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A beacon has been set on fire at night
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Beacons were lit across the south to mark VE Day on Thursday

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Thousands of people marking 80 years since Victory in Europe (VE) Day around the south of England was among our most read stories.

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

VE Day 80 comes to close as beacons lit

Alexis Green stands in front of crowds of people attending a street party to report on the weather. She has long light brown hair and wears a red trench coat.
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BBC South Today weather presenter Alexis Green broadcast from a street party in Witney

Beacons were lit across the region to mark VE Day on Thursday.

From remembrance ceremonies to woolly postbox toppers, thousands of people marked the 80th anniversary.

Meanwhile BBC South Today broadcast live from a street party in Witney, Oxfordshire.

Strictly pro teaches BBC presenters to Lindy Hop

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Strictly Come Dancing's Kai Widdrington teaches Edward Sault and Sophie Law to dance like it's VE Day

Sticking with the VE Day theme, our BBC presenters were taught how to Lindy Hop by a Strictly Come Dancing professional.

The dance began in New York City in the late 1920s and was born out of those from the swing genre, such as the jive.

Watch Kai Widdrington teach BBC South Today's Ed Sault and BBC Radio Oxford's Sophie Law how to perform.

From Martin Fowler to Mr Darcy

Three male actors and one female actor in historic Regency outfitsImage source, Michael Wharley
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James Bye (second left) plays Mr Darcy in Death Comes to Pemberley

He is best known for playing EastEnders' market stall holder Martin Fowler, who was dramatically killed off in the TV soap's live 40th anniversary episode in February.

Now the Basingstoke-born actor James Bye has a new role as one of literature's biggest heartthrobs.

He has donned a tailcoat and breeches to play Mr Darcy in the crime thriller Death Comes to Pemberley, at the Mill at Sonning theatre in Berkshire.

Tip shut after ordnance found at scrapyard

A large bullet-shaped piece of rusty metal with a ridge around its wide endImage source, Dorset Council Waste Services
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The object is thought to be a WW2-era tank round

Dorchester's recycling centre was closed after a suspected unexploded ordnance was found at a scrapyard next door.

Wessex Water treatment works in St George's Road was also evacuated following the discovery on Thursday.

Dorset Council said the object was thought to be a World War Two-era tank round, although it had not been confirmed.

UK-first technology used for brain tumour patients

A person with their head kept in place by a white coil. They are lying on a hospital bed.Image source, Oxford Hospitals Charity
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The electromagnetic coil cost £115,000

Hundreds of brain tumour patients will become the UK's first to benefit from a new way of carrying out MRI scans to plan specialist radiotherapy treatment.

The technology will lead to quicker MRI scans and more precise and targeted radiotherapy, Oxford University Hospitals (OUH) NHS Foundation Trust said.

Oxford Hospitals Charity has funded the new equipment, which cost £115,000, at the Churchill Hospital.

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