Weekly round

Stories about a snake found in a toilet, a mock video rental shop becoming a success and a new documentary about a former Bournemouth footballer have been among the most popular in the South this week.

In case you missed them, we have picked five articles from the past seven days across Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Dorset, Berkshire and Oxfordshire to keep you up to date.

VHS proving its appeal at 'last video rental shop'

A mock shop styling itself as the "last video rental store" has been reigniting a love of physical media in visitors.

The Video Vault in Newport on the Isle of Wight was set up on a whim by couple Leif Marriner and Sam Young, and they have been busy ever since.

Marriner said they have had people dropping in to watch old sci-fi programmes they cannot see anywhere else, and he has also been helping people digitise their old family videos.

The tapes are not really available to rent - it is more of an exhibition or time capsule - but the couple said they now wanted to up the ante and make it "more immersive".

Man finds three-foot snake curled up in his toilet

A man has said he was left stunned after discovering a snake emerging from his downstairs toilet.

David Claridge, of Bracknell, Berkshire, lifted the toilet's lid on Tuesday morning and saw something yellow and black protruding from the bowl.

Upon closer inspection, he said he recognised it was a 3ft (0.9m) long grass snake.

The 79-year-old, who promptly evicted the reptile from his property with a pair of barbecue tongs, said he believed it must have crawled up through the drain after seeking water during recent hot weather.

'My footballer brother hid his sexuality for years'

The sister of a former footballer who vanished for decades because he could not discuss his homosexuality with his family hopes a new film will give others strength.

Denise Smith said her brother Tony Powell, a former Bath City, Bournemouth and Norwich City player, cut all ties in 1981 while he was playing football in the USA.

He was found in 2002 to be a motel manager in California, and despite his family's efforts to contact him he did not speak to them until just a few years ago.

Denise hopes the documentary, The Last Guest Of The Holloway Motel, about Tony's life, which was shown in Bath on Saturday as part of a UK tour, will inspire people "to find the courage to speak with their families".

'We're the football club that nobody wants to sign for'

"We always say, it's the club that nobody wants to sign for."

Jack Wingate plays for SANDS United Basingstoke, which was set up to help men support each other through the trauma of baby loss.

The Hampshire team has more than 50 members who hold weekly training sessions and aim to play twice a month.

Founded by Stephen Kelly after he lost his daughter Amelia Grace Kelly in October 2020, it has become a lifeline to many men in the area.

"It's been an emotional journey, but it is something that I can use to represent Amelia and do something in her memory," he said.

'Men like me need law on sanitary bins in toilets'

Stefan Thomas speaks on stage for a living and always checks where the toilets are first [Stefan Thomas]

A man with ulcerative colitis has backed a campaign to make sanitary bins a legal requirement in men's toilets, saying it is important to talk about bladder and bowel issues more openly.

Stefan Thomas, from Witney, Oxfordshire, was diagnosed with the condition when he was 27. Although treatment has helped him "to live a reasonably normal life", he still plans journeys around access to toilets.

The Boys Need Bins campaign, launched in 2023, aims to ensure men who use stoma bags, incontinence pads or other continence products have somewhere hygienic to dispose of waste.

The government has not committed to changing the law, but said it recognised the importance of access to appropriate facilities.

Weekly round-up: Five stories you may have missed