29/12/2011 South Today

Hello, I'm Jo Kent. A 33 year-old Lithuanian man has appeared in

court charged with murder after a stabbing in Littlehampton on

Christmas Day. Vaides Juras appeared at Worthing Magistrates

today. He has been remanded in custody to appear at Southwark

Crown Court tomorrow. 38 year-old Bronius Juras died from a single

stab wound to the heart. Police have been given an extra 36 hours

to question a 44 year old woman following the death of a man at a

house on Portland. Dorset Police are not looking for anyone else in

connection with the gap but are appealing for anyone with

information to come forward. A mindless and despicable act - is

how police are describing an incident in North Hampshire in

which seven racing pigeons were found beaten to death. It happened

after an individual or group of people broke into the shed in which

they were housed on allotments in Whitchurch near Andover during

It was a cruel and violent attack. The racing pigeons lived in a shed

here on allotments at Whitchurch. After being beaten to death, they

were thrown around the allotments. The owner was too upset about what

had happened to be interviewed. Other allotment holders were

shocked at the brutality. He was distraught and almost in tears.

They were a family to him. He looks after them and turns up here twice

a day. We are all upset. Damage was done to other allotments here as

well. Mine included. Three or four others. He has lost a number of his

birds and he has lost about �1,000 in value. It is his hobby and his

animals and he is obviously very upset. Police believe the people

responsible might be proud about what they did. Anybody that has any

information, we think they might be talking about what has happened. If

you hit anybody talking about anything, pass it on to us. Another

six pigeons that were in the shed Three men have been arrested

following an attempted armed robbery at a shop in Sussex. A man

armed with a knife threatened the cashier at the Premier Store in

Brighton yesterday afternoon. But as he left, he was tackled by a 75

year-old customer and forced to leave the store empty-handed. A

Farnborough taxi driver was threatened at gunpoint at just

after midnight on Christmas Day. A man with an airgun demanded money.

He is described as white, between 5 ft 10 and 6 ft tall with a medium

and athletic build. It is thought he is aged from mid- teens to early

twenties and was wearing a grey A seven year-old boy from

Southampton who had a rare form of eye cancer was only diagnosed

thanks to a routine eye test. Laurence Smith had retinoblastoma

in his left eye. His aunt, an optician, noticed the problem back

in April, 2009. Thanks to her, Lawrence was diagnosed early and

things are now looking better for him and his family. A boisterous

seven year old, making the most of his Christmas holidays to play with

his toys. Just over two and a half years ago, he was diagnosed with a

rare form of eye cancer called retinoblastoma. Only a regular

check-up with an optician, also his aunt, led to the diagnosis. To hear

that your child has any kind of cancer, it was just disbelief and

such a shock. 50 children in the UK are diagnosed each year. He was

diagnosed early but still had to have seven months of chemotherapy

and radiotherapy in Southampton General and Great Ormond Street

Hospital. They normally brings some games. The be Cancer Trust says

just half of parents take their children to regular eye tests.

is important all children have their eyes tested before they start

school and if they have got any problems with our eyes turning in

or out it is important to get that checked. The parents are confident

he will make a full recovery and want to make more people more aware

of the disease so other families do not have to go through what they

Drinking and driving arrests have soared during the festive period

according to figures from two police forces in the south. More

than 400 people have been arrested in Hampshire and the Thames Valley

on suspicion of driving under the influence of drink or drugs. The

figures in the Thames Valley are 12% higher than last year. More

than 100 new homes could be built in Oxford. The plans to build

houses and new community centres in Cowley and Northway will be

submitted early next year. The housing association Green Square

and TV presenter Kevin McLeod's A new community sport facility has

opened at Oxford City Football Club. The �2.1 million project at Court

Place Farm includes a full-sized artificial football pitch, six

floodlit netball courts and a club house with six dressing rooms and a

lounge area. Most of the funding came from the Football Foundation

and grants from Sport England and Fantastic. It is these huge boost

for Oxford City Football Club for a start and for the area as a whole.

It is a massive undertaking we have done. What we are looking at is a

fantastic facility. We have got nothing like it in all of

Oxfordshire and we are very proud Oxfordshire and we are very proud

We have still got some blustery showers lingering fruit tonight but

they will gradually clear as we head through the overnight period.

We cannot rule out some more during the night. Temperatures taking a

tumble to three and four degrees in towns and cities. The eastern side

of the region is doing quite well but already cloud coming from the

West and early in the morning we will get patchy rain and persistent

rain pushing east. Temperatures tomorrow up to 11 degrees. When it

that rain disappears, eastern parts could get a chilly day ahead. A wet

and soggy day tomorrow. New year's Eve will be cloudy and breezy with

a handful of showers. Probably dying out by the time we get to