Men crash stolen taxi into parked and moving cars in Bideford

Police have arrested a man in his 30s after two men stole the taxi they had hired and drove it into parked and moving cars.Devon and Cornwall Police said the white Ford Mondeo taxi driver had picked up the men from Westward Ho! and driven them to the Geneva Court of Bideford at about 16:15 GMT on Sunday.The men promised payment and went in to a house and, when the taxi driver knocked on the door a little…

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Car crash causes damage to historic Devon shopfront

A business owner says she is "shocked and sad" after a 300-year-old property was damaged in a car crash.Devon and Cornwall Police said the car crashed into a home furnishings shop on Fore Street, Kingsbridge, at about 15:25 GMT on Sunday.Officers said there were no injuries but the driver was reported to court for driving without due care.Hazel Donovan, who runs the shop Donovan alongside her partner Trevor Tilbury, said: "I'm really sad. The building has been in…

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Tom Cleverley: Plymouth Argyle boss demands ‘more edge and devil’

Former England midfielder Cleverley won the Premier League with Manchester United in 2013.It was the Red Devils' last title win and the last under legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson. Cleverley says the advice Ferguson gave him when he got his first managerial job at Watford last year rings true in his current situation at Home Park."Anyone who played, as a coach you want to see a bit of yourself in your team - it was the first thing…

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Parking prices to rise at Devon nature reserves

Parking prices are set to rise at two council-owned nature reserves.The cost of parking at Stover Country Park in Newton Abbot and the Grand Western Canal car park in Tiverton would increase by 10%, Devon County Council said.The current £2 fare in both car parks for two hours would rise to £2.20, while the existing £4 charge for four hours would be £4.40 in both facilities, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.The council said income from the…

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Man who dodged Devon train fares racks up £30k in fines

BBCExeter Magistrates Court heard Nicholas Tooley had paid £2,100 of the £30,012.90 fines he had been givenA man who ran up fines of more than £30,000 by dodging train fares has been given a "clean slate".Exeter Magistrates' Court heard Nicholas Tooley had not paid for trips between Exeter and Teignmouth to see his family over a seven-year period from April 2017.District Judge Stuart Smith said the 54-year-old of Alphington Road, Exeter, who lived on Universal Credit, had got…

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Dave Walder: Exeter Chiefs showing ‘A-game’ after Gloucester win

For the second successive week Henry Slade impressed as the England centre scored two more tries and kicked a further 12 points.It took his career tally beyond 1,000 points for Exeter and he is top of the Prem's points-scorers after five games with 70, while his five tries put him joint-third on the try-scoring charts.He is two tries behind team-mate and England winger Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, with both part of an exciting set of backs that now includes Australia…

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Teen and police officer bitten by dog at protest on Plymouth Hoe

A teenager and a police officer have been bitten by a dog at a demonstration, the force has said.Devon and Cornwall Police said a dog had bitten a15-year-old boy before it then bit a responding officer during protests on Plymouth Hoe just after 16:00 GMT on Sunday.They said both victims had been treated in hospital and a 48-year-old man from Plymouth had been arrested on suspicion of having a dangerously out of control dog.Officers had seized the dog…

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Paul Wotton: Torquay United ‘awful’ in Dorking Wanderers loss

Paul Wotton described his Torquay United side as "awful", "shambolic" and "abysmal" in their 3-1 loss at Dorking Wanderers.The Gulls, who slipped to fifth place in National League South, were 3-0 down at half-time.Alfie Rutherford gave the hosts a seventh-minute lead before Josh Taylor made it 2-0 in the 25th minute and Jimmy Muitt got a third in stoppage time.Jordan Young scored a consolation deep in second-half stoppage time as Torquay's poor away form continued.Wotton's side have won…

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‘I had to make up girlfriends while in the Navy due to gay ban’

George CardenSouth East, in HoveRoly WoodsCommander Woods on HMS Lancaster at South Georgia Island in the South Atlantic Ocean in 1996A former Commander in the Royal Navy has spoken about how he had to hide his sexuality during the military's "gay ban", as a memorial is unveiled at the National Memorial Arboretum in honour of him and his LGBT+ colleagues."I had to make up girlfriends and take female friends to functions just to have a cover story in…

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Plymouth ceremony as next phase of £30m city revamp opens

Another section of a controversial city centre regeneration project will open later.The Armada Way scheme in Plymouth has been the subject of debate since more than 100 trees were felled by the Conservative-run Plymouth City Council as part of the works in March 2023.When Labour regained control of the council in May 2023 it developed a new scheme at a cost of £30m - more than twice that of the original.The latest phase to open will be marked…

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About 200 people take part in Plymouth Hoe protest

About 200 people have taken part in rival protests in Plymouth.People congregated on Plymouth Hoe on Sunday afternoon and were separated by about 85 police officers, with several drafted in from Wales.Flag Force Plymouth and a group of counter-protesters - both totalling about 100 people - were guided towards separate areas by police.They shouted slogans, banged drums and waved placards. Andy, from Flag Force Plymouth, said the the protest was about "patriotism, and nothing to do with racism"…

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Torquay factory building faces demolition after years of decay

A once-thriving factory which helped power a town's engineering legacy is set to be torn down. The Elektron building on Woodland Trading Estate, formerly home to Sifam, was a major employer in Torquay, producing electrical instruments and fibre-optic tech in the 1980s. It shut in 2007 after Sifam was bought by Elektron Instruments and the building became a magnet for vandalism and anti-social behaviour, with smashed windows boarded up and the site falling into disrepair.Now, drinks wholesaler Tolchards,…

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