county news

Record number of cases of bluetongue confirmed in Cornwall

Record number of cases of bluetongue confirmed in Cornwall

BBCOn Wednesday the Animal Plant and Health Agency confirmed there was a total number of 50 bluetongue cases in CornwallNew national figures show Cornwall has the highest number of cases of bluetongue, a disease that affects livestock.The Animal Plant and Health Agency (APHA) has reported a total number of 154 bluetongue cases in Britain since July 2025 with 50 premises in Cornwall having confirmed cases, up from one case in 2024 and none in 2023.The virus is transmitted…

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Devon to see 1,300 more children get free school meals

Devon to see 1,300 more children get free school meals

Miles DavisDevon political reporterPA MediaMore children are getting free school meals after councils switched to auto-enrolmentAbout 1,300 children in Devon are now getting free school meals who were not previously entitled to them.Devon County Council and Torbay Council have changed the rules so families who are entitled to free school meals automatically get them without having to apply.The increase in the number of children who are eligible also brings with it extra "pupil premium" funding that can be…

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Devon’s elite attempts to “police” patriotism during World War One had limited success, research shows

Rich and powerful Devonians attempted to “police” patriotism during World War One because they were dismayed by an indifferent response to the European crisis by some in the county, research shows. These ‘provincial patriots’ were alarmed by objections from some eligible Devonian men reluctant to serve in the Army and the low recruitment rates in the area. But their efforts to restore the county’s patriotic reputation and convince Devon’s reluctant men to enlist achieved mixed success. This was…

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Otter St Mary Tar Barrel event sees thousands flock to town

Otter St Mary Tar Barrel event sees thousands flock to town

BBCThe annual event is believed to date back to the Gunpowder Plot of 1605Thousands have flocked to a rural town to see flaming tar barrels carried along its streets for Bonfire Night.Ottery St Mary was expected to double in size with 20,000 visitors and the Devon town had to close to visitors with the car parks filling up early due to poor weather.The evening spectacle, which is believed to date back to the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, started…

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Killer ‘hurled abuse’ at paramedic before attack in Somerset

Killer ‘hurled abuse’ at paramedic before attack in Somerset

Martin Jones,BBC West Investigations in Wells and Chris Lockyer,SomersetFamily handoutPaul Wells was killed by his neighbour in Highbridge, Somerset, in 2020A paramedic who attended the house of a man who later that day went on to kill his neighbour, said he hurled "venomous" abuse at her when she tried to help him.Richard Matthews, who had severe mental health problems, admitted fatally stabbing his neighbour Paul Wells in Highbridge, Somerset, on 25 June 2020, and was sentenced to an…

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‘Not much can prepare you’

‘Not much can prepare you’

Erin Blackin Ottery St MaryNigel FowlerThe origins of the event have been lost to historyA rural town hosts one of the most "exhilarating" annual events in the country where local people run through crowd-lined streets with flaming barrels above their heads.Organisers said "not much can prepare you" for the tradition of Ottery St Mary Tar Barrels, which has taken place in the Devon town for so long its true origin has been lost to history. On Wednesday the…

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BBC local radio completes Children in Need three-legged walk

BBC local radio completes Children in Need three-legged walk

Curtis LancasterSouth of EnglandBBCBBC Radio Berkshire's Sophie Drew, Kemi Spence, Ellie Tutt and Katie Tyler celebrated with PudseyRadio presenters in the south have completed a mammoth three-legged walk for Children Need.They joined colleagues from 40 BBC local radio stations who were challenged by Pudsey to tie their legs together and trek a combined total of 1,000 miles.Presenters from each station were tied to volunteers, who provided the extra leg.BBC Radio Solent, BBC Radio Oxford and BBC Radio Berkshire…

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BBC Devon presenters finish Children in Need challenge

BBC Devon presenters finish Children in Need challenge

BBCBBC Radio Devon presenter Caroline Densley walked around Plymouth and Devonport on day two of the challengeBBC Radio Devon presenters have completed their part of a 1,000-mile (1,609km) three-legged charity challenge for Children in Need (CIN).Caroline Densley and Michael Chequer walked a combined 28.3 miles (45.5km) while tied to a different person, which included volunteers and staff from CIN-funded projects, over the course of the two-day fundraising challenge.On Wednesday, Densley walked around Plymouth and Devonport, while Chequer completed…

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Somerset Council to spend £3m on three new children’s homes

Somerset Council to spend £3m on three new children’s homes

Three more houses are to be adapted into "family-style" children's homes under a £3m plan.Each home will be co-designed by young people with care experience and will be run under Somerset Council's Homes and Horizons scheme, which already has 16 children living in eight houses.Council leaders said the new houses will allow more children in care to move back to their home county.A council report stated that children already living in the homes have "improved engagement in education…

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Concerns as ‘vulnerable’ turtle spotted off Cornwall coast

Concerns as ‘vulnerable’ turtle spotted off Cornwall coast

Wildlife experts have urged people to report sightings of loggerhead turtles after one was spotted in the sea off the South West coast.Cornwall Wildlife Trust (CWT) said the turtle was near St Ives on Sunday by volunteers from Seaquest, a project run by the charity to record marine wildlife sightings.The trust said waters along the coast at this time of year would be "too cool" for loggerheads, which are categorised as "vulnerable" by the WWF - formerly the…

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Disposing of Dorset Council assets could generate £46.7m it says

Disposing of Dorset Council assets could generate £46.7m it says

A council hopes disposing of 78 sites that are no longer needed will generate £46.7m for investment and free up space for new homes.Over the next five years Dorset Council plans to offload the assets, which include small blocks of garages, vacant former offices, old school sites, and parcels of land.Councillor Richard Biggs, cabinet member for property and assets and economic growth, said: "It's about unlocking opportunities, being ambitious, and making every penny count."The plans were released in…

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