Insurance broker Deacon presented a cheque for more than £13,700 to Jude Todd, co-ordinator of New Forest Nightstop.

New Forest Nightstop provides emergency overnight accommodation for homeless people aged 16-24 via a network of volunteer households throughout the forest.

Deacon, which specialises in insurance brokerage for blocks of flats, first became involved with the charity just over a year ago when Jude Todd explained how its revenue from the Big Lottery Fund was about to end.

QUIDS IN: Staff from Deacon Insurance with Penny Jepson (Head of Business at Deacon) and Jude Todd (New Forest Nightstop Co-ordinator) holding the company's cheque for £13,717.07.

Deacon’s marketing manager Dave Hitchins said: “As a specialist property insurance broker we provide services to people who have the luxury of safe accommodation.

“The young people who use the New Forest Nightstop service aren’t so lucky; they’re normal people who, through no fault of their own, have ended up on the streets.

“Once we’d heard about the work done by Jude and her team, we knew we had to get involved.”

Mr Hitchins added: “I’m proud that the team and their family members have really got behind this.  During the past 12 months the team has done sponsored cycle rides, sponsored runs, numerous cake sales, raffles, dressed up for Hallowe’en and manned Nightstop stands at local events – and our MD Penny Jepson has undertaken a Royal Marines 10km challenge.”

Jude Todd said: “New Forest Nightstop means so much more than just a bed and a hot meal. It’s about providing a safe breathing space for homeless young people to help improve self-esteem and life chances. Their outcomes for employment, training, health and housing are much improved, too.

“There is no other resource for homeless young people in the New Forest and we are very grateful to the Deacon team for this wonderful contribution towards the £50,000 we need every year to continue this vital work.”

Nightstop is not a permanent solution to youth homelessness, but it gives young people a breathing space to consider their situation and saves them from the critical dangers of homelessness on the streets.

Deacon is one of the UK’s largest blocks of flats insurance brokers. Established in 1988, it currently employs around 70 people and provides cover for property valued at over £25 billion.

DADS-TO-BE? Giant otters Simuni and Akuri are ready and willing to go forth and multiply...

And they’re mammals on a mission… because they’re on call to be whisked away anytime, anywhere in the world, to breed.

The otters – Simuni and Akuri – are both males, aged one year and ten months respectively.

They have been brought to the New Forest Wildlife Park at Longdown from the Chestnut Centre in Derbyshire, where they were born.

Conservationists Roger and Carol Heap, who own both parks, are the first people to breed the giant otter successfully in the UK.

They moved the two young males to the New Forest when their parents Manoki and Panambi gave birth to another litter.

The largest of the world’s 13 otter species, giant otter males attain an overall length of 1.5 to 1.8m and weigh between 26 and 32kg, while females generally measure 1.5 to 1.7m in length and may weigh between 22 and 26kg.

The giant otter frequents rivers, streams, lakes, and swamps of tropical lowland rainforests and the species is particularly vulnerable to human disturbance.

Giant otters are listed on the IUCN Red List for endangered species, with only an estimated 1,000 to 5,000 remaining in the wild in their native South America.

Simuni and Akuri could therefore be called upon to do their duty at any time – as part of the strict regulations for international captive breeding programmes, the stud book keeper for giant otters decides if, when and where they should be allowed to mate.

According to Carol, they are good and ready. “They are two very strong characters – they are confident and come out a lot to play during the day,” she said.

“Both are also very vocal and they make a lot of noise when they’re playing and communicating with each other.

“The boys are at the stage where they are bursting to mate, so we have to keep our fingers crossed and hope they will be chosen soon. We’re already in discussions with a zoo in Trinidad, so it’s possible Akuri may be on his way there soon.

“We know that when Simuni and Akuri are called upon to breed they will make really good dads. Giant otters are highly social and in the family groupings the previous litter helps to bring up the new one.

“Simuni and Akuri were very responsible in helping their parents to look after the new cubs, so they’ve had good training in parenting.

“There wasn’t enough space for them all in Derbyshire but they have settled in very well in the New Forest and we’ve built them a big new enclosure all to themselves.”

PART OF THE FAMILY: Manoki is Simuni and Akuri's dad.

Giant otters are endangered because there are so few of them in the wild and because it’s estimated that their population will decline in the wild by 50 per cent over the next 20 years.

They are almost as rare as giant pandas, of which there are fewer than 2,500 living in the wild.

Giant otter populations have declined owing to illegal hunting for their fur and because of loss or degradation of their natural habitats due to mining, deforestation and pollution.

Roger and Carol Heap have been involved in otter conservation for over 30 years and were the first people in the UK to look after giant otters in captivity.

They have been working closely with giant otter expert Diane McTurk of the Karanambu Trust in Guyana for many years and have visited Guyana several times. The trust works with neighbouring Amerindian communities to protect giant otters and their habitats.

WELL DONE: Michelle Evans is congratulated by Compass founder David Lewis and her fiance Rob Walker.

Thirty-year-old Michelle, who is getting married next month, raised the funds for Compass Counselling by running her first London Marathon in four hours 29 minutes.

“She did an amazing job and we are very proud of her,” said Compass founder David Lewis.

