EMERGENCY services are reminding the public to think carefully before calling 999 over Easter in a bid to avoid delays for those needing emergency care.The South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust is bracing itself for increased usage over
TRANSPORT Secretary Patrick McLoughlin has reminded Network Rail of its responsibility to work efficiently when carrying out rail improvements. The government has committed £38 billion as an investment towards upgrading the nation’s railways between
FIVE weeks in the slammer for a crack addict got him clean enough to keep him out of prison long-term when a judge sentenced him for dealing yesterday. Alan Harris, 40, last month asked Swindon Crown Court to remand him in custody while a pre-sentence
A MAN who repeatedly molested a young girl when he felt unloved in his marital relationship has been jailed for 28 months. Mehboob Hassan indecently touched the girl on numerous occasions, starting when she was just 11 years old, and also got her
Sarah Harding is set to appear in four episodes of Coronation Street this summer. The 33-year-old is set to clash with Corrie superbitch Tracy Barlow, played by Kate Ford. Harding has talked about crossing over into acting before and her previous credits
Chef Russell Hunt, Marsh Farm Bungalow, Coped Hall, Royal Wootton Bassett, Swindon SN4 8ER SPRING lamb, also known as early lamb, ranges between three and five months old. It is very tender and has a much lighter flavour than older lambs, which
TWO fast food restaurants have completed expansions in Swindon and cooked up 15 jobs for the town in the process. McDonald’s outlets at Greenbridge Retail Park and Orbital Shopping Park have doubled the width of their respective drive-throughs,
FAMILIES are being urged to get out their bikes and take part in this year’s Prospect Sunday Bike Ride – using the bank holiday weekend to get training.The event is organised to raise money for the Wroughton-based charity and people of all ages can take
NATIONWIDE celebrated World Autism Awareness Day today by launching a sponsored 10k run in collaboration with a Swindon-based autism charity.The building society announced plans for the Bluebell 10k event starting at its Pipers Way HQ on May 9. All proceeds
MARK Cooper believes his Town side still have momentum going into the season’s final month. Swindon will not have played for 18 days by the time they line-up against MK Dons on Saturday and their performances after extended periods without a game
WITH nine games left Mark Cooper could be forgiven for taking a more pragmatic approach towards getting Swindon Town over the promotion line, but he insists he will not abandon his principles. Starting with the visit of MK Dons on Saturday, the
A SWINDON boxer is rounding up supporters for his title fight in Gloucester this month, with ticket sales worth hundreds of pounds going to a Gorse Hill charity.Penhill’s Kelvin Young will go toe-to-toe with Croydon’s Joe Walsh at the GL1 Leisure Centre
THE proud history of Swindon Lions Club was celebrated at a 50th anniversary party. Members and supporters of the group enjoyed a party at Marsh Farm on March 15. Guests included Mayor Teresa Page and Robert Buckland, MP for south Swindon.
FUNDING for major new transport investment - including an overhaul of junction 16 of the M4 - will be put to the Swindon and Wiltshire Economic Partnership this month. After years of increasing congestion at the roundabout, plans have been floating
A JURY will decide if Mike Buss stole charity donations in a trial listed for September after he pleaded not guilty to a single charge at Swindon Crown Court this morning. The 40-year-old former soldier, who sat on the back bench rather than in
A SWINDON business group has welcomed news that Honda will be investing £200m in the town factory, making it the global hub of production for the new Civic model. The Swindon and Wiltshire Initiative, part of the Business West group, has welcomed
HIGHWORTH Post Office will be taken on by the Midcounties Co-operative after the consultation into the proposal ended this week, according to postmaster Paul Burdett.The Post Office’s six-week consultation into the proposed Brewery Street location and
FANS of screen star Shaun The Sheep had a woolly good time when he dropped into the Baa-runel Centre in Swindon.The celebrity sheep, fresh from his own Hollywood blockbuster, is in town this week meeting young people at the centre.Deputy centre manager
COMEDIAN Bill Bailey will be performing at this year’s Larmer Tree Festival. The star is one of the final acts to be added to the bill of the event taking place at Larmer Tree Gardens, in Salisbury, between July 15 and 19. The Black Books actor
HONDA Civics made in Swindon will be exported to America, the company has announced. The new five-door Civic going to America will be built at Honda of the UK Manufacturing in South Marston. Honda North America revealed the news when they unveiled
9:53pm We would just like to add that we are aware that the www.thisisswindontownfc.co.uk website was closed earlier this week. This was a decision taken above our heads and we were only made aware of it on the sports desk
A THREE-STRIKE burglar who stole a pearl necklace when he broke into a house has been remanded in custody by a judge. John Light is facing at least three years for the raid as he has already been convicted of dwelling burglary on four previous
VOTERS can quiz Swindon’s parliamentary candidates at a hustings event organised by the Advertiser and the Wyvern Theatre. People will be able to hear from the General Election candidates on April 27 and April 28, just a little more than a week
Deborah Bonham was just six-years-old when her brother John, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant formed the legendary rock band Led Zeppelin, but the musical ripples are still felt by the singer. She has carved out her own career in music and will be bringing
TOOTHILL Lunch Club has been revived after a month in the wilderness as a social enterprise has stepped in to rescue it. In February the project, which had been serving elderly residents a weekly meal for more than a decade, dished up its last
PREDICTIONS LEAGUE: Swindon V MK Dons IT seems an age since we last played, St Patrick’s Day to be precise if any of you have forgotten. We had just beaten Doncaster Rovers, snatching the win with a late goal from Jon Obika. That win meant that
