THE funeral of a popular Swindon man will be held next week. Stuart Williams, 51, was found dead in the Kennet and Avon Canal before Christmas. The discovery was made after a boater discovered Mr Williams’ dog Ginge wandering aimlessly near to the moorings
THE death of 82-year-old Iris Hacker has led Wiltshire Police to set up a new call handling policy. Wiltshire Police received a call from a friend of Mrs Hacker, who lived alone in Walcot, on the evening of January 28 last year to say she was seriously
POLICE have arrested a 53-year-old man in connection with the town centre sex attack on a five-year-old girl. Since the Adver ran an appeal on the front page yesterday of the attack on New Year’s Eve in the 99p Store, in Havelock Street, police officers
A JUDGE has put off passing sentence on a woman who stole more than £8,000 after a letter to her from the probation service got caught up in the Christmas post. Christine Batstone was due to be sentenced at Swindon Crown Court on Friday after admitting
THREE people were injured in a three vehicle crash on the A420 yesterday morning. A white Mercedes van, a grey Ford Fiesta and a red Vauxhall Corsa collided on the Shrivenham bypass, near Acorn Bridge, at around 9.30am, completely blocking the road and
SMOKERS in the town are being urged to get NHS support to keep on target for a smokefree free 2011. New figures reveal that an estimated 34,000 people in the south west quit smoking in 2010 with the help of the NHS Stop Smoking Service. People are four
A YOUTH group is planning to open its doors to the elderly in a bid to strengthen community ties. Emerge youth cafe, based at the Holy Trinity Church, in Shaw run a bi-weekly cafe after school hours on Mondays and Wednesdays and from January 26
A CAMPAIGN to get a little boy walking has received a big boost. Robbie Davies, five, of Lower Stratton needs £40,000 for an operation in America which could help him take his first unaided steps. A donation of £500 has been made on
A WILD west fun day, held at a discount superstore in Gorse Hill, helped to raise more than £400 for charity. MBros, in Cricklade Road, collected £431 for the Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital at the event on December 18. Staff dressed up as either
WEST Swindon will play host to a countywide parade of air cadets next month. To celebrate the 70th anniversary of the formation of the Air Training Corps and a dedication of 633 (West Swindon) Squadron Banner, all Wiltshire Squadrons and Detached Flight
The Football Association today announced a three-and-a-half-year agreement with Vauxhall Motors which will see the leading British vehicle manufacturer become Lead Partner to the England teams instead of Nationwide. The agreement runs from
DINNER and dancing fun raised hundreds of pounds for charity at the weekend. The Wiltshire Breakthrough Breast Cancer group’s dinner dance made £775 when a group of 134 people enjoyed a three-course dinner and music from Breeze at the Blunsdon House
SCHOOLCHILDREN will be following in the footsteps of superstars when they perform in London today. Youngsters aged from seven to 11 from schools across the town will be performing at the O2 Arena in Young Voices. Children from St Mary’s Catholic Primary
A MAN suffered head injuries after his car flipped on to its roof and collided with a electricity pole yesterday. Great Western Ambulance Service received a call at 11.37am reporting the accident at Water Eaton, just off the A419 near Cricklade
PROSPECT Hospice is calling on the people of Swindon to donate unwanted items to sell in its shops in a bid to help boost funds in 2011. The hospice relies on the support of the community to provide most of its funding, with a major share of the money
PARKING charges will rise in Wiltshire in an attempt to harmonise prices across the county. Following a public consultation, Wiltshire Council has announced that in Wootton Bassett the new charges proposed will start from 30p an hour and Cricklade will
A PUBLIC meeting will be held tonight for residents concerned about the Crest Homes plan for 1,690 homes at Tadpole Farm. The meeting, which will take place at Oakhurst School at 7.30pm, is being held by Oakhurst Residents’ Association, whose
YOUNGSTERS from a performing arts academy will be strutting their stuff on the Wyvern stage to raise funds for charity. The actors, singers and dancers from the Wilkes Academy, based in Lethbridge School, are taking part in Smile, the Mayor of Swindon
I WOULD like to express heartfelt thanks to everyone who has kindly supported the lifesaving work of the British Heart Foundation (BHF) over the past year, by giving a donation in memory of a loved one. These donations help us to save and
IT MAY come as a surprise to the residents of Swindon the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009, requires every local authority, from June 15, 2010, to have adopted a Petition Scheme which sets out how it will handle petitions
AFTER 38 years in the EU the rich have got richer and the poor have got poorer. There are currently 2.4 million unemployed with very little hope of getting the figures down in the near future. In addition there is a desperate shortage
ONE of my grandchildren, Jemima aged 12, explained the complexities of algebra to me last night and even devised a few simple calculations for me to tackle. I remembered my school days in County Cork in the late 40s. I remember Brother Melia as
A FAILED asylum seeker, Mohammed Ibrahim, already banned from driving, knocks down a 12 year old girl and flees the carnage, abandoning his victim trapped under the wheels of his car, leaving her as one witness put it, 'to die like a dog'.
