Stories for 14 July 2004

Oxfordshire Business

Bus firms get drivers back

Oxford's bus companies which gave drivers a huge pay increase to avert a recruitment crisis, now say they are nearing a complete workforce.   more...

Web offer to sponsors

Businesses are invited to sponsor pages on the new Wantage Fire Service website in return for a donation to a benevolent fund.   more...

Oxfordshire News

MPs want hospital debts investigated

MPs are calling for an independent inquiry to explain why the county's major hospital trust is facing huge debts.   more...

Pavement parkers -- it's time for war

Pavements are for the use pedestrians so that they can go about their business in a carefree and uninterrupted manner.   more...

Flawed in all respects

Sir -- Motormouth's case on behalf of urban 4x4s is deeply flawed in every respect (Oxford Mail, July 7).   more...

There are other ways

Sir -- The stark choice, Green Belt or Homes, you presented (Oxford Mail, July 2) is not quite as stark as you make out.   more...

Traffic chaos

Traffic became gridlocked in Oxford this morning after the sequence of traffic lights at one of the city's busiest junctions was changed.   more...

Hunger strike begins

A woman aged 85 has begun a 48-hour hunger strike in protest against an animal experimentation laboratory planned for Oxford University.   more...

Boy drowned as he dived, says school

The 11-year-old primary school pupil who died during a swimming lesson at Thame Leisure Centre got into difficulty as he swam under water, his headteacher said.   more...

Price of fuel at pumps is falling

Petrol prices in Oxfordshire have fallen by 1.7p per litre from their high point in the middle of June, according to a new survey.   more...

Travellers move on a little

Travellers who camped at the Oxford Retail Park at the weekend kept their promise to leave -- but moved less than a mile along the ring road.   more...

Jail threat takes months to arrive

An Oxford city councillor received a television licence reminder telling her she could go to prison -- 10 months after it was posted.   more...

Council coughs up in `joke' bookshop case

A joke that looked as though it had backfired, leaving an Oxford author with a £1,411 bill, has instead embarrassed Oxford City Council.   more...

Sale relaunch

Didcot's refurbished Red Cross charity shop will be relaunched on July 17 with a one-day sale.   more...

Drug gang ringleader jailed

A shopkeeper has been jailed for ten-and-a-half years after a judge described him as the ringleader of a drug dealing gang around Banbury.   more...

Market move welcomed

Traders believe Bicester's weekly Friday market will be regenerated when it is moved into the pedestrian precinct in the town centre.   more...

Web offer to sponsors

Businesses are invited to sponsor pages on the new Wantage Fire Service website in return for a donation to a benevolent fund.   more...

Homes planned for former factory site

A scheme has been unveiled to transform the site of Witney's last blanket factory into a major housing estate on the edge of the town centre.   more...

Car arsons hit workforce

Arsonists who torched two cars on an industrial estate destroyed three out of the nine units.   more...

Toilets must be cleaned up

SIR -- What a beautiful city Oxford is, 'olde-worlde' buildings, a seat of learning!   more...

Help at last

Education leaders have welcomed a £2.2m Government settlement grant to help alleviate the schools funding crisis in Oxfordshire.   more...

Mumps rise prompts MMR call

Cases of the potentially fatal disease mumps have quadrupled in Oxfordshire in the last five years.   more...

Oxfordshire Sport

Football: United in the clear as FA relax substitute law

The Football Association have persuaded FIFA to amend their controversial substitution limits that threatened to play havoc with pre-season friendlies, including Oxford United's.   more...

Athletics: Radley cast an eye on promotion

Radley's men stepped up their promotion challenge in Southern League Division 3 with a superb victory at Woking.   more...

Speedway: Oxford look to Norris to tame Panthers

Oxford Silver Machine are pinning their hopes on David Norris as he takes over from captain Greg Hancock for their hectic three matches in three days schedule, starting with tonight's Skybet Elite League clash at Peterborough.   more...

Boxing: Confident Guntert forced to play a waiting game

Abingdon middleweight Jake Guntert's third professional fight is not likely to be until September.   more...

Athletics: Young Amblers on song to grab glory

Abingdon Amblers under 11 girls won their group in the Heart of England Division 2 match in Stourport.   more...

Cricket: Hat-trick for the Ryan express

Young Bourton Vale seamer Ryan Newhook took a hat-trick as Oxfordshire recorded their first Minor Counties victory for two years at Bicester & North Oxford yesterday.   more...

Cricket: Wonder Watkins hits ton in Challow cruise

Australian ace Nick Watkins hammered a superb century as Challow and Childrey sent Horspath packing in the quarter-finals of the Bernard Tollett Oxfordshire KO Cup last night.   more...