News Archive

Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service’s Education Team have produced online resources for families to assist with home-learning and helping younger children understand how they can stay safe at home during the coronavirus pandemic. Each week a new fire safety topic is introduced, based around a story which children can listen to alongside activities. The ...

Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service is urging local people to take care with open fires in the home during this week’s cold snap. Open fires are a warm, welcoming addition to the home, but they do carry risks. If you have an open fire, you should: • Always use a fire guard to protect against ...

A Dorset sixth-former has led a drive to support a pioneering medical research programme that is helping to find a cure for Coronavirus. Tristram Waters, an 18-year-old Computer Science student at Bryanston School near Blandford, researched and developed a plan to capitalise on the School’s computing resources to support a ground-breaking US research programme that ...

This year due to the lockdown an online Knob Noshing Contest took place online. The contest saw 100 contestants tasked with eating as many Dorset Knobs as they could within one minute, all raising money for charity. Kate Scott from Shaftesbury was crowned the winner after a tense final and now holds the title of Knob Noshing ...

The Prince of Wales First School in Dorchester has been a shining example of true community spirit during the Coronavirus pandemic. Just recently, the school has created a rainbow on its field. It’s their way of saying Thank You to everyone during this challenging time. Headteacher Mr Spracklen spoke to Keep 106: “The rainbow was created by the ...

Dorset’s communities are being reminded to stay at home while they celebrate the bank holiday weekend. Chief Constable James Vaughan said: “I’m fully aware that VE Day and the bank holiday weekend is very special to so many of you. “Unfortunately we are not going to be able to celebrate the way we all expected to and ...

Since the announcement of the UK Lockdown, communities have come together to support each other and those most vulnerable. Community groups were created overnight and have provided not only vital support for residents, but has highlighted just how caring Dorset Council residents are. With the help of communities and volunteers, support with services such as food ...

A survey has been launched asking the public how well they think Dorset Police are doing and whether they are taking the right approach to dealing with the Covid-19 lockdown. The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Dorset has launched a public perception survey inviting members of the public to comment on whether they ...

A new campaign from the local Pan-Dorset Safeguarding Children Partnership asks children and young people to #TellSomeone if they feel unsafe. The campaign will take place across a range of social media channels, targeting different age groups from primary school upwards, telling them to tell someone they trust or call national charity Childline if they feel ...

Dorset Council has announced that 9 of its 10 household recycling centres (HRCs, or ‘the tip’) are set to open on Monday 11 May now that central government guidance on managing HRCs in England during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has been updated. However, the government guidance puts strong restrictions on use to help reduce non-essential journeys. ...

Frontline staff from across Dorset are joining together thanking people for following social distancing guidelines and staying at home. In a video being shared on social media staff want to thank communities for their patience during lock down. Director of Public Health for Dorset and BCP Councils Sam Crowe said: “We appreciate all the efforts people ...

Friday 8 May marks the 75th anniversary of VE Day – the official end of the Second World War in Europe, and Dorset Council wants everyone to commemorate this special day safely. In line with advice, Victory in Europe Day (VE Day) events have been scaled back nationally. However, there are still plenty of ways to ...

In November 2018, Weldmar Hospicecare launched a brand new service for community patients and their carers – a dedicated telephone advice line, manned 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It’s proved to be a real success, with the number of people calling for support steadily increasing every month. During the day, enquiries would ...

The Office for National Statistics website have been updated with the breakdown of Covid-19 deaths in the Dorset Council area. The information was collected between 1 March and 17 April 2020 The statistics show a significant difference between poorer and wealthier deaths involving the coronavirus (COVID-19), the rate for the least deprived area was 25.3 deaths per ...

Officers are appealing for anyone with information to come forward after a dog was stolen in North Dorset. The 10-month old female chocolate Cocker Spaniel was stolen from her home in Mampitts Lane near Shaftesbury between 7.30pm on Thursday 30 April 2020 and 8am on Friday 1 May 2020. The dog, who is microchipped, was taken from ...

A woman who dug up an unexploded World War Two bomb in her garden said she threw it across the lawn for her dog before she realised what it was. Lulu Cirillo, 49, was gardening at her home in Weymouth when her spade struck the bomb 10in (25.4cm) down. She thought it was a large stone and ...

