Weekly round-up: Five stories you may have missed

7 hours ago

Curtis LancasterSouth of England

News image — Thomas the Tank Engine began as a series of books written by Rev Wilbert Awdry

Getty Images A replica of Thomas the Tank Engine. It is a blue model steam train with a grey smiley face on the front. — Thomas the Tank Engine began as a series of books written by Rev Wilbert Awdry

The announcement of plans to remove the masts of HMS Victory and the boy who inspired Thomas the Tank Enginewere among our most read stories in the south of England this week.

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.

HMS Victory masts removed in conservation plans

NMRN A man and a woman in climbing gear and helmets look at plans on the deck of the ship. — It is part of the latest phase of a ten-year £42m project, dubbed The Big Repair

Three masts were removed from the Vice-Admiral Lord Nelson's flagship HMS Victory.

The historic Royal Navy vessel in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard is undergoing a ten-year £42m conservation project.

A 750-tonne crane was used to remove the first mast and along with the other two were lowered and laid near the ship, ready for the conservation work to begin.

The entire scheme is expected to end in 2033.

Dogs 'poisoned' in Isle of Wight woodland

Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary Image of red pellets, believed to be rat poison, on the forest floor with brown leaves and green weeds — Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary says it is confident the substance is rat poison

A substance believed to be rat poison has been found throughout Parkhurst Forest on the Isle of Wight.

Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary said since February it has received a number of new reports of dogs falling ill after ingesting a substance in the woodland.

Dog walkers have reported seeing the poison when walking their dogs from the Marks Corner end of the Forest, but police say it could be found anywhere.

Neighbourhood officers are continuing patrols throughout Parkhurst Forest and contacting local stockists of rat poison. They are also working with the Forestry Commission. It's not the first time such incidents have been reported, following similar incidents in 2021.

'I donated a kidney to a stranger to save my wife'

Husband and wife, Mark and Jan Taylor stand together in their garden. — Mark and Jan Taylor, from Wiltshire, underwent surgery at a hospital in Oxford

At nine years old, Jan Taylor was given less than a year to live.

Born with the same kidney disorder - nephrotic syndrome - that had claimed the life of her five-year-old sister, her chances looked slim.

A transplant from a deceased donor saved her life - and that kidney lasted almost 50 years.

However, it had started to fail again.

As Jan prepared for surgery at Oxford's Churchill Hospital, her saviour this time was her husband, Mark, and a kidney-swapping scheme made possible by a law change 20 years ago.

Red kite attacks mum on school run

Getty Images A red kite in flight above Reading, Berkshire. The bird appears brown and white coloured with its wings outstretched and its deeply forked tail. — The UK is home to about 17% of the world's Red Kite population

A mother has spoken of the shock she felt when she was attacked by a bird of prey while on her way to do the school pick-up.

Gabriela Thomas from Charvil, near Reading, said she was walking along a cycle path near East Park Farm a week ago when the red kite swooped.

"Suddenly I felt like something was grabbing my hand and scratched me," she said.

She added that she had been left with a bloody scratch on one of her fingers.

'Thomas the Tank Engine was written for me'

A man wearing a blue jumper and glasses looks directly into the camera as he sits on a sofa in a living room — Christopher Awdry was two years old when his father wrote Thomas the Tank Engine

The boy who inspired his father to write Thomas the Tank Engine eight decades ago has recalled his earliest memories of the books.

Christopher Awdry, who is now 85 and lives in Poole, Dorset, was two and grappling with a bout of measles when Rev Wilbert Awdry made up the first tale of the long-running series.

"My first memory of The Railway series? I suppose it was when I was in prep school," he told BBC Radio Solent.

"Father sent me a copy of his first book when it was published and the other kids were all going around and saying 'Awdry's family writes stories'.