A SWINDON man on holiday in central Italy has spoken of his frightening experience after he was woken by tremors from the massive earthquake yesterday that has so far left 73 people dead and hundreds more injured. Giuseppe Bretti, son of Swindon
A FOOTBALL fan has walked from court with a bill of more than £200 after he was found in possession of just half a gram of cocaine.Ryan Williams, 26, of Loyalty Street, Chippenham, appeared before the bench in Swindon on Wednesday morning where he pleaded
THE team responsible for adult social care at Swindon Borough Council is to examine the impact that a reduction in the Dial-A-Ride bus service would have across departments. The commitment to look further at the matter and to lobby the cabinet
JUSTIN Tomlinson is calling on the people of Swindon to harness their Olympic spirit for the country’s biggest ever sports day this weekend.As well as being the MP for North Swindon, Justin is also the Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group for
YOUNG people are aware of less than a fifth of the wide range of jobs available to them after they leave education, research has suggested. The lack of knowledge is linked to a disparity across the UK in careers advice available to teenagers in
STRUGGLING with her finances a woman stole a packet of nappies from a service station.On Wednesday morning 33-year-old Kirsty Doole of Whitworth Road pleaded guilty to one charge of theft from the Rodbourne Service Station on May 16 when she came before
WE look back at what happened on over the decades, as reported in the Advertiser Tuesday, August 23 1950: The first case of polio myalitis, a six year old child from Dryden Street, has been confirmed in Swindon. Both this child and another
FACING charges of driving above the drink drive limit, failing to stop after an accident and using threatening behaviour a man has had his case adjourned. Gary Peapell, 37, of Commercial Road, was due before magistrates sitting in Swindon on Wednesday
DRIVING cross country to visit a friend in Wiltshire who has terminal cancer all became too much for one woman and she stopped and pulled over in a lay by near Ogbourne St George.There Carole Smith consumed a number of cans of Pimm's along with part
TAKING her handicapped partner to the pub to watch the football resulted in a woman being banned from the roads after she was caught above the drink drive limit.Sixty-eight-year-old Joy Beattie attracted the attention of the police in the early hours
IT might take more than 50 seconds to get from 0-60mph, but that isn’t stopping a team of Morris Minor enthusiasts from taking one very special vehicle on a journey from one end of the country to the other.Next month the Morris Minor Owners Club will
A LITTLE girl who was so badly injured in a horse accident that she required plastic surgery has been given a special treat to bring a smile back to her face. Ruby Grace, eight, from Haydon End was riding a pony at the Dubai Arabian International
A CHANCE meeting on the school bus led to wedded bliss for one happily married couple celebrating their diamond wedding anniversary tomorrow (AUG 25) Reg and Joyce Smith, 81 and 82 respectively, from Ashbury, met when they were both students at
CLASSIC car owners from across the region came together over the weekend to raise funds for a good cause during the popular Wheels of Steel and South Central Dubs Classic Car Show.Held at the Swindon Karting Arena on Saturday, the event welcomed in around
SWINDON’S visionary, innovative and popular first ever arts officer Terry Court, who died last week aged 73, stipulated in his will that his funeral should be a colourful affair to reflect his outlook on life. Terry, who had a major impact on Swindon
A PLASTERER accused by an ex-work colleague of stealing the wheels from his van responded with a text warning him he was a dead man and advising his to say his goodbyes, Swindon Magistrates' Court heard. Karl Mercer was angry that Norton Hughes
ORGANISERS of the annual Chippenham Half Marathon have declared Brighter Futures one of their official charity partners for this year’s run in September. The half marathon – or the Chippenham Half, as it is known – is always extremely popular and
JURASSIC Park came to town yesterday when a baby T.rex visited the Brunel Shopping Centre.Shoppers took a step back in time to the prehistoric world complete with rainforest, fossils and the king of the dinosaurs, young T.rex Pete.With smoke pouring from
ISABEL Goodwin likes to make sure her hair and make-up are perfect when she goes out, but now she is sporting a tomboy 'GI Jane' look. The youngster took the brave step of having her long blonde locks shaved to raise money for a charity that provides
A SUCCESSFUL trip to the bookies for Justin Tomlinson has resulted in a welcome donation for the team at the Thamesdown Hydrotherapy Pool. The North Swindon MP gave his backing to Portugal in the recent European football championships and came
