LEGAL proceedings to disqualify directors of the collapsed Christmas hamper firm Farepak have begun at the High Court. The government's Insolvency Service said it had applied to the court to disqualify all nine former directors of Farepak and its parent
A COUPLE is urging Nationwide members to withdraw their investments from the building society if bosses shut the Old Town branch. Gilbert Dazely, 85, and his wife Linda, 80, are regular users of the Wood Street branch and claim its closure
A TEENAGER who threatened to stab a 16-year-old when he robbed him in the street has been given a chance to reform rather than be jailed. Samuel Johnston, of Cheney Manor Road, told the youngster ‘I’ve got a shank’, which is slang for a knife
LOCAL band Recode have rocked their way to the top of the pops in a battle of the bands competition. The Late Gig Battle of the Bands took place at the 12 Bar in Westcott Place and was organised by Terry Yau, Fran May and Malcolm Wood, of 105.5 community
THE Swindon and District Bonsai Society will be hosting a Winter Image show. The show, to be held in Stratton Community Centre, on Sunday is an annual event which often attracts hundreds of visitors. Joining the Swindon club will be branches from all
TOWN'S League One trip to Exeter City has been rescheduled for Tuesday, March 29. Tickets purchased for the original fixture, which was yesterday postponed due to a waterlogged pitch, are valid for the new date (kick-off 7.45pm).
AWARDS have been dished out for the winners of the best kebabs in the town after a competitive showdown. Marmaris Kebabs, in Devizes Road, has swept up three prestigious titles after a tasting night at the Queensfield Pub, in Upper Stratton, and they
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, in Purton Road, by a member of the public and, after finding the cat had been identichipped, the
A DONATION of more than £1,000 was presented to Prospect Hospice last week. Prospect chief executive Angela Jordan accepted the cheque for £1,100 from members of the Royal Sussex Lodge of Emulation 355 at the Masonic Centre, in Old Town.
PUPILS are set to go greener after receiving a big boost from generous residents with warm homes. A cheque for £1,488 has been shared out between Swindon Academy and Gorse Hill Infants and Junior schools after residents donated money as
WILTSHIRE Air Ambulance has arranged two dates this year for the adventurous amongst us to sign up and take part in a Tandem Parachute Jump. The charity is hoping to get lots of people to sign up to raise funds for the Air Ambulance Appeal
Time For Change by Master Colony Out now on 208 Records This four piece from Middlesbrough have released their debut album on Swindon’s 208 Records this week. The rock pop band have all the raw excitement of the 1960s Beatles
WHY do religious leaders like your columnist Paul Williams (SA, February 5) think because they believe in a mythical God everyone else should and somehow atheists are not normal. He says 70 per cent of the population describe themselves as Christian
A CELEBRATION of the past 13 years was held at Swindon Town Football Club’s study centre last night. The centre revealed earlier this week that it is shutting up shop due to the withdrawal of the Playing For Success grant, which is part of the government
PROSPECT Hospice wants daredevils to help raise vital funds. Parachute for Prospect – which takes place on May 22 and September 11 at Redlands Airfield, in Wanborough – will see people being sponsored to take part in a tandem skydive from 10,000ft.
BT ENGINEERS swapped their overalls to become cartoon and movie characters when they shook collection boxes for Cancer Research UK. The Open Reach engineers dressed as Scooby Doo, Captain Jack Sparrow and Storm Troopers to catch the attention of generous
RUNNERS are hoping to raise plenty of cash for charity by taking part in a gruelling race which will test strength, endurance and co-ordination. Simon Hancock, 42, of South Marston, is part of a team of five from Swindon taking part in the 10k Mud Runner
THE MAN behind hundreds of gleaming smiles in the town has reached the finals of a national dentistry competition. Patrick Holmes, of Seven Fields Dental Health Centre, in Woodcutters Mews, is the first dentist from the town to make it through to the
MALICIOUS hoax calling of emergency services is wasting precious time for those in real danger, local bosses have said. Yesterday we reported that Wiltshire Police received more than 420 hoax calls from the Swindon area. And now we can reveal that firefighters
A MOTORCYCLIST has been rushed to hospital with serious head injuries after colliding with a stationary truck. The 20-year-old man was travelling down Eldene Drive towards Dorcan Way at 10.13pm on Monday when he collided with a white Mercedes break-down
A WOMAN who was caught shoplifting days after being put on a suspended sentence for robbery has been told she may not have to serve the full jail term. Leanne Goldsmith, of The Heights, Kingshill, was warned she would be sent to jail if she breached
Abbey D had a storming victory against Raychem E on Saturday. Abbey were up 15 nil within the first quarter and then only conceded 3 goals in the second quarter. Abbey's defence was tight with strong and confident performances from Kayleigh Harper and
A TOP Swindon council officer was the subject of racism during his bid to become leader of another authority. A damning judgment has been handed down to a councillor in Monmouthshire because of bigotry he showed against Hitesh Patel, now Swindon’s head
While other manufacturers are slowly realising the future is hybrid, Lexus are leading the way by launching the CT 200h, the fourth model in the range to use Lexus Hybrid Drive technology. The CT 200h is capable of running on its petrol engine, electric
Suzuki has extended its VAT free offer on Alto SZ3 and SZ4 models which now represents a customer saving of up to £1,423 after the recent rise to 20 per cent, helping customers take advantage of an easier way to buy a new car for the new year. Additionally
