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Hampshire and Isle of Wight weekly round-up: 29 October - 4 November 2023

BBC Rail lines between Southampton and SalisburyBBC
Rail lines between Southampton and Salisbury were flooded on Thursday

The impact and aftermath of Storm Ciarán were among our most read stories this week in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

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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Water supply to 18,000 homes disrupted after storm

BBC Water station at Costco, SouthamptonBBC
Bottled water stations were set up for those who lost their supply

More than 18,000 homes were left without water or experiencing low pressure after Storm Ciarán led to a supply works being shut down.

The problem affected the SO40 and SO45 postcodes in the Southampton and New Forest areas.

Southern Water said water levels and quality after the storm had made it "extremely difficult for us to abstract water and treat it for drinking".

The storm swept across the south coast of England causing damage to property and disrupting transport on Thursday.

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Ex-youth camp manager jailed for child sex offences

National Crime Agency Cameron OsmanNational Crime Agency
Cameron Osman had a "devastating impact" on boys he met online, the judge said

A former children's holiday camp manager who posed online as a "sexually excited" teenage girl in order to groom boys has been jailed for 13 years.

Cameron Osman, 45, from Southampton, told victims they were his "sex toys" and should film themselves performing indecent acts, St Albans Crown Court heard.

Judge Michael Roques said Osman "ruined young lives".

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Benedict Cumberbatch's Isle of Wight wedding venue to open to public

Shaun Ferguson Mottistone GardenShaun Ferguson
The manor gardens are already an established tourist attraction

One of the Isle of Wight's most prestigious manor houses is to open its doors to the public for the first time.

Isle of Wight Council has approved plans by the National Trust to open a visitor space and an exhibition area in buildings at Mottistone Manor.

The manor was the venue for the wedding reception of actor Benedict Cumberbatch and his wife Sophie Hunter in 2015.

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Islander aircraft production returns to Isle of Wight

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The Islander has been built in Romania for 55 years

Production of an aircraft has returned to the Isle of Wight where it was first made.

The Islander was first built by Britten Norman in the 1960s at Bembridge but for the past 55 years it has been produced in Romania.

Now Britten Norman has reopened its production line on the island where it initially plans to produce two aircraft a year.

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Green Day to headline Isle of Wight Festival

Getty Images Green DayGetty Images
Green Day are set to close the festival on Sunday 23 June

The Prodigy, Pet Shop Boys and Green Day will headline the Isle of Wight Festival next year.

They will be joined by other artists including Keane, Simple Minds, Zara Larsson, McFly and Beverley Knight.

The event takes place at Seaclose Park in Newport between 20-23 June.

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