100 Years Ago - March 1, 1913
A LABOURER from Freshwater was charged with the theft of wire netting, from a property in Mottistone.
The man was charged in Eastmore, Yarmouth, and was remanded on bail.
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The greenkeeper of Shanklin and Sandown Golf Club was awarded a prize for providing the best essay on the care of greens, by the Golf Green Keepers Association.
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A man was charged with riding his bicycle on a footpath in East Cowes.
He had cycled on the path in Tower Road as he thought the road was not fit to ride on.
The police had previously received a lot of complaints about the road but the man was still charged.
75 Years Ago - March 5, 1938
A motorcyclist was thrown against a wall after colliding with a cow in Shalfleet.
The rider was travelling through the village in the early hours of the morning when he hit the stray cow outside The New Inn.
He suffered a severe cut on his forehead and abrasions on his arms and legs.
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A Carisbrooke farmhouse was gutted as a result of one of the most destructive fires in the area in recent years.
The fire started in the roof of Rowborough Farm and quickly spread due to the lack of water from the fire brigade.
The district was served only by a three-inch main and although the motor-pump was capable of delivering at very high pressure, the water was not going through fast enough.
The farmhouse was one of the best preserved examples of early 17th century farmsteads on the Island.
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The Bembridge lifeboat was called to help a motor vessel in distress in The Solent.
The lifeboat, Langham, was called shortly before midnight to help the London vessel, five miles south of the Nab Tower. After the crew reached the boat, The Golden Ace, they towed it to Portsmouth Harbour.
50 Years Ago - March 2, 1963A milkman suffered chest injuries after he was pinned against a wall by his hand-operated milk float.
The incident happened on Brook Road, Shanklin, when he slipped on ice, caused by a burst water pipe.
The milkman was unable to stop the float from pushing him several feet down the hill and against the wall.
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A mechanic was treated for shock after a car tyre burst in his face at a garage.
His eye was injured in the incident at Osborne Garage, in East Cowes.
He was treated at the IW County Hospital.
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A Ryde man was rescued from the Atlantic after his motor yacht, Tia, blew up four miles off Lisbon.
With his English crew of seven, the man, who was captain, dived overboard when an engine room explosion set 3,000 gallons of oil on fire.
The sailors were later picked up by the captain of another yacht, who saw the flames from more than two miles away.
25 Years Ago - March 4, 1988
A Newport mother’s plea for the return of her child’s pushchair hood, which was taken by a passing motorist, was successful thanks to the County Press.
The woman complained when the plastic hood blew off her double buggy during a gale, a passing motorist picked it up and drove off, ignoring her frantic efforts to get him to stop.
After reading her tale of woe in the paper, the unknown motorist posted the rain hood back to the mother, with an unsigned note of apology.
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Bertie, a female budgie who survived four days on the loose in the skies of Ryde, was reunited with its owner.
Bertie made her break for freedom when she was let out of her cage.
Her owner spent hours searching but to no avail. She had given up hope, when four days later, she received a phone call from her daughter saying Bertie had been found two miles across town.
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Southern Vectis emerged as front runners to take over Portsmouth City Transport operations — a move which almost led to a bus strike in the city.
It was believed the Island bus company — itself privatised by a management buyout in October 1986 — bid around £750,000 for the first municipal bus undertaking to come on the market in Britian.
But with drivers threatening to block off Guildhall Square, Portsmouth, with their buses in protest over the sale, the city council deferred a decision on the deal.
10 Years Ago - February 28, 2003
Gridlock hit central Newport when the Medina Way dual carriageway was closed after a swan flew into overhead power cables.
Police diversions were put in place as Southern Electric engineers repaired the damaged line.
The electricity supply was not affected but the conductors on the cables were damaged.
Unfortunately the bird did not survive.
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The government told Islanders to have more faith and courage in the HealthFit process.
The message came from junior health minister, Hazel Blears, who described it as an "excellent document", in which the strategic health authority had "grappled with a new way of designing proposals".
Her comments came during a House of Commons adjournment debate, in which Island MP Andrew Turner sought reassurances on the future of emergency surgery, maternity and paediatric services on the IW.