has been charged with attempt murder and remanded in custody to appear at Southampton Magistrates’ Court today (Thursday 1 May) A 21-year-old man from Southampton has been charged with assaulting a person thereby occasioning them actual bodily harm has also been remanded in custody to appear at Southampton Magistrates’ Court today The charges follow a report shortly after 11pm on Tuesday 29 April of a stabbing of a man in his 30s at an address on Alder Avenue Two women arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender – a 20-year-old from Southampton and 42-year-old from Hedge End – have since been released on conditional police bail I'm the News Editor and admin for this site and a life-long Eastleigh resident. Email me at s.slominski@eastleighnews.co.uk.  Tags: Enter your email address to subscribe to Eastleigh News and receive notifications of new posts by email Detectives investigating a serious assault in Hedge End have arrested three people in connection with the incident A 15-year-old boy from Hedge End and a 21-year-old man from Southampton have both been arrested on suspicion of Section A 42-year-old woman from Hedge End has been arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender All three remain in police custody at this time The arrests follow a report shortly after 11pm yesterday (Tuesday 29 April) of a stabbing of a man in his 30s at an address on Alder Avenue who are carrying out extensive enquiries and patrols would like to hear from anyone who was in the area of the incident at the time please call 101 and quote incident number 44250186563 said: “I fully understand the significant concern that an incident such as this one will have caused within the area concerned as well as the wider community of Hedge End “I would like to reassure you all that our teams and officers have been working tirelessly since this report was first made to us last night as well as the support and information from the local community that the investigation has progressed at a pace with three arrests made in connection with the incident “I hope the rapid developments in our investigation will offer you all reassurance that we are determined to bring those responsible to account and that our relentless hard work and enquiries will continue to ensure this happens.” On what the public should expect over the coming days said: “You will continue to see officers in the area of the incident as those enquiries and further reassurance patrols continue “Please look out for them on your travels and please come over and have a chat with them if you have any concerns or if there’s anything else you would like to discuss “We’ll do our very best to keep you all updated on the latest in our investigation as and when we are able to.” As well as 101, you can also report online via the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary website. Tags: Four candidates will contest the Eastleigh Borough Council by-election in Hedge End South on Thursday 22 May, which has been called following the death of long-serving councillor and former mayor Jane Welsh While Hedge End South forms part of Liberal Democrat-controlled Eastleigh Borough Council it also lies within the Hamble Valley parliamentary constituency a Conservative stronghold currently represented at Westminster by MP Paul Holmes The ward is represented by three borough councillors with the other two seats currently held by the Liberal Democrats Eastleigh Borough Council is currently made up of 39 councillors: 34 Liberal Democrats The by-election result will not alter overall control of the council The candidates standing in the by-election are: The seat was last contested last May (2024) when Eastleigh’s Liberal Democrat leader Keith House won emphatically with 53.1 percent of the vote who is standing again for the Conservatives Labour’s Keith Day polled 10.9 percent and the Green Party 6.4 percent significantly lower than at parliamentary elections It is also the first time that Reform UK has contested the seat Two of the candidates — Craig Palmer and Keith Day — are both former Liberal Democrat councillors Conservative candidate Jerry Hall has lived in Hedge End for over 50 years and is a local business owner he has consistently opposed large-scale housing developments and stood in Hedge End South in 2024 He is currently the local Neighbourhood Watch coordinator and vice chair of the QE2 Centre Labour’s candidate Keith Day has lived in Hedge End for over 40 years and recently retired after a career spanning both private and public sector organisations he has previously served as a borough and town councillor and stood in Hedge End South in 2024 He moved to Hedge End from Southampton in 1983 – the same year Jane Welsh was first elected Reform UK’s Craig Palmer has previously served as a Liberal Democrat Parish Councillor in Hamble during which time he was part of the Independent Advisory Group for Hampshire Constabulary and what he describes as overspending by the borough council John Shepherd is the Liberal Democrat candidate He is the current chair of Hedge End Town Council and represents Kings Copse Ward He works as a senior manager in a healthcare company Tags: who represented Hedge End South on Eastleigh Borough Council for nearly three