When he found his bike becoming too powerful for the roads around Andover, Gary Curtis (pictured left) had a novel solution. He took out the front headlight, taped up the numberplate and took to the racetrack - and it's a plan that has proved successful
Pompey survived a late onslaught from relegation-threatened Walsall to record their 11th away win of the season, and take a giant step towards the Premiership. A relieved Harry Redknapp admitted: "We're so nearly where we want to be, if we keep winning
Eastleigh are Wessex League champions - but the promotion bubbly was on ice this morning. Southern League officials were due at Ten Acres earlier today to check that the Stoneham Lane ground has been upgraded since their last visit. Eastleigh are likely
Winchester City moved within four points of the Hampshire League Premier Division title with a crushing 5-0 victory over East Cowes Vics at Abbots Barton on Saturday. For City it was sweet revenge for last season when Vics effectively cost them the title
A Neville Stamp double sent Basingstoke Town shooting back up to sixth in the Ryman Premier Division at the expense of bottom club Hampton & Richmond Borough. 'Stoke had never before won a competitive game at the Beveree Stadium, but all that changed
Southampton Saints have three games left to scrape together five precious survival points in the FA Women's Premier League National Division. Unfortunately for them, they are against the country's 'big three' with next Sunday's trip to Doncaster Belles
A MOTORCYCLIST died after crashing into the central reservation of the M27 near Southampton yesterday. The 58-year-old, who has not been named but comes from Southampton, is believed to have lost control of his silver Yamaha near the Hamble river bridge
A TRIPLE transplant recipient from Basingstoke is to embark on the challenge of a lifetime to raise money for charity. Deborah Duval, 43, was given just a few months to live after suffering diabetes-related renal failure. Her life was saved when she underwent
PSYCHIATRISTS have disagreed on the mental state of a Buddhist monk facing a murder charge for hacking another Sri Lankan holy man to death with a meat cleaver in a Basingstoke hotel. Prosecution witness Dr James Ormsby told Winchester Crown Court he
LOCAL history enthusiasts have launched a campaign to save The Willis Museum in Basingstoke from closure. On Friday, members of local societies joined people from The Friends of The Willis Museum to voice their opposition to a county council plan which
Sunday's racing belonged to Simon Gates. The Middle Wallop thatcher rode home to four scintillating victories to become man-of-the-meeting - and showed he's a class apart around his local circuit. It was a dream meeting for the 30 year old, who blew away
Today's Principal Arrivals: Hual Tropicana, ro/ro, 0500, 40; P&O Nedlloyd Genoa, container, 1130, 204; Otello, vehicle carrier, 1230, 34/35; Celtic King, container, 1700, 205; APL Cyprine, container, 1830, 206; Asian Dynasty, ro/ro, 2359, 40. Today's
LODDON Vale father-and-son bowls pair Doug and Trevor Morgan are the new Hampshire men's indoor champions. Playing in county finals' day at the East Dorset club, Christchurch, they overcame Ron Akhurst and Mick Slade (Banister Park, Eastleigh) 29-24.
Herriard Sports 1 Overton United A 2 SHANE King's Overton youngsters may have started Saturday's Basingstoke B Cup final as underdogs, but their fine win was fully deserved. The first chance at the Camrose Ground came from Herriard 47-year-old Steve Rackstraw
Hampton & Richmond 0 Basingstoke Town 2 NEVILLE Stamp celebrated his new contract in style with a superb brace to secure Town's first-ever win at the Beveree. On Thursday, the left-back signed a deal keeping him at the Camrose until the end of next
Eastleigh are Wessex League champions - but the promotion bubbly was on ice this morning. Southern League officials were due at Ten Acres earlier today to check that the Stoneham Lane ground has been upgraded since their last visit. Eastleigh are likely
THERE WAS every danger of this match being the one that got in the way of the semi-final. Gordon Strachan and his players clearly wanted to win this game and tried their hardest to. But the atmosphere around the ground, from the fans and even on the big
Basingstoke strolled to the retention of the Hampshire Worthington's Cup with embarrassing ease, as they swept aside an overawed Jersey side by a record 74 - 10 score in the 33-year history of the competition. With home advantage and a four-league cushion
THERE is a standard question that is asked of Havant coach Dave Cook after their most recent league games. It is simple and to the point - "just why are your side second from bottom of the table?" Havant supporters must have been scratching their heads
Stoneham Park's captain Tiernan Simmons stood a worried man before the visit of Petersfield III. The other sides from their division normally play their fourth XV, while the east Hampshiremen top the Merit Table Division Two. Would it be a game too much
