Wiltshire | Archive | 2001 | February
TIME management solutions company Blick plc, has won a £2.5 million contract with the London Borough of Newham, to install digital TV signal distribution systems with the borough. more...
FIFTY Nationwide employees had their fund-raising efforts for charities all over the country recognised at a Community Awards ceremony held at the building society's headquarters in Swindon. more...
Less formal alternatives to resolving employment disputes are likely to be just as expensive as tribunals or courts, according to a new report. more...
House prices across the UK are increasing at their slowest rate for five years, says mortgage bank the Halifax. more...
Up to 8,000 manufacturing jobs are likely to be lost in the first three months of this year, according to a new survey. more...
The Bank of England was expected today to bow to pressure from industry and unions and cut the cost of borrowing. more...
BUSINESSES handed over £430 to help support the work of the North Wiltshire Young People's Theatre Group, after teenagers helped out at a gala event in December. more...
PRODUCTION workers at the Dyson Appliances factory in Malmesbury are to receive a 24 per cent pay increase as new shifts are introduced at the Tetbury Hill plant to enable it to operate 24 hours a day. more...
KENNET District Council officers say they will continue to send out surveys to businesses to measure their economic success despite a disappointing response. more...
CUSTOMERS will be seeing major changes at Marlborough's largest store next week when Waitrose opens the first phase of its £8 million extension. more...
ENVIRONMENTALISTS want to give the people of Calne a chance to look into the future. more...
STUDENTS from Wiltshire College Chippenham, and the John Bentley School, Calne, went head to head at the north Wiltshire heat of the Rotary Club's youth speaks competition. more...
COUNTY councillors were due (February 7) to recommend planning permission should be given for a waste recycling plant in Calne. more...
WORK has begun on returning a wood saved by people power to its former glory. more...
TEENAGE entrepreneurs from the John Bentley School, Calne, have picked up two trophies at a Young Enterprise trade fair held in Trowbridge. more...
TOTTENHAM-MAD parents Ian Sealy and Corin Britton have named their son so his initials spell out SPURS. more...
VILLAGERS have issued a plea for star spotters to stay away as secret filming starts in Lacock on Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. more...
CANCER sufferer Lydia Harding has a very special appointment in her diary the brave teenager will be handing a bouquet to the Queen during the royal visit on March 16. more...
YOUNGSTERS at Lodge Farm Nursery School, near Chippenham, swapped traditional school dinners for an exotic Indian feast. more...
A COUPLE with eight children are celebrating victory over district council planners after winning an appeal to set up a gypsy caravan site on the edge of Kington Langley. more...
TRAFFIC police are hoping to improve response times to road collisions when they move to their new offices in Corsham next month. more...
BUSINESSES handed over £430 to help support the work of the North Wiltshire Young People's Theatre Group, after teenagers helped out at a gala event in December. more...
THE £1 million campaign for Chippenham's new playing fields is a step closer to its goal now the secret site has been unveiled. more...
DEDICATED youngsters at Kington St Michael Primary School have received a silver award for paper recycling. more...
THE Mayor of Chippenham, Coun Sandie Webb, will celebrate the visit of the Queen and Prince Philip with a night of revelry and entertainment for up to 300 in the Town Hall and Neeld Hall on March 16. more...
A ROW has broken out on Chippenham's Cepen Park South over a plan for a young people's meeting place in Goodwood Way. more...
DETERMINED campaigners are braced for another battle to protect picturesque Slaughterford from a new housing development. more...
AN award winning mural which brightens up a corner of Chippenham, was dedicated at a special ceremony. more...
PRODUCTION workers at the Dyson Appliances factory in Malmesbury are to receive a 24 per cent pay increase as new shifts are introduced at the Tetbury Hill plant to enable it to operate 24 hours a day. more...
KENNET District Council officers say they will continue to send out surveys to businesses to measure their economic success despite a disappointing response. more...
THE niece of a Devizes shopkeeper narrowly escaped death in the Indian earthquake which killed thousands. more...
SOME of the money raised from the sale of doughnuts at two Devizes bakeries could help the victims of the Gujerat earthquake. more...
TONS of soil and undergrowth slipped down and crashed on to the road at Potterne Woods on Tuesday February 6 causing traffic chaos. more...