The sporty Alfa Giulietta five-door hatchback range has been boosted by the addition of another ultra frugal yet high performing second generation MultiJet diesel engine. The new 2.0 JTDM-2 140 bhp is an ideal engine for both company car drivers and
When you’re looking to update your car, there’s only one place to look in the Swindon area. West Swindon Motor Park offers eight different franchises from three different companies in one convenient location. Whether you’re thinking about buying
Mazda has once again emerged as the nation’s best car company for customer satisfaction with the brand and its dealers topping the automotive sector in the latest UK Customer Satisfaction Index with a score of 83.3 percent, well above the car industry
Volvo Cars is now taking the next step towards next-generation electric car technology. Backed by research support from the Swedish Energy Agency the company is initiating development of a fuel cell that can extend the electric car’s operating range
In a year that brought a series of successful car launches, including the RCZ and 3008 Crossover, Fish Brothers Peugeot has been recognised as one of Peugeot’s top dealerships in the UK, attaining membership of The Guild of Gold Lion Dealers. Winners
The Fiat 500 continues to lead the way in the business world after scooping the City Car of the Year title for the third consecutive year in the 2011 BusinessCar Awards. There’s no disputing that it’s won the hearts of thousands of private buyers
The Corsa, Vauxhall’s second best-selling model after the Astra, and a near-permanent fixture in the UK’s top-three best sellers’ list, has now adopted many of the premium styling cues from other recently launched Vauxhalls, such as the Insignia, Astra
Skurrays Saab’s new low emissions 9-3 engines offer low emissions. Offering the best of both worlds, Saab’s 9-3 range now features the cleanest, low-carbon Saabs ever produced. Twin-turbo engines have been optimised across the range, in the 9-
Chevrolet's new compact MPV brings swagger to the segment by adopting a bolder look with its low roofline and crossover inspired silhouette, while retaining the distinctive and recognizable Chevrolet 'face' depicted by the split radiator grille and bow-tie
ACTION has been promised to stop rubbish spoiling one of the town’s most historic landmarks. Fly-tippers are blighting the Railway Village by dumping rubbish ranging from mattresses to ironing boards, despite the Household Waste Recycling Centre, at
COUNCILLOR Moffatt’s bizarre attack on the record of the Conservative administration contained only one fact. This council was under-funded by the last Labour government and even though we had a boom time the three Labour MPs under which we suffered
POLICE sniffer dogs could be drafted in at this year’s Swindon Youth Festival in a bid to prevent drink and drug use at the popular event. The festival – now in its fifth year – is held at Old Town Gardens and is aimed at 11 to 25-year-olds. It is co-ordinated
SWINDON kept their first clean sheet in four seasons as they whitewashed Swansea Bay 4-0 in the Davis Wood Hockey League Premier Division 2. The hosts received an 8-2 drubbing from the young Welsh side earlier this season but exacted revenge emphatically
THE council has made a stark declaration: “Our technology is no threat to kids’ health”. Experts have moved to quash fears about microwave antennaes once-and-for-all, as the council installs them at 12 schools across the town. In the past fortnight,
SIMON Henry of Nalgo & CS was in fine form in the latest round of fixtures in the Swindon and District Air Rifle League. He scored a possible (60-point maximum) for his team who beat Rodbourne Cheney 530-514. Henry then won the N Le Cappelain Shield
SWINDON College Old Boys are targeting a third-place finish in the Berks/Bucks & Oxon Premier after a 46-19 victory over Hungerford at Pipers Way on Saturday. Old Boys still occupy sixth spot in the league table, but coach Luke Wills believes his side
TWO Penhill boxers were in action at Trowbridge at the weekend, fighting in two supporting bouts for the Western Counties versus Home Counties event. First up was junior Jake Knowles against Joe Edwards from the host club. Knowles closed down his opponent
SWINDON light-middleweight Craig Leadbeater has two reasons for marking Saturday, March 5 on the calendar, writes PETER FOLEY. First of all he is making his professional debut on Keith Mayo’s seven-bout bill, the first staged at the new MECA venue in
AN ASYLUM seeker who burgled a house just weeks after he was released from prison for a similar matter is back behind bars. Moharam Rahimi made off with cash and jewellery after smashing a window at the flat in Gorse Hill while the occupants were out
SWINDON Supermarine will attempt to claw back a first leg deficit tonight when they host Chippenham in the Wiltshire Premier Shield semi-final. The Webb’s Wood outfit lost 1-0 to the Bluebirds at Hardenhuish Park just over a fortnight ago as former Marine
SWINDON Town’s loyal band of 300 or so fans were left bemused and disappointed by the late postponement of their side’s League One clash with Exeter City last night. Referee David Coote dashed hopes of any action at St James’ Park when he called
FOR a game to be postponed less than two hours before kick-off is tolerable in very rare doses. But after the Stockport County debacle of last season, when the Edgeley Park surface was quite literally not fit enough for a game of rugby, the
TOWN boss Danny Wilson last night backed the decision of referee David Coote to call off the League One clash at Exeter. After a 6pm pitch inspection at St James' Park, the soaking surface was deemed to dangerous to proceed, sending the 300
THE FIGHT against local loan sharks will continue undeterred even though the regional taskforce will be disbanded next month, project leaders have said. The South West Illegal Money Lending Team (IMLT), based in Bristol, is set to be absorbed into a
