A FORMER taxi driver was found with £21,000 worth of cocaine after drunkenly trying to punch someone he had offered drugs to. Safraz Ali was caught when police spotted him in Oxford city centre after swinging a fist at a man he approached. When officers
THE future of Oxford’s Christmas Market hangs in the balance as organisers say its current home at Oxford Castle is “unviable”. The market, which opened three years ago, attracts thousands of visitors. But organiser Nicole Rahimi said a lack of footfall
OXFORD’S premier party campaigners want to inspire a summer of fun at a series of workshops. Oxford Streets for People is the campaign that aims to help neighbours club together and put on a party in the road. With about 50 parties taking place across
OFFICIALS from the Environment Agency have insisted health and safety issues mean they must update a weir, after an MP stepped into the row. Oxford West and Abingdon MP Nicola Blackwood wrote to the Health & Safety Executive for clarification on whether
CHILDREN at a Witney primary school could have a brand new classroom and outside learning space by September. St Mary’s CofE Infants’ School, in Church Green, has applied to demolish its canteen to create the new facilities for foundation stage pupils
TWO sport pitches will be brought into greater use when they come under the management of Banbury Town Council, bosses say. Hanwell Fields sports ground is to be given to the authority by developer Taylor Wimpey, which has built more than 1,000 homes
PARAMEDICS believe their new specialist team trained to work in the most dangerous situations have proven they will save more lives. In a recent incident, South Central Ambulance’s Hazardous Area Response Team (Hart) was able to treat a worker while
A COMMUNITY centre rising from the ashes is among 20 projects bidding in the second round for Big Society cash. The £600,000 fund was started by Oxfordshire County Council last February and organisations bid in two rounds last year. About £165,000 remains
A GLIDER pilot has this morning told of the moment his aircraft was in a mid-air collision with an RAF training plane. The incident, above Drayton near Abingdon, killed 15-year-old cadet Nicholas Langley-Rice and Flight Lieutenant Mike Blee, 62,
THE ever-changing visage of Botley Cinema, a “calamitous” woollen mill and a curious sheep’s head are just some of the paintings forming a fascinating new exhibition of Oxfordshire art from the past 200 years. The County Collection has been
PEOPLE are being urged to get their creative juices flowing to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. Bicester’s MP Tony Baldry wants town poets to put pen to paper and come up with some verses to celebrate the occasion. The contest is calling for people
Johnny Johnson’s greatest moment of fame in his long career as an Oxford Mail photographer came when he shot a wolf. It was one of three that escaped from Oxford Zoo at Kidlington in 1937. Two were quickly rounded up and killed, but
Frank Godwin was the winner of the annual best-looking moustache competition at the Eagle pub in 1974. Pictured with his wife Evelyn, he told fellow competitors: “I don’t like my moustache and it’s coming off when I get home.” Rodney Adams
There were plenty of smiles at this important school occasion – and for good reason. Pupils at Headington Middle School in Margaret Road, Headington, Oxford, organised a sponsored quiz in 1982. In exchange for a donation, those taking
Danny Rayson, 21, of Skimmingdish Lane, Bicester, admitted using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour with intent to cause a fear of violence in Bicester on October 20. Given a 12-week curfew and told to pay £85 costs. Anne-marie Williams
A RECYCLING chief has issued a stark warning to those dropping litter and costing council taxpayers millions: “You will have to pay.” West Oxfordshire District Council’s traffic wardens took over litter enforcement last year and have the power to issue
The pupils didn’t say a word during this production of Sleeping Beauty. It was performed by children at St Barnabas School in Jericho, Oxford, in 1955 and was staged in mime. It was, however, full of action, as you can see from the various
Like many other schools, the village school at Old Marston, Oxford, relied heavily on what was known as the ‘School Pence’ to balance its books. Every pupil had to bring a penny on Monday mornings for the privilege of being taught. The
This is one of the earliest commercial delivery vehicles in Banbury. In the 1920s and 1930s, despite harsh economic conditions, the number of shopkeepers in the town rose rapidly, increasing competition. One key element of success was
Elhadi Hamza, 31, of Alexandra Road, Oxford, admitted failing to provide a roadside breathtest and possessing cannabis (Class B) in Eynsham on September 8. Fined £400, a £15 victims’ surcharge and £170 costs. Sean O’Sullivan, 20, of Van Diemans Lane
BANBURY: An 18-year-old man has been given a community order for attacking a boy in a park. Dean Reading was sentenced at Oxford Crown Court on Friday after earlier admitting one count of causing actual bodily harm. He attacked a 14-year-old boy in
OXON: Oxford East Labour MP Andrew Smith has backed calls for court proceedings to be televised. Mr Smith told the Commons on Wednesday: “It is important that justice is not only done, but, seen to be done.”
