Exeter Respect Festival – the city’s annual celebration of diversity – is just around the corner! Now in its 29th year, this year’s Respect Festival takes place in Belmont Park on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 June, with music, dance, food and so much more. Exeter Respect brings communities together to celebrate their differences and...
A well-known Wellingtonia tree in Exeter city centre is to be felled because of safety concerns. The tall Wellingtonia in Dix’s Field, outside the Civic Centre, has started to shed small branches and will be taken down on Monday (2 June). The tree has been in advanced decline for some time, and all of the...
A man has been charged with preventing the lawful burial of a woman after a body was discovered in a Devon flat, police have said. Jamie Stevens, 51, from Reddenhill Road, Torquay, was charged of preventing the lawful and decent burial of a body in Torquay between 21 May 2022 and 28 May 2025, said...
Hattie McCann BBC News, Devon BBC The groups meet every Sunday in four parks across north Devon A community group in north Devon is hoping to get people active and improve their mental well-being with free yoga sessions. The Community Yoga Project started running the sessions earlier this year and now has 250 members. Hannah...
Swimmers in Devon have been warned about the dangers of open water swimming, including cold water shock. Nearly 200 people died from accidental drownings in the UK last year, with 28 in May alone, according to the National Water Safety Forum (NWSF). The NWSF said cold water shock was “the body’s response to sudden immersion...
George Thorpe BBC News, Devon PA Media NHS Devon said an updated proposal would be presented in July A proposal to trial changes to heart attack services in part of Devon has been withdrawn to allow time to consider feedback on the plan. NHS Devon’s Integrated Care Board (ICB) was due to discuss a “test...
Alex Osborne BBC News, South West Harding-Lee Media, Wildwood Trust Malenky and Nanuq arrived at Wildwood Trust’s park after travelling from their previous home in Belgium Two brown bear cubs thought to be war refugees have travelled hundreds of miles across borders to reach a forever home in a Devon zoo. The two-year-old siblings, Malenky...
A man has died following a road crash involving a bin lorry in Devon, police say. Emergency services were called to the incident at Higher Warberry Road, Torquay, at about 12:45 BST on Tuesday. Devon and Cornwall Police said a man from the area in his 20s had died at the scene and the incident...
Anna Varle BBC South West health correspondent BBC Experts say vulnerable women need to be in female-only accommodation A charity working with victims of sexual violence is calling for action to stop vulnerable women being housed in emergency accommodation with men. Devon Rape Crisis & Sexual Abuse Services said it was “deeply concerned” by reports...
Late-night party goers and night-owls in Exeter will now be able to take advantage of new trial night buses home. The services running out of Exeter are being launched by Stagecoach South West starting on Saturday 31 May. They are part of nine new Nightbus services across Exeter, Torbay, Plymouth and North Devon, thanks to...
Six men arrested on suspicion of modern-day slavery offences in Devon have been bailed, police said. The group was arrested by Devon and Cornwall Police after a crash involving a van and lorry on Dolvin Road in Tavistock on 19 May led to the discovery of eight potential modern-day slavery victims. Police said the suspected...
Stagecoach Alison Hernandez, Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, said night buses could become a “a mainstay of having a night out” Seven new routes have been added to the night bus service across the South West. The Saturday night/Sunday morning service, set up by the police and supported...
SPECIAL REPORT Campaigners compel Exeter City Council to reconsider Northbrook pool closure with 2,250-strong resident petition Exeter City Council is under pressure to reconsider its plan to close Northbrook Swimming Pool after community campaigners triggered a full council debate on the closure by raising a petition imploring it to keep the pool open that was...
Chloe Parkman BBC News, South West Iain H Leach Pete Hurst produced a snapshot of the local picture by extracting figures for 10 local species of butterfly The number of four species of butterfly in Devon were at their lowest for at least a decade in 2024, new figures show. Butterfly Conservation said the number...
Chloe Parkman BBC News, South West Paignton Zoo Southern cassowaries are said to be more like dinosaurs than most other birds A zoo has been attempting to breed a pair of “enormous” southern cassowaries. Paignton Zoo in Devon said the birds –16-year-old male Madrid and 11-year-old female Twiggy – met for the first time this...