SOUTHAMPTON'S Commonwealth Gold medallist Pete Waterfield missed out on the medals competing for Great Britain in the Arena Diving Champions Cup in Stockholm at the weekend. Waterfield teamed up with Mark Shipman, of Sheffield, for the 3m synchro event
It's been a remarkable year for Hayley Legg. Twelve months ago the Cricklade student wasn't playing rugby at all - but now she's an ambassador for the women's game, as she travels to South Africa in August on tour with Richmond women's rugby team. At
POLICE have stepped up their search for missing Swanwick man Alan Bolton more than three weeks after he vanished. Officers say they are "extremely concerned" about the 61-year-old's disappearance. They have distributed more than 300 leaflets to people
WILDLIFE expert Chris Packham was given a helping hand by pupils from two schools when he launched a massive 30th anniversary clean-up of the New Forest. The television presenter made an appeal to children from Nomansland and Lyndhurst when New Forest
A SOUTHAMPTON company has been awarded a government grant to explore the production of a specially modified oat oil for cosmetic purposes. Oat Services, based in Basset Avenue, has won the Smart Award from the Department of Trade and Industry's Small
HAVING bricks smashed over your head or being suspended from a six-foot pole would be most people's idea of torture. Watching someone else do it - now that's entertainment. There's no one in the world that does it with the awe-inspiring panache of the
A MOTORCYCLIST died after crashing into the central reservation of the M27 near Southampton yesterday. The 58-year-old, who has not been named but comes from Southampton, is believed to have lost control of his silver Yamaha near the Hamble river bridge
A SINGLE £1 bet won a Hampshire restaurant owner more than £150,000 in a game of poker. Leo Kan scooped the whopping jackpot at Grosvenor Casino with the highest hand available - the royal flush - and then handed his winnings over to his wife. The 56-
THE LEGENDARY Dambusters mission of the Second World War has been digitally recreated by experts at the University of Southampton for a new Channel 4 documentary series, marking the 60th anniversary of the "bouncing bomb" mission. Dr Kenji Takeda and
IT'S not often you see Fareham's council leader sitting behind the wheel of a huge digger. But Councillor Sean Woodward did just that to mark the start of building work on the town's £30m Market Quay retail and leisure development. Preliminary work to
Winners of the Totton 10K put injury misery and poor performances behind them with classy victories yesterday. Overall winner Angus Maclean gave his forthcoming 1,500m track season a boost after a poor show in the recent World Cross Country Championships
EASTLEIGH borough and Hampshire county councils are set to go head-to-head over a planning blueprint for hundreds of new homes in the borough. Early next year the two councils could end up fighting each another at a public inquiry over Eastleigh's draft
A BRAVE Hampshire granny has taken to the skies to prove you can still get on with life even with Parkinson's disease. Marion Warner, who was diagnosed with the debilitating illness nine years ago, had gained her private pilot's licence back in 1967.
EASTLEIGH Voices is looking for volunteers to help leave a lasting record of local families for future generations. The community project - funded by a Reading Families Millennium Award - will be literary-focused and involves inspiring children to write
Overton United 5 QK Southampton 1 Overton were promoted to Hampshire division one last Saturday, but must get 10 goals against M&T Awbridge in a fortnight's time to secure the title. United were playing their last home game of the season at the weekend
It arrived just too late to truly qualify as a Christmas present, but Justin Rose could not have cared less. When the white envelope with the Georgia postmark came through his letterbox, the 22-year-old from Fleet in Hampshire knew he had achieved another
Stoneham's Alan Mew failed to hold on to the form of his first two rounds in the Tobago Plantations Seniors classic but still managed to tie for ninth place yesterday. Mew, who was returning to his homeland for the competition, followed up rounds of 70
Paddy James gave Hugh Lewis the worst possible start to life as Brockenhurst boss - by netting a hat-trick in a 4-0 win. Pint-sized striker James was recalled to the starting line-up after being dropped a week earlier. A thrilling run by Mark Osman resulted
HAVANT & Waterlooville aim to make Trophy favourites Tamworth pay for their over-confidence in Saturday's semi-final second leg. The Lambs must come south with only the thin cushion of a 43rd-minute Scott Rickards goal, yet manager Darron Gee reckons
John Crawley has been named as Hampshire skipper - but he will not have a vice-captain. England batsman Crawley, 31, was one of the many candidates for the job once it was revealed that Shane Warne would not be able to replace Robin Smith as captain.
