FLOOD alert warnings on the full length of the River Evenlode and on the River Glyme at Woodstock and Wootton were lifted this evening. The warnings had been in force since Sunday night, following heavy rain across the Cotswold hills. Flood alerts remain
A car crashed into the central reservation on the A34 tonight causing severe delays. The fire service were called to the crash on the southbound carriageway between the Abingdon north and Abingdon south junctions just before 6pm. Nobody was injured
EVERYONE said it could never be done. Yet when Roger Bannister broke the four-minute mile in front of hundreds, it immediately become one of Oxford’s historic moments. The heroic tale of the record-breaking run will now get its telling in a new outdoor
MORE than 500 service men and woman at RAF Brize Norton completely failed to act their age as they raised money for cystic fibrosis. The base’s sports pitch was flooded with brightly coloured plastic as a crowd of fully-grown adults attempted
A mum-of-two fled a pervert in a play park in Manston Close, Bicester. The woman was with her two young children, who were playing on the swings at the park in Glory Farm on Tuesday, when the man man appeared to be touching himself inappropriately
A LEADING Oxford headteacher has criticised proposals for universities to be more involved in setting A-Level examinations. Caroline Jordan, headteacher of Headington School and chairman of the Girls’ School Association education committee, spoke out
VOLUNTEERS are stepping up their work to to complete a new £15,000 pathway through woodland at Oxfordshire’s most popular beauty spot. The Earth Trust owns the land surrounding Wittenham Clumps near Didcot, including Little Wittenham Wood. In recent
A NEW exhibition will reveal how an iconic oak tree from Blenheim Palace in Woodstock has lived on after it was felled two years ago. The oak tree, which grew on the palace estate for 222 years, was cut down in January 2010. It then became the focus
SHE MAY be 104, but Irene Piper hasn’t lost her sense of humour. The former florist celebrated her impressive birthday yesterday at St Andrew’s Care Home in Headington. And when told she was 104 she said: “Well I never.” But she said: “It’s no different
TO MANY it was just a bush in a pot and its theft may not be the crime of the century. But to Carterton resident Gordon Phillips, the stealing of his topiary from his front garden was the theft of eight years’ worth of work to craft it into the shape
CONTRACTORS in South Oxfordshire have taken on an almost impossible mission – cleaning up the whole district. Council leaders launched the Big Clean Up last month and staff from Biffa are now touring towns and villages to clear up every visible bit of
SHOPKEEPERS in Thame are being encouraged to apply for funding to brighten up their shop fronts. An improvement scheme has been launched for the town’s shops, hairdressers, restaurants, pubs and takeaways. The scheme is being administered by 21st Century
AN ACTING dwarf from Oxford has praised the changing attitudes towards his condition that has allowed his career to take off. Mark Sealey has made a living by proving he’s not too short on talent. His acting career has seen him take roles beside Daniel
Oxford United have signed Damian Martinez from Arsenal on an emergency loan for tomorrow’s trip to Port Vale. The 19-year-old has not played for the Gunners’ first-team but was included in Argentina’s squad for friendly internationals last summer. Martinez
In a season set to see an abundance of Shakespeare in many forms, Oxford University’s Barbarian Productions is staging one of the Bard’s less frequently performed plays — The Two Gentlemen of Verona. Widely believed to be an example of Shakespeare
A RECORD year for the Oxfordshire Business Awards has produced a crop of entries of the highest calibre, judges have revealed. After weeks of deliberation involving visits from sponsors to firms the length and breadth of the county, followed by a mammoth
Oxford Central PC (Seaton): 1, 5, 6 L Wheeler 927, 840, 840; 2, 4 Mr & Mrs Ward 920, 858; 3, 9, 15 L Hall 874, 785, 596; 7, 14 K Shipperley 838, 651; 8 D Bowler 826; 10 Mr & Mrs Hall 773; 11, 12, 13 R Clarke 771, 769, 688. Shotover & District (Wincanton
Alexis Canter, the promsing Long Wittenham youngster, is flying in from playing a tournament in Turkey to represent Oxfordshire boys in the LTA 14 and Under County Cup this weekend. Oxon play in Group E over three days at North Oxford, starting tomorrow
How could this column be about anything but the rain? I sit in my office at the top of the house, watching across the treetops as weather fronts blow in and out. During the fiercest squalls I count my lucky stars that, as a homeworker, I no longer commute
FLOOD alerts on the River Ock from Watchfield to Abingdon and on the Letcombe Brook through Wantage, Grove and East Hanney were lifted this morning. Alerts remain in place along the rivers Thames, Evenlode, Thame, Ray and the Cherwell between
