A CONMAN who stole cash from two women in Oxford by pretending he was a local vicar has been jailed for five years. Mark Rhodes, 26, of no fixed abode, was arrested after he appeared on TV’s Crimewatch in May. He later admitted eight distraction burglaries
KNIFE crime has risen across Oxfordshire in the past year. Police last night admitted there was more work to be done educating teenagers after figures revealed knives were used in 276 crimes in the county between March 2008 and April 2009, compared to
COUNCIL leaders today ordered a two-month consultation into plans to overhaul the provision of public loos in the city. Eleven of Oxford’s 27 public loos are under threat of closure as part of plans to save £50,000 a year. Facilities
SCHOOLCHILDREN were drilled in healthy eating and the importance of sport by Oxford United players today. About 150 pupils at Five Acres Primary School, in Ambrosden, near Bicester, learned football skills and took part in a penalty shoot-out
JUNCTION 9 on the M40 will not be redeveloped unless a controversial eco town is built, it was revealed last night. Last week the Highways Agency announced it was making “interim” changes to a sliproad to cut the queues which stretch back on to the southbound
A girl from Abingdon tonight remains in hospital in a critical but stable condition following a collision in the town. Police closed Copenhagen Drive, Colwell Drive and Mons Way after the girl, who was riding a bicycle, was in collision with
A FOUR-MONTH-old Oxfordshire boy died after being taken to the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading with serious injuries. Police have launched an investigation after being called by Oxfordshire Social Services and have arrested a 24-year-old man on suspicion
Oxfordshire's ladies produced their best County Week performance for years to finish second in the Midlands South Group at Ladbroke Park, near Solihull. The draw did not favour Oxon, who were comprehensively beaten by group winners and host Warwickshire
FAMILIES are celebrating after plans to build 210 homes in their village were thrown out by planners for the second time. Last week, South Oxfordshire District Council refused permission for Bloor Homes and Hallam Land Management to build homes at Crowmarsh
CAMPAIGNERS are working together to try to revive Abingdon’s flagging fortunes. Traders, business leaders and three local councils have teamed up to form the Choose Abingdon Partnership, which aims to bring in new businesses for the current empty shops
Sandy Bolton will make his international debut for Scotland in the European Amateur Boys Team Championship next week. The 17-year-old from Abingdon is in Scotland’s team of six for the event at Utrecht Golf Club de Pan, Netherlands from July 7-11. Bolton
Mark Oliver equalled Burford’s amateur course record after shooting a 66 at their President’s Day. Oliver’s score also saw him win the stableford event with 42 points. Paul Barrow retained North Oxford’s Club Championship by two shots from Michael Tippett
FRILFORD HEATH Lady Captain’s Day: 1 G Buck, B Hunt & S Huggins 87pts, 2 H Mercer, J Bellhouse & A Auger 83, 3 V Stevenson, J Benson, K Bartlett 80. Nearest the pin - 4th: C Wadsworth. 14th: P Mathews. OXFORD LADIES June Stableford – Silver Div:
OXFORDSHIRE County Council is considering a move to replace five full-time members of its youth mentoring service with volunteers to save money. The affected staff would be re-deployed elsewhere in the service, which offers direct support to
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7.45: Farloe Vision, Newlawn Emperor 2, Woodbrook Fancy 3, Valleymount Pat, WOOD NODDY, Indigo Joe. 8.00: Burbank Posh, Kereight Gold 3, Dillinger, FRISKY GEEZER, Scarlett Otara, Call Danny 2. 8.15: Avit, Malbay Elite, Droopys Eamonn, Pawseys Pride
RADLEY emerged victorious from their home Southern Women’s League Premier Division match at Tilsley Park – beating Guildford by 13 points. The hosts managed 17 first places, which edged them ahead of their Surrey rivals. Wycombe finished third, and Colchester
OXFORD City’s Stephen Male won the 25th Thame 10K road race in tropical conditions. He finished in 33mins 53secs, some 11 seconds ahead of Alchester’s Nigel Marley, who was running for Coventry Godiva, with Headington Roadrunner James Eve taking third
Former Witney Town footballer Kevin Alder achieves another sporting goal when he makes his EBA Middleton Cup debut for Oxfordshire in the crunch clash against Berkshire at Suttons BC on Saturday. Alder, Town’s goalkeeper in their Southern League days
OXFORD City javelin thrower Danielle Anderson agonisingly missed out on a medal in the Aviva England Under 20 Championships at Bedford. However, as reported in yesterday’s Oxford Mail, the 16-year-old did enough in the event to earn herself
