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Round-up 2024: Five heartwarming stories you may have missed

Amazon World Zoo Park A raccoon in a blue and white box looking at the camera.Amazon World Zoo Park
Amazon World Zoo Park had asked for help to find the four escaped sisters

A story about four runaway raccoon sisters was among our most heartwarming and quirky stories in the south this year.

We have picked five stories from 2024 in Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Dorset, Berkshire and Oxfordshire to spread a little festive cheer.

Southampton's walking birch tree mystery revealed

Watch artist Olana Light bring her work to life on the high street

A walking tree that went viral on social media left thousands wondering who could be behind the extravagant wooden costume.

Then Portsmouth-based artist Olana Light revealed she was responsible for the mystery.

Video of the art installation was watched thousands of times in January, with many speculating about what it could mean.

In a video on YouTube the following month, Ms Light revealed it was part of her model birch tree collection that could be found at Sir Harold Hillier Gardens in Romsey.

Dorset-based caterpillar marathon team smash record

MND Association Men running in an orange caterpillar costume. They are joined at the chest and back by a concertina-type fabric.MND Association
The team completed the race in two hours, 57 minutes and 30 seconds

Runners who completed a marathon dressed as a caterpillar smashed the record for completing one in a six-person costume.

Team Phil completed the Manchester Marathon in two hours, 57 minutes and 30 seconds in April.

The Dorset-based team raised more than £8,000 for the Motor Neurone Disease (MND) Association.

They believed they had beaten the previous record by about 87 minutes.

Guide dog dubbed Dogfather retired

PA Media Golden retriever, Trigger, pictured close up to the left of the camera, with a woman holding a golden retriever puppy in the background. She is dressed in a blue uniform and they are pictured on a patch of grass.PA Media
The nine-year old golden retriever had fathered more than 300 puppies

Also in the spring, a guide dog that had fathered more than 300 puppies retired from charity work.

Banbury Guide Dogs' star Trigger, dubbed the Dogfather, retired from the charity's breeding programme after fathering a grand total of 323 puppies.

The nine-year-old golden retriever fathered 39 litters, including one in 2021 with 16 puppies, which was a record-breaking number for Guide Dogs.

The charity hoped Trigger's son Billy might continue his legacy.

Cash machine appeared on side of bridge

Impro A cash machine on the side of a bridge, placed between its two arches, but inaccessible to anyone (unless they were on the river).Impro
Impro's latest handiwork was revealed in July

A phone, a postbox, a door - artist Impro has made Berkshire's Sonning Bridge his canvas over the years.

And this summer his latest confounding creation was revealed.

A cash machine adorned with Impro Solutions logos appeared.

Impro's other work has included a large Google Maps pin at Playhatch Roundabout.

Runaway raccoon sisters reunited

Amazon World Zoo Park A raccoon peering over its shoulder at the camera while it is in a box of strawAmazon World Zoo Park
The final escapee was rescued on the 6 November, five days after they disappeared

Four raccoon sisters escaped from an island zoo in November.

Amazon World Zoo Park, near Sandown on the Isle of Wight, appealed for help from islanders on 1 November after the18-month-old raccoons escaped from their enclosure.

Three of the animals were found after three days and the final escapee was rescued two days later.

Rachel Patrick, head keeper at the zoo, said she was "elated and so pleased that we have them all back now".

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