25 YEARS AGO

February 26, 1993

ECONOMY: A call for the urgent revitalisation of Bridport's commercial heart by the implementation of a town centre enhancement scheme is being made by business chef Richard Hindson. As the new Leos store in Sea Road North enters its third week of trading, shopkeepers are assessing the impact the supermarket is having on the town centre. Mr Hindson, president of Bridport Chamber of Trade, fears the town centre will continue to drift unless local authorities invest in making it a more pleasant place to shop.

SHROVE TUESDAY: Pancakes made of carpet substituted for the real thing when youngsters at St Mary's School tried to see how many flips they could achieve.

HOMES: West Dorset District Council has received cash windfall from the government as part of a scheme to turn unused spaces above shops into rented homes. The authority has been allocated £45,000 for the next financial year as part of a £1million handout to 21 councils in the South West.

DISCOVERY: A unique shark fossil found at Charmouth is to be examined by British Museum experts. The two-metre long specimen, which dates back around 190 million years, is the only complete example of a shark from the hybodus family ever found.

50 YEARS AGO

February 23, 1968

PETITION: Bridport and District Ratepayers' and Residents' Association are to petition Parliament for better terms for West Dorset ratepayers under the new Dorset Water Order.

The decision, agreed at a special meeting of the Ratepayers' Association at the Bull Hotel, Bridport, almost certainly means that the new order will now not come into effect on April 1.

CRIME: The Dorset and Bournemouth Constabulary - which on Monday launched a crime prevention campaign - is one of those which has been hit by the government's decision to drastically curtail police recruiting. At present, 60 officers under the authorised stretch of 963, the force has now been pegged at its January figure.