AN average of one in four trains are still running late on the "journey from hell" between Worcester to Birmingham - despite major improvements by operators. Central Trains has revealed between 20 and 30 per cent of trains arrive at their destinations
WORCESTER High Street is to be given a £180,000 facelift - as long as councillors can decide on the best furniture to use. Three exhibitions of street furniture have been held in recent weeks and it seems that public opinion is veering towards a more
POLICE are appealing for Good Samaritans who came to the rescue of a bag-snatch victim to come forward with information. The woman was near Worcester Cathedral on Saturday around 5pm when a man grabbed her bag from her shoulder and ran off. A number of
POLICE who raided a Worcester house looking for drugs found £7,000 cash. They arrested Bruce Baylis - who insisted the money was part of a legitimate inheritance - before he fled to Spain. Worcester Crown Court heard he was on the run for 10 months until
A GROUNDBREAKING water clean-up campaign has got underway to return the water at Croome Landscape Park to how it was in the 18th Century. The National Trust has launched the project to improve water quality at Croome lake and river as part of a 10-year
Plans for 56 new CCTV cameras at the St Martin's Gate car park are to be considered by Worcester City Council's cabinet tomorrow night. A quote for £102,000 has been given by Intelligent Vision Solutions (IVS) for the work and would form part of a £500,000
JOCKEY Frankie Dettori looks unlikely to win the 2.30pm at Newbury with his new mount - a champion Newfoundland dog with the same name. After being made a champion by winning best of breed at three top shows this year, owner Jan Ballinger decided it was
THERE are plenty of activities to keep young artists occupied this summer, thanks to Worcester City Art Gallery and Museum. It has organised a series of workshops for children and family groups for the holiday period. This Thursday, youngsters will be
A LEADING provider of social housing in Worcestershire has received a pat on the back for the quality of its building improvements. Construction and maintenance work carried out by Festival Housing, which manages 8,000 homes from its main offices in Malvern
A PROJECT to build a new community and arts centre in Pershore has been given another boost thanks to a £15,000 grant. Number 8, a charitable limited company in High Street, Pershore, will use the grant to replace age-old cast iron gas boilers at its
PARENTS in Worcester no longer have to worry about keeping their offspring entertained during the summer. University College Worcester is hosting a series of summer camps for youngsters aged five to 14 throughout August. Activities on offer include volleyball
VICTIMS of racial incidents need to come forward more often if they are to be given the help they deserve. That was the message from police this week after several high-profile crimes were reported in the Press. Hate crime officer, Det Insp Jerry Reakes-Williams
PET owners have been taking advantage of a scheme that provides free treatment to their animals due to illness or injury. More than 200 pet owners have registered for the PDSA Pet-aid scheme at two Malvern-based vets - The Avenue Veterinary Centre on
SPORTING giants across the country are backing Worcester toddler Amy Lambert in her bid to raise funds for the hospital which saved her life. The brave three-year-old, with parents Darren and Laura, aims to hold a series of auctions for Birmingham's Diana
WORCESTERSHIRE Royals will be unchanged for their floodlit National League Division One clash against title-chasing Glamorgan Dragons at New Road tomorrow (4.10pm). The County are sticking to the winning formula which knocked Surrey Lions off the top
KIDDERMINSTER Harriers have good reason to feel confident about their forthcoming Nationwide League Division Three campaign despite slipping to a 2-1 defeat against a strong West Bromwich Albion side at Aggborough on Saturday. Harriers took the lead with
WORCESTER and Stourport stole the show at Bewdley Regatta as they notched up 30 wins between them over the weekend. The two shared the Victor Ludorum prize for the most successful clubs with 15 wins each at the annual event which once again proved a huge
RAIN spared Kidderminster an embarrassing rout against Birmingham Cricket League Division One leaders West Bromwich Dartmouth. The home side were reeling at 52-8 in reply to West Bromwich's 172 when the heavens opened to force the game's abandonment.