“We thought it might be difficult to reach our target in the current climate, but people have been very generous.

“We’ll now be able to provide more affordable counselling sessions over the next year for people who need them.”

Based in Gosport Street, Compass Counselling is a self-funding charity offering counselling by trained and supervised professional counsellors, with fees based on ability to pay. The service can be contacted on 01590 674011.

Timothy Stephen Foster, aged 26, of no fixed abode, is charged with one offence of rape and one of sexual assault. He was due to appear before magistrates in Southampton yesterday (Wednesday).

The charges follow an incident which occurred about 200 yards from the railway line at Ashurst, in which a 55-year-old woman was attacked and raped.

A house in Lime Kiln Lane was entered by thieves who smashed a kitchen window and stole various electrical items – including a 55in television – and pieces of jewellery.

It is believed some of the stolen items were wrapped in towels.

The burglary was committed between 7th and 14th May when the property was unoccupied.

Police are anxious to hear from anyone who saw anything suspicious or who may have been offered cheap electrical goods.

Investigating officer DC Dean Miller can be contacted at Lyndhurst CID on 101, or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

In a bid to resolve issued raised by farmers whose land lies next to the Castleman Trailway, from Bickerley to Moors Valley, police are putting up new signs reminding dog walkers of their responsibilities.

The Safer New Forest Partnership has backed Ringwood police’s efforts to remind people of the Countryside Code:

• Avoid getting between animals and their young;
• Keep your dog on a short lead or at your side;
• Allowing your dog to attack or chase livestock is an offence for which you can be prosecuted and fined, ordered to pay compensation and even have your dog destroyed;
• Damaging, destroying or disturbing wildlife in the SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest) area is an offence which may result in a fine of up to £20,000.

The move follows a number of incidents in the vicinity, including one in which a pet dog, which was not on a lead, chased deer across farmland.

The animals then ran onto the busy A31, where the dog was struck by a car and suffered fatal injuries.

The Safer New Forest Partnership funded the new signs. Cllr Jill Cleary said: “It is hoped this initiative will lead to better relations between dog walkers and the farmers in Ringwood.”

The National Park Authority said it regretfully had no other choice but to take the case against Anthony Ward and Sarah Moore to the High Court after they had continued to live in the illegal accommodation at Oak Lea Farm, Agars Lane, Sway.

The injunction followed years of action including a retrospective planning application being refused and two prosecutions for failing to comply with an enforcement notice, said the NPA.

The Deputy High Court Judge sitting at Winchester also awarded more than £10,200 in costs to the authority.

Judge Iain Hughes said: “It is also clear from the evidence that the defendants to date made no attempt whatsoever to obtain rehousing, or assistance with rehousing from the local authority.”

Pat Wyeth, chairman of the NPA’s planning committee, said: “This couple put us in the unfortunate position of having to take out this injunction as they left us no other option after failing to respond to conventional enforcement measures.

“This ruling sends a clear message that it is unacceptable to ignore the planning authorities and the rule of law which is in the wider public interest as we cannot allow precedents like this to be set.

“We are pleased that the judge also saw fit to award costs as this injunction alone has been extremely costly, aside from the previous legal action and the officers’ time over many years.”

The incident happened at 4.10pm on Wednesday 16th May as the female pedestrian attempted to cross near the junction of Gosport Lane and High Street and was in collision with a red Ford Ka.

The pedestrian sustained serious but not life-threatening injuries and was taken to Southampton General Hospital where she remains at this time.

The driver of the Ka, a woman, was shaken but uninjured.

The junction of Gosport Lane and High Street was closed until 7.34pm while collision investigators examined the scene.

Witnesses to this collision are asked to contact PC Phil Pentelow at Totton Roads Policing Unit on 101, quoting Operation Kennington.

Ainslie, from Lymington, will start the 70-day relay at Land’s End on May 19 and will be the first of 8,000 torchbearers as it visits towns and cities throughout the country.

The 35-year-old, who won gold medals in Sydney, Athens and Beijing and is bidding for a fourth gold in Weymouth, said: “I am honoured. It will be an amazing experience.

London 2012 chairman Lord Coe announced that Ainslie, who grew up in Cornwall, will start the relay. He said: “Ben is the perfect person to start the relay as he grew up in the area and is an inspirational sportsman who has worked hard to achieve his goals.”

The torch arrives in the New Forest on Saturday, July 14 when it makes its way from Bournemouth to Southampton via Christchurch, Lyndhurst, Brockenhurst and Lymington.

Displays, models and books will be on show at the New Forest Airfields Education Centre in Merryfield Park between Sopley and Bransgore from 10am-4pm on Sunday 20th May.

“From 1912-18 the Royal Flying Corps was an increasing presence in local skies,” said Friends’ spokesman John Levesley.

“Formed from the Air Wing of the Royal Engineers in March 1912, the experimental military flying force grew into a mighty air corps.

“From its early flying exploits at Larkhill, the RFC expanded its training organisation and there were many airfields active in the First World War, including East Boldre (Beaulieu).

“Then in 1918 the corps merged with the Royal Naval Air Service to form the RAF and become the largest air force in the world.”