county news

Residents have been allowed to return home following the removal of two World War Two bombs discovered in Devon.The German bombs were discovered on Wednesday afternoon - one was dredged up in Exmouth Marina and the other was found on a building site in the Millbay area of Plymouth.About 2,500 properties in a 600m (1,312ft) cordon in Exmouth were advised to leave their homes but they were allowed to return at 07:00 GMT after the bomb had been…

The list of Australians moving to Sandy Park is long and distinguished. Players including Dean Mumm, Dave Dennis, Greg Holmes, Lachie Turner and Nic White have all shone in Devon.Former Australia, and now Samoa prop Scott Sio, was on hand to give Hooper some insight in his fourth season at Exeter while scrum-half White, who spent two-and-a-half season at the Chiefs also provided him with important counsel."He was always speaking very highly of this place," Hooper says of…

David BraineSenior Broadcast MeteorologistPA MediaStorm Goretti caused damage across the regionI have been studying the weather since 1982 and as you can imagine have seen a fair amount of bad conditions from snow to torrential rain and of course more recently our named storms. With widespread damage caused by Storm Goretti on 8 January, how does it compare to others I have covered in the South West and Channel Islands, and those before my time?The most memorable perhaps…

BBCSandbags were being delivered in both Exmouth and Plymouth as emergency services work in and around the cordonsA World War Two bomb dredged from the water in Exmouth is to be disposed of at sea on Friday morning.Thousands of people are spending another night away from their homes as cordons remain in place in Exmouth and Plymouth - where separate unexploded World War Two bombs were discovered on Wednesday.The cordon in place around Exmouth Marina was extended to…

BBCNHS bosses are urging people to choose the correct service based on their conditionEmergency departments at several Devon hospitals are under "extreme pressure", health bosses have said. The NHS Royal Devon Trust, which covers North Devon District Hospital and Royal Devon and Exeter Hospitals, said its emergency departments had high numbers of very unwell patients. Darryn Allcorn, chief nurse at University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust, said the emergency department at Derriford Hospital was "very full" and patients faced…

Kirk England,Environment and tourism correspondentandAlex Green,South WestAmanda WeatherlyFallen trees in Truro left this house badly damagedStorm Goretti was one of the most impactful storms to hit Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly in the last 30 to 35 years, according to the Met Office.Met Office climate expert Professor Elizabeth Kendon said the strong winds during Goretti could have been due to a meteorological feature known as a sting jet - which are very rare in the UK, and…

Miles DavisDevon political reporterBBCPhil Bialyk, the Labour leader of Exeter City Council, is writing to the government to ask for May elections to be postponedExeter City Council faces being run by a "zombie administration" according to critics of a decision by the Labour leader of the council to request the cancellation of May elections.The government has invited councils affected by the reorganisation of local government - which will see all district and county councils abolished - to ask…