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GPS tags for Dartmoor ponies grazing wild areas of west Cornwall

GPS tags for Dartmoor ponies grazing wild areas of west Cornwall

Dartmoor ponies roaming the hills of west Cornwall are getting a tech upgrade. The National Trust has started fitting GPS [global positioning system] collars to some of its ponies to make sure they can be tracked across the 1,482 acres (600 hectares) of land they help manage.Ash Pearson, countryside manager for the National Trust in west Cornwall, said the move was vital for conservation. "We've got over 30 ponies, but we only tag the lead animals in each…

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Bumper crop for National Trust’s Cotehele’s Christmas garland

Bumper crop for National Trust’s Cotehele’s Christmas garland

BBCJust part of the 60ft-long flower garland that hangs in the Great Hall at CoteheleA bumper growing season has led to 38,000 flowers being used in a Christmas garland.The festive tradition at the National Trust's Cotehele site, in Cornwall, started in 1956.The process of making the garland takes a year from sowing seeds, harvesting and drying the flowers for them to be ready to be carefully used in the garland which is about 60ft (18m) long.Gardener Kay Lyle,…

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Somerset board game marathon in aid of children’s cancer charity

Somerset board game marathon in aid of children’s cancer charity

Rachel Candlin,West of England and Simon Parkin,SomersetRikh HartRikh Hart (L) and Stuart Perrin aim to stay awake for the full 24-hour marathonBoard game enthusiasts in Somerset are taking part in a 24-hour marathon to raise money for charity.The event is being hosted by Bridgwater Geek and Gaming at The Activity Warehouse - and people can take part in eight-hour slots."People get really passionate about these different games, be it board games, role-playing or card games, so it's an…

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Cars and parts stolen and smuggled abroad within 24 hours

Cars and parts stolen and smuggled abroad within 24 hours

Hannah Walsh and Alex Bish,South and South East Investigations and Jonathan Fagg,England Data UnitSgt Ross Haybourne says his team has found stolen parts heading for Cyprus and Africa where there is high demandCars and parts are being stolen and smuggled out of the UK sometimes within 24 hours to countries in Europe and Africa, police are warning. Sgt Ross Haybourne, from the Kent Police Rural Task Force, says criminals are often stealing to order across the South and…

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G20 summit in South Africa: Who’s attending and what’s on the agenda? | Inequality News

G20 summit in South Africa: Who’s attending and what’s on the agenda? | Inequality News

World leaders are gathering in Johannesburg, South Africa’s economic capital, this weekend for the annual Group of 20 (G20) leaders’ summit –  the first ever to be held in an African country amid a boycott by the United States over widely discredited claims that the host country mistreats white people.About 42 countries and institutions will be represented at the meeting that starts on Saturday, but the US under President Donald Trump — who has condemned South Africa’s position…

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BBC board member Shumeet Banerji resigns | Media News

Banerji said in his resignation letter that he was unhappy about governance issues at the organisation, BBC News reported.Published On 21 Nov 202521 Nov 2025Click here to share on social mediashare2ShareShumeet Banerji has resigned from the BBC board and criticised governance issues at the organisation, the latest blow to the broadcaster weeks after its director general quit.The BBC confirmed Banerji’s departure on Friday, saying he stepped down only weeks before the end of his four-year term.Recommended Stories list…

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Mary Berry’s visit to Bath feels ‘like coming home’, she says

Mary Berry’s visit to Bath feels ‘like coming home’, she says

The cookery writer and broadcaster Dame Mary Berry says returning to the area she grew up in "is like coming home".The TV personality is in Bath to take part in an event at St Stephen's Church, on Lansdown, with the aim of securing funding for structural repairs and modernisation to the building.The occasion has been organised by the Beacon of Lansdown project, set-up to secure the future of the church, which is set to cost millions. It's "very…

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From G20 to Penryn: Experts hail Cornwall as the ‘Engine Room’ of PM’s new Critical Minerals Strategy 

The UK’s new Critical Minerals Strategy must make domestic extraction, refining, and recycling pillars of sovereign capability, experts have urged. The plan, which will be launched at the G20 summit in South Africa by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, should define critical minerals as key to a broader political-economic reset that can underpin jobs and local growth, a new report by the University of Exeter’s Critical Minerals Challenge Centre, says.  Members of the UKRI-funded research hub – based…

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Bridgwater Brymore Academy shuts over widespread vomiting

Bridgwater Brymore Academy shuts over widespread vomiting

Widespread sickness has led to a state boarding school having to be temporarily closed.The BBC understands 70 pupils and staff members at Brymore Academy in Bridgwater, Somerset, are currently suffering with vomiting and gastroenteritis deemed to be "highly infectious".The school closed on Thursday and remains shut with a spokesperson saying the decision was made to "safeguard the health and wellbeing" of the school community.The exact cause of the outbreak is currently unknown.Nicola Mould, the CFO of the Bridgwater…

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Victims left ‘devastated’ by £2m car-theft gang

Victims left ‘devastated’ by £2m car-theft gang

Stephen Stafford,South of England and Alex Bish,BBC InvestigationsSignal-boosting devices were used to steal keyless-ignition vehiclesVictims of an organised crime gang that stole mainly keyless ignition vehicles worth more than £2m have described the "devastation" of losing cars and vans.Thirteen people have been sentenced after admitting to their roles in the operation, which saw 107 vehicles stolen from across Hampshire, Dorset and Wiltshire between February and October 2023.They were mostly stolen from driveways overnight and taken to a so-called…

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