THE Swindon Pregnancy Crisis Centre has been given a boost thanks to a donation of £500. The money, which has been donated by The Co-operative’s Community Fund will help to produce literature about the service and develop a website. The Community Fund
THE trial of a woman accused of causing the death of a cyclist at the Commonhead roundabout is scheduled to start on Tuesday. Sarah Williams, 45, of Orpington, Kent, is charged with the death of Swindon Town Football Club fan Andrew Drinkwater, 23, by
THE fire service sent two engines to tackle a blaze at a youth homeless shelter. The Foyer, in Bath Road, Old Town, was evacuated as firefighters in breathing apparatus tackled the fire, shortly before 9pm on Wednesday night. No one was injured in the
POLICE in the town centre have made the first charge using new legislation in the fight against anti-social behaviour and street drinking. Under powers outlined in the Violent Crime Reduction Act, police officers now have the power to direct any individual
Defending their seat in Abbey Meads, Central, Covingham & Nythe, Dorcan and Eastcott ABBEY MEADS Peter Stoddart (Conservative) IN THEIR OWN WORDS: In Abbey Meads it is only the Conservatives who work all year round,
Stephen Gilmore, best known in music circles for his work with The Greasy Gravy Blues Band, is also a renowned artist. His outstanding skills in both areas have scooped him this year’s Wiltshire Life Award for art and music. This award can be won
“I am very lucky.” Those were the words of six-year-old Ben Halliday who is lucky to be alive after he was knocked off his bike by a lorry. Ben’s mum, Michelle, feared the worst after seeing her son struck by a Post Office lorry which
A SPRING concert is being staged by the Highworth Choral Society this weekend. There will be a wide range of music on the night including various items by Elgar, Rossini, Grieg, Vivaldi, Brahms, a selection of the four-part Mass by William Byrd and Worthy
THE so called chaos caused on Sunday is nothing compared to the loss of a life to our guys and girls and what they are going through to keep us a free country. This was a truly worthwhile cause to say thank you to our wounded, fallen heroes and also Wootton
ONCE again the EU gravy train rumbles along the tracks stopping at the Parliament building. Today, bureaucrats have voted for a spending increase of 2.3 per cent. This is completely unacceptable. Parliament bureaucrats originally suggested an exorbitant
THERE was bickering and backbiting at the final meeting of the full council before the May 5 elections. The gathering wore on late into the evening, and saw only a few members of the public attending. But that did not dampen the rivalry
A Swindon company has been helping with the peace process in the ongoing crisis in Libya. Audio visual equipment and conferencing hire company RTS Communications provided ‘host radio broadcast facilities’ – where radio journalists could interview politicians
PETS at Home is pledging to help local pet charities across the town as it prepares to open a new store at the Bridgemead Retail Park, off Great Western Way, in May. Store manager David Jones is appealing for people to nominate animal organisations or
THERE was cheering at Holy Rood Junior School when pupils and teachers took to the stage to show off their skills. Dozens of children sang, danced and played instruments in the annual school talent show. Headteacher Tony McAteer said
SWEET-TOOTHED shoppers had a treat when a live “mechanical chocolatier” visited Swindon Designer Outlet to dish out chocolates in return for charity cash. The Thorntons chocolatier – in reality a performer – is touring 25 locations across the UK to collect
THE VIEWS of local election candidates on the proposed development at Coate are set to be published online. Campaigners against the proposed development at Coate will be writing to candidates to get their views on the proposed developments and putting
Disaster response volunteer Pat Prendergast has just returned to Swindon after delivering vital survival kits to victims of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. “IT WAS just mind-blowing.” That is how disaster response volunteer Pat
BRIGHT costumes and music will again fill the streets of Penhill this summer when the estate’s own carnival returns for the first time in 16 years. Penhill Carnival, founded in 1976, was an annual community highlight for decades and the festival
DINOSAURS and sunsets were among the subjects painted by children at an arts workshop in Pinehurst Library on Tuesday. The community project, run on Tuesdays throughout April, aims to offer youngsters something positive to engage in after school
BESTSELLING author Julian Ruck will be visiting Swindon this weekend to meet fans and sign copies of his new book. Julian, who is promoting his latest release An Equal Judge, will be at WH Smith in Regent Street tomorrow from 10am. The
THE future of the NHS and social care services will be discussed at an open meeting next month. The Swindon LINk (Local Involvement Network) open meeting will take place at the Pilgrim Centre, Regent Circus, on May 18 from 10.30am until 3.30pm
IT was nice to see Mr Spry back in print, after his shock at the General Election defeat, but his letter is no shock in its contents. As Mr Balls keeps telling us, we should learn from history and the history of the Labour Party is one of spend and pay
