THE Wessex Football League are pressing ahead with a second division for the 2004-5 season. They plan to launch a 14 to 16-strong Division 2 in September next year having got the green light for expansion from the FA'S National League System Committee
AN OPEN verdict has been recorded at the inquest of a Hampshire pensioner who died in hospital. Jack Peck, 76, died at Southampton General Hospital on December 7 after food given to him through a tube pooled in his stomach and went into his lungs. Mr
IT WAS a case of happy families in the first round of the Matchams Kart Club Championship. Father and son Kevin and Christopher Mathers from Alderholt carved up the first two heats of the Pro-Kart class between them. Then the Aldwell family from Poole
BECKI Stanley of Southampton Trampoline Club is going up in the world. The talented teenager has been selected for Great Britain's five-strong over-17 squad to compete in the World Championships in Stuttgart this October. Stanley has achieved what coach
NAVAL serviceman, Aran Stanton (VC St Raphael Waite Contracts) swapped places with clubmate, Steve Walkling, to give another "one-two" success, competing in Bournemouth Women's CA 25-mile open trial in Dorset. Malcolm Cox and Wayne Levet achieved the
Hythe Bucks booked their place in the Solent Area Men's Division 2 play-off final by outgunning Hampshire Police 69-65. The table-topping Bucks were expected to see off their fourth-placed opponents, but the Watersiders started the game nervously, still
A CHARITY worker on a voluntary scheme in Africa is lucky to be alive today after leaping from his truck seconds before it was swept away in a flash flood. Retired fireman Roger Green, 60, is part of a team laying a water pipeline in a desert area of
A MAN in his early 20s died while working at a unit on Totton's South Hampshire Industrial Estate last night. The accident happened at the Change of Style factory, which is involved in fireplace, memorial and kitchen work in Eddystone Road. A Hampshire
A HAMPSHIRE town is to gain a multi-million-pound tennis and arts centre that will rival existing attractions elsewhere in the south. New Forest Council has set the stage and approved plans to turn historic Hanger Farm, Totton, into a state-of-the-art
A YEAR of consolidation lies ahead for the new Hampshire mayor of "one of the best places on this planet". Councillor Mike Curtis paid tribute to Romsey after he was elected as the town's new mayor last night and he dedicated his year in office to putting
HAMPSHIRE brewer George Gale & Co has turned in its 13th year of profit growth for the last financial year, despite a difficult operating climate and environment. Turnover increased by 3.3 per cent to £36.6m. Profit before tax and exceptional items
MARINE electronics company McMurdo has been awarded one of the highest standards in business management. The coveted ISO 9001:2000 accreditation was presented to McMurdo following a thorough analysis of the company's long-term management strategies. McMurdo
Comedian Julian Clary celebrates 20 years in showbiz at The Anvil in Basingstoke next week. The flamboyant TV and stage star brings his current UK tour to The Anvil on Saturday, May 24 - and promises plenty of the innuendo and cutting one-liners he's
A SOUTHAMPTON schoolboy is today fighting for his life after a road accident last night. Police have today appealed for witnesses after the 13-year-old boy suffered life threatening head injuries when he was in the accident with a red Mazda car. At 3.55pm
HUNDREDS of Saints fans were today facing the possibility they will miss seeing the FA Cup final because of a train service debacle. The Daily Echo has been flooded with calls from Southampton supporters who have been told there is no space for them on
MORE than a month after her bomb disposal expert son died in Iraq a Hampshire mum has made a heartfelt appeal to help the country's children rebuild their lives. Staff Sgt Chris Muir, 32, was killed during an operation to dismantle munitions at the end
A MARTIAL arts instructor has been charged with the murder of his wife who vanished from their Southampton home 15 months ago. David Gibson, of Purvis Gardens, Sholing, is accused of killing mother-of-five Belinda Gibson with the help of his father, and
HAMPSHIRE Chief Constable Paul Kernaghan is in Iraq to lead a four-strong team to help rebuild the Iraqi police service. He is expected to visit both Basra and Baghdad. Mr Kernaghan, who is also the Association of Chief Police Officers' international
HERE it is pop pickers - the winner of the Daily Echo's Song for Saints competition. Storming straight in at number one in the unofficial cup final anthem phone vote is Lloyd Two's All Southampton. A grand total of 1,505 votes were cast in the week-long
CORONATION STREET actress Samia Ghadie helicoptered in to the Rose Bowl cricket ground to meet a Waterside computer-whizz chosen to front a government campaign to boost use of the Internet. Samia - who plays Maria Sutherland - presented Maureen Russell
POTENTIAL rugby stars of the future tried out their new skills during a festival in Southampton. The competition marked the end of a ten-week rugbycoaching programme that was held at Mansel Park in Redbridge and Daisy Dip in Swaythling. It was organised
HOME Office minister Beverley Hughes can expect a "welcoming" committee when she visits the Daedalus site tomorrow. Protesters have pledged to turn out in numbers to show Mrs Hughes the strength of opposition to her plans to house 400 male asylum seekers
