Jamie Laidlaw came back to haunt his old club Winchester City in the Russell Cotes Cup last night. With just two minutes remaining of a closely contested quarter-final at Privett Park, the Gosport Borough hot-shot bagged the only goal - an exquisite chip
A BASINGSTOKE man has attempted to stop a housing development by having part of the area officially declared a village green. The proposed development site, at Old Kempshott Lane, near Buckskin, is farm land and includes an old cricket pitch and recreation
TOUGH targets on patients' waiting times have been met by Basingstoke hospital as it faces up to the New Year. The hospital (pictured above), in Priestley Road, met all of the targets for operations. Hospitals across the country were told that by the
MARKS & Spencer has revealed it enjoyed its best Christmas for three years as food sales surged and it avoided discounts on its clothing ranges. The retailer topped expectations with like-for-like sales growth of 2.9 per cent in the 13 weeks to New
POLICE in Winchester have revealed further details about burglars who forced their way into an 87-year-old woman's home and pushed her into a chair before stealing her money. Officers are also promising to leave no stone unturned in the hunt for the criminals
A HOME Office minister went back to the classroom at a Southampton school to see how pupils learn to respect each other, their teachers and community. During his visit to Cantell School, Paul Goggins spoke to prefects, sat through a lesson about respect
SOUHAMPTON is still the first choice on the south coast for Swedish home furnishings giant IKEA, the Daily Echo can reveal today. The flat-pack furniture chain has yet to put roots down in the city after two favoured locations were frustrated by government
A WOMAN was taken to hospital suffering from minor injuries after her car ploughed into the front of a house in Eastleigh last night. The accident happened at 6pm when the woman's Ford Fiesta crashed through the front garden wall of the house in Desborough
A NEW centre for young people in Fareham is to extend its opening hours in response to public demand. South Central Connexions opened its state-of-the-art headquarters in West Street last month but has seen its popularity soar. From January 14, the centre
IT has been two years in the making and looks set to shoot Southampton's Delays straight onto the road to super stardom. Frontman Greg Gilbert has described it as "euphoric" and "joyous". Now the Daily Echo takes the first exclusive preview look at the
A VICAR has warned pensioners to be on their guard after two elderly women were targeted by a bag-snatcher outside a Hampshire church. In the latest incident, an 84-year-old partially sighted woman was robbed of £10 as she walked through the grounds of
CIVIC leaders in Fareham have decided to keep car parking increases in the town to a minimum. Instead of increasing the hourly rate by 10p, the council's executive has opted to retain the current price structure but increase the cost of a season ticket
COLD and rainswept Stubbington one week - hot and steamy India the next! It's a tough life as a top-notch runner as Alton's Toby Lambert is finding out. The 26-year-old braved close to freezing temperatures on Sunday to win the prestigious Stubbington
THIS pair have been getting stuck into their jobs as a new state-of-the-art total care living complex takes shape in Valley Park, Chandler's Ford. Kim Berrett and Nicki Smith are spearheading the sales team at the Brendoncare Knightwood development. There
MORE than 1,300 West Enders will tonight be calling on the parish council to help stamp out a rising tide of violence and vandalism in the village. A petition launched by Ann McRae will be handed to the village authority calling for an end to problems
ANTTI Niemi turned down the chance to join Pompey - and also revealed he suffered some "sick" phone calls from supposed Saints fans before completing his £1m move to Fulham yesterday. The 33-year-old insisted he was leaving Saints on "very good terms"
AFC Totton boss Stuart Ritchie feared his below-strength side could fall victim of a Wessex League Cup giant-killing last night - but he needn't have worried. Even without the likes of Toby Redwood (ill), Jamie Austen (cup-tied), Dean Wheeler (injured
FAMILY doctors are predicting staff cuts and recruitment freezes in Hampshire for 2006 as the local NHS desperately tries to save money. The comments come from leading members of the Wessex Local Medical Committees - combined statutory bodies that safeguard
SEX shops will cost an extra £100 to licence in Basingstoke from April. The item is one of the licence and registration fees that were increased by the licensing committee at Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council last week. Fee increases, some of which
FAMILY doctors are predicting staff cuts and recruitment freezes in Hampshire for 2006 as the local NHS desperately tries to save money. The comments come from leading members of the Wessex Local Medical Committees - combined statutory bodies that safeguard
THE millionaire guiding light behind one of the most incredible business success stories in Hampshire is signing out after 26 years at the top. Alan Wilson - reputedly the highest paid employee in Southampton out of a city workforce of 117,000 - made
Some of Hampshire's finest young boxers were on display as Eastleigh Amateur Boxing Club staged their first promotion in 11 years. More than 300 spectators packed into The Hub in Bishopstoke on Saturday, and the night was a success beyond the organiser's
BOTH Fareham and Trojans need to reboot their stuttering South Premier League challenges when the programme resumes on Saturday. Beaten 2-1 by Staines in their last match before Christmas, Fareham have dropped to third place behind new leaders Slough
MUSEUM chiefs in Winchester are celebrating receiving an award that could make future applications for government grants easier to come by. The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council's Full Accreditation Status has been awarded to Winchester Museums
A RARE animal is at the centre of the battle to scrap controversial plans for a multi-million-pound fire service call centre in Hampshire. The humble dormouse has been dragged into the fight to stop a £110m regional fire control centre for the south-east
THOUSANDS of Muslims across Hampshire are celebrating the second most important festival in the Islamic calendar. Worshippers packed Southampton's Medina Mosque to mark Eid-ul-Adha, also known as the celebration of sacrifice. It marks the end of the annual
THE number of motorists arrested for drink-driving across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight over the Christmas period has fallen. Throughout December nearly 6,000 people were breath-tested across the two counties of which 374 people (six per cent) were
ANOTHER Totally Tennis player has started out on the road to become a tennis coach. Mike Aggiss, 16, joined a long line of home-grown Totally Tennis coaches recently when he passed his associate instructor certificate with the Professional Tennis Registry
MUSEUM chiefs in Winchester are celebrating receiving an award that could make future applications for government grants easier to come by. The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council's Full Accreditation Status has been awarded to Winchester Museums
NATE Mantle has decided against returning to Basingstoke RFC, bringing to an end his brief five-month spell at Down Grange. The big Canadian forward, who played in the second and back rows, arrived last summer as one of three overseas recruits, along
Dorchester 2, Basingstoke Town 1 A LACK of defensive concentration saw Basingstoke Town concede a slender advantage as two late goals ensured Ernie Howe's side came away empty-handed from Dorchester. Town led 1-0 thanks to Danny Morgan's 43rd minute strike
Marian Pahars scored on his return to action - then made himself available for Saturday's trip to QPR. The Latvian gave Saints a 19th minute lead when he tapped home from ten yards three months after suffering medial ligament damage, writes SIMON WALTER
A RELAXED Paul Hogan booked his place in the second round of the Lakeside World Professional Darts Championships after comfortably defeating young Dutch debutant Mareno Michels. In Saturday's opener for the Basingstoke ace, 42-year-old Hogan drew on his
