Archive

A MAN accused of causing the death of a 97-year-old woman by dangerous driving is to face a judge at Swindon Crown Court. Abdurahman Nur, 28, of Cheltenham Place, London, is alleged to have caused the death of Marion Armstrong in a crash on the M4 eastbound

AN anticipated 500 people will come together on Saturday in an effort to smash a world record for the biggest Swiss ball exercise class.The charity event, put together by the Younite Foundation, is looking to raise more than £10,000 for local and international

SWINDON’S Great Western Hospital has been told to improve its child safeguarding measures following a review into the death of young boy at the hands of his father. Jordan Saxton, of Faringdon, was jailed for nine years last October for shaking

LYDIARD Park became a sea of pink in May as thousands of women joined together at Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life.More than 4,000 mums, grans, daughters, sisters, aunties, workmates and friends united with one mission in mind – to beat cancer.The organisers

BUSY Bees nursery in St Andrews Ridge is celebrating after receiving an Outstanding rating from Ofsted in their latest inspection.The report marks an improvement from the last inspection which returned a Good rating, now putting the nursery among less

JUNIOR doctors have vowed to keep on fighting after the health secretary won a High Court battle over the introduction of a new contract. Five junior doctors known as Justice for Health alleged Jeremy Hunt did not have the legal powers to push

A thief has found himself behind bars after he stole 15 bottles of alcohol from a supermarket. Gareth Fanning, formerly of Milverton Court, eventually pleaded guilty to the charge dating from September 6 when he came before the bench at Swindon

A RAPIST who is accused of forcing himself on two more teenage girls in the 1980s and 1990s has told a jury he has been wrongly convicted in the past. Orville Vaughan, 56, said at his trial in 2012 the jury got the verdicts wrong, and a year later

NEWS that the hospitality facilities at Lydiard Park will be closed from January with no future bookings being taken has led to calls for an acceleration in the bidding process.Swindon Borough Council invited bids to take over the running of the popular

ARTS and culture came to the forefront of the town yesterday with a visit from the head of the Arts Council England. Darren Henley, ACE chief executive was given a whistle-stop tour of the town’s cultural hubs including the Wyvern Theatre, Arts

A LOVING uncle will run the equivalent of 20 marathons in memory of his nephew Daniel Climance. Neil Lucas, who lives in Covingham, will run an astonishing 535 miles in just 134 days in aid of the Doing it for Dan charity. The charity was set

SWINDON Town are on the road again and it is the fixture which pitches STFC against STFC. I know which one I’m rooting for. The original one. Founded seven years prior to The Shrews, we are the one, the only STFC. Trivia aside, Town, I mean

THE Swindon Half Marathon will be back in 2017, in a ‘bigger, better and more special’ format.Pillars of the running community formed a focus group this week to discuss ways in which the race could be relaunched and reinvented next year, following the

CRICKLADE firefighters prevented a house from being badly flooded after a water main burst late last night. They were called out just after 9pm after a householder spotted water seeping up through the floor of their home in Bath Road. Firefighters

A MAN who drove under the influence of alcohol and verbally abused police officers has been banned from driving for 19 months. Richard Martin, 40, of Lennox Drive, Walcot pleaded guilty to driving a motor vehicle in Walsingham Road on September

A 52-year-old man who launched a violent attack on a girlfriend half his age has been jailed for a year. Jeremia O'Donoghue left the 26-year-old mum with a deep gash in her leg which needed ten stitches after they argued following an afternoon

COMMONWEAL School’s headteacher enjoyed one performance at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival so much he has persuaded the company to put on a performance on the school stage. Headteacher Keith Defter – who himself performed at the festival

Benedict Cumberbatch joined David Gilmour on stage at London's Royal Albert Hall on Wednesday to perform Pink Floyd classic, "Comfortably Numb."

RESIDENTS in Lawn have accused the council of ignoring the views of the people of Swindon as they push forward with parishing plans. Currently, 41 per cent of households in the town fall within existing parishes, the proposals being consulted on

Irish singer/songwriter Imelda May had a fishy start to her music career being chosen to sing on an advertisement for Findus Fish Fingers when she was 14-years-old. Since then the rockabilly revivalist has been riding the crest of the wave with

THAMESDOWN Transport has extended its customer services operating hours thanks to the appointment of Jerry Clark as customer services advisor.Customer services is now in operation Monday to Friday between 8.30am and 8pm. Customers can call between these

A DRIVER who failed to stop after the car he was driving hit a Mini at Greenhill Crossroads, Lydiard Millicent, has been warned he could be jailed. Joseph Gardiner, 29 of Morrison Street, abandoned the Ford Mondeo and left the scene after the crash

AMONG the many issues the UK will have to address now that the country has voted for Brexit will be the hundreds of laws which bind the UK to the rest of Europe, not to mention changes affecting the 14 British Overseas Territories which are under the

IT’S certainly a quieter week ahead, but I guess that the swings and roundabouts nature of things is just redressing the balance after a couple of weeks that spoilt us music lovers. It’s also a week where most things on offer are going to be fairly

SPECULATION over what the mystery lights could be that residents spotted in Swindon on Sunday night is rumbling on. Dozens more have been in touch with the Adver to say they too have seen the triangular shape object, which has three bright lights

MARION SAUVEBOIS discovers that moving home can inspire comedy JO CAULFIELD recently moved to her forever home. But the bliss of signing on the dotted lines soon made way for frustration, bafflement and hair-pulling as she fell headfirst down

