Newly-promoted Tichborne Park have organised a pre-season "training and bonding" trip to the Midlands - with the use of Warwickshie's state-of-the-art coaching facilities at Edgbaston thrown in. Australian-born coaching co-ordinator John Stock has organised
BELEAGURED engineering giant Alstom is continuing to wield the axe on its UK operations. The French-owned company, which is more than £2 billion in debt, caused outrage by announcing the closure of its train care depot in Eastleigh with the loss of more
A LEADING New Forest figure is to serve a second three-year term. The Prime Minister's Office has announced that the Official Verderer, Oliver Cros-thwaite Eyre whose current term of office ends on April 30, will continue in the job until 2008. Mr Crosthwaite
CONSERVATIVES in Southampton Itchen have finally selected a candidate to fight the general election, likely to be on May 5. Members of the Itchen Conservative Association have chosen Flick Drummond to battle for the seat against the sitting Labour MP
HAMPSHIRE'S cricket chiefs will launch a new scheme to avoid traffic chaos around the Rose Bowl stadium over the summer. But residents living near the cricket club in West End remain sceptical about the move following last year's disastrous traffic management
Winchester U12s entered an experimental side at last Sunday's Trojans Tournament and achieved five wins out of five to take the trophy. The day started with a tough encounter against Havant. Midway through the first half, a well worked forwards move resulted
On a warm spring-like day in the New Forest, Liss came away empty-handed from league leaders Lymington after an up and down display. In the first period, Liss - by their own admission - played much like the local equine wildlife and were lucky to keep
A DOUBLE decker bus hit a low bridge at the entrance to Charlton on Saturday afternoon slicing off the whole of the roof. Nobody was travelling on the upper deck when the accident happened, at about quarter to five. It left a trail of debris in its wake
AFTER a £100,000 facelift Collingbourne Ducis village hall was officially reopened with celebrations and the unveiling of a plaque. The hall had been closed for over a year while major refurbishment took place including the roof being rebuilt. "Everyone
NETWORK Rail is planning essential engineering work across the south this Easter Bank Holiday weekend. Rail bosses believe fewer people will be using the train. The largest engineering project will take place in the Basingstoke area. The following lines
CHRIS BAIRD has spoken of his "frustration and disappointment" at almost two seasons out in the St Mary's cold. The 23-year-old burst on the scene for Saints at the end of the 2002/3 campaign and was the surprise star of the FA Cup final defeat against
Westwood Old Boys will be looking to successfully defend the Southampton SFA Senior (Sunday) Cup tonight when they play Woolston Trades & Labour in the final at Eastleigh's Sparshatts Stadium (7.30pm). Woolston are currently top of the City of Southampton
Today's Principal Arrivals: Lembitu, roro, 0530, 30; Tor Futura, 1130, rlc4; CMA CGM Wagner, container, 1200, 207; Bothnia Carrier, cargo, 1330, 108; Autoprestige, roro, 1500, 201; CFF Seine, roro, 1830, 30; Link Trader, cargo, 2100, 102/3; Nedlloyd America
GOLDEN RING youngster Sean Cole will be aiming to become Southampton's newest national champion this Easter Sunday. The 12-year-old has fought his way to the final of the Golden Gloves championships to be held in Newcastle with victory over the previously
FOLLOWING the success of last year's clubman event Kings Toyota are pleased to sponsor a brand new angling competition for 2005. The event will be known as The Kings Toyota Challenge and follows on from over 20 years of angling sponsorship in the local
A BRAVE Hampshire teenager who was the victim of a serious sexual assault as she walked to school has helped police piece together a more detailed description of her brutal attacker. Detectives say the 15-year-old has been able to provide them with more
STAFF at Andover War Memorial Hospital are steeling themselves for cuts that could result in the loss of 150 full time equivalent jobs across two trusts. The news was broken at a series of meetings last week when staff were also told that 75 beds will
EASTER is the traditional start of the summer season and outdoor venues in the Andover area are gearing up for a rush of visitors. Little Louise Webb, aged two, was one of the early birds to enjoy the welcome spring sunshine and the delights of life when