RE: Fears over vulnerable travelling to school in taxis - while I share concerns over the passenger/staff ratio in some instances on Swindon Borough Council’s journeys between home and school for children with Special Educational Needs, I am surprised
A STROLL around Moredon tells the tale of a vibrant community which has seen a lot of changes in the last decade. The estate, nestled between north and west Swindon, has grown much since the 1950s and in recent years has been the focus of many major
PUPILS have scooped thousands of pounds for their schools as part of an initiative to teach youngsters how to look after their money. The Swindon Advertiser teamed up with the Barclays Money Skills project, Cash For Schools, last year, offering
PROMOTION-CHASING Wootton Bassett endured their first defeat of the season at the hands of fellow high-flyers Bath Buccs D in Davis Wood Hockey League Avon Division on Saturday. Off-colour Bassett were humbled 4-1 at home by their opponents from down
POLICE have launched a manhunt after a five-year-old girl was sexually assaulted in a town centre shop. The incident took place in the 99p store on Havelock Street at 3.30pm on New Years Eve, when the victim was temporarily separated from her mother.
Re 'Proud to fight for the Royal Family' (SA, January 3). Harry Fitchett, are the Royal Family above criticism? Young men didn't go 'off to war' because they were monarchists: they fought to save this country from the Nazi Heel! I think Harry Fitchett
A DEDICATED dieter has lost more than 10 stone and dropped nine dress sizes after being told having another baby could kill her. Rebecca Fyfe feared for her life after doctors told her that high blood pressure during her pregnancy would kill
NEW College transferred their good pre-Christmas form into the new year as they demolished Marlborough Town 7-2. Nathan Blackford put the hosts ahead on 15 minutes, firing a fierce free-kick into the top corner of the net, and that set the tone for the
CIRENCESTER’S Under 17s showed no signs of rustiness after an extended festive break, storming through to the next round of the Gloucestershire County Cup by crushing Coney Hill 48-0. An early try set the tone as number eight, as Will Seville picked
DANNY Wilson has claimed very little separates his hit-and-miss Town side and the high-flyers of League One. Saturday’s 2-0 defeat at Oldham left Swindon just five points clear of the relegation places with all the teams below possessing a game or games
THERE was a high turnout of residents for a public meeting last night as opposition to a controversial planning application was renewed. Around 40 residents, including members of the Lydiard Fields Action Group (LFAG), attended the West Swindon Forum
SWINDON Spitfires lost out 4-1 to Supermarine in the second round of the Wiltshire County Cup. Spits seemed to be on their way into round two after 15 minutes, when Emma Skinner and Dennika Bretti combined to tee up Tamara Papp to open the scoring, but
LAMBOURN Sports continued their recent fine form into 2011 with a 2-1 victory at AFC Wallingford to keep themselves top of North Berks League Division One. David Livings and Liam Griffin scored their goals. Faringdon Town eased to a 3-1 win over rock-bottom
TOM Black bagged five goals as ASC Youth beat Highworth Town Juniors T 13-0 in Under 9 Division 2. Also on target for the hosts in their big win were Harry Russell, Ben Evans, John Black (2), Cameron Osman (3) and Michael Bolton. Highworth Town Juniors
NEW Inn made 13 their lucky number as they demolished Trak Employment to move into second spot in Division Six of the Swindon Sunday League. Shaun Smith smashed a hat-trick in the 13-0 victory, whilst there were braces for Lee Brown, Dan Bond and Edward
THE Swindon & District League returned after the enforced winter break with a glut of goals across the region. Top scorers were Spectrum, who netted nine en route to their first win since the first game of the season at CitiFaith Ajax. Murat Satici
