Archive

  • Coach driver who caused death crash jailed for six years

    A COACH driver who caused the deaths of one of his passengers and a lorry driver while travelling to Evesham over the drink-drive limit has been jailed for six years. Jasminder Singh Dhesi had been drinking high-strength lager hours before his

  • We're here to support patients

    HOSPITAL leaders have held the first of a series of events to support patients and families following surgery for oesophagus or stomach cancer. The new group has been named GUTSY and the first meeting was held at the Fownes Hotel, Worcester.

  • Married benefit cheat claimed £20,000

    A MARRIED woman who pretended to be single has been found guilty of fraudulently claiming nearly £20,000 in benefits. Natasha Windiate, aged 24, had claimed Jobseeker’s Allowance, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit as a single person since

  • Fashion chain expected to go into administration

    FASHION chain Republic is expected to collapse into administration tomorrow. The move will put 1,000 jobs at risk including those at Worcester's branch on the High Street. It has become the latest in a string of high street casualties which

  • Henwick Road blocked

    DRIVERS are being warned that Henwick Road is blocked in both directions. There is slow traffic due to level crossing failure between Oldbury Road and A44 St John's. Engineers are expected on site at around 5pm as the barriers are stuck down

  • Gritters out tonight as a precaution

    THE gritters will be heading out once more tonight but just as a precaution. Worcestershire County Council's gritting fleet is preparing to go out again this evening to apply precautionary treatment where this will be most needed in tonight's weather

  • Experience some gloom-busting comedy on Friday

    THREE top acts from the comedy club circuit will well and truly bust the winter blues this week. Easygoing Andrew Bird will headline the night at the Evesham Arts Centre, with mischievous Welsh television presenter Tudur Owen doing the introductions

  • Parents fear Whitbourne school could close

    PARENTS have vowed to fight to save a 160-year-old village school threatened with closure. The future of Whitbourne CE Primary School, on the Worcestershire/Herefordshire border, is “under discussion” because of dwindling pupil numbers, Herefordshire

  • Man in court charged with burglary near Powick

    A man has appeared in court charged with committing a burglary near Powick. Ben Keeley, aged 26 of Pinkett Street, Worcester, was charged this morning with burglary and appeared at Worcester Magistrates’ Court today. He was remanded into custody

  • Kind-hearted students help local charity

    AS last minute orders for red roses are frantically placed and chocolates and champagne fly off the shelves, kind-hearted King’s School students turn the demand for Valentine’s Day gifts into a charity fund-raising opportunity. Organised by the

  • A good book should be a friend for life

     SIR – I love my Bible, especially the New Testament. All human life is there. The same applies to William Shakespeare’s plays and Charles Dickens’s novels. Sadly people today are too busy to relax and read. A good book is a friend for

  • We know who rubber band culprits are

    SIR – Re: John Phillpott’s comments on red rubber bands. Dropped without thought similar to that of cigarette butts, this is surely an obvious example of littering. We know who the culprits are so maybe fining Royal Mail will bring about an end to

  • Don’t let anyone stop you writing, George

     SIR – Like Shay Catherwood (Worcester News, February 1) I too always scan the letters page first to see if there are any letters from George Cowley which always make me smile. He writes about everything he can think of. Not always everyone’s cup

  • Price difference in a carton of apple juice

    SIR – I appreciate that supermarkets buy in large quantities at relevant discounts, but I cannot comprehend how an item such as a carton of apple juice is only 29p in my local store yet £2.99 in a cafe. Is it greed? PHIL PEGLER Worcester

  • Why can’t crooks go via economy class?

      SIR – Taxpayers are forking out about £9 million to fly home foreign crooks and failed asylum seekers. The average cost is £5,263 – more than twice the amount of a first class ticket. This is an outrage to ordinary folk. Why can’t we

  • Count the stars and report your findings

    SIR –Bill Bryson, my predecessor as President of the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE), once said, “Glance at the night sky and what you see is  history, and lots of it.  Our faithful companion the North Star appears not as it is now, but

  • What is happening to my bus service?

      SIR – I want to draw attention to the awful bus service being managed by First Buses in Worcestershire. The service is currently horrendous and must be costing the local economy an awful lot of money. I myself have to work late to make

  • County MP has to criticise colleagues

    SIR – I was intrigued by Peter Luff MP’s response to the vote by a majority of MPs to delay changing parliamentary boundaries (January 30). He said that “the size of the Commons is too big, companies are downsizing and shedding jobs and they would

  • Getting home: road closures and bus service disruption

    Worcestershire is still feeling the effects of flooding, with some road closures and bus service disruption. Here is the latest update: The following bus services are currently disrupted: 382 (Worcester – Norton – Defford – Eckington – Pershore

  • Arrest in school sex abuse inquiry

    A FORMER teacher has been arrested on suspicion of sexually abusing pupils at two private boarding schools, one of which is near Kidderminster. West Mercia Police arrested a man in his 50s after allegations of abuse dating from the 1980s were made

