BASHLEY boss Geoff Butler is targeting experienced former Portsmouth, Bournemouth and Havant & Waterlooville front-runner Paul Wood to inject some quality into the side. Although the Foresters have had a promising start to their Ryman Division 1 campaign
CHRIS Bridges made his critics eat their words by firing Newport IoW to only their second league win of the season at St George's Park on Saturday. With points hard to come by for the Islanders, Bridges has taken his fair share of flak from the home crowd
THE Boatmen of VTFC scuppered the hopes of a first-game victory for new Downton manager Jeff Softley as they continued their cracking start to life in the SWL with a 2-1 away success. Steve Wheatland gave VT the lead after 52 minutes, heading home from
LOCKS Heath powered to the top of the Division 2 table with a 2-0 victory over Aldermaston - the third change at the summit inside a week! Leaders Lymington Town held top slot until they surrendered their 100 per cent record to Heath last Wednesday evening
"ROUTE ONE . . . in your face . . . it wasn't proper football . . . it was very Wimbledon." That was how Graeme Souness described Saints' style of play. Steve Wigley didn't want to be drawn into an argument. Instead, he said it was inevitable in the last
SOUTHAMPTON Saints remain pointless in their Southern Division clash. After twice taking the lead against AFC Wimbledon at Winchester City, they were eclipsed by two second-half goals from Dons skipper Maria Bertelli in a 3-2 defeat. Having led by a ninth-minute
MICHAELl Vaughan has shrugged off England's FOURTEEN successive one day defeats against Australia. Vaughan will lead England against Australia for the first time when the ICC Champions Trophy hosts take on the world champions in tomorrow's Edgbaston semi
Today's Principal Arrivals: Fast Catrien, cargo, 0700, 107; Autofreighter, ro/ro, 0730, 201; CFF Seine, ro/ro, 0800, 30; Grande Italia, ro/ro, 1000, 105; Le Castellet, ro/ro, 1100, 201/2; APL India, container, 1300, 205; Palma, vehicle carrier, 1430,
THIS is the view from the "office" that Hampshire businessman Alex Medhurst will have to put up with for the next ten months during his sabbatical! The 41-year-old stepped aboard the 72ft yacht, called VAIO, at the weekend so he can help get everything
TWO marketing communications agencies in the south have teamed up to win new business in London and the south Midlands. Isle of Wight based Etetra Design and Marketing and Alton based Orchard Public Relations have won major contracts with London's Pro-Net
SOUTH coast construction group Benson has built on success by gaining Investors in People accreditation. The Southampton based company, with 65 staff achieved the criteria for the award four months ahead of target. Grahame Pettit, managing director for
PROP Steve Collins is in the final stages of putting a nightmare year of injury behind him, as he gets closer to a first-team return. "Shrek" suffered a horrific training ground injury just before the start of 'Stoke's national three south campaign last
Harlow 0, Basingstoke 24pts FX-backed Basingstoke eased their way through rugby's Powergen Cup qualifying round to set up a home first-round tie against London Scottish next Saturday, writes Martyn Humberstone. With only five of last year's first-team
TOTTONIANS' Indian sign over Bournemouth has finally ended as Dorset men clung on to win 22-20 in an excellent game which benefited both with important league matches ahead. But the injuries worries in the Water Lane camp has intensified with returning
A STARNGELY hesitant Solent Stars team looked very unsure in the first period of the National Trophy home fixture against Coventry Crusaders at Fleming Park, but recovered to record a 76-70 victory. Too many turnovers were the main feature of their play
HUNT leaders in the New Forest were in defiant mood as they staged their first meet since MPs voted to ban the bloodsport. Members of the New Forest Hounds (NFH) forecast that the Countryside Alliance and its supporters would defeat a Bill that outlaws
CARNIVAL spirit shone through the clouds and rain over Ringwood as hundreds of participants and thousands of spectators shrugged off the weather for the traditional parades through the town. "We are not worried about getting wet, we are just having a
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged), Forest Arts, New Milton Performing in Californian English, three energetic and engaging young Americans affectionately repackage Shakespeare's 37 plays in 97 minutes. Including an infectious rap version
A THIRTEEN-year-old boy was the victim of an attempted abduction in Southampton. The youngster was walking home along Daisy Road in Bassett beween 9pm and 10pm on Saturday when he noticed a red or maroon car pull up. He told police how a man who he described
