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Weekly round-up: Five stories you may have missed

Firefighters in Dorset tackled several wildfires this week, including this one on Upton Heath in Poole

A series of wildfires across Dorset and the launch of an electric drone that is also a two-seater aircraft are amongst our most read stories this week.

We have picked five articles from the past seven days in Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Dorset, Berkshire and Oxfordshire to keep you up to date.

First baby born in new £91m maternity unit

University Hospitals Dorset Katy is sitting up in a hospital bed, wearing a denim blue cami top and a blue duvet over her tummy. She is holding her newborn daughter, Isla, who wears a pink knitted beanie hat and is swaddled in a lilac blanket. Father Erik is sitting to the right, with his hand over Katy's, which is holding Isla. Erik has short black hair with a short black beard and is wearing a red short sleeved, cotton T-shirt and blue denim jeans. He has some tattoos winding down his arm. Sitting on the bed to Katy's left, is her son James. He has short dark blonde hair and grins at the camera. He is wearing a white collared polo top and grey shorts. He is holding a brown teddy bear.University Hospitals Dorset
Baby Isla with mother Katy, father Erik and older brother James

The first baby was been born in Bournemouth's new £91m maternity unit.

Isla was the first newborn to arrive in the Beach [Births, Emergency, And Critical care, children's health] building at Royal Bournemouth Hospital.

The building has replaced ageing facilities at St Mary's in Poole and Isla's birth symbolises the "start of an exciting new era", a hospital statement said.

Isla's mother, Katy, said her daughter arrived just after 11:00 BST on Monday with "a smooth birth and no complications".

Large fire breaks out in country park forest

Footage from the park showed the extent of the blaze

A large fire broke out in a forest at a country park on the Hampshire-Dorset boarder.

Fire crews were called to Moors Valley Country Park near Ringwood on Monday.

There were about 80 firefighters on the scene who worked to control a blaze covering 50 acres (20 hectares), Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service said.

It was the first of a series of wildfires that hit the region.

Could electric drones you can sit in take off?

The Skyfly Axe two-seater aircraft with two wings and four rotor blades sitting on an airfield
The Skyfly Axe can take off vertically like a helicopter or land on a runway

Imagine an electric drone mixed with a fixed wing plane - that is the concept behind a new two-seater aircraft being developed by start-up company, Skyfly.

The Axe promises the flexibility of a helicopter but without the cost, noise pollution or carbon emissions.

It is a vertically capable aircraft, or Electric Vertical Take-off and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft, which means it can take off like a helicopter.

It also has two fixed wings that allows it to take off and land from a runway.

Ferry boss defends discount ticketing scheme

Wightlink Victoria of Wight ferry with Wightlink branding.Wightlink
Isle of Wight residents can benefit from the Multilink discount scheme for buying tickets

A ferry boss defended its discount scheme for Isle of Wight residents, following criticism about the number of spaces available on board.

Katy Taylor, chief executive of Wightlink, which connects the Isle of Wight with Portsmouth and Lymington, took calls from listeners on BBC Radio Solent's Hot Seat feature.

Callers complained about not being able to use tickets bought through the company's Multilink scheme which allows islanders to buy lower-priced tickets in bulk.

Ms Taylor said at least 15% of spaces were designated for Multilink travellers and the ferry operator did all it could to "allow family and friends to connect".

Gang member helped scam £416k from elderly

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary A mugshot on Leonnie Charles, who has long dark hair and a nosering in her right nostril.Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary
Leonnie Charles was jailed at Winchester Crown Court on Thursday

A woman who was part of a gang that scammed people out of cash and jewellery worth £416,000 was jailed for two-and-a-half years.

Leonnie Charles, 23, from Reading in Berkshire, worked as part of the group based in the town that tried to scam at least 42 people, the oldest being 90 years old.

They took money and jewellery from 27 victims, who lived in Hampshire, London, Surrey, Kent and Sussex, and collected £116,000 in cash between February and September 2021.

Charles admitted conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation and was jailed at Winchester Crown Court on Thursday.

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