RESIDENTS of a home in Gorse Hill got a special Christmas treat at their weekly bingo night. Gladys Plumley Gardens Residential Home usually holds a bingo night every week but last night a surprise was in store for the regular players when two callers
BLUNSDON market trader Joseph McGeough is due to appear in court next week charged with selling fake Pokemon, South Park, Winnie the Pooh, Pikachu and Kangol clothes. He has been summonsed to appear before Swindon magistrates on Thursday to answer 18
SCHOOLS in Swindon are being invited to bid for their share of more than £1 million. The Government's New Opportunities Fund has allocated the money which runs to £1,363,000 to Swindon for its PE and sport programme The Government says the programme has
THE winner of a bottle of champagne in a competition to name a horse has given it back to the organisers to auction for their charity. The horse, a black hunter with white blaze and white socks, was bred and owned by Peter Holland of Braydon, near Minety
Martyn Margetson - 30 year-old keeper, previously with Manchester City. Has taken his chance after playing understudy to Nico Vaesen. Thomas Heary - former Republic of Ireland Under 21 defender. Favours the right back role but can play in midfield when
BART GRIEMINK - Town's number one has been in good form even if the goals against tally suggests otherwise. Will need to be alert against the Terriers attack. MARK ROBINSON - Unlucky to be left out against Hereford but may yet earn a recall if David Duke
ADAM WILLIS will spend tomorrow afternoon keeping close tabs on the man who scored in Town's last win over the Terriers. One of the few bright spots during a miserable 1999-2000 campaign was Town's 2-0 win over then promotion-chasing Huddersfield in March
FORMER rail workers whet their whistles and swapped tales of the good old days at a special Christ-mas party. More than 100 members of The Lounge Club for former rail works staff met at Emlyn Square Community Centre in the Railway Village. The members
DANNY INVINCIBLE is neck and neck with Giuliano Grazioli in the Town goalscoring stakes but the Aussie hopes to edge ahead tomorrow. While injury has conspired to prevent Graz from adding to his tally of six, Invincible has netted two in Town's last three
STEVE ROBINSON could have been plotting Town's downfall tomorrow had it not been for a sluggish performance in Birmingham City's reserve side. Turbo was all set to join Lou Macari's side on loan before Andy King secured his services. Fortunately, a mediocre
IN THE wake of the recent Kenyon Confronts television programme, which exposed the ill-treatment of dogs by some members of the greyhound racing fraternity, protection group Greyhound Action has launched a scheme to enable people to give practical help
MARION Langford's article (in The Business, December 4) on Australian cuisine, which concluded with a recipe for Murray Red Kangaroo, was frivolous and misleading. Thanks to a sustained campaign by animal welfare activists, most UK supermarkets have stopped
CHIPPENHAM has landed its first major lottery win after the town's heritage centre was given £195,000. It will help pay for an education officer, and for more galleries and an education centre. The award was announced as the Queen and Prince Philip toured
TROWBRIDGE continued their recent run of good form with another league win over rivals Bridport. Trowbridge produced a determined display to run out comfortable winners against a side they had never beaten away in a match where the final score line did
WORK on long-awaited new classrooms at Chippenham's largest primary school looks set to start next year. King's Lodge School has been waiting more than 10 years for its mobile classrooms to be replaced. Now Wiltshire county councillors are being asked
SHY hero Edward Pickering has followed in his grandfather's footsteps after saving a man from drowning. This week he was commended for his bravery by the Royal Humane Society, 62 years after his grandfather won the same award for saving two women from
CHIPPENHAM cub scout Jonathan Barry has passed every badge it is possible to achieve. The 10-year-old passed his first aid badge last week, taking his tally to 51. Now he is preparing to leave the 10th Chippenham Jubilee Pack to join the Scouts. Akela
TWO stretches of Chippenham's A350 bypass that regularly jam with traffic are to be made dual carriageway. The £1.2m scheme will make the bypass a dual carriageway from the Safeway roundabout to the Plough crossroads. The road is currently single carriageway
Benefits Agency staff across the region joined a national two-day strike over safety. Workers in Trowbridge and Chippenham protested after a Government department proposed to remove protective glass partitions. Gill Cooper, Trowbridge spokesman for the
ADAM Westall is back from Newbury to bolster Swindon's Southern Counties North campaign. The fly-half spent a season with the National League side but has rejoined the Greenbridge Road outfit and will make his return debut this weekend. Swindon are without
FEARS are rising that Corsham police station is to cut its opening hours. The rural station is currently open to the public from 8am to 4pm Monday to Friday. But senior Wiltshire police officers have confirmed they are looking at the station's opening
CORSHAM'S old guide hut may have to be partially demolished after a survey revealed urgent repairs will cost £40,000. Surveyors were called in after cracks were spotted in the top of the historic building in the grounds of Arnold House. The survey revealed
DEMANDS are being made for former council chairman Roy Jackson to be kicked out after he swore at a colleague and stormed out of a meeting. The veteran Corsham councillor lost his temper at a North Wiltshire District Council planning meeting last week
CRATES of beer were stolen from outside a Westbury shop on Sunday, December 9. More than £40 worth of Fosters and Stella Artois beer was stolen from a pallet outside the shop in Edward Street.
THE date of the next blood donor session in Westbury has changed. It will now take place on December 20, rather than December 11 as was printed in last week's Wiltshire Times.
