THE owner of an Indian restaurant attacked by vandals believes he has been deliberately targeted.

Three windows were broken at the Raj restaurant, in High Street, Witney, last Friday, prompting a police appeal for witnesses.

Supermarkets are clearing pumps of contaminated petrol blamed for causing thousands of cars to break down.

One industry group said the incident could force prices up by 2p a litre.

Earlier, supplier Harvest Energy said "unusually high levels of silicon" had been traced to four storage tanks at a depot in Essex.

Test results on fuel which is thought to have caused problems for thousands of drivers in the south and east of England are expected to be released.

The petrol has already been traced to a storage depot in Essex.

A Trading Standards report is due this afternoon after samples from garage forecourts across the worst hit area were examined.

Virgin Media customers have lost access to some BSkyB channels after the deadline passed for the two companies to resolve a row over TV rights.

The broadcasters had until midnight on Wednesday to reach a deal which would have allowed cable company Virgin Media to continue showing basic Sky channels.

Virgin Media has accused BSkyB of raising its prices too much, but BSkyB has said the higher fees are justified.

A 67-year-old man who died after being struck by a car in Witney has been named as Alan Constable.

Mr Constable was taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, following the accident, involving a Renault Clio, in Mill Street, just after 4pm, on Friday. He died on Monday.

An inquest into his death is expected to be formally opened and adjourned at Oxford Coroner's Court today.

A SCHOOL is preparing to welcome its first female headteacher following the retirement of its long-serving head.

Rod Walker, headteacher of Henry Box School in Witney, plans to leave the school at the end of the academic year.

THE BATTLE to create three unitary councils in Oxfordshire took a new twist after Oxfordshire County Council was ranked as one of the best local authorities in England.

The county council would disappear if the Government backs Oxford City Council's bid for a major reorganisation of local government.

A PEDESTRIAN hit by a car in Witney was in a critical condition last night in hospital.

The man, who has not been named, was struck by a Renault Clio, in Mill Street, just after 4pm on Friday and taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford.

INCREASED weekday parking charges at Oxford City Council car parks are expected to be rubber-stamped next month by council leaders.

Councillors agreed increases for Saturdays at a budget-setting meeting. They now go to a meeting of the executive board next month.

ALMOST two thirds of Oxfordshire's community hospital beds could be axed, according to NHS managers.

Oxfordshire Primary Care Trust staff claim 64 per cent of current provision - about 160 of the 252 beds - should be cut.

THE dispute gripping Witney Town Council has deepened with two councillors resigning in protest at the 'management' of the council.

Liberal Democrat councillors Paul Slamin and David Nicholson quit following the resignation last week of town clerk Pat Nevins - who is at the centre of the dispute.

POLICE mounted a pursuit across two counties following a ram-raid in Eynsham today.

Police were called to Mill Street, Eynsham at 3.15am today after reports of a burglary in progress.

HOUSEHOLDERS in West Oxfordshire are being given the chance to win an average of six months' free council tax, in a free prize draw.

The prize is worth £625 - the equivalent of six months' council tax for a Band D property.

POLICE are warning drivers not to leave valuables in their cars after a spate of thefts in West Oxfordshire.

Between February 10 and February 14, nine vehicles were broken into.

A WOMAN who was sexually abused as a child has hit out at Oxford judges for the "laughable" sentences they have given to paedophiles.

Jo Williams, of Thorney Leys, Witney, was responding to two cases in which child sex offenders walked free from Oxford Crown Court - one of whom was told to compensate his victim with money for a bicycle.

OXFORDSHIRE MPs claimed almost £30,000 in travel expenses during the last financial year - most of the money for car travel.

Figures released this week show for the first time how much MPs claim for car travel, car hire and taxis, rail, air, bicycle, or other transport.