Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service crews have been crowned national champions for having the best Urban Search and Rescue team (USAR) and best trauma team in the country.

The six-man USAR group won 12 trophies leading the field in the areas of command, medic and technical skills. They were also named best overall team at the annual United Kingdom Rescue Organisation (UKRO) challenge in Humberside.

The team had to simulate the shoring up of a stadium after an explosion and create a safe working environment to search for casualties.

Image source, HFRS

Plans to produce one billion mosquito eggs in the UK every week have been announced by a company working to combat insect transmitted disease.

Oxitec has developed genetically-altered male mosquitoes which have been used in Brazil and Panama.

The company's mosquitoes are designed to produce offspring that will not survive into adulthood so the population declines.

The unit making the eggs will be built in Abingdon, Oxfordshire.

Image source, Reuters

Church bells will ring out later in memory of a Newbury man killed in World War One.

William Quintin died on 20 September 20th 1917 during the Third Battle of Ypres.

A former bellringer at St Nicolas' Church - the centenary of his death will be commemorated along with others who fell during the Great War. The ringing will start at 18:00.

Patrick O'Hagan
BBC Berkshire political reporter

One in five people who cycle in Windsor and Maidenhead are women according to new research.

The Royal Borough is now focusing efforts to persuading more to switch to two wheels.

The most recent snapshot of riding habits in the borough revealed 20% of women regularly cycle, compared with 27% if the the rest of the country.

The report also shows that Windsor residents are much more likely to get on their bikes than those in Maidenhead.

The borough's currently waiting to see if it's secured a fund of more than £3m to improve cycling and walking access in and around Maidenhead town centre.

The defence minister and Bournemouth East MP opens trading at the the London Stock Exchange.

Residents of a Dorset care home have been busy knitting woollen hats fore premature babies after an appeal by Poole Hospital's maternity ward.

The knitters at Dorset House in Hamworthy have turned out more than 20 red hats which keep the newborns warm in the first few hours after birth, as well as providing a quick visual prompt to staff to highlight those who require extra attention .

Image source, Care South

Kevan James
Sport Presenter, BBC Radio Solent

Image source, Rex Features

Don't believe that Essex have taken their foot off the gas having already gone into this game as champions: their batsman simply had no answer to Kyle Abbott's accurate seam bowling.

It's not like the South African hasn't done this before. His figures of 6-20 were bettered by his 7-41 at Yorkshire back in April.

Fidel Edwards gave him good support too. The West Indian has struggled for rhythm this season having once again suffered with injury. Last week at Uxbridge he picked up five wickets and looked at ease with himself.

Once again he got swing and the Edward/Abbott opening partnership looks to be every bit as good as we all hoped it would at the start of the season. It's just a shame its taken until mid-September to prove it.

Oxitec wants to produce billions of mosquito eggs in Oxfordshire for work in combating disease.

Southern Water has said it is "increasing responsiveness and focus on customers’ needs" after being named the worst performing water company in the country for the fifth consecutive year.

Responding to the Consumer Council for Water, external report, the company blamed a change in the way in which it reports its results for a rise in complaints about 'unwanted contacts', despite showing the largest reduction in complaints across the industry.

Image source, Southern Water

Southern Water has been named the worst-performing water company in the country for the fifth consecutive year.

The Consumer Council for Water, external says it has reduced written complaints by almost 45%in the last year. However Southern also reported a 54% increase in ‘unwanted contacts’, where its customers had to pick up the phone to resolve an issue.

But it says the company which serves most of Hampshire, the Isle of Wight and parts of east Dorset has a lot more work to do.

Plans to reorganise NHS hospital services in Dorset, cutting beds and closing Poole's A&E, have been unanimously agreed by health bosses.

Dorset Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) unveiled its recommendations last week, aimed at avoiding a projected funding shortfall of £158m by 2021.

Anti-cuts protesters gathered in Dorchester as the CCG's governing body met to wave through the proposals.

More than 130 people packed into the Dorford Centre to hear the decision.

David Fenton
Health Correspondent, BBC South

There have been protests outside Dorset Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) meeting on controversial changes to healthcare.

More than 130 people gathered at Dorchester to hear decisions on the proposed closure of Poole A&E, making The Royal Bournemouth the main emergency hospital for the county. There are also plans for the closure of some community hospital beds and Dorset County Hospital teaming up with Yeovil for maternity and child care.

The proposals will help save NHS £150 million over next four years.

Firefighters dealt with a fire in Blackbird Leys, Oxford, yesterday.

It started in the lounge of a bungalow on Pegasus Road, with black smoke seen issuing from a window.

The occupant managed to escape the property before fire crews arrived.

The cause of the fire is being investigated.

Image source, OCC FIRE AND RESCUE

Crew Manager Dan Shepard of Slade Fire Station said: "Fortunately, on this occasion the occupier had working smoke alarms in the property, which alerted all persons concerned to the fire and allowed plenty of time for them to make their escape safely."

Image source, OCC FIRE AND RESCUE

Officers were called at 03:45 BST on Monday after reports of a rape at the Victoria Street car park.

A rare lizard is being reintroduced into the wild in Hampshire.

Marwell Wildlife is releasing 80 juvenile sand lizards onto Eelmoor Marsh Site of Special near Farnborough.

This is the first stage in a three-year plan, to restore the animals to their natural habitat.

Image source, Paul N Drane

Drivers in Oxford have been warned of delays as repairs are made to a Grade-II listed bridge.

Folly Bridge is used by 15,000 vehicles on the Abingdon Road each day, but its stonework has been damaged by water penetration over the years.

Oxfordshire County Council said it was having to time the work around the lifecycle of the bats that live in the bridge's arches.

Temporary traffic lights are in place and one lane will be shut for a month.

Image source, Oxfordshire County Council

The bridge is home to Daubenton's bats, which are protected under conservation rules.

Hannah Van Hesteren, from the Bat Conservation Trust, said there was a "window in Autumn-time" - between when the bats looked after their young and their hibernation period - that made it the best time to carry out the works.

The parents of an 18-year-old who died while travelling in his gap year said he was "badly let down" by the Cambodian authorities.

Kit Mallinson, from Bridport, Dorset, was taken ill with pneumonia on a night bus journey to Siem Reap in December and died later in hospital.

An inquest into his death was told he was initially taken to a public hospital with inadequate facilities.

The coroner concluded the delay in treatment contributed to his death.

Image source, PA

Craig David has been named the "most dangerous" celebrity to search online in the UK.

According to computer security company McAfee, a browse for the RnB star, who grew up in Southampton, is more likely to lead fans to malicious sites than any other name.

It's thought cybercriminals create links at the top of popular searches to send users to pages that can install malware or steal personal information. Emeli Sande and Liam Payne are also among the "most dangerous" searches.

Image source, Getty Images

Inmates are getting illegal drugs easily and violence is on the rise, prison inspectors reveal.

Plans to share maternity services between Somerset and Dorset will be discussed today.

It could mean scaling back paediatric care at Dorset County Hospital and sharing maternity services with Yeovil District Hospital.

Both organisations have to agree to the proposals. Dorset Clinical Commissioning Group has been carrying out a public consultation.