RESIDENTS have won their battle against a planned nursing home in Westbury but still want the site to be developed. Developer CCMS Ltd hoped to build the 30-bedroom nursing home, care centre and private leisure facility plus 52 flats at the Coalyard in
CAMPAIGNER Chrystal Payne is appealing for support in her bid to revive the tradition of lighting up the Westbury White Horse. Bathampton resident Chrystal Payne remembered the illuminations in 1950: "All you could see was the horse, which looked like
THERE will be no more carcasses arriving at a burial site in Westbury, it was announced this week. Viridor Waste Management confirmed that the site will not be receiving any more loads of dead sheep and pigs. The site began receiving the carcasses, amid
AFTER the shock of learning that the company could close down, workers at Avon Automotive in Trowbridge are now considering their future. They have entered into a 90-day negotiation period with the company, at the end of which the final decision on whether
UP to 30,000 people could be axed by Consignia over the next 18 months. Consignia, formerly known as the Post Office, has been forced to make redundancies after recording a £281 million loss in the first six months of this year. It hopes to make the majority
A MELKSHAM man charged with eight counts of indecent assault on a girl under 16 was due to appear in court yesterday. Dennis Donnithorne, 48, of Somerset Crescent was listed to appear at north-west Wiltshire Magistrates Court in Trowbridge in relation
THIEVES stole more than £8,000 worth of cigarettes from a Melksham shop in a daylight raid. The thieves stole around 4,000 cigarettes from the back storeroom of Jones Day and Night in Forest Road on Saturday, December 8, between 3pm and 3.45pm.
A MELKSHAM shop assistant was robbed of thousands of pounds as she carried store takings to the post office. The 21-year-old woman from Frome, who works at the Discount House in High Street, was taking the cash down Church Street when a mystery thief
COMPLAINTS about noisy, abusive teenagers have prompted police to take action in a Wiltshire village. Residents in Holt, near Melksham, have been angered by car-driving teenagers congregating in the village hall car park. In recent months, complaints
SPEEDING motorists are putting children's lives at risk by driving past a Melksham school at speeds of up to 70mph. Parents of children at Forest and Sandridge Primary School fear their children are in danger, as motorists regularly break the 50mph speed
A 33 YEAR-OLD Melksham shop assistant was shot in the back with a ball-bearing gun as youths ran amok in the town centre. Carol Richardson was helping out at the Farmhouse Cafe in High Street on Monday lunchtime, December 10, when a man shot her in the
THE parents of a young Melksham man killed in an horrific triple death road crash last July have vowed not to give up the fight to change the law. The Attorney General decided this week that the sentencing of army major Giles Stibbe for dangerous driving
A FACTORY in Melksham was evacuated after a cleaning chemical caught fire. The blaze started in a vat of trichloroethylene at Stellram Ltd, Bowerhill, and the area was cordoned off for two hours. Ten people had to be treated for chemical vapour inhalation
On the night of Thursday, December 13, detectives were retracing the steps of a 19 year-old woman after she was sexually assaulted in a dark Melksham alleyway. Plain-clothed detectives joined uniformed officers in Melksham to question clubbers about the
STAFF who provide catering services for a Wiltshire Army garrison have won an award for their work. Sodexho Defence Services has become the first contract caterer at any defence establishment in the world to achieve the Hospitality Assured prize, which
CHRISTMAS will soon be here and once again the RSPCA is warning people not to give pets as presents. Sadly, this advice often falls on deaf ears. Every year the RSPCA deals with thousands of unwanted animals and many of them are Christmas casualties.
THE Environment Agency is urging people to be prepared following the floods that hit many parts of the county last year. The agency is warning people in vulnerable areas of Wiltshire to be on their guard and to make adequate preparations. Technical services
Drinking then driving is a killer and the statistics that illustrate this are very alarming. One in seven people killed on the roads die in drink drive accidents, and on average 3,000 people are killed or seriously injured each year. Wiltshire police,
BINMEN in west Wiltshire will have a new employer next year if a tender from refuse firm Cleanaway is accepted. West Wiltshire District Council has named the firm as the preferred bidder to take over its contract to collect all household waste in the
POLICE are warning people to be on their guard against a telemarketing scam that makes people think they have won a foreign lottery. The caller is asked to wire one per cent of the winnings to a Canadian bank account and then never hears from the company
FLY tipping is a growing problem in north and west Wiltshire and would-be dumpers have been told there is no excuse for it. Both North Wiltshire District Council and West Wiltshire District Council have ensured there is provision for getting rid of unwanted
PEOPLE intending to illegally dump their rubbish in north and west Wiltshire have been warned their actions could lead to prosecution. North and West Wiltshire District Councils are both keen to take anyone found fly tipping in the area to court and have
A 54-YEAR-OLD man accused of producing obscene sex videos involving animals appeared before magistrates in Trowbridge. Robert Levy, of Parklands appeared in north west Wiltshire Magistrates court on Thursday charged with publishing an obscene video, possessing
CALLS are being made for action on the A420 after an elderly couple skidded off the road and ended up in a ditch. Edward and Gladys Parsons were driving home to Bristol from Chippenham, when their car left the road at a series of sharp bends at Ford.
DR MARTENS LEAGUE: CHIPPENHAM Town underlined their Dr Martens League Western Division promotion credentials with a stunning display at Evesham United's Common Road home on Saturday. Top scorer Matt Rawlins and Steve Tweddle both scored twice for the
TROWBRIDGE LEAGUE: CASTLE Combe are the only league representatives left in the Wilts Junior Cup. In a delayed tie at Minety, Combe ran out easy winners by 9-0. Daniel Gernonn (3), James Pope, Shaun House, Carlo Sgroi, Liam Cox, Jamie Winks and keeper
Cooper-Avon Rangers crushed Horningsham 20-1 in the first round of the Wiltshire Sunday Cup. Frankie Coleman led the rout with 10 goals. Leigh Bramley (2), Lee Wilson (2), Steve Peglar (2), Dave Castle and Phil Rigg (3) shared the others.