WOODEATON: A public meeting has been called to discuss McKenna Plant Hire’s plans to infill Woodeaton Quarry with 520,000 tonnes of soil and clay over the next 10 years. The meeting will take place at Beckley Village Hall on Thursday at 7pm.
FIREFIGHTERS battled a blaze in the roof of the church of St Mary the Virgin in Charlbury yesterday. They were called at 12.30pm and were at the scene, in Church Street, for nearly six hours. Sections of the roof had to be cut away to prevent the fire
A PUBLIC meeting about plans to introduce residents’ parking permits in East Oxford will be held on Thursday. The meeting, organised by Oxford City Council’s Labour and Green Parties, will take place at the Evangelical Free Church in Magdalen Road from
TRAIN passengers in Oxfordshire were faced with lengthy delays over the weekend as two trains broke down north of Oxford. On Saturday a train broke down at Heyford at around 8am. Passengers had to use a replacement bus service. First Great Western and
COMPANIES are being urged to raise wages for their lowest-paid staff, as Oxford City Council announced all its workers will be paid almost £2 above the minimum wage. The council’s “living wage” is to be raised from £7.19 to £8.01 for all workers. Councillors
WATLINGTON: A memorial service for former county councillor Roger Belson, who died on Boxing Day aged 62, will take place in London on Wednesday, March 21 at 3pm. It will be held at the Guards Chapel at Wellington Barracks. The former Irish Guards major
OXFORD: The University of Oxford has asked wealthy donors to help raise a total of £90m in a bid to save key academic jobs, the Sunday Times reported. Government cuts have put 75 posts, mainly in the humanities, under threat and the university now hopes
OXON: One lane of the M40 southbound was closed at 6.37pm yesterday after a crash involving two vehicles. The crash took place in the fast lane between junction seven and junction six. Both vehicles were moved into the central reservation within 10
NEIGHBOURS say they are relieved occupants of a caravan have moved on voluntarily after complaints of noise and nuisance. Problems were caused when a family parked their caravan in Samphire Road shortly before Christmas. Nearby residents complained
OXFORDSHIRE artists are taking centre stage at The Jam Factory this month. The exhibition at the venue in Hollybush Row features work by four artists in mediums ranging from film, to pen and paper. Amy Waters, 24, is one of the artists taking part in
Charlie Longsdon’s enterprise in sending three runners on the 674-mile round trip from his Chipping Norton base to Musselburgh was rewarded with a double. Wins by Cross Of Honour (4-6 fav) and West Brit (8-1) made the long trek from his snow and frostbound
A 24-year-old man from Littlemore was arrested early today on suspicion ofcausing grievous bodily harm over the stabbing of a 22-year-old man in East Oxford. The victim was attacked at about 1am on Sunday and after being chased along Cowley Road was
I WAS amused by The Insider’s photograph of our Prime Minister shopping at the fish counter of a supermarket (Thursday’s Oxford Mail). I suspect that David Cameron felt very much at home, as the array on the slab looked very similar to the serried ranks
MAY I make a request for any foreign coins or out-of-date British coins? These will help raise funds for Guide Dogs for the Blind. We are also happy to receive used postage stamps. Please call 01865 372977 (we may be able to assist with collections
CLEARLY your editorial comment (Tuesday’s Oxford Mail) about Labour’s city council budget last year touched a nerve with Ed Turner, the councillor in charge of finance. However, the facts speak for themselves. The Greens said at the budget meeting
WITH reference to your article ‘Headington gets eighth charity shop’ (Tuesday’s Oxford Mail) I feel that regardless of charity, enough is enough. My reasons for saying this are that a business in this area pays an exorbitant amount per year in business
THE Acceptable Behaviour Contracts issued to teenagers who have been causing trouble around the Kassam Stadium (last Monday’s Oxford Mail) are just a social do-gooder’s idea. Arrest and charge these people with breaching the peace and take them to court
