John Crawley paid tribute to the fit again Alan Mullally and the rest of his bowling attack after the first day of his home debut as captain against promotion favourites Yorkshire. Crawley made a good start, winning his first Rose Bowl toss as Hampshire
Wasim Akram could not have made a better start to life at the Rose Bowl - he bowled world number one Michael Vaughan with the tenth ball of his home debut. It prompted an inspired day in the field for Hampshire in their first home game of the season against
Ed Giddins is out until June with a broken rib. Giddins was left out of the side that had such an impressive first day at the Rose Bowl against Yorkshire yesterday after an MRI scan revealed he had a fracture The 31-year-old took four wickets on his debut
Sports Minister Richard Caborn today insisted he is ready to back a Solent bid to host the America's Cup. But it looks as though the south coast has missed out on the chance to stage one of the most glamorous events in the world's sporting calendar. Caborn
Today's Principal Arrivals: Hyundai Independence, container, 0015, 207; P&O Nedlloyd Mercator, container, 0100, 206; Alianca Europa, container, 0500, 204; Autosky, ro/ro, 0630, 25 link; Don Juan, vehicle carrier, 0630, 34/35; Cetam Nicea, ro/ro, 0830
Sports Minister Richard Caborn today insisted he is ready to back a Solent bid to host the America's Cup. But it looks as though the south coast has missed out on the chance to stage one of the most glamorous events in the world's sporting calendar. Caborn
THESE City of Southampton Swimming Club members are back from their Malta training camp with a sack of medals earned at an international open meet. They trained hard for four hours a day in the outdoor 50m pool, the top swimmers covering 70,000 metres
SAINTS made a rampaging start on their way to a convincing home win against Swindon in the British League South-West. They scored maximum points in the first five races on Sunday as they charged into a 35-15 lead - and led 61-29 at the interval having
SALISBURY and District match secretary Paul Barnard put his vast experience of Tony Beeny's Witherington Farm Complex to good use by scoring a runaway win in round three of Nigel Turner/Thompson's Financial Planning Sunday Series. With a nasty crosswind
STUDENTS at Totton College are planning a memorial service for 18-year-old Michael Evans, who died at the weekend trying to climb a Swiss mountain. College principal Mark Bramwell said Michael's friends had already been to see him to arrange a tribute
HIGHWAY chiefs are targeting accident black spots across the New Forest under a £1m plan to cut the number of deaths and injuries. Hampshire County Council is carrying out urgent road safety work on 13 Forest roads that saw almost 120 injury accidents
PLANNING officers in the New Forest are studying objections to a multi-million-pound housing scheme in Totton town centre. McCarthy & Stone (Developments) Ltd has unveiled proposals to build 50 flats and two shops on a derelict site between Ringwood
"ASTOUNDING." That's the verdict of one of Hampshire's top policemen on last month's firearms amnesty which saw more than 1,000 guns handed into police stations across the county. "To get one weapon handed in would have been a success. To get over 1,000
A HAMPSHIRE woman is trying to make her husband's last wish come true by having his baby three years after his death. Hedge End mum of two Michelle Smith, 37, says it was husband Bob's dream to have a baby girl and, despite his death in 1999, she is determined
AN ACTION plan is being put in place in hospitals in Southampton following the report into the death of Victoria Climbie. Child protection bosses at Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust (SUHT) have been working with colleagues at the city's primary
THE THREAT of industrial action hangs over Southampton's schools, it emerged today. School support staff could join more than 2,000 council workers in a one-day strike this month if threatened industrial action gets the green light. Around 500 members
A TEAM of morris dancers continued four centuries of tradition when they danced in the May in Southampton today. The break of day on the first of the month was celebrated at the Bargate. The historic building was opened up for the occasion by the city
A HAMPSHIRE judge has taken the rare step of speaking publicly about the "constant criticism" faced by the judiciary. Judge Keith Cutler, who sits at Winchester and Southampton crown courts, said of his job: "One downside is the constant criticism, as
ANDOVER's divisional police commander is determined to make people feel safe in their homes - and reduce their fear of crime. Superintendent Mark Chatterton's comments come ahead of the publication of the annual end-of-year crime figures due in a couple
