A TEENAGER who violently robbed a younger girl and assaulted two of her pals in a drunken attack has walked free from court. Santana Zawierska, now 18, pushed and intimidated the victims, aged 12, 13 and 14, after targeting them as they sat outside a
AN UNDELIVERED takeaway, a request for a lift and a home lock-in are just some of the hoax 999 calls police emergency phone operators received last year. The odd requests are amongst the strangest of approximately 421 hoax calls recorded from callers
SHOPPERS and motorists will no longer be separated once council work to make a road in the town centre safer is finished. A raised area is being installed in Farnsby Street which will bring the road up to the same level as the pavement once it is completed
AWARD winning television funny man Harry Hill will delight audiences in the town later this year as part of the 18th Swindon Festival of Literature. The comedian, whose Saturday night programme TV Burp has won four BAFTAs, will stop off in the town with
ALMOST one family every day last year in Swindon were threatened with repossession every day. The worrying figures from the Ministry of Justice reveal how families up and down the country are struggling to meet their monthly repayments. Critics warn
THE monthly neighbourhood police team drop-in surgery at the Lawn Community Centre will be held this Saturday. The event will be held during the morning coffee shop session in Room one. John Roe, Neighbourhood Watch area co-ordinator, said: “To contact
MAN of mystery Phoenix Stewart says his lucky boxer shorts helped him to beat the banker on Deal or No Deal. Phoenix, 25, of Greenmeadow, will appear in his game on the Channel 4 show tonight where viewers will see him scooping £11,000. Phoenix
I AM writing in response to “Greyhounds grateful for store’s cash gift” (SA, February 2). Congratulations to all concerned. It is heartwarming that the community awareness caused by Pets at Home has resulted in a sizable donation for Greyhound and Lurcher
OVER the past seven months the UK government has announced a number of planned welfare reforms which, taken together, will amount to the biggest shake up of the benefits system in generations. This includes replacing means tested benefits such as income
CALLING all those single people out there to log off Facebook, give the circuit training a miss and postpone your next date with a chocolate bar. Put on your favourite outdoor gear and bag yourself a hottie by volunteering to benefit the local community
VETS in the town are hoping to find a new home for a cat whose owners no longer wanted him. The cat was recently taken into the Thameswood vets on Purton Road by a member of the public and, after finding the cat had been identichiped, the vets
MORE than 1,500 households have signed up to save water across the town. Save Water Swindon, a joint venture from Thames Water, Waterwise and WWF, aims to help everyone in Swindon use less water. It asks people to save 20 litres a day and – since
NO matter how much our local senior Tory politicians may wring their hands and bury their heads in the sand, they are to blame for the devastation this Government is causing. The first budget that Slasher produced was the only one in my memory that was
WITH the recent scenes of turmoil in Egypt and Tunisia, which no civilised society wishes to endure, or even watch happening. Adding the fact that the people in power cannot now deceive parts of the world what is going on in the rest of it. I speak in
I WAS interested in your front page story January 28 about the woman held captive in Swindon for 11 days. The woman was trafficked into Britain from Poland and held for 11 days in Whitworth Road, Pinehurst. During that 11 days she was sexually assaulted
HUNDREDS of patients are failing to turn up for doctors’ appointments at surgeries in the town every month. And patients who fail to turn up for appointments at the Great Western Hospital cost an average of £53 each time. NHS Swindon
AS a supporter of the EU and indeed of an eventual United States of Europe, I was initially disappointed at Parliament’s vote not to have a referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU, for I am convinced the vast majority of British people recognise
IN a bid to inject some romance into the airwaves, Heart presenters Jez and Roo open up their hearts on Valentine’s Day. ROO: I’ve worked with my co-host Jez for four years and each year he deludes himself that grabbing any old bunch of flowers
THE Great Western Hospital has been raising awareness of the British Heart Foundation’s (BHF) new Mending Broken Hearts Appeal – a new research project looking into using regenerative medicine to repair damaged hearts of patients. When the BHF was founded
Worklife Balance – A ‘Current Climate’ Stress Reducer and Bottom-Line Enhancer What is work? What is life? Let's imagine that these two things are either side of a set of scales. Imagine for me that they are in balance, held by a pivot at the top