Antti Niemi is a veteran of three cup finals but admits he is preparing for his biggest test yet against Arsenal on Saturday - and aiming to make it a hat-trick of wins. The Finnish number one has already got two winners medals in his trophy cabinet -
PAUL JONES is the Saint who knows Cardiff's Millennium Stadium like the back of his hand. "It is a fantastic place to play and to watch football - absolutely awesome," he says. "It's massive. You don't really know how big it is until you walk down on
CUP FINAL week began on a sad note for Saints with news that 1976 Wembley trainer Jim Clunie has died back in his native Scotland. Lawrie McMenemy, who brought Clunie with him from Grimsby Town when he was appointed Saints manager in 1973, said: "He was
SOUTHAMPTON is among the frontline ports which are joining the battle against terrorists trying to smuggle radioactive material. Customs officials are installing screening machines in ports around the UK to stop so-called "dirty bombs'' being brought
Today's Principal Arrivals: Global Harvest, refrigerat, 0500, 104; Oriana, cruise ship, 0630, 106; Saga Pearl, cruise ship, 0745, 38/9; Hyundai Discovery, container, 1415, 206; Cap Finisterre, container, PM, 204. Today's Principal Sailings: Saga Pearl
Hampshire's Billy Mackenzie finished fourth in the British 125cc MotoCross Grand Prix at Hawkstone Park - just a week after dislocating his right ankle in a spectacular racing tumble in Germany. The teenager from Tichfield had to ride with a specially
John Crockford hasn't given up on giving Karl Harris a good run for his money in the British Supersport Championship. The Southampton road-racer has been off the winning pace in the last two rounds at Thruxton and Oulton Park. Harris, with a second at
A positive rearguard action performance against some incessant Somerset pressure moved Hampshire to within just a single game of a visit to Twickenham and a return to the top flight of the County Championship competition. Their 23-19 success put them
POTENTIAL rugby stars of the future tried out their new skills during a festival in Southampton. The competition marked the end of a ten-week rugbycoaching programme that was held at Mansel Park in Redbridge and Daisy Dip in Swaythling. It was organised
MORE than a month after her bomb disposal expert son died in Iraq a Hampshire mum has made a heartfelt appeal to help the country's children rebuild their lives. Staff Sgt Chris Muir, 32, was killed during an operation to dismantle munitions at the end
Landmark Estates has appointed Goadsby & Harding's building consultancy department to oversee its newest redevelopment project in the heart of Southampton. The company has acquired three striking Georgian listed buildings in Portland Terrace, pictured
Orpheus In The Underworld - Salisbury Amateur Operatic Society, City Hall, Salisbury THIS operetta is a musical triumph, and the lively whole company pieces had City Hall resonating to Offenbach's vigorous music. Eurydice is brilliantly performed by Kathy
SOUTHAMPTON is among the frontline ports which are joining the battle against terrorists trying to smuggle radioactive material. Customs officials are installing screening machines in ports around the UK to stop so-called "dirty bombs'' being brought
A COURAGEOUS Southampton teenager's dreams came true when he was given two of the hottest tickets in town to see Southampton play in this Saturday's FA Cup final against Arsenal. Major Saints' fan Ross McGuinness, 13, is currently a patient at Southampton
A SAINTS fan has been given the red card from the club for life after they were nabbed selling an FA Cup final ticket on the black market. The unnamed supporter was punished with a lifetime ban after team officials spotted the sought-after ticket for
HUNDREDS of staff in schools across Hampshire and Southampton are to receive a share of a £1.3m cash bonus from the government. Teachers, caretakers and school secretaries are among workers in line for the payout to reward them for boosting pupils' test
The 19th running of the Southampton Running Club-organised Netley 10K Road Race takes place this Sunday (May 18, 10.30am) at the Victoria Country Park. Better known as "The Run in the Park", the race appeals to both the serious and casual runner with
TRAVELLERS have set up camp on Eastleigh's playing fields, signalling the start of a summer invasion, residents fear. The group of almost 30 vans swooped during the night and by yesterday morning had set up the altest camp on playing fields in the Stoneham
HE IS incredibly proud of his Welsh roots but Glynn Davies-Dear is also proud as punch to be the new Mayor of Eastleigh. Before taking over the civic chain the 58-year-old Liberal Democrat councillor told the Daily Echo how he had instantly fallen in
MEMORIES OF a major fire at a Chandler's Ford school were more than a distant beat away as the curtain went up on a £2.9m concert hall. The official opening of the 400-seater state-of-the-art building marked a double celebration for Thornden School pupils
ANTTI NIEMI and Paul Jones have been competing for the Saints goalkeeper's jersey all season. Welshman Jones started out in pole position but was dropped following a mistake which gifted West Brom the points at the Hawthorns way back in September. Yet
HERE it is pop pickers - the winner of the Daily Echo's Song for Saints competition. Storming straight in at number one in the unofficial cup final anthem phone vote is Lloyd Two's All Southampton. A grand total of 1,505 votes were cast in the week-long