OXFORD: Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust chief executive Sir Jonathan Michael has been appointed a trustee of influential health think tank The King’s Fund. Chairman Dame Fiona Caldicott told yesterday’s trust board meeting: “It is another pressure
THAME: Businesses and groups are being encouraged to apply for a share of £10,000 in grants to help boost the town’s vitality. South Oxfordshire District Council is asking organisations to come up with proposals to boost the town’s vibrancy and economy
BICESTER: A woman was groped by a man at K.I.D.S. Designer Clothes Store in Bicester Village. The man questioned her about her marital status before touching her on the arm and bottom on Sunday afternoon. He was of middle-eastern appearance, of large
Oxfordshire head coach Richard Williams urged his players to pick up where they left off when they visit Berkshire at Newbury tomorrow (3). Williams’s men stunned Shield holders Dorset & Wilts with a 27-14 victory in their opening Pool 3 clash
SATURDAY FOOTBALL NPOWER LEAGUE TWO Port Vale v Oxford Utd. OXFORDSHIRE CHARITY CUP Final: Mansfield Road v AFC Hinksey (North Leigh, 1.30pm). OXFORDSHIRE SENIOR LEAGUE Premier Div: Adderbury Park v Marston Saints, Mansfield Rd v Oxford Irish
A record year for the Oxfordshire Business Awards has produced a crop of entries of the highest calibre, judges have revealed. After weeks of deliberation involving visits from sponsors to firms the length and breadth of the county, followed by a mammoth
UK sales of the Cowley-built Mini are back on track, latest figures have revealed. Statistics from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders show 2,335 cars were sold in April, a rise of 10 per cent on the same month last year. It follows a year
AS LONG as there is still a chance, do not rule anything out on the final day of the season – just ask Oxford United’s first-team coach Andy Melville. The 43-year-old was once involved in a climax to the season which makes the challenge
OXFORD: Plans for a Sikh temple in London Road have been resubmitted. If the plans are approved, the former Sharp+Howse building would become a place of worship with 10 parking spaces behind. Plans were withdrawn earlier this year for minor amendments
WINNERS of the OX5 Run were presented with their trophies yesterday. The annual race held in March at Blenheim Palace, organised by the Oxford Mail and now in its 10th year, raises money for Oxford Children’s Hospital. The total this time around has
ABINGDON: The Abingdon Military Wives Choir will perform in public for the first time on Saturday, May 12. The group, made up of wives and girlfriends of soldiers at Dalton Barracks, will sing in the Market Place between noon and 1.30pm.
THIS is the new blueprint for neighbourhood policing in Oxford. The city’s 22 neighbourhood police teams are set to merge to form just seven larger units in a bid to provide more round-the-clock cover. No posts will be lost in the shake-up, but residents
OLI Johnson does not want tomorrow’s game to be the last time he pulls on an Oxford United shirt – for more than one reason. The winger has had a painkilling injection in an abdominal injury to put himself in contention for the trip to Port Vale. If
ST Edward’s School, Oxford, enjoyed success in the Junior Inter-Regional Regatta at Holme Pierrepont, Nottingham. The school’s J15 coxed four of Freddie Bickers, Sam Gillingham, Albert Mitchell, Sam Hamilton-Peach and cox Meg Neville, representing the
IF OXFORD United get into a winning position tomorrow, attention will turn to Gresty Road, where rivals Crewe Alexandra wrap up their campaign against Aldershot. If the U’s are hoping for a favour from the visitors, they could look to one of their former
OXFORD City boss Mike Ford heaped praise on his team following their 1-0 victory against Cambridge City last night. Chris Willmott scored the only goal as City went through to the Southern League Premier Division play-off final against AFC Totton
HUNDREDS of people braved the elements to pay silent tribute to a fallen soldier who had just become a father to twins. About 200 people came to Carterton yesterday to pay their respects to Guardsman Michael Roland. He was killed less than a month after
YOU’RE crazy!” exclaimed Tony, the glum, night-shift petrol station cashier, when told I was going to the May Day celebrations in Oxford. It was only five o’clock, he pointed out, and rain was pouring down – although he didn’t use the word pouring.
On opening the Oxford Mail on Tuesday, a cloud of dust hit me and I saw some vague visions behind it. I wondered what this was all about, then the pictures cleared and I realised it was the nomination for councillors. It was then it dawned on me that
I recently received a small local election pamphlet – and a second follow-up one – describing Mick Haynes and what he stands for in putting himself forward as hopefully the first locally-elected independent candidate to be voted in for Marston. Two
You report (April 23) that Oxford city council cabinet member John Tanner and your features editor are inviting ideas on how to spend the £420,000 which, they say, the council has “set aside” for the refurbishment of the city’s public toilets.