OVER the past two weeks, in very high temperatures, Mathon, Cradley & Storridge A has played two mixed and four ladies tennis matches. Against Bromwich Lane, the normal reliable pairing of Duncan Hannaford and Carol Dandy failed on this occasion to
ROSS Golf Club team hit a low when they played the Worcestershire Seniors at Malvern. The whole team came crashing down the Earth with a bump by losing 1-7. It was only a splendid 6-4 win by Pat Curtis and partner Vernon Thompson that saved seniors captain
SUPER-VET Mike Amery won last week's Velo Club Sevale 10m-time trial by the close margin of 13 seconds over Brian Boswell, with Kevin Minski coming third with his time of 24 minutes 41 seconds. Full results: 1. Mike Amery 22.58, 2. Brian Boswell 23.11
BUDDING young Malvern windsurfers made up a record number of competitors who took part in a successful day's racing in Tewkesbury. Some 33 competitors got the wind under their sails at Croft Farm Water & Leisure Park as part of the national T15 series
KIDDERMINSTER Harriers have good reason to feel confident about their forthcoming Nationwide League Division Three campaign despite slipping to a 2-1 defeat against a strong West Bromwich Albion side at Aggborough on Saturday. Harriers took the lead with
MALVERN Town have increased their gate prices for the first time in four years to meet rising referee costs. Town was one of 36 clubs that voted in the rise in referee's match-day fees and expenses at the recent West Midland Regional League annual meeting
A MAVERN rider has achieved her life-long ambition of stepping out at the Horse of the Year Show. Lucy Turner qualified at Guildford last Saturday for the showpiece event after finishing second in the Hunter Class. "I'm absolutely over the moon," said
MALVERN RFC open the season defending the Droitwich 10s title on August 16, then play Cheltenham (away) and Ledbury (home) in warm-up games on the two following Saturdays. The season proper opens on September 6 with a home league match against Barkers
IN reply to recent letters attacking my stance on asylum seekers, I would confirm my own viewpoint "no more, please - we are full up"! Australia has learnt the error of its ways. David Keyworth (You Say, Monday, July 7) said: "UK asylum-seekers receive
I WAS disappointed to read Richard Babington on Advanced Driving (Evening News, July 12). He conceded himself he has little enthusiasm for driving and perhaps was not the best person to report on what might be interesting, challenging and invigorating
MATTHEW A Clarke nailed his political colours to the mast by claiming to be a proud British and a Conservative one at that (You Say, July 14). While he's perfectly entitled to his political views, I do find his rationality questionable. His letter praised
GEORGE Cowley made such an eloquent defence of his correspondences to the Evening News (You Say, July 19) that I almost feel guilty for criticising him. I have one question, however, George - if you've had such a notable input to the editorial content
JUST what is the point of setting up an enquiry into the death of MoD scientist and weapons inspector Dr David Kelly under Lord Hutton? The most powerful person in Britain is the Prime Minister, and he alone has the authority and resources to uncover
THERE was a new competition and some new faces at a recent Young Farmers get-together, writes Robin Wylde of Worcestershire YFC. Members from new club Pershore YFC joined four others at the Three Pears, Warndon, for the county's first Call My Bluff event
THEY say what goes around comes around and so there's rich irony in the fact that after decades of trying to keep our rivers within their banks, it's now been decided it wouldn't hurt if some water escaped. The straitjacket approach, designed to prevent
BARNARDS Green visited second-placed Belbroughton in a vital Crusader Worcestershire County League Division Three match. BELBROUGHTON v BARNARDS GREEN The Green, who put Belbroughton into bat started well with Williams and Scullion able to apply a stranglehold
AFTER producing a series of patchy performances, Colwall found that they could do no wrong as they comprehensively defeated visitors Hatherley & Reddings. COLWALL I v HATHERLY & REDDINGS I Tom Wolfendale won the toss and elected to bat first.
