VANDALS “disfiguring” the city are costing taxpayers more than £100,000 every year. Oxford City Council has spent more than £300,000 cleaning up after graffiti vandals in the last three years. But the cost to residents and businesses is likely
JAMES Constable scored one goal and made another as Oxford United saw off Northampton Town to record their first home win since August. The decisive moments all came in a three-minute spell at the end of the first half. Constable finished off
A GRANDFATHER hopes to send his collection of 3,000 books to China to educate people denied access by Communist authorities. Martin Conway, 78, has accumulated the vast selection because of his long-standing involvement in the World Council of
FOR every 1,000ft two priests dropped they raised almost £1,000. Father Daniel Seward and Brother Oliver Craddock, both from the Oxford Oratory, jumped out of a plane at 10,000ft to raise almost £10,000 to help pay for major development work at
CONOR Thornycroft is believed to be the youngest person ever to cycle from London to Paris. The 12-year-old from Stanford-in-the-Vale joined his mum, Sylvia, and 27 other riders on the 200-mile challenge to fundraise for Diabetes UK. They set
CHARITIES and groups across the county are vying for the public’s vote to help win £3,000. As part of its rebranding, Lloyds Bank has given a pot of cash to its branches to be split between local charities. The bank said it would help more
A POLICE sergeant was moved to run the Berlin Marathon by the brain tumour battle of a colleague’s wife. Sgt Colin Travi, from Woodstock, ran the September 29 race in four hours and 19 minutes to raise cash for The Brain Tumour Charity. He raised
ALMOST £3,000 has been raised for Kidney Research UK from an event which saw Bicester’s Mayor try belly dancing. Melanie Magee was a guest at the Bicester Rotary Club’s East Meets West Dance Extravaganza at Bicester Community College. But she
THEY’RE used to handling ‘hairy’ situations at South Central Ambulance Service. But things are set to become a lot hairier in the coming months as about 20 staff grow their barnets and whiskers for a good cause. The men and one woman are seeking
A HOMELESS charity served up a feast to raise £2,000 for its funds. A total of 130 people sat down for the same three course meal given to homeless people at the Steppin’ Stone Centre in Magdalen Road run by Oxford charity The Porch. Guests
CAMPAIGNERS are to grill surgery bosses over what they say was a lack of consultation before the service was moved. When Jericho Health Centre moved to its new £11.5m ‘super surgery’ on the old Radcliffe Infirmary site on July 6 last year to save
Good afternoon and for the third time in eight days welcome to the Kassam Stadium. Oxford United have a very good home record against Northampton Town and could really do with another one after losing their last three games here in all competitions
BLIND judo Paralympian Ian Rose inspired students at Wallingford School recently to follow their dreams. The winner of medals from two Paralympics, five World Championships and nine European Championships spoke to year nine Wallingford School pupils
A FOOD bank is on the hunt for a bigger base as it struggles to keep up with demand. The Oxfordshire West Food Bank is based at the Elim Church in West End, Witney, but as the need for its service increases, the team is finding it increasingly
THERE are calls for Oxfordshire County Council to ‘come clean’ over its plans for London Road level crossing in Bicester. Once the new East West rail link opens in 2017, connecting Bicester with Milton Keynes, local councillors say they have been
VILLAGERS in Stadhampton have completed a five-year project to adapt their church into a village hall. They spent £500,000 pulling out wooden pews at St John the Baptish Church and replacing them with chairs as well as building a new kitchen and
A NEST of rare bees has returned to the same Oxfordshire spot for the second year running. And it is thought the colony found in Wallingford is one of the most northerly recorded in the country since the Ivy bees were first spotted in Dorset in 2001
OS Parcel 8184, adjoining and north of River Cherwell and south west of Spital Farm Sewage Bankside Banbury: Screening Opinion – Proposed Train Maintenance Depot and associated rail sidings, Ref. No: 13/00064/SO s OS Parcel 8436, Boddington
A 40-YEAR-OLD man has been released without charge after being arrested as part of an investigation into an East Oxford sex attack. A woman was woken up early on Wednesday morning by an intruder who kissed her and then fled through the window of
THE court hearing of a man accused of holding police at bay during a 12-hour siege has been postponed. Daniel Rodriguez, of Morton Avenue, Kidlington, was due to appear at Oxford Crown Court yesterday but his hearing will now be next Friday. He
Susie Wolff, development driver for Grove-based Williams, led the tributes following the death of Maria de Villota yesterday. The 33-year-old was on tour promoting her autobiography – Life Is A Gift – when she was found dead in her hotel room in
The Grove-based Williams Formula 1 team were fined £50,000 after Pastor Maldonado lost his left rear wheel in the first practice session for tomorrow’s Japanese Grand Prix. An investigation discovered it had not been securely fastened, resulting
Dedington's Paul Symington made a rare half-century in the Banbury Indoor League but still finished on the losing side in their Division 3 game against Chippng Norton. Symington’s 50 not out helped Deddington to 110-5 from their ten overs. But
