Devon News

‘I’ve given seven babies to other families and do not regret it’

‘I’ve given seven babies to other families and do not regret it’

Jen SmithSouth West health correspondentEmma PilarzEmma Pilarz has had nine children - seven of them for other peopleEmma Pilarz is a mother-of-two from Barnstaple in Devon. But she has given birth nine times – seven of the babies were for other people. She is one of a handful of surrogates across the south-west of England who have been telling the BBC why they chose to become a surrogate as the practice comes under increasing scrutiny."I'd had my two…

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Devon teenager supports legal challenge to ban phones at school

Devon teenager supports legal challenge to ban phones at school

A Devon teenager has joined two fathers seeking to legally challenge government guidance on phones in schools.In July, Will Orr-Ewing and Pete Montgomery announced they would be seeking a judicial review of government guidance as part of a campaign to get smartphones banned in schools.Flossie said she believed the Department for Education had failed to protect her and other children from harm inflicted from mobile phones during the school day.The 17-year-old said using smartphones "completely changed" her life…

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Prem forecast to record revenues of £200m next year amid R360 threat

Prem forecast to record revenues of £200m next year amid R360 threat

At the start of the year leading investors in the club game told the BBC that the model was "fundamentally flawed" amid fears that other clubs could follow Wasps, Worcester and London Irish and go out of business.However, league strugglers Newcastle were recently taken over by energy drinks giants Red Bull, while ticket sales and TV viewing figures have increased along with a lucrative new professional game partnership, external with the Rugby Football Union.According to the Financial Monitoring…

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Yellow warning as heavy rain and strong winds to hit south west

Yellow warning as heavy rain and strong winds to hit south west

Heavy rain and strong winds are set to hit Devon, Cornwall and Somerset on Tuesday, causing "difficult driving conditions", the Met Office has said.The yellow warning for rain predicts the downpours will become heavier and more persistent by the afternoon.It said the rain would be accompanied by a "strengthening southerly wind" with gales developing, and rainfall continuing into Wednesday.The Met Office said people should expect flooding, and for bus and train services to be affected.It said: "Given recent…

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Closure of main road in Exeter extended for third time

Closure of main road in Exeter extended for third time

The reopening of the main road out of Exeter has been delayed for a third time due to works being carried out by Wales and West Utilities.The firm, which is upgrading gas pipes, had first promised Heavitree Road would reopen on 7 October.That date was then revised to 13 October, then 10 November but the road alongside the Waitrose store and the St Luke's campus of the University of Exeter will now not reopen until 21 November, utility…

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Scheme teaching Devon children road safety extended until 2028

Scheme teaching Devon children road safety extended until 2028

BBCA pilot scheme teaching children road safety has been extended until 2028A police training scheme in Devon which teaches children road safety has been extended due to a £100,000 investment.The Walkability scheme teaches children essential road safety through theory and practical sessions - including understanding road signs and how to cross the road safely.Devon County Council (DCC) said about 4,070 pupils from 48 schools had already taken part in the pilot scheme - which would continue until 2028.It…

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Motorbike engine time capsule found under Devon floorboards

Motorbike engine time capsule found under Devon floorboards

Mark ChardA time capsule has been found under the floorboards of a home in KingskerswellA man from Kingskerswell is searching for the previous owners of his house after finding a time capsule under the floorboards.Mark Chard said a "gleaming" motorbike engine and letter were placed there in 1999 by the previous owner.He said the letter described how much fun the previous owner had had on the motorbike and the work done to the house since they moved in.The…

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James Overy: Australia call up Man Utd’s 18-year-old full-back

James Overy: Australia call up Man Utd’s 18-year-old full-back

He has yet to play any senior football. only joined Manchester United last summer and last year was playing in the 10th tier of English football.But 18-year-old right-back James Overy, who played for United's Under-18s against Leeds on Saturday, could be heading to next summer's World Cup finals after being called up to the Australia squad for friendlies against Venezuela and Colombia in the United States.Former Perth Glory teenager Overy moved to Devon from Australia in 2023, playing…

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How do you get suspension fixed in the desert?

How do you get suspension fixed in the desert?

Available for over a yearOli Jenks from Newton Abbot and his pal Seth Scott aredriving from London to South Africa .. in a Reliant Robin called Sheila. They're two weeks in now - and we've already been treated to videos of Seth drying his pants with a hair dryer, them getting a speeding ticket in the Sahara - and they needed the car's springs jacking up in Morocco.Programme WebsiteShow less Source link

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Production worry for Devon farmer amid ‘chicken lockdown’

Production worry for Devon farmer amid ‘chicken lockdown’

A Devon poultry farmer said new rules and regulations to prevent spreading a bird flu virus was essentially a "lockdown for chickens".The new national mandatory housing order by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) was brought into force in England on 6 November with the aim to bring avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 infection rates down. Sam Ursell from Windout Farm, in Exeter, Devon, said the farm operated an organic breeding flock of about 3,500 hens and cockerels…

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Learning ‘made fun’ at Plymouth library of 1,000 board games

Learning ‘made fun’ at Plymouth library of 1,000 board games

BBCThe walls of Character Creation are filled from floor to ceiling A library of more than 1,000 board games has been set up to support children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (Send).The walls of Character Creation in Plymouth are covered from floor to ceiling with popular titles, offering people a "safe space in which to be themselves".Based in Stoke, the project aimed to be a fun way of picking up new skills, with maths,…

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Devon and Cornwall drug tests positive for nearly half of drivers

Devon and Cornwall drug tests positive for nearly half of drivers

Briohny WilliamsSouth WestBBCPatrol Insp Wes Watkins said police were stepping up awareness of drug-drivingPeople as young as 16 are testing positive for drug-driving, police have said. Figures from Devon and Cornwall Police showed that, out of 1,245 drivers who were tested between 1 January and 30 June 2025, nearly half (45%) had illegal substances in their system. The youngest male was a 16-year-old in Newquay who tested positive for cannabis, and the youngest female was a 18-year-old in…

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