NICK Holmes is refusing to write off Salisbury City's Eastern Division promotion chances in the wake of Saturday's 3-1 defeat at party poopers King's Lynn. The ex-Saint insisted: "There are six games left and as it's tight at the top we're still in with
The top versus bottom clash produced a narrow 3-2 win for champions-elect Nursling, who are now homing in on the big prize. Two wins from their last four matches will clinch the title. Fair Oak are now locked in a do-or-die battle with North Baddesley
HISTORY fans turned back the clock at the weekend to re-enact a famous period of local history in the Basingstoke area. Roundheads and Cavaliers lined up against each other as Sealed Knot members brought the Civil War siege of Basing House back to life
SCORES of Basingstoke shoppers lapped up the chance to take in the latest trends as models strutted their stuff on the catwalk during Festival Place Fashion Week. The week began in style at the landmark Festival Place shopping centre with a special VIP
SHOCKING lapses in care on a ward for elderly people at Basingstoke hospital prompted MP Andrew Hunter to demand that standards must improve. The Gazette has learned that Mr Hunter met with hospital trust chief executive Mary Edwards on March 14 after
THE FIRST playground in the country to have been specially designed with the needs of disabled children in mind has opened in Hook. The play area in Ravenscroft has "inclusive" play equipment, which meets the requirements of the Disability Discrimination
SANDFORD Springs Golf Club's new president Dickie Davies ensured the official re-launch of the Kingsclere-based 27-hole course was an event to remember. The former ITV World of Sport host carried out his first duties in the role by opening the door to
Whitchurch United 1 Bournemouth Poppies 2 IF LADY luck had turned up on Saturday at Longmeadow, there is no doubt Whitchurch would have won this game. Instead, two injury-time goals in the first half proved their undoing in this Jewson Wessex League division
Basingstoke 74 Jersey 10 BASINGSTOKE ran rampant at Down Grange as they raced to a fourth consecutive Hampshire Cup triumph and posted a new record high score in the process. 'Stoke swept their plucky visitors from the Channel Islands aside 74-10 - running
Andover cricket club is looking forward with relish to the new season, which starts on 19 April. Outdoor nets and training start on 9 April, at 6pm at Andover's London Road ground. New members are always welcome. Roger Miller skippers the first team in
TWO years on from the disastrous effects of the foot-and-mouth crisis and the subsequent September 11 outrage, the New Forest's tourism industry is fearful of the consequences of the war with Iraq. Speaking at the annual meeting of New Forest Tourism
APPLEMORE College has received government confirmation that its status as a specialist technology college has been renewed. In 1994, Applemore was one of the first schools in the country to be named a specialist college. It is now entering its fourth
NEW flexible working laws which came into effect at the weekend could spark the most significant change in the world of work since the Industrial Revolution. New rights mean that parents of children under the age of six, and disabled children under 18
A new partnership between Hampshire Cricket and the Institute of Directors (IoD) promises substantial benefits for nearly 2,100 members of the institute's Hampshire and Isle of Wight branch. The branch has opened offices at the Rose Bowl, just off the
AMERICAN troops stormed into the heart of the Iraqi capital Baghdad today, seizing Saddam Hussein's new presidential palace on the River Tigris in "a dramatic show of force". US tanks also ringed the Information Ministry and Al-Rashid Hotel. More than
A MOTHER whose teenage daughter died after taking Ecstasy has warned other parents to be on their guard against their children taking drugs. Breaking her silence for the first time, grieving mum Heather Jones has told parents: "It could happen to you.
ONE of the south's oldest prisons is undergoing a transformation aimed at making it a safer place. More than £16m is being spent on Winchester Prison in the next few years in a bid to modernise and refurbish the Victorian building. Central to that work
TRIBUTES have been paid to one of Hampshire's most promising teenage sportsmen who died in a motorcycle accident. Eighteen-year-old Guy Farbrother was a prodigious motorbike racing talent who had been tipped to become a potential future world superbike
ONE of the south's leading airports is searching for disabled people to help crew the voyage of a lifetime. Southampton Airport are sponsoring four places for Hampshire people with physical disabilities to join the Jubilee Sailing Trust on a trip on-board
IT could be the most expensive football match he has ever watched. But Arsenal fan Simon Sovroy would still rather see his team lift the FA Cup than get a £1,600 refund on the diamond engagement ring he has just bought for his fiance. Lifelong Gunners
SOUTHAMPTON'S own tenor sax hero Pete Wareham returns to home ground when he plays with the Marie Murphy Quartet at Southampton Jazz Club on April 8. The John Arlott Bar on the Southampton University campus will echo to the lively jazz vocals of Scotland's
POLICE have stepped up their search for missing Swanwick man Alan Bolton more than three weeks after he vanished. Officers say they are "extremely concerned" about the 61-year-old's disappearance. They have distributed more than 300 leaflets to people
A MEON Valley village is finally to have a post office again - in a pub. Landlord Martin Juden is optimistic the pub and post office combination at The Bakers Arms in Droxford will go down a treat after 18 months without a post office. Now the 52-year-old
A BRAVE Hampshire granny has taken to the skies to prove you can still get on with life even with Parkinson's disease. Marion Warner, who was diagnosed with the debilitating illness nine years ago, had gained her private pilot's licence back in 1967.
ANGRY Eastleigh residents are blaming a "missing" seven-yard stretch of double yellow lines for causing traffic mayhem in their busy residential street. Earlier this week a driver left her car on the unmarked stretch of Toynbee Road near The Crescent
A MAN who threatened to form an association of fed-up Eastleigh residents to seize power in May's borough elections is bidding to oust the deputy leader of the council in next month's poll. In February Sam Snook, 67, urged residents groups to join the
Andover 1 Cowes Sports 2 Andover 1 Portland United 1 It was always going to be tough to get back to the realities of the league. After last week's superb show against Aldershot in the Hampshire Senior Cup, Andover toiled against inferior league opposition
Saints boss Gordon Strachan said his players have been "completely oblivious" to the hype surrounding their FA Cup semi-final next week. Strachan's men drew 1-1 with West Ham at St Mary's - their last game before they face Watford at Villa Park next Sunday