PUPILS at Redbridge Community School flooded through the gates this morning, eager to explore their £10.3m building. Today is their first day of lessons in the brand new building, which boasts state-of-the-art facilities. Teachers got their first official
A HOST of football legends including Saints manager Gordon Strachan will pull on their boots this week for a charity football match. Matthew Le Tissier, Neil Webb, Jimmy Case, Kevin Dillon, Mark Dennis and Alan Knight are all supporting the Wessex Cancer
WILTSHIRE Constabulary Fraud Squad is warning of a scam which has already caught out Wiltshire residents and has started to happen further afield. Adverts are being placed on the internet, in local papers and shop windows, offering leather suites for
Pitches that produce a flurry of wickets in low scoring games are invariably the ones that attract the attention of ECB pitch inspectors because these are the usual accepted symptoms of a sub-standard surface. But it's possible for some pitches to be
COUNCILLORS in Test Valley have called on the Government to impose a 'cleaning levy' on chewing gum makers to help pay for the cost of cleaning it from our streets. The plea came during a debate by environment councillors on the problems of cleaning up
GOLF: Success comes the way of members of both Winchester clubs PAUL NEILSON had a day to remember when he won South Winchester's Easter Cup competition. The 34-year-old who plays off scratch, landed an incredible hole-in-one at the 394-yard par four
THE legacy of murdered Whitchurch vineyard owner Charles Cunning-ham is to be auctioned off later this month. All wine equipment and machinery which belonged to the 47-year-old owner of Wooldings Vineyard will be sold on 19 May. Mr Cunningham was robbed
TEST Valley's new chief executive is to receive a salary package worth £100,000 a year. The closing date for applications for the top post is 6 May with interviews starting on 19 May and a shortlisting on 28 May. A final three-day selection begins on
HOCKEY: English Hockey Association Boys Cup - final Winchester Under-18s weathered a first half storm to beat Norwich 5-2 and seal a place in the English Hockey Association's Boys Cup final on May 10, writes Mike Vimpany. Ben Hibbard and Simon King scored
POLICE in Andover are hunting a woman who attacked another as she walked home from a night out with her boyfriend. The incident happened late at night on Saturday 19 April. "It appears the victim was walking home with her boyfriend through the underpass
NEW bus services will now run on farmers' market Sundays to take shoppers to and from the markets in Andover and Winchester. The Andover buses run to and from the town centre from the Wallops, Abbotts Ann and the Clatfords (77A), Thruxton, Amport and
EIGHTIES heart-throb Paul Young will be showcasing a new and maturer sound in Hampshire next month. The singer, who dominated British charts in the mid-eighties, brings his UK tour to The Anvil, Basingstoke, on Saturday, May 31, and promises a mix of
NEIGHBOURCARE'S new charity shop opened its doors to the public in Andover's Union Street. Volunteers applauded as the Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire Mrs Mary Fagan cut the ribbon to open the shop - a result of much community fundraising. Mrs Fagan said
A BRAVE postal worker told today how he foiled an armed robbery at a Hampshire sub- post office. Ken Pothecary, 60, refused to hand over cash demanded by the balaclava-clad raider. The gunman, thought to be in his late teens or early 20s, fled empty handed
NEARLY £1m is to be spent on improving the electricity supply to homes and businesses across the Meon Valley. The overhaul comes after frequent power cuts lasting up to six hours have hit the villages of Meonstoke, Curdridge and Shedfield. The problem
Saturday's game against Bolton will also see the presentation of the Echo's Saints player of the season - as chosen by the fans. Votes have been pouring in and the phone lines have now closed and they, along with the final postal votes, are now being
HAMPSHIRE narrowly missed out on promotion to the first division of the national county table tennis championship after a mixed season. They finally finished third in Division 2D, just one point behind Buckinghamshire, with the unbeaten Sussex second
MOTORCYCLISTS in Wilt-shire can have their riding skills assessed for free on Sunday as part of Wiltshire Constabulary's BikeSafe initiative. The seminar is the first in a series to help riders - especially superbikers - handle their machines safely on
SIR George Young has slammed a policy change which will lead to cuts in affordable housing in Test Valley. The MP for North West Hampshire believes Test Valley will suffer as a result of the change and has urged a government rethink. During a parliamentary
AN Andover pensioner is condemning the 'thoughtless and unnecessary' act of thieves who broke into his ten-year-old car and stole countless personal belongings, including some of his late wife's possessions. George Rumbold, aged 86, lost his pension book
