PEWSEY AVON ANGLING look certain to retain the Hants, Wilts & Dorset Winter League crown after league leaders Dorset Raiders suffered a disaster, finishing fifth in the latest match. Raiders now have the seemingly impossible task of gaining two points
SOUTHAMPTON's Paul Steed is the talk of the local scene after landing one of the biggest freshwater eels of all times at Broadlands Lake. The fish was first recorded in 1988 by Salisbury pike angler Dale Boyer at 8lb 3oz when it was taken on a float fished
WARREN Boat Club had two boats out 'Due South' and 'Private Venture' and caught a total of 196 fish. Largest fish of the day was a cod of 24lb caught by Gary Williams. Other fish included whiting to 3lb, 4lb spotted ray, dogfish and pout. Points Alan
Indoor six-a-side cricket at Hampshire's Rose Bowl academy has received a massive thumbs up by some of the area's top Southern Electric Premier League players. Title holders BAT Sports along with Havant voted the facilities a big hit after playing the
BAT and Havant, champions and runners-up respectively this summer, are set to clash in the second round of next summer's Southern Electric ECB Premier League programme. The pair meet in a 50-over match at BAT's Southern Gardens on May 11, with the all-day
THE Hampshire Association of Cricket Coaches is running a disabled persons indoor eight-a-side tournament on Sunday 9th December. The event, at Millbrook School, is in memory of Danny Bond, the Southampton youngster who died earlier this year. Disabled
FOR the first and probably not the last time, the adverse weather conditions put paid to two of the North Hants Football League's scheduled fixtures. Southampton Arms' Hants Intermediate Cup third round tie at Hedge End was waterlogged, as was the league
TRANSPLUS sponsored Andover New Street want former Andover and Salisbury star Sean Sanders to help bring on their youngsters and have put in a seven-day approach to Hants Premier rivals Stockbridge for the 37-year-old who is equally at home playing in
ANDOVER'S Olympic medallist Kate Howey will lead a Hampshire squad session in Portsmouth next February. Kate will run two sessions at the Mountbatten Centre on 3 February - one for 120 juniors in the morning and a second for 80 seniors in the afternoon
Andover 5 Sylvans Sports 0 CFL sponsored Andover last season won the Hants Senior Cup in one of the last competitive games to be played at The Dell and manager Ken Cunningham Brown and his young Lions would like nothing more than to win the trophy again
THE HUNT is on for the next generation of Tim Henmans as the Cliff Richard Tennis Foundation serves up a tour of Southampton schools. About 1,500 pupils will be taking advantage of a drive to take up sport and exercise this week from today. The foundation
NICK SEARLES held onto his singles title at the Isle of Wight tennis championships in Ryde. Last year, doubles team-mates Searles and Lee Matthews faced each other in the final, which Searles captured 6-1, 6-4. This year, the old adversaries met up again
HAVANT stepped up their Hampshire League Division 1 title chase by beating reigning Bramley Bowl holders Palmerston. Although only four shots separated the sides (85-81), Havant collected seven of the eight points thanks mainly to the reliability of their
A Christmas Carol - Nuffield Theatre, Southampton. "I have endeavoured in this Ghostly little book to raise the Ghost of an Idea, which shall not put my readers out of humour with themselves, with each other, with the season, or with me." So wrote Dickens
A POLICE inquiry was under way today after a University of Southampton student plunged 15 floors to his death from a city tower block. The body of the 25-year-old was discovered outside Stoneham House halls of residence in Wessex Lane, Swaything, around
RADICAL plans to reform Britain's police service will make it harder than ever to recruit new officers to patrol the streets of Hampshire, it was claimed today. Hampshire Police Federation fears the proposed government shake-up will result in even fewer
ORGANISERS of Test Valley's £640,000 street warden scheme have come came face to face with anxious residents from the town's estates who claim the yob problem has reached a new peak in the last two years. Some elderly women are left quaking in fear every
WHITCHURCH couple Simon and Mary Whitmarsh have turned their home into a dazzling display of festive fun. They have decorated the front of their house and garden with Christmas lights and toys to raise money for Naomi House Children's Hospice in Sutton
