A CHARITY donation has helped a special school bounce back after vandals damaged its new minibus. As The Press reported last month, a £40,000 minibus donated by York workers to Hob Moor Oaks School was damaged by intruders barely a month after it was
A WRITER and former police inspector whose books inspired the hit TV drama series Heartbeat will celebrate 50 years of marriage this weekend. Peter Walker, and his wife, Rhoda, who live in Ampleforth, near Helmsley, will mark their golden wedding anniversary
SHE has given more than four decades of faithful service to the Army – now a York woman has been honoured for her efforts. Long-standing civil servant Anthea Henderson’s years of unswerving commitment to a series of roles within the military – including
A NEW director has joined the team of NHS North Yorkshire and York. The Appointments Commission has appointed Geoff Potter as a new non-executive director to the board which runs what is formerly the North Yorkshire and York Primary Care Trust (PCT).
TIM Walford is banking on Gypsy George to find his form if Saturday’s jumps meeting at Ayr can survive the winter weather. The Sheriff Hutton trainer saw his stable star struggle in the Welsh National at Chepstow on December 27 – being pulled
A YOUNG jockey from North Yorkshire has escaped jail after pleading guilty to punching a 44-year-old man in the face – leaving him with serious brain injuries. Anthony Betts, of Millside, in Malton, sparked a major police investigation after his attack
Welcome to The Press’s new blog devoted to horse racing. I’m Steve Carroll, the paper’s racing writer, and I will be endeavouring to provide you with even more in-depth news and analysis on the York and North Yorkshire racing scene – from the
IT was her last chance but she blew it. Now nuisance neighbour Abigail Alexander has been told to learn her lesson while serving a lengthy spell behind bars for continuing to breach a unique order banning her from every council-owned residential property
A BUS service will return to a York estate after ruling councillors decided to press ahead with imposing controversial parking restrictions in the area. First York’s No 16 bus is to be re-instated along Holly Bank Road and Collingwood Avenue, in Holgate
A FORMER car dealership on the outskirts of York city centre has been converted into a car park offering cut-price parking. Premier Parking Solutions has taken over running the car park of the former Reg Vardy Citroen dealership in Lawrence Street, just
CHARLOTTE PERCIVAL finds some family homes worth making a move for. IF you are looking for a new start for your family in 2009, there are plenty of homes to choose from. In York, Your Move Anscombs has a large detached house in Whitelands, Earswick
CHARLOTTE PERCIVAL explores a family home with much to catch the eye. WITH outstanding equestrian facilities, large gardens and six bedrooms to boot, Lilac Farm is much more than a place to lay your hat. Lilac Farm, at Yedingham, near Malton, operates
OXFORD United are planning a pitch inspection at the Kassam Stadium at 3pm on Friday ahead of their FA Trophy tie with York City on Saturday. The second round tie could be in doubt with night time temperatures expected to reach -4 Celsius on Thursday
CHARLOTTE PERCIVAL finds some of the best apartments on the lettings market. LUXURY, variety and river views are just a few of the surprises waiting for you in some of York’s apartments to let. Take this first-floor apartment in Emperors Wharf, Skeldergate
IT’S not so much a case of putting the cat among the pigeons as among the chickens for a York family which has rehomed this RSPCA stalwart. Until this week, Richard the cat had been at the RSPCA’s Landing Lane animal home in York for two years
A COUPLE’S plight following the closure of the Otisdale estate agency in York, Selby and Goole, has now been resolved – thanks to The Press. David Ayre and his wife, Fiona, organised an Home Information Pack (HIP) inspection through Otisdale, paying
A long-running legal battle between two firms over the design of massive grass mowers has come to an end. Turf cultivator Rolawn, of Elvington, has argued that the machines by Turfmech Machinery, of Staffordshire, were so similar to its own designs that
We said good-bye to the 97 year old aunt of Sylvia’s brother in law at the crematorium. The service was led by a retired army chaplin, who takes services at Askham Bryan and other small churches in the area. The dear one had no children of her own but
MOTORISTS faced a big detour today after a main road near York was closed because of a diesel spillage. The York-bound A19 at Escrick was shut at 3.30 am after a stolen bowser overturned at the junction with a road to Stillingfleet, and diesel