TRAIN cleaners went on strike over wages and zero-hour contracts. Members of the Railway Maritime and Transport union working for contractor MITIE began a 24-hour strike at 6am yesterday. The strike affected First Great Western services, which
THE most pothole-riddled roads in the county are revealed today. Figures uncovered by the Oxford Mail show the places where drivers made the most claims for compensation for pothole damage. The A417, which runs through Wantage, has had the
Didcot Devils Under 13s celebrate after marking their National League debut with a nail-biting 43-40 win over London team Richmond Knights at Didcot Girls School. The 11-strong squad wore a new kit sponsored by Milton Park-based Kaspersky Labs,
Firefighters tackled a chimney blaze in Manor Crescent, Standlake for almost two hours. Crews from Witney, Abingdon attended and the hydraulic platform from Oxford was needed at the scene at about 7.50pm on Thursday. Firefighters left the scene
Two lanes of the M40 were shut for a short time yesterday after a crash. The smash happened at 8.05am between junction nine for Bicester and junction 10 for Brackley. There was debris on the carriageway following the crash between a Peugeot 206
FOUR bags of suspected Class A drugs were discovered at a house in Kidlington during a police raid yesterday. Police officers smashed their way through the door of the property in Lane Close shortly after 11.20am. A quantity of cash, herbal
Shoplifters have hit more stores in Oxford this year than in pevious periods. Police statistics show there has been a seven per cent rise in thefts from shops between April and September this year. There were 792 crimes in the six month period
Traffic built up yesterday morning on Woodstock Road, Oxford, after a supermarket lorry broke down and blocked one lane. The incident, which happened at around 8am between the A34 at the Peartree Interchange and A40 Northern by-pass, caused slow
OXFORD’S foreign-born population has risen by 67 per cent in the last decade, new census data has revealed. Information just published from the 2011 census shows the foreign-born element of Oxford’s 151,900 population soared from 25,940 in 2001
Burglars stole more than £500 and caused more than £2,000 worth of damage after raiding a charity shop in Abingdon. The Kathryn Turner Trust shop, which raises cash for the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Families Association (SSAFA), was targeted at about
Chipping Norton driver Alice Powell last night paid tribute to Maria De Villota after her shock death. Former test driver De Villota, on a tour promoting her autobiography ‘Life Is A Gift’, was found dead in a hotel room in Seville yesterday. She
CHILDREN'S author Jacqueline Wilson will appear at the Oxford Playhouse this morning. She will be talking about her career and bestselling books, including her new book Diamond. The author will appear at 11am and the event has sold out.
A BURGLAR smashed a glass back door to raid an East Oxford home. The break-in happened in Cowley Road between 11.30am and 1pm on Thursday. Police said it was unclear what had been stolen, but appealed for anyone with information to call 101
EAST Oxford MP Andrew Smith and Labour’s south east MEP candidate Anneliese Dodds were out in Oxford yesterday to raise awareness of the importance of monitoring air pollution. They are fighting Government plans to remove obligations on local authorities
London Welsh head coach Justin Burnell said he will keep trying to add to his squad, despite their strong start to the season. Burnell’s men top the Greene King IPA Championship, but he knows they will need as much strength as possible to continue
Alex Davies says London Welsh will be keeping their feet on the gas for today’s British & Irish Cup opener. Greene King IPA Championship leaders Welsh take on fellow Exiles London Scottish at Newbury RFC’s Monks Lane on the back of four straight
Mark Bowerman took the honours in a practice match for the Angling Trust Oxford Winter League, fished by 36 anglers on the Medley stretch of the Thames. With the river getting clearer by the day and lacking any flow, the last thing the anglers
THE family of a Greenpeace activist from Oxfordshire detained in Russia on piracy charges said they are “praying for some sort of reason to prevail”. Phil Ball, 42, from Chipping Norton, was among 30 activists detained by Russian authorities while
OPENING doctors surgeries seven days a week could ease the pressure on emergency admissions in hospital, officials say. Oxfordshire is missing the target for the number of emergency admissions to hospital for older people aged 60 and over, with
THE leader of the city council says he is disappointed at a ruling which could see the demolition of Oxford Greyhound Stadium brought forward. In yesterday’s Oxford Mail we revealed that Communities Secretary Eric Pickles ruled no environmental
Henley Hawks winger Alan Awcock makes his competitive debut at full back for London Welsh, who have made wholseale changes for their British & Irish Cup opener against London Scottish at Newbury today (2.30pm). Hawks have loaned Awcock to Exiles
Players swapped tackle bags for computer screens when London Welsh were invited to dabble in global financial markets. Members of the Exiles squad visited the London Academy of Trading (LAT) on a day organised by the Rugby Players’ Association
Four students from the Oxford Taekwon-do School brought back one gold and three bronze medals from the Welsh Open Championships in Cardiff. Shakin Rai, 12, was crowned sparring champion, while Sandip Limbu, 13, got bronze in the same category.