GAIL Coldham is about to learn to ice skate. "It's going to be fun. I am going to learn," she says, with determination. Nothing too unusual about the ambition perhaps but what is unusual about the situation is Gail's skating partner. She will be on the
A DINNER lady at Broughton Primary School has received a long service award to celebrate 27 years of 'outstanding service'. Test Valley mayor Cllr Jack Taylor presented Ruth Musselwhite with the award during a special assembly attended by former headteachers
We looked out from Carn Brea near paths we had trod, chips of Cornish granite made feet feel barely shod. In the misty distance lay Atlantic coast, below us were tin mines Now monuments at most. We looked as if forever, nothing seemed amiss, on this balmy
SMANNELL and Enham Primary School needs to raise £5,000 towards a building project before April or risks losing £90,000 in grants. The project aims to join the two buildings of the school, effectively bringing it under one roof. As the school is Church
PLANS to build 10 new homes on part of a sports ground in Ludgershall have been called 'off side' by incensed residents who fought off a similar proposal eight years ago. Despite warnings in 1993 that they would lose the planning battle the objectors
A tissue of sunrise A songful of morn, Buzzing and twittering Sweet sounds adorn. A deft little breeze, A kiss of warm glow, Caressing and fluttering, Sinuous petals flow. A surfeit of tide, A supple delving of sands, Shifting and drooping, Seaweed throng
SO SOLID Crew have spoken out against the decision to cancel their UK tour, including a concert at Southampton Guildhall set for December 16. The group's record company has issued a statement saying that they are "shocked at the draconian measures being
THE honours keep piling up for wildlife artist, Pip McGarry. Pip, Andover-based and working as artist-in-residence at Marwell Zoo, won the professional wildlife artist of the year award at an exhibition based at Paignton Zoo with a portrayal of a fish
ANDOVER Round Table will be transporting Santa around the town next week. Round Tablers will be using the event to help raise money for local charities. Santa will be available for six nights but his planned timetable may change depending on the weather
A NEW FOREST pensioner has died after falling into his garden pond. William Grunbaum, 77, of Northover Road, Pennington, is thought to have been cleaning out the pond when he toppled over. The accident is believed to have happened on Tuesday lunchtime
OYEZ, Oyez - the beautiful county of the Isle of Wight has a new town crier - Shirley Ballard! Knocking over the traditional male bastion is Shirley who has been appointed to the Island's honorary post by Island council chairman Vic Morey. For the past
ISLE of Wight residents in flood risk areas will be able to benefit from a new online information service launched by the Environment Agency this week. People will be able to search by town, postcode or their nearest river to check on relevant flood warning
THE Island's library service has ordered two new vehicles for its mobile and home services, replacing the current ageing vehicles which at 15 years old are increasingly prone to breakdown. Delivery of the state-of-the-art vehicles which cost £76,000 and
Householders on the Isle of Wight won't be left out in the cold because of new European legislation concerning the disposal of fridges and freezers. The regulations are being introduced because of the environmental harm caused to the ozone layer by the
EX-Masterchef host Loyd Grossman's aims to improve hospital food have been dealt a blow on the Isle of Wight. The Island's cash-strapped healthcare NHS trust can't afford to bring in new measures - including Grossman's ideas - to improve food at St Mary's
New accident and emergency nurse posts look set to be created on the Isle of Wight following the announcement of extra government cash. Three more posts are due to be created out of the £20m allocated for the south east. Chief executive of the Island's
Isle of Wight residents and mainland visitors will be able to walk with dinosaurs for nothing next weekend when admission is free at the new Dinosaur Isle attraction at Sandown. General manager Peter Pusey said: "We thought it would be nice to give something
All but one of the yachts in the Volvo Ocean Race have completed the second leg to Sydney. Amer Sports Too, skippered by Lisa McDonald, is still racing and not expected to finish until Friday. FINISHING DATES AND TIMES: 1 illbruck - Finished on 04 DEC