CIVIC chiefs are set to grab back land from people's gardens to stop Southampton Common shrinking. Scores of homeowners who have allowed their property to creep on to the protected land could lose up to three metres. It is thought hundreds of square metres
HAMPSHIRE MPs have spoken of their shock and concern after the Daily Echo proved how easy it was for strangers to get into the county's schools. We revealed a disturbing lack of security in schools across Hampshire and Southampton. Our team of reporters
NOT even Saints' 2-1 defeat could take the shine off a sick Hampshire girl's big day as she was given the VIP treatment by her footballing heroes. There was no bigger smile in the entire stadium as Sophie Barringer strode out on to the turf at St Mary's
THE NUMBER of visitors to Southampton's Boat Show slumped by 14 per cent this year, the Daily Echo can reveal. Organisers have blamed bad weather for the drop in attendance. Early figures based on ticket sales suggest 123,000 people each paid £14 to go
CITY leaders were today set to agree to plough millions of pounds into a power station that will provide cheap hot water and heating for some of Southampton's poorest people. Members of the ruling Liberal Democrat Cabinet are due to decide whether to
EFFORTS to tackle a host of antisocial behaviour, drug abuse, violent and racial crime across Southampton are under one roof. City Patrol officers and research teams are now being co-ordinated from the Southampton City Council's community safety office
ANGRY animal rights protestors dressed up as mice outside Wickham Laboratories to stage a protest against animal testing. About 40 demonstrators from animal rights groups across the south blocked the entrance to the controversial laboratories in Winchester
HAVING worked there for 27 years, Terry Bulmer was the perfect choice to open the newly refitted Iceland shop in Portchester. Mr Bulmer did the honours at the West Street store after the £200,000 revamp. Nationwide, the chain is carrying out a refurbishment
ANGRY Eastleigh leisure gardeners have accused the borough bosses of double standards after slow-worms were slaughtered by heavy plant vehicles when contractors moved on to an allotment site. The allotment holders were claiming victory after calling in
YOUNG Eastleigh environmentalists are preparing to take their green message into Europe. Toynbee School pupils Sarah Haswell and Sam Pickup have been chosen from candidates across the UK to attend a special European Youth Eco-Parliament in Germany. They
EASTLEIGH shopkeepers preparing for a busy Saturday found themselves without electricity after the third powercut in a week. Around 20 properties in Market Street in the town centre were left in the dark from 7am after damage to an underground cable caused
ALBA Lucia Henao-Milne's passion for art is almost as strong as her passion for her home country of Colombia. She has decided to combine the two by organising an exhibition of work by artists from her native land - in Eastleigh. Alba, 40, moved to Chandler's
STEVE WIGLEY has conceded that his future as Saints head-coach is now out of his hands. The Premier League have said that he will become ineligible for the job within three months because he does not hold the UEFA pro-licence. They have apparently given
ANDERS SVENSSON has backed Steve Wigley's leadership of Saints - describing him as one of the best coaches he's ever worked with. The Swedish international, who equalised for Saints in their 2-1 St Mary's defeat against Newcastle yesterday, leapt to the
PAUL STURROCK has blamed "player power" for helping to bring about his quickfire departure from St Mary's. But the man who was only handed 15 Premiership matches in which to prove himself has also confessed: I made mistakes myself. Sturrock was speaking
FRANKIE Dettori drew level with Kieren Fallon in the jockeys' title race with one of the most dramatic successes of his career on Salamanca in the £250,000 Watership Down Stud Sales Race at Newbury on Saturday. The Italian, an 11th-hour replacement for
MURDER, greed, violence, corruption, exploitation, adultery and treachery - all those things we hold near and dear to our hearts - so begins Chicago, the West End's hottest musical, which opens at The Mayflower, Southampton, on September 28. Former Wet
COMING soon - The Irish Season at Basingstoke's Haymarket Theatre. Two of the three plays scheduled for the 2004 part of the Basingstoke run are now in the pre-production stages of auditions and casting, while the opening play, J M Synge's classic comedy
Basingstoke Bison 2, Guildford Flames 5 IT WAS a miserable weekend for the Basingstoke Bison, as they were beaten twice in 24 hours. On Saturday evening, they lost to arch rivals the Guildford Flames in a Cross League game. It proved a good night for
BEFORE Saturday Pompey had scored in 14 consecutive Premiership games, but this time their front men, and star striker Yakubu in particular, were firing blanks all afternoon. Ultimately the misses were so costly, and a sharp turn and shot from substitute
