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Dorset weekly round-up: 2 March - 8 March 2024

Bovington Tank Museum Section of tank track with tank in the backgroundBovington Tank Museum
The museum supplied Soviet-era track specimens to help reverse-engineer components

A story about a military museum offering its expertise on tank tracks to a defence firm was among our most read stories this week in Dorset.

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

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

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Nightclub in former church announces sudden closure

HALO BOURNEMOUTH HaloHALO BOURNEMOUTH
The club has been operating under the Halo brand since 2013

A well-known Bournemouth nightclub based in a converted church has announced its sudden closure.

The Grade II listed building on Exeter Road - previously St Andrew's United Reform Church and built in the late 19th Century - has been operating under the Halo brand since 2013.

The owners said they were shutting because of the rising cost of living, something they claimed had hit students' pockets particularly hard.

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School to offer 'brick phones' to pupils

Getty Images Child with smartphoneGetty Images
The school is looking to offer the basic phones to bring a change in behaviour

A primary school is looking to offer "brick phones" to pupils to overcome inappropriate smartphone use.

James Law, head at Milldown Academy in Blandford, wants to bring in a scheme where parents can hire or borrow a basic phone for little or no cost.

He said it came after finding pupils were bumping into content they should not see, and issues over social media posts, sleep, and behaviour problems.

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Man fundraising for Ukraine military equipment

Elliott Svatos Elliott Svatos holding a Ukrainian flag covered in signaturesElliott Svatos
Elliot Svatos sells items he brings back from Ukraine to help the country

A man is raising money to buy night vision goggles for soldiers fighting in the war in Ukraine.

Elliot Svatos has made 10 trips to the country since Russia's invasion, delivering cars and supplies.

He said he had received a request on behalf of soldiers who said they did not have the equipment they needed.

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No rise in parking charges planned for summer

WEYMOUTH TOWN COUNCIL Weymouth beachWEYMOUTH TOWN COUNCIL
Businesses in Weymouth had complained about high parking charges during the summer months

Any immediate increases in parking fees have been ruled out along much of the local coastline.

Dorset Council confirmed motorists will be charged the previously agreed summer rate from 1 April.

It follows protests from businesses and residents over parking charges in Weymouth.

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Museum helps firm recreate tank tracks for Ukraine

Ministry of Defence of Ukraine Ukrainian BMP-1 vehicle crossing water during a training exerciseMinistry of Defence of Ukraine
The components are destined for armoured vehicles in Ukraine

A military museum has revealed it was called upon to help reverse-engineer Soviet-era tank tracks for a defence firm supplying components to Ukraine.

The Tank Museum in Bovington worked with Cook Defence Systems after a request from the Ministry of Defence.

Incomplete Soviet-era drawings and links from Ukraine were used with the museum's own track specimens to help reproduce the replacement tracks.

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