Delighted Dorothy Collard is celebrating after her words were immortalised in a new trail marking Eastleigh’s rich cinematic past.

To mark the site of the Regal Theatre, Eastleigh’s first cinema, a series of decorative paving slabs have been laid along Regal Walk in the town.

The project has been inspired by the people and places in the true historical account Tragedy at Bishopstoke Junction, as researched by Eastleigh and District Local History Society.

Each of the slabs are engraved with a section of the story.

But one part of the story was missing and local people and writers were invited to come up with an ending to the story.

Now the submission by Dorothy Collard, a member of the Hampshire Writers’ Society, has been selected to finish the story off.

A thrilled Dorothy who visited Regal Walk to see the new paving slab in situ said she took her inspiration from a number of sources.

“I was inspired by the shortest short story, attributed to Ernest Hemingway: For Sale: Baby Shoes, Never Worn and also by Mark Twain’s admission that it is very difficult to write briefly. It is said he once apologised, when submitting a short story, that he had not had time “to make it shorter.”

Lucy Mazdon, chairman in Film Studies and Head of the Film Department at the University of Southampton, who helped judge the competition said: “I liked Dorothy’s entry as I thought she had captured the cinematic aspect of the story so cleverly.

"And I like a happy ending!”

Dr Cheryl Butler, Head of Culture at Eastleigh Borough Council, who also helped judge the competition said: “We had a fantastic response to the competition but we really felt Dorothy’s entry fitted the bill, in helping us to mark Eastleigh’s rich cinematic past.”