AN INTREPID troupe of explorers took on the challenge of a lifetime at the weekend by scaling some of the highest mountains in the UK for Brighter Futures. Staff from SSE Enterprise Contracting in Dorcan took the ‘Three Peaks Challenge’ and climbed
DONA Bradley hadn’t drawn for years and only rediscovered how much she loved it when she changed career at age 40, retraining as an interior designer. When the work came to an end with the recession a brilliant question from her job centre contact “What
ROYAL Mail employees who went on strike today over claims of bullying and harassment by managers and the suspension of a union officer are now back at work. Around 300 postal workers at Royal Mail’s delivery office in Dorcan gathered outside the
A MAN faces a community order after he admitted assaulting a man and breaking one of his windows. Karl Goodwin, 28, of Allington Road, pleaded guilty to assaulting the man on July 23 and also causing £100-worth of damage to a window belonging to
STAFF at Royal Mail's Dorcan sorting office went on strike today in support of a suspended union officer. More than 300 Royal Mail staff across Swindon and Wiltshire are thought to have taken action, the strike centring around the suspension of
A 28-year-old man found with a large quantity of cannabis and £4,500 cash has been arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply class B drugs. Officers were on patrol in the Thames Avenue area of Swindon at about 12.40am today when
Housebuilder Persimmon has reported a surge in profits and said that demand has held up following Britain's decision to leave the European Union. The company said pre-tax profits rose 29% to £352.3 million for the first half of the year, while
Parents expect to spend nearly £200 typically on sending their child back to school after the summer break, a survey has found.The research among parents of children aged between four and 16 found the average "back to school" cost per child
GREAT Western Hospital will take over the running of adult community health services from SEQOL as of February next year after a deal was announced today. Earlier this year, SEQOL was given 12 months’ notice on their contract and a tendering process
IT was a rare retreat from the noisy, teeming streets where horse-drawn conveyances vied for elbow room with trams, cyclists and motorised vehicles in a town centre dominated by the clank and grind of one of the largest industrial complexes of its
AS we watched the Rio Olympic Games unfold, it was wonderful to see Team GB make history by becoming the first country to improve on a home medal tally at the following Olympics, writes ROBERT BUCKLAND. It would be all too easy to forget in the
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HOUSEHOLDER Clive Heard wants builder Taylor Wimpey and Wiltshire Council to do some joined up thinking after being told kerb stones outside his house had to be moved six inches to accommodate a new road layout.Instead of simply shifting the stones and
FORMER Swindon Town striker James Collins is one of two footballers to have been banned from all racecourses in Britain after being pictured publicly urinating at the Cheltenham Festival in March. Striker Collins, 25, and MK Dons midfielder Samir
SWINDON golfer Tom Ruddle bowed out of the Long Drive Championship in the national final. Ruddle had won the regional title when he recorded a distance of 362 yards in Bristol, much to his surprise, but when he went to the national final at High
HIGHWORTH Town manager Jeff Roberts remains hopeful his side can find their first points of the season when they host Brimscombe and Thrupp tonight. Roberts’ men have lost their opening three Hellenic League Premier Division matches in what has
CHAIRMAN Lee Power says he is unsure at this stage whether he will let any of Swindon Town’s fringe players out on loan before the transfer window shuts next week. Town have brought in five players since the eve of the opening game of the season
THIRTEEN-year-old Elliot Pinson, travelled to Brands Hatch to compete in round seven of the Team Green Junior Cup (TGJC) run by the British Motorcycle Racing Club (BMCRC) last weekend. To the Royal Wootton Bassett Academy pupil’s surprise, he was
FIGURE skater Zoe Wilkinson will put a new partnership to the test when she takes to the ice at the IJS Sheffield this week. The 36-year-old, who trains at the Link Centre, has teamed up with Christopher Boyadji ahead of the new season. Boyadji
ROHAN Tungate feels at the top of his game right now and the Swindon Robins man has his fingers crossed that he can maintain his impressive form for as long as possible. Tungate has been racking up a host of fine scores for both the Robins and
SWINDON Robins were edged out at Exeter Aces as the play-off picture in South West Cycle Speedway begins to take shape. Travelling with only six riders due to a late illness and other various reasons, Swindon somehow managed to keep the meeting
