Fire crews tackled a blaze at a home in Witney today. The fire, in the roof of a property in Meadow View, started at about 11am. At the time of the fire the owners of the house were out and it was spotted by a passerby. Firefighters stopped the fire
AS THE Queen marks 60 years on the throne, two Wantage pensioners are looking back on 63 years volunteering for the British Red Cross. Great-grandmothers Dorothy Halliday, 88, and Evelyn Dance, 87, both joined the Wantage branch of the charity
IT opened more than 50 years ago, boasting a smoking room and wiring for both radio and television. But now The Cavalier pub has been razed to the ground after bulldozers moved in last week to knock the building down. The pub, in Copse
A 33-YEAR-OLD man has been charged with raping a schoolgirl in Oxford eight years ago. Daniel Barrett appeared before Oxford magistrates today accused of raping the 15-year-old on a footpath off Barracks Lane in Cowley at about 9.20am on Monday
ASPARAGUS fans across the county can now have their fill as its spears begin to poke their heads above the soil. The vegetable has a notoriously short growing season which begins at the end of April and finishes in mid June. Now at Medley
OXFORD City Council is unlikely to buy Warneford Meadow in Headington from the Department of Health (DoH) because of the “excessive” asking price. The land was given town green status in 2009, which prevented Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Mental Health
A MAN who has spent a decade pinning banknotes to park benches for schoolgirls to pick up has been jailed once more. Stuart McGhie was first given an Antisocial Behaviour Order (Asbo) in 2002 after a spate of seven incidents in which he left notes and
A NURSERY school group which has spread its wings across the county and beyond in the last decade, has been taken over. Petit Enfant, based in Carterton, has been snapped up by the childcare division of the Co-operative for an undisclosed sum but the
WITH just days to go until the 30th annual Oxfordshire Artweeks festival starts, two artists have particular reason to celebrate. For the first time, grandmother Caroline O’Connor and her grandson Will, are exhibiting together. They will be displaying
A FLOOD alert has been issued this afternoon covering the River Thames through the south of the county. The Environment Agency says there is a risk of flooding in low-lying areas from Days Lock, near Little Wittenham, to Goring, through Shillingford,
House prices have risen for the second consecutive month, latest figures have revealed. Statistics produced by the Government’s Land Registry show the average price of a property in the county in March was £238,916, 0.4 per cent higher than the February
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CAMPAIGNER Peter Tatchell is set to attend the Oxford Pride festival next week to call for better rights for gay people. Mr Tatchell, who in 2007 was the Greens’ prospective parliamentary candidate for Oxford East, said gays, lesbians, and bisexuals
WHEN Ellen Rees endured 11 hours of surgery for breast cancer, her husband vowed to do something to help others avoid such pain. Now Nick Rees has set himself a huge challenge – rowing the Atlantic Ocean to raise money for research into life-saving treatments
SCOUTS swapped Oxford’s German twin town of Bonn for the dreaming spires of Oxford on a friendship visit. Thirteen scouts from Bonn were given a tour of Oxford and the county as part of moves to build links between Scouts in the two cities.
THE FLOOD alert covering the northern section of the River Cherwell through Oxfordshire, from Cropedy and Banbury to Upper Heyford, has been lifted by the Environment Agency.
YOU would have thought that after spending four years cycling round the world, Matthew Blake would be putting his feet up. But the 25-year-old, left, has done nothing of the sort in his quest to raise awareness about the plight of Zambian children.
A DRUGS dealer was caught selling heroin and cocaine in Oxford’s main shopping street just weeks after being released from prison. Ben Matthews was also cautioned for possessing heroin just three days before he was seen making a sale with the
ABINGDON’S top brass are off to a 128-year-old marching band contest today. Armed with trumpets and horns Abbey Brass Band is to compete in the Saddleworth & District Whit Friday Brass Band Contests. The annual event began in 1884 and attracts more
LANGUAGE schools, police, bus companies and Oxford City Council say they are ready for this year’s influx of language students. In previous summers, residents complained that young students caused problems ranging from late night drinking, noise and
PRIMARY school pupils in Oxford were shown the wonders of science in a day of demonstrations by museum staff. Scientists from London’s Science Museum came to St Aloysius Primary School on Friday as part of the Woodstock Road school’s Science
YOUNG people with mental health issues in Oxfordshire will receive more support as a result of a major initiative launched this week. Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust will be helping to train clinicians to provide therapies that address depression,
Preben Krabben (Goodlake Arms) bids to make it through to his fourth singles final at the Greene King Oxford & District Darts Association’s Winter League’s men’s singles and pairs play-offs at Donnington Community Centre on Tuesday night (May 1). The
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Round one of the Mota-Vation Road Race Series at Charlton-on-Otmoor on Thursday has been postponed due to waterlogging in the car park.