MORE than 8,000 people were summonsed to court last year after failing to pay their council tax bills or falling behind with the payments. Figures released under the Freedom of Information Act show that City of York Council sent out a summons to 8,271
LIKE any other ten-year-old boy, Joseph Hadden loves sport, playing outdoors and is a football fanatic. Yet every day, Joseph, of Tang Hall, York, has to have multiple injections to help keep his Type II diabetes at bay – a condition which has left him
THE demolition of the former British Sugar site in York has been delayed by at least four months, The Press can reveal. The company said in September that it was aiming to finish the work at the Boroughbridge Road plant by mid-December, but now says
EVEN after the thrills and chills of first night of this wintry tale, John Cooper was calling this youth theatre production his “parting shot”. While his health is not what it once was, this distinctive shuffling figure should continue directing
York’s M&S stores have escaped closure. But around the country 1,200 staff are to lose their jobs, even though the chain is predicted to make £600 million profit this year. So how much profit is enough? STEPHEN LEWIS reports. THE good news
FACING up to the New Year is a sobering experience. Particularly if you had a lot to drink the night before. Or even if you didn’t. Here at the Diary, everyone makes the same resolutions year in, year out. Join a gym and pound away the pounds on a treadmill
A blaze which claimed the life of a housebound woman may have been sparked by her own cigarette. Fire investigation experts are now fairly certain a cigarette started the fire in the living room of the semi-detached house in Whitethorn Close, Huntington
I SAW a poster advert the other morning for chips and the slogan pulled me up short. This read: “Waiting for your dinner to cook is fine. When you’re 52.” If you ask me, 52 doesn’t seem much of an age, although it can still catch a person by surprise
IT was the first day back yesterday for pupils at York High School’s new building. The school is staggering the return-to-school process over three days because most of the youngsters had not been inside the £10 million building in Acomb,
CAMPAIGNERS staged a one-hour vigil in York city centre to highlight the plight of residents in the war-torn area of Gaza. Nearly 30 members of the York branch of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (YPSC) met in Parliament Street yesterday between
SOME people think there is nothing wrong with using your mobile phone while driving. So what if it is against the law? It’s not doing any harm. Except that it is. A study by the Transport Research Laboratory has shown that texting while driving seriously
In response to the letter on Tuesday from Mrs J Wilcockson, of Derbyshire (York’s New Year was damp squib), saying that she will never visit York on New Year’s Eve again and will also tell all her friends to avoid it. Well, Mrs Wilcockson, I believe
READING the recent letters about school disorder and the use of the cane (Is cane answer to school disorder?, Soapbox, January 1) reminded me of an incident as a ten-year-old schoolboy. I was attending Bradwood Street School, a fairly new, two-storey
REGARDING global warming, you never hear mentioned the effect warfare is having on the environment; the destructions of the rain forest in Vietnam, the oil wars in Iraq. It doesn’t need much hard work to work it out. It’s about time the end was brought
Is it just me, or do there seem to be groups of people who are anti everything in York. Anything that is suggested as a new proposal, you can bet your bottom dollar there will always be a group who are against it. Some I can agree with, but others
Welcome to The Press’s new readership in Israel (Peace illusion, Letters, January 6). Unfortunately, however, the letter only illustrates the distorted history Israelis are taught. Christians, Jews and Muslims actually lived together in remarkable
OXFORD United have promised to consider the visiting plans of York City’s team and supporters should Saturday’s FA Trophy clash at the Kassam Stadium be in danger of postponement. With a frost expected tonight in Oxford and overnight temperatures forecast
IT takes a special kind of courage to stare death in the face and refuse to let it win. Sports-mad Joseph Hadden was diagnosed with Type II diabetes when he was six. He has to inject himself with insulin at least four times a day. If he misses a dose
The piece in Monday’s Press (Euro boom time for York tourism) prompted me to look at Visit York’s website, which claims to be “the official site for York”. It appears that Visit York is part of the official conspiracy to eradicate use of the word
