Dorset news: Week in review

BBC News looks back at some of the stories making the headlines in Dorset over the past week.

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Estranged son has father's kidney

A father has donated a kidney to his estranged son who he had not seen for more than 21 years.

Douglas Barclay last saw Nicholas when he was almost three

Douglas Barclay last saw his first-born Nicholas when he was almost three but offered his kidney to the 24-year-old when he heard he had a rare disease.

A South African friend told Mr Barclay about a newspaper article saying that Nicholas had run a marathon despite suffering from Goodpasture's Syndrome.

The father-of-four, from Dorset, flew out to Cape Town for the operation.

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Fire bosses stand against BNP ban

A move to ban members of the British National Party (BNP) from serving with a fire service has been shelved.

Dorset's chief fire officer Martin Chapman told a meeting of the local fire authority that members of the party should not join the service.

On Monday, the authority decided not to adopt a statement that the service should ban BNP members.

David Fox, authority chairman, said the authority did not want to single out a legal political party.

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BIC finally to open to the public

A major entertainment venue was due to be opened to the public following a controversial £22m redevelopment.

The Labour Party conference has already been booked for 2007

Tuesday was to see the doors reopen on the Bournemouth International Centre which closed for a revamp last summer.

The work, which finished earlier this month, caused controversy by closing the centre's popular pool to make way for more conference space.

The Dorset town venue now boasts a new fourth hall and upgraded bars, box office and foyer.

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Dog survives 100-feet cliff fall

A dog has escaped death and was left unscathed after falling 100 feet over a cliff on the Dorset coastline.

Three-year-old black Labrador Bracken was walking with its owner and her daughter, when he slipped and fell off a ledge at Peveril Point, near Swanage.

The pet was spotted by a Swanage rescue team from another area on the coast.

Swanage and St Alban's Cliff Rescue teams were then dispatched and a rescuer was winched down to find the dog was "miraculously alive and well".

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Flock of sheep stolen from field

A flock of 136 sheep has been stolen from a farm during a night-time raid.

The seven-month-old ewe lambs were taken from Sydling Court Farm in Sydling St Nicholas, near Dorchester, Dorset, between 22 and 23 October.

The thieves cut the lock on a gate into a remote field off the A37, before rounding up the lambs and loading them in to a lorry.

The flock, all white-faced Texel cross or Cheviot cross lambs with the ear tag number 340585, is worth about £6,800.