  • Political correctness has caused situation

    SIR – Anyone listening to BBC Hereford and Worcester radio recently will be aware of an 11-year-old boy causing mayhem, damage, attacking disabled people (even adults), spitting at people, and making threats in Kidderminster. I do not know his

  • Stock farming helps maintain our landscape

    SIR – Maxine Burgess (Worcester News, February 6) maintains that veganism is a “mainstream lifestyle’’. However, the truth is less than a third of one per cent of the population are believed to be vegans. Ms Burgess states she is “knowledgeable

  • Channel has lost a sense of creativity

    IT may not have ranked highly on the evening headlines last week, but the BBC’s decision to axe one of my favourite shows got me wondering what direction the corporation is heading in. That show is BBC Three’s Being Human, which follows the trials

  • Enter the dragon's den

    FABULOUS FUN: Dancing dragons, monstrous masks and slithering snakes made for a colourful Chinese new year at a library. Children coloured in their own masks, drew snakes and helped make a dragon mural and ‘dancing dragons’ to mark the year of

  • Stomp & Holler to the sounds of New Orleans

    THE sounds of the streets and swamps of New Orleans are brought to Bromsgrove next week. Stomp & Holler play The Artrix on Friday, February 22 as part of their UK theatre tour. A big, bold festival favourite blues band with a brass section

  • City manager hits out at woeful defending

    “WE can’t defend,” was manager Carl Heeley’s blunt assessment of his Worcester City team following their 3-1 defeat to Solihull Moors. City were beaten for the sixth time on their own turf in Blue Square Bet North and have now won just once in

  • Construction underway on St John's House Medical Centre

    CONSTRUCTION is now underway on the new St John's House Medical Centre. Contractors have started on the site at University Park, off Bromyard Road, as the new centre moved a step closer to fruition. GPs from St Johns House Surgery and specialist

  • Woman found dead in Northwick

    POLICE vans and an ambulance were scrambled to an address in Northwick this morning after an elderly woman was found dead at her home. Emergency services were sent out after the woman's body was discovered by a cleaner shortly before 9am. A

  • Clarke is aiming for an ‘angry’ success

    CENTRE Jon Clarke is predicting an ‘angry’ clash between Worcester Warriors and his former club Northampton Saints when the two sides meet in the Aviva Premiership at Sixways on Saturday (3pm). Warriors haven’t won in the league since they beat

  • I’m back and set for polls action!

    A FORMER Worcester mayor who was controversially deselected from her County Hall seat has been pitted into one of this year’s most eagerly anticipated election battles. Councillor Lucy Hodgson has been confirmed as the Conservative Party candidate

  • County’s Hennessy gets MCC call-up

    TALENTED young Worcestershire cricketer Georgia Hennessy has been selected to represent the MCC in the inaugural under 19 Women’s ARCH Trophy in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. It is the first time in their 226-year history that the MCC has fielded an age

  • Raiders storm to their third Worcester cup final

    WORCESTER Raiders made it a hat-trick of cup final appearances after a 2-1 win over the University of Worcester took them to the Worcester and District Football League’s Baylis Cup final. Already through to the Worcestershire FA and Nursing Cup

  • Warriors have to roar back against the Saints

    WE need a big performance against Northampton Saints this Saturday on home soil and to respond to our 32-9 defeat at Bath. The Recreation Ground is a notoriously hard place to visit and when Bath are on form they can be difficult to contain.

  • Weir blames himself after gym fall lay-off

    TYLER Weir says he only has himself to blame for his enforced absence from the Worcester City team. The right-back’s appearance in Monday’s 3-1 defeat to Solihull Moors was his first since January 12 following a nasty facial injury. Weir suffered

  • Bulls target home victory

    HEREFORD United host title-chasing Wrexham tonight (7.45) bidding to stretch their unbeaten run in 2013 to seven matches. The Bulls, 12th in the Blue Square Bet Premier, maintained their record for the calendar year with a 2-0 triumph at Braintree

  • Betting shop idea attracts criticism

    A NEW betting shop is on the way to Worcester’s St Martin’s Quarter – leading to criticism it is the “wrong location” for it. Ladbrokes wants to become the latest retailer to take up a shop in the £75 million development, joining the likes of Asda

  • Devaney wings in at Harriers

    KIDDERMINSTER Harriers have further strengthened their squad by signing winger Martin Devaney until the end of the season. The 32-year-old former Cheltenham Town player arrives at Aggborough as a free agent having been without a club since leaving

  • A whole host of heavy sounds

    THE Marr’s Bar will ring out with the heavy sounds of metal later this month. Reign of Fury formed in 2005 out of frustration, anger and the love of real metal and now they are coming to the Pierpont Street venue in Worcester on Friday, February