RADICAL plans to improve health and care services in Devizes have been unveiled. more...
COUNCIL tax payers could be facing a hefty bill as Wiltshire County Council struggles to balance its books. more...
HEROIN made life hell for a Chippenham couple whose addict son stole from them and became violent when confronted. more...
A FORMER heroin addict says more drugs advisory services are needed in north Wiltshire to cope with the area's growing hard drugs problem. more...
MORE people are listening to BBC Wiltshire Sound, according to the latest independent figures. more...
MILITARY author Robin Neillands' latest book The Bomber War dismisses the view that allied bomber crews and the man who commanded them should be regarded as war criminals because of the deaths of civilians which resulted from their blitz on German cities. more...
SUSPECTS arrested by the police in some parts of Wiltshire will be offered the opportunity to see a drugs worker. more...
A POOL team performed around the clock to raise money for seven-year-old Ben Sheppard, injured in an accident in which three people were killed. more...
A MAN suffered severe bruising to his leg after a police officer used a retractable baton to release his bear hug on a colleague, Kennet Magistrates at Devizes heard on Monday February 5. more...
CALNE mother Sophie Farahar has spoken of her heartbreak after her 21-year-old daughter was found dead in a flat. more...
COUNTY council chiefs are seeking urgent talks with Culture Minister Chris Smith after the Heritage Lottery Fund turned down an application for an £11m scheme at The Wharf, Devizes. more...
OFFICERS from Kennet District Council and Devizes Town Council are examining the provisions of Murphy's Law the one that says if anything can go wrong, it will after a path had to be laid twice on The Green. more...
THE myth of marriage perpetuated by romantic novels will be dispelled at an event for soon-to-be married couples. more...
PEWSEY Vale's innovative Wigglybus has fulfilled its primary objective of attracting some away from their cars, but the price it has had to pay has been higher than expected. more...
ALTHOUGH a large amount of Government money has been spent on rural transport, it is still an uphill struggle to get people to leave their cars at home, a conference in Devizes heard on Saturday February 11. more...
WHEN buses were deregulated in the 1980s many villages found themselves without public transport because operators did not want to bid for the less lucrative routes. more...
PHIL Laycock, headteacher at St Barnabas Primary School in Market Lavington, has taken ill-health retirement due to the stress of the job. more...
SCHOOLS in the Marlborough and Pewsey area have been hit hard by flu with as many as one pupil in five away at some schools this week and stand-by teachers called in. more...
A DEVIZES teenager who allegedly attempted to headbutt a woman police officer after another officer had broken up a scrap between him and his elder brother has been fined £50. more...
OUR Shop A Pusher campaign, launched with Wiltshire police in a bid to bring drug dealers to justice has started to bear fruit. more...
MOTHER Sophie Farahar, from Calne, is determined to get answers about the death of her beautiful, talented daughter who died in a dingy flat far from her family's loving arms. more...
CAN anyone tell me who authorised or even suggested the mass culling of trees on roadside slopes in Potterne, Market Lavington and on the Potterne Road in Devizes? more...
I WAS both surprised and disappointed to read the article in the Gazette and Herald about the proposal to floodlight parts of St John's Church Devizes. more...
LAST Friday evening or, one could perhaps say, Saturday morning as the time was 12.15am when we arrived at Great Bedwyn Station, I was approached by five very polite young teenagers asking for a lift home. more...
I REFER to the Gazette's article headlined "Elderly tenants fury at threat of eviction" in the issue of January 25. more...
I WOULD like to thank everyone for supporting our Breakfast with Father Christmas. more...
COUN Skittrall totally missed the point last week when he suggested that I park in Waitrose car park overnight and use unrestricted kerbside parking during the day. more...
FURTHER to the controversy over the hijacking of the identity of the historic cannings Hill, could we agree on a compromise for the naming of both the hill and the housing estate? more...
SURELY a good name for the old people's flats being developed at Burt's Yard, London Road, Marlborough would be Culbridge Court. more...
I AM writing this letter to complain about the lack of respect that people seem to have for other people's property. more...
WHILE we must encourage any business to expand within the Pewsey Vale, I am at a loss to understand the motives of Pewsey Parish Council in agreeing to support the application from Specialist Structures Ltd to use the former potato store buildings at Sharcott. more...
