Filming of Harry Potter is ‘massive’ for Devon and Cornwall

Post published:October 13, 2025
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Terry BurtonFilming took place at Kynance Cove among other places in the regionPeople around the South West have said the production of a new Harry Potter TV series is "absolutely massive" for the region.The new HBO show, based on JK Rowling's best-selling series of novels, has been filming in Devon and Cornwall at places including Cadgwith and Carnglaze Caverns.Terry Burton went to Kynance Cove to take some pictures of the film crew and said the new series "is…

Somerset Council to decide if Saxonvale in Frome should be resold

Post published:October 13, 2025
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Ross CraneWest of EnglandBBCThe social enterprise group had been given "exclusivity status" to buy the Saxonvale site A council has confirmed it will vote to decide whether a derelict site earmarked for redevelopment by a social enterprise will be put back on the market. Somerset Council agreed to sell the Saxonvale brownfield site in Frome to the Mayday Saxonvale group in January, with the hope it would deliver low-cost homes, commercial space and leisure facilities. The plans are…

Human skull found in bag at statue prompts police probe

Post published:October 13, 2025
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Police have launched an investigation after a carrier bag containing a human skull was found next to a statue in Devon.Officers were called to Kings Quay, in Brixham, at 15:40 BST on Thursday where they found the plastic bag beside the Man and Boy statue on the quayside.The bag has been seized by police and, following examination, the bone was confirmed to be a human skull. Police said inquiries suggested the skull was located by fishermen out at…

Health secretary Wes Streeting urged to visit Torbay Hospital

Post published:October 13, 2025
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Guy HendersonLocal Democracy Reporting ServiceGuy Henderson/LDRSMP Steve Darling (bottom left) wants Health Secretary Wes Streeting to visit Torbay HospitalA Devon MP has urged the health secretary to visit a "crumbling" hospital which he said was in desperate need of renovation.Steve Darling said Torbay Hospital was in a "dire and critical condition" with sewage leaks and structural problems and he called on Wes Streeting to take a look "without delay".The previous Conservative government had promised a complete rebuild of…

Mother murdered by stranger ‘was kind and warm’, inquest told

Post published:October 13, 2025
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The family of the woman who was murdered by a stranger in Devon are still coming to terms with her loss, an inquest has heard.Wife, mother and grandmother Lorna England, 74, was murdered as she walked through Ludwell Valley Park in Exeter in February 2023.At the hearing in Exeter, her son Richard described his mother as the "embodiment of warmth and kindness" who put others before herself. Daughter Jackie added Mrs England was "always up for a laugh…

Family berates Home Office and NHS over Portland barge death

Post published:October 13, 2025
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Marcus WhiteSouth of EnglandPALeonard Farruku took his own life on the Bibby Stockholm bargeAn asylum seeker who took his own life on the Bibby Stockholm barge would still be alive were it not for failures in his care by the Home Office and NHS mental health workers, his family has said.Leonard Farruku, 27, was found dead in December 2023 on the government's former accommodation vessel for migrants, which was moored at Portland Port, Dorset.An inquest heard evidence that…

‘Complicated’ EPR packaging tax criticised by South West firms

Post published:October 13, 2025
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George ThorpeSouth West andSeb NobleCornwall political reporterBBCBusiness owners think Extended Producer Responsibility would force price rises for customersBusinesses in the South West have raised concerns a new tax on packaging could force them to raise prices.The government introduced Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) this month which required firms to cover the cost for collecting, recycling and disposing of packaging it produces, with the money going to councils which collected the waste.Owners of businesses have criticised the tax, which some…

Dozens in Somerset SEND failures protest at County Hall Taunton

Post published:October 13, 2025
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Ruth Bradley andMichelle RuminskiSomerset politics reporters, TauntonBBCParents and children gathered outside County Hall in TauntonDozens of families gathered outside a council's headquarters to protest against special educational needs and disabilities (Send) provision.More than 50 parents and children gathered outside County Hall in Taunton, Somerset, angry about the authority's Send service which they said was failing their children,and leaving parents "exhausted".Organiser Tatjana from Somerset Send Army said: "We are barely standing. I'm just about keeping my job. I'm mentally…

Daily Dip for Dave sea swim at Gyllyngvase beach

Post published:October 13, 2025
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Available for over a yearSeveral hundred swimmers took part in the Daily Dip for Dave sea swim at Gyllyngvase beach in Falmouth at the weekend. It was all in support of Ruth Hitchcock and her husband Dave. Dave has neuroendocrine cancer and Ruth decided to get in to the sea every day to help raise awareness of the rare disease. The event at the beach was to mark 733 days in a row that Ruth has been swimming.…

Crewkerne housing plans putting town at ‘breaking point’ say residents

Post published:October 13, 2025
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Daniel MumbyLocal Democracy Reporting ServiceJuliet EardleyMore than 100 residents in Crewkerne have objected to the plansResidents in a countryside market town have said local services and infrastructure are already at "breaking point" amid plans for more than 300 new homes.Proposals to build 325 homes on the A356 Station Road in Crewkerne, opposite the railway station, were submitted in September. The application also includes a 'mobility hub' and additional station parking.More than 100 residents have objected to the plans,…

Crime reporting tool helping Teignmouth businesses

Post published:October 13, 2025
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Traders in a seaside town believe an online crime reporting tool will make a "big difference".The UK Partners Against Crime (UKPAC) Business Crime Reduction Partnership was launched in Teignmouth in August with 12 months of funding from Devon and Cornwall's Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Alison Hernandez.So far, 10 businesses and Teignmouth Town Council have signed up to UKPAC which lets people report crimes and share information between themselves and police to tackle repeat offenders.Jo Gask, owner of…

Dorset dairy farm fined after cattle slurry pollutes river

Post published:October 13, 2025
Post category:BBC Dorset
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A dairy farm in Dorset has been fined £6,000 and ordered to pay costs of £10,158.50 after cattle slurry was found to be polluting a nearby river.The owners of Manor Farm Dairy, in Hilfield, Dorchester, pleaded guilty to causing a discharge of poisonous, noxious or polluting matter into a local river at Taunton Magistrates' Court on Wednesday.In March 2024, an Environment Agency (EA) officer discovered olive-green discolouration and foam in the watercourse at Bailey Ridge Lane, near Leigh,…