EASTLEIGH are still waiting to hear whether former non-league international striker Warren Patmore can be temporarily enticed out of retirement. Their need for a frontline targetman hit home loud and clear in the second half at Gosport Borough on Saturday
THERE was no happy return to Faraday Road for former Newbury favourite Andy Leader as the BAT boss watched his team crash out of the competition 4-0 to their 100 per cent Wessex League rivals. BAT keeper Gareth Barfoot saved Lee Chudy's 23rd-minute penalty
TWO goals in two minutes saw Salisbury go through 2-1 at Exmouth Town in their FA Cup clash. But they made hard work of it against a disappointing Screwfix Premier side. Salisbury completely dominated the first half but could not find the target, although
IN-FORM Colden Common made it three wins on the bounce to continue their climb up the Division 3 table with an impressive 2-1 victory at third-placed Hayling. Common took the lead after 69 minutes when some good interplay ended with Dean Higgins crossing
IT'S the cream of local Cup competitions and such is the attraction that everyone seems to want to play to the very finish. Of 21 ties an incredible six went all the way to extra time while two went on to penalties. The longest was perhaps the most dramatic
WITH the Southampton Senior Cup first round being played, the Hampshire League programme was down to five matches and one of those was postponed an hour before kick-off. With Andover New Street travelling to Portsmouth to take on East Lodge, the coach
HAMPSHIRE seamer Alan Mullally rates Michael Vaughan's one-day side as the best England limited-overs team he has seen. Veteran left-armer Mullally was part of the last England team to beat Australia in a one-day international - more than FIVE YEARS ago
ANDREW Flintoff blasted the Rose Bowl's first one-day international hundred ... with the help of a new bat. Flintoff's 104 from 91 balls was arguably the best innings the ground has seen in its four-year history. And it reminded the reserve day crowd
SHAUN UDAL hailed Hampshire's best season for a decade after leading the county to a ninth county championship win. Off spinner Udal, captain in the absence of Shane Warne, took 6 for 79 - his first haul of five wickets or more for more than two years
A DISGRACED Basingstoke cabbie, who subjected a teenager to a terrifying sex attack in the dark, is today behind bars. Judge Michael Brodrick said former Alpha Cars private hire driver Anthony Middleton had brought shame on all who work in his trade.
THIS is the view from the "office" that Hampshire businessman Alex Medhurst will have to put up with for the next ten months during his sabbatical! The 41-year-old stepped aboard the 72ft yacht, called VAIO, at the weekend so he can help get everything
TWO marketing communications agencies in the south have teamed up to win new business in London and the south Midlands. Isle of Wight based Etetra Design and Marketing and Alton based Orchard Public Relations have won major contracts with London's Pro-Net
SOUTH coast construction group Benson has built on success by gaining Investors in People accreditation. The Southampton based company, with 65 staff achieved the criteria for the award four months ahead of target. Grahame Pettit, managing director for
THE NEW Forest pair of Fordingbridge and New Milton & District brought down the Powergen Junior Vase hopes of higher league neighbours Millbrook and Southampton in dramatic fashion at the weekend. It was nothing more than either deserved for the efforts
FOUR went in and only one came out - that is the Hampshire clubs' casualty list in the Powergen Intermediate Cup first round. Just Gosport & Fareham, the 2002 runners-up, came through unscathed and that is only due to their opponents Purley John Fisher
DRUG users and vagrants are misusing public toilets in Winchester city centre after getting hold of special keys designed for the disabled. Homeless people are sleeping in the loos in Jewry Street and in Middle Brook Street. The disabled toilets are only
DEVELOPERS snubbed residents of Twyford near Winchester who wanted to discuss the future of a threatened pub. The Bugle Inn in Twyford closed in late July after new owners, the Inntown Pub Company, boarded up the windows and fenced off the car park. It
AN Alresford man has been convicted of staging an illegal rave at a beauty spot near Winchester. James Dean, 22, organised the unlicensed party at Crab Wood, west of the city, last Hallowe'en. Twenty police officers broke up the party, which attracted
LEADERS of the pro-hunt Countryside Alliance have vowed to fight the proposed ban by mounting two court battles. The Alliance says it will contest the legality of the government's plan to use the Parliament Act to sidestep any opposition in the Lords
