Image source, PA

The Thames Valley's former chief constable says forces should focus on catching thieves and violent criminals, and not incidents where no offence has been committed.

Sara Thornton said forces are too stretched to deal with "deserving" issues, such as logging gender-based hate incidents.

Claims against dead people was also taking resources from tackling "today's crime today", she told a conference.

She called for a "refocus on core policing".

Ms Thornton, who chairs the National Police Chiefs' Council, spoke out as statistics show arrests have halved in the past decade.

Arij Altai was forced to stay behind in Southampton after being diagnosed with terminal cancer.

A new educational message designed to keep children safe from abduction is being piloted in the UK.

Image source, Getty Images

Oxford is still the best place to live and work in Britain, according to the Good Growth for Cities Index, external.

It's the second year in a row the city has been ranked highest by research from accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers and the think tank Demos.

Reading is second, and third-placed Southampton is also one the five most improved cities.

They analyse things like employment, workers' pay, house prices, transport, and the environment to make the list.

This year's index, external shows a continuing gap between the highest performing places and the lowest ranking, Swansea and Sunderland.

Dan Downs
Weather Forecaster

Ryan Payne says he was unhappy before he started creating his amazing looks.

Hundreds of people with epilepsy are dying every year because "critical" checks are not taking place, campaigners warn.

The boards being installed in 846 streets list the people who lived there and died in World War One.

A man who sexually assaulted a girl has had his sentence increased after it was referred to the Court of Appeal for being "unduly lenient".

Tony Baker, 50, carried out a series of sexual assaults against the victim over a period of several years, the Attorney General's Office said.

Solicitor General Robert Buckland referred the case to the Court of Appeal after Baker was jailed for two years and three months at Bournemouth Crown Court in August.

The Court of Appeal has now increased his sentence to four years.

“Baker repeatedly sexually abused his victim over a number of years, robbing her of her youth," Mr Buckland said.

A CCTV image of a man has been released after a nightclub doorman was hit in he face with a glass in a bar in Southsea.

Hampshire police said the incident occurred last month at Kingsley’s Bar and Nightclub in Osborne Road, Southsea. The 31-year-old doorman had to have 20 stitches and has been permanently scarred.

Image source, Hampshire Constabulary

A man who deliberately started a fire in the toilets of an office block in Bournemouth in May has been jailed for three years.Graham Barry Barnes, 55, of Richmond Park Road in Bournemouth, pleaded guilty to arson with intent at a previous hearing at Bournemouth Crown Court.

Dorset Police said Barnes started a fire in a ceiling void in toilets on in the Abbey Life building on Holdenhurst Road, which is rented by a number of call centre companies.

The blaze was extinguished when it melted a water tank which put out the flames.

He was caught when CCTV footage showed him entering the toilet area.

Image source, Dorset Police

An abandoned litter of hoglets in Ryde has been rescued with help from Isle of Wight Hedgehog Rescue.

The baby hedgehogs' mother had used a log pile as a nest but abandoned them after it partially collapsed.

Volunteer Will Taylor dismantled the pile and rescued the five babies - one since died but four are described as recovering well and already weigh about 550g.

They will be kept throughout the winter and released next spring.

Image source, Isle of Wight Hedgehog Rescue

A motorcyclist has been arrested after being injured in a collision with a car in Poole.

The crash happened on Tuesday morning on Creekmore Lane, Poole.

The 17-year-old male motorcyclist was flown to hospital in Southampton. He has since been discharged.

The car driver was arrested on suspicion of driving without due care and attention and released while enquiries continue.

The motorcyclist was arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of driving a motor vehicle dangerously and other motoring offences

A woman has been found dead following a property fire in Christchurch.

Police crews were called shortly after 15:00 on Tuesday after a report the body was found at an address in Irvine Way after a fire at the premises.

Police said the death is not being treated as suspicious and investigations are continuing into the cause of the fire.

Dorset County Council's chief executive has announced her departure from the soon-to-be axed post.

Another £350,000 has been given to Romsey's flood defence scheme as community leaders look to avoid a repeat of the winter flooding in 2013 and 14.

The cash, which came from the Southern Regional Flood and Coastal Committee - an environmental arm of central government - will go towards the £5.15m scheme. It has already contributed £807,000.

It is hoped the proposed works will protect nearly 200 homes by improving defences in Middlebridge Street, Winchester Road, Mainstone and on the River Test. Work, which started earlier this year, is due to finish by next winter.

Image source, Google

An app is revealing stories about the graveyard where Frankenstein author Mary Shelley is buried.

The Shelley's Heart app, which accompanies a stage show, external of the same name, has been developed for Bournemouth's Shelley Frankenstein Festival, external.

The event celebrates the 200th anniversary of when the novel was first published.

A new war memorial has been created in a Hampshire town to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of World War One.

The stone monument has been erected in West Street in Fareham.

Artist Innis Marlow got his inspiration from a trip to a small town in Belgium, which was the scene of a gas attack, where 50 of the Hampshire Regiment died in one night.

A new leisure centre for Winchester is set to take a step forward with planners recommending approval for the scheme at a Planning Committee meeting today.

The new centre would replace the 42-year-old River Park Leisure Centre which needs at least £3m of repairs.

In 2016 Winchester City Council had agreed to develop plans to build a new out-of-town centre at Bar End.

Three years earlier, it sparked protests when it announced plans to rebuild the existing centre and expand it into what campaigners called "Winchester's only park".

Image source, Winchester City Council

After a friend asked for help, officers turned up and allowed children to play inside the riot van.