BUDDING young filmmakers in Warminster could see their work on the big screen nationwide thanks to a new community project. Warminster Youth Services and Suited and Booted Community Video are looking for young people in and around the town interested
GANGS of children as young as six are terrorising a notorious Warminster housing estate, leaving many elderly people too frightened to leave their homes. Now residents of the Portway estate are bracing themselves for more chaos over the Christmas holidays
Drinking then driving is a killer and the statistics that illustrate this are very alarming. One in seven people killed on the roads die in drink drive accidents, and on average 3,000 people are killed or seriously injured each year. Wiltshire police,
Two of the Western Division's form sides meet in a mouthwatering local match-up tomorrow. Tommy Saunders' high-flying Chippenham Town entertain Ray Baverstock's rejuvenated Ciren-cester in a keenly anticipated derby. Both sides have won all of their last
Corsham Town will be looking to get their promotion drive back on track after the derailment against Street last week. Mark Godley's side slipped to a surprise 3-2 home defeat against the Somerset side and Town can ill-afford a repeat showing at Larkhall
FERRARI . . .Maserati . . . Aston Martin . . . Jaguar . . . they've two things in common: exciting driving and an expensive price tag. The two often go together but occasionally, a less-opulent maker remembers that there's a middle ground, and comes up
Subaru's ultimate Impreza WRX the STi enters UK dealer showrooms next month priced from just £25,995. The 265 PS, six-speed road-rocket was first unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September. Two versions are offered for the UK the standard STi and
The nine model Audi A4 saloon range gains a new flagship with the introduction of a manual 3.0 quattro version featuring a six-speed gearbox. Available in automatic form since its launch earlier this year, the A4 3.0 quattro's manual transmission helps
CAMPAIGNERS packed the Avon Club in Bradford on Avon on Monday night, December 10, to thrash out concerns over road safety in Trowbridge Road. County councillor Malcolm Hewson chaired the meeting, which aimed to find ways of improving safety on the roads
PROUD Bradford on Avon man Dennis Roberts was awarded his OBE on Thursday, December 13, for services to charity. The Queen presented Mr Roberts with his award at Buckingham Palace where his wife Audrey accompanied him. Mr Roberts said: "The Queen showed
BATH'S unheralded pack stepped out of the shadows of their star-studded back line for the second home game in succession to ensure Gloucester's Rec misery continued for another season. Three Matt Perry penalties and an Iain Balshaw drop goal secured the
IS IT a reflection on today's litigious society when we read in your December 7 edition that a father feels he has to sue his son's rugby club after having been injured while watching a game? It would appear to me that anyone going to watch an amateur
Yet again I find I have to defend Trowbridge town councillors from a letter written by one of your readers. I refer to the letter from Mr D Roberts headed "Some irrefutable points on town" (Wiltshire Times, December 7). It would appear Mr D Roberts has
HAVING read Cllr Osborn's letter in the Wiltshire Times dated November 30 I have to agree with his sentiments regarding Trowbridge. I must confess that over a period of some 30 years I lived in another of the Five Towns and both my wife and I, during
A recent report by the RSPCA stated that 96 per cent of broiler chickens in the UK are raised under conditions which, according to EU guidelines, constitute cruelty. Cramped conditions also generate diseases which can be passed on to humans 50 per cent
I AM 100 per cent behind your campaign against fly tipping, but I feel that there is another side of the coin which should be looked at. Until a few months ago, we in Bradford on Avon had a skip available once every week between the hours of 5pm and 7pm
CHURCHES in Swindon are being encouraged to make Christmas services more accessible to the wider community. The Bishop of Swindon, the Right Rev Michael Doe, fears that people suffering with mental illness or physical disabilities often feel excluded
FORMER Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and former Northern Ireland Secretary Mo Mowlem will come to Swindon next summer as part of what looks set to be the town's biggest literary festival. Festival director Matt Holland today revealed that he has scooped
A FESTIVE treat in Trowbridge on Sunday, December 9, gave some of the town's older generation the chance to enjoy Christmas dinner and a party. The get together, organised by Trowbridge Town Council, took the place of the monthly Older People's Sunday
YOUNG sailors from Trowbridge Sea Cadets were showing off their parade skills at Trowbridge Oaks nursing home on Saturday, December 8. The intrepid youngsters have written to top television gameshow The Generation Game to ask if they can appear in one
VIRGIN Mobile is already complying with new call centre guidelines for its 1,200 call centre staff in Trowbridge, according to a senior company manager. The Health & Safety Executive issued the guidelines after it found many of Britain's two million
A SUPERB performance from all concerned this week. No not just in the 12-9 derby win over Gloucester but by David Barnes, who ousted me from my customary role of Santa at our kids' Christmas party at the club on Tuesday. My fellow prop stepped in to do
FORMER vicar, Rev Raymond Rose, is promoting his book in Trowbridge Library to raise money for charity. Maldon Tales is a collection of short stories written when Rev Rose lived in Maldon in Essex in the early 1980s and was a member of a writer's circle
FESTIVE cheer will be alive in Trowbridge on Monday, December 17, with the judging of the town's Christmas lights competition. The festive lights competition, organised by Trowbridge Chamber of Commerce and backed by the Wiltshire Times, is a chance for
This was a rather special concert at the Wiltshire Music Centre by the Trowbridge Orchestra: first, because it marked the retirement of Jean Horsfall as its conductor; and also because the quality of the music was such a suitable tribute to her achievement
RARE Matryoshka dolls were among the unusual crafts on sale in Trowbridge at the weekend to raise money to help families affected by the world's worst nuclear disaster. The west Wiltshire link of the Chernobyl Children Lifeline, had a stall at the Clarendon
KEEN young footballers are being given the chance of a lifetime in Trowbridge next year. TV channel Fox Kids, is launching a nationwide search for under 13s to play in a six-a-side tournament culminating in a final to be held in Spain. The most talented
STAFF at B&Q in Trowbridge had a visit from Westbury MP Andrew Murrison on Friday, December 7. Dr Murrison was particularly interested in the store's employment policies.