FAREHAM TOWN'S baby-faced side are growing up fast in the Jewson Wessex League. They may be young, but they proved too strong for BAT in a 2-0 win at Cams Alders last night. Ex-Saints Academy lad Adam Stallard bagged the first on 70 minutes and Martin
THREE goals in a dreadful 15 minute period early in the second half sent Saints crashing ut of the AXA FA Youth Cup at Highfield Road last night. The prestigious cup competition is aimed at under-18s, which meant Saints went into the third round tie without
Broadlands has had an excellent week on the carp front for the time of the year, with syndicate member Rob McIntyre enjoying a fabulous spell in the Inlet Bay. McIntyre landed ten doubles, including two of the newly-stocked fish at 20lb 2oz and 20lb 8oz
A YOUNG robber got more than he bargained for when he pounced on a 15-year-old boy at Totton. The victim fought back and the would-be thief ran off empty handed. Police say the boy was walking near the Station Hotel in Station Road South when he was attacked
FAREHAM TOWN are hoping that former boss, Mark Chamberlain, will continue to work with the club. The former England international, who was in his second spell at Cams Alders, was asked to step down as manager, following a meeting last week between club
Hampshire's newly-formed Academy side will take its Southern Electric ECB Premier League bow against Sparsholt at the Rose Bowl on Saturday, May 4. The county is fielding a team made up of fledgling contracted players and academy students in Division
Poet Laureate Andrew Motion is the special guest of the Daily Echo next week at a major event to be held at Southampton University. The event is open to the public and it is a chance for Echo readers to see and meet the nation's most famous and important
GOSPORT council leaders fear that civic taxes may have to rise by £30 for the average home - or services will have to be cut. Colleagues in Fareham are facing the same stark choice after Whitehall's announcement of local government spending figures for
Broughton 7 Bishopstoke 0 BROUGHTON found it all too easy to overwhelm a struggling Bishopstoke outfit that turned up with only nine players for last Saturday's Hants Division Two clash. "They said that two other players were coming but they never showed
Whitchurch United 3 Blackfield & Langley 5 WHITCHURCH scored their first goals in seven games but manager Howard Goddard is planning to bring in two new strikers within the next few weeks- including his 20-year-old son Nicholas, a former Wales schoolboy
Today's Principal Arrivings: OOCL Los Angeles, container, 0100, 207; Don Quijote, car carrier, 0530, 34/5; Oostersingel, general cargo, 1030, 47; CMA CGM Balzac, container, 1100, 206; Elektra, ro-ro, am, 43; Autocarrier, ro-ro, 1330, 201 link; Bunga Mas
Twyford Lawn Tennis and Bowls Club recently celebrated its centenary with an evening of dining and musical entertainment. Some 100 past and present members gathered at Twyford Village Hall for the occasion to look back at the club's history and its plans
LOCKS HEATH youngster Simon Brooks made it three wins out of four at the Alverstoke Junior Open Tennis tournament. The talented player won the under-12 singles with a comfortable 6-2, 6-3 success over Andrew McGlashen from Hedge End. And Brooks then came
TOP YOUNG British tennis player Anne Keothavong continued her winning run at the $50,000 LTA Women's Tennis Challenger event at the David Lloyd Centre, Southampton, yesterday. Keothavong, who knocked out top seed Seda Noorlander (Holland) in a first-round
Middlesex's Anne Keothavong, this year's Wimbledon junior semi-finalist, pulled off one of the best wins of her career at a £50,000 tournament in Southampton yesterday. Keothavong, the British number ten, beat top seed Seda Noorlander, world-ranked 207
FORMER British number one tennis player Mark Cox has brought the Lawn Tennis Association's search for future tennis stars to Hampshire. As part of a nationwide tour, Cox and other LTA coaches ran the rule over 16 of the most promising Hampshire players
Stefan Edberg, two-time Wimbledon champion and former world number one tennis player, will be playing in Southampton tomorrow. Edberg will be teaming up at the Hampshire Tennis & Health Club, West End, with Andreas Vinciguerra, also from Sweden and
SWANMORE tennis veteran Di Hill has won her first national singles title. She did it playing in the veterans 50-years age group of the National Grasscourt Veterans Championships at Wimbledon. Hill (pictured right) had to battle through a two-and-a-half