WHEN people go shopping they should check their till receipts as I always check mine before leaving the shop. I find most of the time I have been charged more than the priced item and I have to keep going back. A pound’s a pound and it’s in
A RECENT article in the paper by a priest stressed how God is the creator of all things and praised the marvels of creation. But if God created everything that includes cancer, leukaemia and other horrible diseases, let alone earthquakes, typhoons
I WRITE in response to H G Smith’s letter about racism and sexism in the Gray/Keys saga. I totally agree that it’s become ludicrous that off the cuff comments in today’s society seem to have enormous repercussions - in this case, they weren
ONCE again an amenity for Gorse Hill residents, i.e. Nationwide Building Society is closing its office in Cricklade Road; following on the HSBC Bank. All that remains is for Lloyds Bank to close and there will be nowhere at all to bank in Gorse Hill
I’M the local editor for the Netmums website in North Wiltshire and would like to urge your readers to take part in our Netmums Real Parenting Save Our Children’s Centre Campaign launched this week. All around the UK and right here in North Wiltshire
INSTEAD of cutting public services we urgently need to tackle our over dependence on the financial services sector and build the new businesses, the new jobs and the new economy that our country and town needs. The root cause of the current
YOUR article on the renegotiation of Northern Development 106 money resulting in the loss of £4m which the developers have clawed back, catalogues a sorry tale of missed opportunities. Haydon Wick and Blunsdon parish councils have been trying
YOUR report (SA, Feb 7) on the problems of Digital City, the wi-fi provider, raises serious concerns. Councillor Perkins is reported as saying: “I’ve never been involved with the day-to-day running of the company.” Yet, as I understand it,
THE government is overspending at the rate of £6,500 a year for every household. Only drastic action like leaving the European Union could save such a huge amount of money. The cuts made so far by the coalition have hardly scratched
VALENTINE’S Day isn’t just about couples - it’s about families too. It’s a time when they can show how much they care for each other. Sadly, many children are separated from their families - they may feel lonely, isolated and confused. As an
I WOULD like to reply to a letter which appeared on Monday, February 7 from G Mason, Swindon. I would like to put G Mason right in that not all sheltered accommodation has the heating included in the rent. My father who is 87 lives in
“MONEY has no motherland; financers are without patriotism and without decency: their sole object is gain.” Napoleon Bonaparte. Ding dong? J ADAMS Bloomsbury Swindon
DEVELOPERS desperate to regenerate the crumbling Locarno are threatening to sue Swindon Council for more than £1m. Businessmen behind plans to redevelop the site said they have been constantly let down by the council, after it rejected their
HIGHWORTH Town returned to winning ways in the Hellenic League Premier Division with a 4-2 victory at Oxford City Nomads on Saturday. The visitors gained the lead on seven minutes as a Tony Joyce free-kick from the right was knocked in at the
A WOMAN accused of causing the death of a cyclist at the Commonhead roundabout is to face a trial. Sarah Williams, 45, pleaded not guilty to a charge of causing death by careless driving when she appeared at Swindon Crown Court. Williams is said to
BOSS Mark Collier was so disappointed in Swindon Supermarine’s display against Chesham United that he apologised to his team’s travelling support. Marine were hammered 4-0 at the Meadow with Robert Bartley and Danny Talbot giving the hosts
INVESTIGATORS have removed a length of cable from Newbury Racecourse following a freak incident in which two horses were killed in an apparent electrocution. Fenix Two and Marching Song both collapsed and died in the paddock yesterday after
A RIGOROUS schedule of three games in four days took its toll on Swindon Wildcats over the weekend as they lost both games of their English Premier League double-header. A home contest with Basingstoke Bison and a trip to Peterborough Phantoms
REVAMPED Moredon and Rodbourne Cheney Library will reopen its doors to book lovers this week. The library, in Church Walk North off Moredon Road, has been closed for three weeks to allow Swindon Council to carry out planned maintenance and repair works
ANDY Turnell’s Broad Hinton yard was rocked on Saturday by the tragic death of Marching Song. Turnell’s star horse was one of those who died suddenly in the paddock ahead of the first race on the Newbury card at the weekend. An investigation
