Oxford and Oxfordshire news, sport and information updated throughout the day

Stories for 20 May 2006

Headlines

Mother warns on high charges

A MOTHER who was told her son could make it as an actor, but then asked for £180 in return, is warning other parents to be wary before parting with their cash.  more...

Motorsport

Hodge survives for hard-earned finish

Bampton rally driver Dominic Hodge overcame a catalogue of near-disasters at the Pirelli Trophy Rally to finish a hard-earned 22nd overall and sixth in class.  more...

Other Sport

ANGLING: Oxlade wins boat match

Trout fisherman Steve Oxlade finally picked up a trophy he has been chasing for years. Oxlade has finished twice in recent years in the annual Roy Marshall Memorial boat fishing match held at the Farmoor II reservoir, near Oxford, which he won this year with a catch of 15lb 10oz.  more...

Oxford News

Police linking arson attacks

Arsonists torched four classrooms and caused thousand of pounds worth of damage in the latest fire attack on a school.  more...

County drought order is put on hold

This was the picture of a near full-to-capacity Farmoor Reservoir yesterday when Thames Water announced it had decided to hold fire on imposing a drought order in Oxfordshire.  more...

County chief: I WILL use car

Keith Mitchell, the leader of Oxfordshire County Council, has angered anti-car campaigners by refusing to participate in Oxford's Car Free Day, dismissing it as "silly tokenism".  more...

Kids: You’ve had your chips

Fewer chips and more veg will be on Oxfordshire's school menus from the autumn, as the Government tries to stamp out the 'junk food generation'.  more...

Kids have had their chips

Fewer chips and more veg will be on Oxfordshire's school menus from the autumn, as the Government tries to stamp out the 'junk food generation'.  more...

Lab complaints ‘exaggerated’

Oxford University's complaints that contractors at its new £20m animal research lab were being harassed and intimidated were "exaggerated", a judge heard yesterday.  more...

Buyers Snap up ageing NHS kit

Old hospital equipment is being sold to third world countries, private health firms and television companies to help Oxfordshire's largest NHS trust generate an extra £18,000 a year.  more...

Buyers snap up ageing NHS kit

Old hospital equipment is being sold to third world countries, private health firms and television companies to help Oxfordshire's largest NHS trust generate an extra £18,000 a year.  more...

Inspector backs discount store bid

After almost 12 years of planning applications and a public inquiry, Oxford is set to have a new cut-price supermarket.  more...

Pagan' arsonist gets three years

A woman who claimed she set fire to her flat in a pagan ritual gone wrong was yesterday jailed for three years. Patricia Swift caused £50,000 worth of damage to her Cherwell Housing Association home in Iffley Road, Oxford, claiming she was burning everything a man who was trying to kill her had given her, Oxford Crown Court heard.  more...

‘Pagan’ arsonist gets three years

A woman who claimed she set fire to her flat in a pagan ritual gone wrong was yesterday jailed for three years.  more...

‘Pagan’ arsonist gets three years

A woman who claimed she set fire to her flat in a pagan ritual gone wrong was yesterday jailed for three years. Patricia Swift caused £50,000 worth of damage to her Cherwell Housing Association home in Iffley Road, Oxford, claiming she was burning everything a man who was trying to kill her had given her, Oxford Crown Court heard.  more...

Rapist jailed for six years

A rapist who told his victim to stop screaming or he would punch her in the face was yesterday jailed for six years.  more...

Union warns of court action over pay

A lecturers' union has threatened to take legal action if university bosses suspend the pay of staff involved in industrial action.  more...