Monthly Archives: October 2025

Piano bike musician cancels tour dates after Tamworth van theft

Piano bike musician cancels tour dates after Tamworth van theft

Chloe Marie AstonMs Aston was performing in Tamworth when the van was takenA woman who set out to busk in every town in the UK with her custom-built "piano bike" has cancelled a string of tour dates after her van was stolen.Chloe Marie Aston, from Ilfracombe, Devon, was performing in Tamworth on Saturday when the vehicle, which she left locked, was taken from Spinning School Lane car park."It was a horrible shock, just disbelief", the 21-year-old said, adding…

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Filming of Harry Potter is ‘massive’ for Devon and Cornwall

Filming of Harry Potter is ‘massive’ for Devon and Cornwall

Terry BurtonFilming took place at Kynance Cove among other places in the regionPeople around the South West have said the production of a new Harry Potter TV series is "absolutely massive" for the region.The new HBO show, based on JK Rowling's best-selling series of novels, has been filming in Devon and Cornwall at places including Cadgwith and Carnglaze Caverns.Terry Burton went to Kynance Cove to take some pictures of the film crew and said the new series "is…

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Somerset Council to decide if Saxonvale in Frome should be resold

Somerset Council to decide if Saxonvale in Frome should be resold

Ross CraneWest of EnglandBBCThe social enterprise group had been given "exclusivity status" to buy the Saxonvale site A council has confirmed it will vote to decide whether a derelict site earmarked for redevelopment by a social enterprise will be put back on the market. Somerset Council agreed to sell the Saxonvale brownfield site in Frome to the Mayday Saxonvale group in January, with the hope it would deliver low-cost homes, commercial space and leisure facilities. The plans are…

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Human skull found in bag at statue prompts police probe

Human skull found in bag at statue prompts police probe

Police have launched an investigation after a carrier bag containing a human skull was found next to a statue in Devon.Officers were called to Kings Quay, in Brixham, at 15:40 BST on Thursday where they found the plastic bag beside the Man and Boy statue on the quayside.The bag has been seized by police and, following examination, the bone was confirmed to be a human skull. Police said inquiries suggested the skull was located by fishermen out at…

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Mother murdered by stranger ‘was kind and warm’, inquest told

The family of the woman who was murdered by a stranger in Devon are still coming to terms with her loss, an inquest has heard.Wife, mother and grandmother Lorna England, 74, was murdered as she walked through Ludwell Valley Park in Exeter in February 2023.At the hearing in Exeter, her son Richard described his mother as the "embodiment of warmth and kindness" who put others before herself. Daughter Jackie added Mrs England was "always up for a laugh…

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Health secretary Wes Streeting urged to visit Torbay Hospital

Health secretary Wes Streeting urged to visit Torbay Hospital

Guy HendersonLocal Democracy Reporting ServiceGuy Henderson/LDRSMP Steve Darling (bottom left) wants Health Secretary Wes Streeting to visit Torbay HospitalA Devon MP has urged the health secretary to visit a "crumbling" hospital which he said was in desperate need of renovation.Steve Darling said Torbay Hospital was in a "dire and critical condition" with sewage leaks and structural problems and he called on Wes Streeting to take a look "without delay".The previous Conservative government had promised a complete rebuild of…

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Family berates Home Office and NHS over Portland barge death

Family berates Home Office and NHS over Portland barge death

Marcus WhiteSouth of EnglandPALeonard Farruku took his own life on the Bibby Stockholm bargeAn asylum seeker who took his own life on the Bibby Stockholm barge would still be alive were it not for failures in his care by the Home Office and NHS mental health workers, his family has said.Leonard Farruku, 27, was found dead in December 2023 on the government's former accommodation vessel for migrants, which was moored at Portland Port, Dorset.An inquest heard evidence that…

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‘Complicated’ EPR packaging tax criticised by South West firms

‘Complicated’ EPR packaging tax criticised by South West firms

George ThorpeSouth West andSeb NobleCornwall political reporterBBCBusiness owners think Extended Producer Responsibility would force price rises for customersBusinesses in the South West have raised concerns a new tax on packaging could force them to raise prices.The government introduced Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) this month which required firms to cover the cost for collecting, recycling and disposing of packaging it produces, with the money going to councils which collected the waste.Owners of businesses have criticised the tax, which some…

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Dozens in Somerset SEND failures protest at County Hall Taunton

Dozens in Somerset SEND failures protest at County Hall Taunton

Ruth Bradley andMichelle RuminskiSomerset politics reporters, TauntonBBCParents and children gathered outside County Hall in TauntonDozens of families gathered outside a council's headquarters to protest against special educational needs and disabilities (Send) provision.More than 50 parents and children gathered outside County Hall in Taunton, Somerset, angry about the authority's Send service which they said was failing their children,and leaving parents "exhausted".Organiser Tatjana from Somerset Send Army said: "We are barely standing. I'm just about keeping my job. I'm mentally…

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Idlewild: Wulfrun Hall, Wolverhampton – Live Review

Idlewild: Wulfrun Hall, Wolverhampton – Live Review

Idlewild Wolverhampton Wulfrun HallSunday 12th October 2025 With a critically acclaimed new album behind them, the Edinburgh legends bring their jagged, uplifting anthems to Wolverhampton. When Sam Lambeth argues, he sees shapes. At the Wulfrun Hall, it’s a serene Sunday evening. In the bar, two middle-aged men swap running routes on Strava. Inside the hall itself, a seated punter passes the time by stressing over the day’s Wordle. Below in the standing area, a sea of flannel shirts and…

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Daily Dip for Dave sea swim at Gyllyngvase beach

Daily Dip for Dave sea swim at Gyllyngvase beach

Available for over a yearSeveral hundred swimmers took part in the Daily Dip for Dave sea swim at Gyllyngvase beach in Falmouth at the weekend. It was all in support of Ruth Hitchcock and her husband Dave. Dave has neuroendocrine cancer and Ruth decided to get in to the sea every day to help raise awareness of the rare disease. The event at the beach was to mark 733 days in a row that Ruth has been swimming.…

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Exeter–Queensland partnership striving to improve the security of global communication

A new international research collaboration has been launched focusing on one of the biggest challenges in contemporary communications. Experts at the University of Exeter and the University of Queensland will work together on a breakthrough technology called Quantum Link Verification, which promises to improve security in an increasingly connected, data-driven world. Developed by Exeter’s Quantum Non-Equilibrium Group (QNEG) and Queensland’s Quantum Technology Laboratory (QTLab), QLV uses the rules of quantum physics to detect if anyone is trying to…

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