Herefordshire | Archive | 2003 | December

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Stories for 18 December 2003

News

Way to park and ride all the year

UPON using the excellent park-and-ride service today, I had a chance to talk to one of the scheme's representatives.   more...

Parking not park

I WAS impressed with the pleasant appearance of the gardens and lawns which have replaced the hospital building in Union Walk.   more...

Somebody will be there in emergency - but who?

IT IS depressing to read that more than four-fifths of doctors (GPs) plan to withdraw from providing emergency service in the evenings and at weekends from April next year.   more...

Ridiculous pen-pushing

THE delightful town of Kington needs a bit of a spruce-up so they form a Regeneration Group.   more...

Empty shops as town homes

IN most market towns there are empty small shops. St Owens Street, Hereford, for instance has three which have been unoccupied for years.   more...

Accepting the blame yourself

HAVING SERVED in the Royal Navy for many years, where discipline was rigorous, and I learned the necessity of self-discipline, I became a prison officer, where it was quite common to find the majority of inmates claimed they were incarcerated for crimes they did not commit, or were somehow `stitched up' by the police!   more...

Jobs for the cuckoos .....

FOR months now the directorate of policy and community for Herefordshire Council have been advertising what can only be described as gobbeldy gook job opportunities in your vacancy columns, the latest being knowledge and content co-ordinator. What on earth sort of job is that?   more...

No big surprise in cost increase

WHY are our political and business leaders so surprised that the cost of the Rotherwas Access Road has doubled to £6m?   more...

Concerns for the dairy industry

BEING a regular reader of the Hereford Times and not residing here from any choice of my own, I share your readers' concern for the dairy industry, the latest to suffer from the economic collapse of milk prices.   more...

Houses are beyond pricing

YOU report on page 3 on a proposal for 66 new houses near Ross-on-Wye, `of which 24 would be affordable'.   more...

Changing places in Bromyard

BROMYARD Town Council is looking at moving into the old library building.   more...

TIC is on the move to new site

PREPARATIONS are underway for Bromyard's Tourist Information Centre's big move into the new Bromyard Centre at Cruxwell Street. The service, currently operating in Rowberry Street will move into the new centre to be open to the public on Monday, January 5. With funds secured from the Market Towns Initiative, a new supervisor, Alan Simpson, has been appointed to oversee the move. Alan is former licensee of the Three Elms pub in Hereford and is secretary of Herefordshire Campaign for Real Ale.   more...

A `pew's who' of the Deanery's gems

THE Churches of the Bromyard Rural Deanery is a new publication from Bromyard and District Local History Society.   more...

£1.5 million lost in bets robs pensioners

CROOKED bookmaker Andrew Petrie plundered a company pension fund of more than £1.5 million to bet on horses over the internet - and lost the lot. Petrie's fraud fell at the first hurdle once police were called in to investigate the missing money. Petrie now has a long prison sentence to ponder where his gambling addiction got him. Hereford Crown Court heard how the 43-year-old with no `previous' pulled off one of the county's biggest thefts to destroy retirement dreams and cheat his trusting elderly employer.   more...

Wreckers plough up green

VANDALS have ploughed up the public hall green in Bromyard by driving a car across it.   more...

After 54 years, WI closes down

A TINY rural lifeline for many country women has finally disbanded after 54 years when members of Edwyn Ralph Women's Institute met for the last time this month.   more...

Longtown given mobile PO branch

RESIDENTS in a Golden Valley village will receive a special gift this Christmas with the delivery of an unusual Post Office branch.   more...

Pupils are store VIPs

HAY-ON-WYE Primary School pupils were given the honour of opening their town's newly revamped Co-op store.   more...

School expands

A TWO-storey extension to the Sixth Form area at John Kyrle High School in Ross-on-Wye has been given the go-ahead by Herefordshire Council planners.   more...

Old Court Hotel changes hands

THE HISTORIC Old Court Hotel in Symonds Yat West, between Monmouth and Ross-on-Wye, is changing hands.   more...

DNA traced a would-be thief

A ROSS-ON-WYE man admitted damaging a door at Express Dairies after he was identified by a DNA sample, Hereford magistrates court heard on Friday.   more...

A cash life-saver for Ross Festival

CHRISTMAS came early for Ross-on-Wye International Festival, thrown a lifeline by Herefordshire Council when about to go under.   more...

