THE average household will stump up an extra £56 this year after councillors voted a 2.5 per cent council tax increase. Wyre Forest District Council approved the Conservative budget after a lengthy debate at Stourport Civic Centre, today. Councillors
STUDENTS at Kidderminster Taekwondo Club passed their grading with flying colours. The club boasted a 100 per cent record, with ten achieving the pass-plus grades, while seven fighters earned the highest possible grade - the A-Pass. Students were marked
ARELEY Kings booked their place in the last four of the Worcestershire FA Minor Cup by defeating Crowle 4-1. Third-placed Wyre Forest kept the pressure on the Saturday Premier Division's top two by defeating Two Gates 4-0. Results - Saturday Premier
STOURPORT Sports Club has been boosted by a planning decision which will allow it to become one of only four regional centres for netball nationwide. Members of Wyre Forest District Council's planning development control committee has supported the bid
PUZZLED hospital visitors could be coughing up £2.50 a time to park despite the fact there is 30 minutes free parking available, according to an angry resident. Robert Kilburn, 67, dropped off his wife, Sheila, for a minor operation at Kiddermin-ster
STOURPORT Hockey Club's ladies' section celebrates its 30th season with a special party on Saturday and is appealing for former players to turn out in force. Over 150 people will be at Stourport Civic Centre to celebrate the birth of the ladies' section
CARPET workers from two of Wyre Forest's most famous manufacturing names are putting aside their historic rivalries to raise money for a cancer unit. Employees from Kidderminster Victoria Carpets will be joined by their longstanding business competitors
Well did the earth move for you Darling? I should say it did! It moved for everyone on Wednesday at 1am. An earthquake…my my we seem to be having such odd occurrences with poor old Mother Earth these days. We now have tornados and earthquakes as well
Well did the earth move for you Darling? I should say it did! It moved for everyone on Wednesday at 1am. An earthquake…my my we seem to be having such odd occurrences with poor old Mother Earth these days. We now have tornados and earthquakes as well
GOLF: Brian Faulkner and Carol Hooper won Bewdley Pines GC's February Mixed Greensomes. Results - February mixed greensomes: 1 Brian Faulkner/Carol Hooper 45; 2 Duncan Cashmore/Lesley Barrett 45; 3 Alan Boden/Maureen Cole 42; 4 Paul Taylor/Joyce Kerrigan
ROWING: Bewdley made a solid start to the season as a large contingent from the club competed in Sunday's Worcester Head event. The club had a host of eight-man and four-man boats competing in the seniors, novices, women's and veterans sections. The
WITH their season in tatters after Tuesday's exit from the Setanta Shield, Kidderminster Harriers are playing for pride, according to assistant manager Neil Howarth. The 3-1 loss to Rushden and Diamonds at Aggborough leaves Harriers with nothing left
HARRIERS are set for talks with Shrewsbury Town and Wolverhampton Wanderers to sort out the futures of on-loan players Luke Jones and Matthew Bailey. Both players' month-long stays at the Aggborough club come to an end after Saturday's Blue Square Premier
HARRIERS are set for talks with Shrewsbury Town and Wolverhampton Wanderers to sort out the futures of on-loan players Luke Jones and Matthew Bailey. Both players' month-long stays at the Aggborough club come to an end after Saturday's Blue Square Premier
Harriers 1 Rushden and Diamonds 3 Setanta Shield THE final nail in the coffin of this desperate season was driven home by Rushden and Diamonds as Harriers crashed out of the Setanta Shield with a whimper on Tuesday night. The chink of light provided
Harriers 1 Salisbury 1 LONG-suffering Harriers fans suffered deja vu as a disastrous 20 minute period allowed Salisbury City to return to Wiltshire with maximum points after another frustrating Blue Square Premier clash (see gallery). Supporters
RUGBY: Kidderminster Carolians defeated Shrewsbury 10-7 in a tight friendly clash on Saturday. In a close game, where both sides seemed to cancel each other out, KCs broke the deadlock when winger Nick Martin intercepted a stray pass and touched down
MOTORSPORT: Kidderminster driving ace Nathan Freke came through his first taste of racing on a high speed oval track in flying colours at the rookie test on Nashville Superspeedway on Sunday. The 25-year-old, who has signed to race in the Indy Pro championship
THE Bishop of Dudley blessed St John's CE Primary School in Kidderminster at the start of an open day to officially mark the change from first school status. The school, in Blakebrook, opened as a primary in September as part of the Wyre Forest education
A CONTROVERSIAL planning application to build a new Tesco supermarket in Stourport has been recommended for approval. The firm wants to build the new store, car park and petrol station on the former Carpets of Worth site on Severn Road. Case officer
PLANS for Bewdley Youth Cafe stepped up a gear after organisers signed a lease for a building in the town's centre. The cafe will run from Load Street and discussions are due to take place about an opening date. Jerry Parr, chairman of the cafe, said
A RETAIL giant is moving into Kidderminster, bringing a £1 million boost to the Wyre Forest economy and at least 200 jobs. Debenhams will move into the historic Slingfield Mill in Weavers Wharf retail park, sharing the Grade II listed building with an
Since their New Year's Day triumph against Forest Green, Kidderminster have won just once in all competitions and to add insult to injury they crashed out of the Setanta Shield on Tuesday at the hands of Rushden and Diamonds, prompting Mark Yates to read
Since their New Year's Day triumph against Forest Green, Kidderminster have won just once in all competitions and to add insult to injury they crashed out of the Setanta Shield on Tuesday at the hands of Rushden and Diamonds, prompting Mark Yates to read
YOUNG sportsmen and women are set to benefit from this year's Kidderminster Carn-ival, with the Back on Track Appeal chosen as the main beneficiary. The appeal aims to raise £25,000 to replace sporting equipment lost in the devastating arson attack which
