THE building of the B&Q distribution centre has left local residents living in a noise and dust nightmare. People living in Highworth Road, opposite the new centre, feel they have not been taken into consideration as the road outside their homes has
A TEENAGE mum who admitted kicking a man on the ground in an attempted robbery has been jailed. Milena O’Connell, of Cassini Drive, Oakhurst, was told if she could stay off drugs and keep out of trouble for four months she would not be sent to prison
YEARS of campaigning to change the law after the brutal murder of his sister and nephew have paid off for dedicated Frank Mullane. His life was turned upside down eight years ago when his sister Julia Pemberton and her 17-year-old son Will were murdered
PART of Old Town came to a temporary standstill as crime scene investigators looking into the murder of Sian O’Callaghan collected evidence for the court case. Almost three weeks after the body of the 22-year-old was removed from a field
AFTER a two-week stay in hospital Swindon mayor Rex Barnett is now at home and back to his usual cheery self. The 73-year-old picked up a chest infection earlier in the year, which refused to budge, and in the early hours of March 26 he suffered a severe
A CHARITY is looking for volunteers to register for their next fundraising event. The Macmillan Longest Golf Day is a national event, held on June 21, which see teams of four people play four rounds of golf in one day. Using a system called Stableford
VOTERS in Swindon will be treated to a bonanza of balloting this May 5. Not just one, but three sets of votes are running at the same time. One set will see voters choose who they want to represent them in their Swindon Borough Council ward. At the
TALENTED Leon Westcott will be hoping for the luck of the Irish as he attempts to dance his way to glory. The 11-year-old will this week embark on his first trip to the Emerald Isle as he prepares for the World Irish Dancing Championships,
EVERYONE is invited to a night set to raise hundreds for cancer patient Tami Brown. Tami’s school friends, Samantha Cottrell, Diana Shepherdson, Katie Henderson, Kate Coleman and Martyn Elbrow have organised a masquerade ball at Liquid And
DO YOU ENJOY BATHING IN HARD WATER?? Stupid question really isn’t it but thousands of people in Wiltshire still do when we have a simple solution. BUY A WATER SOFTENER! Not only will you enjoy bathing in soft water you will save
ALONG with Royal status Wootton Bassett is now to get its very own brew in thanks for its dignified repatriations. The Royal Bassett Ale has been brewed by Kingsdown-based Arkell’s Brewery in tribute to the people of the town, who turn out to honour
RONNIE Russell lavished praise on Scott Nicholls after the number one inspired his team to a gutsy losing point at Wolverhampton. Swindon secured their first Elite League point of the season at the third time of asking in the 48-42 defeat at Monmore
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5% DISCOUNT OFF ALL MENSWEAR* *Not in Conjunction with any other offer Jensons of Gorse Hill Swindon’s Leading Independent Menswear Specialist Tel: 01793 642211 www.jensonsofgorsehill.biz
This Easter holidays are not just about bunnies and chocolate. From Palm Sunday April 17 to Easter Monday April 25, Easter Stations will be set up across Swindon for everyone to follow the stations fo the cross as depicted in the bible.
Births, Marriages, Birthdays & Anniversaries. We are offering our Loyalty Card holders a 50% discount. Call into reception: Swindon Advertiser, 100 Victoria Road, Swindon, SN1 3BE to book your announcement.
