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Berkshire weekly round-up: 9 October - 15 October 2023

Thames Valley Police Robert BrownThames Valley Police
Robert Brown was jailed for 26 years for Joanna Simpson's manslaughter

The story of a wife-killer who had his automatic release from prison blocked by the government was among our most read stories this week in Berkshire.

A variety of local issues featured on the BBC News website, BBC Radio Berkshire and South Today.

We have picked five stories to keep you up to date.

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Government blocks wife killer's automatic release

Thames Valley Police Joanna SimpsonThames Valley Police
Joanna Simpson ran a four-star guesthouse in Ascot

A man who killed his wife with a claw hammer has had his automatic release from prison blocked by the government.

Joanna Simpson, 46, was bludgeoned to death by Robert Brown in Ascot in October 2010.

The former British Airways captain, who was convicted of manslaughter, was due to be freed in November after serving half of his 26-year jail sentence.

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Warning after couple pose for photo on train tracks

CCTV footage shows a woman sitting on the track while a man takes her picture

Rail officials have urged people to stay away from train tracks after two cyclists were filmed posing for photos on a high-speed level crossing.

CCTV at Calcot Mill crossing near Reading captured the couple walking on to the tracks so one could take a photo of the other on 26 August.

Network Rail said the footage followed a "concerning rise" in the number of trespass reports on the Western route.

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Holocaust saviour's son lauds 'extraordinary' film

Getty Images Sir Nicholas Winton pictured in 2004Getty Images
Sir Nicholas Winton, pictured in 2004, died in 2015 in Berkshire

The son of Sir Nicholas Winton, who saved 669 Jewish children from the Nazis before World War Two, has praised an "extraordinary" portrayal of his father in a new film.

One Life, starring Sir Anthony Hopkins, had its European premiere in London on Thursday.

The Maidenhead humanitarian's son, Nick Winton, said the actor's performance "sent a shiver up my back".

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Firms frustrated after 'no notice' bridge closure

Geograph/Shazz Goring and Streatley BridgeGeograph/Shazz
Goring and Streatley Bridge crosses the Thames and connects the two villages' high streets

Business owners have expressed frustration over the partial closure of a bridge connecting Oxfordshire and Berkshire.

Motorists will have to use an 11-mile (18km) diversion while Goring and Streatley Bridge is shut over half term for gas main repairs.

The company said the work was urgent and apologised for any inconvenience it would cause.

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New film studios sound stage building approved

Frasers Property and The Harris Partnership An artist's impression of the proposed new sound stage buildingFrasers Property and The Harris Partnership
An artist's impression has been produced of the proposed new sound stage building

A new film studio sound stage building has been given the green light.

Production company Stage Fifty opened Winnersh Film Studios in 2021 and had its retrospective planning application formally passed last year.

It has now been given approval to demolish two warehouses on the site at the Winnersh Triangle Business Park in Berkshire.

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