Insite team's e-magazine

AN opinionated and talented team of 15 young people have just been appointed to run Insite a countywide and groundbreaking e-magazine in Herefordshire.   more...

Families OK on Sure Start proposals

A GOVERNMENT-funded body, which is planning to build a family and children's centre in Leominster, says it gained a positive response when it sought local views.   more...

Fire Brigade sounds a festive warning

HEREFORD and Worcester Fire Brigade have issued an easy to follow home fire safety guide to ensure that people across the two counties have a safe and incident free Christmas.   more...

Top 40 spot for county schools

HEREFORDSHIRE has finished in the top 40 out of 150 Local Education Authorities in Key Stage 3 tests across the three core subjects of English, maths and science.   more...

Door-to-door sales burglars

DETECTIVES say a `Dickensian' door-to-door sales scam operating across the county is a cover for burglary.   more...

`Don't bury our county under all this rubbish..'

HEREFORDSHIRE'S 223-acre Credenhill Park Wood and iron age hill fort was saved for the public partly through the proceeds of taxation on the throwaway society.   more...

Without her children for a fourth Christmas time

AS the Christmas decorations go up and families prepare to get together to celebrate the festive season, one Herefordshire woman can only think of the faces that she won't be seeing.   more...

Only the female bears the white berry crown

Big fleas have little fleas'   more...

Great news on capture

FOLLOWING the capture of Saddam Hussein in Iraq, Hereford MP Paul Keetch expressed his pleasure and called for the former dictator to be tried by a UN tribunal.   more...

Credit card con warning

TRICKSTERS sent out by underworld `Fagin' figures are fleecing banks and businesses across Herefordshire - with unwitting victims in the US footing the bill.   more...

Drought in summer warns water boards

AN exceptional shortage of rainfall in the Elan Valley has sparked fears of a drought in Herefordshire next summer.   more...

Leaving college

CHRISTOPHER Sharrock, head of illustration of Herefordshire College of Art and Design for the past four years, is leaving at the end of this term.   more...

Mystery of death crash car's turn

NO-ONE will ever know why Barbara Jones' red Ford Fiesta ended up broadside in front of an on-coming coach, an inquest heard last week.   more...

£3,000 fine for brook pollution

HEREFORDSHIRE-based Wye Valley Demolition has been fined £3,000 for polluting a brook despite prior warnings.   more...

Ledbury woman killed in car crash

A LEDBURY woman has been killed in a tragic road collision, just months after the death of her 100-year-old mother.   more...

Delegation presses case for flood relief

A GOVERNMENT minister was today (Thursday) being urged to act swiftly to ease Hereford's flood problems.   more...

Allensmore

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Almeley

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Birley

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Bishopstone

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Breinton

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Dorstone

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Dilwyn

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Ewyas Harold

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Edwyn Ralph

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Knighton

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Lea

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Presteigne

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Sellack

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Skenfrith

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Staunton

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Upper Colwall

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Weobley

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Teenage trickster leaves OAPs broke

A LEOMINSTER couple in their 80s lent so much money to a teenage trickster that it left them near broke.   more...

Golf clubs for addicts rehab plan under fire

A CONVICTED drugs' user and a set of golf clubs are at the centre of a rehabilitation row between Hereford police and the probation service.   more...

Sue's on TV

A HEREFORDSHIRE hairdresser will lead her family into battle on national television this weekend.   more...

Fell twice - as police watched

A MOPED rider, who fell off his bike in front of police officers - twice - pleaded guilty at Hereford magistrates court on Friday to driving with excess alcohol.   more...

£100,000 grant is country's biggest

NEWS that Aylestone Park Association has been awarded a maximum £100,000 grant from the Government's living spaces scheme has been welcomed by Hereford MP Paul Keetch.   more...

All day drinking session

A BOOZY all-day drinking binge led to `a smack on the nose' and an appearance at Hereford magistrates' court for a factory worker.   more...

Clubs, pubs in anti-yob links

HEREFORD city's pubs and clubs have a new weapon in their fight to stop drunk and disorderly behaviour - a radio network.   more...

Quit base to see girl

A SOLDIER who was AWOL from his base assaulted three police officers after he was discovered in a city bar, Hereford Magistrates heard.   more...