WILTSHIRE College in Trowbridge is celebrating the launch of the south west's first ever call centre training school by offering the first course for just £5. The four-week course, which starts in January, would normally cost £99. Call centre manager,
MODERNISATION is expected to lead to job losses at another Trowbridge company. The Consortium, which employs about 320 people and handles £100 million of business, is in the midst of negotiations with staff as part of a project aimed at streamlining the
A THIRD man accused of taking part in an armed raid on a Trowbridge cash and carry store has appeared in court. David Little, 42, was arrested last month in connection with the robbery at Bookers Cash and Carry in November 1999, when £34,000 of cigarettes
A PRECIOUS photograph has been reunited with its owner thanks to an appeal in the Wiltshire Times. Wilkinson's employee Tania Silk found the picture on the floor of the Trowbridge store in November and it was published in the paper last week in a bid
PENSIONERS at a Trowbridge luncheon club are so disgusted with the food they are being given they are taking their own packed lunches. Springtime luncheon club, which meets at Longfield Community Centre, may be forced to close because its members are
HEALTH bosses are in urgent negotiation with GPs to re-open a mental health care unit. The £1.5m Charter House unit at Trowbridge Hospital has been forced to turn patients suffering from Alzheimers' and other mental illnesses away because it has not got
ANGLING: CHIPPENHAM match secretary Steve Palmer carried off the top prize in the Chippenham Christmas match. Fishing on the Avon at Chippenham he took a mainly roach catch weighing 9lb on pole fished casters on an 18 hook to take home a Christmas hamper
A DANCE group from Swindon has won 16 top awards in a nationwide competition. The dancers from the Judith Hockaday School of Dance and Drama won the awards in the finals of the Grandison Clark National Dance Awards at the Commonwealth Institute in London
THE FUNDING of community schemes by Area Panels has been criticised by a leading councillor. Last night the Area Panel (South) decided to allocate funding to five schemes amounting to more than £2,500. However, deputy leader of the council, Councillor
THE fairy tale of Cinderella was brought to life Egyptian-style by children at Rodbourne Cheney Primary School. The pantomime was redesigned to give it a unique twist and was set in Egypt with Egyptian costumes. It was performed by 10 and 11 year-olds
THAT horrible cliche "cultural desert" has been bandied about more than once this week as Swindon Council considers substantial cuts in arts in the town. One victim could be the prestigious Swindon Festival of Literature. But it is announced today that
YOU cannot blame parents for their frustration and disappointment at Stagecoach's decision to drop the school bus service from Rodbourne Cheney to Commonweal School It is, of course, not unfeasible that children from Rodbourne could walk the two and a
ROY EVANS will put an end to the mounting speculation surrounding his future in the next seven days. The club's director of football will focus on toppling Huddersfield Town tomorrow before deciding whether to embrace the new board or quit the County
Chippenham Town defender Lea James is a transfer target for Dr Martens League Western Division rivals Swindon Supermarine. Former Trowbridge Town manager John Murphy, now in charge at Marine, has put in seven days' notice of approach. James played for
SUPPORTERS of Greyhound Rescue met at The Bell pub in Westbury for an afternoon walk with their dogs on Sunday, December 9. The get-together was organised by pub licensee Karen Grant, who herself has a greyhound rescued through the charity. The charity
COMPUTERS worth £2,400 were stolen when thieves broke into a classroom at Matravers School, Westbury, on Monday. Hard drives, keyboards and monitors were taken in the burglary.