ACTIVE youngsters in Pinehurst are to play a football match against local police officers as part of a project to build relations between the two groups. The 11-a-side friendly will kick off at Webbs Wood Stadium in South Marston – the home of Swindon
A YOUNG couple are appealing for help in funding treatment for their baby who suffers from flat head syndrome. Koren Antoni, 24, and Jet Pontin, 30, of Wynnedale Close in Stratton, were told earlier this week that their nine-month-old son Yodi
AS an avid reader of your paper I wonder if you maybe able to assist me in drumming up a little help in getting some fundraising for the Snowdonia challenge we are taking part in on July 2, 2011. We are entering a team of four one of whom is
SWINDON Council has been criticised for being too generous with the amount of mileage its staff can claim. A report from the pressure group, the TaxPayers’ Alliance has revealed that Swindon Council pays its staff 65p a mile for petrol – 20p more than
THEY were once the thriving social hubs of communities but last orders have been called at several pubs across the town in just one year. Rising utility bills, duty increases in alcohol, competition from cheap supermarkets and the smoking ban have meant
A BIG thank you to all the staff and customers at ASDA Orbital shopping centre for the support they showed on Saturday to the Swindon Down’s Syndrome Group. We raised £483.20 through bag packing and a collection. The money will support people
I WOULD sooner see the ‘x’ number of millions being spent on having a referendum on AV being used on whether or not we should exit the EU. Something which both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown and now followed by David Cameron have all fraudently denied
WE want to hear more about the people who give up their time and energy to help make their communities better. WRVS is putting together a comprehensive Power List of ‘66 over 66’, highlighting the success of older people from all walks of life
PETER Mallinson’s irate response to a letter of mine in relation to Homecare raises more questions than he answers. In the first instance he gives us average hours worked based on 64 staff. Yet I believe 12 of these staff did not deliver Homecare
DAVE Webb has revealed his Highworth Town players are running on adrenaline as they head into the Hellenic Premier Division’s title-deciding final 10 days. Highworth’s intense spell of 16 games in the last two months of the season comes to a head over
SKIPPER Jonathan Douglas is determined not to see history repeat itself by helping Swindon climb out of the relegation zone. The midfielder was part of the Leeds side that made the Championship play-off final back in 2006, but then suffered relegation
MALMESBURY Vics’ manager-elect, Simon Winstone, is relishing the chance of taking on the reins at the Flying Monk Ground when current boss Mike Hartley moves on in the summer. Hartley is emigrating to Australia at the end of the current campaign and
KARL Robinson believes Swindon are now counting the cost of selling their best players and has urged the MK Dons hierarchy to take their situation into consideration should they fail to gain promotion this year. The Buckinghamshire side are the visitors
PAUL Hart is not afraid to make changes to a winning side if he feels it will give Swindon the best chance of collecting three crucial points. Town are bidding for back-to-back victories in League One for the first time since September against MK Dons
On the 28th April 2001 Town played host to Peterborough Utd at the County Ground in a must win game to stay in League One, after an amazing nail biting game Danny Invincibile scored a 90th minute winner to save Town from relegation, nearly a decade later
SUPERMARINE joint caretaker-manager Gary Horgan has insisted tomorrow’s trip to Brackley Town is no more daunting than any other Southern League match, despite the hosts’ fine recent form. Brackley have won four of their last five, scoring 14 goals without
CHIPPENHAM Town winger James Guthrie is thoroughly enjoying his experience in the Southern League after making the step up from Hellenic Premier Division Highworth Town in January. Guthrie, who made the final 22 of the Samsung ‘Win A Pro Contract’ competition
SUPERMARINE’S coaching staff have vowed to keep their pre-season promise for a third consecutive term, as they look to guide their side to third place in Dorset & Wilts 1 North with victory at Chippenham 2nds tomorrow. Since arriving at the club just
SWINDON’S second-string go into their final game of the season 80 minutes from completing a remarkable campaign. The side have won each of their 21 Dorset & Wilts 2 North fixtures, racking up 1158 points in the process. Having reached three figures
IAN McParland believes Alassane N’Diaye could be a useful makeshift striker for Town, should circumstance demand it in the final five games of the season. After the loan deals for Mike Grella and Jonathan Obika both failed to run their duration, and
‘THIS is our season now, if we win on Saturday we can extend it another week.’ Wootton Bassett vice-captain Tim Gallimore’s summation of his side’s weekend blockbuster with Aylesbury illustrated just how much the Southern Counties North clash
FORMER Robin Mads Korneliussen might reserve a little sympathy for Swindon and their current plight, but that does not stop the Dane revelling in his current team’s success. Korneliussen collected an impressive haul of 12 last night as in-form