HISTORY was very much in the making for Worcester Nomads last Saturday as under-14 player Nathan Newport made an unbeaten 110 on his senior debut against Alvechurch. And the following day saw the first Nomads senior game to include a women in their side
BARNARDS Green Thirds drew with Bewdley at Brintons on a wicket as varied in bounce as the British weather. Batting first, Bewdley got off to a steady start before Dave Knapper caught opener Malgem for 12 off Liam Paddock. Thereafter, despite some good
EASTNOR bowled Pedmore out for just 130 runs in the 46th over and powered on to claim an easy Crusader Worcestershire County League seven-wicket victory. EASTNOR Ist v PEDMORE Ist Pedmore lost their first wicket for 25 runs in the fourth over of the bowling
BARNARDS Green Sunday Casuals travelled to Abberley for a friendly encounter but lost out by 61 runs. Abberley won the toss and batted first and finished on 160 off their 40 overs. With the track now deteriorating rapidly, chasing runs was never going
MAN-of-the tournament Nathan Newport's super winning six saw Worcester Nomads lift Malvern Cricket Club's junior crown on Sunday. After coming through their respective group games, Nomads and Stratford-upon-Avon battled it out for the Quintech Computer
COMPANIES in Worcestershire are being urged to find out more about The Queen's Awards for Enterprise. The prestigious business accolades recognise remarkable achievements in the three categories of international trade, innovation and sustainable development
WORCESTER police are cracking down on youths drinking themselves "into oblivion" and drug abuse at a city park. Their action comes as concerned resident Seamus Kelly claims he saw youngsters injecting drugs and becoming drunk in Gheluvelt Park, Barbourne
PLANS to squeeze a bungalow between two houses have been rejected by Worcester city councillors. But the development could still go ahead following consultation between the landowner and the council's planning officers. The proposal involves building
BRAVE fund-raisers proved men can do their bit in the fight against testicular cancer. As well as a 10km fun run called Mencan, activities from body waxing to a pub crawl were organised to raise money for Cancer Research UK's work into the disease. Mencan's
HUNDREDS of former smokers from the county are casting aside their cigarettes and kicking the habit, the latest figures have revealed. Worcestershire's smoking cessation service helped 947 nicotine addicts to lead healthier lives from April last year
A SEARCH for the most talented young chefs and mouth-watering recipes in Worcestershire came to the boil at this weekend's fine food festival. Jamie Oliver wannabes from schools across the county were asked to design a meal using produce from the two
CITY councillors will decide tomorrow night if they are to support a plan to designate Offerton Wetlands as a Local Nature Reserve. The area, which was created during the construction of the Shire Business Park in Warndon, Worcester, is recognised for
CENTRAL Trains seems to be making advances in its att-empts to deliver passengers to their destinations on time. At a time when our railways are under severe pressure, the company has revealed that 72 per cent of its trains on the Worcester-Birmingham
RICHARD Bridges must have received quite a shock when he was attacked by a buzzard in a quiet country lane. According to a recent front page report in the Evening News, the errant predator had broken away from its companion high in the sky and flown down
A SUPERB spell of 4-23 from Kabir Ali gave Worcestershire a crushing 79-run victory against National League Division One leaders Surrey at Guildford. Ali, who finished with figures of 4-30, tore into the Surrey top order, claiming the wickets of Scott
THE race for places in Worcester City's first team hots up tonight with the visit of Second Division Queen's Park Rangers (7.45). Manager John Barton, back from a two-week break, run a close eye over his team with a view to discovering his best starting
THE goals keep coming in Hereford United's pre-season programme after a 7-0 win against Bromyard Town at Delahay Meadow on Saturday took their tally to 30 in five games. But United didn't have things all their own way against the West Midlands Leaguers
A FINE bowling display by Murray Ranger and Guy Muspratt proved in vain after Worcester's Birmingham Cricket League Division One clash with Water Orton was washed out at the Gordon Jones Memorial Ground. Worcester had bowled themselves into a good position
MANOR Park Tennis Club was bathed in sunshine for finals day. Despite the heat, an excellent standard of tennis was played in front of a large crowd. Some 85 adults and approximately 40 juniors had entered the tournament in total. This year, for the first
DESPITE the Open Championship featuring on television, a large field of Worcestershire Golf Club golfers entered The Professional's Cup last Saturday. With the recent exceptional spell of good weather, the course was very firm and the ball seemed to run
THE Arden Sailing Club (Defford) fleet was depleted on Sunday as the annual holiday season gets under way. However, those who braved the strong and very gusty winds enjoyed an action-packed afternoon. The first race of the day was a Pursuit which saw