I was very pleased to see a letter of support (SA 1 April) for my Free School, Jedi Academy. One question I have been asked is, "What will students study that makes the academy different to other such schools?"I felt the answer to this was included
EU MILK quotas have been scrapped after more than three decades of efforts to prevent overproduction. The system, set up in 1984, is ending so EU dairy businesses can compete with international rivals in supplying fast-growing markets in Asia and
THE Swindon and Cricklade Railway is welcoming a regular commuter for his yearly journeys this weekend.The Easter Bunny is riding the lines once again and families can meet him across the weekend.A spokesman for the railway said: "With not particularly
MAKING your way up the stairs at the Pig on the Hill of a Tuesday night, you would be forgiven for believing you had landed in Honolulu as exotic melodies fill the air. Since it became home to the newly-formed Old Town Ukes and their trusty ukuleles
OVER the past couple of months, myself and the rest of the ranger team have been thinking really carefully about the coming spring and summer. We haven’t just been daydreaming about beach holidays and barbeques, though. No, no, no... Instead we
A new Shriekback album isn’t merely a chance to revel in some wholly original music; it is also a journey through some great lyrical landscapes. Here they seem meander between analogies of the modern world and darker futuristic predictions; that travel
WITH a record number of, mainly, original music gigs taking place this week, I am going to forego the usual meandering introduction and just jump straight in. And I’ll start at The Victoria, the main cause of such a glut of new music descending on the
THE award-winning Let’s Hang On will work its way back to the Wyvern tonight for musical journey through the prolific career of one of the most successful bands of all time – Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons.From the beginning in the early 50s when Frankie
THE timeless tale of Pinocchio will be brought to life at the Arts Centre today. Featuring catchy songs, stunning scenery and costumes and spectacular ultra violet glow-in-the-dark puppetry, this show is a real treat for all the family.Geppetto longs
PREDICTIONS LEAGUE: February Results and Update Part 2 I shall be using this page to round up the remaining results of the matches played February in the Predictions League. Sorry that I have to remind you all of the poor performances by Swindon
Traffic around Outlet Village, Bridgemead and Bruce Street in Swindon was being described as 'stationary' by Thamesdown Transport drivers this evening, causing major delays to some services. Earlier Thamesdown said that roadworks in the Beechcroft
IT’S always nice to come back into the season with a good winter under your belt. The off-season lasts about four months or five months, so I always try to get away. Some people work, some have families to look after, and in my case I have
A ROCKING County Ground could prove to be the difference, says Jack Stephens as Swindon Town prepare for the biggest four days in their season so far. With the arrival of MK Dons to the County Ground on Saturday, the Southampton loanee believes
CHARLES Wright has admitted that Swindon Robins would have been his first choice if the decision had been left to him. The 25-year-old’s destiny was taken out of his own hands when he was picked by team manager Alun Rossiter during the Elite Riders
LEWIS Rose is sure that he is now reading from the right lines as he gets himself back on track for the new season. The track at the Abbey Stadium has provided a few issues for the new Swindon Robins rider since he joined during the Elite Riders
The last two winners of the Scottish Grand National, Peter Bowen’s Al Co and Alan King’s Godsmejudge, are among a massive entry of 93 for this year's renewal of the Ayr showpiece. Both horses are on target for Aintree in less than a fortnight.
SWINDON Wildcats ace Aaron Nell has taken little reward from being selected in the English Premier League all-star first team after a disappointing end to the season. Following an impressive campaign for the Swindon Wildcats, the 25-year-old forward
SWINDON stalwart Andy Rowland has admitted his job was made easy once Town got on a winning roll during their promotion season. After hanging up his boots in 1986 Rowland stayed on at the club in a coaching capacity, which included a stint as caretaker
MCFRANCHISE, MK Donkeys or The Source of All Evil; Saturday’s opponents are easy to mock, and it’s fun too. But what is authenticity in football? One hundred years of noble failure, a cuckoo club or ‘buying the league’? The Bletchley Stealers
WE RECENTLY published the ‘TrustSTFC Five Year Vision’ as part of our Supporters’ Trust AGM pack – it’s basically a graphical representation of our five year goals for Swindon Town, which we use as a constant reminder of where we want our football
SWINDON blew their chance of promotion as they fought out a 1-1 draw with third-placed Newent. A win would have secured them the West Premier 2A title after Team Bath Buccaneers were held to a draw in their match but Newent proved to be strong
BEN Amor is hoping to muscle in on a successful year after kicking off with a second-placed finish at the South of England Youth Championships. The 19-year-old, who is a former England U18s champion and who also won the Wiltshire county championship
PEOPLE hoping to get away this bank holiday weekend are being warned of potential problems on roads and rail over Easter. As part of the ongoing redevelopment work to increase capacity at Reading train station, to increase capacity, work will cause
LUCKY reader Rhys Jones has won the Adver competition to win a top-of-the-range scooter ahead of next week’s Urban Rider Games. The youngster from Greenmeadow was selected to win the scooter and a family ticket to the inaugural games from the ATBShop
A LETTER to the Home Office has saved Aussie-born coffee-shop owner Jacky Collyer from being frogmarched out of the country by immigration officials - for now. The 27-year-old, who moved from her Melbourne home to the UK in 2011 before marrying
SWINDON Robins owner Terry Russell has shed more light on the prospect of a grand final meeting to bring the curtain down on the Abbey Stadium. Russell revealed to the Adver after the fixtures were announced at the beginning of the year that there