Joe Theobald, aka DJ Captain Wormhole, Looks at all things vinyl  DIGGING is what record collectors call spending hours flicking through dusty records in basements, bargain bins, boot sales, lofts and charity shops. Basically, you spend ages

MAGISTRATES fined a man who was stopped outside the County Ground in Swindon and told police he forgot he was banned from being there on match days. Alan Livingstone, 43, of Helston Road, Park North, was handed a football spectator banning order

ONE is an irreverent lover of indie rock and Newcastle United FC, who annoyed English cricket’s top brass so much on his first tour with the national team that he wasn’t picked again for eight years. The other is a venerable old Etonian with the plummiest

SCAMP Theatre’s fun-filled adaptation of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s children’s book, Stick Man, returns to the Wyvern this week.Stick Man lives in the family tree, with his Stick Lady love and their stick children but the outside world is a

PREPARE to feel the thrill and passion of 19th-century Seville in The Russian State Opera's latest production of Carmen.One of Bizet’s most popular pieces, its mix of heady arias, nail-biting dramatic confrontations and musical wit has found favour

THE Poetry Swindon Festival is back with a "nonsensical" glut of performances, readings and workshops.This year is the 100th anniversary of Dada, the so-called nonsense art movement which spawned surrealism, Salvador Dali, Monty Python and Tin

Carl Harrison, pictured, from award winning dance company Protein, is heading for Wiltshire as part of the Rural Touring Dance Initiative. May Contain Food - May Contain You is coming to Grittleton Village Hall on October 7 from 8pm. Manchester-born

Violinist Lorna Osbon is a firm favourite with both the BBC and Channel 4. Her recordings include the violin solo element in the television series Cracker, starring Robbie Coltrane. Lorna is also in demand with some of the top orchestras in

Swindon singers who fancy trying their hands at one of the Savoy operas should tune up their voices ready to audition.Swindon Gilbert and Sullivan Society is looking for singers and actors to take part in the next production which will be the Yeoman of

GERMAINE Greer, Emmeline Pankhurst and Scary Spice would all be proud of little Daisy Edmonds. The eight-year-old featured in the Adver this week because she highlighted the sexism still inherent in the fashion world. Daisy was at the Tesco

PLEASE keep your letters to 250 words maximum giving your name, address and daytime telephone number - even on emails. Email: letters@swindonadvertiser.co.uk. Write: Swindon Advertiser, 100 Victoria Road, Swindon, SN1 3BE. Phone: 01793 501806.Anonymity

I’M sure you will be well aware that the council has been asking people for their views on two very important issues over the past months: the Community Governance Review of parish boundaries in the borough, and the future of our library service.

TRIBUTES have poured in for a resilient teenager who died just two months after beating the odds to celebrate her 18th birthday. Erika Cowie, affectionately known as Tinkerbell, died peacefully on Monday after a battle with heart and lung condition

KIND little Oscar Moulding is on a mission to send a special gift to help his disabled friend Sophija in Bosnia become more mobile. The eight-year-old Robert Le Kyng Primary School pupil, who has muscular dystrophy like Sophija, wants to raise

COFFEE, cakes and community was the focus for a church gathering over the weekend in aid of Macmillan Cancer Care’s World’s Biggest Coffee Morning. The worldwide event will be staged in community venues, shops, businesses and countless living rooms the

GREENMEADOW U9s have began their third season together in the North Wiltshire Youth League. The team, who came together at U7s, have also been presented with a new kit for the current campaign by sponsor James Cherry, owner of Grass Perfect.

NORTHAMPTON Town may have been 3-1 winners over Luke William’s Swindon Town, but they scored an own goal after striker JJ Hooper, who is on loan from Port Vale, had to come on without a number on his shirt. After initial confusion it turns out

SWINDON Town head coach Luke Williams has vowed that his team will strive to get the boo boys back on side. Some dissatisfied customers have opted to vocalise their displeasure following the final whistle of recent matches at the County Ground,

D-MAN Stevie Whitfield hopes the Swindon Wildcats have arrested their indifferent start to the season by claiming their first four-point weekend of 2016-17. Last Saturday, Cats bested the Telford Tigers on penalty shots at the Link Centre before

KELLY Morgan could become the unified world super-middleweight champion after only six fights. The 36-year-old, who has won all five of her bouts since turning professional last year, has been in talks with WBC world super-middleweight title-holder

PINEHURST B’s first game of the season in Swindon & District Division One was a close affair, finishing with a 33-30 victory over Abbey Meads A, Rosie Rusga receiving player of the match honours in her top-flight debut. Pinehurst’s A team claimed

IT MAY not have been enough to avoid coming out on the losing side but Sean Murray was nonetheless delighted to open his Swindon Town account on Tuesday night. After missing last weekend’s win at Oldham Athletic with a foot injury, the midfielder

TWELVE years ago David Howell enjoyed his first taste of Ryder Cup success when he was part of Bernhard Langer’s 2004 team that thrashed the USA 18.5-9.5 at Oakland Hills in Michigan - a feat the Broome Manor man still looks back on with intense happiness

RYDER Cup winner David Howell says Europe’s star players have to step up to the plate if they are to win the trophy again in Minnesota this year. The 41-year-old told the Swindon Advertiser that stellar names such as Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose and

SWINDON Shock head coach David Colclough sees no reason why his side can’t compete for promotion ahead of the National League Division Four season. Shock, who travel to Exeter on the opening day this Saturday (4.15pm tip-off), go into the game

SWINDON Ladies 2nd claimed a superb 1-0 win over relegated Frome in the West Clubs League’s Wessex Division One. The home side were composed with smooth transfers occurring around the back from Issy Harding on the right through to Natalie Moore