A SCHOOL which has struggled for more than a decade with a poor reputation and damning Ofsted reports has come out of special measures. And Joseph Rubba, headteacher of Thameside Primary School, Abingdon, said it was the first step on a road
A JEALOUS man who threw a television at his estranged wife before waving a sword at her has been spared jail. Christopher Price was sentenced at Oxford Crown Court yesterday having earlier been convicted by jurors of affray. The offence took place on
A FLOOD alert on the River Thames from Abingdon to Little Wittenham was issued this morning. The Thames is now covered by alerts from the boundary with Gloucestershire at Lechlade through Oxford and Abingdon and also around Shiplake.
WE are looking for readers of The Oxford Times to help us shape the future of the newspaper as it prepares to celebrate its 150th anniversary. This is an exciting time in the history of The Oxford Times. It is pushing back the boundaries
UNION leaders are seeking urgent talks with the Government over moves by a private equity group to buy a troubled provider of care homes for the elderly. Private Equity Group Terra Firma will pay £825 million for the Four Seasons Health Care, which owns
National 2 South HENLEY Hawks ran in eight tries to end their season on a high with a 52-0 home demolition of Hertford. It was also their first clean sheet of the 30-match campaign. Centre Danny Wells touched down the first try on five minutes, converted
LONDON Welsh managing director John Taylor says the club will do everything in their power to bring Premiership rugby to Oxford. The Championship-winning Exiles yesterday confirmed they will appeal against the RFU ruling that they cannot be promoted
County Championship Shield TWO tries from Grove wing Harry Carr helped Oxfordshire beat defending champions Dorset & Wilts 27-14 in their opening Pool 3 clash at Banbury. Victory was marred by an unfortunate injury to Bicester centre Dave Hampton,
Police are trying to trace witnesses after a lorry driver allegedly assaulted and racially abused another motorist. The incident happened on Thursday afternoon in Thorpe Drive, Grimsbury. Police said the HGV driver reached into the man’s car, grabbed
Protesters camped outside Oxford Brookes University have had to remake their banners after they were “pulverised” by heavy rain and high winds over the weekend. The Occupy Brookes camp was set up on Wednesday, April 18, to protest against tuition fee
NEIGHBOURHOOD police teams are set to be reorganised in Oxford, with bobbies on the beat covering bigger areas. Chief Constable Sara Thornton yesterday told councillors the 22 current neighbourhood areas and the teams covering them were too
ANDY Whing and Ryan Clarke were multiple winners at Oxford United’s player of the year awards dinner on Saturday. While the circumstances, hours after the 2-0 defeat to Southend United which all but ended the U’s play-off hopes, were not ideal, the prizes
Henrietta Knight is set to have her final runners this weekend after announcing her retirement following 23 years as a trainer at West Lockinge, near Wantage. The 65-year-old handler saddles The Queen’s Harvest Song in the 6.40 at Stratford tonight,
Oxford City boss Mike Ford has praised the character of his players after they sealed their place in the Premier Division play-offs with a 3-0 win at Hitchin. They now have to wait until the result of Tuesday night’s AFC Totton v Bedford Town fixture
West Ilsley trainer Mick Channon is set to be double-handed in the Qipco 1000 Guineas Stakes at Newmarket on Sunday with outsiders Laugh Out Loud and Nayarra. Channon, seeking an elusive first Classic success, has booked Richard Hughes to ride 33-1 shot
A SCHOOLBOY has designed a terrifying wicker man which will help raise cash for charity this summer. Callum Smith, a pupil at John Blandy Primary School in Southmoor, beat 1,000 entries to design the sculpture. His work will now be turned into a 12-
The curtain has come down on the 2011/12 Oxfordshire Winter Quiz campaign, with a presentation night held at the North Oxford Conservative Club. Sixteen of the county’s finest teams assembled to collect their gongs, and then to compete for
Chinnor 19, Tonbridge Juddians 8 A MONUMENTAL team effort saw Chinnor earn promotion to National 2 South at a wet and very windy Kingsey Road. The unpleasant weather could not dampen their celebrations at the end of an excellent season. Having defended