CHRISTMAS came early for seating manufacturer Audience Systems when it sealed orders worth £1.6 million last week. The Westbury-based firm is one of west Wiltshire's largest employers and staff can now look forward to better job security and prospects
A YOUNG leukaemia sufferer had her dream come true on Tuesday, December 11, when she got to meet some real life pop stars. Becky Mumford, 10, wentwith her parents to the Virgin Mobile Christmas party at Reflections nightclub in Westbury, with no idea
CHRISTMAS came early for seating manufacturer Audience Systems when it sealed orders worth £1.6 million last week. The Westbury-based firm is one of west Wiltshire's largest employers and staff can now look forward to better job security and prospects
A DOWNTURN in the manufacturing industry has hit Trowbridge hard, but in other sectors business is booming. While major employers in the town are considering making workers redundant, unemployment has hit a record low of 1.2 per cent in Trowbridge and
MODERNISATION is expected to lead to job losses at another Trowbridge company. The Consortium, which employs about 320 people and handles £100 million of business, is in the midst of negotiations with staff as part of a project aimed at streamlining the
LOCAL frozen meal manufacturer apetito is celebrating after receiving two independent food industry awards. Trowbridge-based apetito has been awarded the CLASA accreditation for the company's microbiological laboratory and the EFSIS Higher Level award
TALENTED teenage cricketer Jack Humphrys' progress at the Somerset Academy has been given a boost after he received a £1,000 scholarship from the club's registered charity. Chippenham-based Humphrys, 16, began a two-year course at Taunton in September
PUB landlords across the area are planning to make Christmas a violence and drug-free period by cracking down on lager louts. The Pubwatch scheme has already given 12 people life bans with scores more being banned from Melksham pubs and clubs well into
Swindon-based Manor Cabinet Company is one of Britain's 100 fastest-growing companies. The company, which makes bespoke furniture, gained a place on the recently published Sunday Times Virgin Atlantic Fast Track 100 league table, which ranks the UK's
CHILDREN at a west Wiltshire primary school have been looking at ways to promote road safety in their village. The youngsters at North Bradley Primary School have been designing colourful posters to encourage parents to use a drop off-zone outside the
FUN and fundraising go hand in hand at this time of year as schools and hospitals get into the festive spirit with Christmas fairs. The highpoint of Friday evening's event, December 7, at Walwayne Court Primary School was the arrival of Father Christmas
PEOPLE suffering minor ailments over the Christmas holidays should head for the chemist. Prescribing advisor for West Wiltshire Primary Care Trust, Henryk Kwiatkowski said: "Pharmacists are a trained source of medical advice who provide a free service
AMBITIOUS plans to improve the sport and leisure facilities in Dilton Marsh were put on hold by west Wiltshire district councillors last week. The parish council's sports and leisure committee carried out a survey in the village in October last year and
A CAMPAIGN to save two local magistrates courts earmarked for closure is hoping to whip up popular opposition to the plan. Leader of Wiltshire County Council, Peter Chalke, is urging people to fight the decision made by the Magistrates Court Committee
A 72-YEAR-OLD woman had money stolen from her handbag after she dropped it outside her house. The pensioner dropped her bag as she was getting out of a taxi in Wyvern Walk, Westbury, on Friday, December 7. A neighbour recovered the bag but £80 cash had
UP to 30,000 people could be axed by Consignia over the next 18 months. Consignia, formerly known as the Post Office, has been forced to make redundancies after recording a £281 million loss in the first six months of this year. It hopes to make the majority
PEOPLE in west Wiltshire are too scared to use car parks after dark because of their reputation for crime. While car parks in Swindon and Salisbury win police awards for their anti-crime designs, those in west Wiltshire towns are still zones of fear where
THE long-awaited £10m Semington bypass faces a further delay before a government planning inspector decides whether it can go ahead. The inspector's approval is all that is needed before work can start. Highways chiefs at Wiltshire County Council were
HOUSING estates and villages could be plunged into darkness under a £1.6m cost-cutting proposal put forward by Wiltshire County Council. The cuts, designed to save on the council's environmental services budget, would see street lighting limited to A
DEVIZES Town went down to a disappointing defeat at the hands of a strong Yeovil Town line-up at Huish Park on Saturday night. Yeovil used the match against Brian Newlands' side to field the likes of ex-Charlton Athletic striker Kim Grant and highly-rated
STREET proved to be Corsham Town's nemesis for the second time this term as they completed a league double over the Wiltshire side at The Southbank on Saturday. Strike duo John Freegard and Matt Pratley were once again on the mark for the hosts, but they
SCREWFIX DIRECT LEAGUE: WARMINSTER Town were handed their heaviest defeat of the season as visitors Weston St Johns went goal crazy at Weymouth Street on Tuesday night. The hosts, who registered their first victory of the season at Weston in September
SUNDAY morning outfit Holt FC are attracting home gates many Screwfix League sides would be happy to play in front of. Holt, currently lying second in Division Four of the in the Chippenham Sunday League, re-formed in the summer after folding in 1997
WROUGHTON Reserves continue to lead the Junior Division after their 3-2 away win over Bromham. Richard Perrett, Jamie Cowley and goalkeeper Barry Phillips, from the spot, his third in the last three games, scored for Wroughton and Jeremy Thompson and
MELKSHAM Town player-manager Robbie Lardner admitted he had never felt so bad after a defeat after his team crashed out of the FA Vase at The Conigre on Saturday. Twice ahead, Melksham's bid to win a place in the fourth round of the competition for the
PLANS for a new housing estate in Warminster have been scuppered by the industrial noise and smells from a nearby food-processing factory. Building firm Sydenhams wants to move to Crusader Park on the outskirts of the town and sell present site in Fairfield
A MOTHER and daughter marked the 100th anniversary of the birth of one of their relatives with a £5,000 gift to Macmillan Cancer Relief. Hilda Guy, 91, and her daughter Anne Ely handed over the cheque at a cottage in Corsley to Lady Virginia, the Marchioness
ARTIST Tim Fish held his first exhibition in England this week above the new dining hall at Warminster School. In his relatively short painting career, Mr Fish has held four exhibitions in his homeland of Tasmania. Mr Fish has been painting professionally
THIEVES left behind a hacksaw on the roof of a Warminster shop after trying to saw through a skylight. The offenders tried to break into the store in Market Place on Saturday night, December 8.
A WARMINSTER councillor says he is being denied access to his dead relatives in a churchyard at an abandoned village on Salisbury Plain. Cllr John Syme claimed the Army, which evacuated Imber in 1943, is not keeping the area open to the public for 50
POLICE in Warminster have warned people to watch out for bogus carol singers. The elderly are most at risk with offenders using the carol singing ploy to get into houses while the owners are distracted.
