CONSERVATIVE Party leader Iain Duncan Smith branded Basingstoke council as "barking mad" for the way it has handled its controversial play area replacement programme. During his first visit to the town since taking up the leadership mantle from Willam
A DAD who tried to rape two terrified teenage girls as they walked home from a Basingstoke nightclub has been jailed for seven years. Just 10 months before, father-of-two Michael Traynor followed two other women home from the same club, Bud's Bar, and
WITH the major summer signing of John Crawley and the addition of South African-born Nic Pothas, Hampshire will be trophy hunting when the new season opens on Friday. Last season, the county, led by skipper Robin Smith, won promotion back to the top flight
FRESH from the Easter break, the summer tennis season is already underway with local secondary schools competing to win the titles up for grabs in the Basingstoke and District Schools Tennis League. The league, which is sponsored by Totally Tennis and
BASINGSTOKE Bison duo Mike Ellis and Neil Liddiard were in action last night for Great Britain as they opened their latest bid to join the top division of the world championship in Hungary. Also included in the 23-strong squad are three former Bison players
SOME elderly residents in nursing homes across the New Forest face paying up to £2,755 a year extra for the same level of care enjoyed by those living in a room next door. A new two-tier funding system will see hundreds of the frailest pensioners lose
A NEW company is now handling the distribution of Piper aircraft in the UK following news that Meridian Aviation has taken over the assets of Bournemouth-based Anglo American Airmotive. Meridian Aviation has been formed by successful Guernsey-based computer
HEALTH minister Alan Milburn has added his support to the Daily Echo You Can Help Your NHS campaign. He joins Prime Minister Tony Blair who has already backed our campaign, which aims to save the NHS £500,000 of the millions of pounds being wasted by
A CAR enthusiast from West Meon is set to appear in court today to argue he shouldn't be forced to reveal who was driving his vintage sports car when it was caught speeding. Idris Francis, 62, is due to appear before Guildford Magistrates' Court in Surrey
SOME elderly residents of nursing homes across Eastleigh face paying up to £2,755 a year extra for the same level of care enjoyed by those living in a room next door. A new two-tier funding system will see hundreds of the frailest pensioners lose out
HOUSE prices are set to boom in Chandler's Ford when the town's train station is reopened, estate agents have warned. They predict hundreds of London commuters will want to set up home in the area when the station opens for business in the summer or autumn
SIGHTS, sounds, taste and smells of a traditional French street market swept through the shopping streets of Eastleigh. More than 20 market traders from the Normandy region rolled into town and it proved to be a great hit as bar-gain hunters shopped in
THE joy on Tahar El Khalej's face says it all as Southampton once again prove themselves the kings of the comeback. The Moroccan bagged a late, late equaliser at The Valley to ensure a 1-1 draw with Charlton Athletic. It was the the seventh time this
AT a quarter to five, a trickle of red and white shirted Southampton fans began heading out of the gloriously named Jimmy Seed Stand. With little more than ten minutes of the game left, Saints, despite all their second-half pressure, looked like drawing
AN OPEN air commemorative service took place yesterday on the eve of the 90th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. Around 400 people attended the short service and wreath-laying ceremony at the Titanic Engineers' Memorial in Above Bar Street, Southampton
SOME postmasters in the Basingstoke area could receive letters from Consignia detailing plans of a scheme to axe up to a third of Hampshire sub-post offices. The closure and modernisation programme will affect what are classed as urban branches in areas
RESOLUTE community campaigner George Potten was "over the moon" after the finishing touches were put to his beloved Millennium Garden in Basingstoke. Last Monday, The Gazette reported how wheelchair-bound George was despondent after vandals and thieves
It's now midday at the start of the fourth day and we are charging along in near perfect conditions. For the first time since the start we have not had to do a sail change for our entire watch. The numbers have been consistently high and on course. 'Games
The east to west Atlantic record course requires that we sail between two of the Canary islands so as to follow Columbus' famous route of discovery. This tends to present the crew and navigators with a little minefield as the mountainous islands have
Today's Principal Arrivings: Southern Carrier, ro/ro, 0730, 25 link; Celtic King, container, 1030, 207W; Norasia Hamburg, container, 2000, 206; Bonn Express, container, 2300, 204. Today's Principal Sailings: Bunga Mas 9, container, AM, 205W; HMS Goodwill
LOCAL computer company boss Jason Dance is not a man to mess with - he has just become a black belt in the martial art of Wu Shu Kwan, or Chinese kick-boxing. Jason, managing director of Starwand computers in Wokingham, started kick-boxing in October
Basingstoke Labour Club 1 Three Barrels 2 THREE Barrels had the edge in the Peter Raynbird Cup final at the Camrose Ground on Saturday evening against a below-par Labour Club, who missed their top goal scorer Lee Chambers and midfield man Carl Gilbert
Basingstoke 38pts Thanet Wanderers 20 BASINGSTOKE finished their league campaign on a high with a solid win against Thanet Wanderers at Down Grange on Saturday. The FX-backed side deserved the victory although Thanet made sure they had to work for it.
Basingstoke Town 0 Canvey Island 4 BASINGSTOKE Town were given a lesson in finishing on Saturday by title-chasing Canvey Island. On the face of it, both sides had the same amount of chances but by the end of the game the scoreline read 4-0 in Canvey's
ROMSEY could soon have a new state-of-the-art healthcare centre - as well as new houses and a park-and- walk facility. Plans have been submitted to Test Valley council for the project in Burma Road, next to Romsey Football Club and the Rapids leisure
THE big clean-up is under way in the New Forest. New Forest Pride Week was also given a helping hand by Womble Great Uncle Bulgaria. The commission has teamed up with New Forest District Council in a joint campaign against litter, not only on the heaths
The eight-piece jazz ensemble Sax Appeal will be putting their instruments through their paces at the Theatre Royal Winchester on April 17. The group, featuring five of the country's best young saxophonists, offer an infectious mix of styles, from driving
A DESPERATE Fareham mum is calling for her teenage daughter to phone home after she ran away to Yorkshire with a stranger she met on the Internet. Kerry Green, 17, met the man at a Southsea funfair after communicating with him by mobile phone. Kerry -
SOME ELDERLY residents of nursing homes across Fareham and Gosport face paying up to £2,755 a year extra for the same level of care enjoyed by those living in a room next door. A new two-tier funding system will see hundreds of the frailest pensioners
A WELL-known Eastleigh youth centre, which was opened by the late Princess Margaret, could be bulldozed and replaced with a state-of-the-art community building. It is expected that about £500,000 will be needed to bring the 1960s Nightingale Centre site
FAMILY support group Home-Start Eastleigh is hoping that the community will come out in force to support its 1960s fundraising evening. Peter Pod and the Peas will be taking centre stage at the Eastleigh Railway Institute on Friday April 19. There are
On the ninetieth anniversary of Southampton 's worst seafaring disaster we look back at how the tragic news of the Titanic was reported. Extracts from the Hampshire Independent on Saturday April 20, 1912. W E give full details below of this sad happening
