Archive

Date

Wiltshire Police fitter than most, official figures reveal

Hundreds of police officers are failing new fitness tests which are set to become mandatory in a few weeks time, official figures show today. But of the 138 Wiltshire Police officers taking part only one failed, giving the force a pass rate of

Date

Keys warning over burglary

police are warning households in Devizes not to leave keys near their doors after raids on two homes. Properties in the Broadleas and Hartmoor Road areas were targeted overnight on Sunday and Monday, with a purse containing cash and cards stolen

Date

Youths in match-up with police

YOUNG people from Kandu Kicks in Chippenham will be trying to strip Wiltshire Police of their title in their annual football tournament this weekend. The event kicks off at 11.15am this Saturday at Stanley Park. Community group Kandu Arts works

Date

Shock as former Hills worker dies

HILLS employees are shocked by the sudden death of their former colleague Gavin Valente. Mr Valente, 45, who lived in Westerham Walk in Calne with his wife Debra, was found by paramedics in nearby Mill Street in the early hours of Sunday, August

Date

String along to the music

A STRING of musically themed events take place in Malmesbury this Saturday. It will start in the Abbey at 11am with a ‘musical walkabout’ followed with a performance by the community choir at the town hall at 2pm. The Long Players will be striking

Date

Market Cross tale to be told

THE story of the town’s Market Cross will be re-enacted to mark its 200th anniversary. A direct descendant of Henry Addington or Viscount Sidmouth, donor of the monument in Devizes Market Place, is involved in the free celebration event which takes

Date

Rory McLeod gig postponed

Rory McLeod has had to cancel tomorrow night's gig in Chippenham due to unforeseen personal circumstances. The singer-songwriter, who wowed crowds at last year's Chippenham Folk Festival, was due to play at the Old Road Tavern on Friday August

Date

Worry as another solar farm gets OK

WILTSHIRE councillors have reluctantly approved a solar farm development on a farm at Marston, near Devizes. The scheme by Good Energy of Chippenham will be on 25 acres at Lower End Farm and have 19,600 ground -mounted solar panels. Wiltshire

Date

Landscapes art looks at built scenes

AN exhibition exploring architecture ranging from South African slums to the beauty of Venice and sophistication of San Francisco is being staged at the Wine Street Gallery, Devizes. There are three paintings by North Staffordshire-born Graham

Date

Sam Walden

Family and friends of Sam Walden, who died in a motorcycle accident in Belgium last Wednesday, have paid tribute to the fun loving campsite manager. Mr Walden, 29, who ran Blacklands Lake Campsite for his parents Barbara and John, who opened the

Date

Frank Shipway

British conductor Frank Shipway was revered all over the world for his work. Mr Shipway, 79, who lived in Conock, near Devizes died on August 6 following a two vehicle crash on the A342 at Wedhampton the day before. A child prodigy, Mr Shipway

Date

Donald Heath

Donald Heath, 85, of Calne, was a kind, gentle family man who was a role model for the younger generation, tributes recalled at his funeral, attended by large congregation at St Laurence Church, Hilmarton. Mr Heath, the second of Fred and Nellie

Date

Eric Billett

Loyal Swindon Town Football Club supporter Eric Billett has died at the age of 85 after a short illness. Mr Billett was born in North Wraxall on December 17, 1928 and was the seventh child of John and Kathleen Billett. The couple had seven other

Date

A-level results: St Mary's, Calne

Girls at leading independent girls’ school St Mary’s, Calne, are celebrating following their excellent A-level results, with 29 per cent of all entries graded A*, 65 per cent A*-A, and 90 per cent A*-B. The impressive results included 6 girls achieving

Date

EQUESTRIAN: Mendoza leads British charge in London

TOCKENHAM rider Jessica Mendoza ensured British success on day one of the London Global Champions Tour event at Horse Guards Parade today. The 18-year-old took the opening five-star class - a two-phase competition - with Ramiro de Belle Vue.