JOE Winpenny spoke of his pride in leading Chinnor to promotion and hailed the great atmosphere on the day. Captain Winpenny, who had a great game at loose-head prop, said: “It feels fantastic. “I don’t think it has really sunk in yet
CHINNOR head coach Jason Bowers admitted to mixed emotions after steering his side up into National 2 South with victory over Tonbridge Juddians. Bowers’s side won 23 out of 26 league matches to make the play-off before producing a huge team performance
THE expansion of a travellers site in Oxford is set to be completed in the next few months. Building work is nearly finished on the creation of nine new plots at Redbridge Hollow. The £1.86m expansion of the traveller site is being developed in the
THREE people were foiled as they attempted to jump from Magdalen Bridge as a crowd of up to 4,000 celebrated May Morning. Pouring rain didn’t deter thousands lining the bridge to listen as Magdalen College choir sang the Hymnus Eucharisticus
No-one has been arrested following the sexual assault of an 18-year-old woman shortly after she got off a bus in Campbell Road, Cowley. The teenager managed to fight off a knife-wielding attacker dressed in black at 6.30pm on Friday. Police said it was
A FRESH appeal has been launched to find Sampson Olajie Makhinde, who is wanted in connection with a rape in Oxford. Detectives want to speak to him about the rape of a 22-year-old woman in Cornmarket Street on December 15, 2009. Makhinde
THE Duke of Marlborough has won a lifetime achievement award recognising his service to English tourism. The Duke, who lives at Blenheim Palace in Woodstock, received the VisitEngland award on Tuesday. It recognises the Duke’s protection of Blenheim
Chris Wilder fumed as Oxford United were denied a clear penalty on Saturday, but admitted making an official complaint about the referee would be a waste of time. Trailing Southend United 2-0 heading into the final ten minutes, the U’s appeared
A FORMER civil servant swindled councils out of £23,000 in housing and council tax benefit to fund his smoking habit, a court was told. Robert Goldsmith did not tell bosses he was receiving a civil service pension and will now have to pay the cash back
MAY Morning revellers were last night warned of new dangers of jumping into the River Cherwell following recent heavy rainfall. For the second year running, organisers co-ordinating today’s May Day celebrations across Oxford have decided to
Jurors in the Oxford Crown Court trial of two Essex men accused of selling counterfeit clothes in Magdalen Street are set to begin deliberations today. Matthew Croxson, 42, of Southend, and Matthew Brooks, 38, of Westcliff-on-Sea, deny five counts of
PUPILS from an Oxford school are blowing the “elitist” rowing club ster- eotype out of the water. Cheney School in Headington, says it has started the county’s first state school rowing club – and now they want others to take the plunge. In April
OXFORDSHIRE still needs five times the drenching it had in April to end the hosepipe ban. Thames Water bosses last night said there had been 119mm of rain since the ban came in – but experts say that’s only 16.5 per cent, or about one sixth
IN the eight months it has taken to bring Ensar Gol to justice, his interactions with the legal system have revealed a defiant character. At his plea hearing in March the Turkish national wore a scarf over his mouth and, as his barrister Richard
UP to 4,000 revellers braved the rain to celebrate May Morning today. Despite the weather many poured from city centre bars and clubs in party dresses and black tie suits. Only three people tried to jump into the River Cherwell, but
THOSE looking to the heavens and asking why there is still a hosepipe ban have really not gripped the seriousness of the drought. Yes there has been huge deluges, but Thames Water and other suppliers would not have slapped water restrictions on if it
LIAM Kilby would be the last person to describe himself as a keen runner. But a family connection has made the 31-year-old from Little Clarendon Street, Oxford, determined to complete this year’s Oxford Town & Gown 10km race. The
THE headteacher of Thameside Primary School in Abingdon is confident he will be in charge of a school rated good by inspectors. As it stands, we share his optimism. Thameside has had a poor history over the past 13 years, going into special measures