HAMPSHIRE and Isle of Wight tennis has a new team. It has nothing to do with the county men's tennis team which has made such an impact over the past five years - winning the County Cup three times and twice finishing runners-up. This team operates best
HEDGE End's long-running carnival is facing the end of the road after 80 glorious years unless more volunteers step forward to help run it. A crisis meeting has been called for next Monday evening in the village hall in a bid to save the event which has
HEDGE END rhythmic gymnast Natasha Small was in the medals at the Southern Region Open Invitational event in Portsmouth. Small, who trains with the Southampton and Portsmouth clubs, won gold against stiff competition for her ball and rope routines, and
Solent Men's National League Volleyball team suffered mixed fortunes in their National League double-header in Bristol. They beat Whitefield 3-0 with a solid performance but then found Oxford Student's hitters too strong and ended up on the wrong end
VICTOR IMISEEV lost his 100 per cent record in the Kings Volvo Southampton League. The Generation II player was beaten 21-17, 21-18 by Waterside A's Christos Hannidies as the Premier Division match ended in a 5-5 draw. Hannidies was undefeated for the
UNBEATEN BAT put the heat on Division Three leaders Waterside E after overwhelming Insurance C 10-0. This puts them one point behind Waterside with a game in hand. Waterside E saw off Ordnance Survey B 8-2. Dave Goodyer not only gained himself a maximum
RESIDENTS in a Hampshire village are celebrating victory in a battle against a 70-home development. A planning inspector dismissed an appeal by RA Dibben, which wanted to build on Roundabouts Copse in North Baddesley. The news ends months of worry for
I am ready for attachment now. I have come so far. I have prepared. I am prone to possession by what I don't believe in, or cannot see. You are not ready, so I cannot see you, though you are all around me. Invisible in my mind you keep pace with me. I
NOT content with just one voluntary project, Penny Garlick devotes her time to three worthwhile causes while overcoming her own disability. The 18-year-old spends nearly every free moment helping different charities and voluntary groups as well as holding
In crispy sheets we lay Caring not if night or day, Tended by a kindly nurse, When everything was worse, Our thoughts were far away, With our comrades left behind, In the dirt and grime, And the terror of it all, While in crispy sheets we lay. Leslie
Deepest night is brooding through the window pane, the moon's place has been enlarged by a concourse of shivering stars, each one a universe a celebration of space, in orbit yet succinct not to be underestimated in its soul-pervading majesty. The garden
A tissue of sunrise A songful of morn Buzzing and twittering Sweet sounds adorn. A deft little breeze A kiss of warm glow, Caressing and fluttering Sinuous petals flow. A surfeit of tide A supple delving of sands Shifting and drooping Seaweed throng bands
A SPECIAL seat and Walnut tree have been unveiled at Shepherds Spring Junior School in memory of a dinner lady who died last year. A special memorial service was held for Mrs Linda Webb, who was dinner lady at the school from November 1996 until December
The river flows serenely, Water crisp and cool and clear. Moving like a dancer, disciplined yet free. Creating total beauty, almost art upon a slate, Yet forever changing, developing and adapting. The water so intelligent, gliding over stones, Meandering
I'll try my best not to see, the white of your eyes, or the captive's tears. I'll use the weapon of words, to contort and twist your mind, I'll set the captives free. It's all OK until the night, then the nightmares come. That's when the motions blur.
Bright sky, and the instruments Mean nothing to me, what's rising Or falling this morning Is the glittering wave On which the bold vessel rides. Green waves, dancing water, The play of light over A filling tide: celebrate Timeless, the shining moment.
A DEDICATED directory offering advice and support to parents in Andover has been launched at the Guildhall. Representatives from organisations packed into the building to receive a copy of the Parentaid directory - the first of its kind in Hampshire.
You privileged people with kudos and power each to quench their hunger, devour quiche and the prawns in delicate dressing with us children approaching, salivating, pressing. Shock horror, baited breath, the anger, the sadness - the centre-piece death.
