Five teams of firefighters responded to a call in Kings Worthy on Sunday afternoon, regarding a property that was ‘one hundred percent involved by fire with the roof space well alight.’

The call was made just after midday on the 27th September, and crews from Winchester Fire Station, Eastleigh Fire Station, Sutton Scotney Fire Station, Andover Fire Station and Whitchurch Fire Station attended. A total of 35 firefighters were needed at the scene.

The blaze quickly spread across two floors of the detached house, but firefighters took precaution to prevent the fire from spreading to other properties. However, many of the house’s windows were smashed as a result of the fire, leaving the house ‘uninhabitable’.

A cordon was put into place with a search and rescue team also on scene. All persons living at the property were accounted for, with only one woman at the home when the fire started. There have been no reported injuries.

The fire is believed to have started in the roof, and it was due to early detection by a smoke alarm in the loft space that the woman was able to evacuate the building safely.

According to Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service, ‘Four jets and seventy-five litters of Compressed Air Foam (CAF’s) were used to tackle the blaze.’

Councillor Malcolm Prince said he saw thick black smoke coming from the area, and that the fire started at about 12pm.

 It is not yet known what started the fire. An investigation is to take place to establish the cause.  

A monolith has appeared on the Isle of Wight, mere days after similar statues were discovered in the United States and Romania.

While the previous structures are made out of reflective metal, the Isle of Wight monolith seems to be constructed out of mirrored plastic. It’s not yet known who is responsible for the monolith, but anonymous group The Most Famous Artist – who claim to be responsible for the others – deny any involvement.

A number of residents are revelling in the mystery, while creating their own theories.

Alexia Fishwick told WINOL that she believes the latest monolith was erected to “carry on from Utah and Romania,” stating “They’ve certainly had a big effect on us all. Got us going to all sorts of places with our minds!”

Another resident, DJ Rob da Bank, tweeted about his theories: “Just another Monday with the Isle of Wight trending… nope I’m not sure if it’s aliens, a Coldplay pr stunt or a local mirror dealer drumming up trade”

So what lies in store for the monolith?

The statue stands on land belonging to the National Trust, who were unaware of its presence until the Isle of Wight began trending on Twitter. The National Trust responded to WINOL’s request for comment with the following statement:

“We have no immediate plans to remove it, but of course we will continue to monitor it to ensure the beach remains safe and does not become overcrowded.

“The National Trust looks after large amounts of land which is protected for its importance for wildlife, nature and archaeology. To prevent the risk of damaging important sites, we insist that anybody who wishes to put up something on our land must always contact us first.”

Winchester’s newest eco-friendly general store has opened its doors with big ideas in place for the high street.

Earthian, on Parchment Street, is a ‘zero waste’ shop, in which customers bring their own containers and weigh out their various goods.

While not being the first of its kind in Winchester – fellow refill shop Projects is mere streets away – owner Katie Campling has plans for other milestones.

She told Winol: “I have a big goal to reach by my first-year anniversary. I’d like the shop to be an accredited zero waste to landfill business, meaning not that not only do we help customers to be low waste at home, but all the waste we create as a business is also diverted from landfill.”

Despite the fact that less than 10% of household waste is sent to landfill in Hampshire each year, none of the stores on the Winchester high street have yet achieved the Valpak zero waste to landfill certification, which would make Earthian the first.

Ms Campling said: “When I started researching my shop, I knew I didn’t just want to open something that sold zero waste or low waste goods. I wanted everything about the shop to be sustainable, local and based in the community.

“A sustainable lifestyle is not going to come overnight or from buying a set of sustainable things. It takes time to change habits and routines that are ingrained in society, so we all need to be supportive and encouraging of each other.”

Earthian offers liquid refills on a ‘closed loop system’. Once the containers that dispense liquid products are empty, the 20 litre tubs are taken away to be sanitised and refilled before returned to the store with no excess packaging or waste involved. Other products are sourced from local towns, such as soap from Alton, cloth wipes from Eastleigh, and coffee from the New Forest.