ANDOVER Tourist Information centre will not have to pay any rent when it relocates to And-over Museum next month. A lease has been drawn up as part an agreement between Test Valley Borough Council and Hampshire County Council enabling the facility to
Clinical finishing coupled with sound defending allowed Citymain Insurance-sponsored Barton Stacey to overcome a much improved Upper Clatford team. In a closely-contested first half, Michael Taplin opened the scoring after 13 minutes. An injury-time Will
Henry Beaufort School, Winchester, came away with a bronze medal from this year's event at Stoke-on-Trent. The school has always had an excellent reputation for gymnastics and a long record of team and individual champions. This year's team maintained
Major improvements are to be made for supporters to travel to the Rose Bowl for the top matches and pop concerts this summer. Following the debacle at the ICC Trophy games last September when thousands of fans arrived late for matches following chaotic
SHIRLEY Campbell's beautiful arr-angement of spring flowers with foliage won her the best exhibit cup at the Catisfield Horticultural Society spring show. She was also winner of the diploma for best entry in the floral art classes held at Catisfield Memorial
The second Hampshire Road Relay Championships will be staged at Portsmouth's Mountbatten Centre on Sunday, April 10. The races, which begin with the senior/veteran women's 4x2-mile event at 10.30am, will start on the athletics track and then follow a
EASTLEIGH'S 2-0 Russell Cotes Cup semi-final victory over Fleet Town last night was tarnished by an ankle injury to Tyronne Bowers. The tigerish midfielder came off worse in a two-footed lunge with Fleet's Ian Saunders that saw both players booked. Bowers
A SCULPTOR'S design to revive a famous Basingstoke landmark has been given the thumbs-up by Gazette Newspapers readers. Plans to give the Thornycroft Clock a new lease of life by putting it in the centre of one of the town's main roundabouts were unveiled
MORE than 1,700 staff at one of Southampton's most successful companies are celebrating bumper payouts following a top year. Financial services giant Skandia enjoyed runaway growth in 2004. The company paid out £71.5m in wages, salaries and performance-related
Hampshire's preparations for the County Plate competition began in sensational fashion as they steamrolled Sussex at US Portsmouth last night, running in 12 tries in a 74-24 victory, writes RICHARD ISAACS. After struggling to name a side through the week
MATTHEW BARNEY is hoping it will be a case of fifth time lucky on Saturday when he finally gets the chance to land a European title. Southampton's most successful boxer faces the toughest challenge of his career when he steps into the Erdgas Arena in
THERESA Darnell-Langton's amazing rise in the world of women's bowls touched new heights when she became British Isles singles champion. Having retained the English title at Nottingham last month, the Loddon Vale member produced an even better performance
PAM Lambshead is the new Hampshire indoor singles champion. In the final at Atherley the Palmerston bowler ended the reign of 2004 title-holder Anne Pearce 21-12. Although Pearce, who was playing on her home carpet, took a 4-0 lead Lambshead edged 5-4
HE'S aiming all the way for the top. And as hockey has been Craig Peel's greatest passion since he was six - he's built up years of determination and experience to get there. The South African 22-year-old has got high hopes of making it into his native
WINCHESTER students have been organising fun and games for children with learning difficulties. Ten students from Peter Symonds College are working for their Higher Sports Leaders Awards. As part of the course they organised an event yesterday for children
THE axing of up to 150 jobs and the closure of hospital wards in Winchester have moved closer. Managers at the Winchester and Eastleigh NHS Healthcare Trust say they are almost certain to impose compulsory redundancies as they battle to modernise the
HEALTH chiefs will be presented with a petition demanding the reopening of beds at a cottage hospital in the New Forest. The petition was launched after all 20 beds at the Fenwick Hospital, Lyndhurst, were closed by the New Forest Primary Care Trust,
THREE youths fired a shot at an express train as it sped through Hampshire. The teenage gunmen targeted a Bournemouth-to-Waterloo train in a potentially dangerous attack that has been condemned by rail unions and safety organisations. Officials say the
A T-SHIRT trader in Southampton has been threatened with legal action from a fashion giant over its world-famous FCUK label. French Connection UK, which holds the world-famous trademark, fired off a warning letter to bemused Andy Carter. He's landed in