WHITE Horse Harriers won the under 11 boys’ team competiton in the Oxfordshire Junior Track and Field League meeting at Banbury. Ryan Craze was fastest in the 75m with 10.7secs, setting a club record to finish second. He then won the long jump in 3.75m
Running back Chris Taylor starred in Oxford Saints’ 56-0 thrashing of Redditch Arrows in BAFL Conference Division 1 at Oxford RFC. He rampaged through the Arrows’ defence, gorging himself on 126 yards and four touchdowns off 19 carries. Quarterback
Nelson's Keith Sheard knocked out Horse And Harrow’s Gary Johnson on aggregate in the All-England singles at the Lamb & Flag, Hailey. Johnson reeled off a break of 15,650 to take the first frame 17,900-2,250. But Sheard replied with 19,580 in the second
Martin Workman secured Bicester a dramatic 5-1 win at Carterton with the last bowl of their Division 1 match in the Oxford & District League, sponsored by Yarnton Nurseries. The game was in the balance until Workman drew second shot after
History was in the making last week in Oxford, when an opera that has lain dormant for over 40 years was finally given a long-overdue showing. Perelandra, based on C.S. Lewis’s novel of the same name, was written in the early 1960s by Donald Swann (of
Pinot Grigio (or Gris) comes in many different guises and from many different parts of the world. The Italian wines that we so often see are sometimes not the most interesting examples of what this grape can produce. Here we have included some unusual
I am immersed in Wimbledon; much as I am for two weeks every year in June. I live it, breathe it and barely take my eyes off the screen for days on end. I find it utterly compelling and love every minute of it. In fact, I get so immersed that even when
Oxford-born journalist Ros Wynne-Jones, who as a student worked at The Oxford Times during her holidays, has published her first novel. Something Is Going to Fall Like Rain (Reportage Press, £12.99) is set in famine-hit Sudan and part of the proceeds
JUST A PHRASE I’M GOING THROUGH: MY LIFE IN LANGUAGE David Crystal (Routledge, £14.99) Humpty Dumpty, in Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass, introduces Alice to the idea that, when he uses a word, it means just what he chooses it to mean.
In the early summer of 2005, crime writer Simon Kernick was reaching the final stages of his fifth novel, a hefty, heavily researched thriller that “touched on the area of terrorism”. Then, on the morning of July 7, four young men joined the throngs of
Motorists trapped in long tailbacks on the M40 after a car transporter caught fire were given bottles of water to help them cope with today's hot weather. Firefighters were called to deal with the burning lorry on the southbound carriageway
THE Audit Commission has thrown out complaints that the redevelopment of Abingdon’s Old Gaol was a bad deal for taxpayers. The Vale of White Horse District Council asked the independent watchdog to review the deal after residents raised concerns about
When 1.e4 players are faced with the Sicilian Defence, the usual advice — at all but the highest levels — is to steer clear of the main lines. True, this approach saves an awful lot of study; but White’s alternatives to the heavily analysed open Sicilian
A TEENAGER being taught to punt — and taking a swim by mistake; a child lying on his front on the river bank and pushing about a boat made of newspaper; a family setting out across a field towards a favourite bathing place, bearing towels and the inner
Perfectionist director Michael Mann doffs his fedora to Depression-era bank robber John Dillinger in Public Enemies (15, 139 mins). This beautifully-crafted biopic surveys a volatile period in America’s history when a group of hoodlums ran rings around
The Agatha Christie Theatre Company exists to promote and tour those works by The First Lady of Crime that have been adapted, or specifically created, for the theatre. Last year, the Playhouse hosted a splendid version of And Then There Were None, where
Dinosaurs ruled the Earth for more than 100 million years, but the third instalment of the computer-animated Ice Age series will struggle to reign at the UK box office for more than two weeks. The colourful follow-up to Ice Age 2: The Meltdown plunders
WORK to improve Exeter Close and make it a focal point for Kidlington has finally finished after 12 months. The parish council has overseen the £250,000 project to expand the pavilion at the football pitch, update the two tennis courts, construct
The Royal & Derngate continues its festival celebrating the 70th birthday of Sir Alan Ayckbourn with a welcome revival of his touching – and a tad depressing – Private Fears in Public Places, written in 2004. This is only the third production of a work
STUDENTS at the Oxford Union are planning to stage a memorial talk with celebrity guests in honour of singer Michael Jackson. The proclaimed ‘King of Pop’ collapsed and died in Los Angeles from a suspected heart attack last Thursday.