WE are all concerned about climate change and the impact it has on our lifestyle. more...
CAN ten-year-old Tyga Helme only enjoy gallops around the countryside when killing wild animals? more...
THE Gazette published a letter in which it was stated that councillors Paula and Charles Winchcombe voted against the proposed increases for Devizes Station Road car park charges. more...
WOULD you please correct misleading information published in your editorial feature on my home (property section) in last week's issue. more...
MANY of your readers may have no particular stand on foxhunting and find the whole debate a waste of valuable time in light of the many problems facing the nation and the world. more...
THERE has been a great deal of concern by political parties about the low turnout at elections. more...
I ASKED my district councillor if North Wiltshire District Council would increase the value of travel tokens for pensioners for the coming year as licence fees for taxis in the district are to go up resulting in higher taxi fares. more...
LAST Friday afternoon I walked through the market outside the Angel, in Chippenham. more...
LAST week I went to the Hi-Lights production of Sleeping Beauty in the Neeld Hall, Chippenham, and was totally bowled over by the professionalism of the production from the lighting, scenery, costumes and music through to the way in which the 50 or so members of the cast performed. more...
BLOOD donor sessions will be held in Highworth at the Recreation Centre in The Elms on February 13. from 1.15pm until 3.25pm and 4.20pm until 6.45pm. more...
VILLAGERS in Minety, near Malmesbury, made a surprise presentation to the village's popular postman as he carried out his last postal round before his retirement. more...
CORSTON resident Lisa Ryan has called for urgent traffic calming measures on the A429 after she was almost knocked down by a lorry as she was walking her dog. more...
A FATHER of two young girls has threatened to put his concern about Malmesbury's dogs' mess problem on the Internet if dog-owners do not heed him. more...
A MALMESBURY man, James Outlaw, of White Lion Park, was one of 16 people who have appeared before North Wiltshire magistrates, in Chippenham, in the last seven days charged with supplying or offering to supply heroin and crack cocaine. more...
THE Environment Agency has admitted there were flaws in flood warning systems last year when many homes in Malmesbury and Corston were affected by rising floodwater. more...
ENTERPRISING business students at Malmesbury Secondary School are learning how to make money and help charitable causes at the same time. more...
A HULLAVINGTON mother will experience the adventure of a lifetime when she takes on the jungles of South America to raise money for charity. more...
MINETY residents are outraged that a developer could submit plans for a third time to build up to 90 houses and shops on 20 acres of greenfield land in the middle of the village. more...
A SPECIAL performance by the popular Brinwell Choir and Swindon Brass last month raised £440 towards repairs at Crudwell Church. more...
TICKETS are already sold out for the main meal and cabaret at Malmesbury's annual Mayoral Ball which takes place in the town hall on February 23. more...
MARLBOROUGH dentist Gareth Williams will be swapping root canals for the Kennet and Avon Canal when he partners his son Tom in the Devizes to Westminster canoe race. more...
ANGRY residents from St Margarets Mead, in Marlborough, are furious their neighbourhood is to be turned into a building site. more...
AN average rise of £50 is expected in Wiltshire County Council's element of the council tax for 2001/02, as well as cuts in services. more...
THE Earl of Cardigan has forced the BBC to back down over allegations the Amber Foundation had wrecked his ancestral home. more...
FOR the first time in living memory the dining room at the historic Merchant's House is looking very much as it would have done in the late 1600s. more...
RETIRING sub postmistress Sheila Drewitt was touched by the warm generosity of her customers in Upavon when she opened for the very last time. more...
CUSTOMERS will be seeing major changes at Marlborough's largest store next week when Waitrose opens the first phase of its £8 million extension. more...
DISTRICT councillors are being recommended to give permission for the conversion of redundant farm buildings at Lower Fyfield into workshops, despite objections from villagers. more...
POLICE in Pewsey are investigating complaints about alleged speeding and inconsiderate driving by contractors working on cable laying in and around the village. more...
A DRUG user who tried to swap herbal cannabis for cannabis resin at a friend's house was nabbed by police already carrying out a raid there. more...
