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.  

Police have arrested 35 people and seized £28,000 worth of drugs in a crackdown on “county lines” trafficking in Hampshire.  

The weeklong operation was organised by the National Crime Agency and involved police forces across the country. 

It involved stop searches and using drug dogs at Isle of Wight terminals to check people going to and from the island. 

Police recovered over £12,000 in cash. 

Superintendent Matthew Reeves said: “County Lines isn’t isolated to large UK cities, this is a real issue which is affecting Hampshire along with other areas in the country. 

“It’s not only the obviously vulnerable who are groomed for county lines. Young people from all backgrounds have been groomed for transporting and dealing drugs”. 

County lines drug trafficking is when criminal gangs from big cities such as London and Manchester move their drugs to smaller towns. Expanding the area of their activities in order to make money.  

Drug traffickers often use a single phone line to run the operation and can use young people as mules to move the drugs across the country. 

According to the National Crime Agency the number of lines has more than doubled since 2017 to around 2,000, with the bulk of vulnerable people involved being 15-17 year old children.

Winchester residents “having a bad time” were offered support on the day described most miserable of the year.

Winchester Samaritans were available to people at the city train station to offer free teabags and advice.

“Today is Blue Monday, but that’s not really what we want to call it – instead we call it Brew Monday. That’s because the idea is to take a teabag, make a cup of tea, and share it with a friend in order to talk to people and open up.” said a spokesperson from Winchester Samaritans.

“January is a really difficult time for so many people and a good number have already come over, taken leaflets and had a conversation. At the end of the day after work, it can be easier to both talk – and listen – to people as the stress has taken its toll and people are ready to go home.”

Winchester Samaritans now have over one hundred volunteers and can be located at 13 Upper High Street.

Blue Monday was coined by psychologist Dr Cliff Arnall over ten years ago, and takes into account different factors such as weather conditions, the end of Christmas, debt, failed New Year’s resolutions and low motivation levels.