Date

Lydeway garage to make way for homes

WILTSHIRE Council has granted outline permission for Lydeway Garage to be demolished and for four houses to be built on the site. The garage site, on the A342 Andover Road, used to be a petrol station and car repair workshop but it was sold and

Date

Scouts walking regiment route

CHIPPENHAM Scouts will be retracing the steps of the Wiltshire Regiment 100 years ago in a walk commemorating the First World War. Scout and Explorer groups from Chippenham and Aston Clinton in Buckinghamshire will meet up with others from Germany

Date

Triplets counting AS-level success at Sheldon School

The Trott household was celebrating this morning after collecting 12 A grades at AS-level. Triplets Zoe, Sophie and Alice all opened their envelopes at the same time at Sheldon School in Chippenham. The 17-year-old girls, who live in Yatton

Date

A-level results: Andover College

Andover College students were celebrating today as they smashed through the 99% pass rate barrier to achieve a 99.3% pass in all A-level subjects which is significantly above the national pass rate of 98%. High grades are also on the up with an

Date

Worton fun day exceeds all expectations

OUR Give Us A Chance appeal for Devizes Opportunity Centre is £6,500 better off thanks to a family fun day. Organiser Rachael Pickford has spent the past week working out exactly how much profit the event in Worton made for the centre, which her

Date

CHIPPENHAM TOWN: Signs are good for striker Lee

STRIKER Lee Phillips is backing the Bluebirds to flourish under their revamped system and make waves in the Southern League Premier Division this season. The Chippenham management have worked on a new 4-4-2 diamond formation over the summer and

Date

Tributes to motorcycle fan after tragedy in Belgium

TRIBUTES have been paid to motorcycle enthusiast Sam Walden who died last week in Belgium as he drove his bike to a track event. Mr Walden, 29, who was manager of his family campsite business at Blackland Lakes, near Calne, died in a road accident

Date

Police seize motorbike in nuisance crackdown

POLICE seized a motorbike in Potterne as they cracked down on off-road riders behaving badly. A 21-year-old man was stopped on a motorcycle on Sunday, in Coxhill Lane, and his bike was seized. He was also issued with a fixed penalty notice.

Date

A-level results: Abbeyfield School, Chippenham

Abbeyfield School’s deputy head said all students picking up their A-level results today had their year ahead organised. The Chippenham school achieved a pass rate of 99 per cent, up from 93 per cent last year. The number of results graded

Date

James Gray, MP for North Wiltshire - There must be no let-up in efforts to prevent war

I’m just back from a fascinating walking and climbing expedition with my friend and Box constituent David Hempleman-Adams in the Altai Mountains in Siberia. We were private guests of a friend in this, one of the remotest places on the globe, where

Date

Tributes paid to international conductor who died after A342 crash

Tributes have been paid to renowned international conductor Frank Shipway, who has died following a crash on the A342 at Wedhampton. Mr Shipway, who lived with his wife, Carmen, in Conock near Chirton, was initially airlifted to Southampton General

Date

A-level results: Sheldon School, Chippenham

Nearly half (49.9 per cent) of Sheldon students secured B grades or better and 98.9 per cent of the 181 students achieved a pass with grades A* to E. Of all their students’ results, almost a fifth (19.7 per cent) were an A or A*. Headteacher

Date

LIAM DAWSON: Rain pain hits our hopes

IT’S been quite a frustrating week to be honest because having two games rained off in the 50-over competition has pretty much put us out of it. Monday (against Worcestershire) was a must-win game for us and even though we could still go through

Date

A-level results: Devizes School

Devizes School headteacher Malcolm Irons praised students for their achievements in the A-level exams. Last year the school achieved record results with 85 per cent of grades between A*-C and this year 73 per cent of grades were A*-C. The average

Date

MOTORCYCLING: Tommy's in the mix

TOMMY Bridewell remains in the top six in the 2014 MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship after solid points finishes at Oulton Park last weekend. Bridewell, seeking to join teammate Josh Brookes in the end-of-season Showdown, clinched a

Date

A-level results: Delight as Wiltshire schools and pupils make the grade

Wiltshire Council says early indications from schools and other providers suggest there have been some very good results with many students doing exceptionally well. Richard Gamble, cabinet member for schools, said: “Congratulations to all those

Date

Duncan Hames - Surprise guest sees how town centre is improving

Last Wednesday, I organised a meeting with the Local Enterprise Partnership, Network Rail, Wiltshire Council and local businesses to discuss how we can get some real benefit for Chippenham town centre from the Local Growth Deal announced by Liberal

Date

Claire Perry - MPs at ready for crucial Parliamentary debate

Will we or won’t we be needed back in Westminster? With many MPs away on family holidays and the situation in Iraq unraveling by the day, the question as to whether Parliament should be recalled is an urgent and important one,. If required, and