DR MARTENS LEAGUE Western Division: Chippenham Tn v Cirencester Tn, Gloucester City v Swindon Supermarine. HELLENIC LEAGUE Premier Division: Abingdon Utd v Fairford Tn, Bishops Cleeve v Wantage Tn, Didcot Tn v Shortwood Utd, Harrow Hill v Southall Tn
Supermarine manager John Murphy fears old club Gloucester City will provide his new troops with their "toughest game to date" when the sides meet in a Western Division clash at Meadow Park tomorrow. The proposition has been made even tougher by the loss
Premier Division title contenders Wroughton face their toughest test of the Wiltshire league season when they take on leaders Shrewton United on their own ground. It will take an impressive performance from the Swindon side if they are to topple the leaders
THE Land Rover Freelander the best-selling 4x4 in both the UK and mainland Europe is now being assembled in Thailand. It is supplied in kit form because taxes make importing the built-up version too expensive. The company now has eight such assembly plants
NOW you can use a phone in your car without taking your eyes off the road and hands off the steering wheel. One MP is already asking Parliament to outlaw holding a mobile phone while driving. The new Mirror Phone can be installed within minutes on your
WE COULD save 700 lives a year in the UK if we all drove Renault Lagunas. Latest results of the European NCAP crash tests show that Renault remains the safest car maker, with both the Laguna and the Megane. "The Laguna is the only car to have scored the
JUST when you thought all news was bad news, here's a thought to cheer the private motorist. If you own a three-year-old car, it's now worth over 3 per cent more than such a car would have rated at this time last year. That's the valuation on a 1998 car
Gone are the days when the estate car was a token addition to manufacturers' ranges. Crudely extended saloon cars have been replaced by a multitude of carefully designed and impressive looking vehicles that now contest one of the most competitive areas
The new Mercedes-Benz SL 55 AMG is currently the most powerful of all Mercedes passenger cars. Under the bonnet of the top of the range roadster lies a newly developed supercharged engine with eight cylinders, developing 350 kw/476 hp. It provides its
EAGLE-EYED readers can win £2,000 if they spot where all 100 photographs were taken in a new book on Salisbury and Wilton. The book is the third in the Secret Corners series and is based on the idea that people rarely look up and down as they pass through
THE Environment Agency is urging people to be prepared following the floods that hit many parts of the county last year. The agency is warning people in vulnerable areas of Wiltshire to be on their guard and to make adequate preparations. Technical services
A 14-YEAR-OLD boy from Bradford on Avon has denied starting a barn fire, which caused nearly £30,000 of damage. The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared at a youth court in Trowbridge on Friday, December 14. Nearly 100 tons of hay, farm
PUPILS from Christ Church school in Bradford on Avon were so pleased with their Ofsted report they wrote a report celebrating their success themselves. Year six students worked in groups and pulled out information from the official report and interviewed
JON Callard claims it would be "negligent'' for Bath to dismiss the Powergen National Cup as an irrelevant addition to an already-packed rugby calendar. The Rec chief is determined to put up a good fight in a competition that almost used to be regarded
HOW many men does it take to change a light bulb? Or in west Wiltshire, how long does it take? For the last month, either myself or my neighbour have phoned Clarence on 0800 232323 to report a street light not working at the back of our houses. To date
JAMES Scaysbrook goes head-to-head with London Irish again tomorrow having made the astonishing transition from young prospect to first-team regular in the four weeks since they last met. The fresh-faced flanker 20 on New Year's Day was handed his full
IN RESPONSE to yet another negative letter about Trowbridge from D Roberts in last week's Wiltshire Times, please allow me to make the following points. 1. As major of Trowbridge I receive absolutely no payment whatsoever. This continues the longstanding
I REFER to your article 'Call to clear up ghetto' in the Wiltshire Times, December 7. Melksham may not be the classiest or the smartest place to live and work in, but to describe it as a ghetto is an insult. There is a nucleus of hard-working, community-spirited
I WRITE to thank you for an editorial which you printed on November 16. This featured a picture of me and a colleague who have both lost weight through Slimming World. I got a fantastic response from the article in your paper and gained many new members
NEED some more ideas on what to get the little darlings? For stocking fillers take a look in Poundland in Regent street, Swindon. Yes, there is quite a lot of plastic tat in there (which children tend to love!) but there are also some terrific bargains
HEART attack patients at Princess Margaret Hospital are no longer falling into a treatment black hole because of failings in the hospital's cardiac rehabilitation service. Swindon's Community Health Council (CHC) says that up to 1,000 patients suffering
UP to 20 people are to lose their jobs at Praxair in Swindon as part of a restructuring programme by the US-based company. The Drakes Way site, which employs 120 people, is the UK headquarters, with three other sites around the country. The job cuts are
STAGECOACH has dropped a pre-Christmas bombshell on hundreds of children in Rodbourne by scrapping their school bus service. And Swindon Council says it is unhappy about the route being cut but cannot do anything about it. Commonweal School headteacher
MARK Stephenson was yesterday found guilty of killing his baby daughter. The jury at Bristol Crown Court was told the 30-year-old snapped and shook his daughter Sacha with such force that the retinas in her eyes bled. Stephenson then made a frantic phone
A MAN convicted of killing his baby daughter today told how he would never forgive himself for what he did. Mark Stephenson, 30, from Cricklade, spoke exclusively to the Evening Advertiser from his prison cell as he waited to hear what his sentence would
THERE may not have been a try, but last weekend's 12-9 victory over Gloucester was undoubtedly one of our finest performances of the season. It was a compelling match, played at a lightning pace, and went a long way to rectifying what had been a forgettable
SCHOOLCHILDREN from Trowbridge could soon be communicating face to face with their counterparts in India. The Clarendon School has reached the shortlist to receive funding from the BT School Awards to develop a video conferencing system. Headteacher,
POPULAR music stalwart Jean Horsfall has stepped down after 41 years as principal conductor with Trowbridge Orchestra. Miss Horsfall, who was appointed as the orchestra's conductor in 1959, retired at a celebration concert on December 1. Her first concert
A COUPLE who were separated by war for the first three years of their marriage celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary on Saturday, December 8, at the Polebarn Hotel. John and Joan Wadsworth met at the Bath YMCA when Joan, her mother and her sister
A CLUBBER who smashed a bottle over a DJ's head has been jailed for a year. Luke Leeson, 21, lashed out with the full bottle striking his victim three times as he lay on the ground during a scuffle at Club Blue nightclub in Trowbridge. Colin Meeke, prosecuting
AFTER the shock of learning that the company could close down, workers at Avon Automotive in Trowbridge are now considering their future. They have entered into a 90-day negotiation period with the company, at the end of which the final decision on whether
TWO laptops worth more than £2,000 were stolen from a car in Trowbridge on Saturday night. Children's coats and clothes were among the items stolen from the Vauxhall Cavalier, which was parked in The Poplars.