RUGBY UNION: Hampshire club face up to relegation WINCHESTER are facing up to the prospect of playing at a lower level next season after last weekend's play-off results condemned them to relegation from London Division 1. They've dropped into London South
FOOTBALL: Jewson Wessex League Christchurch 1, Whitchurch Utd 0 WHITCHURCH United's seven-season tenure in the Wessex League looks to be at an end after they finished bottom of the table following this narrow defeat last Saturday. United went into their
NORTH West Hampshire MP Sir George Young has joined the debate over plans to demolish Berehill House in Whitchurch. Many residents in the town have contacted Sir George over the proposals to knock down the nursing home and replace it with 40 dwellings
DETECTIVES today renewed their appeal for information about a missing 74-year-old Chandler's Ford man after house-to-house inquiries about his disappearance failed to produce any new leads. Widower John Reed, who was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's
Southampton is going kit crazy as Saints fans gear up for the FA Cup final and the unveiling of next season's new home strip at St Mary's on Saturday. The Saints stores have reported huge retail activity in the last week as fans snap up their souvenir
HAMPSHIRE will be minus three established Middleton Cup skips for this season's campaign which starts with a trial at Atherley on Sunday (10am). As reported last week, Atherley's Nicky Smith is ruled out this year with a knee injury but they will also
INCREASED productivity for manufacturing companies in the region is the aim of a three-year programme an-nounced by the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA). KPMG has been contracted by SEEDA to promote and programme manage the "lean manufacturing
International property firm FPD Savills has appointed LeepeckGreenfield to provide PR consultancy for its new Southampton office. The office is key to the firm's expansion along the south coast and is already the largest multi-disciplined property agency
GILBERT and Sullivan's Princess Ida is given a 1950s makeover in a forthcoming production by Southampton Operatic Society. The acclaimed local group, who will be staging the show at the Nuffield Theatre from June 24-28, have turned warriors into members
IT TAKES nearly three weeks longer to process a new housing benefit claim in Southampton than it does in the rest of the country, the Daily Echo can reveal today. That is the figure which has left many city tenants close to being made homeless and landlords
SAM Busby could barely believe her eyes when she opened the Andover Advertiser last week and saw a proposal of marriage from her boyfriend. She was on her way back to Andover from Basingstoke when Ady Leach sent her a text message asking whether she had
PUPILS at Knights Enham Infant School had a big surprise when they returned after the school holidays - staff from DLO Andover had completed a playground makeover! As part of the Defence Logistics Organisation's commitment to help the community, Guided
YEAR five pupils at Anton Junior School took a step back in time to experience a Victorian day. The children have been studying Vic-torian Andover as one of their topics and enjoyed a Vic-torian school morning and themed lunch. Teacher Ruth Woodford said
ALMOST 15,000 more students have applied to start higher education courses in the UK this autumn compared to the same time last year. Figures from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) show that 393,750 - a rise of 14,864 (3.9 per cent
FOUR schools in the area have won national recognition for their commitment to sport in schools. Portway Junior School in Andover is one of 13 primary schools in Hampshire gaining Activemark status. John Hanson Community School in Andover, Testbourne
THE mother and widow of a Ludgershall man who died suddenly last month have paid an emotional tribute to the fun-loving 43-year-old. Russell Adrian Hill passed away at Salisbury District Hospital on 4 April after a short illness. More than 300 people
TESCO in River Way, Andover showed its support for customer's personal well-being recently when it staged a health promotion day at the store. Nationally, Tesco's has been running a successful healthy eating programme at its stores, utilising trained
CHEESY the English bull terrier is a picture of health and happiness. She is a far cry from the pathetic, underweight animal that was rescued from a Hampshire home where she was forced to live in a small cage without access to food and water. It is difficult
A PLEA to make the pews more comfortable in an Eastleigh church has reached the other side of the world. Replacing the hard wooden Victorian seats is one of the top priorities in a refurbishment programme for the town's parish church of All Saints. So
