Archive

  • Bargain hunters pack into Wiltshire's Woolworths

    Hundreds of people have packed into Wiltshire's Woolworths stores as closing-down sales and hundreds of of shop workers feared for their jobs. Christmas shoppers are being offered cut-price toys, entertainment and other items at the chain's

  • Air ambulance's future discussed in secret

    The outcome of today's meeting of Wiltshire Police Authority where the future of the police helicopter and Wiltshire Air Ambulance was discussed will not be known until next week. The authority met in private session to discuss renewing the

  • Chippenham gas supply disrupted

    A school, council offices and more than 100 homes in Chippenham have been affected by problems with the gas supply this week. Ivy Lane Primary School, in Ivy Lane, has reopened after it was closed for the day yesterday while North Wiltshire

  • Malmesbury Abbey makes way for skaters

    For 800 years Malmesbury Abbey has been a holy site for worshippers to make their pilgrimage for religious silence. But the sound of skateboards will soon echo throughout the ancient monument when it is turned into a skate park. Church

  • Corsham's clash with Street postponed until February

    Saturday's clash pitting Corsham Town against Street in the Toolstation League Premier Division is another indirect casualty of the current bad weather. Poor conditions on Wednesday evening saw the cancellation of several fixtures in the area

  • Inside Robbie Williams' North Wiltshire mansion

    Robbie Williams is said to have bought a £7 million mansion in Wiltshire as he plans to move back to Britain. The singer, worth an estimated £90 million, is said to have bought thr mansion in the Calne area, which has seven bedrooms, a sauna

  • Prison staff walk out of pub over Christmas lunch delay

    A Christmas lunch at the troubled Stage Post Inn at West Lavington ended in disappointment for a group of office workers. The party of seven admin workers from Erlestoke Prison had booked Christmas lunch last Thursday but when they arrived they found

  • Devizes man airlifted after accident at firm

    A man injured while working at The Grist Group breaker’s yard in Devizes was flown by the air ambulance to hospital but his injuries were not as serious as first feared. The 31-year-old man was working on a BMW at the company’s site on the Hopton Industrial

  • Calne granddad wins Gazette's Grab A Grand

    Elated granddad Terry Thomas will be able to spoil his wife, Fran, this Christmas after scooping £780 in vouchers after winning the Gazette’s Grab a Grand competition. Mr Thomas, 53, a forklift driver from Northend, Calne, managed to grab the

  • Malmesbury lollipop lady goes festive for charity

    Lollipop lady Sue Cleaver has pulled out all the stops to make her charity Christmas lights display the best yet. Not only does she have the usual Santas, reindeer and snowmen, but she has also created a Victorian-style toy shop out of a shed at her

  • Devizes pensioner knocked over on towpath by cyclist

    Cyclists who use the Kennet and Avon Canal towpath are being warned to slow down after a Devizes pensioner was knocked over by a cyclist. Gwen Page, of Avon Road, was struck while walking her dog, Ruben, on the towpath near to the cafe at the Caen Hill

  • Coin expert to rescue of Rudloe pensioner

    Coin expert Stephen Clarke has offered to replace an 83-year-old man’s coin collection, stolen in a burglary, after reading an article in last week’s Gazette. War veteran David Davies, fell victim to a burglary at his home in Rudloe on November 26 while

  • Chippenham pensioner's phone problem solved

    Pensioner John Paton is thrilled after staff at Jag Communications in Chippenham finally solved his mobile phone dilemma. Mr Paton, 76, who suffers from Parkinson’s disease and osteoporosis, came to the Gazette with his problem after he bought the phone

  • Deaf two-year-old learns to speak

    Inspiring two-year-old Piper Revere has started saying her first words after a successful operation to help her to hear. Piper was born profoundly deaf, but after a cochlear implant earlier this year she can now hear her parents Kate, 31, and Simon,

  • £100,000 for Chippenham park

    MORE than £100,000 is being spent on sprucing up Monkton Park in Chippenham in a bid to attract more people to use it. The park is due to get a major facelift in the new year with a new play area, landscaping and new benches. The play area, which has