COMMUTERS from Littlemore have been left high but not dry after Oxford City Council failed to install a bus shelter it promised them. A highways officer employed by City Works promised passengers who use the No.16 and 16A bus service from Cowley to Littlemore
VANDALS damaged fruit and vegetable patches and broke into a shed at a Grove allotment at the weekend. Six plots were spoilt during the spree at the Grove Road Allotment, with vegetables uprooted and a lawn mower taken from a shed and abandoned. Chris
FAMILIES in Didcot have welcomed plans to transform a ‘green lung’ into a fitness trail and recreation area in a £440,000 scheme. South Oxfordshire District Council said the area of land known as the Ladygrove Loop would soon feature specially- designed
ORGANISERS of the Children’s Food Festival are hoping to make it an annual event. Glorious sunshine and a variety of gastronomic treats attracted more than 14,000 people of all ages to the weekend festival, held at Hill Farm, Little Wittenham, near Didcot
A FLY-PAST over the Churchill Hospital in Oxford has commemorated the site’s historic links with the US armed forces. The hospital in Headington was built in 1940 to treat expected mass casualties from German air raids during the Second World War but
OLYMPIC gold medallist Denise Lewis will visit Oxford on Friday to attend an inter-school sports competition. The former heptathlete, who won gold at the Sydney games in 2000, will be at Oxford University’s Iffley Road athletics track to watch Year Three
A woman cyclist needed hospital treatment following a collision with a car in the centre of Oxford. Paramedics were called to Banbury Road, at the junction with St Giles, following the collision at 8.45am today. David Paull, a spokesman
DOZENS of butterflies were released at an Oxford nursery school in a colourful ceremony. The butterfly release was part of a project on life cycles at Cherry Tree Nursery in Headington. Youngsters at the nursery were able to follow the
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Paramedics were called to the centre of Oxford this morning following a collision between a car and a cyclist. A spokesman for South Central Ambulance service said paramedics were sent to Banbury Road, at the junction with St Giles, following the collision
Almost 40 per cent of shops tested in a recent survey sold knives to a 14-year-old child, it emerged today. Trading standards carried out test purchase operations at 51 outlets across the county between February and June and 20 failed. Blades sold
POLICE are investigating two dog attacks which happened just hours and streets apart in Greater Leys, Oxford — the latest in a string of incidents this year. One of the victims said she had been left in agony after being attacked by a Rottweiler
A BUILDER found scores of polling cards ditched in a skip just weeks before the recent Oxfordshire County Council elections, it emerged last night. An investigation is under way after Mark Newman, 37, from Marcham, near Abingdon, found the
OXFORD is the seventh most lucrative place in Britain, outside London, for residents to rent out their driveways or garages for parking. On average, households in the city can make £1,176 a year — £98 a month — by renting out property as a
OUCH. The picture we print today of the injuries suffered by Wendy Parker were inflicted by a Rottweiler in Greater Leys on Sunday. Just 24 hours later, a man was attacked just streets away from the first incident by what police said was either a Staffordshire
The discovery of a wedge of polling cards found dumped in a skip in North Oxford just weeks before the county council elections on June 4 is cause for concern. Yes, they were duplicates and, as far as we know, those whose address appeared on