Girl told: End fights

A TRAINEE hairdresser who pleaded guilty to assaulting her former boyfriend's mother was told `no more fighting' by Hereford Magistrates.   more...

Public's view of the 20-year vision

THE Edgar Street grid masterplan for Hereford is due to be rubberstamped by cabinet today (Thursday) following a public consultation period.   more...

Soft drinks prices take fizz out of safe driving plans

YOU have got a round in at the local pub, but despite the presence of two harmless-looking lemonades, the price leaves you reeling. The cost of soft drinks is a big issue among pub-goers and Hereford van driver Antony Baker is worried that it could put the Government's Christmas anti-drink driving campaign in jeopardy.   more...

Head explains school pix ban

A HEREFORD head teacher has defended his decision to ban parents from using cameras and video recorders during the school's Christmas production.   more...

Golf clubs for addicts rehab plan under fire

A CONVICTED drugs' user and a set of golf clubs are at the centre of a rehabilitation row between Hereford police and the probation service.   more...

Do you want to watch me hang myself? Lee(12)

A WHITECROSS School pupil, who tried to hang himself in an attempt to shock his family, died accidentally, an inquest heard on Monday.   more...

D-day for city's new access road

HEREFORD will know today (Thursday) whether or not cash for the Rotherwas Access Road, Hereford, is coming.   more...

Quick-thinking service when baby's breathing stopped

A CHILL went through Christmas shoppers and store staff alike - and it wasn't the cold. Hereford's retail radio network reported a baby had stopped breathing in a city centre store.   more...

Church delight at ` early present'

MEMBERS of Leominster Moravian Church are thrilled with their "early Christmas present."   more...

More cash towards lights needed

TOWN councillors in Leominster are concerned they are bearing increasing costs over the Christmas street lights.   more...

Books warehouse

LEOMINSTER auction house Brightwells this week quashed a rumour that their former Fine Art Sale Room at Ryelands Road, to the rear of the town's police station, had been aquired by the police.   more...

Help needed for busy town clerk

LEOMINSTER'S busy town clerk needs help. Long-serving clerk, John Wesley, who also acts as administrator of the Herefordshire Market Towns Forum, said he was "surprised" to get a letter from the council's internal auditor on the issue of more help. The auditor said the council needed additional staff to do 20 hours of works a week. Currently, all responsibilities fall on Mr Wesley's shoulders. Mayor Janet Atkinson said she was anxious more help was obtained and that someone should be `trained up'. The council should investigate having a deputy town clerk. "John might want to retire at some time, like the rest of us," said the mayor. The council should avoid ending up in `panic street' when the clerk retired, she added. Councillors agreed to look into the issue of extra staffing.   more...

Santa's boost for pool fund

FATHER Christmas and his sleigh swooped in on Leominster's popular Victorian Street Market and gave a big boost to the town's swimming pool fund.   more...

Robe is Mayor's rash moment

CIVIC leaders in Leominster are faced with a problem over keeping up appearances. Fur is falling from the collar of the mayor's threadbare robe and is bringing her out in rashes.   more...

Death fall man had no harness

KEITH Jones `slipped up' on standards and fell to his death.   more...

Masonic Hall is up for sale - with stairs

`TOO many stairs' are posing a problem for older Freemasons at Leominster's Masonic Hall.   more...

Pilot broadband scheme is ended

LEOMINSTER has lost its pilot broadband internet link - for now. A receiver is running the chosen provider and work to restore the service should see it switched on again soon.   more...

Children entitled to a positive future

THE writer of the letter: "Wider issue of neo-natal tests" (Hereford Times, December 4) was wrong in stating the Rev Joanna Jepson was judgmental of the parents of the aborted baby.   more...

We've got our own sporting heroes too

MADAM, The joy, adulation and congratulations reaped by the England Rugby World Cup winners may have surprised a few, but is totally understandable by many. As a nation we crave sporting success, but have too few opportunities to express it.   more...

Not too many fat cats round here!

THE LETTER by Mr Tom Canham of this village (Little Dewchurch), suggesting that the general conception that retired people are `less able and poorer than anyone else', (Hereford Times, November 27), and that `reductions in haircuts, entrance fees and pub lunches is a serious mistake, as many retired people are well off', is rather insulting.   more...