  • Chippenham church ready to rock

    A clergyman in Chippenham is hoping his new approach to jazzing up Christmas carol concerts is going to be a hit in the town. The Rev Ralph Burden of the Oasis Church, is holding a ‘Rock the Carols’ concert on December 20 which will combine traditional

  • Top Chippenham swimmer helps youngsters

    Despite having her funding reduced, paralympic swimmer Stephanie Millward is determined to do something positive for her community. That is why the 27-year-old European and British record-breaker from Cepen Park South in Chippenham is giving up her precious

  • Children in Calne on activity trail

    Children at Holy Trinity School in Calne are celebrating the opening of a new timber activity trail. The outdoor adventure trail, which runs along the front of the playground, cost £15,000, half of which came from a lottery grant secured by the parents

  • Calne's Kerry is top animal fundraiser

    Animal lover Kerry Flynn from Calne has been awarded with a national fundraising award by a pet welfare charity. The year seven pupil at John Bentley School was crowned National Young Fundraiser of the Year by the PDSA for raising more than £600 for

  • Disco time for teenagers in Calne

    Youngsters in Calne are invited to the next Bluez ‘n’ Zuz disco on December 19. The party will be held at John Bentley School from 7.30pm until 9.45pm and is open to 11 to 16 year olds. Local band TSO will provide entertainment. PCSO Sarah Hardwidge

  • Calne pensioner wants action over motorcyclists

    Pensioner Amenea Barnett is calling for action to stop young motorcyclists tearing through a quiet cul-de-sac in Calne before someone gets hurt. She says youths regularly speed through Honeymead on motorbikes and mopeds, and Mrs Barnett, 93, said residents

  • Icing on cake for Colerne army cooks

    ARMY personnel from Colerne have raised more than £3,000 for Help For Heroes from a three-day Christmas cake raffle held at Sainsbury’s in Chippenham. The team of catering staff from 21 Signal Regiment at Azimghur Barracks hoped to raise £1,000. The

  • Road closed at Bremhill after crash

    A collision involving two cars at around 8am this morning has caused Turf House Lane at Bremhill to be closed for more than an hour. The incident, which is thought to have been caused by thick ice on the road, is being cleared up now and the road is

  • Teenager savagely attacked in Chippenham

    School cleaner Ashley Maunder was savagely attacked in Chippenham town centre as he walked to the pub. The 19-year-old was walking through the Market Place to the Black Horse pub in New Road just after 9pm on Friday, when he was approached by a teenager

  • Village groups cash in on fuel scheme

    Five organisations including the village surgery have benefited from the annual donations made possible by Burbage’s bulk fuel buying scheme BEAM. Burbage Energy Action Management was the first scheme of its kind in Wiltshire where villagers banded together

  • Devizes dad cleared of hammer attack

    Devizes dad Timothy Hancock has been acquitted of unlawful wounding during an incident in Market Lavington in August. A jury at Salisbury Crown Court yesterday returned a majority not guilty verdict at the end of a two day trial. Ryan

  • Man tries to save his cat in Lacock blaze

    Fire crews from Corsham and Chippenham were called to a chip pan fire in a flat in Corsham Road, Lacock on Saturday night. Peter Freegard, 31, a partially sighted man had to be treated for smoke inhalation after trying to save his cat from the kitchen

  • Corsham crash girl looks forward to 15th birthday in hospital

    Schoolgirl Leonie Newbury will next week celebrate the 15th birthday her family and friends feared she would not make after she suffered terrible injuries in a car crash in Chippenham. But now her family and boyfriend Kieran Connors are planning to make

  • Speedway star joins Swindon Robins in Gjedde swap deal

    Swindon Robins have signed British international Simon Stead from Belle Vue in a deal that will see fans' favourite Charlie Gjedde heading to Manchester. Stead, 26, becomes the fourth signing for the 2009 season and joins Leigh Adams, Troy Batchelor and