Date

Dedicated Pewsey pupils get fun reward

PUPILS at Pewsey Primary School were rewarded for their good behaviour over the academic year with a fun day in the last week of term. The Smart Mark day recognised the 96 per cent of children who had retained more than 175 of their 190 marks awarded

Date

Planning inspector throws out appeal over St Mary's extension

A planning inspector has dashed the hopes of campaigners who hoped to overturn a council decision to refuse permission for St Mary’s Church, Devizes, be turned into a performance and community venue. Government Inspector Neil Pope yesterday upheld

Date

A-level results: Hardenhuish School, Chippenham

A-level results at Hardenhuish School, Chippenham are being described as the best ever. Headteacher Jan Hatherell said: “The A-level results have exceeded our best ever with a pass rate of 99.8%, including 58% of grades A*-B - 9.5% of grades were

Date

A-level results: Malmesbury School

Staff and students at Malmesbury School are celebrating a record breaking set of A-level results. Headteacher Tim Gilson said: “Students at Malmesbury School have produced another excellent set of A-level results this year with a record breaking

Date

A-level results: John Bentley School, Calne

John Bentley School staff are delighted with its successful A-level results. With over 30 per cent of entries achieving A*- A grades and nearly 50 per cent being grade B or better, our Year 13 students surpassed their aspirational targets many

Date

Family pedalling in Chippenham coffee shop to beat cancer

Customers of a coffee shop in Chippenham used pedal power to raise £600 for a charity close to the hearts of three brothers who run Boswell’s shop chain. They took part in a static bike ride at the Boswell’s in Emery Gate, in aid of Panc-reatic

Date

A-level results: St John's, Marlborough

Ten students at St John’s School, Marlborough have gained all A* and A grades in their A-level results. Vice principal Miles Whittaker said: “Following the outstanding Ofsted judgement in May, expectations were high for this year’s A-level results

Date

Picture Gallery- A Level Results

Students receive their A level results

Date

Devizes mum speaks of moment she was told her family home was ablaze

Mum Katie Cross has spoken of the moment she was told her house was on fire and then realised she and her children had lost almost everything. Miss Cross, 30, had taken her two young children for a bike ride near their home in Awdry Road, Devizes

Date

TOOLSTATION LEAGUE FIRST DIVISION: Two draws from two for Lilywhites

CALNE Town played out their second stalemate of the new Toolstation League First Division season last night. Simon Gardner's men, who drew 1-1 at Roman Glass St George on the opening day of the campaign last Saturday, picked up another point as

Date

A-level results day: Don't opt for 'meaningless' degree, students urged

Too many youngsters are still opting for "meaningless" degrees instead of vocational courses to help plug the country's skills gap, a leading industry qualifications body has said.. Excellence, Achievement and Learning Limited, which oversees qualifications

Date

Devizes family post reward for return of precious bike

A teenager, who worked for months in a Devizes fish and chip shop to buy a top-of-the-range bicycle, has been left shocked by its theft from a secure store. Schoolboy John Bramwell, 16, of Queens Road, Devizes, had left his blue Bianchi bike locked

Date

Last call for creditors of Devizes building business

NEARLY 30 years after one of Devizes’ most famous businesses went to the wall, liquidators are giving creditors a final chance to claim back money they lost. W E Chivers closed in October 1985 after 101 years in the town. Its former headquarters

Date

A-results day: Haunting worries for some students

While most sixth-form pupils getting their results today will be gnawing their fingernails over their grades, some have been wringing their hands over rather more bizarre concerns - such as whether their accommodation at university could be haunted

Date

A-results day: Live blog

Date

Elderly set to lose out on peak free bus travel

Bus passes issued to elderly and disabled people in Wiltshire are to stop being valid for peak time morning journeys in a bid to save up to £300,000 a year. Wiltshire Council is to change its concessionary bus fares from next year and is consulting

Date

Bassett woman cheated Wiltshire Council out of £5k in benefits

Benefits cheat Hayley Walklate claimed over £5,000 more than she was due after failing to notify Wiltshire Council that she had an income. Between December 2011 and October 2012, the council overpaid Walklate, of Richards Close, Royal Wootton Bassett

Date

A-level results today? Wiltshire College has advisors on hand

Wiltshire College is holding advice sessions for those getting their A-level results today. All campuses will have career advisors on hand from 1pm to 4pm today and tomorrow. John Adams, vice principal of higher education and development at