The families of the two Australian airmen who crashed in Horndean in 1945 will be making the trip from the other side of the world to be there for the official dedication of the memorial.

The memorial, situated off Five Heads Road in Horndean, was installed earlier this year by Hampshire Country Council contractor Skanska, after 13 years of fundraising by local group Horndean Children of the 1940s and the help of grants from East Hampshire District Council, Hampshire Country Council and other donations.

Cllr Sara Schillemore, district councillor for Horndean said: “It has been a pleasure to see the memorial finally come together.

“Having the families of the two men at the dedication is such an honour.”

The Australian Embassy have also expressed a wish to be present.

The next step will be to install and landscape a garden of remembrance at the site, which will be maintained by Horndean Parish Council, to create a peaceful place where anyone can go to reflect.

The memorial will be officially dedicated in February, on the 75th anniversary of Pilot Officer Edward (Ted) Wicky and Pilot Officer Oswald Mountford’s de Havilland Mosquito aircraft crashing.

Carolyn Tozer is the wife of Mark Tozer, nephew of Edward Wicky, and they will both be making the journey over from Australia.

Carolyn said: “Despite the distance to come, we feel that this is a very great honour being bestowed on Edward Wicky and a once in a lifetime opportunity for us to be part of the memory of what our young people gave up for us all those years ago.”

A spokesman for the Horndean Children of the 1940s group said:  "The committee find it very rewarding that, at great expense, the nephew and niece with members of their families are travelling from Australia to officially unveil the memorial of their respective uncles."

The owner of a horse livery yard in Surrey was saddled with a £900 fine after East Hampshire District Council investigated a fly-tip at Whitehill Cemetery.

Emma Wickerson (26), of Horsham Road, Surrey, pleaded guilty at Basingstoke Magistrates Court to failing to ensure her waste was removed by a licensed carrier.

The waste, one ton of bags stuffed with equestrian items and household refuse, was subsequently dumped at Whitehill Cemetery in January 2019.

East Hampshire District Council investigated the tip and officers were able to trace it back to the livery yard.

Wickerson was formally interviewed and accepted she paid a carrier £80 to remove the waste but had not checked to make sure the carrier was licensed. The carrier could not be traced by officers.

She was fined £900 and ordered to pay a £90 victim surcharge, £100 costs and £440 compensation to EHDC.

Sonja Reames, EHDC environmental officer, who conducted the investigation, said: "The law is quite clear on this subject - a person has a clear duty of care to ensure their waste is disposed of properly.

“The only way to ensure this duty is discharged is to use a licensed waste carrier and to demand a written waste transfer note from them before the waste is removed.”

Natalie Meagher, Head of Service for Neighbourhood Support at East Hampshire, said: “The illegal dumping of waste is unfortunately a story that we are all too familiar with. Fly-tipping on all levels is a blight on the landscape in which we live and work.

“In response to this, EHDC’s Neighbourhood Quality team has worked hard over the last couple of years to develop effective, responsive processes to ensure that, wherever possible, investigations into fly-tipping are undertaken and prosecutions brought to court.”