Save 20% on all Services Aqua-G Salon and Hair Extensions Centre in Swindon’s Brunel Centre offers ladies and gents hair cutting and colouring, hair extensions, wedding hair, sets, temporary colours, wefts, nail extensions, manicures, pedicures
20% Off Stoneware & Garden Furniture When You Present Your Swindon Advertiser Loyalty Card. Sheds Traditional Wood Greenhouses Summerhouses Stoneware Garden Furniture Blackfords Timber Supplies Greenhill
MUMS say the Great Western Hospital has made significant improvements in the care they give during pregnancy. Last year, the Trust commissioned the Picker Institute to carry out a Maternity Survey in order to see how mothers feel about the service they
A PAIR of brothers have been remanded in custody after one admitted robbing a man of his car and the other then driving it. James Howells, 25, pleaded guilty to robbing a man of a Seat Leon in Swindon on January 12 and 28-year-old Anthony admitted driving
SWINDON Town have offered professional contracts to midfielders Matt Clark and Abdul Said. Calrk joined the youth team in 2009 and has featured regularly for the reserves this season. Said, meanwhile, joined the club from Coventry City
THE TOWN’S most talented dancers came together to delight two sell out audiences at the weekend with a showcase of youth dance. Swindon Dance presented Dance House 2011 at the theatre in Regent Circus on Friday and Saturday, with two explosive
CHANGE often encounters fear and this is especially the case when looking at the highly emotive issue of heart surgery for children. But an improved medical service for children with cardiac conditions is long overdue. As a national charity that offers
HAVING been under the weather with a persistent virus for the past month I am now progressing and taking note of what’s going on in the world. I have noted two very good letters (SA, March 26 and 28) from Des Morgan on the Libyan campaign the contents
MYSTERY continues to surround the future of the Mechanics’ Institute after the Adver finally got in touch with its owner. The newspaper managed to reach jet-setting businessman Mathew Singh yesterday, after numerous previous attempts to track him down
RESIDENTS in Covingham have been reassured that the proposed Eastern Villages plan will not put their homes at risk of another flooding nightmare. Last night, around 100 residents filled the hall at Covingham Park Primary School for the Parish
SWINDON Council is considering keeping the keys to the Mechanics’ Institute after emergency works to the historic building are completed in May. The grade II* listed building, in the Railway Village, is undergoing works which the council claims were
NEW measures being implemented at the Great Western Hospital (GWH)will mean fewer fines in the future. From the beginning of this month, the Government announced that hospital trusts would be fined £250 for each patient who had to share a ward with a
A BATCH of signed sporting items will be up for grabs at a special event for the Help the Heroes charity. Former serviceman Colin Jackson has collected the memorabilia for a charity ball he has organised for the cause on July 30. Ex-marine Ben McBeen
THOUSANDS of people across the county are reported missing every year, according to UK charity Missing People. Figures released by the charity showed there were 3,371 missing incidents reported last year in Wiltshire equalling around five incidents per
“SHE told me she would not come home until she was clean – I never saw her again.” For Karen Edwards, mother of murdered Becky Godden-Edwards, her daughter’s last promise to her is still fresh in her memory. Yesterday Mrs Edwards, 50
FRIENDS of murdered Becky Godden-Edwards paid their respects to the “bubbly blonde” when they released balloons into the sky above Queen’s Park. Around 50 people attended the memorial service at 4pm yesterday and released balloons with pictures of Becky
CELEBRATIONS are in order for two sets of lovebirds who reach 70 years of marriage today. Kay and Wilf Blackwell, of Cricklade Road, and Joyce and Arthur Duck, of Westlea, are celebrating their platinum wedding anniversaries after tying the knot on April
The Parish Church of St Augustine of Canterbury, Summers Street, Rodbourne, is pleased to announce the return of Professor Dr Ian Tracey, Organist Titulaire of Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral and Liverpool City Organist, who will be giving a recital on
PENHILL Amateur Boxing Club returned from Holland House Hotel in Cardiff with one win last weekend, and were unlucky not to have come back with more. A series of controversial decisions went against the local club’s boxers, as they represented