I shall not sink to Roger’s Westmoreland’s level by using such words as “inane” and “heartless” simply because we have opposing views (Peace illusion, Letters, January 6). However, I shall always try and put his assertions into context, so readers
ON-LOAN full-back Kyle Critchell could also bolster York City’s midfield options. Critchell, signed from Wrexham this week, had been expected to deputise for stomach injury victim Ben Purkiss at right-back before Tuesday night’s match at Weymouth was
PLAYER-BOSS Paul March is hoping York City Knights’ pre-season preparations will run smoothly from now on after the players finally got back on the Huntington Stadium turf. It seemed the Knights’ training schedule was going to be hit yet again, this
I will complete 35 years’ refereeing in local football this year – the last 25 years in York. I fully support the launch of the Respect campaign, although I have to say that in my experience behaviour of players is nowhere near as bad as would like to
A YORK supermarket was today set to reopen after ram-raiders smashed their way through its doors – to steal a single laptop computer. The thieves turned the entrance to the newly-opened Aldi food store in Jockey Lane into a shattered mess of
ALFIE HILL does not want his York Acorn ARLC team to forget last week’s humbling Challenge Cup in a hurry – believing it can motivate them to better things in the league. The Blue and Golds crashed out of the cup to Halton Simms Cross and, although the
New Earswick All Blacks could not kick off their new year with a much tougher encounter as they look to climb away from the relegation zone in the Pennine League premier division. All Blacks entertain Drighlington, who are second behind Sharlston Rovers
THEY are under starter’s orders at Sheriff Hutton later this month. The Yorkshire Point-to-Point Club get the new season under way on January 18 when veteran horse trainer Mick Easterby welcomes top jockeys and horses to East End Farm. A three-mile
Norton trainer Malcolm Jefferson is hoping more than most that tomorrow’s scheduled meeting at Kelso beats the weather and is given the green light. Jumping fans have been left frustrated this week, following one abandonment after another because of
New Earswick and District BC’s New Year’s Drawn Pairs competition for the George Williams Trophy went to Ray Bowman and Pat Storey (+28). They and fellow finalists David Pearson and Pat Lancaster (+16) had been unbeaten of the 14 teams who took part
Both New Earswick and York started 2009 with victories to keep their North Eastern Ladies League championship hopes intact. Earswick remain second, while York are third, six points behind but with a game in hand. New Earswick picked
York Indoor Bowls Club’s New Year’s Eve Pairs tournament was won by Kevin Davey and Melvyn Banks. The duo toppled Don Tyson and Bill Brookes 9-2 in a one-sided final to lift the prize for the first time. A total of 16 pairings competed and only Colin
A DAZZLING display of Christmas lights in a York cul-de-sac has pulled in the pounds for good causes. Over the festive period, residents of Twin Pike Way, in Wigginton, adorned their homes and gardens with festive fairy lights, transforming the street
HUNDREDS of mourners packed into a church to say goodbye to a 24-year-old York man who lost his battle against a rare form of cancer. Family and friends of Wayne Lee Thompson, of Acomb, gathered at St Stephen’s Church, where pop songs were
York-based housebuilder Persimmon is tightening its purse strings again to survive the economic crisis by telling shareholders it won’t be paying a dividend. The Charles Church firm warned the short-term outlook remained challenging but said results
THE owner of York’s Bonding Warehouse has abandoned plans to turn half of it into flats, due to the uncertainty in the housing market. William Legard, who bought the Skeldergate landmark in 2007, now wants to turn both floors into offices. “It’s basically
YORKSHIRE’S flag was welcomed to its new official home in style during a ceremony at York’s historic Guildhall. The flag, which was registered and officially unfurled on Yorkshire Day last year, was presented to the Lord Mayor of York, Coun Brian Watson
FOUL play has been ruled out by police investigating the death of an elderly woman in Haxby. The 87-year-old woman was found at her home in Barley View, at around 3pm on Monday. The alarm had been raised when her son, who was in Manchester
HE lied in an attempt to avoid a £60 fine – now a York driver has found himself seven times more out of pocket after being caught sending a text message while behind the wheel of his high-powered car. Unemployed Darren French was was seen using his mobile
