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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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Israel’s focus on political drama rather than Palestinian rape victim | Israel-Palestine conflict News

Israel’s focus on political drama rather than Palestinian rape victim | Israel-Palestine conflict News

The revelation last week by Israel’s top military lawyer, Major General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, that she leaked the footage of a gang rape of a Palestinian detainee at the Sde Teiman military detention centre in 2024 has shaken the country’s political and media establishment.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – whose leadership of the genocidal war on Gaza has drawn global condemnation – called the leak “perhaps the most severe public relations attack that the State of Israel has experienced”.…

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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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Joe Ralls: Plymouth Argyle sign former Cardiff City midfielder

Joe Ralls: Plymouth Argyle sign former Cardiff City midfielder

Plymouth Argyle have signed former Cardiff City midfielder Joe Ralls on a short-term contract, initially until January.The 32-year-old was a free agent after leaving the Cardiff City Stadium in the summer after 14 years with the Bluebirds.Ralls, who had a loan spell with Yeovil Town earlier in his career, scored 34 goals in 409 appearances for Cardiff in all competitions."Joe has extensive experience at Championship level and will bring that experience and leadership qualities to our young squad,"…

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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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Water company bosses’ bonuses blocked over pollution issues

Water company bosses’ bonuses blocked over pollution issues

Thames Water is among six water companies to have blocked bonus payouts to bosses over serious pollution incidents and other performance issues.More than £4m of potential bonuses were banned under new rules on performance-related executive pay, according to regulator Ofwat.The powers were introduced in June as a result of concerns that the pay of water firms' top bosses was not reflecting their environmental performance.The six companies - Anglian Water, Southern Water, Thames Water, United Utilities Water, Wessex Water…

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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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Solar radiation modification could reduce global temperatures but is no substitute for reducing emissions, says Royal Society

Techniques to reflect an additional small portion of sunlight back into space could help cool the planet if deployed globally, but they cannot address the full range of climate impacts or replace emission cuts, according to a Royal Society briefing. “Solar radiation modification” (SRM), published today, considers the potential impacts of SRM if deployed globally, in a scientifically informed way, across both hemispheres and for long periods of time. It evaluates its potential effectiveness, limitations, risks, and challenges…

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