Local news for the Dorset Coast powered by the Echo

A busy road in Hythe is set to face a 10 week closure for gas works – but the start of the disruption has now been postponed.

Second-year graphic design students from Arts University Bournemouth have been transformed vacant kiosk spaces into a vibrant public art display.

A small protest is currently taking place in Poole by the RNLI headquarters - updates as we get them

The event, organised by New Forest for Ukraine, will take place at Bramshaw Village Hall on Friday, September 11, and will feature a tribute to the late Kirsty MacColl by the South Hampshire folk band Kite.

The A31 was closed in both directions after a collision sparked a van fire exactly one month after a separate van fire on the same road ignited a heathland fire that destroyed more than 100 hectares in the New Forest National Park.

THE hosepipe ban introduced in Dorset for the first time in 50 years is to stay in place for now.

The A31 is currently closed in both directions between the Canford Bottom Roundabout and Merley Roundabout due to a road traffic collision involving three vehicles and and a vehicle fire.

Actor Noel Clarke has been charged with sex offences by the Metropolitan Police.

The RNLI is a charity that exists to save lives at sea.

We are appealing for information or anyone with dashcam footage to come forward as we continue to investigate a collision in Bournemouth.

We are appealing for witnesses or anyone with footage to get in touch as we continue to investigate an assault on a woman in Southbourne.

A dance academy has submitted plans to move into vacant industrial units in Bournemouth.

Plans to transform a property in Poole into a children’s care home has been put forward.

A proposal to build a rooftop extension containing four new flats above a shop in Bournemouth town centre has been put forward.

The following cases were heard a Weymouth Magistrates' Court:

Plans for a floating restaurant in Christchurch has have been submitted to BCP Council.

The RNLI and representative Neil Duncan have refuted false claims that asylum seekers are being housed at the RNLI hotel or local Poole sites.

A detective sergeant who admitted accessing and sharing sensitive police information and lying to his manager has been spared dismissal.

A proposal to build a rooftop extension containing four new flats above a shop in Bournemouth town centre has been put forward.

Plans to transform a property in Poole into a children’s care home has been put forward.

Purbeck Cider launches People’s Choice cider in Dorset, donating £1 per litre sold to Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance. Community-grown apples support charity.

Plans for a new 'build your own' waterfront home with panoramic views have been approved for a site in Dorset

Dorset is the location for Mike Leigh's Play For Today, Nuts in May, which is free to watch on BBC iPlayer

A YouTube video provides an insightful look at Brownsea Island in 1962.

Only Fools and Horses repeats are as popular as ever this Christmas - but did you know that the classic BBC comedy was not once, but twice filmed in Dorset?

Sandbanks Ferry staff were 'verbally abused' by passengers during a temporary suspension.

Hundreds of jobs are to be created at a holiday park as part of a major nationwide investment.

SHOULD there be a tourist tax in Purbeck – the “Purbeck Pound”?