Benefits Agency staff across the region joined a national two-day strike over safety. Workers in Trowbridge and Chippenham protested after a Government department proposed to remove protective glass partitions. Gill Cooper, Trowbridge spokesman for the
HOLIDAY agency Howard Travel came runner up in the Sunday Times' Travel Agent of the Year awards and only lost out on the top spot because it is a victim of its own success. The independent travel agent, in Church Walk, Trowbridge, scored exactly the
A DOWNTURN in the manufacturing industry has hit Trowbridge hard, but in other sectors business is booming. While major employers in the town are considering making workers redundant, unemployment has hit a record low of 1.2 per cent in Trowbridge and
PRE-SCHOOL children have walked the plank in a bid to get new play equipment for their village. Busy Bees playgroup in Southwick organised the sponsored pirate event and the children, aged two to four, raised over £200. The children were raising money
STAFF foiled a masked gunman wielding a long-barrelled rifle when he burst into a shop in Trowbridge on Tuesday night, December 11, demanding money. The man entered the One Stop Shop in Eastbourne Road at 10.30pm and threatened staff. Staff managed to
STEPPING IN: Despite fears children would be let down, Father Christmas is now safely in his grotto in the Shires shopping centre in Trowbridge. Centre manager Mike Murray launched a search to find a replacement husband for Mrs Claus on Wednesday, December
A BALLET rarely seen in the UK is on stage in Bath in February. Ellen Kent & Ballet International's production of Nutcracker is directed by Yuri Grigorovich, who directed the Bolshoi Ballet for 30 years. The classic Christmas story about a girl swept
THE continuing difficulty of finding a suitable venue large enough sees the traditional New Year's Day concert moved this year to New Year's Eve afternoon, at the Forum in Bath. But those lucky enough to find somewhere to park will find the London Gala
Car parks in west Wiltshire are so prone to crime they can't be entered for safety awards. This is not our opinion but that of Wiltshire crime reduction officer Malcolm Stiles, who is appalled at the risk to users and has warned West Wiltshire District
Wiltshire County Council wants to turn off street lights and cut back on gritting icy minor roads to save money. These are the tough choices it has had to make after the Government's below national average grant award for the county next year. We accept
HEARTBROKEN Ted Whitlock said he has lost three stone since being rescued from the Pines Hotel in Chippenham and now longs to be reunited with his wife and family. Mr Whitlock, 44, was rescued from the hotel on Sep-tember 23 when he was taken ill and
SWINDON could soon be twinned with a third foreign town if moves to establish links in Poland come to fruition. The town's twinning committee has decided to investigate locating a suitable Polish town to share cultural and business links with Swindon.
RECORD numbers of Wiltshire people have taken the offer of a free flu jab, with more than 57,000 flu vaccinations already administered to elderly and frail people across the country. Since the national campaign was launched in October, the 93 GP surgeries
A RUNDOWN play area in Kingshill will be refurbished as part of a £150,000 council scheme. The play area at Savernake Street will receive £34,000 which will be funded from the playground refurbishment budget of £150,000 to upgrade some of the borough's
THEY can fill cars with all manner of hi-tech gadgetry . . . sat nav, air con, adjustable mirrors, and push buttons for everything. But here's something that makes them all forgettable. And really it's quite inexpensive a bit like the simple little plastic
ONCE, radar traps were the scourge of any motorist who wasn't too careful about sticking to the speed limit. Today, that's history. Speed cameras are all that's needed to keep the feeling that Big Brother is watching backed up by photographic evidence
PREPARATIONS against terrorist attacks were discussed at a seminar to find out how Swindon would respond to a biochemical threat. Around 40 business people and council and emergency staff attended the seminar, which was held yesterday at the Marriott
SPECIAL constables will be visiting elderly people in the county this week as part of Operation Snowflake, a venture aimed at keeping them safer this winter. As part of a joint exercise, the specials will deliver Christmas cards to all elderly and vulnerable
VICTIMS of the so-called Swindon cancer, mesothelioma, have been dealt a potentially devastating blow by the Court of Appeal. The court ruled that victims who worked with asbestos in more than one job and afterwards contracted the lung cancer would not
YOUNG Swindon artist Megan Gibson had the shock of her life when comedian Bernie Clifton came to call on her and her classmates. Megan, 12, from Old Shaw Lane, has won the Wyvern Theatre Pantomime Poster Design Competition for the third year running.