The pride of the Cunard fleet, the ocean liner Queen Mary 2 has anchored in Weymouth Bay having returned to Southampton on the 18th April. She joins a number of out of service cruise ships sheltering off the coast of Weymouth & Portland. Queen Mary 2 (also referred to as the QM2) is a British transatlantic ...

A new café has been approved for Dorchester by Dorset Council planners. The former Animal and Intersport shop units in Tudor Arcade have had change of use approved by Dorset Council from a shop to café. The planning application stated that opening times will be within 0700-1900 Monday to Saturday and 1000-1600 Sunday and Bank holidays. It ...

There are new road markings on Williams Avenue in Dorchester outside Dorset County Hospital following an initiative by Dorset Council. To show support for NHS staff, care workers, teachers, delivery drivers, supermarket workers, warehouse warriors & posties. The road now proudly displays “Thank You NHS” with a multicoloured heart underneath. Dr Ian Mew took to Twitter to ...

A video of First Wessex Bus staff dancing to a popular disco tune has gone viral after it was posted on the operator’s Facebook page. Within a week of posting, the video amassed well over 100,000 views and First Wessex’s Facebook page has been inundated with positive comments. Set to the 1998 music hit ‘We like ...

Appeal for information in relation to criminal damage in Dorchester Officers investigating a report of criminal damage to an NHS building in Dorchester are appealing for anyone with information to come forward. Dorset Police received a report at 1.42pm on Friday 1 May 2020 that graffiti had been sprayed on the side of the building in Trinity ...

Dorset Police has issued 255 fixed penalty notices to people who have allegedly breached the COVID-19 (coronavirus) restrictions. The fines were issued in the county between Friday 27 March and Thursday 29 April 2020. Officers in Dorset are continuing to work with the public to ensure they understand and adhere to the rules, which are in place ...

More than 270 reconditioned laptops and 30 mobile phones have been distributed to children across Dorset to help them with online learning during the coronavirus pandemic. Dorset Council said it had been “overwhelmed with requests” for laptops from schools for pupils who do not have one at home. Following the recent government announcement that it would provide ...

Extinction Rebellion have pasted ‘CLOSED FOR GOOD’ signs on the doors of buildings around Weymouth today (Thursday 30 Apr), reportedly to show that that they want a bail out for people and planet not a bailout for business as usual. ER have said in a press release: “In the midst of this crisis, all around the world ...

A new mobile coronavirus testing centre has opened in Weymouth at the Park & Ride site. It comes after the government launched a further expansion of coronavirus testing to help protect the most vulnerable. Anyone in England with coronavirus symptoms who either has to leave home to go to work or is aged 65 and over ...

Taylors, a local animal rehoming centre based at Kingston Maurward, has just launched it’s “Please Sponsor Me” campaign. Despite the current Covid 19 pandemic their centre is still full and all of their animals desperately need food and veterinary care. With all of their charity shops now closed they have lost their most vital source ...

A passenger plane bearing the logo “Thank you NHS” has landed in the UK with a cargo of surgical gowns from China. The Airbus 340, with boxes strapped into every seat, arrived earlier at Bournemouth Airport. NHS supplier Crest Medical said it was using passenger jets as well as cargo planes in order to “ramp up” imports ...

Following a further review by the Great Dorset Steam Fair Board of Directors, it has been confirmed today (27th April 2020) with regret and sadness that the 52nd Great Dorset Steam Fair will no longer be taking place this year and will be postponed until 2021 (Thursday 26th to Bank Holiday Monday 30th August 2021). Martin ...

The Gryphon School Year 7 student Joshua White is climbing the equivalent of Mount Everest on his stairs at home after seeing an appeal by Dartmoor Zoo to help raise funds to save their animals. Josh says “I saw Dartmoor Zoo on the local news and they said that they were short of money due to ...

A drive-through coronavirus testing facility is now open at Creekmoor Park and Ride in Poole as part of the Government’s UK-wide drive to increase testing for thousands more NHS and other key workers. The site sits alongside a rapidly expanding network of testing sites being set up around the UK, and is operating on an appointment-only ...

Public Health Dorset along with Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust (AWP), BCP Council, Dorset Council, EDAS, EDP Drugs & Alcohol Services, the Local Pharmaceutical Committee have been getting prescribed medicines safely to residents who are potentially more likely to be exposed to coronavirus due to underlying health conditions. Will Haydock, Public Health Dorset’s ...

