county news

Appeal after serious sexual assault in Sidmouth park

Appeal after serious sexual assault in Sidmouth park

Police are investigating a report of a serious sexual assault on a woman in Devon. Devon and Cornwall Police said the woman was assaulted by a man in The Byes, Sidmouth. The victim is being supported by specially trained officers and witnesses have been asked to come forward.Police said the incident happened at about 23:30 GMT on Sunday. Officers are appealing to anyone who was in the area at the time or anyone with information to assist the…

Continue ReadingAppeal after serious sexual assault in Sidmouth park

Somerset veterans find healing in community orchard project

Somerset veterans find healing in community orchard project

Charlie Taylor,Somerset and Christopher Mace,West of EnglandBBCDan Stone was diagnosed with PTSD and values the group's camaraderieMilitary veterans transforming overgrown woodland into a community orchard say the project has helped them confront and heal from their past experiences.Located just outside Dunster Castle near Minehead, Somerset, Project Orchard is run by the NHS Somerset Armed Forces Team and the National Trust, and brings veterans together to provide mutual support and create something lasting for the local community.Ian Edmonds, who…

Continue ReadingSomerset veterans find healing in community orchard project

Plan for three mobile saunas at Blackpool Sands rejected

Plan for three mobile saunas at Blackpool Sands rejected

A plan to put mobile saunas on a Devon beach has been rejected.South Hams District Council's Development Control Committee heard it would be a "dereliction of duty" to allow the saunas at Blackpool Sands.Sea Kayak Devon and the Blackpool Start Partnership already have one sauna on the sands and had applied to replace it with three new pods - which would have been visible from the road and coast path.Planning officers believed the benefits of the saunas would…

Continue ReadingPlan for three mobile saunas at Blackpool Sands rejected

Cottage approved after unlawful demolition

Cottage approved after unlawful demolition

Miles DavisDevon political reporterBBCSome of the work that was carried out at Singleton Gardens in April exceeded the planning consentA stop notice was issued by Torbay Council after demolition work was carried out at the siteTorbay Council's planning committee heard this was the latest in a series of applications made for the site on Meadfoot Sea Road in the Wellswood area of Torquay.Mike Cowdery from the Torquay Neighbourhood Forum said the latest planning application did "nothing but sow…

Continue ReadingCottage approved after unlawful demolition

‘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…

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

‘Rust bucket’ planters split opinion in Penzance

‘Rust bucket’ planters split opinion in Penzance

David DixonCornwall, CornwallBBCMetal planters installed in Penzance has been called a "ridiculous waste of time and money"A mayor has robustly defended the installation of metal planters in a town's high street as part of traffic layout changes.The work to transform Market Jew Street in Penzance started in July with the aim of making the area more pedestrian-friendly, but the multi-million pound project has been controversial.Steel planters added to the area have faced criticism with one trader calling them…

Continue Reading‘Rust bucket’ planters split opinion in Penzance

Cornish cinema offers smart glasses for hard-of-hearing film fans

Cornish cinema offers smart glasses for hard-of-hearing film fans

BBCJane Ninnis from Hearing Loss Cornwall said the glasses were simple to useA cinema in the South West has introduced glasses which aim to help customers with hearing problems.White River Cinema in St Austell said the "WatchWord" technology would allow visitors to view subtitles through a pair of smart glasses.The subtitles appear through the glasses as captions with a handheld controller allowing the viewer to change the size, position, colour, focal-length and brightness of the text.Staff at the…

Continue ReadingCornish cinema offers smart glasses for hard-of-hearing film fans

Oxford archives show how Englishmen uncovered Tutankhamun

Oxford archives show how Englishmen uncovered Tutankhamun

Ethan GudgeSouth of EnglandGriffith Institute/Harry BurtonTutankhamun's tomb was discovered almost wholly intact in 1922A century ago, the mummified body of the ancient Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun was unwrapped for the first time - having been entombed thousands of years before.To mark the hundred-year anniversary, a new database containing thousands of personal records and documents from the time has been opened at the University of Oxford - making them fully accessible for the first time.The tomb of the former boy-king…

Continue ReadingOxford archives show how Englishmen uncovered Tutankhamun

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…

Continue ReadingDevon teenager supports legal challenge to ban phones at school

Man arrested after woman is forced into a car in Bristol

Man arrested after woman is forced into a car in Bristol

People who tried to help a woman after she was forced into a car by a man are being urged to contact police.Avon and Somerset Police said the victim, who is in her 30s, was forced into a silver Peugeot 207 in Clifton, Bristol on Tuesday 30 September.She managed to shout to three men for help when the car stopped in Wells, Somerset later that evening.Detectives said a man has been arrested as part of the investigation.Passers-by tried…

Continue ReadingMan arrested after woman is forced into a car in Bristol

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…

Continue ReadingYellow warning as heavy rain and strong winds to hit south west