A WINCHESTER secondary school is basking in glory after receiving top marks from Ofsted inspectors. The Westgate School was hailed as "very good, with many significant strengths". For the second time running, the inspectors found no weaknesses and no
THE axing of up to 150 jobs and the closure of hospital wards in Winchester has moved closer. Managers at the Winchester and Eastleigh NHS Healthcare Trust say they are almost certain to impose compulsory redundancies as they battle to modernise the service
RECORD numbers of passengers are expected to fly out of Southampton Airport this weekend. About 20,000 passengers are due to head from the airport from today until Monday, in a bid to make a quick getaway for their Easter Bank Holiday. Airport staff are
A CALL has gone out for more volunteers to help man a charity shop set up by the family of Southampton motorbike crash victim Wayne Howard. The Wayne Howard Trust shop has gone from strength to strength since opening its doors in Church Street, Shirley
SECOND-year students from Southampton Institute are to hold a fundraising raft race in aid of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. The watersports and management students are organising the event on May 5 at New Forest Water Park, between Ringwood
YOU would be hard pressed to find a group of Appleshaw St Peter's Primary School pupils more enthusiastic about a class trip. Appleshaw pupils and tots from the village's Pippins Playgroup enjoyed a seasonal trip to see the lambing at Biddesden Farm,
TWO rooms in the FE Centre in Vigo Road received a very welcome makeover as a result of the Andover Advertiser's Make a Difference campaign. Earlier this year the centre, which is the 16 to 19-year-old section of Icknield School and is based in a bungalow
ARCTIC instructor Stuart Nanson will soon be setting off on a gruelling race to the north magnetic Pole to help raise awareness of climate change. Stuart, aged 38, who lives at Penton Corner and is a Staff Sgt with REME at Middle Wallop, is due to leave
POLICE are appealing for witnesses following a serious crash on the A303 near the Micheldever slip road on Saturday evening. Shortly after 8.35pm a Seat Altea was involved in a collision with a Rover 214 on the eastbound carriageway of the A303. It's
EVENING bus services provided to enable young people to reach The Depot youth facility in Andover have proved to be a resounding success in the town - but less popular in the countryside, councillors were told at a meeting in Romsey. The services, which
HOPES that Andover Citizens Advice Bureau could extend and improve its services have been dashed as Test Valley Borough Councillors have frozen their grant. The CAB has seen its income fall by more than £50,000 over the last few months after six years
A Whitchurch goal in the first 30 seconds proved no obstacle to Romsey Town, who consolidated their fourth place in the table with a win that was, in the end, fairly comfortable. On a hot, sunny afternoon Romsey started the game as if they were napping
THE man who served as the last ever 'Mayor of Andover' in 1976 has come out of retirement to contest the next General Election on behalf of the UK Independence Party. Peter Sumner, who was known as 'the voice of the people' during his time as one of Andover's
THE tension and drama of one of the most famous plays ever written was brought to pupils at Brookfield School in Sarisbury Green this week. Professional actors from the Shakespeare in Schools company held workshops and performed scenes from Macbeth. Year
Runners are going to have to go 'that extra mile' for charity if they are to complete the fourth Race for Hope at Winchester on May 22. The popular race has been extended from five miles to 10k (6.2 miles), but the good news is that the course is flat
AS a schoolboy, Andy Spreadbury used his pocket money to travel by rail for a day of train-spotting. That was about 40 years ago, and his passion for railways has never waned. It is this same enthusiasm which has spurred him to launch a campaign to get
CIVIC chiefs have agreed to put the bite on kebab and burger vans trading in the Hedge End and Botley areas. Eastleigh Council's Hedge End, West End and Botley Local Area Committee was told a series of complaints had been received about late-night trading
THE distinguished Saints career of Jason Dodd appears to be nearing the end. The 34-year-old club captain, who is currently stranded on 399 league appearances, is poised for his first spell away from the club since arriving from Bath City some 16 years