A SUPERB spell of 4-23 from Kabir Ali gave Worcestershire a crushing 79-run victory against National League Division One leaders Surrey at Guildford. Ali, who finished with figures of 4-30, tore into the Surrey top order, claiming the wickets of Scott
MALVERN Town's first pre-season friendly was a highly-satisfactory affair, as Town ran out comprehensive victors against their Midland Combination Premier Division neighbours. PERSHORE TOWN 0, MALVERN TOWN 5 Town were always in control against a home
A MALVERN football club has attacked the town council for forcing its thriving junior section to move from their "spiritual home". After 25 years based at Lower Howsell, Malvern Town Council now want Newtown Sports Junior Football Club's mini-football
MALVERN'S Manor Park Tennis Club is being held up as a shining example - after another dismal Wimbledon for Britain. Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) officials commended Manor Park on its attitude towards young people, saying the club was "leading the way
CASTLEMORTON mountain bikers Belinda and Andrew Tarling retained their National Trailquest Championship crown in Hamsterly, County Durham. For the second year in a row, the pair dominated the mixed team category. Their score of 380 points during the five-hour
HARRY Solven, from Cradley, was eighth in the Formula Worlds at Lake Garda, Italy, last week . This was an excellent result as he was the youngest competitor there and still has a year to go in this class. He and brother Guy are at the top of the Windsurfing
MALVERN entertained Oldswinford on Saturday and came away with another winning draw after a good-team effort with bat and ball. MALVERN I v OLDSWINFORD I Malvern batted first and Adam Dovey together with Mark Baugh put on 69 for the first wicket before
I HAVE an urgent request. Can we please have no more mention of Nush now that Big Brother has ended. What a boring, childish, boy-mad giggling idiot. She flirts with everything in trousers and then looks surprised when she is dropped by her boyfriend.
WORCESTERSHIRE Royals will be unchanged for their floodlit National League Division One clash against title-chasing Glamorgan Dragons at New Road tomorrow (4.10pm). The County are sticking to the winning formula which knocked Surrey Lions off the top
SPENDING £30,000 on a retail survey of Bromsgrove town centre is a 'scandalous waste of public money', a district councillor claims. Leader of the Labour opposition Cllr Peter McDonald (Waseley) hit out at an executive cabinet decision to provide financial
By COURT REPORTER A WOMAN whose pub glassing attack left her victim scarred for life deserved her five-year sentence, Appeal Court judges ruled today. Joanne Sarah Dempster slashed Laura Mitchell's face with a broken bottle, leaving her so badly disfigured
LEADERS Worcestershire had victory over Gloucestershire in their sight when the weather intervened decisively and left the match drawn. Rain, which had completely washed out Friday's play in this Frizzell County Championship Division Two clash, struck
THE race for places in Worcester City's first team hots up tonight with the visit of Second Division Queen's Park Rangers (7.45). Manager John Barton, back from a two-week break, will run a close eye over his team with a view to discovering his best starting
THE Green 2nds needed to beat leaders Belbroughton in Saturday's Crusader Worcestershire County League Division Three game but fell just short of a challenging total. BARNARDS GREEN 2nd v BELBROUGHTON 2nd The visitors' 233-5 was largely down to in-form
BARNARDS Green Singles regained the winning habit with a comprehensive four-wicket victory over Worcester Corinthians. Corinthians elected to bat with Brookes and Brown soon maintaining a tidy line and length. But once the shine had gone off the ball,
HANLEY Castle & Upton entertained Crusader Worcestershire County League Division Four leaders Harborne. Put into bat, Hanley struggled reaching 40-3 with Mason (2-37) bowling with good pace and the Akhtar (1-60) and Palmer (0-42) twins. But putting
EASTNOR Seconds played in what may prove to be one of the closest games this season against Pedmore. EASTNOR II v PEDMORE II Eastnor got off to a great start with Matt Phillips claiming three wickets. Steve Large brought himself into the attack and bowled
INNOVATORS in Worcestershire and Herefordshire can benefit from grants totalling £25,000 to support their ground-breaking plans. They could be among dozens of the West Midland's most promising new projects benefiting from the funds, part of a £4m scheme
A "FLYING dentist" whose business is reaching new heights will soon be dropping in to Worcester. After 15 years working as a conventional dentist, Dr John Davies turned his back on normal teeth seven years ago to concentrate on dentures. He set up a practice
WHILE most of us will be making the most of our patios on balmy evenings, added interest is often created with a garden path which provides movement away from the static terrace or patio. Paths are not only a practical element in any garden, but they