Rural tax payers deserve same

WITH reference to Herefordshire Council's commitment to recycling. I read with interest the letter from Heather Diffey regarding bags for the collection of recyclable materials, or rather the lack of them, for residents of Hereford City.   more...

Who cares for our county?

G SCOTT'S assertion that "the beautiful shire we once inhabited has been brutally ripped apart" (Hereford Times, December 11) is one I agree with.   more...

Sport

County bowlers gain resounding victory

HEREFORDSHIRE Short Mat Bowling Association continued their successful season with a victory over Wiltshire at Lacock. Herefordshire came out on top in 10 of the 16 games and claimed draws in three of the others, scoring 204 shots to Wiltshire's 140 and finishing with a resounding 27-9 win. Herefordshire's two pairs teams, Tony Vitale and Andrew Mollett and Pam and Neil Kellett, the triples Margaret Eggleton, John Stannard and James Zimmerman, and the four of David Watkins, Sue Stannard, Harold Aubrey and Anthony Rogers, all won their two games for a 61-point advantage.   more...

Daniel unbeaten after 40 races

Weobley High School scullers Daniel and Niklas Middleton continued their nationwide quest for medals on returning to the Thames last Saturday.   more...

Luctonians have home draw

LUCTONIANS Rugby Club have the advantage of a home draw in the fifth round of the RFU Powergen Intermediate Cup but face tough opposition in the form of Bradford & Bingley.   more...

United aim to hit back with double

HEREFORD United will be aiming to put Saturday's disappointment against Tamworth well behind them when they bid for their second double of the season against Forest Green at The Lawn tomorrow (Friday), kick-off 7.45.   more...

Philippa takes two Welsh titles

HEREFORD Swimming Club's Philippa Davies had a memorable weekend at the Senior Welsh National Champion-ships in Swansea, returning home with six medals and two national titles.   more...

Referees' course

THE Herefordshire Football Association is holding a referees' course at the County Ground at Widemarsh Common, Hereford on January 2-4.   more...

Football Results

Hereford Times Herefordshire League, Premier Division: Sutton 0, Weston 0; Hinton 2, Pegasus 5, Fownhope 3, Woofferton 1.   more...

Dynamos turn on the power to end Bartestree's unbeaten record

THERE was an early Christmas present for Under-14 team Hereford Junior Dynamos when they travelled to top-of-the-table Bartestree and inflicted the first defeat of the season on the leaders with a 5-0 triumph.   more...

Villagers on song at Bromyard

Bromyard Town 0 Wellington 5   more...

Gwynne free-kick salvages draw

Herefordshire FA 1 Derbyshire FA 1   more...

Unbeaten run goes on for Ross

Ross Town 2 Kidlington 2   more...

Champions prove too strong

Penrhyncoch 1 Presteigne 0   more...

Weather hits fixtures

INCLEMENT weather hit local teams in the West Midland Leagues last weekend with four matches being postponed because of water-logged pitches.   more...

Draw means Hinton stay top

KINGTON Town missed a chance to move to the top of the HFA Under-18 Floodlit Youth League when they were held to a 3-3 by visiting Lads Club, who could themselves have gone top by beating their hosts. As it is, Hinton retain top spot.   more...

John blasts three in extra-time win

Hinton 4 Wellington 3   more...

Four points out of six for young Bulls

Quorn 1   more...

Davis double boosts Kington

Smethwick Sikh Temple 2 Kington Town 3   more...

Town caught out after fine start

Leominster Town 2   more...

Pegasus earn first home success

Pegasus Juniors 2 Wootton Bassett Town 1   more...

Sam turns up trumps again

FOREST Green manager Colin Addison's associations with Westfields go back many years but he could hardly have expected such a spectacular response when he sought the help of his old pals last weekend.   more...

Premier leaders claim place in semis with runaway win

HEREFORD Times Herefordshire League Premier Division leaders Ewyas Harold proved far too strong for bottom club Leominster in the quarter-finals of the Journal Cup and emerged with an 8-0 win.   more...

Pegasus find form to hammer city rivals

PEGASUS hit form with a vengeance to record the surprise result of the day in the Hereford Times Herefordshire League Premier Division with a 5-2 away caning of city rivals Hinton.   more...

Lisa on target in ten-goal clash

Lisa Ferneyhough's hat-trick helped Hereford 2nd to a 6-4 win over Malvern in a friendly fixture.   more...

