Weekly round-up: Five stories you may have missed
Rich PattersonA pilot escaping a plane crash and a former council leader now living in the Middle East seeing missles from his garden were among our most read stories in the south of England this week.
We have picked five stories from the past seven days across Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Dorset, Berkshire and Oxfordshire to keep you up to date.
Drone pilot's fears over landslips near theme park
Jamie Woodford/ Wight Eagle Drone Services"It's amazing but also worrying to see how much the cliff is moving," said a drone pilot who has been documenting landslides around the island he calls home.
Born and bred on the Isle of Wight, Jamie Woodford said he has seen it change a lot over the years.
Witnessing it from the skies with his drone has opened his eyes to one particularly noticeable development, he said - the cliffs are crumbling into the sea.
Woodford, 37, believes the worst area "in terms of how quickly it's falling" is on the south of the island, near the Blackgang Chine amusement park in Ventnor.
Widow's petition calls for police family support
A petition calling for mandatory police support for families whose loved ones take their own lives was delivered to Downing Street.
Mimi Conder, from Chinnor, Oxfordshire, started the petition calling for the introduction of Jason's Law, named after her late husband, so bereaved families in cases similar to her own can benefit from the guidance of a family support officer (FLO).
When the father-of-three died in September 2024, the family found the immediate aftermath - which involved police questioning and an inquest - confusing and intimidating, Mimi has said.
Thames Valley Police has said it follows National Police Chiefs' Council guidance when it comes to deployment of FLOs.
'I can see the missiles from my garden'
A former council leader who recently moved with his family to the Middle East has described seeing missiles launched to intercept attacks from Iran.
Iran has been targeting neighbouring countries with a US presence in retaliation for US and Israeli strikes and the killing of its supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Philip Broadhead, who led Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council in 2023, moved to United Arab Emirates in 2025.
He said: "We hear a lot of noises and from my garden I can actually see the missiles that go up and intercept the other missiles and the drones."
Light aircraft pilot suffers minor injuries in sea crash
Hampshire & Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue ServiceThe pilot of a light aircraft that crashed into the sea off the south coast of England received only minor injuries, police said.
The plane ditched into the water in Gosport, Hampshire, at about 16:15 GMT on 28 February, near Lee-on-the-Solent Sailing Club on Marine Parade East.
The pilot had exited the aircraft before firefighters arrived and was subsequently assessed by the ambulance service, Hampshire & Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service said.
Hampshire Constabulary said the pilot, a man in his 50s from West Sussex, was the only occupant of the aircraft.
The club that brought flair and speed to rugby
More than five decades ago, a group of rugby players formed a team that brought a new spirit to the game and inspired generations of black players.
Reading West Indians RUFC brought flair, speed and a new kind of rugby to Berkshire, with the club becoming a home for players of African and Caribbean descent.
Set up by Redingensians Joe Bell and Kenmore Hinds in the 1970s, the club became a launchpad for national talent.
Radio Berkshire's Lorin Bozkurt returned with Bell and former player and teammate Wayne Foncette to the ground on Old Bath Road, Sonning, where it all began.