Over the years hundreds of square metres of Southampton Common have been swallowed up but now the city council plans to reclaim it... IN 1272 Southampton Common was a 1,000 acre beauty spot at the heart of the city. Shirley was built on half of it, in
THE Haymarket Theatre will be exploding with rib-tickling, raucous laughter on Sunday, October 3. The Basingstoke theatre has teamed up with comedy club Jongleurs to bring the best in live stand-up to the town. Each of the four performers on the bill
Forty Years on the Road, Forest Arts Centre, New Milton Opening with a very topical song about an innocent wild animal being hunted by a pack of hounds and a posse of Neanderthals, Irish singer-songwriter Andy Irvine opened Forest Arts' varied autumn
FOLLOWING the story published in the Daily Echo on The Sleeping Beauty On Ice coming to The Mayflower Theatre in February, we would like to apologise to readers and point out that tickets are from £12.50 to £29.50, rather than all being priced £12.50
ENGLAND'S one-day cricket stars have brought comfort to the family of a sports-mad Hampshire boy who died from a suspected asthma attack. Big name players including Andrew Flintoff, Ashley Giles and captain Michael Vaughan have signed a bat that will
TOTALLY Tennis, Greenacre head coach Jason Jokhoo has successfully completed his third professional coaching qualification, the Performance Coach Award (PCA), which is the highest rung on the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) coaching ladder. Jokhoo, who
IT turned their lives around. The Edwards family have described how a charity threatened with closure helped put them back on their feet when they reached their lowest point. Southampton's SCRATCH charity has helped some of the city's poorest families
HAVING had major success in the charts with her recent come-back album Affirmation - which included the hit single Come As You Are - Beverley Knight is now coming just as she is to Southampton Guildhall this November. As a part of her UK tour, stemming
A JEALOUS boyfriend attacked a love rival with a metal post because he thought his girlfriend had spent the night with him, a court was told. Daniel Roberts, 24, of Gudge Heath Lane, Fareham, stormed round to Adam Waters' home in Locks Heath on August
STEVE WIGLEY has conceded that his future as Saints head-coach is now out of his hands. The Premier League have said that he will become ineligible for the job within three months because he does not hold the UEFA pro-licence. They have apparently given
FORMER Dell boss Graeme Souness yesterday took a barely concealed verbal swipe at Saints' style of football. The Newcastle manager guided his team to a 2-1 victory at St Mary's and then accused Steve Wigley's team of having an old-fashioned approach.
STEVE WIGLEY wants Saints to improve on their 12th place Premiership finish last season. With a change of head coach and just four points from the opening six games, there is an air of pessimism among many supporters at St Mary's. But Wigley remains optimistic
EVENTS over the Atlantic have provided ample evidence that a strong collective spirit can sometimes achieve more than a disparate group of more talented individuals. By no rational analysis should Europe beat the United States so regularly in the Ryder
PERHAPS it was fitting that Alan Shearer should taste league victory in Southampton for the first time since he left the south coast in what is expected to be his last visit. The former England international famously began his career at Saints under the
SAINTS striker Brett Ormerod was today starting a month's loan spell at Leeds United. But head coach Steve Wigley is adamant Ormerod, right, is still part of his long-term plans. Wigley said: "Brett is going to join Leeds on loan for a month. He hasn't
Grays Athletic 0, Basingstoke Town 1 A RARE Neville Roach header helped Basingstoke Town inflict Grays' first defeat of the season and lifted them to second in the Nationwide South table. "A job well done" was Ernie Howe's reaction to his side's triumph
ACOUSTIC Strawbs are appearing at Central Studio this Saturday. The folk-rock band, previously known as The Strawbs, has enjoyed major success on both sides of the Atlantic. Thirty years on from their huge album chart successes, Grave New World and Bursting
FORGET your English, French, Spanish or Japanese lessons - the language of jazz is on offer at The Anvil this Wednesday. Two of the world's top contemporary jazz musicians, saxophonist Stan Sulzmann and American pianist Marc Copland, will be performing
ROB Brydon, the star who first found notoriety in the award-winning comedy Marion & Geoff, is coming to The Anvil later this year with The Keith Barret Show - Live. Here, Brydon plays hapless chauffeur, Keith Barret. Closely following the format of
PROTEUS presents, for one season only, an unashamed homage to that great theatrical tradition... the panto. Throw four outrageous pantomime dames on stage together, give them a mission to entertain, using almost every panto convention and routine ever