A SALISBURY mother whose dead baby's brain was removed without her consent is reliving her nightmare in the light of the Alder Hey scandal. more...
THREE men armed with tools and makeshift weapons fought a pitched battle in the middle of a congested Salisbury roundabout, bringing rush-hour traffic to a standstill. more...
A SWOLLEN river has claimed the life of a 36-year-old man whose body was found inside a car jammed under a bridge in floodwater near Landford. more...
TWO households were evacuated on Sunday night (February 4) when an entire wall collapsed without warning. more...
THE Briton who confessed to planting the bomb that killed former Salisbury District Hospital engineer Christopher Rodway in Riyadh last year can expect no leniency, says Christopher's father Jerry. more...
A SALISBURY school has become only the second primary-age school in south Wiltshire to have its qualities mentioned in the national annual report published by Ofsted, the Office for Standards in Education. more...
A MOTHER of three has been left too scared to board a bus after a terrifying experience at the hands of a Wilts & Dorset driver. more...
DANGER on two fronts - from traffic and toxic effects - united villagers fighting plans that they claim would make their lives in Whiteparish intolerable. more...
WILTSHIRE'S bed blocking crisis is likely to get worse after pleas for more cash were dismissed by Health Minister Gisela Stuart. more...
A BOEING 747 airliner, bearing the name City of Salisbury, made its final flight at the weekend when it took part in a mercy mission to Bombay with supplies for survivors of the Indian earthquake disaster. more...
Tamworth 4 Salisbury City 1: Salisbury City were on the wrong end of a 4-1 roasting when they visited a revitalised Tamworth side inspired by their new player-manager Gary Mills. more...
THERE was an exciting finish to the end of the North Wessex Winter League series of matches. more...
More quality roach, a carp from the Avon above Salisbury and a new pike record for Tisbury Angling Club are among the top catches of the week, writes Roland Batten. more...
LAST year's FA Vase finalists, Chippenham Town, are favourites to make it through to the last eight of this season's competition on Saturday. more...
Tamworth 4 Salisbury City 1: Salisbury City were on the wrong end of a 4-1 roasting when they visited a revitalised Tamworth side inspired by their new player-manager Gary Mills. more...
Swindon Colleges 6 Salisbury 13: Salisbury narrowed the gap between league leaders Readingensians and themselves by winning their game in hand against Swindon Colleges. more...
ANDY King has admitted Birmingham City's Steve Robinson would be a welcome addition to his squad. more...
Rhys Evans says he will stay at Chelsea and fight for a place despite the recent arrival of Mark Bosnich. more...
WYCOMBE Wanderers boss Lawrie Sanchez has apologised for the remarks he made about Town striker Gary Alexander. more...
WHEN does a final whistle become a first bell? more...
I HAVE a horrible feeling that Terry Brady's decision to book 40 hotel rooms in Cardiff could leave him looking like the Fast Show's Unlucky Alf. more...
MAY I please make a request to Town goalscorers on behalf of Adver senior photographer Dave Evans. more...
Swindon police cannot be serious when asserting that the loss of one traffic warden and a part time assistant would "release police resources to .... reduce, detect and prevent crime". I doubt the salary of both posts would amount to a police constable's salary. more...
LAST February the Government set up a National Beds Inquiry (NBI). more...
FOUR recent letters from disgruntled motorists have complained that bus lanes are causing more congestion on the town's narrow roads, but none of the writers suggested a local rail network as an alternative mode of transport. Has everyone in Swindon been brainwashed into believing that local commuting by train is not an option? more...
I UNDERSTAND and share the frustration felt by your correspondents (EA, February 2) in respect of the bus service changes to be made later this month. more...
RECENTLY you have featured two articles about how employers in Swindon have had such a problem recruiting staff. more...
IN yesterday's Evening Advertiser (February 1) the £20,000 needed to clean up the Romanies' camp near Chiseldon posed a few questions which I feel need answering. more...
NICK Martin seems to be out of line with his party over the United Kingdom (Evening Advertiser, January 12). At least William Hague accepts devolution. more...
It has come to my notice that Vodafone are being sued in the USA for billions of dollars for causing brain cancer in people who have over-used their mobile phones. more...
RAILWAY enthusiasts flocked to Swindon's flagship Steam museum to pick up a copy of a new book about the Great Western Railway. more...
