sherston Springwatch-style project with cameras in bird boxes throughout the Malmesbury village has received a cash boost from Malmesbury Area Board. The Wild Sherston event has received £1, 367 to build bird and bat boxes with web-cams for use
Parents and pupils face a day of disruption later this month as one of the leading teachers’ unions has called a national strike. The National Union of Teachers are in dispute with the Government over pay and conditions. As a result, schools
A culture and tourism working group, made up of businesses and organisations in Calne, has been given £3,000 for a community project. The money, from the Department of Communities and Local Government, will be used for Our Place, which aims to
DEVIZES mayor Pete Smith raised smiles when he donned appropriate headgear to blow the whistle to start this year’s Swimathon organised by the Lions Club of Devizes. The result was particularly successful this year as 25 teams, more than the usual
An elderly man who was seriously injured in a collision in Pewsham on Saturday is making a slow recovery. Police are appealing for witnesses to the incident, which involved one vehicle and happened at 10.35am at the junction of Canal Road and Fortune
Congestion concerns continue to arise as Dyson in Malmesbury says it may install a second roundabout to cope with its major expansion plans. The firm, which is yet to submit plans for the idea, is working with Wiltshire Council’s Highways section
Police would like to speak to this man in connection with an attempt to use forged bank notes in Subway, Chippenham. A £20 note and a £10 note were both tried and found to be fake by staff at the takeaway on The Bridge on Thursday, March 6.
Devizes mayor Pete Smith has postponed his talent contest due to take place on Saturday. About half a dozen people had entered the event called Mayor’s Got Talent, but more had indicated they would like to take part, but were unable to do so due
BLUEBIRDS boss Mark Collier is pleased to have linked back up with Swindon Town defender Aaron Oakley. After briefly returning to the County Ground, the 19-year-old centre-back is back with Town for another month-long loan period – his third of
Door-to-door salesmen have been reported bothering residents in the Ludmead Road area of Corsham. Police in the town have received complaints about pushy tradesmen charging excessive amounts for jobs quoted. Residents are being advised not
IF Swindon Town’s play-off hopes weren’t over before this week, Milton Keynes and Wolves have firmly hammered the final nail into the coffin. This week’s results leave Town with just one win in their past 11 games in all competitions – and without
Developer Jamal Khanfer has re-submitted plans for 46 homes on the former RAF airfield at Yatesbury that was home to pilots in both world wars. The Moroccan businessman plans to build a mixture of two-bedroom flats to four-bedroom houses on the
Volunteers at Drews Pond Wood in Devizes are delighted with the amount raised towards rebuilding a streamside walk. The wood was battered by storms last month and 17 trees were blown down, leaving access dangerous. The area is still cordoned
A woman driver was killed in a car crash between Calne and Sandy Lane earlier today. The woman, believed to be in her forties, was driving a green Ford Fiesta which was in collision with an Iveco lorry at 9.41am on the A3102 Silver Street.
Concerns have been raised over the lack of affordable housing in and around Malmesbury, as the GreenSquare Housing Association sells off properties. Residents including Howard Harding called on GreenSquare, local MP James Gray and Wiltshire councillor
The Crown Estate has dropped plans to build 50 houses in Bromham after concerns were raised by the parish council. The Crown, which owns a considerable amount of land in the village, has been discussing proposals with the parish council over a
Police in Corsham have warned shoppers to take extra care when paying with cards, after an elderly man had his stolen. The man, in his 80s, used his card at the Co-op on February 10 at 4.40pm, but was followed out by two women and a man, believed
A pensioner is warning of the dangers of raised drain covers in Chippenham after a fall in Orchard Road left her looking like she had been in a fight. Marlene Pearce, 77, got a black eye after tripping on the pavement at the beginning of February
A public meeting held in Devizes Corn Exchange last week has revealed that the town’s population is growing but there has not been a corresponding improvement in infrastructure. Wiltshire Council had organised the What Matters to You evening to
A row over cat faeces flung over his neighbour’s fence led 60-year-old Douglas Pidgeon to a court appearance accused of assaulting 38-year-old Matthew Lucas. But magistrates in Chippenham cleared him after deciding he had not deliberately headbutted
Police want to hear from anyone who recognises the women in these CCTV images, taken as they leave the Waitrose store in Chippenham. Officers want to speak to them in connection with a shoplifting incident at the store in Borough Parade on Saturday
Five friends are getting ready to run from Exmoor to Dartmoor to raise hundreds of pounds for Parkinson’s UK. St John’s students Luke Shields, Tom Knighton, Ayrton Jimenez, Jonnie Rendell and George Havill are taking part in the gruelling 90-mile
Bird watchers were chirping with excitement when a rare red-flanked bluetail was spotted in Marshfield. Blogger Sherston Wildlife reported over 2,500 twitchers flocking to see the bird over the past seven weeks in a valley between Tormarton and
The A3102 Silver Street between Calne and Sandy Lane is expected to be closed for the next three hours due to a serious collision between a lorry and a car. A green Ford Fiesta and an Iveco lorry collided on the road at 9.41am this morning.
The Crown Centre in Devizes is appealing for more people to join, boosting its coffers, as a new lift will cost thousands of pounds. A new lift is in the process of being fitted after the previous lift broke down. It could cost up to £16,000.
ADVENTURER Stuart Foulstone is preparing to go on an Arctic dog sled challenge to raise money for Wiltshire Air Ambulance – five months after he almost died doing a white water rafting challenge. Civil engineer Mr Foulstone, 46, has suffered no
Until now my previous experience of live ballet has been watching a small daughter trip round the stage as a flower/leaf/butterfly at her class’ twice-yearly ‘parents performance’. Her interest didn’t last long, but did leave with a passion for
Two cars collided head-on near Cross Farm, All Cannings, this morning. Police were called at 7.26pm and firefighters released a woman driver, aged in her twenties, from a VW Lupo which ended up in a field. An ambulance crew treated her at the
Devizes police have condemned as stupid and dangerous the actions of someone who shone a laser pointer at the Wiltshire Air Ambulance helicopter as it flew over the town. The incident took place shortly before 10.30pm on Tuesday, March 11, as the
Residents of West Lavington are waiting to see what will happen to the former Stage Post pub site after Budgens confirmed it is no longer interested in building a supermarket there. A planning application for the store caused uproar in the village
Swimming teacher Katie Cookson has thanked everyone who came to the aid of her lurcher/wolfhound cross Arthur after he was hit by a car near Seend. Arthur slipped his lead and ran away while Ms Cookson was walking him on Sunday, March 2. Ms
Trauma experienced during a smash and grab robbery at Deacon & Son jewellers in Marlborough last September continues to haunt the three women on duty at the time, a court heard. As the five men responsible were sentenced to a combined total
Renowned actor Simon Russell Beale, who is playing King Lear in the Academy Award-winning Sam Mendes production at the National Theatre, visited St John’s in Marlborough to dramatically enhance a Sixth Form lesson. The visit was arranged after