Tomorrow, more than one billion Valentine’s cards will be sent worldwide. Most are given to parents, teenagers and, not unexpectedly, husbands and wives who, if they didn’t, would die a thousand deaths. But maybe, out of that billion, one or two will
Last week the teacher handed over two unrecognisable Mud Men from a school playground boasting dozens of neat pigtailed scholars with leather satchels (okay, I exaggerate: it is after all a state primary). It was clear my sons had spent their day breakdancing
AS the Government attempts to cut the cost of housing benefit to the taxpayer, paradoxically it urges the housing associations to increase rents to their tenants, increasing those tenants’ need to rely on housing benefit payments to cover the increased
I AM writing in response to your front page article about planning application notifications not being sent out to people living nearby, meaning many people only know of a development when the builders move in (Tuesday’s Oxford Mail). I
A MAN was fighting for his life after being stabbed multiple times in East Oxford. The victim was discovered with wounds in his stomach and on an arm by friends in Temple Street, although last night detectives were still trying to piece together exactly
Firefighters tackled a car fire sparked by mechanical fault. The fire service were called at 5.11pm on Friday to the incident in a Broadway car park. However, the blaze partially destroyed the car.
OXFORD Stadium escaped losing a fourth successive BAGS meeting as conditions eased sufficiently for yesterday’s meeting to go ahead, writes John Gaisford. With the previous three BAGS fixtures having fallen victim to the big freeze, it means management
The inquest into the deaths of a pilot and teen passenger killed in an air crash begins today. Flight Lieutenant Mike Blee, 62, of St Mary’s Green, Abingdon, and cadet Nicholas Rice, 15, from Reading, died when their aircraft collided with a glider above
A worker died after an accident with a forklift truck at a Banbury builders’ merchant. The 60-year-old suffered serious injuries in the accident at Jewsons in Beaumont Road and was rushed to the Horton General Hospital. However he died
A former army major paralysed by a rocket attack in 2008 came to Oxford as part of his 2,012-mile walk around Britain. Phil Packer was told it was “highly unlikely” he would walk again after the attack on his military base in Basra, Iraq, left
Firefighters tackled six burst water pipes across the county over the weekend. The incidents caused localised flooding in Banbury, Oxford and Enstone and are believed to thanks to the cold snap. Temperatures in the county reached a low of -7.1°C at
Oxfordshire councils find themselves on the horns of a moral dilemma. The councils, particularly the county council, have been at the forefront of promoting public health and the increasing drive to stop people smoking. But some will
Councils have been criticised for investing £20m in tobacco firms while at the same time telling people to quit the habit. Critics have said the £19.8m invested for council workers’ pensions was in conflict with efforts to get county residents to quit
We hope ex-serviceman Phil Packer’s story serves as an inspiration. He has overcome injury, sustained while serving his country, to dedicate his life to good causes. His efforts alone will help young people see that with determination
HANNAH England collected her first UK indoor title when winning the 3,000m in Sheffield yesterday. The Oxford City athlete was competing at a different distance to normal in the Aviva Indoor UK Trials and Championships. But England showed her class
A developer has been given the go-ahead to demolish two 18th century shops despite protests from preservation campaigners. Vanderbilt Homes can now knock down 21 and 23 Wallingford Street as part of a redevelopment in Stirling Road bringing five shops
CUTS in government grants could lead to a decline in student volunteering, a Turl Street-based charity has warned. Student Hubs, a community engagement charity which is based in Oxford, held a conference on Saturday attended by representatives from 40