Bicester ABC welterweight Anthony Miller was in impressive form as he saw off Shawn Roberts in a hard-fought battle at Aylesbury. Miller was making his second appearance under the club’s banner after losing a tight decision on his debut at the
Terry Chambers won a thrilling decider against Keith Pearce to give Ashton the narrowest of 2-1 victories away to Cowley Conservative Club A in the Gentworks Oxford League. Chambers, off a plus-ten handicap, produced two breaks of 21 as he scraped
A superb break of 76 by David Baker earned New Club A an exciting 3-3 draw away to Thame A in their Premier & Division 1 match of the Gentworks Oxford League season. New Club had trailed 3-1 following a double success from the home side’s Jon
Three burglars ran off when their victim shouted out after he heard them whispering. The break-in happened in Elms Drive, Marston, on Thursday at 6.30pm. Anyone with information should call police on 101.
Firefighters were called to deal with a leaking container found on the M40. The container, believed to have come off a lorry, was discovered on the hard shoulder of the M40 southbound between junctions 10 and 9, and was leaking a liquid. Oxfordshire
A STUDY by Oxford University researchers suggests kissing helps us size up potential partners. And the boffins say that once in a relationship, snogging may be a way of getting a partner to stick around. “Kissing in human sexual relationships
A curry is usually seen as a dish to enjoy on a boisterous boys’ night out. But one Oxfordshire take-away has now claimed to have created the “world’s sexiest curry”, which is targeted specifically at couples. Jamona, in Pinnocks Way, Deans
A 20-YEAR-OLD man has been convicted of having sexual activity with a child and cleared of indecent assault. Tommy Fury, of The Beeches Caravan Park, in Old London Road, near Chipping Norton, was found guilty of performing a sex act on a teenage
A power cut hit 1,400 homes after a high voltage cable broke at an electricity substation in Tower Road. Firefighters were called at 10pm on Thursday to deal with the cable which had become detached from the substation. The crews from Wallingford
THIRTY-seven of Oxfordshire’s 44 children’s centres could be shut as part of major budget cuts facing the county. Staff have told the Oxford Mail that talks were held this week where it was revealed that all but seven could be axed. The centres
Tom Newey says Oxford United will have an extra spring in their step as two vital players return for their clash with Northampton Town this afternoon. Skipper Jake Wright and Andy Whing are expected to be named in the squad after sitting out several
LET’S Get It On was one of Marvin Gaye’s best known songs. And I think we all know he wasn’t talking about chicken Madras. Today, however, we live in different times. Now, as one restaurant has shown us, getting in the mood for love requires
CLOSING most of the county’s children’s centres is not likely to be popular. The centres were set up in the early years of Tony Blair’s time in power as he looked to tackle deprivation. Their aim was to make sure all children, no matter what
A POLICE campaign to teach cyclists the risks of breaking road rules is to become a regular event in Oxford. Operation Bike was launched in June for the first time to teach cyclists about the law and how to prevent their bikes being stolen.
PENSIONERS in Oxfordshire should shop around for cheaper energy suppliers said an advice centre after Southern Electric announced an average price jump of 8.2 per cent. On Thursday SSE Energy, which covers 90 per cent of the county, announced bills
AN ALBANIAN illegal immigrant caught with cocaine worth £380,000 told police he was paying off his debt to the people who smuggled him into the country. Arber Jakllari, of no fixed address, was jailed for three-and-a-half years on Thursday by a
James Lovelock claimed an early season scalp as British Rail became the early Division 1 leaders in the Oxford & District League, beating Forum A 6-4 and Vikings A 8-2. Lovelock excelled against Forum, recording a maximum that included a five-set