Johnson's hat-trick boosts town team

A HAT-TRICK from Ian Johnson helped Leominster 3rd go into the Christmas break in fine style after a 5-1 win at Westbury and United Banks 6th in Gerrard Hockey League North-East West District 4.   more...

TC's end rivals' top run

TWO unbeaten teams met in the BOSS Hereford Netball League and it was TC's who won a close game 45-40 against Monmouth to go top of Division 2.   more...

Hereford United Conference Fixtures 2003-4

Aug 9 3pm Tamworth (A) 3-1 (Smith 2, Guinan)   more...

Kington receive prestigious award

KINGTON Golf Club have become one of the first clubs in the country to be granted the prestigious Junior Golfmark award.   more...

Four pairs share the spoils

THERE was a blanket finish in the latest Herefordshire GC's winter mixed foursomes stableford with five pairs posting the top score of 37 points.   more...

John steps down after 30 years of service

LONGSTANDING Leo-minster member and club officer, John Ashcroft has stepped down from all committee work after nearly 30 years of service to the club, during which time he has served as club president, captain and secretary.   more...

Taxman taking a tougher line with football clubs

THERE has been a noticeable hardening of attitudes by the Inland Revenue to football clubs in recent months.   more...

Greyhound's exit

GREYHOUND Ladies gave a battling display before losing 24-8 to Altrincham Kersals in the quarter-finals of the women's national cup.   more...

Rugby Results and Tables

RFU LEAGUE   more...

County's clubs bow out

BOTH Luctonians and Hereford bowed out of the North Midlands Under-16 Cup in the quarter-finals.   more...

Lewis twins join final trialists

TWINS Robert and James Lewis have been invited to take part in the Midlands Schools' 16-Group final trial at Solihull School on Sunday, starting at 1pm.   more...

Front five lead cup spree for Lucton

Luctonians 55 pts Horden 0   more...

TC's end rivals' top run

TWO unbeaten teams met in the BOSS Hereford Netball League and it was TC's who won a close game 45-40 against Monmouth to go top of Division 2.   more...

Volunteers wanted to scale volcano

THE British Wheelchair Sports Foundation are looking for volunteers with a sense of adventure to join them at the highest point in Africa next year, atop the legendary Kilimanjaro.   more...

Unbeaten record extended

HEREFORDSHIRE CIBA kept their unbeaten record with a fine 121-102 victory against a strong Midland Coun-ties team, winning four of the six rinks, in a match played at Leo-minster.   more...

Thomas clinches autotest series

KEITH Thomas clinched victory in Herefordshire Motor Club's Autotest Championship with a convincing win in the sixth and final round at Madley last Sunday.   more...

Chaz misses top place in young sports award

HEREFORDSHIRE'S Chaz Davies missed out on a top prize at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards on Sunday night.   more...

Trainer receives early gift when rivals go off course

IT was Christmas come early for Byton trainer Richard Lee at Towcester on Monday when his Stormhill Stag trailed in a distant sixth in the gg.com Amateur Riders Chase, only to be awarded the race when the first five horses were disqualified for taking the wrong course.   more...

Golden rowing

HEREFORD Cathedral School rowers' domination of the indoor season continued with victories for Alice Osborne and Luce Edwards in the 2,000 metre and 500 metre sprints at the Welsh Open Grand Prix in Cardiff.   more...

Stuart finds power for class title

A LATECOMER to motor sport at the age of 40 has won his class in a national sprint and hill-climb championship as well as third place overall, writes Jeremy Finney.   more...

Silver star champion keeps county in front

HEREFORDSHIRE cemented its position as the leading county for rally drivers when Jon Ballinger retained the BTRDA Dunlop Silver Star Championship, writes Richard Prime.   more...

Westfields downed by disputed late strike

Westfields 1 Rocester 2   more...

Westfields get the `all clear' for Moor House

WESTFIELDS have won their battle to bring Midland Alliance football to Hereford but had to endure a dramatic afternoon before the league committee gave their `all clear' to the city club's new Moor House stadium.   more...

Sam turns up trumps again

FOREST Green manager Colin Addison's associations with Westfields go back many years but he could hardly have expected such a spectacular response when he sought the help of his old pals last weekend.   more...

  
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