YOUNG sportsmen and women are set to benefit from this year's Kidderminster Carn-ival, with the Back on Track Appeal chosen as the main beneficiary. The appeal aims to raise £25,000 to replace sporting equipment lost in the devastating arson attack which
WYRE Forest rider Pete Banham showed his versatility with a strong performance to seal victory in his first duathlon event, in Cirencester over the weekend. Banham started well in the cross-country event and by the end of the first section was in sixth
A ROAMING sales executive whose car was damaged when it hit a pothole said the roads in Wyre Forest were among the worst in the country. Lindsay Turford, 28, of Britannia Gardens, Stourport, faced a bill of £350 after encountering a large pothole in
THE Weavers Loft carpet museum in Kidderminster reopens on Saturday at 10am. It offers a new display featuring the work of the carpet factories during the Second World War, when production was converted to the manufacture of munitions. The Friends of
STOURPORT soldier Mark Varndell tested his skills at the British National Inter-Service Army Nordic Ski Championships. Varndell, a member of the Queen's Royal Hussars, finished 14th out of 120 competitiors in the British Biathlon Union men's senior category
STOURPORT allowed a golden chance to return to second in the table slip away as Doncaster battled back to draw a topsy-turvey National Division North game 2-2 on Saturday. Third-placed Stourport had powered into a 2-0 lead against the side directly above
KIDDERMINSTER kickboxer Drew Neal won his ninth consecutive national title at the WAKO British championships. The 28-year-old saw off close friend and team-mate Owen Kings to win the under-79 kilogram final at Nottingham. "I won comfortably in the end
JUDO: Junior Ryan Humphries hit the gold medal trail with his second consecutive first place in junior judo competitions. Five wins out of five enabled the diminutive nine-year-old Samurai Judo Club fighter to claim his third gold medal after less than
A BUSY Kidderminster road will be restricted to one-way traffic during the Easter holidays while resurfacing work is carried out. The road work, on Comberton Hill, is set to start on Thursday, March 27, days after Severn Valley Railway's Easter re-opening
TABLE-topping Mostyn Rangers ladies kept their place at the top of the Kidderminster and District Women's League by defeating Malvern 6-0 on Sunday. Adele Kneuss' hat-trick and strikes by Julie Freeman (2) and Kirsty Roberts put Malvern to the sword
BEWDLEY paid the price for a lack of ruthlessness as they went down 2-0 to Goodrich in the West Midlands Regional League Premier Division on Saturday. Town carved out a host of chances but their five-game unbeaten run was stopped in its tracks at Ribbesford
THE "iconic" 75-metre steel chimney at the former British Sugar Beet factory in Kidderminster has been pulled down. Billy Young, contracts manager at Birmingham-based decommissioning company, DSM, said the first phase of work at the site should be finished
BRIDGE CLUB - February 20 results. Pairs competition held on February 20 was: first Tony Watt and Stuart Norgrove with 61.57 per cent, second Anne and Alan Freestone with 61.11 per cent, third Anita and Terry Acton with 54.63 per cent. Individual competition
WI - The meeting opened with birthday posies. Final arrangements were made for the trip to the Russian Ballet at Malvern. There will be garden trips to Hengest Croft on a Saturday in May and to Angel Bank in August. A strawberry tea was offered for June
IN response to a spate of burglaries in the Aggborough area of Kidderminster, police recently successfully committed a significant amount of resources. This included serving search warrants with helicopter surveillance on a number of premises, recovering
CHILDREN are risking their lives at a "dangerous" entrance to a popular public park, according to nearby residents. Parents and elderly people living in streets on Brinton Park's north side, in Kidderminster, fear there could be an accident if the entrance
LORD Darzi, at the behest of the Government, is carrying out a review of the National Health Service, and in his interim report recommended the setting up of new health centres throughout the country. These are to be manned by GPs and nursing staff,
A "GOOD old shake" earthquake had Wyre Forest people scratching their heads in bed overnight. There were no Wyre Forest emergency calls resulting from the quake which was centred on Licolnshire and measured 5.2 on the Richter scale, according to the
MPs' expenses are in the news and I have received the first report of the Review of Members' Allowances. It is unfortunate that this is an internal review but at least it has agreed immediately that the threshold of £250 for invoices and receipts must
AN ever-popular toe-tapping musical spectacular will be presented by Kidderminster Operatic & Dramatic Society next week. Set in Oregon in 1850, Seven Brides For Seven Brothers, is the story of Adam, the eldest of seven brothers, who goes to town to
A WYRE Forest heart fitness instructor is digging out her walking shoes and raising money for the British Heart Foundation at the Hearts First Wyre Forest 5k next month. The event - backed by the Shuttle/Times & News - is in its second year and people
THE majority of Shuttle Online voters believe the Government was wrong to nationalise the troubled Northern Rock bank. Almost six out of 10 voters (59 per cent) taking part our online poll last week felt the bank should not have been taken into public
Kidderminster Harriers 1 Rusden and Diamonds 3 Setanta Shield fifth round THE final nail in the coffin of this desperate season was driven home by Rushden and Diamonds as Harriers crashed out of the Setanta Shield with a whimper on a disappointing
Kidderminster Harriers 1 Rusden and Diamonds 3 Setanta Shield fifth round THE final nail in the coffin of this desperate season was driven home by Rushden and Diamonds as Harriers crashed out of the Setanta Shield with a whimper on a disappointing