COMMUNITY groups in Hampshire have been granted a £170,141 cash bonanza from the National Lottery awards programme. Grants of up to £5,000 - from Awards For All - have been given to 47 groups in the county to fund a range of projects. In Test Valley Andover
PUPILS from Andover's primary schools packed into the Guildhall to enjoy the Hampshire Primary Science Fair. The aim of the two-day event was for businesses to provide children with an insight into the role of science and technology in the world of work
PARK and ride is coming to Andover in time for Christmas. Each Saturday and Sunday until Christmas a free park and ride service will be available from the council offices at Beech Hurst in Andover to the bus station in the town centre, and will return
A GROUP of borough councillors are set to have meetings on an ad-hoc basis to try to develop a policy for Andover's Guildhall. Despite being the town's most majestic building, having stood since 1825, the various bodies which have been responsible have
THE cost of providing a street warden scheme for Test Valley for three years will be almost £642,000 which will be half met by special government funding. Meeting in Romsey on Wednesday evening Test Valley Borough Counci's executive agreed to underwrite
POLICE are investigating the upending of a 20ft Christmas tree outside the Crown Inn public house, Ludgershall late on Monday evening. Mark Smith, who erected the tree outside the pub, said the falling timber has caused considerable damage to a porch
THE leader of Hampshire county council is warning council tax payers could face a rise of between eight and nine per cent next April - about four times the rate of inflation. Ken Thornber says the latest government funding settlement has done little to
TEST Valley's mayor is inviting families to join him, singing Christmas Carols in the open air outside the Guildhall in Andover on Friday 14 December. The event will begin at 6.30pm with a performance by the Broughton Mummers, and will be followed by
A FARMER has asked dog walkers to keep their pets under control after two ewes in lamb died following a sheep worrying incident. Mr Graham Ventham of Piper's Hill Farm, near Amport, was keeping the sheep on his land opposite the Hawk Conservancy for another
Residents of Ryde, Isle of Wight, are to get the chance to comment on a wide-ranging set of proposals that would transform the resort's seafront. The proposals are contained in a comprehensive development and improvement plan drawn up by specialist consultants
Rising sea levels could turn the Isle of Wight into the "Isles" of Wight by the end of the century, a new report has revealed. The sea is rising by six millimetres a year in the Solent, and to make problems worse, the Island itself is sinking. The bleak
Five more residential homes on the Isle of Wight have warned social services they may close by April. If the closures go ahead a further 117 beds would be lost to the elderly care sector on the Island - just a week after the announcement of the closure
THE Isle of Wight's healthcare NHS trust is predicting an overspend of £1.2m by the end of the financial year, the trust's board has been told. The grim picture was outlined to the board by director of finance Richard Quinton, who said the overspend already
A bumper crop of grants totalling nearly £50,000 has been announced by the Lottery's Awards For All scheme for groups on the Isle of Wight. The grants will help local organisations buy equipment, train volunteers, run events, publicise their activities
The Isle of Wight Wax Works at Brading, one of the Island's top tourist attractions, has been put up for sale for £600,000. The Wax Works is owned by Heritage Great Britain plc, which says it is selling it as a going concern "as the business is non-core
MUSICIANS are to picket Fareham's Christmas pantomime because promoters are using pre-recorded music for the second consecutive Christmas. Members from the Musicians' Union will hand out leaflets outside Ferneham Hall on the opening night of Snow White
POLICE today issued a "Be on your guard" warning about a team of thieves targeting elderly people after reports of three distraction burglary attempts in the area. Two men conned their way into the Eastleigh homes of a 93-year-old woman in Desborough
COUNCIL leader Keith House has lashed the government for "short- changing the people of Eastleigh" following Whitehall's announcement of local government spending figures for next financial year. The Liberal Democrat council leader is predicting a £3
CIVIC chiefs will today decide whether to put up car parking charges in Eastleigh from next March amid pleas from local traders not to put the viability of the town at risk. The council's executive Cabinet is considering a number of options which include
FAREHAM TOWN are hoping that former boss, Mark Chamberlain, will continue to work with the club. The former England international, who was in his second spell at Cams Alders, was asked to step down as manager, following a meeting last week between club
EIGHT-year-old Shanice Godwin was one of the young stars at the Fareham Nomads annual age group competition, staged at the Fareham Leisure Centre. The youngster won three out of four titles, an achievement equalled by Stewart Jepson in the boys' events
Fareham Nomads swimmer Peter Hall triumphed at the National Schools Championships held in Sheffield over the weekend. Fourteen-year-old Hall, who is a Year 9 pupil at Crofton School in Stubbington, has been a member of the Fareham based swimming club
Fareham bowed out of the FA Cup last night, beaten 4-0 at Dr Martens Premier League side Crawley Town. Fareham were a goal down at half-time and then a lapse in concentration allowed the Sussex side to add a second midway through the first half. Fareham
FAREHAM opened their South Premier Hockey League challenge with a ten-goal thriller against Wimbledon - the Surrey club scoring twice in the last three minutes to salvage a 5-5 draw. But, earlier in a match full of twists and turns, Fareham found themselves