Dorset Police’s Chief Constable James Vaughan is delighted to announce the appointment of a new Assistant Chief Constable for Operations to the Force. Chief Superintendent Samantha (Sam) de Reya was successfully selected on Friday 24 April 2020 following an appointment process, supported by Dorset Police and Crime Commissioner Martyn Underhill, Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue ...

Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service sent ten appliances to a heath fire in Puddletown on Sunday afternoon (26th April) . Crews from Bere Regis, Dorchester, Weymouth, Wareham, Hamworthy, Wimborne and Poole were amongst those to tackle the heath and gorse fire in Puddletown Forest that is believed to have been caused by a BBQ. Andy ...

Another P&O Cruises UK ship is anchored in Weymouth Bay. The passenger-free MS Ventura is the second largest vessel in the P&O UK’s fleet of all 7 ships currently in service having a maximum passenger capacity of 3727 plus 1226 staff and crew. As reported by CrusieMapper.com in March, the P&O ship Britannia was also anchored in ...

The BBC website is reporting the Cerne Abbas Giant has been given a makeover. It reports that the famous hillside chalk figure has been adorned with a face mask, in an apparent reference to coronavirus. The Cerne Abbas Giant is thought to have been given the unauthorised makeover on Friday. Local resident Kevin Knight, who tweeted a picture ...

Officers are continuing their patrols on Dorset’s roads, key locations and beauty spots to ensure the public adhere to the Government’s stay home rules to tackle the coronavirus. Between Sunday 29 March and Thursday 23 April 2020 Dorset Police issued 118 fixed penalty notices to people who have been found to be making non-essential journeys or ...

We recently reported that a fire in the garden of a residence in Bridport Road, Dorchester, on Thursday 23rd April was the result of a bonfire. We have since been informed that this was not the case. The resident has told us that it started in the hedge most likely by a cigarette butt discarded ...

Dorset Police officers investigating a serious injury road traffic collision in Gillingham are appealing for any witnesses or anyone with relevant dashcam footage to come forward. At 11.46am on Thursday 23 April 2020 Dorset Police received a report of a collision in Le Neubourg Way, opposite the Waitrose supermarket, involving a red Seat Leon and a ...

As the coronavirus Government-directed lockdown continues, Dorchester’s Brewery Square retailers are pulling together to make a difference and give back to their local community. From donating food to supplying personal protective clothing and gloves, many retailers have found a way to do good in a time of uncertainty. Various retailers at Brewery Square, which have closed ...

Two of Dorset’s most popular arts festivals – Inside Out Dorset and b-side – are to be postponed until next year as a consequence of the on-going coronavirus pandemic. Both biennial events had been set to return this September, Inside Out Dorset hosted by Dorchester-based outdoor arts producers Activate in extraordinary locations across the county and ...

The BBC have reported the surfing-inspired fashion brand Animal is to close, putting up to 500 jobs at risk, its owner has announced. Owner H Young Holdings said the Poole-based business would shut by January. It said the move was due to an “extremely challenging” retail market “further worsened” by the coronavirus pandemic. Up to 500 people work ...

Dorset Council is extending this public consultation by three weeks to make sure people who were unable to obtain a paper version from libraries or the Council offices can do so. Dorset Council recognises that these premises were closed due to the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic and wants to give those that could not attend due ...

Taking a form of exercise every day can have health benefits, both mentally and physically. We are lucky in Dorset to have a network of almost 3,000 miles of footpaths, bridleways and byways that offers people the chance to stretch their legs, connect with nature and destress. Cllr Ray Bryan, Dorset Council’s portfolio holder for Highways, Travel ...

Officers investigating a reported altercation in Weymouth are appealing for witnesses or anyone with information to come forward. Dorset Police received a report at around 1.15pm on Thursday 16 April 2020 of a disturbance on Abbotsbury Road, near to the junction with Chickerell Road, involving two women and a man. Officers attended and a woman aged in ...

It has been a busy time for our firefighters locally. Dorset and Wiltshire fire service has attended several residential fire incidents in the last few days. On 21st April Maiden Newton Fire Station attended a chimney fire at an address in Dorchester Road, Cerne Abbas. The fire was extinguished with Chimney kit and 1 hose reel ...