ALTHOUGH I do sympathise with the Japanese people on the radiation from the power plants, are you aware that there is still a great number of us servicemen still suffering from our nuclear tests in the part played by us in the Pacific in the 50s
A man has been jailed for life after pleading guilty to murdering his former partner and her son with an axe. Michael Kelly, 46, of Hatch Road, Stratton St Margaret, will serve a minimum of 30 years behind bars after admitting two counts of
THROUGH your paper may I say what a wonderful tribute the motor cyclists made, as they rode in convoys through Wootton Bassett in support of our boys and girls who have been tragically injured and killed in Afghanistan. A wonderful tribute
I AM writing on behalf of the Meningitis Trust to encourage all of your readers who would like to take part in a truly memorable experience this year, by joining me and taking the leap of faith. We are organising a skydive with the famous Red
ONE of the Swindon Advertiser’s pleas has always been that the population of Swindon supports local shops and tradespeople; this has possibly been an even greater thrust of the Star’s message. This obviously keeps businesses economically viable
THE other day I received through the post a pamphlet from the Boundary Commission, explaining the referendum on AV and how it would be carried out, it also explained about the review of constituency boundaries. However on page 8 the last paragraph
THANK you Barrie Hudson for a very entertaining column about Swindon’s 102nd Music Festival. He’s right about the talented young musicians. Thank you too to the Adver for such excellent reporting of the Festival. But Barrie missed the talented
HIGHWORTH Town continue their title tilt this evening when they play host to Reading Town in the Hellenic League Premier Division. Dave Webb’s men are currently fifth in the table and although they are nine points behind table-toppers Ardley, they
SWINDON’S under 18s clinched their youth league title for the third successive season at the weekend following a 2-0 win over Bournemouth. Miles Storey put Paul Bodin’s side ahead after 19 minutes before second-year scholar James Richards doubled the
MIKE Grella chose to return to Leeds after being benched by Swindon boss Paul Hart for recent games, the striker has explained on his Twitter page. The 24-year-old American was signed until the end of the season by former manager Danny Wilson at the
CALVIN Andrew conceded he is finding playing as a lone striker ‘ridiculously tough’ but is happy to continue to perform in that role if it achieves results for Swindon. The 24-year-old is more accustomed to lining up alongside a partner in
MATT Ritchie was full of praise for hard-working striker Calvin Andrew following his first goal for the club on Saturday, and revealed the belief among the players that Swindon can stay up could not be stronger. Andrew's late goal at Brentford
SWINDON Spitfires Reserves completed their Thames Valley League programme with a 2-1 defeat at leaders MK Dons Reserves. Spits’ second string remain in second place in the division after the result, but will have to wait on results elsewhere to reveal
SOUTHBROOK stayed in the hunt for a top-five finish in the Wiltshire League Premier Division with a 4-1 away win over AFC Amesbury. Chris Doyle opened the scoring for the visitors after just seven minutes before Wes Pidgeon added a second shortly
GREYHOUND lifted the Swindon Sunday League Division One title with a 4-2 victory over AFC Gas. Steve Robinson and Taylor Gill both hit braces for the champions, as goals from Mark Bennett and Andrew Brien were not enough for Gas. Elsewhere in the division
THE Highworth Running Club hosted its 26th annual springtime run last weekend, with over 350 entrants tackling the warm weather and undulating five-mile run that started and finished at the town's Warneford Comprehensive School. From the outset, Cirencester
VBA Rangers sprung the surprise of the day in the Swindon & District League, seeing off title challengers Fratello’s 3-2 at Shrewsbury Road. Richard Plumb gave Fratello’s the early lead, cutting in from the right touchline to beat two players and fire
CROFT Juniors B proved why they are Under 15 Division 3 champions with an astonishing 7-4 victory at Dorcan to end the season with a remarkable 100 per cent record. Croft looked to be heading to defeat for the first time this term when they
SWINDON Flames Youth lost out 6-2 to Oxford Tornadoes at Farnborough Leisure Centre on Sunday. Short-benched, Flames fell behind after just 29 seconds, as Josh Hickman fired local rivals Oxford in front. The inexperienced Swindon side put up a dogged
A INCIDENT which saw a six-year-old child knocked off his bike by a van has been described as an ‘accident waiting to happen’. The boy, who has not been named, was taken to hospital with head injuries after being struck by a Post Office vehicle in Dorcan
