Weekly round-up: Five stories you may have missed

New pictures of a missing capybara that escaped from a zoo, a lottery win, and an urgent appeal to help blind twin sisters all feature among the most-popular stories in the south of England this week.

In case you missed them, we have picked five articles from the past seven days across Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Dorset, Berkshire and Oxfordshire to keep you up to date.

Chemical contamination at a former RAF base earmarked for 9,000 homes is the worst found in the UK, a report has said.

Testing at RAF Upper Heyford carried out on behalf of a developer found "unacceptable" levels of polyfluoroalkyl substances, referred to as forever chemicals.

Fears have been raised previously that the site could be the source of pollution in nearby waterways, after earlier testing by campaigners and the Environment Agency.

About 1,300 homes have already been built on the site.

An adoption charity based in Reading has made an urgent appeal to find a permanent home for "determined and affectionate" blind twin sisters.

Parents And Children Together is searching for an adoptive family for Lily and Rose, whose names have been changed to protect their identities.

The charity said the identical twins, who are nearly 22-months-old, were registered blind and have additional needs. One of the twins also has epilepsy, which is well-managed with medication.

The charity said despite the challenges they faced, both children had been making "positive progress and continue to develop in their own unique ways".

A century-old private school has announced its closure at short notice.

Leweston School, near Sherborne, Dorset, posted on its website that it would not reopen after half term, but gave no reason.

The Catholic boarding and day school wrote: "We are very sorry for what this means for our pupils, their families and our staff, and for how little notice we have been able to give."

The school's alumni include actress Kristin Scott Thomas and Baroness Dido Harding, who ran the government's Covid-19 Test and Trace programme in England.

New pictures have emerged of a missing capybara that escaped from a zoo more than six months ago.

Marwell Zoo, near Winchester in Hampshire, is still trying to recover one-year-old Samba, who attracted global interest after she went on the run in March.

Grainy images were captured this month after wildlife cameras were set up following her last sighting in August.

Samba escaped from the zoo on 17 March, less than a day after arriving. She broke out of a temporary enclosure she shared with her sister, Tango, who was quickly recaptured.

Abbie West-Long was preparing to change her dream to move to Canada with her partner, when she had a knock at the door.

After learning she'd won £333,332 in the Postcode Lottery, the charity volunteer said she "just started crying".

Now, the 34-year-old from Cowes on the Isle of Wight says she can chase her dream and build a new life with partner Daryl Marlow in the Canadian Rockies.

Ms West-Long is one of five neighbours in her street to share £1m worth of winnings.