AS someone who attended the May Morning celebrations and who has lived in or near Oxford for 63 years, two things irritated me this year: the constant chattering of certain members of the youthful crowd throughout the lovely singing by Magdalen College
MEMBERS of the public are being invited to help become part of a major “citizen librarians” project at Oxford’s Bodleian Library. Volunteers are needed to describe 4,000 musical scores from the Bodleian’s collections which the library has digitised and
NO... Dr Tim Leunig, chief economist at the CentreForum thinktank Water companies across the South East have imposed hosepipes bans on customers. But rationing is a crude solution useful only if the alternative is standpipes in the streets. It would
Can I urge readers to help stop the scrapping of the former Royal Navy frigate HMS Plymouth, a veteran of the Falklands campaign? Time is short. Please sign the online petition at petition.co.uk/hmsplymouth or readers without the Internet can send letters
With reference to your front page story about Dr Julia Gasper (Wednesday’s Oxford Mail), I would like to say firstly that I disagree with the threats on Dr Gasper’s life and, secondly, I would like to say how ignorant the supposed educated can be. Dr
I understand your correspondent David Scott (Monday’s Oxford Mail ViewPoints) cares a lot about wildlife and the countryside; so, as it happens, do many of us. He neglects to mention a number of important features of the proposed housing development
BANBURY left-hander Craig Haupt returns from injury for Oxfordshire’s Group 1 match against Hertfordshire at Oxford Downs on Sunday (11am). Haupt looked like missing most of Oxon’s one-day campaign when he broke a bone in his elbow after making a century
THE list includes a Roman potter, a Royal lady-in-waiting and the inspiration for Alice in Wonderland. But the roll call of Oxford’s greatest icons now has two more members. Inspector Morse author Colin Dexter and former Lord Mayor Olive Gibbs have
ARMED response police sealed off a village war memorial site yesterday after a gun was found. Police and sniffer dogs were called just after 7.30am when a member of the public discovered the old, unloaded revolver on grass next to the monument in Harwell
OXFORD United’s season rests on winning at Port Vale tomorrow – but manager Chris Wilder does not yet have a goalkeeper to select. A frantic search has taken place this week and a deal is expected before the end of the day – with the U’s believed
LIAM Davis is hoping fate is on Oxford United’s side as they attempt to claim a play-off place on the final afternoon of the season tomorrow. The U’s have to win their last game at Port Vale, which will be enough to take seventh place on goal difference
SO WHEN Oxonians were asked to suggest modern, 20th century Oxford icons, the list they came up with included author Philip Pullman and model Yasmin Le Bon. Thank goodness museum staff at the town hall have plumped for Morse creator Colin Dexter and
CONVICTED rogue traders Trevor Bateman and David Merriman who pocketed almost £100,000 from their victims were yesterday ordered to pay back just £1. At a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing at Oxford Crown Court yesterday a confiscation order was also made
OXFORD Hospital managers yesterday approved funding for an extension that will double the number of incubators for sick babies. Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust’s board agreed to spend £3.1m expanding the John Radcliffe Hospital’s newborn intensive
A WOMAN who has been completely blind since she was a child hopes a pioneering operation will help her achieve her ultimate dream to see her own grandchild. Annette Hornsby, from Cowley, will undergo an eight-hour retinal eye implant operation in June
It’s easy to take Oxford for granted. Architecturally it’s beautiful, but as it surrounds us every day, it’s become the expected, the norm, part of the ho-hum of our daily lives. And so too with regard to the University. Yet, if you open any daily national
OXFORDSHIRE’S super-rich are growing richer despite the economic woes and talk of double-dip recessions, according to the latest statistics. Individuals appearing on the Sunday Times Rich List and with strong county connections are now worth
NORTH Oxfordshire traders have renewed calls for free parking after a controversial out-of-town retail park was approved. Traders say the move would boost takings after a major retail park was approved for Banbury. They want three hours free parking
WHEN Evie Simmons stayed silent every day for a week it spoke volumes about her feelings for her beloved Grandma Carol. Evie 11, and her school friends raised £200 in memory of Carol Steward, a former Bicester town and district councillor, and school
LABOUR has made a small inroad into the Conservative controlled-Cherwell District Council tonight. The party picked up two of the 17 Conservative seats that were up for grabs. Surinder Dhesi regained Banbury Neithrop from Conservative
WEST Oxfordshire Conservatives took a hammering as voters sent a "serious message" to Prime Minister David Cameron, according to a jubilant new Labour councillor. Five Tories, including Oxfordshire County Council leader-in-waiting Ian Hudspeth
LABOUR strengthened its hold on Oxford City Council as Liberal Democrat candidates paid the price for their party's role in the national coalition. The ruling Labour administration picked up three seats to take a 10-seat majority on the
ELECTION night in Oxfordshire has kicked off with three significant results. Independent Mick Haines, a longtime community campaigner, has won Marston off Labour in the Oxford City Council elections. Mr Haines won 877 votes, beating