decades The Liberal Democrat councillor passed away on Tuesday morning She had served as a borough councillor for 28 years and had also been a Hedge End Town Councillor since 1983 She was the bank’s longest-serving employee with a career spanning more than fifty years supporting many community organisations and leading local Poppy Appeal collections for the Royal British Legion for over half a century A council spokesperson said: “She will be sadly missed by everyone at Eastleigh Borough Council.” leader of the council and Jane Welsh’s fellow ward councillor in Hedge End South For well over 50 years she supported a vast range of community groups and charities in Hedge End where she lived and Hamble where she worked I always said Jane was the youngest member of our team because she never learned to say ‘no’: nothing was too much effort Jane retired from the council to care for her husband then came back just three years ago as there was always more to do “Jane’s passing is a massive loss to her family and all of the community in Hedge End and across the borough A by-election will now be held in Hedge End South Tags: Firefighters were called to Sainsbury’s supermarket in Hedge End this morning after a fire broke out in the store’s biomass unit The incident occurred at 11:37am at the Tollbar Way retail unit with crews from Hightown and St Mary’s responding to the scene This marks the second time in just a few years that the store has been affected by a fire originating from the biomass unit which is used to heat water for the supermarket when crews from five stations were deployed to tackle a similar blaze in the same area of the store Today’s fire was quickly contained to the unit’s ‘sustainable energy store’ which provides hot water to the supermarket the public-facing part of the store was unaffected by the blaze Firefighters used one hose reel jet and one main jet to control the flames and two crews from Hightown stayed on-site to monitor the situation Retail staff were praised for their quick evacuation of both the supermarket and an attached unit The Incident Commander commended the staff for their cooperation throughout the response Fire crews continue to monitor the situation with engineers and store management taking over the investigation once the fire was brought under control Firefighters remain on the scene as of 13:15 Tags: Rise and fall of Paul Flowers L-R 1980s Minister;2013 banker; 2025 fraudster A former Methodist minister who served in Hedge End Netley and Sholing has been jailed for three years after stealing nearly £100,000 from a vulnerable Hedge End woman and spending it on drugs who was educated at Barton Peveril Grammar School pleaded guilty to 18 counts of fraud at Manchester Crown Court The court heard how he abused his position as Power of Attorney for Margaret Jarvis a well-known Hedge End resident who ran the Girls’ Brigade and Sunday school at Hedge End Methodist Church Flowers siphoned money meant for charities and her family into his own account Judge Nicholas Dean KC told him: “This is a story of betrayal You took on the Power of Attorney at a time when you knew that was not the right thing to do Over a period of time you stole almost £100,000 first from Margaret Jarvis and then from her estate.” who was vice-chairman of Eastleigh Labour Party in the 1970s and stood in the 1981 Hampshire County Council elections rose to national prominence as chairman of the Co-operative Bank his downfall began in 2013 when the bank nearly collapsed under a £1.5bn black hole and he was later caught on camera buying crystal meth earning him the nickname “the Crystal Methodist.” The court heard that Flowers set up a Co-op Bank account for Ms Jarvis’s pension to be paid into continuing to withdraw funds even after her death in 2016 An investigation found he had used the money to fund a lavish lifestyle including stays at the Park Hotel in Knightsbridge He also installed a £14,900 bespoke staircase in his home and spent £1,275 on a carpet Despite Ms Jarvis’s will leaving her money to two nieces and several charities—including a South African orphanage and an Alzheimer’s research fund—only one niece received the £10,000 inheritance she was promised Flowers unsuccessfully stood in Hedge End Wildern ward as the Labour candidate during the borough elections of 1979 and 1980 In 1981 while serving as vice-chairman of Eastleigh Labour Party he was convicted of indecency in a public toilet on Mortimer Road in Botley During his tenure as chairman of the Co-operative Bank’s board from 2009 to 2013 the bank provided loan funding to Eastleigh Borough Council to finance the purchase of the Rose Bowl (now the Utilita Bowl) and the construction of the adjoining Hilton Hotel though there is no suggestion of any impropriety in this arrangement which was refinanced following the collapse of the bank Senior Crown Prosecutor Jayne Sharp said: “Flowers appeared to be a pillar of the community as a former Methodist minister the trust and confidence Ms Jarvis had in him was sorely misplaced.” Flowers will face a proceeds of crime hearing on July 21 to determine whether any stolen funds can be recovered Tags: Enter your email address to subscribe to Eastleigh News and receive notifications of new posts by email.