Local GP Dr Craig Wakeham passed away at the weekend having been admitted to Dorset County Hospital. He had been fighting coronavirus for many days according to a statement on the Cerne Abbas Surgery website. He was part of the team at Cerne Abbas Surgery for more than 30 years and a leading light within the ...

The Government have launched a new tool to help businesses find coronavirus financial support. Steve Bulley from Dorset Chamber told KeeP106, “There has been lots of information and misinformation online and this Government tool is a straightforward way to see what help is available” The support finder will show which loans, tax relief and cash grants a ...

The campaign, Wellbeing @ Home, seeks to support those following the social distancing and government lockdown guidelines, with the option of also supporting Dorset’s disability charity, Diverse Abilities. Taking place over three weeks, content provided is suitable for the whole family, including magic shows, yoga workshops, sign-and-sign-along songs, and story time. Those who use and enjoy the ...

A new campaign has been launched by Dorset Council to find more foster carers for Dorset children. The campaign’s message is that most people can foster, all you need is a spare room, love and energy. It will also highlight that fostering is a paid career. New eye-catching images, capturing funny parenting moments, will be promoted on ...

All 147 pharmacies in Dorset have access to an army of volunteers to help them get through the Coronavirus pandemic. Public Health Dorset is working with the Local Pharmaceutical Committee, Volunteer Centre Dorset and Community Action Network to help find volunteers who can help collect medicines from local pharmacies and deliver them to residents who are ...

As is commonly known businesses throughout the country are going through a very hard time at the moment. Many Dorchester businesses are in a position to take card orders over the phone and arrange for delivery of goods to local addresses for those who cannot get out of their houses. By using their services we ...

A coronavirus patient is on the road to recovery after spending a week in intensive care at Dorset County Hospital. Malcolm Cumber, 60, from Dorchester, was admitted to DCH via the Emergency Department at the end of March after suffering from intense fatigue and shortness of breath. After not responding to initial treatment, Malcolm was transferred to ...

Garden Waste customers have reason to be pleased as Dorset Council will be resuming its garden waste kerbside collections from Monday 27 April. To ensure that regular food waste, rubbish, recycling and glass collections continue with minimal disruption, the Garden Waste service was suspended shortly after Public Health England coronavirus (COVID-19) guidance was introduced. This was done to free ...

As new evidence comes to light which suggests that smokers are at greater risk from COVID-19, Public Health Dorset is joining health professionals in calling on smokers to #QuitforCovid and offering free stop-smoking support through LiveWell Dorset. Last week the Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, said that “it is abundantly clear from the research into previous coronaviruses ...

Dorchester based Goldcrest Jewellers have been spreading true community spirit during the coronavirus crisis. They have been helping boost moral by delivering cakes and biscuits to care workers in the town. They have delivered the joy bringing goods to Weldmar, Dorset County Hospital Research team and Castle View Care Home. Neil and Donna from Goldcrest Jeweller, pictured below, ...

Chris Loder, MP for West Dorset, became ‘white van man’ over the Easter weekend as he got hands-on delivering Dorset-made hand sanitiser to care homes and surgeries across the constituency who had asked for his help. From Bridport and Portesham to Beaminster and Sherborne, the MP delivered 120 litres of sanitiser on a mission to top ...

Families in Dorset will find out today (16/4) which school their children will be joining in September. Most pupils, nearly 95 per cent, have been offered their preferred choice of infant, first, primary, junior or middle school. Dorset Council School Admissions Team received 4,547 infant, first and primary and middle school applications. They were able to offer ...

Emergency services and other partner agencies across Dorset are working together to highlight the #Unacceptable trend in the number of verbal abuse, assaults or attacks their staff face and the rising number involving threats of COVID-19 infection. During the COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak, police, the ambulance service, the fire service, council, healthcare staff and other key workers ...

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Larmer Tree Festival has announced this year’s event will be cancelled. The full statement from the Larmer Tree Team is below: Dear Larmers, It is with a heavy heart that we have reached the difficult decision to cancel Larmer Tree Festival’s 30th Anniversary. We were so looking forward to welcoming you all back ...

Firefighters from Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service are playing a key role in relieving pressure on paramedics during the coronavirus outbreak. The South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust has invested in additional ambulances for the region, two of which will be coming to Dorset and two to Wiltshire. The ambulances will be driven by ...