CONTROVERSIAL plans to remove five historic tombstones and improve facilities at Fair-ford United Church have been deferred by members. Council officers had recommended the applications, which included removing tombstones, making alterations inside the
The next person to make any reference to hot, sunny France will be summarily shot without trial. A nice healthy walk in the woods in this part of the north-east can turn into a major frostbite risk, especially if you've for-gotten your hat and gloves
MARAUDING badgers who decided to make their home under a pre-school have had to be evicted. But the shy creatures came to no harm they were just sent back to their old home nearby. Mysterious holes around the base of the Lawn Pre-school building in Swindon's
MOST of the 170 strong crew of HMS Marlborough will be spending Christmas with their families after more than four months on exercise in the Gulf of Oman. The Royal Navy frigate has returned from exercise in the Gulf and steams into her home base at Portsmouth
TRAIN operator First Great Western is running its family carriage for the Christmas holidays. The service will run from tomorrow until January 6. Every child travelling in the family carriage can collect a free activity pack from the buffet, which includes
SWINDON could be a cultural desert if the council's proposed cuts to arts funding go ahead. That is the claim being made by the chairman of Swindon Artists' Society, Diana Crafer. The council's cabinet announced on Wednesday that £800,000 needs to be
MEN in Swindon were given the chance to find the perfect present for those special women in their lives at a "bloke's shopping night". The event took place at Asda Wal-Mart in West Swindon, where men were invited to sample beer and curry while choosing
LOU MACARI brings his Huddersfield Town side to the County Ground on the back of an impressive run. The Terriers are unbeaten in seven league games and currently sit just outside the play-off places. It is probably still a shock to the West Yorkshire
THE husband of a woman jailed for stealing almost £2m from the bank where she worked told a jury that he thought her employers were to blame for the crime. Paul Rowlands said he thought the Dunbar Bank should not have put his wife Beryl in the position
WE, like you the fans, appreciate the job Roy Evans has done with the Town team since his arrival at the County Ground. And we echo your concerns in this period of uncertainty and unsettlement, that the director of football may decide the job is more
ROY EVANS will put an end to the mounting speculation surrounding his future in the next seven days. The club's director of football will focus on toppling Huddersfield Town tomorrow before deciding whether to embrace the new board or quit the County
Thomas Bromley of Seriously Ill for Medical Research, accuses the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV) of not showing any consideration for the right of seriously ill patients. His accusation is both wrong and insulting, and reveals just
TO ANSWER Mr Bromley's letter (Evening Advertiser, December 4), there is a long history of medical progress without the use of animals. Some examples being: Methotrexate, one of the first effective drugs for childhood leukaemia and still important in
CHIPPENHAM man Steven Baker sneaked into an ambulance while it was parked outside the town's hospital. Baker, 27, of Pipsmore Road, rifled through medical equipment while the ambulance was outside the Community Hospital in Rowden Hill. Baker pleaded guilty
INJURED Chippenham man Kashmira Singh is no longer under arrest on suspicion of murdering his elder brother Charlie. Police say they will be interviewing the 42-year-old father-of-five and he may face other charges. Mr Singh and his wife Diola were critically
CHIPPENHAM carried on from where they left off against Marlow and produced their worst rugby for some time in the first half of a bruising South West Division Two East encounter before turning it round with a thrilling comeback to clinch the points in
COOPER-AVON lost this merit table game as they to struggled to gain any possession at the set pieces. Their only score came from number eight Russell Holland, who took a quick penalty and sprinted 40 metres to score.
CHIPPENHAM diabetic Andrew Cleeves tried to grow cannabis in his loft because he thought it would help with his condition. Cleeves, a 34-year-old builder, was given a 12-month conditional discharge when he appeared before magistrates on Monday. He was
COOPER-AVON suffered their heaviest Southern Counties South defeat of the season against the undefeated leaders. Wimborne's front five were far too powerful for the visitors who struggled to gain any possession.The home side had the game won inside 20
TRAINS were stopped when a severely depressed man threatened to throw himself off a railway bridge in Chippenham. The man perched on the edge of the bridge over Bath Road for three hours in the early hours of Friday morning, December 7. The drama started
FURIOUS Chippenham traders have criticised plans to close a town centre car park to make way for buses. Work at the combined Timber Street bus station and car park is due to start at the end of January, and will mean the loss of all 40 parking spaces.
A WOMAN who was mugged during the royal visit to Chippenham gave chase after the thief and recovered her handbag thanks to two good Samaritans. Jillian Parsons had been out shopping for her 86-year-old mother and was keen to get home to look after her
CHIPPENHAM doorman John Heap carried a 65,000 volt stun gun capable of killing someone. Heap, 40, of Wood Lane, kept the gun in his car because he was worried about threats from people he had refused entry to at the Bristol nightclub where he worked.
CHIPPENHAM'S Hardenhuish School have become the Year 8 Dorest & Wiltshire Champions for 2001 after beat ing close neighbours Sheldon School in the final. The road to the cup started with a home game against Ridgeway School and the team found themselves
Swindon College Old Boys travel to Stow-on-the-Wold for a friendly fixture due to their bye in the first round of the Dorset and Wilts cup. After two wins and a draw in their previous three Southern Counties South outings, player-coach Tony Brant is keen
SUPERMARINE from Dorset & Wilts Division 2 North, host Sherborne, leaders of Division 2 South, in a Dorset & Wilts Shield first-round tie at their South Marston ground tomorrow. Supermarine's second team, meanwhile, are involved in a Dorset &
