25 YEARS AGO

MARCH 11 1994

WASHED UP: Rescuers called in an RAF helicopter to airlift an injured dolphin to a seal sanctuary after the creature was washed up on the beach at West Bay.

The flight to the Gweek sanctuary in Cornwall followed a four-hour battle by locals to save its life.

DIGGING FOR GOLD: Exploratory drilling for oil could start in Lyme Bay in July 1995.

An American company has been awarded a six-year licence to sink two wells in an area which stretches from Portland to Lyme Regis and up towards the coast at Abbotsbury.

BIRTHDAY: Tributes to a man who rose from shoeing horses to become head of a long-established Bridport firm of agricultural engineers were paid to Hubert Bartlett on his 80th birthday.

Celebrating with the octogenarian were 44 guests, including family, former employees and current staff.

50 YEARS AGO

MARCH 7 1969

ELECTED ABROAD: Councillor Archibald Beckett Mason, who is on a cruise to the West Indies, is to be invited to become the next mayor of Bridport.

It is probably the first time in the borough’s history that anyone has been chosen to be first citizen while they have been abroad.

PLANE CRASH: The crashing plane drama at West Bay last July was recalled by the presentation of bravery awards to Mr Gordon Northover and Mr Jack Morris.

A Hunter jet aircraft screamed vertically into the sea only 100 yards from the two men who were attending to lobster pots. Looking up they saw the pilot coming down by parachute, landing about three miles away from them.

GARDEN ENHANCE: Lyme Regis Borough Council is anxious to give the Lister Gardens a ‘Riviera touch’.

It would like to plant more palm trees in the area and would be pleased to accept donations from members of the public interested in enhancing the beauty of the gardens.