A ROBBER brandished a four- inch vegetable knife at an off- licence in Old Town saying and said simply: "Cigarette." more...
SECURITY guard Gavin Wallace chased two youths who threatened him with a knife, then pinned one to the ground until police arrived. more...
A SERIOUSLY ill elderly couple threatened with eviction by a council have vowed to resist all pressure to move them even if the stress kills them. more...
THE Cancer Research Campaign has welcomed a £50,000 donation from supporters in Cricklade. more...
PRINCESS Margaret Hospital has received a gift of £69,000 from the Women's Royal Voluntary Service. more...
SWINDON Liberal Democrats have dismissed as rubbish claims that they are conspiring with Labour to squeeze out the Tories at the forthcoming General Election. more...
LOLLIPOP lady Heaven Knapp has won her fight for a rethink over the road layout where she works. more...
MORE than £580 was raised in one day by a Swindon Oxfam shop for the Indian Earthquake Appeal on the day the Evening Advertiser told how a thief stole a collection box. more...
THE political ripples from the Stephen Lawrence murder inquiry have reached Swindon. more...
DOORMAN David Hyde told a jury that drinker Tony Rae smashed his head against a wall accidentally as he struggled to free himself from a full nelson. more...
WHEN much of Swindon's Fleet Street closes on February 19, it will herald the start of a regeneration programme destined to bring about a revolutionary culture change. more...
THERE are just four days left to place an order for a red rose to be delivered by Prospect Hospice staff on Valentine's Day. more...
HAVING trouble getting your copy of the Evening Advertiser? more...
VETERANS who fought in what became known as the "forgotten war" will be meeting again tonight to mark a special anniversary. more...
A restored steam locomotive which was saved from a breakers yard will shortly be back in action pulling passenger carriages. more...
A DISPUTE which prevented work starting on the restoration of Swindon's Lethbridge primary school in Old Town has finally been resolved. more...
COMPUTER boss Marc Garcia sent his staff "filthy and degrading" e-mails and made sexual comments to an employee before sacking her, it is claimed. more...
SEX offender Christopher Guest was caught by police after one of his young victims saw his face in the Evening Advertiser. more...
THE owners of a live music venue and pub can serve drinks until midnight thanks to a licensing court ruling. more...
THE jury in the Billie Piper death threat trial was told to remember the fate of former Beatles John Lennon and George Harrison. more...
Police are appealing for a woman who spoke to a man shortly before he was beaten and raped by three men to come forward. more...
TWO Wiltshire men who survived the Paddington rail disaster were among 47 heroes who received bravery awards from the Prince of Wales. more...
THOUSANDS of jobs, the rural economy, English tradition are all at stake if the House of Lords ratify a total ban on hunting. more...
A 20-year-old student from Malmesbury, Sarah Carless has been a member of the Beaufort Hunt for 12 years. more...
NO criminal proceedings will be taken against anyone involved in the tragic death of 13-year-old schoolboy Shaun Shirley. more...
We congratulate The Victoria pub in Old Town for winning its licensing battle to serve alcohol until midnight for three days a week. more...
SWINDON Borough Council has demonstrated forward thinking in its appointment of a new anti-discrimination officer. more...
Wiltshire villagers have issued a plea for star spotters to stay away as secret filming starts in Lacock on Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. more...
SWINDON is ripe to join the Rugby League revolution according to a leading light in the sport. more...
CONTROVERSY has flared over the future of school meals at St Bartholomew's School, Wootton Bassett, after the governors and the schools catering manageress sent letters to parents last week. more...
PROTESTERS in Cricklade are stepping up their campaign against plans to build a power station in the area. more...
BLOOD donor sessions will be held in Highworth at the Recreation Centre in The Elms on February 13. from 1.15pm until 3.25pm and 4.20pm until 6.45pm. more...
"WRITING is great fun, and you are never too young to start," children's author Claire Rosemary Jane told pupils of Longleaze School. more...
BRITISH Airways faces legal action after a Wootton Bassett prison officer collapsed with a blood clot on his lung following a 13-hour flight. more...
PURTON'S Tony Richardson has always wanted to be a cowboy. more...
© Newsquest Media Group 2008